To Cragsen's Mine At Mom's bar I was drinking and carousing When from his table came an urgent summoning. "We need you to retrieve something dangerous And for you troubles we will be generous, You'll each get a thousand pieces of gold If you get the item from the Orc's hold!" Why I was chosen, I do not know I pluck strings, but not of a bow I prefer to chase women around; But for all that shiny loot I will eagerly play my lute A hundred feet underground! At the library, we dug dusty old maps, Accurate, not likely; useful, perhaps. A late night at the park, and on the morrow, It's off to Cragsen's mine, to fetch the magic gizmo! Copyright (C) 273 Biron ----------------------------------------------------- On The Way There I have not told you of my companions, Pierce, a crafty locksmith of many resources Thomas, who receives advice from heavenly sources Kele loves rocks and fights with an oversized fork Peter, a young cleric not afraid to bash an orc Dewall, a standoffish elf quite circumspect Olaf, the muttering old cleric we must protect Red Shirt one and two... what can I say? Only one of them has a sister. Not my day! Oh yes! The trip was uneventful. A rider shadowed our travels. He never came close to us and we did not call upon him either. Thomas captured a young orc. He told us that orcs feared Izuz, but where recruited by force into his army. Someone, whom I won't mention, made sure that the orc would never have to fear being recruited. Finally, we found the mine! ----------------------------------------------------- Into The Mine If you think that I'll have time to put these words into rhyme, you're sadly mistaken! I'll jot down these words now and try to rework them later. It's just too #($&*W damn dangerous right now. We found the entrace to the mine inside of a big building. There were steps leading down. They looked solid, but we did not take any chances. Pierce went down first with a rope around him as a safety precaution. He went down a hundred feet before reaching the bottom. We all followed. Upon my suggestion, we followed the grooves left by the mining cart. As I suspected, they lead to the most recent used area of the mine, the deepest part. Kele surprised an Ettin. Thankfully for us, he was just a baby. He still was a good 9' tall. After we dispatched him, Dewall found 17 gold pieces on him. We used a lift to go to the next level of the mine. Kele poked into a spider's nest. Not just any kind of spider. The giant size. He got attacked and bit really bad, until I spook the spider away. I was sure that Kele was a goner. Thankfully, Olaf used a magic talisman in the shape of a pyramid. A beautiful intense blue shaft of light darted from the pyramid and hit Kele. The darn guy jumped back on his feet! The old priest warned us that this was once per day. I hope I don't have the need for this thing. All buoyed, Kele lead us down a wrong path, to an underground lava river. It was hell-hot. He sure found the wrong time to go communing with his god. We succeeded in reaching the lowest level. We could see it shine in the far distance, up in the air. After a while, we discovered that it was at the top of a small man?-made hill, with a spiraling access path. On our way up, we were surprised by orcs. We wiped them out and continued our progress. Then it was in front of us: the talisman of Seth! It's a kind of parade mace, but I did not try to get to close to it. Olaf incanted some arcane lyrics, and he seize the gizmo. He seems to be in intense pain from holding it, and he's fazing in and out of this world. Now let's get OUT OF HERE! Biron. ----------------------------------------------------- Eh? You want that tale AGAIN? ok.. ok.. Waiter! give me an ale! Yes, it's my 9th.. Where was I again? Ah yes... when we tried to leave the mines, a whole crowd of them were waiting to block our path. Did we let them stop us, no way! We slash'em right and slash'em left. Destroyed a whole boatload of 'em. There was not one left standing at the end. A pile of glistening bodies was all we left behind. Bones were peaking out of the wounds. Blood was pooling. It was grisly. What? What were they? Monsters you know. What kind? the dead kind, that's for sure. Anyway, we had a bid of a problem getting the old fart up the shaft of the mine but we managed. We were somewhat followed on the way back, but we succeeded in returning here. Yep, we even got to be invited at the castle. Got to play there me'self. Yep, yep. Also got to talk to Mom about it. Now I'll give you some good advice... don't ever cross Mom. That guy's got ways to see right through you... Anyway... Hey waiter! My mug is empty! Give me another one! ....