The
Ashbury Times
October /
November / December 609
“All The News That Fits, We Print”
Nachtface
Slain, Prince of the Gorge Awakened
On Hallow’s Eve 608, all but one of the
“Kings” of Halloween were slain. The only one that remained—Nachtface, the Vampire—managed to survive one more
year. But it appears things may have gotten far worse.
On
the eve of the 16th of the Fire Ant 609, Makani
and Nani, two of the recently released mystic wood
elves who call themselves Keilani, arrived in
Fairdale to begin the Feast of the Veil. Though obviously not used to the
chilly climate of Fairdale, they attempted to celebrate the holiday with the
adventurers. Many brought treats for the festivities and a few people had
carved pumpkins for the occasion.
At
midnight, Makani told the story behind the holiday.
At the end of the story, she chimed a bell 13 times—one for each of the Imladari elves who had sacrificed themselves and had been
lost to the Abysmal Gorge on that fateful day. The room fell silent as the bell
sang out, but after the final chime, the door to the tavern burst open, and the
denizens of the Gorge made their presence known. Upon seeing the two Keilani, the dark skeletal form known as Aelin Mor
instantly recognized what they were. Dame Daralassia
moved the two out of sight, but as she was moving them to safety, the visitors
called upon the power of the gorge and rifted the adventurers.
When
they reappeared, it became apparent that the adventurers were in the same
place, but not the same time. Where the Black Stag in normally stood was
a dwarven keep. Even the portraits on the wall were
different, though superimposed somehow. The denizens of the gorge had brought
the adventurers back in time to find the body of one they
called Entropy.
Later
that evening, a guard from the local Asylum came to town looking for help. A
horrible black oozing skeletal form had entered the building, and was using
what seemed to be evil magic upon it. Her fellow guard had gone inside to
investigate, and the last thing she heard of him was a horrible scream. Not
foolish enough to venture inside alone, she came to town seeking help. She
informed the adventurers that there were two wings to the asylum: one for
“average” patients, and one for some pretty nasty individuals. The adventurers
split themselves accordingly and went to investigate. When they arrived they
found that the asylum was no longer a simple institution but had been corrupted
and twisted by dark magics.
After
encountering many strange individuals, including a sea captain haunted by his
dead crew, and one man known only as “Billy the Butcher” who was
attempting to eat the other guard (he was successfully rescued and given a Life
spell), the adventurers came upon a locked and heavily guarded door. Once
inside, they found one single object: a Jester’s hat. Realizing that this
was what the Gorge denizens were searching for, the adventurers took it, and
attempted to hide it away.
Removing
it from the Asylum however did not help, as Aelin Mor was able to summon the Jester’s
hat, and with it, release Entropy, the poltergeist and court jester. Having now
obtained what they had come for, the Abysmal Court once again called upon their
powers and moved forward again in time.
Later
that evening, an emissary of Nachtface arrived at the
tavern, looking for ones who would speak with the vampire. Nachtface
however, didn’t get to say more than two words when the adventurers
arrived. Those present, including Qualin Brightoak, Squire Sgt. Ignatius, and Symerille
dispatched her quickly.
As
the night wore on, at a dark crypt, the adventurers of Fairdale watched as Aelin Mor,
Entropy and the others completed their task. A proscribe eminated
from a large sarcophagus within the dimly lit alcove, so they could only watch
as Aelin Mor took the
essence of Nacthface—stored in a crystal skull, and released it. Knowing what was about
to happen, the spirit turned to the assembled adventurers and gasped
“What have you done?”
With
that, they began a ritual to awaken the one they called “The Prince.” The sarcophagus shook, and with a
terrible thunder, the Prince blew the heavy stone lid clear off, launching it
into the ceiling. With the air of an aristocrat he stepped out, aided by his
courtiers. He attempted to address the adventurers, who assailed him with
spells. Even after being killed twice by the Prince’s death spells, Tetsu continued to attack. The Prince responded by calling
upon the power of the dragon and reversing his life force, so that earth spells
no longer harmed him.
The
court then rifted out, leaving the adventurers to wonder what would happen the
next time the veil thins.
Dragons Bring Their Unwanted Business to
Ashbury
Late on the evening of Friday
September 11, 609 in the frontier outpost of Fairdale, those present felt a
great wave of primal magic hit them. It was staggering in its intensity
and seemed to be of both earth and celestial origin. The adventurers and
visitors to Fairdale felt something calling to them to investigate and for most
it was impossible to ignore.
Many people soon made their
way down to the treeline bordering the Contested
Lands where they saw three cloaked figures standing in the field. Once a
large crowd was gathered, the cloaked figures revealed themselves. Before
the shocked assembly stood three dragons radiating immense power…a gold, a black and a red.
The gold dragon spoke first
and said, “I am The Partisan. The Cu, The Mal and I have brought
you here to bear mortal witness to what is to transpire here this night.
A grave crime has been committed by one of our kind, and for this it is agreed
he must be punished.”
The black dragon spoke next,
“As even pitiful creatures such as yourselves will have noted, there has
been a great change in the magics of the lands.
A great enough change to awaken even us, the most ancient.
And we are angered. One of our kind has been
destroyed by another, and this is against the ancient laws agreed upon.
For this the transgressor shall be punished.”
The red dragon spoke last,
“The one known as Icen is dead and I say good
riddance. But as it was agreed long ago, the transgressor shall be
punished in kind before mortal witnesses.”
The three then spoke
together, “We three ancients summon to us the wyrm
known as Slythe.”
A cosmic rift was open and a
yellow dragon was sucked through and deposited at the feet of the three ancient
dragons. It was a dragon called Slythe, who had
visited Ashbury several years before to wreak havoc.
The three dragons stated that
Slythe was guilty of breaking the ancient pact and
destroying another of their kind. Once he realized who had summoned him, Slythe whimpered weakly and attempted to bargain his way
out of his predicament. The gold exhibited sorrow, but that the execution
must be carried out to keep peace. The black stated that only the strong
survive, and the weak and stupid like Slythe do not.
The red laughed and seemed to take great joy in Slythe’s
suffering.
Shortly, all three uttered,
“We three ancients call upon our power to obliterate your
spirit.” Slythe screamed and fell down
dead.
The red dragon soon rifted
out, his evil laughter fading into the night. The black spoke calmly with some
of the assembled and stated something to the effect that some of those present
may prove worthy and may see me or my kind again and rifted out. The gold
stayed longest, answering questions and concerns for a few minutes before
rifting away.
After the gold dragon’s
departure, there was a great explosion and Slythe’s
corpse exploded into hundreds of pieces. Each piece quickly grew into a
red and yellow humanoid figure made of scales, claws and fangs. They
looked angry and immediately attacked the assembled adventurers. After a
harrowing and tough battle, these shards were dispatched.
Later that evening, the red
dragon of the Mal Draco again appeared. Evidently,
the goodness and nobilty that pervade Icenia were just too much for him to endure. The evil
dragon created many, many rifts, summoning a horde of seemingly random
creatures to attack any present. The creatures forced to attack even
included a life elemental. The dragon then rifted out laughing, once
again. The battle, while unpleasant was not very difficult and the
adventurers prevailed relatively easily.
The next morning the gold
dragon known as Partisan returned to Fairdale with grave news. It seems
that Slythe knew that he would be punished for
killing Icen and had prepared an escape plan. Slythe hid parts of his spirit in various items throughout
Fortannis or perhaps even on other planes. All three ancient dragons
agreed to work together on finding out where these items were. But,
because of the code of the Council of Wyrms, they
could not retrieve these items themselves and would need to send mortals to do
so. Each item would likely be very powerful and it would be tempting to
keep them. But Partisan stressed that they must all be brought to the
Ancients by Sunday afternoon to be destroyed. After Sunday, the Ancients
would once again need to return to their slumbers and if all the pieces were
not recovered and returned, Slythe will be able to
reform himself eventually. The more pieces destroyed, the weaker he would
be. But a weaker elder dragon is still a dragon, and if even one piece
remains, Slythe would be sure to return and wreak a
terrible vengeance…and the ancients would not be around to stop him for
quite some time. Partisan soon took his leave, explaining that he or the other
ancients will be back to lead the adventures to the items very soon.
The Cu Draco
returned a little later and told the adventurers that the first spirit shard
had been found. It was in a fey town in the land of the fey. She
believed it to be a Sidhe village, but very close to
the Seelie lands and not very dangerous. The
village was known for its merchants, entertainers and other distractions and is
known to welcome extra planar travelers.
The adventurers were rifted
to a strange door, where they were met by a fey constable who informed them
they were welcome but best behave. Inside the indoor bazaar were many strange
fey diversion, including a sock puppet show, a wheel
of chance and an antiquities dealer with a barrel that contained various random
items. It was in this barrel that the adventurers successfully found the
first shard.
The next shard was the Fang
of Slythe and it was being held by a snake scavenger
noble from the
The third shard was the Heart
of Slythe and was found to be in the possession of a
powerful monster. The adventurers were rifted to a series of caves in the
plains. The monsters turned out to be ogres, led by a fearsome tengu who possessed the heart, giving him an extreme
hardiness and constitution. The adventurers fought in and around the
caves until the leader was finally dispatched and the heart taken.
The fourth shard was the Eye
of Slythe. A group of six adventurers was sent
to retrieve it from the tower of a mad wizard. After fighting some
golems, crossing a dangerous chasm and freeing some trapped elementals, the
group came upon the mad wizard in a circle of power. They had to convince
them to give them they eye and almost failed. The wizard was especially
angered by Baron Ivan Drake and it was only through the logical conversations
of Telokh that the eye was recovered.
The last item was the Breath
of Slythe and was retrieved Sunday morning. A
skilled alchemist was using this item to create strange plant creatures in a
lab. A direct assault of the creatures and eventually the alchemist led
to the recovery of this item.
All three dragons returned
later Sunday morning and demanded all the shards that had been recovered.
They were turned over by Squire Ignatius and Baron Rorrii.
The dragons then combined their powers to destroy all the shards.
After the destruction of the
shards, the Partisan and Cu Draco left, but the Mal
lingered. It seemed he had made a bargain with some of the remaining Slythe who wanted vengeance for the final destruction of
their master. The Mal opened several portals to the
609 Hero’s Tournament Announcements
by Slethglyn Kerios
Let all citizens of Ashbury
know that in the many hundreds of years that I have lived, the weekend of your
tournament was one of the most pleasant of my life and I am honored to have
been chosen as the Master of the Tournament.
As much as it would please me to ramble on, I have one last duty to
perform. Thus, without further ado, here
is a short accounting of the 609 Heroes’ Tournament.
The first event of the
weekend was the Archery tournament. Though
unfamiliar with the altered rules, ten participants attempted the contest. The master archer, by far, was Redcloud, dismantling the golem with concentrated bow fire
in about 30 seconds. The most
entertaining contestant was Andros, who got
disqualified on the first shot and then was heard to say “Well, at least
I got 14 arrows.”
The next contest was the
Race, also altered from previous tournaments.
Eight contestants galloped through the woods searching for the
flags. While running, one contestant had
the misfortune to step on a hornet nest.
Showing great character, another runner stopped to try to aid this
injured companion. I must confess that
with my many years, my memory sometimes fails, so I have forgotten the name of
the contestant, but I assure he was amply rewarded for showing such good will.
The next event of the
tournament was the Entertainment. Nine
contestants thrilled the audience with song, story, and music. The one entrant that brought the crowd to a
hush and then a standing ovation was Braveroar who
entered from beyond the grave. Sadly, he
could not take his prize with him, but he was around long enough to know he had
earned it.
After that came the Trivia
contest, delayed slightly by the unwelcome assault of a few undead. Nine entrants competed, and despite a strong
challenge from Amaranthus, Aauen,
Redoak, andTelokh, Cedric
once again proved himself the greatest sage of Ashbury.
The next day, the Challenge
of Champions wrapped up. The winner was
quite surprising as Lt. Ithica revealed 87 tokens,
having more tokens than all other remaining contestants. In fact, many of the contestants were down 1
or 0 tokens by the end of the contest.
Also, the Hunt was called to
a conclusion. Like many previous years,
competition was fierce in this contest.
Some items were solved quickly and easily by many contestants while
others were only solved by a select few and many were not solved at all (Trevor
has already requested that I send him the solutions to many of the unsolved
puzzles for future years). More than any
time else during the tournament, this event showed me the creativity, spirit,
and good nature of the Ashbury adventurers.
The next event was the Spellcaster’s
The final even was the
Combat. Nearly thirty participants
flocked to try their hand in single weapon combat. After a few single elimination rounds, the
field was cut down to four, Ithica, Ulthoc, Guardsman Holtz, and Gilthalion. The penultimate battle between Ithica and Gilthalion was one of
legends, with the two great warriors simultaneously felling each other, not
once, but twice. Eventually, Gilthalion bowed out gracefully, setting up the final
battle.
With all of the events
tallied, Ursul took 3rd place and Red
Cloud took 2nd place.
Unsurprisingly, with three 1st place wins in events (and a 2nd
place win as well), Lt. Ithica easily got the top
prize for the tournament. Though, I can
truthfully state that all three showed great enthusiasm and good will
throughout the tournament and all deserved their rewards.
Tournament – 1st,
Lt. Ithica; 2nd, Redcloud;
3rd, Ursul
Archery – 1st,
Redcloud; 2nd, Spartacus; 3rd,
Corwin; 4th, Warpfang; 5th, Symerille
Race – 1st,
Lt. Ithica; 2nd, Vincent; 3rd, Amaranthus; 4th, Qualin;
5th, Ursul
Entertainment – 1st,
Michiko; 2nd, Ithica; 3rd, Braveroar; 4th, Natalia;
5th, Maxwell
Trivia – 1st,
Cedric; 2nd, Redoak; 3rd, Amaranthus; 4th, Telokh;
5th, Aauen
Challenge of Champions
– 1st, Lt. Ithica; 2nd, Trel; 3rd, Warpfang; 4th,
Hunt – 1st, Redcloud; 2nd, Maxwell; 3rd, Ket; 4th, Ursul; 5th,
Siobhan
Spellcaster’s
Combat – 1st,
Ithica; 2nd, Ulthoc;
3rd, Guardsman Holtz; 4th, Gilthalion,
5th, Unbroken tie between Baron Rorri, Ursul, Khorwyn, and Feng
Friends Bid Braveroar
Stonehammer Goodbye at Spirit Farewell
On the evening of the 12th
of September, the twilight elf Michiko cast a Spirit Farewell for Braveroar Stonehammer, a dwarven adventurer who fell in battle years ago. Upon Braveroar’s death, both Duke Frost and King Kelanor wrote glowing eulogies in this paper as testimony
to his kindness and bravery.
The scene was set with
candlelight, plush furniture, and an elaborately drawn circle (the work of
Michiko and Qiu Jun-Wu), embellished with twilight
elven characters. When his spirit appeared, Braveroar
was surrounded by loving friends. Even the new adventurers had heard of his
great deeds and gathered around to speak with him. King Kelanor
himself made an appearance to give Braveroar a
posthumous title.
After an evening of drink,
song and reminiscing, Braveroar bid his friends a
tearful farewell and his spirit dissipated, leaving those present with a sense
of mournful awe.
Mages’ Guild Report
Quicky: I am very
happy to report another powerful tool has been added to the Guild’s
expanding arsenal. Symerille, myself, Soren, and Dame Darlassia were successful in creating a Quicksilver Soldier
Mercury Golem the Guild. This Major Construct was created, like Rusty, to
be used in the teaching of our Celestial mages and the defense of
Fairdale. However, because of the unique power of the Mercury Golem, I do
intend to seek permission from his Grace to allow Spirit Storage into the Golem
for the Wizards who were involved in its making.
The Guild has other Construct
scrolls and plans to use them in the future, but we are also seeking Minor and
Major Construct Scrolls and Major Construct Catalysts for those of you reading
who are looking to sell them.
Guild
Meeting Notes: I was very pleased at the turnout of Mages and interested
townsfolk at our last meeting. Besides discussing normal Guild Business
and introducing the new Battle Magic Scroll Cabinet, we were lucky enough to be
joined by my Kergani friend Leona, who spoke to us
about her experiences with Sun Magic, the ancient language associated with it,
and its relationship with High Magic and the Children of Autumn. I was
invigorated by the discussion and possibility of learning this once dead
language of a magic that seems to be clinging to a fragile grip in this
world.
Anyone interested in
presenting papers, topics, or discussions for future meetings, please contact
me, I’d be very interested in hearing your ideas.
Member News: I
would like to congratulate our first Senior Guildsman Symerille
for achieving this high honor. Symerille’s
continued support of our efforts to expand our presence and stability in
Fairdale has been unmatched. He has donated time and resources beyond
what could be asked of any guild member and has acted truly in my stead when I
have been called away. I consider him a true friend and valuable asset
and hope all of our members, apprentices, and initiates take the time to
congratulate him and seek his guidance in any matter concerning the celestial
arts, as he has proven himself quite worthy.
Guild
Commerce: The Mages’ Guild of Fairdale is currently
seeking Vision, Whispering Wind, Investiture, Minor Construct, Major Construct,
and other Ritual Scrolls to buy or trade for. Contact the Guildmaster for more information.
Wizard
Nathan Westwind
Guildmaster,
Fairdale Mage’s Guild
Elemental
Warden of Icenia
Healers’ Guild Report
I have not been present as much as I would
like lately due to my health. For this I
apologize, and thank those invested Guild members who have been able to staff
the Guild, especially Darken and Rowan.
I am so proud of the healers of Ashbury who
have done their jobs not only in the Guild but on the field, keeping
resurrections to a minimum. Every one of
the healers should be thanked and should know that the adventurers of Ashbury
do appreciate their efforts even if they don’t always say such.
The annual Guild party will be held the second
weekend in January in my home. All
healers are of course invited as well as special guests, which include all
nobles who have contributed to the Guild over the years. All invested members are allowed to bring two
guests and all members may bring one. Of
course, all members of the Stormblades are
welcome. If you are planning to come,
please contact me in advance so I have enough food prepared—I’m
planning a big spaghetti dinner. There
will be sleeping space for anyone wishing to spend the night, and waffles in
the morning.
Once more, thanks to everyone for helping the
Guild this past year.
Zaterina N. Norik
The Wisdom of the
New to Fairdale?
Puzzled by a problem? Unsure how to handle an annoying monster? We're here to
help. The Black Forest is now offering the “Wisdom of the
Send
a letter via Mandrik’s Magnificent Messengers!
I have a question about the men of
From: A secret admirer
Thank you for your letter Secret
Admirer. I am Sparktet
Bone Littlebeard and I know a thing or two about my
teammates that might surprise you.
Firstly, I am single. Some adventurers in Ashbury may have
seen my wedding a decade ago. Sadly, the woman to whom I was brookmated was slain by trolls on our farm in the
Speaking of Gilwing, he too is
single. However, I don’t think you or the other good women reading this
will have much use for him. I can still taste his beard in my mouth (did I
mention he fights dirty?) and let’s just say that the taste of rotten egg
yolks is about the best flavor you’ll find in his beard but certainly not
the only one. Also, you may recall from the first Wisdom of the
Perhaps a good number of ladies are interested in Perwin. He can cook; I’ll give him that. But you will
need to be careful. He’ll invite you into his bakery and it gets awful
hot in there with the brick ovens and everything. Pretty soon he’s
helping me out of my clothes because the heat is overbearing and naturally he
wants to get more comfortable as well… Be forewarned.
A number of ladies are interested in Drakonis
the dragon slayer. My best advice to those of you are not normally considered
attractive enough to court a tall, handsome dragon slayer is to approach Drakonis at night. This is not because you’ll find
him inebriated but because his night vision is even worse than that of a
typical human.
I consider Redcloud to be a good
friend. Being both sensitive and very clever he has a lot to offer the single
women of Fortannis. Approach him with a puzzle (but not an anagram) and
you’ll soon find yourself enjoying a deep conversation with the good elf.
If you can offer him several riddles I might just see you sneaking out of the
Auric is another
popular target for the women of Fortannis. Those attracted to brute strength
and raw power will find no one more suitable than
Next we have Luigie, another
Ender may be the
Lyle, the mighty
Gaara is
another
A Little Birdie Told Me
By Sue D’Onym
Hello, dearies! Time for another installment of the News They Don’t Want You To Know!
Things may be looking up for Guildmaster
Nathan Westwind’s Ritual Casting
record. After recently spending half a day enchanting the swords, bows,
and spirits of the people of Fairdale, he also took part in the successful
creation of another one of those Golems the Guild has been collecting.
They apparently call this one “Quicky”
and the other “Rusty” which makes one
wonder if the Wizards of Fairdale need to spend more time researching the
ritual of courtship.
Squire Garathon was recently reunited with his wife
Elara Von Storm whom he thought had
been killed by the Dominion but was instead apparently held captive until their
recent defeat. Khorwyn was said to have
found and recognized Elara
and brought her back to Fairdale to her husband but was met by a disapproving Guildmaster Nathan who fed the stranger
enslavement antidotes and questioned them all at length the Guild’s
Circle before appearing satisfied that Elara was truly the Squire’s
lost wife.
The Barony of Blythdale continues to expand, so much so that the
members required more space than was available to meet in secret recently so
they commandeered the Healer’s Guild, turning away all those not sworn to
Baron Ivan Drake to induct
new members Elara,
Khorwyn,
and Ithica into their ranks. It is
reported that while the host sat congratulating themselves, drinking fine wines
and partaking of the hospitality of the Healer’s Guild, several less
seasoned adventurers were killed defending the town, though none
resurrected.
And lucky that they
didn’t, for there have been reports of spirits being ripped away from
their bodies in the Healer’s Circle by a masked incorporeal creature
… Making Wynter Rose’s
recent love-scorned suicide sound even more foolish.
Hobling barkeep Bartholomew Pickwick was overheard
showing someone his fancy gold watch recently.
“See this watch?” he said.
“My grandfather—on his deathbed—sold me this watch.”
Well, that’s it.
That’s all the gossip I have because that is all I have been
given. Sad, isn’t it? But I
can’t do this by myself you know.
If you want to see longer gossip columns in the future, you know
what to do! And in the meantime
remember: If you can’t say
something nice about someone, come sit by me.
Letters
Dearest Friends of Fairdale,
Ashbury and Visitors,
It was a great honor and
privilege to host the 609 tournament in the outpost of Fairdale. It was
with extreme pleasure that I watched the joy and good sportsmanship of
participation. I wish you all many years of successful life.
Elen
Sila Lumen Omentielvo,
Brennil
Gilthalion Thantellin
Friends of Icenia,
Jarrin Vorik has meet his permenent death. While we were in the Deadlands, we assulted one of
seven towers containing energies which had to be destroyed. Jarrin stood his ground bravely as we defended the
Paladin who was channeling the powers needed to destroy the vile
thing. Many people tried to reach him before it was too late. By the time
we got to him he was in need of a Life spell. He dissipated in
my arms as well as Amaranthus’ arms,
as the Life spell was literally in the air between him and its caster. He
helped set in motion a victory which has liberated the Bastion of Stoneroost, the final great city of the people in the Deadlands, from the domination of the spectral liche known as Emilio Barrenger.
Jarrin’s death was
not in vain. Thousands of people now have a place to call home, and a
chance to rebuild. There will be battles to come, but this battle is over, and Jarrin’s willingness to fight, no matter what horrors
our enemy tried to torment us with, showed his commitment to the causes of the
good and the just.
I know of only little family
that he has left behind. His mother, Sonya Vorik, in Gryphonwatch, Icenia; His father,
Darrick Vorik, Gryphonwatch, Icenia; His sister,
Venessia Vorik, unknown to
where she is at this time; His betrothed, Lanna Rose,
currently in Griffonwatch, Icenia. Also recently found
out by myself is his unborn child.
The date for his Spirit
Farewell has not yet been determined but will be announced as soon as there is
a date.
Lanna
Rose Draken
Public Notices
CELESTIAL AND ALCHEMICAL LIGHT FOR
SCROLLS AND CATALYSTS WANTED. We are
looking for the following Ritual Scrolls: Race Change, Channel, Enchant,
Expanded Enchant, Race Reaver, Monster Slayer, Spell Store, Protection Aura, Copy
Formal Ritual, Preserve Duration, Permanent Duration, Regeneration, Elemental
Blast, Elemental Aura, Damage Aura, Earth Aura, Spirit Store and Controlled
Spirit Store. We are also looking for the Catalysts for Permanent Duration,
Race Change, Controlled Spirit Store, and Copy Formal Ritual as well as any
reagents. We are willing to buy or trade, please contact Squire Sparticous, Paythin or Lira.