Logo Onyxfist
Orcstriker Pursuivant Logo Onyxfist
Overview
Logo is the son of a Mountain Dwarf General who has chosen another path to that which is father wanted for him. He seeks to establish himself as a skilled Merchant or Trader, but in truth is hoping to develop a network of thieves, informants, spies and assassins that can cement his position both as a Castellan Lord (as a Warrior) and a Gem-Master - (as a Thief) in the local area near enough to Kharazad to be a nuisance and of benefit to his clan.
Alignment
Neutral Good
Age
79
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
Silver and Brown
Hair
Brown to Red
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Tanned
Height
4' 9"
6. Into Town
Logo, Year of the Mithril Griffin
Deciding to rest up for a while, we were put up in Ramkin’s own house, and found him to be both conversational and a great socialite. He indicated that the town had been having problems completing a census. With the Moonstruck event changing races, memory conditions, and even slaying of citizens the need to determine exactly who was in the town became a necessity. However, there were several houses that had resulted in the entire census team sent being destroyed. We progressed through the houses, in the first we befriended a mimic, and secured a vampire slaying kit, in the second we found a group of thieves seeking to establish a rogue guild. Clearing the house resulted in all of them being slain - along with evidence of gruesome death chambers and mortuaries being developed on site - unfortunately the lead Rogue escaped after stealing coins from us. He is still at large.
The thieves house showed that the guild had been duplicating official seals of city watch and senior officers. In checking the origins of one we discovered that the guard unit he was in charge of were now all werewolves and we swiftly performed a tactical withdraw to silver our weapons.
We started looking at houses and warehouses for the furthering of Merchant Trains being established.
5. Into the Woods We Go
Logo, Year of the Mithril Griffin
Being contacted by Ramkin, the Arch-mage of Pavis, we are swiftly debriefed and given horses along with a Pursuit Quest Directive. Sparrow, a Ranger from the Ranger Corps was also seconded to us for our missions in Sylvanik, and we retired Terwin with a mountain of silver coins, despite his causing of only 3 hit points of damage throughout the entire dungeon.
It was soon discovered that the local Wheelwrights Guild had had a windfall - several carts were sold all in one day and then driven by suspicious men out of the city after they were loaded from an empty warehouse.
Riding hard across the Singing Span - an ever growing bridge across the Pavian River, we caught up with the carts, and dealt with those driving them. We defeated the caltrop throwing, cart driving bandits, a total of nine of them counting the leader, all carrying gems, an incredibly rare commodity at the Devil Ward Corner - an ensorcelled area that effectively protects the Pavis area from any summoned creatures. We secured most of the swords we sent them back to town, and proceeded to track the remaining blades. Sparrow showed his worth taking us through the woods before I accidentally set off a trap destroying a bridge. But succeeded in getting us to a remote jail based in the Forest.
Finding the jail area, we started clearing it but walked straight into the Djinn, Jal Karneth, who in a single stroke reduced Marconian to 4 hit points, and almost killed Sparrow. Karneth ordered us to bow, and hand over any and all magical items that we controlled. This Marconian ordered us to do, and the Djinn took the spear and silver longsword from us before shutting the door.
Performing a tactical withdrawl we returned to Pavis to rest and recover - planning to go back the next day, once we had been fully rested up.
4. Into the Fey Fray
Logo, Year of the Mithril Griffin
It was at this point that we noted why the Enforcer had been in the area - he was interrogating a Druid, a member of the Order of the Elm Circle, normally based in the Invisible City of Gyges (The City of the Ring), but who had been put on secondment into Pavis to help develop a Circle of Power in the Eastern part of Sylvanik Forest. The Druid was of course a female, and a descendant of a Dryad - but in this case an Elven Dryadic form. She had green hair, with her hair matching the season, Drussia, was happy to help us after we freed her from her captors. They had dragged her down here as a form of torture after finding her near their Sylvanik Forest base. After healing all that she could Drussia proved herself highly effective with a bow and soon impressed everyone - as a Druid of Artemis - her archery had a particularly vengeful accuracy to it. We bested two more sets of Orcs and then settled between patrols to rest.
Once rested we approached a junction, to find Orcs arguing among themselves, these were not just carrying Pavian Longswords but also crates of the same - with our group soon securing over 20 of these finely forged and clearly marked Pavian Blades- the Orcs had somehow found PLUNDER.
Plunder was the code name for the Pavis Legion Under - the entire command of the legion was based below the Town of Pavis, acting as a secret army base ready to be manned at a moments notice and double the towns combat forces. Pavis was secretly a command centre for the Eastern Atlantean forces - placed at a chokepoint between the Dwarven Escarpment, the Centre Reach, and the only land route from the Slaver Lands.
Moving through double-doors we found more weapon crates, and signs of the secret entrance into Plunder having been opened.
We continued on, concerned about what we would find, and again throughout the fight - Terwin only scratched his opponent once. Reaching the level of Plunder, we stood before a fully operational Dwarven Fortress. We swiftly fought for control of a Greek Fire dispursing Ballista - capable of firing Greek fire throughout the pillars of the fortress, and approached the main gates of the fortress, only to find a Stone Atlantid Golem moving towards us and requesting orders from a ‘new commander’. Marconian was being recognised as a high ranking official of the Atlantis Armed Forces! He placed the entire Fortress on Alert and reconnected the Portal that gave us access to the surface.
The City was overjoyed, not only had we stopped taking over of their Command Centre, but had stopped the looting of the armory. Only now did we find that the Orcs had in fact taken over 600 swords of Atlantean Steel and Suits of Legion Armor. It was time to secure them before they were used by the Orcs to invade en masse against Atlantis whilst armed with the same high quality war gear.
3. Into the Shit
Logo, Year of the Mithril Griffin
The Knight in Shining Armor and Shit slowly arose and staggered around, when he removed his helm I could see he was an Atlantean Celestial - an Emhydrian Human - blue eyed and built like a flesh golem on steroids, he hadn’t noticed Terwin and I yet, as we were still hiding in the shadow of the culvert outflow pipes. He searched the partly skeltized corpse of the official and had pocketed everything, I could see he was lost, not just lost in terms of his current location, but lost mentally as well - he had been Moonstruck.
We quickly decided to form an alliance - with his sheer strength we had a good chance now of surviving the numerous orcs and their commanders in the sewers. What we had noted was that the Orcs were organised - highly organised, and incredibly strong, at least three times a normal orcs power. It was the Moonstruck event - many had been changed not only in mentality but in physical form as well. Some had transformed into totally different races - and had awoken as humanoids, or even undead. Some had transformed in some minor fashion, changing hair color and vision, some had lost their identities, some had even changed profession over night. No one knew why or how this had happened. Only that it HAD happened In Marconian’s case he had lost all knowledge except his name and some memories about a shipwreck. But he had a Coat of Arms that I recognised - a Mark - the Mark of a Flaming Arrow that I had seen in Cadiz. This was no coincidence.
We made our way towards the first small group of Orcs, and felled them swiftly. We noticed that they were all armed with Pavis (Pavian Blades) and Pavian Shields - bearing the Pavis Coat of Arms. This could only mean that the bearers had at some point been in one of the Pavian Legions. Yet still we succeeded in killing them. Now growing in confidence we made our way to the next group and pounced. It was hard going, and at this point I had noticed that Terwin was useless. He managed to scratch one orc only once in the entire battle. Marconian showed how well he could soak up the damage, we continued.
The next group was the worst - a Lieutenant and a Captain launched themselves at Marconian who was able to best them, and at this point we found a fully silver long sword - very strange in design and etched in unusual runes and writings. Yet Marconian did not use it - simply putting it in among the other weaponry that we had collected. He also found a spear, but the tip of it was untarnished and I could not make out whether it was magical or not - again it was packed in with the rest of the weapons.
Growing in confidence even more we set the next group to rout, and it was at this point that we noted how many injuries Marconian had actually suffered, this was getting serious. Right on cue we received both a curse and a blessing, an Orc Enforcer stepped to the fore - armored in Banded Armor and wielding a Two handed Blade of Pavian Legion issue - strikes from this would hurt - we should have backed off into the sewer’s narrower areas but instead stood our ground in another culvert cistern area with enough space for the huge blade to be swung at us. Marconian bested the Enforcer and noted the presence of an Unholy Symbol - the symbol of the Orc Clan known as the Broken Moon. It took very little for us to realise how the events in the heavens above us a mere three weeks earlier would have inspired this particular tribe to be so brazen as to invade the inner city cisterns of Pavis - this was starting to look like an invasion. But now what? Wounded more seriously than ever - Marconian could not continue for much longer.
2. Into the Fire
Logo, Year of the Mithril Griffin
The feedback from my people was not as bad as I had expected. My father, General Drogo ‘Doomfeller’ Onyxfist of the Gevorgun Clan, was excited, even happy for some reason. I was soon to know why. But what I was most concerned of was that the guarantees of the Fourth of the Fourth Traders had come to nothing in protecting my cargo.
My people had set a task of atonement in the form of a manhunt and protection task from the Dwarven Triskelion Order I was now directed to find the Ninth. I had assumed it impossible - the Ninth was the penultimate son of a Celestial (one of several races including the Elves and the Noble Atlanteans, basically a quarter of the population) and my role was to bodyguard the boy. Basically to find a single human being among thousands. All that they would advise me of was that he was being carried aboard an Elven Vessel from Cadiz, but also gave me a single Tetraktyan Prophecy indicating that I was fated to find him.
Fall
Doom Marks
Son’s Orb Thru
Eye Can N’er Age
Apparently they had interpreted the nonsense as the son of Doomfeller who happens to lose his eye during a calamity to something that never truly ages (like the moon), and they went on to say that the Ninth would have some sort of Mark on him, to show he was someone who can N’er Age’(basically an Immortal or Celestial). But I had seen versions of the same poem that had Sun’s Orb - and it had spelled doom to those who had seen it through the hole (Eye) of the Moon Mountain. But who knows with these prophecies.
I later learned that my father had taken the story of my loss of my left eye as a sign from Hephaestus that I was the son who was being referred to in the ancient prophecy because my eye was the only Dwarven eye to have been lost at this time, and he felt that I had finally honored the Clan in some way, and the Elven Triskelion had heaped praises of my selfless helping of their people during the Moonstruck Hit to bring honor on all Dwarves for our compassion. They are in my debt for the first time.
The Thieves Guild took me and gave me a babysitting task - to take care of a Novice Rogue called Terwin, to aid him in finding two rogues who had been on lookout duty in the sewers. So now I was ankle deep again - this time in human shit. We skulked and scouted throughout the sewers of Pavia (known locally as Pavis - apparently the initial Charter to the Town had been mis-spelled as Pavis and the local community had retained it. Others in the Kingdom still call it Pavia.), and were horrified to find it being patrolled by Orcs and Orc Commanders. For three days we made our way carefully through the sewers looking for any signs of the lost rogues with no luck. Timing our movements to the patrols we eventually came to the western mid-line section of the sewer system only to find it now blocked with a collapsed section of the culvert. There was now no way to get out of the sewer without backtracking through the entire network - and we noted that the Orcs had greatly increased their activities in the area. But Terwin and I noted beneath the collapse with a caved in skull was an official of some sort and atop a pile of debris was a suit of field plate armor, it’s wearer was delirious but recovering. We were discussing what to do with our find, when the armor wearer stirred. I had found the Ninth!
1. Into the Frying Pan
Logo, Year of the Mithril Griffin
In Zuemon, at the start of the month I was finally given a mission of trust by me Dah. He had me act as a Gemporter to the Ithil Elven Enclave in Cadiz. I had to take a series of Ingots and Gemstones from the Spectrum Forges of the Northern Ramparts to be assayed by their smiths and crafters. Few Dwarfkin can tolerate this place - no Dwarves, full of Moon Elves ready to critique the purity of our ingots and gems from their sky piercing towers, all built on a floating city that travels up and down the Western Reach Coast. All the things we don’t like - in one place.
I arranged the security with the Fourth of the Fourth Traders - a Trading Company with Thieves Guild Connections in Pavia Riverrton. The journey there by boat was largely eventless, with my stomach contents seeming to be continually sacrificing themselves to the Ocean as we followed the coast by Carrack.
On arrival I handed over my precious charges to the Elven Gemfondlers and Ingottesters giving myself time to seek out the local Thieves Guild, only to be told no such Guild existed in Cadiz. As expected, I could feel the city move with every wave and gust of wind, initially it was like being a piece of lard being melted in a frying pan = tossed about everywhere.
Three nights later, whilst atop one of the spires, I witnessed the shattering of the Moon. The entire city was pushed below the waves upon which it was suspended, with many children being lost in the first few moments, the force of the weight was as if the entire moon had been suddenly placed upon my back and I was driven to my knees, and passed out. Within moments I awoke to a sheer agonizing pain as my left eye was suddenly wrenched from it’s socket, and I passed out once more. Many dwarves are blessed to be born with only one eye - as is our lot to replace the Cyclops at Hephaestus’s forge. Long has my father wished that this would befall me and so I was grateful for the blessing until I saw the remnants of the city. Some had been literally pulped by the forces brought to bear on their backs, my knees had been broken, and my shins cracked by the force of the blow.
It took three days and three nights of continuous labor to find the dead, and injured. I worked tirelessly helping strengthen weakened structrues and salvage both bodies and belongings from the disaster. The Ithil Elves - the people of the moon were in shock - with some priestesses of Artemis hurling themselves from their towers in grief. The mountain of the moon in the East stood silent and glowing in red for all of this time.
On the fourth day Moonshards fell among the City spires glittering and clinking as they fell like crystals, yet none harmed a single individual when landing in the city. I still have a handful of them in my pack to this day. On the fifth day a cloaked Elven scout approached me and gave me a new deck of cards - a sign that I had been accepted into the Cadiz Elven Thieves Guild, which they call House Lesheraith, here I was the first Dwarf ever accepted into the rumored 13th House of the Elven Race. I left the city later that night after my initiation, carrying what remained of my ingots and gems along with the fee that had been promised for what they had wanted.
Ten days later I was in sight of Pavia Rivertton - and slept a deep sleep, only to awake and find everything gone - no gems, no ingots, no honor, no future with my clan until my worth is returned in some way.
I met with the Fourth and they could do nothing, the Pavians had been hit by the Moonstruck event even harder than the Elves and I joined the guild to at least have a roof over my head.
8. Into the Pyramid
Logo Onyxfist
Returning successfully to Archmage Ramkin, he informed us that the city was now running low on the funds he had been using to reward us. But he had gathered the information about the Aubaydi - they were planning some big form of sacrifice at a distant point known as the Lesser Pyramid of the Moon. We had to intercept a junior messenger who had a portable access portal to the Pyramid, and off we went. Ramkin got us to a small oasis somewhere in some god-forsaken desert. We raided the cave complex near it's source, only to find it filled with elite Bugbear warriors using Pavian equipment. The best in armor and swords, but even worse, they were using their position to poison the local oasis and had developed means by which to use both the copper ore of the area and the copper overflows to turn the waters toxic. In defeating the forces, unfortunately the Pavis based spy was killed in combat - through absolutely no fault of ours. We were totally on the other side of the complex when it happened - but we did hear about it.
The poisoning elements were not well put together - and the notes not properly followed - with time we can perfect it ourselves for some form of contact poison but it will take time.
The messenger was found and we got the portal stone needed. After having been debriefed back at town - we portalled to the Pyramid to find it well manned with Sand Stalkers. They were Soul Bound to the areas that they guarded and this made them much more manageable but in no way did we wish to use the amulets of silver sand they all had on them. In killing each group it was strange to find them always chanting the same thing over and over again.
We got to the transfer section of the pyramid and only just stopped the transfer of our missing sword and other items - soon it was noted that had the transfer occurred - not only would we have lost the blade and sections of some object later noted as an artifact - but also would have animated the entire mummy corpses in the pyramid.
We succeeded once more in defeating the opponents with our druid doing great - using Hold Person. It was then that we found the real danger - an Ogre suddenly going crazy destroying canopic jars - luckily we got him just in time (14% left before some form of evil god was to have been summoned - or so they say.) Luck continues to favor us - far more than many would ever believe possible.
7. Into the Mansion & Mine
Logo Onyxfist
At the request of the Archmage Ramkin, we entered into the Eastern Sylvanik Forest with the goal of investigating why the Demense of the Ferrumary of Pavis had ceased paying its tithes, taxes and gifts to the City of Pavis, as well as there being a complete drop of iron and gem production in the area. My father had stated that part of my return to honor in the Clan would be based on returning at least one enterprise of value to the Kharazad Kingdom back into production. This may be my chance.
We left the City seeking to confront the local lord of the Demesne only to find Apollonian Werewolves in the midst of doing the same. Apparently they were the same Werewolves we had encountered in the City Guard - they had not been evil at all but rather had been seeking to locate the source of a new rogues guild or assassins guild that was seeking to undermine the city watch. We teamed up and proceeded to enter the Meregone Mansion - a beautiful home. Every inhabitant had been turned into a lycanthrope - every single nobleman and noblewoman was a snarling beast with the moon in such disarray of late.
We slew them all - all were from noble families and had long given up on their own humanity. We found some had been trying to cure themselves using rays of light and lens of light adjustment - trying in vain to use the light of Apollo to heal themselves.These lens are fascinating, and I wonder if any of them would have some application beyond scouting - perhaps as a sighting device on crossbows or some-such who knows.
We cleared the mansion, finding tapestries, rugs, chandeliers, dinner sets, foods, clothing and bedding, let alone furnishings worth thousands upon thousands of gold in value. All to be used in the new Demesne. The fortifications that had been started were doomed from the start - even a dwarven child of 9 would be able to construct better.
The mine entrance was derelict, but covered in silver - as if made of solid silver - but a strong mist was shimmering from the entrance. It was a pump of silver impregnated holy water being sprayed continuously through nozzles - the bandits who had taken over the mine had found a way to stay werewolf free - a shower of silver and holy water as a curtain and deluge of protection. But my poison sense told me there was something else in the water, something slightly toxic - but not anything that would affect us over a short period of time. These guys had mixed trjega zilvren (mercury) into the zilvern (silver)
Entering the Mine we were assaulted by Bandits who had taken over the mining operations, only to find the Bandits fighting in teams, distracting and splitting us up - almost as if trying to move us towards certain parts of the mine - when the first part was blown up - I realized that they had rigged the whole area with explosive traps. The madness in some of their eyes showed me they had succumbed to both the fear of imminent lycanthrope attack and the mercury poisoning. End result - suicidal bandits in an enclosed space.
We worked our way through the mine, avoiding explosions where possible and luckily no cave-ins. But on the last section, something didn;t feel right. Marconian had has hang back and secure whomsoever came out - only to find someone had remained behind with barrels of explosive material. The whole place came down around us and we luckily got out - but only through not having kicked in the door to that last area and running in. Marconian's choice had been the right one. But now - I have a mine to fix and favors to pull in - just to get it all up and running again.
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