5 Jun 534 - Dominion of Velders, Barony of Gulluvia
The village of Velders was the most remote settlement in the Barony of Gulluvia. With the Abaddon Forest bordering it on three sides, and a sheer, impassable cliff on the fourth, even the feared Baronial Guard rarely liked to travel to the area for their usual patrols. This allowed the villagers a certain latitude with governance that other towns never had a chance.
The spring thaw had come and gone, and brave merchants had been venturing into Velders to sell off last year's wares. The villagers were quite pleased with any interaction from the outside world.
But pleasantry was rudely interrupted by the galloping hooves of eight female members of the Baronial Guard riding into town. They dismounted and entered the nearest tavern, the Thick Husband Tavern.
The Thick Husband only had a few patrons inside, and a half-talent bard singing poor songs of the local heroes who recharged the ancient relic of Velders, the Orb of Radiance.
The eight removed their helmets.
A patron at the end of the bar, an older man in a robe and pointed hat, pinched the backside of the Captain of the Guard. The woman, a full six inches taller than the instigator, turned towards him, removed one of her leather riding gloves, and slapped him squarely across the face. The man spun around, smacked his head against the bar and crumpled to the ground.
Grabbing the full attention of the half-empty establishment, the Captain composed herself, and announced the Guard's intentions:
"We are on official business, at the behest of Lady D'hmis herself. We are searching for those who recharged the Orb of Radiance before the first frost of the season. We are specifically looking for the Great Wizard Presto, Balaq..."
The Captain paused as the bartender extended his arm across the other side of bar and pointed down to the recent casualty.
The Captain could only elicit a simple, "Oh...."
She ordered the other guards check on Presto, and carry him to the horses.
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| Presto the Magnificent, when he is ornery and conscious |
The Captain nodded towards the acolyte, to permit her to check on the comatose male.
"He's breathing. That mark on his face isn't going away, but he'll live."
The Captain addressed the acolyte, "Good, you're the closest of someone of importance in this village."
"Ok...."
"We are looking for two more individuals of some renown. Hopefully a tougher wizard than this one, a Balaquin Drake."
"Well, he's right there..." the acolyte turned an pointed to a man. The man was holding a bowl of gruel in his hands, and a flagon of ale balanced precariously on a fence. Realizing everyone was staring at him, he finished his spoonful of gruel, and, upon reaching for his ale, managed to knocked everything to the ground.
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| Balaquin Drake |
"That's me!"
"Even better, let's go into the other establishment and talk."
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| Galaxia Axenmeld |
Working across the village green, they entered The Solid Gentlewoman, forced patrons out of the back and deposited Presto's body in a booth. The jostling woke up the magic-user. Staring back at the Baronial Guard glowering at him, he could only muster, "Am I in heaven???"
The Captain snorted, "Not yet my friend, but I do have a second glove."
"I am Melecent, Captain of the Baronial Guard. My group has been tasked to find the three of you, on a mission from Lady D'hmis herself."
Galaxia raised an empty tankard that had been on the table and altruistically acknowledged, "Job well done!"
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| Captain Melecent |
"As you know, the thaw has arrived. Spring has arrived, thanks to the powers of Lady D'hmis. Unfortunately, the town of Thorvald has sent word that the thaw never arrived. In fact, winter has kept it's unrelenting grip on the village. Unfortunately, other pressing matters regarding the security of the Barony have prevented us from investigating. We have begun assembling true heroes to see if this just a mere weather oddity, or if there is a more severe circumstances.
Balaquin was to the point, "Is there pay?"
"Of course... upon successful completion."
The trio agreed.
"Carya here, will escort you to the next town, to recruit the remaining heroes and head off to Thorvald."
From the back row of guards emerged a giant woman 6'2", holding a great spear. She only smirked for the heroes.
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| Carya Illinoisis |
The three heroes from Velders had traveled out of the village and through the Abaddon Forest before. Each trip was fraught with disconcerting noises, howls, and unexplainable lights.
This time, the trip through the forest was deathly quiet. Even random branches did not seem to make a sound when stepped on.
Once they emerged out of the forest, Carya took a hard right following the tree line, with a simple comment, "I know a shortcut."
It was indeed a shortcut, dumping them within a large swath of farmland within a valley. A sweet scent of something baking came out of the local inn, Ye Old Falling Noble Spoon.
"We've arrived at Mere for the final three. But first, let us eat!"
Inside Ye Old Falling Noble Spoon, it was indeed, the famous Waffle Day. a comely looking hedge wizard was on his second waffle, and third ale. Hugo Swam'Pas had raised himself to a level of respect in the community, but his good deeds did not go unpunished. The Kobold raiders had been vanquished, but attacks curtailed grain production on the farms. Waffle Day was rescheduled to a once a month promotion, and the the villagers quickly grew tired of the overabundance of the one crop the kobolds hadn't destroyed: turnips.
He was also still reeling from the death of Brother Barry Manaslow, and their failed attempt to save his arcane disease with the help of the High Priest Caranthamus. Right after Barry's funeral, their monstrous warrior, Slothina, departed, but not before establishing a 10-year girl, Suzie, as the new acolyte. Even if his mentor, Clifford Loprette, ridiculed him like normal during every interaction, enough had changed to make him only worry about Waffle Day.
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| Hugo "A Scranton 10" |
He recognized Carya, a mountain of a woman who had been quite competent in their prior summer adventures, and resisted all his attempts to seduce her.
"Carya! Have you come to rescue me?"
The inn fell silent.
"In a way, Hugo... in a way."
Carya pulled out a scroll...
"By the goodness and graciousness of our Lady D'hmis, Ruler of the Barony of Gulluvia, we are seeking and enlisting the help of one Beulah Cragmuffin, one Hugo Swam'Pas, and one Slothina Hoppler. To engage in activities to ensure the security of the Barony, effective immediately.
Hugo spoke up, "Slothina hasn't been seen since October. No one knows where she went."
"So noted, but first... we must get waffles!"
Waffles were distributed and only one thing could be surmised by the visitors: folks in Mere were extraordinarily unattractive, yet they did not know it.
Carya filled in the details of the mission to Hugo, and repeated herself yet again when Beulah finally returned from chopping wood.
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| Beulah Cragmuffin |
A small voice could be heard outside a nearby window.
"Mistah Hugo? Mistah Hugo? Are you bringing wah-full3 for me? I need a wah-full...."
Turning to the window, they could only see a head of a kobold peering over the window sill.
"Mistah Hugo!!!"
"Who's that?" Galaxia asked.
"That's Pogart. He's loyal to a fault.... Come on in Pogart, your waffle's ready."
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| Hugo's "Man" Servant, Pogart |
The talkative kobold endeared himself to the new adventurers. Carya nodded at Hugo mouthing the words, "He can come. No reward for him."
Hugo nodded, conceding the point.
Galaxia raised an eyebrow, "If a monster is eating him, he's not eating me."
"Plus I'm extra-chewy!!!"
GM Notes: The blog is still posting the tail end of the Star Wars d6 campaign, and we're right in the middle of the third story arc for out Gamma World campaign, so where did this random D&D Gulluvia post come from? And on a Monday and not a Tuesday?
June was a rough month in multiple ways, and trying to get a session together Monday night was the least of my worries. With a few fellows on vacation, I offered a return to Gulluvia for the last two weeks of the month. We got three new characters rolled up (very painful in Roll20 or any online platform. I've played games of D&D where characters TPK'ed faster than watching folks figure out the exact location their 3 hp wizard is hiding their iron rations. The glove slap was just the coincidental effect.
Unfortunately, scheduling continued to be a bother, as the second session for the finale was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts.
Next (One Day): #20 - The Ice Caves of Thorvald.
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