28th of Hexdec, 1060 - Village of Eding, Kingdom of Crosedes
Krull & Company were off meandering the village, hitting the trading post, wooing the peasant lasses, whatever naive and overconfident adventurers do.
They also left Ned Overland all alone in the Blue Wizard, whittling away near the unlit fireplace making small talk with the local elders about the fish in the river.
I just casually walked up to him, put a flagon of mead on the table beside him, and asked, "Ned, have you heard from Talanth recently?"
The old fighter's right eyebrow peaked higher than his receding hairline, but then he reached over for the mead, took another look at me, eyebrow extended even further, shrugged his shoulders, then took a swig.
"Haven't seen him in years, decades probably. If you ask me it hasn't been long enough. What do you want to know?"
I remember C's reports back to the royalty and nobility alike. Talanth was crafty and unforgiving, Thendara was power-hungry, the fighters were stupid and drunk, and Derlenth oozed pure evil. But Ned, he seemed like decent folk turned sideways, and in my conversation with him, it appears he's righted that ship.
Ned was born in Talmark, to a family of freeman. He used his powers of personality to avoid getting impressed into their military as a foot soldier and remained free, working caravans up and down the Greater Weissmach. At some point he ended up in the Pirate City of Nauzantl, and unable to find any work from someone at best questionably trustworthy, fell in with Talanth.
"I really like Colegredd and the other one. Not the brightest, but fun, tough guys to be around. I tried to mix it up with Thendara, she didn't take to kindly, and I preferred to stay alive. The religious chick was nice when she was with us, but I never realized until much later that Talanth hired an evil priest to replace her.
"Talanth? He wasn't a bad guy. He took any job we could find, demanded half up front ('cause it was the thing civilized folks did') and if the job was too tough, we split town. Bit of a one-way journey, if you ask me."
"We got rid of Derlenth pretty quick, and with all the scams they ran, I bailed out soon after. Worked through Argivia, Danaan, crossed Barthey into the Myridius City-States, worked as a mercenary for the Crusaders, sometimes for the locals warlords, sometimes both at the same time. "
"My best time in my life was Khemmet. The Old Ways, the Ancient Magics, the topless women, and the combination of the desert and the warm sea air solved a number of the maladies I picked up along the way."
"It was time in Lybbos wear I discovered the gladiator style. Less protective, but also much lighter and cooler in the desert sun. If I was a younger man, I would have tried my luck in Hydincall, but visiting here, dressed like a gladiator from the distant south, those kids pounced on me like I was some famed fighter. I fibbed some stories from the Tripoliton League and Ispatlia, and a few of Talanth's good stories, and I'm back at almost sixty slogging through swamps, killing lizardmen, and seeing quality shares of the treasure."
"But I haven't heard hide nor hair of Talanth since I left. With his personality, he burned too many bridges, and let Dzebog have mercy on the next group he put together. Thendara was ready to quit.... or join a better crew, and Colgredd and Oli, they were gonna stick around with him until he got them killed."
There was nothing satisfactory in my Ned Overland interview for any of the old Elsderths. No vengeance, no mocking criticism of their incompetence. I probably would have found a pattern with I different group if I hadn't fallen into the aftermath of Blackash's crew.
We traded holiday destinations in Argivia and Danaan, and Ned provided me with some ancient and vast libraries in Khemmet, but by the time we had gotten that far, the elves had returned, and Overland's attentions were turned elsewhere.
GM's Notes: My notes are sparse, and my memories fuzzy, but most of my high school crew made appearances in the Army Campaign. George (Thendara) played Zoog, Scott (Drunken Warrior/Stupid Ranger) played Bizaud, and out of everything, Wooly played Ned Overland again. I don't think I leveled him to cover the then-unknown time that had passed, but he was quite active in this part of the storyline. It was his first RPG-character, and like like any traditionalist, he wanted to get his money out of him.
And with that, another one of Elsderth's links to the past is revised and fades away.
Next - #85 The Lizardmen of the Swamp
Krull & Company were off meandering the village, hitting the trading post, wooing the peasant lasses, whatever naive and overconfident adventurers do.
They also left Ned Overland all alone in the Blue Wizard, whittling away near the unlit fireplace making small talk with the local elders about the fish in the river.
I just casually walked up to him, put a flagon of mead on the table beside him, and asked, "Ned, have you heard from Talanth recently?"
The old fighter's right eyebrow peaked higher than his receding hairline, but then he reached over for the mead, took another look at me, eyebrow extended even further, shrugged his shoulders, then took a swig.
"Haven't seen him in years, decades probably. If you ask me it hasn't been long enough. What do you want to know?"
 |
| Free mead makes Ned talkative |
Ned was born in Talmark, to a family of freeman. He used his powers of personality to avoid getting impressed into their military as a foot soldier and remained free, working caravans up and down the Greater Weissmach. At some point he ended up in the Pirate City of Nauzantl, and unable to find any work from someone at best questionably trustworthy, fell in with Talanth.
"I really like Colegredd and the other one. Not the brightest, but fun, tough guys to be around. I tried to mix it up with Thendara, she didn't take to kindly, and I preferred to stay alive. The religious chick was nice when she was with us, but I never realized until much later that Talanth hired an evil priest to replace her.
"Talanth? He wasn't a bad guy. He took any job we could find, demanded half up front ('cause it was the thing civilized folks did') and if the job was too tough, we split town. Bit of a one-way journey, if you ask me."
"We got rid of Derlenth pretty quick, and with all the scams they ran, I bailed out soon after. Worked through Argivia, Danaan, crossed Barthey into the Myridius City-States, worked as a mercenary for the Crusaders, sometimes for the locals warlords, sometimes both at the same time. "
"My best time in my life was Khemmet. The Old Ways, the Ancient Magics, the topless women, and the combination of the desert and the warm sea air solved a number of the maladies I picked up along the way."
"It was time in Lybbos wear I discovered the gladiator style. Less protective, but also much lighter and cooler in the desert sun. If I was a younger man, I would have tried my luck in Hydincall, but visiting here, dressed like a gladiator from the distant south, those kids pounced on me like I was some famed fighter. I fibbed some stories from the Tripoliton League and Ispatlia, and a few of Talanth's good stories, and I'm back at almost sixty slogging through swamps, killing lizardmen, and seeing quality shares of the treasure."
"But I haven't heard hide nor hair of Talanth since I left. With his personality, he burned too many bridges, and let Dzebog have mercy on the next group he put together. Thendara was ready to quit.... or join a better crew, and Colgredd and Oli, they were gonna stick around with him until he got them killed."
There was nothing satisfactory in my Ned Overland interview for any of the old Elsderths. No vengeance, no mocking criticism of their incompetence. I probably would have found a pattern with I different group if I hadn't fallen into the aftermath of Blackash's crew.
We traded holiday destinations in Argivia and Danaan, and Ned provided me with some ancient and vast libraries in Khemmet, but by the time we had gotten that far, the elves had returned, and Overland's attentions were turned elsewhere.
GM's Notes: My notes are sparse, and my memories fuzzy, but most of my high school crew made appearances in the Army Campaign. George (Thendara) played Zoog, Scott (Drunken Warrior/Stupid Ranger) played Bizaud, and out of everything, Wooly played Ned Overland again. I don't think I leveled him to cover the then-unknown time that had passed, but he was quite active in this part of the storyline. It was his first RPG-character, and like like any traditionalist, he wanted to get his money out of him.
And with that, another one of Elsderth's links to the past is revised and fades away.
Next - #85 The Lizardmen of the Swamp
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