A side adventure: Home, Sweet Home!

Adventure Journal: Day One, home at last!

Home is where the heart is!

Glad to be back on Corvis, we immediately went to check in with father Dumas of the church of Morrow. He was greatly happy to see us again but looked quite shaken by the news of Pallas' death.

Getting down to business, Father Dumas told us that the church had heard news of Alexia's where abouts and although she had once again disappeared, her trail had led investigators to an old church library that had been recently attacked and it appeared that several tomes had been taken, which ones nobody knew for sure.

With nothing solid to go on and the promise that the good father would get word to us when he found out more we were left to our own devices for a time. Or so we thought.

I chose to go and see Hannah Solomon, whom had crafted the fine studded leather that by now many times saved my life. She remembered me and offered to maintenance my gear for free as well as sizing me up for a new finely crafted Dagger whip. I have to say that for all of the combat, death and betrayal that I have witnessed since coming to Corvis I am constantly amazed by the outright kindness shown to us by the few Corvites that I would call friend.

It was while we were relaxing that a note came to us from whom we suspected at the time was from Captain Hellstrom. The note wanted us to go to the

Upon meeting the man at the Falling Star who's name was Draegyn, the Black Bastard, we found out that he was working for an as of yet confirmed employer that wanted us to retrieve an item of some worth from a Griffin warehouse called a Thunder wicket. We knew that he wasn't telling us everything, but could not pass up the chance to hurt the Griffins and with the conviction that Pallas would have wanted it that way, we accepted the mission.

We arrived at the seemingly abandoned warehouse and ever pippy Solomon told us that he could enter the building unseen and open the doors for us. I objected to letting him go it alone but he insisted, saying that my even my formidable skills would only prove to hamper his efforts. Thus Solly slipped off into the night and we waited for a signal.

Many minutes passed and we were trying to figure out a plan of action when we heard a little voice from within the factory cry "I surrender!". So we did what any experienced group of adventurers would do ... we charged headlong in through the front doors!

In the darkness of the interior we went, our only guide being a magically lit arrow that Elezain had shot into the ceiling as we entered. Cyric and I threaded our way to the fiery arrow while Elezain and Jesse went on into the darkness.

Suddenly lanterns were struck up everywhere and we were ambushed by upwards of forty brigands and as I later found out, one steam jack!

Cyric and I took up a defensive position in the nearest alcove and awaited the throng of petty thieves, while Elezain needing no encouragement started dropping them with alarming accuracy. Jesse as it would turn out would be the first of our party to encounter the steam jack and as one could imagine it did not go well for her.

Cynic's heavy mace tore into any thief brave enough to stand in his way but sadly there was too many and one by one little blades found the gaps in his splinted armour and he fell under a press of bodies. With Cyric down, and a very large steam jack approaching (which by the way was called "Thunder Wicket!" by its controller), all I could do was pull myself up a low hanging chain and hope that I could get to Cyric before his spirit left for the promised oblivion that awaited him. It was then that we noticed the small form of Solomon tied to the Steam Jacks mighty frame, beaten and unconscious.

Perhaps luck was with us because even as I hung from the chains below the gantry way, Thunder Wicket tried to swat me down and instead brought down a large section of the walkway that in turn started a chain reaction that actually toppled not only a main chimney but the first floor itself!

A giant pit had opened up under the feet of the combatants and luckily the majority of the thugs lost their will to fight leaving me free to jump down into the lower floor and try to stabilise Cyric. Those who did live found themselves knee deep in a thickly foul running water up to their knees or worse.

Elezain continued to fire Upon the Steam Jack operator but luck favours the bold sometimes and the Griffin leader kept on coming toward where Elezain had taken up position on the original walkway now two floors up! Seeing that Elezain's arrows were not stopping the madman whom we later found out was appropriately named "Malek The Mad!". In the confusion

With Cyric now stable but still unconscious, I steadied my aim with my light crossbow and just when Thunder Wicket was raising up his master, with the use of his hands, to the upper floor to assault Elezain I let loose my bolt which struck Malek in the centre of his back tearing apart flesh and bone leaving the madman clawing uselessly at his back. Elezain not wasting any time put two more arrows into the leaders chest for good measure. Silencing him once and for all.

Solomon meanwhile had freed himself from the lumbering Thunder Wicket and ran to help Jesse from drowning in the murky waters that flooded the lower floor.

With only myself, Elezain and Solomon left standing, I figured that the only hope of getting us all out alive was to try to get the Steam Jack under our control to help with the wounded. Sadly I did not account for the machines protective systems and it came to life and knocked me to the ground and then went silent again, leaving myself badly battered and out cold!

When I came too, I was being forced to swallow some thick, semi-sweet fluid that brought me from the oblivion that Cyric always talks about, to the mind numbing pain of my current predicament. It was after finding out that it was indeed Kit the Pole man that had come to our aid with healing potions and after filling in the rest of the group as well as kit on the situation when we noticed that Soly was not to be found.

Elezain had not too many kind words for the wee folk and thought that the halfling had merely run when it had been convenient but after seeing himself risk his life to stabilise poor Jesse, I thought that there might be another reason for his absence.

We then found poor Solomon's body on the upper floor as we were leaving the factory. His little frame curled in a permanent stiff agony, clutching his hand which was discoloured and blue. Nestled in his grim semi-circular pose was a chest from which out of the key hose dangled three limp little blades, Soly's killer!

On with the show!

We made our way back to the Unicorn tavern owned by Master Burbitch a good friend of mine. For despite my many wounds and brush with death I had promised to perform at the Unicorn and I would not renege an appointment. Some of the less devout patrons were already heading out into the evening but the sight of me and the promise of a performance sent them back into the Inn and ready for the show.

Not one of my best performances what with my wounds still stinging with the effort of the muse but the crowd seemed well pleased and I made a decent return on my efforts.

The next day I was surprised to see that I was being challenged to play at the prestigious Academia of Musica in a duel of sorts against their prize student Rodrigo Belmonte in one days time. Well I am not suprised, I had never heard of him either!

The next day Jesse and I rushed about getting the proper attire so as not to insult the gathered personages, while the others prepared scrolls and other such adventuring needs.

The night of the "duel" I have to admit that I had become nervous and sought out the up and coming composer Heinrich Hess in the hopes that I could get an idea of what the upper crust would look for in a musician.

Heinrich was very approachable and had tried to look me up earlier in the hopes of writing a piece for my flute. Heinrich also made it quite clear that this was very much a set up and I could expect to have a very rough time of it. I think that I have found an ally in Heinrich and I hope that together we will go far. As for the evenings encounter I decided to make the best of a bad situation and vowed that the assembled onlookers would be forced to at least admire my courage if not my natural musical talents.

Before the curtain went up, I was introduced to Rodrigo Belmonte by the Lord Xavier Winters. Lord Xavier was the director of the Academia and was as haughty as I had imagined. Rodrigo seemed no older than I and underneath his stiff, formal countenance I was able to see that perhaps he was as nervous as myself.

We were to play 5 rounds of head to head songs with the overall winner being the performer who had the most success in each of the given rounds. As the challenged I elected to go second so I could better size up my opponent. He was good!

But I proved better, at least in the first round but in an effort to win over not only the crowd but my nemesis himself I tried to be as openly friendly as possible so it would not be said that I had been rude or in any way disgraced the Gypsy muse. Even when my opponent did not play well as me I prompted applause and saw that I was winning over both the crowd and Rodrigo.

In the last set I started to loose myself in my music as sometimes happens and when I came to I heard not the roaring applause that I had expected but the unearthly roaring of some hideous humanoid clad in armour and great horned helm. How did we come to be standing in the middle of an open plain with the sound of a distant closing army rushing towards us?

The Devil came to Corvis, looking for a soul to steal...

Had my performance attracted the wrath of Eldamar's enemies? Perhaps we will never know. The beast introduced himself as the Horned One and he was after the pups of Eldamar. Yup, that'd be us!

We charged into action and were beating him down quite handily when the Horned One suddenly plunged his sword into the stone and his flesh started to turn to stone and even as the transformation took place a second form to burst out from the stone, all the while we were all being raised in to the sky on a rocky platform in a rough circle which rose two hundred feet in to the endless sky.

We laid into the second creature with reckless abandon, still flushed with our previous victory and the second creature went down easier than the first.

Sadly our victory was short lived as the Horned One again animated and this time his body sprouted foot long thorns of living rock.

This time he was the combined strength of each of the previous foes and we were hard pressed to hurt him. With a roar the Horned on caused Elezain to fly up into the air about forty feet before letting him drop, hard.

Elezain, barely alive drew back his bow of Eldamar and I put the note of the tempest on to the shaft as it flew toward the Horned One but he was still holding the sword that was stuck into the platforms surface and was not blown off of the edge.

We fought then with out hope as one by one my companions were cut down and when all seemed lost the Horned One stumbled near the edge and once again we tried to use the combined power of Eldamars bow and flute. I used my flute to put the note of the Tempest on Elezains arrow and his shot did not miss, striking the demon in the chest causing him to stagger toward the edge but in a flash of movement he brought down the sword into the rocky ledge and it held.

Without a word the last of us charged the demon as he tried to haul himself up and on to the ledge. Our combined weight and a well placed blow by Jesse toppled him over the edge but in out haste we almost lost Elezain as he was almost dragged to his death by the falling demon. Luckily I grabbed him before he fell to his death and with the help of Jesse dragged him back onto the platform.

We now gathered where the platform and the stairs met to meet the onrushing hoards of demonic minions but as the horned ones body hit the plain below and shattered the platform started to spin and in a blur of colour and movement we suddenly found ourselves standing back in the music hall and all of the assembled people around us frozen as if time stood still.

We quickly got to the places where we thought we had been before our demonic encounter and suddenly everybody stirred and I suppose that to them it would seem as though I had stopped playing and ruined my performance.

Hoping to make the best of a bad situation I spoke out against the faculty that would pit two fine musicians one against the other and that since music was the language of the soul then we mere orators of the muse should be combining our talents in joyous harmony instead of lashing out at each other in discord!

Lord Xavier Winters perhaps seeing through my attempt to cover the abrupt ending of my performance, spoke out against me saying that I was unfit to play on stage. I in turn told him that only a man without knowing the pleasure of the muse would demand such a conflict between musicians. I thought I was about to be pulled from the stage when Rodrigo himself stood between us and said that he agreed with me and would be honoured to perform a duet with a musician of my skill.

We played for them like we had not played all evening long. The threat of losing behind us we struck the greatest harmony of the evening and there was not a dry eye in the house.