Chapter 25: The Curse of Being Me
So I thought Shane had it bad. His curse and dealing with his past is more like a trip to Inira’s Palace in the City of Delights compared to what I’ve been though recently. It started in Hammer Fell when we were approached by a harried and breathless elf. His name was Pell and he was looking for aid in rescuing his adventuring party from a band of gnolls in a ruined fortress to the south. Checking Fennic’s map, we found where it is located. He told us of how they found the location of the fortress, from a dwarven hero’s tomb in the catacombs beneath the city.
Shane knew the location of the tomb and had heard stories of the horde stashed by Tamalash Hammerfell, one of the founding fathers of the city. Between the lure of treasure and the desire to do good for fellow adventurers of the region, mixed with the fact that we had nothing to do until our special equipment was finished, we could hardly say “no”. (Though, in hindsight I wish we had!)
After meeting a wonderfully talented cartographer named Brent and purchasing some very well-made maps while exchanging stories, we gathered our provisions and went on our way. Eight days of travel, much of it of treacherous terrain lay between us and our destination. According to Pell, we could expect goblins outside the ruins with plenty of traps throughout the area. Inside the remains of the fortress and in the caverns beneath were gnolls and the leader of the group, a blue-skinned goblin with powers of the mind.
I recognized the breed of goblins from my homeland. Similar to the duergar, or dark dwarves, they were the servants of the vile Illithid race. The servants strong enough to be use to the Mind Flayers were endowed with impressive mental powers and durability far beyond their usual breed.
We moved through the ruins as stealthily as possible, but as a patrol was moving passed us, Pell broke wind and the foul stench was noticed by the gnolls immediately. Thinking quickly, I created an illusion of a goblin rushing off into the ruins, struggling to hold up his soiled pants. The gnoll growled and gave chase and we moved further inside until we spotted another group of gnolls that were leading a group of prisoners. Pell, in another moment of colossal ignorance, yelled out “That’s my party!” and all heads turned toward us.
Battle ensued and Pell proved to be a competent fighter at least. We recovered a few of the elf’s party members but the others were led down another tunnel. Pell rushed after them and after freeing the prisoners from their bonds, we rushed after. The next few minutes were a blur. We moved into the tunnel and the gnolls let go of the last of the prisoners. Pell rushed them back up the tunnel which is when I noticed a strange glyph-covered arch. As soon as the elf rushed his friends through the arch, there was a flash of light and the tunnel filled with solid stone. Completely impassible from our side, but we could still hear the group arguing. Pell told us that he didn’t have a choice, the goblin and his master made a deal. His party in exchange for someone that they needed: a djinn-blooded human train in sorcery and the bardic arts –ME!
The goblin’s master was some kind of bodiless spirit and needed a vessel to inhabit so he could stretch his power across the world. I tried to explain just how bad an idea it was that he had handed me over. (and yes, I also called him a Jackass.) Then he revealed that my companions were likely to be used as a sacrifice and that Pell was going to get all of our worldly possessions, whatever we weren’t carrying on us. The elf’s group was almost as outraged with him as I was and the coward ran off.
The party stepped back through the portal and became trapped with us. Whatever fate would befall my friends and I would also be wrought on them. There five of them initially: Trist, an elven ranger; Olwen, a cleric of the god of Justice; Shoorg, a half-orc priest of the god of battle; Roland, a human barbarian; and Archibald, a wizard. Their last member stepped through the arch a few moments later – a Halfling rogue named Terry. He brought all of their gear and as they re-armed themselves we discussed our options as we studied the arch. The writing was in Auren and spoke of a chosen one (me) who would act as a vessel for the ruler of this place. Archibald and I couldn’t determine any way to activate the arch. It was more of a trap than a portal.
I looked down at the message ring on my hand and told them briefly of my connection to Oslo, but before I could activate the ring, a voice rang out through the cavern. “You will go nowhere!” A wave of magic surged around us and every magical item we owned shattered! All of the brand new gear that we had bought in Hammerfell; everything owned the people we rescued; Fennic’s map, Iodur’s enchanted gear, my collection of wands, Everything! Our wagon suddenly exploded out of my pocket, scattering our stored gear and blasting me back against the cavern wall.
As we recovered, we all stared in shock at the loss of so much accumulated wealth. Not only was Pell going to get everything we left behind, anything of value we had with us was destroyed. Even worse, Oslo’s gear that he loaned me was destroyed: the message ring, the preservation bag and the anchor bracelet that Lily wore. The party devastated by the situation. Many the items they had lost were things they had only just recovered from the Hammerfell’s tomb. Even Archibald’s spellbook was destroyed.
Seeing no other choice, we began exploring the caves. The tunnel ended at rough waters and what appeared to be a ruined dock constructed of stone. I spotted something of the wall that turned out to be pictographs that I recognized as bugbear. They told a story of “god” of sorts who built the entire island from “music and lightning”. As I looked over the writings, we spotted a figure watching us, a sea nymph. Fortunately, she made no attempt to charm us (or at least, we all managed to resist).
She told us that the being worshipped by the bugbears was named Nicotem and he did indeed construct the island, which was located out in the middle of the sea far to the east of where the fortress where we had come from. She had only been here for a few decades and had managed to avoid the islands inhabitants and their god. We left her and went back through the caverns until we came across a series of tombs inhabited only by mummified bugbears. They all showed traces of an unknown Necromantic spell.
One room held a female bugbear on a stone slab. She had no trace of the magic on the others but had an interesting amulet with a stylized lightning bolt and a circle of bardic script that was a tune of some kind. Something told me this would be important, so I took the item and stored it away.
In the main tomb was a large throne occupied by a bugbear of “small” stature. Writing on the walls told of a story of a bugbear leader sneaking into a castle to steal items but meeting the ruler of the castle, a man made from “music and lightning.” They two became friends and the bugbears served the man but the story ended there. While I read, Lily found a series of traps on and around the throne which had a false bottom. She worked her way through them and when the last one was disarmed, the bugbear king’s body animated.
He “spoke” in a series of odd phrases and gestures, but he also pointed up at the ceiling, there Lily found his treasure: in a black bag enchanted with Silence, there was an Animated length of rope, a wand specially made for thievery, a sword enchanted with lightning and a pair of goggles (also only for thieves) that could detect traps. As soon as the king delivered his message, all of the mummified remains of all the bugbears collapsed into heaps of rags and dust. Among the other bodies, we found a staff and Magic Missile Scroll for Archibald and a large sword for Shoorg
We quickly moved back out into the caves and eventually made our way to the surface with only a few hours to sundown. We spotted a village that looked deserted and went to find shelter. In the center of the small collection of buildings was an Effreet statue that I felt would be best to leave alone. One of the buildings was large enough for us to stay in and after eating our meager rations, we settled in to get rest. Archibald feverishly scribed the scroll he had found into a new spellbook that he made from one of my blank journals.
During the night, as Olwen was on watch, a group of the most incompetent archers attacked. They were quickly and brutally dispatched and we found some equipment among their rag-covered bodies. The next morning, the rouge Terry caused a much more serious problem. He had picked my pocket and taken the amulet I found and played the tune on his pipes. Immediately a violent and dangerous storm rolled in. Wind and rain sprang up and lightning and thunder crashed all around us. Not wanting to be stuck in rickety buildings, we rushed back to the caves.
From there, we saw a lone, sputtering torch moving down the mountain trail. A man, clearly frightened, rushed to the village and we called out to him. Though, he looked uneasy, but joined us in the shelter of the cave. His name was Felipe and he had crashed on the island months earlier. His surviving crew had gone insane and become cannibals. Judging by his attire, it’s likely that the people that had attacked us earlier were at least part of that crew.
We asked about where he had come from and given us a quick rundown of the island’s scenic destinations: the “natives” village, a large castle up on the highest point of the island, and a bell tower. He warned us to stay away from all of them, especially the tower and the castle because of the “Guardians”, large and brutal killers. When the storm passed, Felipe rushed off again and we took the path further up the hills from where he had come.
At one point along the path, we were ambushed again. With our expanded group and the lack of decent gear among our attackers, we put down the ambush quickly. As we stood over the defeated foes, an image appeared of the blue-skinned goblin. He told us his name was Suleesh and threatened us. While we watched, he turned his attention to one of the surviving ambushers and through a mental compulsion, forced the man to kill himself.
Clouds suddenly rolled in and lightning flashed across the sky. Shane, in an incredible display of bravery or stupidity (maybe both) called out to the sky, calling Nicotem a false god. A bolt crashed down toward him but Terry was suddenly there, holding the lightning amulet (which he had stolen from me, again!) The amulet was destroyed, but the managed to survive the strike. As the clouds continued to boil, a soft deep voice called out, “light a fire.” Shane pulled out a torch and I sparked it to life just as another bolt of lightning flashed downward. The energy was completely drawn into and absorbed by the flickering flames and suddenly, the sky cleared and we were alone again.
Afterwards, we took shelter in another cave to tend to Terry and Shane’s wounds. This cave had evidence of Orcish inhabitants, including some colorful graffiti. At the back of the cave, however was something very interesting: a set of four broken tablets that I mended along with some help from Shoorg. They were covered in writing of bardic script and studying them briefly, I determined that they must have belonged to Nicotem! (I also began to make an effort to stop speaking his name out loud.)
They detailed magic related to weather control and musical study and one that specified a ritual of purification that would convert a person a full-blooded Djinn. I carefully wrapped the tablets and stowed them as we left the cave to make our way to the Bell-tower. We had a suspicion that the key to undoing what Nicotem had done would be found there. We climbed to a high point with the help of Lily’s new rope and spotted the Bell-tower far in the distance over difficult terrain.
Then we spotted something else, a tethered line leading down the mountainside. Sliding down the line was one of the most frightening and exhilarating experiences I’ve had; though a few of the others didn’t fare so well: Arhchibald, especially. He failed to let go at the bottom of the slide and he smashed into the post, breaking ribs and knocking himself unconscious. A few others sustained minor injuries from their lack of acrobatic prowess, but after some healing we were ready to move on. We camped a little while later and I collapsed into a sleep borne of constant stress, worry, and exhaustion.
I am sitting now at my turn on watch but everything is quiet. Tomorrow we go examine the bell tower and hopefully put an end to this nightmare.
Chapter 26: For Whom the Bell Tolls
We awoke and prepared ourselves as well as possible. Then we moved off to the large building topped with a tower. We could see the bell hanging there, silent and ominous. We also quickly spotted the “Guardians”. They were massive and encased in metal armor. They stood completely still and silent as we approached. As soon as they became aware of our presence, they came to life with a surprising degree of speed and grace, drawing their weapons menacingly. Booming metallic-sounding voices called out to us, demanding to know our business.
Thinking quickly, Lily answered that were there to pay our respects to the master of the island. The armored figures paused as if in thought and then moved aside to allow us entry. I think most of us sighed with relief as we strode passed. Inside, we found a large sarcophagus located under the bell. Using Lily’s rope again, I ascended to the bell to look for writing or any indication of how we could defeat the island’s “god”. In the bell, there was no clapper, but an enchanted and incredibly fine lute. I retrieved that and studied stone coffin.
Between Olwen, Shoorg and Shane, they consecrated Nicotem’s remains and the effect was immediate. The Bell suddenly rang out and the ground began to rumble and shake. We rushed out of the building as chunks of stone began to rain down. Outside, the guardians were thrashing on the ground and in the distance, where the castle stood on the highest point of the island, we could see Something bursting out of the ground, destroying the building.
It was an Efreet, old and massive and Nicotem trapped it and used its power to perform his rituals and create this island. A wave of fire rushed out over the island, scouring the land. When it struck the Guardians, they collapsed and shrunk down to reveal the transformed bugbears beneath the armor before they were reduced to ash. The Efreet’s vengeance was swift and terrible and when it was finished, he disappeared, leaving behind only scorched earth and silence.
We looked around at each other in a daze until suddenly, with a flash of light I was standing in front of Oslo. He looked both concerned and angry but when he heard what had happened he was more understanding. He was still worried about the anchoring bracelet and told me that another one needed to be made as soon as possible. Not only did it allow me to be summoned from and sent back to distant locations with ease. It also prevented anyone from using my truename to compel me, something those of my bloodline are susceptible to.
My friends, older and newer were waiting down in the lobby of the tower. As we settled down, Oslo told us that he needed us to retrieve materials for a new bracelet. He had tasks for the other party as well, but for now, he’s letting us rest and recuperate. Soon, we’ll be heading off across the dessert of my homeland to the City of Whispers.
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