Prologue: An Unseen Enemy Part 4

The druid calls upon the earth itself and casts Entangle. Ivy branches that were climbing the side of the building innocuously suddenly spring to life and wrap around an invisible... something... that lets out an indignant squawk of surprise. The invisibility enchantment fades to reveal a struggling halfling, bound up completely by the ivy vine.

"Damn it!" the halfling shrieks. "Now you've gone and ruined EVERYTHING!"

From what you can see of the halfling, he has war paint marks in black under his eyes and is dressed all in black (though it is difficult to tell through the branches). As the branches entangle him, he drops a light crossbow that clatters to the ground.

Behind you, you can hear the guards arrive. "Surrender your weapons immediately, and no one will come to any harm." They begin to approach cautiously down the alley, with their longswords drawn.

The bound halfling stares up the alleyway at the armored guards and his head drops. "Oh, Szveth is going to have my head for this one..."

Prologue: An Unseen Enemy Part 3

The sound of approaching footsteps grows ever louder. Narimar, Jaegle, both of you can easily make out three distinct owners approaching. Not the cavalry, but nor is it just a single guard on its way to investigate your position.

There is a crowd gathering around the entrance to the alleyway, staring down at the three of you, and blocking that possible escape route.

Jaegle, from your vantage point, you spot a small amount of debris next to one of the ladders seem to spontaneously shift, and then fall to the ground with a clatter. Your intuition tells you that there is no possible way it could have done that on its own. Your keen ears (Listen: DC 20) pick up the sound of soft-soled boots on the ladder, though your eyes tell you that there is nothing there.

The guards will arrive in less than one minute!

Prologue: An Unseen Enemy -- Part 2

Jaegle rushes to the body of the fallen man. There are three crossbow bolts lodged in the very expensive silk clothing that the man is wearing, and they are buried almost all the way to the feathers. The man is not breathing, and the pool of blood is spreading rapidly beneath him. A quick look-over of the fallen man indicates that he is human, middle-aged and appears to be very rich, but there is no money or even empty pouches that might have held some cash anywhere on him. He is definitely high-class, which is peculiar -- that brand of folk don't often come to harbor areas of cities. He is not carrying any weapons. The trajectory of the bolts indicates to Jaegle that they came from behind the three of you, but none of you heard the twang of a crossbow, nor did you hear the bolts go past you.

The alley is a dead-end only about fifty yards further in, past the fallen man. There are ladders that go to the roof on both sides of the alley, but they are wooden and look like they've been there for many years. Narimar, you'd probably be concerned about their weight-bearing ability. The halfling could probably scale them without a problem, but you and the druid might have trouble.

The sound of armored feet is growing louder.

((DM SPEAK: Everyone give me a Listen check to determine how many guards are on the way. Also, Jaegle, roll a Spot check and a second Listen check for me due to your position in the alley. Please post the results of these rolls in your next action comment as SPOT: -Result- or LISTEN: -Result- You can go ahead and factor in your modifiers yourselves and just post the final result of the check in your action.))

((Mechanics: Dice))

((Hey guys, just a little housekeeping here. There are now two dice rollers on the page, but the official D&D dice roller is at the bottom. I tried moving it to the top but it just doesn't work, and it doesn't really fit in the sidebar too well. I've left it at the bottom, but I also added a different die roller to the sidebar. You have to scroll over to view the results. I'm going to leave both on the page for now, and you'll have to tell me which one you like better as we get into this gaming, and I'll remove the one that doesn't work as well.

Thanks!))

((EDIT 11/19/08 22:21 : So I'm dropping Dice Monkey. It's got some kind of Java error that causes Internet Explorer 6 -- the one I use at work -- to completely crash. Unless they fix the gadget at some point we're gonna have to rely on the official D&D one.))

Prologue: An Unseen Enemy - Part 1

As you turn to face the alley behind you, the problem is immediately apparent. Deep in the shadowed part of the narrow street, a figure dressed in resplendent red and white has collapsed to the ground, a pool of blood spreading beneath him.

Three short crossbow bolts protrude from his back, the feathered ends standing straight up in the air. He is collapsed in the alley facing away from you, and in fact, it looks as though somehow, the bolts would have come from the direction in which you are standing.

A concerned citizen raises the cry, 'Guards!' and the populace begins milling around the end of the alley where you are standing. There are shouts of 'It was them!', and 'That damn Samhadi must have done it!'

The music of the elven bard has stopped, and a quick glance about you reveals that he is nowhere to be found.

The clanking sound of armored guards is fast approaching.

Introduction

The city of Kirstar is extremely busy. The sun has just risen over the horizon on the third day of winter, in the 451st year since the fall of the great Empire. The morning is seasonally comfortable, the first frost yet to set in.

In the harbor district of the city, great ships with their vast sails sit comfortably in the water, the water too choppy from the winds for anyone to set sail. There is a bit of a chill on the wind, and everyone is beginning to hunker down and start the long wait until the spring thaw comes to the southernmost portion of Yuloria.

Merchants and traders are beginning to fill the streets of the harbor, hawking their wares to the sailors who are stranded here until the winds die down. Many of those sailors are eager to return to the mainland, to where it is considerably warmer and less rain falls, and tensions are beginning to run high between the locals and the foreigners.

Narimar, Keik and Jaegle are spending the day in the harbor. There is a new ship due to come in today, though many fear it will be delayed by the sudden winds, from the elven kingdoms on the mainland, and another due in from the northern port city of Riane, both carrying important supplies and trade goods which are due to leave in a caravan at sunset, heading northward.

The Samhadi rogue, human druid and halfling fighter find themselves standing on the corner of Harbor Street and Long Street a few hours after sunrise. There is an elvish bard playing on the street corner, who is receiving small tips from many of the passerby due to his superb singing voice and fabulous tales of days long gone. Children run laughing and playing through the streets, ducking and weaving amongst the legs of horses and men. The day smells crisp and the salt from the sea is thick in the air. The noise is beginning to rise as merchants shout out to the passing sailors about their wares.

Through the gate to the west lies the trade district; an even livelier place of business and home to many fine establishments. Northward is the center city. Narimar, Keik and Jaegle, you've all arrived by ship only a few days before ((whether from another Yulorian city or from the mainland is up to you)) and you have lodgings established in the center city, at an inn known as the Singing Gull.

A strangled cry emits from an alley behind you.

((This is the only time I'll position your characters for you guys, I promise. We'll add more characters as we get character sheets -- we're still expecting Andy and Matt, and possibly Dave. For now, we'll just go ahead with the game and introduce the others as we go along. The world of Yuloria is yours, guys -- let's get going!)) -- ((This is no longer valid))

((EDIT #1: Okay, we've got three in by Monday night: Narimar (Samhadi Rogue), Keik (Human Druid, now w/killer dog action!) and Jaegle (Halfling Fighter). This is where we're starting, so have at!))

((The Kirstar Peninsula))

((Long ago, the far southeastern portion of the Yulorian island was home to the great Kirstar clan, ruled by the matriarch, Arella Kirstar. When the Great War raged on the rest of the islands, the Kirstar clan drew themselves inward, refusing to participate in fighting and instead delving further and further into the recesses of magical research.

It is said that when the Nicoli Kirstar -- the prodigal son -- returned home from an extended absence, that he discovered a great portal to realms unknown in the labyrinthine catacombs beneath Kirstar Castle. It appeared to him that some of his clan had died in the process of opening it, and that most of the others, including his mother and father, had passed beyond this world into other worlds.

After the departure of the Kirstar aristocracy, legends began to build around their disappearance. Some say that many of them were not in fact killed, but transformed into horrible beasts that now dwell within the castle's catacombs. They also speak of the great riches that lie beneath the crumbling castle, but none who have ever ventured there have returned, and those few that have gotten close but turned tail at the last moment have returned forever haunted by those images of which they will not speak.

Centuries later, the city of Kirstar (now under the dominion of the kingdom of Taneth) is a bustling port metropolis. Most major trade from the mainlands comes into Kirstar, and it has the most diverse population of any of the Yulorian cities due to its constant influx of ships.

The city of Kirstar is ruled by a duke of Taneth who calls himself Arteras Kirstar, and claims to be descended from the great clan, though his claims are doubted by most. He resides in a mansion on a hill that overlooks the city's richest housing district. There is a great stone wall that surrounds the northern part of the city, which was once a fort protecting a small fishing village. Now sprawl has caused the city itself to surround the fort and spread all along the banks for a league in each direction from the center of the city.

On a tall hill, in the northwestern distance, the ruins of Kirstar Castle still overlook the city...

It is in this vast city that we will find our heroes.))