Book Three, Chapter Seven, �A Failed Quest�

����������� 30/05/98

It is still 27th of Nolus. Aruth has gone missing so the wandering encounter isn�t going to happen the way it was originally planned. First watch is Aruth and Sir Martyn. Zytsi and Daniel are second watch.

That night Zytsi sees an old man dressed in white with long white hair and beard, staff, sandals. Daniel wakes Sir Martyn, who gets dressed. Sir Martyn notices that the old man is somewhat insubstantial. He ignores all the attempts to talk to him. We go slightly closer. It pulsating slightly and is obviously insubstantial. We note that we have camped within a golden glowing area centred on the wagon. An old man is also in the glowing area.

Sir Martyn goes up to 11 feet form the man. The Staff has a black stone on the end of it, Zytsi doesn�t recognise the stone! But it is pulsating, black and blacker. Daniel looks around to make sure there aren�t any more like him. There are creatures moving further away, outside of the glow. They are several 7 ft high humanoid(ish), light grey skin, bald except for a tuft of hair sticking up. They look like they are trying to get in. Sir Martyn decides not to interrupt the old man.

Sir Martyn goes forward and looks at the demons. They are trying to get in to the circle. Sir Martyn�s sword says there are 53 of them. We decide to do nothing for a while and see what happens. The gold globe shrinks slightly, about 1 ft per minute. Sir Martyn has a vision and then carried it out.

Sir Martyn goes with 10 ft of the old man. �About time too� says Ester the Mighty Sage. He has come from afar to seek our aid. Just the three of us, a holy number. To aid him and his land from a great evil. He needs the three of us. He�ll keep the demons at bay and we will travel to a cave 2 miles north of here within which is a glowing pulsating red crystal where we have to place our hands on it and wish to be where he is. Please bring some bacon, I haven�t had me breakfast. The demons were here when he arrived. He is obviously really somewhere else, with others, we can�t see, and he randomly talks to. Randomly forgets what he�s doing and who he is talking to. Wanders down side avenues in the conversation. Wanders back again and so on.

He will create an image of the three us still here and we�ll sneak out the back. We get ready. We go, sneaking OK (mostly). North 2 miles to the obvious cave with the pulsating red glow coming out of it occasionally. There are three slightly reptilian bears outside, don�t look Harnic. Sir Martyn hails them, they growl. Closer.

One of them bites Zytsi lifting him up and shaking him, throws him to the ground and jumps up and down on him. Other than that, it is a mutually ineffectual exchange of blows, but Daniel has his under the effect of his Holding Song. Sir Martyn stands over Zytsi to try to protect him. It the death of a thousand cuts for rather a long time. Zytsi never got up again and eventually passed out through blood loss. Sir Martyn eventually kills one, and then the other. Daniel�s eventually gets a swing at him, but it misses. Daniel eventually killed his, after it had been hit by Sir Martyn a couple of times. The bodies disappear.

Sir Martyn tried to pick the Rook out of Zytsi�s pouch as he did first aid. Zytsi surreptitiously ate some rook. And we go into the cave, find the red crystal link hands on it, and wish to go where Ester the sage is. This thing could have granted any wish we wanted, but we would all have wished for the same thing. We are in Ester�s study. And he is confusing, very old, tends to ramble, major field id physical universe. It a long story.

This is Arcadia. Marak is the name of the bad dude. Melan is the local healing cleric, worships Dianchet (Celtic healing god, worshipped by D&D Friars). Larani is not known here. Melan had a dream from Dianchet and the god said they only way they could defeat Marak would be to summon three heroes to deal with him. So he scouted the local mulitverses and found us, and so he summoned us.

The reward is three pendants, with black rock on that Zytsi doesn�t recognise. They do anything you want, and you�ll be all right so long as you don�t get them recharged.

It�s about 7:30 in the morning. Rest, go, and see Melan after morning prayers. Snotty lesser cleric mouths off slightly at party and Zytsi objects. Old cleric turns up.

Marak turned up about a year ago, started charging tolls to cross the mountains. Claimed to keep down bandits, but their weren�t any before. Ester found out that Marak is an evil sorcerer who is building an army. They sent out the local militia, and they never came back. Presumed turned into Undead. He plans to conquer the universe, starting here. Something to do with summoning a Great Demon on the Isle of Blood. Known base 2 to 2 1/2 days away.

Small wagon, rope, iron spikes, mallets, rook equivalent (20 doses for Sir Martyn) and some other healing herbs (including 100 of the 1d10 ones), grappling hook, dish out herbs,

The Plan. Travel to half a day away, park wagon and scout area. Then well probably walk up to the front door and knock. If we are really lucky, we might climb in the window.

<<Dinner break, early dinner cos Roo was going to a barbecue, its going to be a summer of barbecues>>

Small village, inn, winery, grovette, church, axemaker, Thoric Bloodaxe gregarious old innkeeper with battle-axe above the bar. Doesn�t seem to like Paladins much. Sir Martyn doesn�t enlighten him. He doesn�t like Undead either. Cleric�s work. Well a small military base, but no soldiers.

D&D henchmen turn up in the inn where we are currently drinking. Elf mage (got Fly and Invisible), a dark haired fighter (7th) - mage (10th) Elf (got Fly and Invisible as well), a Dwarf in plate mail (8th - can�t go any higher, it�s a D&D world), two men in black robes Kurt and Knark, Moose is last. He fights, drives wagon, chops wood, cooks, fetch, carries, very strong, talks slow.

Mouse good lad - don�t mention his mother - honest reliable.

Kurt and Knark, assassins, nasty people.

Caster - young ammeter - Elf mage

Silma - hard bastard - Elf fighter/mage

Glorin - dwarf fighter.

So we get 500 GP (like 240 Harnic pence each) WHAT!?!?!?! Ester keeps it in a jar! He gave it to us! Long discussion about money and how (not) to spend it. I�ll sing for money, I�ll sell gems - give me gold.

Mouse - AT 3, OB 180, DB 20, frenzy 80% (wont try to unless told to unless someone mentioned mother), 2h axe, -25 % perception (150% hearing comments about mothers), does double damage. 250 hits, ignores stuns. (Don�t mention mothers OK).

8 GP for singing in the inn. Yes, that�s 1,920 Harnic pennies.

Mouse turns up with wagon; Zytsi and Daniel get in the back of the wagon. Silma and Glorin have horses. Sir Martyn thought about getting a horse, but it would have involved spending money. So he�s in the wagon with us. And we�re Invisible. And if they are expecting three heroes, they will see 3 NPCs.

Cross the local river and there is an ambush, Sir Martyn says. So they slow down and keep going and we run ahead Invisible. It�s a plan. We move at a gentle trot to overtake wagon. Three men in a tree. Sir Martyn and Daniel went left and Zytsi went right. Sir Martyn shouted telling them to them us pass. So he got Firebolted by an Invisible mage, Teleported out first move. Melee ensues, sort of. Arrowing time. Mouse tries to shake one out of a tree. Silma Cold Balls three and he fails versus a Channelling spell and slumps against a tree.

Caster is a 4th level mage; he can do 3 Invisibles a day, but not actually Flying. And Silma is out for the count. Glorin backs out of the expedition. Zytsi nicks Sir Martyn gold, but he noticed - so did Glorin. (and taking the gold from the cleric). Divvy up the gear. Mouse gets the magic ring and Zytsi gets the mace. The only magic items, not evil.

Off we go again, sans Glorin and Silma but gaining Caster and keeping. We are all in the wagon. First watch is Caster and Sir Martyn. Zytsi and Daniel are second watch. First day travel uneventful. First watch - broken twig followed by �Shit� and it goes unnaturally quiet. �Wake up� says Sir Martyn. Moose wakes up as does Daniel - grab sword and shield. One closes on Sir Martyn, and one of Caster, smash there goes Caster. They are actually quite tough, but one got Moosed, Zytsi eventually woke up and attacked the one on Sir Martyn. It dies, we burn them. Heal Casters broken hip (3 days - bad luck) and all his hit points back.

Next day Sir Martyn senses a big ambush. �Its OK we are going back. You can keep this world, its crap.�� Turn the wagon round, and return. Do we go back and find out if it really was an ambush. No. Do we stay, or do we go? This is a tough world! Back to the village, two days back. So we go back.

Kurt and Nark at the village gate, again. Try to explain to Ester that we aren�t his great heroes. It�s too early, because he supposed summon demon and then we kill him and it like in all the best stories. Do we go, or do we stay. A knock on the door, a lad with a note �I�ll deal with the demons for 60,000. A Friend.� Faf, faf, the red wine didn�t help.

Turns out the mage that got a way. And Marak is a Mountain Troll, with dogs. So we�ve got a hitchhiker. Evil magician wants to leave; you know what happens to Evil Bad Dudes. He was in charge of the ambush and followed us Flying and Invisible with a Listen spell. Heard us talking about being rich, but didn�t realise it is on the currency conversion rates. Vaguely friendly.

Two days later, we leave. With the magic user. Time passes at about a minute here for a day there, so it�s over by now. End up back in the campsite. The mage reads the scroll of Protection from Demons and Devils, lasts for concentration. Wait until wagon enabled and leave. Well that�s the plan. Leave it there.

(Moose was a half troll werebear. The spy was the snotty cleric not Kurt and Nerk.)