After the harsh landscape of the volcano caldera on Tuern, our party was quite relieved to end up in the bustling seaport of Gundbarg. The mood was also somber, as Steve Nash and Krevish both lay dead. Avrilenne took to the unenviable task of making sure the bodies were kept clean and relatively preserved until the funds to raise them could be obtained. Upon arrival, they were taken to the local temple for safe keeping.
Not surprisingly Gundbarg had its own share of troubles. The party tried to meet briefly with King Redaxe, the leader of the island civilization. They were informed that his daughter, Princess Jagaerda, was missing, and the King was indisposed. Investigating the town, the local villagers gave their take on the situation.
Following the leads they could find in town, it seemed that the Princess's captors had made their way into the hills surrounding the the city of Gundbarg. They hiked upwards on worn trails, toward the center of the island. They fought many stony margoyles, and large sea-trolls, called scrags, on their way. A small cabin, in disrepair and covered in ivy, was built into the hillside. It looked like the kind of place some kidnappers would hide out, observed Avrilenne. They found the door unlocked. Cautiously opening it, they were face to face with a group of pirates playing a card game.
The foolish pirate's boast was unfounded, as our party had no problem defeating the pirates. It was true, the princess was not in the cabin. Chode, however, procured a map from the trousers of the boastful miscreant, showing what he assumed was the palace, with a secret entrance marked by a red "X".
The "X" indeed marked the spot, where a grate led to an abandoned supply tunnel into a part of the palace that looked like it hadn't been in use for decades. A thick layer of dust covered everything, and cobwebs bridged every corner. White sheets had been lain over the furniture, which no longer was placed in any way that made sense. Augustar pointed, as they all heard a commotion coming from behind a reinforced wooden door ahead. It was locked. Chode and Augustar made eye contact. Chode silently nodded, then lowered his shoulders.
The young princess was there, having just dispatched her captors. She was haughty and much less than thankful to be rescued, thinking she didn't need any "rescuing." Aria crossed her arms and put on her best scowl. The rest of the party, non-plussed by the woman's arrogance, negotiated to escort her the short distance to the King's room in the palace.
King Redaxe was much more appreciative than his daughter, offering up an enchanted shield as a reward. It was of shining silver steel, with a stylized golden inlay of an eagle. The King then told them of the purple rocks, a group of islands further out to sea where the Kraken Society had their headquarters. He told them their best chance of finding a pilot who could lead them there would be back on Tuern. While Aria still wore her impressive scowl, Jagaerda announced that if the Kraken was their target, she would accompany them. It was not a discussion.
Negotiating for travel back to Tuern, our party again boarded a ship. The sailor selling passage asked for 300 gp, triple what they had paid in Tuern and Luskan. Avrilenne was having none of that, and her outright refusal to pay brought the haggler down to 150 gp.
This link will help you visualize what happened next:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqtfI7hWpwc
Our intrepid adventurers were almost hallucinating from hunger and dehydration, but were non-the-less grateful to be on solid ground. They found themselves in a tiny village. Thankfully the locals had a building marked "Inn", which strangely did not seem to be attended. The rooms were clean and comfortable, and there was fresh fruit and water laid out on a large table by the entrance. The table was attacked by the whole party, and soon nothing remained.
After the food and water had settled, they all lay bout, exhausted. "These islands... do you think the're the purple rocks?" asked Chode, to no one in particular.
"I don't know if I can trust my eyes now, but as we drifted in, I thought I could see a fortress on the larger island. There was a certain... purple hue in the light of dusk to these islands, don't you think?" answered Lady Deschanel.
"We'll just have to hope they are, it can't be helped," said Augustar.
I didn't remember getting attacked by the kraken from my previous playthoughs, so that was fun. It is a little tough that it represents a "point of no return", because I don't think you can make it back to the mainland until you've completed this quest. That can be tough in these D&D games, but at least you can make it back to the home base of Tuern.
It seemed like a scene that is begging for some extra-art, like a full screen pic. What do I know though? They may not have had space or time to put that in. The text description does do a good job of painting a picture though, I thought.
Not surprisingly Gundbarg had its own share of troubles. The party tried to meet briefly with King Redaxe, the leader of the island civilization. They were informed that his daughter, Princess Jagaerda, was missing, and the King was indisposed. Investigating the town, the local villagers gave their take on the situation.
 |
| "...and I had to walk to the adventurer's guild in the snow, up hill, both ways!" |
The foolish pirate's boast was unfounded, as our party had no problem defeating the pirates. It was true, the princess was not in the cabin. Chode, however, procured a map from the trousers of the boastful miscreant, showing what he assumed was the palace, with a secret entrance marked by a red "X".
The "X" indeed marked the spot, where a grate led to an abandoned supply tunnel into a part of the palace that looked like it hadn't been in use for decades. A thick layer of dust covered everything, and cobwebs bridged every corner. White sheets had been lain over the furniture, which no longer was placed in any way that made sense. Augustar pointed, as they all heard a commotion coming from behind a reinforced wooden door ahead. It was locked. Chode and Augustar made eye contact. Chode silently nodded, then lowered his shoulders.
The young princess was there, having just dispatched her captors. She was haughty and much less than thankful to be rescued, thinking she didn't need any "rescuing." Aria crossed her arms and put on her best scowl. The rest of the party, non-plussed by the woman's arrogance, negotiated to escort her the short distance to the King's room in the palace.
King Redaxe was much more appreciative than his daughter, offering up an enchanted shield as a reward. It was of shining silver steel, with a stylized golden inlay of an eagle. The King then told them of the purple rocks, a group of islands further out to sea where the Kraken Society had their headquarters. He told them their best chance of finding a pilot who could lead them there would be back on Tuern. While Aria still wore her impressive scowl, Jagaerda announced that if the Kraken was their target, she would accompany them. It was not a discussion.
Negotiating for travel back to Tuern, our party again boarded a ship. The sailor selling passage asked for 300 gp, triple what they had paid in Tuern and Luskan. Avrilenne was having none of that, and her outright refusal to pay brought the haggler down to 150 gp.
 |
| What the heck is apple-shining? |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqtfI7hWpwc
Our intrepid adventurers were almost hallucinating from hunger and dehydration, but were non-the-less grateful to be on solid ground. They found themselves in a tiny village. Thankfully the locals had a building marked "Inn", which strangely did not seem to be attended. The rooms were clean and comfortable, and there was fresh fruit and water laid out on a large table by the entrance. The table was attacked by the whole party, and soon nothing remained.
After the food and water had settled, they all lay bout, exhausted. "These islands... do you think the're the purple rocks?" asked Chode, to no one in particular.
"I don't know if I can trust my eyes now, but as we drifted in, I thought I could see a fortress on the larger island. There was a certain... purple hue in the light of dusk to these islands, don't you think?" answered Lady Deschanel.
"We'll just have to hope they are, it can't be helped," said Augustar.
I didn't remember getting attacked by the kraken from my previous playthoughs, so that was fun. It is a little tough that it represents a "point of no return", because I don't think you can make it back to the mainland until you've completed this quest. That can be tough in these D&D games, but at least you can make it back to the home base of Tuern.
It seemed like a scene that is begging for some extra-art, like a full screen pic. What do I know though? They may not have had space or time to put that in. The text description does do a good job of painting a picture though, I thought.
To answer your question:
ReplyDeleteTo apple shine is to gain favour by flattery. when you shine an apple you do nto actually improve it in any way, you just make it look better.
It is aesthetically pleasing but gives no actual benefit whatsoever
Thanks Charles, that makes sense... You gain 10 Gil for your first comment! Welcome to This Bard's Tales!
ReplyDeleteThanks, your answer reminds me of the adventure gamer´s points where the readers have a scoreboard of poitn they can cash in to recomend games.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, it's the same idea. I was hoping doing something similar to The Adventure Gamer would jumpstart some more commenting around here.
ReplyDelete