List Pages
Xelios Entry 1
Readying 4th
Apparently I didn’t quite understand the danger I was getting myself into… I approached the Silver Phoenix group with ambition and desire to do good for the sake of Cauldron. I had grown tired of the stuffy confines of the school’s classrooms, dormitories and libraries; as well as the stuffiness of a few choice faculty members as well. Their profession is a dangerous one indeed. I had no idea until I had decided to show them that I myself am worthy.
First and foremost, I was surprised; I had not expected them to have such a vast amount of raw wealth. Everything they seemed to carry was made well. I met them in a bar and nearly stumbled into one of them who had fashioned himself to appear as some extra planar angelic creature. Stunned I approached their table and sat, mostly unnoticed, directly under their noses as they ordered their drink. A bit of time passed and Hannelora attracted their attention. The little boisterous Flannigaul was quick to make me feel at home as the drunken dwarf seemed to reel and toss as he couldn’t comprehend the idea of two elves appearing before him.
Flannigaul and I became lost in conversation on the topic of the elemental planes. I was explaining to him that on the elemental plane of fire it seems that the creatures don’t float in everlasting flame, they are made of flame and even though fire is not a supportive thing they are allowed to move through it as though it were water and upon it as though it were earth. The dwarf Kort the Grey, didn’t seem to take too kindly to my learned banter with his equally learned friend. I’ll admit, I did get a bit sidetracked but luckily Hannelora reiterated why we had come… To join the Silver Phoenix Adventuring Company!
Hannelora and I sipped wine as we chatted up our new acquaintances. For some reason the dwarf seemed very angry at me from time to time. I was only enjoying the conversation with the little bardic fellow. Hannalore finally cut to the chase and we were introduced and the angelic man Asuni seemed accepting enough, but they wanted to know what I was skilled at. “Blowing things up!” I happily exclaimed, this caught the dwarf’s attention. He was eager to see me ‘blow things up’ and I was just as eager to show him the power of Evocation. Hannelora then mentioned something about silk tabards… I didn’t quite follow, but the SPAC seemed to like the idea and began to talk fabric and design. Hannelora knew where to go and they told us to meet them at their home in the morning. Ha ha! We are in!
The next day Hannelora and I found ourselves standing in front of the home of the SPAC as they prepared to go shopping for new outfits! What odd people to be so interested in their costumes, when more than likely they will only end up tattered, but judging from these men’s wealth that money is negligible. I only hope I can one day wear a tattered tabard upon my tunic! We made our way into the shopping district where Hannelora led us to a cloth merchant.
I spoke with the cloth merchant about the origins of his wares, he was very knowledgeable about his cloth. I wandered while Grumble sat outside and, well, grumbled… I waited for the others when a loud crashing noise accompanied by screams echoed through the market. We raced outside to see a large insect like creature tearing down a warehouse! I raced through my memory for any sign of knowledge about this thing. I seem to recall something about a mesmerizing gaze. We strafed around the beast and crowds of confused people trying to find a decent vantage point.
I found cover behind a building and began my magic. I worked up an orb of fire to roll around beneath its feet to keep it moving and then launched my homing energy at it from afar. Asuni took after it and began to rage at its lumbering body before we all watched as it dug into the earth like a hot knife through so much lard.
The beast reemerged near me and I was instantly struck dumb. Its gaze threw my mind into a tizzy and I saw opponents all around. I lashed out, flinging energy in various directions. Something attacked me and I threw electrical energy through it and heard sizzling and smelled burnt ham. I continued my fight and before long my mind cleared and I saw that the burned smell wasn’t opponents, now I seemed to be faced with a group of guards and my aid, Hannelora gone from the scene.
Thinking swiftly I used my wand of Charming to try to reason with the guard, but to no avail, seeing that they were unaffected I dropped my wand and offered my surrender. It took the intervention of Flannigaul to convince the guards not to kill me, then as they escorted me away I noticed that they had Hannelora as well? The MTA appeared and took me from the guards and into their custody. I will admit, it’s the least of what I deserve for the atrocities that I have caused; those unfortunate to cross the path of my spells are now dead.
A preliminary trial was held and luckily Flannigaul offered to defend me, thankfully his gilded tongue earned me a trial and no need for bail. He was so persuasive that I nearly thought myself innocent. But I will not allow myself to be fooled, I am now a murderer, intentional or not. The court put me into Flannigaul’s hands for the time being, I will serve him and his order to pay back my debt to society. Now first I must pay back my debt to my victims.
I made my way to the home of the first victim, hoping to offer up reparations to his widow. Once there I knocked and a weeping woman answered. I explained what happened and tried to console her, but to no avail, she seemed hurt, but she accepted my payment for her husband’s funeral. After that horrific attempt to make amends I decided to forward the money individually so as not to be reminded further of my deed by watching their tear filled faces.
I returned to the SPAC headquarters alongside Flannigaul and then followed him to the scene of the crime where during an extensive search I found a pair of riding boots for Flannigaul to scry upon. Otherwise nothing of interest. We made our way to the bar. While sitting and talking of problems foreseen and yet to come a comely young woman approached us with a notice and an invitation to meet her at The Cusp of Sunrise, a rather swank dining establishment, we were to look for Celest and an older dwarf by the name of Davked Splintershield on the next eve.
The next day Hannelora insisted I take her shopping, I explained that I was now short of cash due to the reparations. She understood and still insisted on going to the jewelers. I escorted her there and watched as she picked out a new necklace. Happy to just watch her enjoy herself I sat and waited until we could go and meet our new friends. I thought it pertinent to venture to the tailor to get some nice clothes for this event. The day was otherwise uneventful and we all gathered to go to the Cusp of Sunrise.
The Cusp was full of higher ups and snob noses gambling and betting on the silliest of things. I found my way to a table where dice were being rolled and joined Flannigaul in a game of chance. After a good round of rolls, I lost my money and went about looking around. After a bit of awkward silence the five of us gathered and went to find Celest. It didn’t take long and the lovely woman led us into a back room with a gnarled and crumpled old dwarf looking like a corpse. This was Davked Splintershield.
He told us a tale of the adventurers entering the underdark and their ill fate. He told us the sad tale of him running off his own sons and the curse that their mother laid upon him. He told us of many sad turns in his life. He then gave us his quest, to find his last son within the underdark to bring him back so that Davked could make amends and finally die peacefully. He also told us of payment. I must confess, the payment made the job acceptable. I look forward to this, now we must prepare.