Navero 14

From: dparsons@jarthur.claremont.edu (Daniel Parsons)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Navero XIV
Reply-To: dparsons@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (Daniel Parsons)
Distribution: world
Organization: Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA
Keywords: Navero, of the Correct and Unalterable Way

• Navero, male human cleric, 2nd level
• Dania, female 1/2-elf MU, 2nd level
• Rourk Ravensbane, male drow cavalier, 2nd level
• Kortul, male human fighter, 2nd level
• Razuli, male human fighter, 1st level
• Arlor, male dwarf thief, 1st level

Navero was safely resurrected, but still needed time to recover, so the rest of the party decided to take a break and heal for a while. This was not to be a leisurely break, as most of our money was gone. (The money for new armor for Kortul did not come out of the party fund; we did not have a party fund except in the special case of Navero. Everyone paid for their own stuff, so Kortul had to borrow from the other players. Only Razuli wanted to charge interest.)

As poor as we were, giving the villagers back their money, as Navero still wished to do, was out of the question. Fortunately, the others were able to convince Navero that they still planned to do that, but had spent all the money on him, and so would have to go out and get some more.

Razuli: "Sure, we'll give them back all their money. We were going to, but you had to wandering off and get yourself killed."

Navero: "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have spent so much on me."

Dania: "Forget it. No problem."

Razuli: "It was your own stupid mistake that got us into this mess. Now, kiddy, promise me you won't EVER do that again for as long as you live."

Navero: "I promise, upon St. Glajmir."

Razuli: "Good boy. Now lie still, and don't let any more of your brain fall out. You need what you've got."

Dania: "Razuli, can I talk to you outside a minute?"

Razuli: "Sure. You think she's hot for me, kid?"

Navero: "Uh..."

(They leave, go out into hall.)

Dania: "If you ever talk to Navero like that again, I will fry your face off."

Razuli: "Hey, whatsa matter? Just a joke."

Dania: "You're a joke, human. Lets get out of here."

Razuli: (mutters) "Boy, she is a witch today, isn't she?"

Rourk and Razuli spent many of their nights in the tavern, Razuli enriching the place with his meager funds, and Rourk letting him. The little Cavalier was not beyond good ale, but he never had any in the common room, as he would have to take off his helmet to do so; instead, he and Razuli sat and insulted each other for nights on end. (I would never call them friendly; to tell the truth, if there had been any intra-party fighting, I think it would have been with these two.) Rourk did stop by the temple to ask about the Shimmer Mold.

Rourk: "Greetings! You have the honor of addressing Rourk Ravensbane, of the clan Kuirtyhiasdall. I wish to partake of your knowledge, concerning a certain substance I have encountered which may be potentially useful."

Generic Cleric: "Oh? How may I help you?"

Rourk: "What do you know of Shimmer Mold?"

GC: "I know something of it. It is rare, but not so rare as to be of great value to anyone. It's light will coat nearly anything except flesh, living or dead, and cling tightly. It also serves as a heat insulator, but not so effectively as it does a light source."

Rourk: "Ah. I had felt that my armor was unusually warm that day. Thank you for your services, gentle Priest, I am eternally grateful."

GC: "20 gp for Sage advice. Payable now."

Kortul proved quite asocial - he would often spend whole days and nights prowling about the marshes, hunting and foraging and living off the land. Apparently, he felt that the keep smelled bad, his companions only slightly less so, and the marshes slightly less than that.

While in town, Dania went back to her master, so as to keep up with her studies. She didn't really like the man (who would?) but he did have a great library, and if you didn't mind the sorts of stains you had to get out of the carpets, and the things encrusted on the glassware, it wasn't bad. Usually, she avoided him if at all possible. Dania was washing the dishes after a supper with a guest whom she had been VERY careful to avoid (the one who wanted 7 forks and 12 knives again), when space and time screamed. She found herself in her master's workroom.

Master: "I have work for you."

Dania: "Sure!" (*Big grin*)

Master: (A faint smile. It disappears) "I want you to go out and collect some brains."

Dania: "Brains?"

Master: "Yes. Hominid will do, for now. You should be able to find some appropriate specimens nearby."

Dania: "Brains?"

Master: "YES. Three, from individuals with some variation between them. And no diseased specimens. Place them in this box, and they shall be teleported here."

Dania: "Brains?"

Master: "You have ears, I perceive. Have you used them recently, or are they filled with dish-soap?"

Dania: "You mean, living brains?"

Master: "By the time you get them into the box, I should be quite surprised if they were alive. But they should be reasonably fresh. Now: hop to it, apprentice."

Dania: "Uh... go out, and, uh... PROCURE, uh... brains. Cerebral matter. The grey-and-white stuff?"

Master: (pauses.) "If you insist upon not using it, as you seem to be doing, there is always your own."

Dania: "RIGHT! Bye! I'm going now! Chop, chop!" (scampers out.)

Master: "Apprentice?" (sounds slightly peeved.)

Dania: "Huh? Oh yeah, right." (Comes back, gets box, scampers out.)

Where, o where, can one find a loose brain lying around? Perhaps some calves brains from the butcher? No, Master would never go for that. Ummm... This town doesn't have a morgue, does it?

Dania went wandering down the sunny streets, the utter possibility of her errand high in her mind, when whom should she meet, but Razuli.

Dania: "Raz! Fancy meeting you here!"

Razuli: "*Hic!*"

Dania: "You drunk already? Jesus. Whats the occasion?"

Razuli: "Schtoopid K-nigut flied to outdink me. Me, the Mashter!"

Dania: "Out-dink you? Trust me, no one could do that. Where's Rourk?"

Razuli: "In dere. I WON ALL HIS MONEY!! Ha haaa ha hee hee hee..." (Lands SPLOT in a horse trough.)

(Dania goes in, finds Rourk in his room, passed out.)

Dania: "Ummm... No, maybe I'd better not." (Leaves)

And so she continued down the city streets, wondering where she could find a likely candidate. They abounded - beggars and orphans and expendable people of all shapes and sizes; but how, exactly, did one broach the subject? "Hi there, I'd like to get to know you better. Trust me, I'm only interested in your mind." Things were beginning to look grim, when a leper was run down by a merchant's wagon in the street right in front of her.

Merchant: "What is that? Get rid of before my family is infected."

Dania: "Sure! No problem! Have a nice day!" (Drags body away.)

(Finds empty alley, hides behind some barrels, takes out knife.)

Dania: "Sorry about this, guy."

Later that night, she got a wino who collapsed in the street and hit his head on a paving stone. Unfortunately, she got both of them back later, with a short, terse note.

Note: "Quality matters, apprentice. These are unacceptable."

Dania: "Shit. We were going back to the orc caves tomorrow."

And so we did. We rode through the marsh, walked into to the cave, went through the great hall, over the barrier, into the entrance hall, past the Shimmer cave, over the meadows, and through the woods, to grandmother's house we... ahem. Past the Crayfish Cave, and into the Orc Chief's ambush cave. There were two entrances, one in the south and one in the west. The Ogre's body had vanished.

Navero: "What's that box on top of your pack, Dania?"

Dania: "Never mind, Navero."

Navero: "I don't like it; it seems... wrong."

Dania: "Nav, trust me, OK?"

Navero: "Well... OK."

The western entrance, led to a long, narrow passage, terminating in an exit to the surface. It was reasonably hidden with brush and quite unnoticeable unless you knew where to look. The southern entrance (the one the Orc Chief had come from) led to a pair of caves; one had a pile of matted vegetation, several large clubs, and a box (opened, empty), and the other a couple of cages, made out of wood. Some rusty bits of iron were in a sack in the room with the cages. A long search turned up nothing of any value.

We returned, and got as far as the Shimmer Mold cave when Rourk stopped us.

Rourk: "Gather some is this fungus extract will you? I have a plan."

Razuli: "Hoo boy. Here we go."

Rourk: "Silence in the presence of your betters, mercenary. My mind moves in higher planes than you can understand."

Dania: "Want to be painted again?"

Navero: "Here, I got some in this sack. What is your plan?"

Rourk: "Follow me, and see for yourselves."

He walked up to the cave with the boiling lava, and flicked a drop into the lava. A small portion of the lava solidified, and sank. With a flourish, Rourk emptied the sack into the pit, and formed a narrow, rough bridge across the lava to the other entrance.

Rourk: "Now do you understand, my fellows? I realized this from the moment I was coated with it. And now, we may go across."

Razuli: "About how strong is the bridge, Rourk? Wanna walk out and test it?"

Arlor: (Toddles out onto bridge.)

Rourk: "I will not have you..." (Plants armored foot on bridge, breaks through.) "...attempt to fight anything you might find on the other side of that entrance, dwarf. Scout ahead and come back quickly." (Examines foot; it is not too badly burned.)

Arlor: "Um... OK." (Walks to other entrance. He is gone for a short time when cracks start to appear in the bridge.)

Navero: "Please hurry, the..."

Arlor: (Appears, staggering) "Duh... duh... duhhh.... Yeeek!!"

Razuli: "Arlor, get your ass over here."

Arlor: "Droi... drou... droggy... DRAGON!! BIG!! RED!! SMOKY!!"

Dania: "Oh, fuck. Get back here!"

The party retreated over the barrier.

Kortul: "Tell what you saw."

Arlor: (Quivering slightly.) "Dragon. Big. Bigger than other. Red."

Rourk: "Was it asleep?"

Arlor: "I think not. It looked at me."

Rourk: "Ah. Perhaps we had better leave, then."

Kortul: "Yes."

Dania: "Yes!"

Rourk: "We can come back later and kill it."

Party: "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR TINY MIND?"

Rourk: "We have a means of reaching it. And a heat insulator that will render it's feared breath useless. And when it has gone to sleep, what possible threat could it represent?"

Dan Parsons

"I think he's been getting too much sun."