Vikos and Javair at the Storm Gates
Dutton Hobbs Comes Calling - Cameo's Armies of Doom
When the Master Calls - He Who Guards the Key - The Mountain of Man
Javair sat and stared at the painting. He had the strangest feeling that something was staring back at him...back at him out of the painting. It was framed, and depicted a tall fortified square tower, on the other side of a bridge spanning a deep rift between two mountains. Javair smiled. How had he not realized this was a painting by Molene the Sage, one of the last of a dying breed of pigment wizards. The snow appeared to be falling in the painting, such was the detail of the brushstrokes, and the perfection of the image.
How long had this painting been hanging on the wall in the Great Hall of the Azure Keep? Javair had hung it there himself when he first moved into the Keep. For this past year it had hung there. And now Will, Kit, Zeek...and the others in the party of adventurers that had been a curse and a blessing for Javair...now they bring forward the news that this is a painting by Molene. Worse yet, they suggest that the tower is occupied by the Blood Mage Vendra, dealer-with-demons, and that Molene's magic may allow Vendra to spy on Javair and his hall...right through the painting!
Javair touched his tunic just below his neckline, and traced the outlines of the six keys hanging from a golden chain around his neck. One of these keys would close the Storm Gates. Vendra as much as told the party that he supported the closing of the gates, and would do what he could to help...in his own way. Of course Vendra wanted summer to return. Summer would bring settlers to the region, and the more people that lived in the Azure Kingdom, the more people for Vendra and his brood to feed upon.
Javair stood and walked to the painting. He took it from the wall and walked to one of the huge fireplaces in either corner of the Great Hall. Hot raging fires burned in both hearths. It only made sense to burn the painting...ending Vendra's ability to gather information from everything that Javair said and did in his Hall. All Javair had to do was toss the painting in, but he just stood there. His knuckles turned white and his eyes watered, and he gritted his teeth. He turned from the fire, the painting still clutched tightly to his body. Javair walked quickly to the hook on the wall, and returned the painting to it's rightful place on the wall of the Great Hall.
Javair sat back down in his chair and stared at the painting of Vendra's Castle. "I'll burn it tomorrow....yes, I must burn it...but tomorrow...or...maybe the next day...yes, I'll burn it the next day." Javair stood and walked away, convinced he was doing the right thing.
The clouds rolled overhead dark and menacing. The lightning charred mountain-top was covered with huddled figures, some kneeling some completely prostrated on the hard black rock. Only one among them stood...and he stood at the highest point, his great axe held high into the air. "Tobin...Tobin...Tobin...Tobin...Tobin...Tobin...." The low chanting of the orks could be barely heard over the roaring wind...but the elf with his axe held high remained silent.
Javair stood at the tree-fringe, smiling at the sight before him. Vikos, proud and defiant, daring the storm to strike at him. And at least 200 orks studying his every action...waiting for Tobin to prove himself once again. Huge raindrops and sleet began to fall, and Javair pulled his fur-lined coat tightly around his frame. The orks hardly seemed to notice the beginning of the downpour. Javair shook his head. Back in Crunal, the orks were of a different breed, that was for sure. They were lazy, and cruel, quick to kill for no reason at all. These orks seemed noble, and willing to serve a powerful and just cause. How could they be so different?
The clouds above Vikos began to glow, and a deep rumbling began to build within them. It was then that Vikos ended his silence with a shout, "TOBIN, ALLOW ME TO DO THY VENGENCE!" White fire ripped the sky in a long streak from the clouds above to the Axe in Vikos' hands. And as quickly as it came it was gone. The only evidence of its passing was the crackling of electricity on the Axe and along the surface of Vikos' armor. The ork's chanting became much louder, and they pounded the ground with their mailed fists, "TOBIN...TOBIN...TOBIN...TOBIN...TOBIN....."
Much later Javair sat with Vikos in his blue and yellow tent in the thick trees of the mountain-side forest. A fire warmed the air and lit the otherwise shadowed corners. They were alone, though the sounds of an orkish camp could be heard outside the tent. Vikos pulled some cooked meat from the spit over the fire and sniffed at it. "These orks...I can't get used to their stink...and the noises they make!"
Javair smiled. "They seem to worship you, my friend. That was quite a display of admiration I witnessed earlier."
"They don't worship me...they worship my god...Tobin. They recognize his power...his might...and his love of vengence. He seems more an 'orkish god' than the orkish gods themselves!" Vikos bit into the piece of meat. "But, I just can't get used to these orks. Do you remember how we warred against the orks of Shelby's Mountains? I still don't completely trust these orks...in fact, at times I find myself despising them. But, those that are willing to give up their old gods...willing to truly dedicate themselves to the service of Tobin...what sort of priest would I be to turn them away?"
Javair laughed and grabbed some meat from the spit for himself. "So you are converting these orks? Converting them to Tobin. How very 'missionary' of you, Vikos. It is really something to see."
Vikos frowned. "You make jest of me, bard. I don't relish this role very much...but Tobin has called me to this task. Oh, to put this axe through a few skulls...to wipe a foes blood from my hands on the fur of their fallen body. To walk a warrior's trail again. Those are the images that populate my dreams...you can be sure of that!"
Javair began digging around in his pouch. "Well, the more things change, the more they stay the same, Vikos." He pulled six keys from the pouch and layed them out on the fur-covered floor between them. "One of these six will close the Storm Gates. One of these six will end the 500 year grip of winter. One of these six will...."
Vikos interupted his old friend, "...one of these six will start a war with the giants. You almost forgot that one."
Javair chuckled. "It seems to me that this land has been at war with the giant...and losing...for 500 years. Eternal winter has all but destroyed this kingdom. Closing the gates will simply begin a new chapter in that war. Don't you agree?"
It was Vikos' turn to chuckle. "When you get a good cause in mind, nothing stands in your way! A new war...or just a new chapter in an old one...I don't care which. It will mean battle, and blood, and the song of my axe cutting the air. Let us toast our new mission..."
Vikos and Javair both raised their heated mugs of ale. Their eyes made contact, and Vikos nodded to Javair. Javair took his cue, "To our friendship, to the spilt blood of our foes, to the one key of six, to the coming of Summer...may we find a way." And the two friends drank deeply....
Back at the Azure Keep, Javair sat in the warm kitchen that was located behind his empty Feasting Hall. The staff was asleep, his friends were asleep...but the bard found he could not drift off. Hot Empire Tea was brewing over some coals, and Javair rubbed his hand through his messy hair. The keys were secure...and his friend Vikos had agreed to go on the journey with him. There was one more adventurer to recruit...Jack Skull.
The Keep seemed exceptionally quiet to Javiar. Normally the sounds of brazier's crackling and popping, an occasional snoring sound, or the sounds of those rolling or dreaming would break the absolute silence of the underground Keep. But on this night...all was quiet. Even the rolling boil of the Tea seemed hushed. A chill ran up Javair's spine. Something was wrong. That's when he heard it. Metal-shod boots marching up stone steps. 'Soldiers are approaching the Keep. Why was I not alerted!?!'
Javair ran to his make-shift bedroom off of the Great Hall and slung his harp case over his shoulder. As he ran through the Hall, he strapped his sword to his side...pushing his robe aside to do so. 'No time to armor up...something strange is happening!' He ran past the large stone Golum, through the pillared Guest Hall, and to the Bell Chamber at the Upper Gates. The doors were locked and barred, but the high goblin guards were slumped to the group. Javair shook them, but they slept so deeply he could not rouse them. 'Surely the guards outside the Upper Gates are still alert!'
There was a knocking on the iron-bound wooden doors. The chill went up Javair's spine again. "Who raps upon the Gates of my Keep this late in the night!?!" There was no answer at first. And again Javair shouted. "Who dares bring soldiers to my Gates in the dead of night?!?"
The answer was deep and rasping. "Your General returns to you, Lord of the Keep. Welcome him, for a war is coming and your soldiers must serve you!"
Javair put his ear to the wood of the door, but all he could hear was his own heavy breathing. He drew forth his sword and held it near his leg pointed downwards. Javair's face twisted into a grimace as the smell of carrion almost overcame him. "You smell of death! If my time has come...If the shades of hell have come to claim me...there is no need for trickery of mischief. I am well acquainted with death, and though I do not welcome it...I would face it honestly and without real fear. So, do not lie to me Death...but announce yourself properly!"
There was a long silence from the other side of the Gates. Then the deep rasping voice again. "Death has not come for you Lord. Your General returns to you. Greet him as honestly and without fear as you would Death himself!"
Javair bit his upper lip and closed his eyes tight. He was afraid, but he would not show it. Once he had composed himself, he lifted the bar on the Gates, unlocked them, and threw them open. A cold mist blew in cooling Javair's flesh. Dark figures stood in the mists...and one figure stood tall out in front of them. Javair did not step forward to greet them. "I have not had the misfortune to misplace any Generals...so I know not who you are that returns to me?" It was meant to be funny, but there was no laughter.
"I am General Fazirrel, and I serve the Azure King...I have always served the Azure King. You claim his throne, his title, and his responsibilities. Is this true?"
Javair nodded. "I am restoring his Keep, and I leave soon to restore his lands. I will bring back the Summers. I am the lord of this Keep...but I am not a King. Does that answer your question?"
The General's features were obscured by the mists and the darkness. But the smell of death was stronger now that the Gates were open. "Well Lord. Ten thousand men are mine to command. Ten thousand men who wait to serve their King. Ten thousand oaths made, ten thousand debts unpaid, ten thousand eternal rewards earned but not achieved. We have waited these 500 years to earn our rest, and if you are the Lord of this Keep...then it is you that we will serve. One last battle...one last call to arms...one last clash of armies, and we will finally rest. Do you understand me?"
Javair was shocked. "Why all this misery? Why were you bound here for all these years? So many man...trapped...."
The General interupted Javair. "We failed our King, and he died. We had sworn the most solemn oaths, and to-the-man we were men of our word. You must call us to one last battle, and then we will rest."
Javair nodded and took one step forward into the cool mist. "I fully understand, General. You will have your honor...and your rest. I promise you that. Why am I just hearing of this? I wish I had known earlier."
The General took one step backwards into the mist. "I sent word through the men and women you sent to face Cameo in his Castle. I became aware that my message had not been delivered. And that could not stand. We must have our rest. When you need us, you must call. We will not be found wanting...."
Javair took another step forward, stepping past the sleeping guards outside his Gate. But the General and the
soldiers he brought with him, faded into the mists and were gone. Javair pulled his clutched at his wind-blown
robes. "You will have your honor, General Fazirrel...and your rest. That I promise you."
Javair sat on the wall of the large landing in front of the Lower Gates. Human, orkish, and goblin troops had each brought him a different dish to eat for breakfast, and seemed happy to have him in their midst. A light snow was coming down. The month of Iron was coming to a close and with it the heavy storms and thick ice would lessen ever-so-slightly. The more mild form of the perpetual winter was coming into season...for summer in any form was no more.
A tall heavily bundled figure caught Javair's eye...coming up the long stairway to the frozen lake and valley below. "WHO APPROACHES THE AZURE KEEP THIS MORNING!" When Javair shouted this, humans, orks, and goblins alike drew their weapons and made their way to Javair's side. He motioned them with his hand to stay their weapons and calm themselves.
An answer drifted up from below. "Have I been gone so long that no one recognizes my powerful confident stride! Shame on me for being absent so long...or shame on all of you for forgetting your Captain!"
Javair smiled. "JACK SKULL! Welcome home, my friend. I hope you bring me good news!" Javair turned to a sergeant next to him. "Run to the kitchens and have them prepare food...and bring down several kegs of wine and open them for the troops." The sergeant turned to one of his men, and passed on the order.
Jack Skull made the remaining distance up the stairs rather quickly. Then he spoke quietly directly to Javair's face. "It depends on your point of view, as to whether I bring bad news or good. Giant armies are on the move. I encountered several armies of them...Hill Giants and Frost Giants...on our side of the Gates. There will certainly be war!"
Javair frowned. "Well, that's not good news any way you look at it...."
Jack Skull's head tipped back and he laughed loudly and deeply. "It's good news for a very simple reason. It means the giants think you will succeed in closing the Gates. They think its possible!"
Javair chuckled softly. "I suppose you're right. But what's with the 'you will succeed?' Don't you mean 'we will succeed?' You are certainly coming with Vikos and I to the Storm Gates?"
Jack Skull gripped Javair's hand. "...Certainly, Lord Javair...."
(from Matt) OK so Jack is our muscle, does he use any missle weapons? Can we talk him into bringing a
bow or javilen or throwing axes? Other suggested gear might be rope, torches and alchemist fire and anything else
that would piss off or kill a hill, frost or storm giant.
What kind of Giants do we expect to encounter. I think hill & Frost are given. Will we encounter Storm Giants?
Vikos knows giant speech and will do some research to find out the powers of the Keepers of the Storm gates.
Vikos also will try to do the following:
- Gather lots or have someone gather of berries for goodberry spells.
- See how many potions of healing Javair can bring.
- Prepare scrolls of enlarge, bull strengh and some others if time and materials permit.
-Fully charge the Axe.
-Check to see if anyone is willing to trade some spells to increase Vikos spell book. Especially wants mage armor,
and higher level illusion spells & fireball. I know Ganrath would, but that seems cheap & dirty.
On the axe maximize elec. spell power: how about equal in spell levels to the level of the priest of Tobin. 5th
lev priest = 2x 1st lev spells + 1x 3rd level. This limits it but it also grows some too. The maximize would not
apply to the stored called lighting.
(from Chris) What does Javair know about the Keepers?
(from Mark the DM) Jack Skull is fairly invulnerable...and good with his long sword. He wears very little equipment, and though he eats for pleasure...he seems to go for days without eating or drinking. He never seemed to be much for subtle skills, such as spellcasting or thieving skills. So, basically, he brings a good sword arm to the table. Oh! I almost forgot. He can teleport things, including himself...unknown to you how many times per day he can do this...if there is a limit!
I'm going to think a bit on the axe stuff. Well...ok...your plan is fine. Maximize feat on electrical spells, but I would like to put SOME sort of limit on it. Perhaps 3 times a day? 5 times a day? What seems fair?
As for the Keepers of the Storm Gates....
There are legends that some of the toughest human, elvan, and dwarven inhabitants of the City of StormGate dug
in and survived the 500 year winter. This is pure legend though, and there is no confirmation of this. No living
being has seen the City of StormGate and lived to tell about it in the past 500 years. Not every legend mentions
Jukara, but many of them say that the leader of the survivers is an ruthless elf named Jukara....
Your question (I believe) was actually directed at who guards the Gates themselves, and will be trying to stop
you from closing them. You can assume that the Giants have populated the original complex with their own creatures
and loyal beings. You feel confident that these creatures will be evil...and probably cold based...though there
are no legends confirming this....So FIRE MAY BE A VERY GOOD IDEA...though I promise nothing!
In Javair's feasting hall, an odd assortment of men, elves, orks, goblins, and other creatures had assembled. Their numbers were so great, that all the doors of the Keep had been thrown open...and the crowd filled the bell-room, the pillared guest hall, the stairway hall with the large blue stone golem, entertainment room with the wooden stage, and of course the Feasting Hall. Everyone held high a drink of their choice, as Javair, Vikos, and Jack Skull stood facing the crowd.
The ancient maps had been consulted, their gear was packed, and their goodbyes had been said. Javair's face lacked its frequent smile, and he appeared uncomfortable loaded down with his adventuring equipment and supplies. "Living beings of the Azure Kingdom! Today we set out for the Storm Gates themselves! With Key in hand, and summer as our only goal, we shall face the Giants and close the Gates! Does anyone here doubt my words!?!"
From the crowd a roar of, "NO!" rung out loud and clear.
"So raise your glass, and close your eyes. Envision a warm day in a green grassy field...picture in your mind crystal clear flowing streams...imagine your women and children dancing in the sunlight...FOR TODAY WINTER ENDS!"
The crowd cried out in affirmation, and they drank deeply from their glasses and mugs. Vikos bowed his head, "...in Tobin's name."
Jack Skull clapped the elven priest on the back. "A flash of lightning, the flash of my blade...a bit of Javair's music to set the mood. Are you ready to kill some giants, my friend?"
Vikos looked Jack in the face, "If we have to face Storm Giants, we'll not return. Its as simple as that...."
Javair leaned in close to his friends, "We knew all along we would either get this task done, or die trying. Let's not let the crowd see or hear our worries...."
Vikos laughed. "Worries...I don't worry. But I don't hide from the truth either. We're not up to facing a crowd of Storm Giants...period. Let's get on with this...and take back the warmth of summer for these people."
The three friends pulled closely together, and were suddenly gone.
Javair's eyes were clenched tight, and the nauseating feeling would not pass. Vikos shook himself free of Jack Skull's grip on his arm. "We're here! We're at the blasted Storm Gates!"
They appeared to be on a street in any major city, except that the walls, streets, and roofs were covered in snow and ice...in some places several feet thick. At the end of the block they were standing on, a wall of snow, wind, and shards of ice blew by at enormous speed. That was the burst of winter issuing from the open Storm Gates. Jack Skull laughed. "Well, we can't go that way. We'd be back at the Azure Keep in a matter of minutes...and in pieces!"
Vikos slapped Javair on the back, and his eyes snapped open. Javair gagged, but held back the contents of his stomach. "I hate using the teleportation powers I was given. They are absolutely horrible. You and Jack and in fine shape, and I'm sick as a dog!"
The three adventurers made their way through the city streets, meeting no one as they travelled. They travelled in the general direction they believed the Gates were located, turning and weaving though the icy, snow-covered streets of the City of Stormgate. Towering above them several blocks away still, was a huge wall made of gigantic stone blocks. Each block had a intricate rune deeply carved into it. This was the magical wall that held the two massive Storm Gates...it was there they would find the complex that guarded the locking mechanisms.
Javair had done his research, and knew that a sprial staircase led down into the foundations of this great wall between the land of the Giants and the Azure Kingdom. It was within this complex below the surface that they would find the key-hole that fit the proper Azure Key...and the Gates would be closed. And a 500 year winter would end.
Two blocks from the wall, Javair located a set of footprints travelling down a street parallel to the wall. These footprints were no where near 500 years old...more like a month old. Though their exact shape was distorted by time and wind, they were human or elvan sized footprints. Javair, Vikos, and Jack Skull chose to seek out the spiral staircase, and leave the footprints for later.
At the base of the huge wall and near one of the two massive Storm Gates, the three adventurers located a rusted metal lid over a spiral staircase leading down into the earth. Javair used his hat of disquise to look like a small Hill Giant, and scouted out the area. No man, creature, or giant was guarding the covered stairway, so Jack Skull and Vikos lifted and moved the rusted metal lid and the party of three made its way down into the frozen earth.
The stairs led at least 40 feet down into the earth, and part way down they found the floor was covered with time-rotted carpet. The further they travelled down the stair, the better the condition of the carpet. The walls had empty torch sconces made of fine inlaid metals. At the bottom of the stairs they found a room that was a combination of formally cut and blocked walls and crudely formed cavern walls. The formal walls were clearly part of the original complex built by the Azure King. The crude portions of the room had been done later, perhaps in an attempt to expand the amount of room available in the dungeon.
Javair and Vikos climbed the craggy, ice-covered rock of the wall seperating the land of Giants from the frozen Azure Kingdom. Though neither of them spoke, there was an unspoken understanding that they were out of their league. The unnatural wall was made of roughly stacked blocks the size of human houses, each of them inscribed with an intricate rune taller than a man. It was hundreds of feet high, and of unknown thickness. Javair pointed downwards, and both of them looked down at the spiral staircase far below them, decending into the stone at the base of the wall. Vikos looked back at Javair with a wide-eyed look of awe, and both of them continued to climb.
Pulling themselves onto the top of the wall, they were both huffing and puffing...their eyes and noses running from the cold. They leaned on each other, resisting the blustery wind that buffeted them...and rubbed at their watery eyes. At first all they saw was the blinding reflection of sun on snow and ice, but slowly dark shapes and objects became visible through the bright haze. Neither of them spoke...they just stood their blinking and trying to shade their eyes.
The scene that revealed itself was unlike anything any man or elf had ever seen before. The giants had gathered for war. As far as they could see up and down the length of the wall, giants were camped and readying for war. There were tents that seemed the size of mountains, rope and lashed wooden ladders for surmounting the wall, stacks of gigantic weapons that looked like piles of rough logs at a logging camp, and most frightening of all...there were hoards of giants!
Smaller giants wearing furs and clearly short on hygene seemed to be focused on the physical labor and preparations. Taller white haired and bearded giants seemed to be acting as taskmasters, driving the efforts of their smaller dumber cousins. There were a variety of sorts of giants, varying in height, style of dress, hair and skin color, and apparent rank and importance within the army. In the distance there was a cluster of tents much larger than the others. The bottoms of these tents were lost behind the curvature of the edges of Kempin. Vikos pointed at these monsterous tents, and shook Javair. Vikos said something, but the sound of it was lost in the wind.
After staring at the land of Giants beyond the wall for a time, the two adventurers helped each other to the edge, and made their way back down the wall. "How many giants did you count Vikos...I saw your head nodding as you tallied?" Javair's face was dark and grim.
Vikos grumbled under his breath, and then out loud, "I lost count at 111...I suspect there were a 1000 giants within view...."
(from Matt) Mark, It was a great game last night. I hope to play Vikos some more. One thing that is dissapointing,
is to survive encounters like that, he can't be a warrior like he used to be. I need to play his as a spell caster
which only makes sence since he is a cleric/wizard.
I want to go over the held of weather control and may see if Vikos can alter some of its powers. Vikos might also
try to contact some "good" storm giants and see what they are like and if the want to set their cousins
straight. Talk to you guys later...
Feel Free to Contact me at VoidPulp@aol.com