This thread is where you can hear about all the tales of intrigue, action and excitement that happen all over these Realms Of Adventure. See what your fellow adventurers have been up to. And other things of interest.

To kick this off, here's a song from Alec Schmeezle, the famed half-drow minstrel, formerly of the Silver Marches and currently doing a tour of Undermountain:

"I've Been Everywhere"

I was totin’ my pack along the dusty Long Road,
When along came a wagon with a high canvas covered load
"If your goin' to Longsaddle, adventurer, with me you can ride."
And so I climbed into the cart and then I settled down inside.
He asked me if I'd seen a road with so much dust and elms,
And I said, "Listen! I've traveled every road in these here Realms!"

I've been everywhere, man.
I've been everywhere, man.
Crossed the Anauroch deserts, man.
I've stripped Undermountain bare, man.
Of travel I've had my share, man.
I've been everywhere.

I've been to:

Arabel, Scornubel, Beorunna's Well, Caer Corwell, Iron Keep, Candlekeep, Hellgate Keep, Zhentil Keep, Waterdeep, Suzail, Archendale, Battledale, Daggerdale, Deepingdale, Featherdale, Harrowdale, Highdale, Great Dale, Icewind Dale, Mistledale, Moondale, Scardale, Shadowdale.

Not another Dale!

I've been everywhere, man.
I've been everywhere, man.
Trekked the Endless Wastes, man.
Climbed the Spine of the World, man.
Of adventures I've had my share, man.
I've been everywhere.

I've been to:

Citadel Adbar, Citadel Felbarr, Arrabar, Cimbar, Eltabbar, Essembra, Lyrabar, Mirabar, Sundabar, Ilipur, Proskur, Procampur, Ankhapur, Saelmur, Zazesspur, Airspur, Dilpur, Elbulder, Mithral Hall, Underhome, Furthinghome, Mosstone, Blingdenstone.

Hardly ever home.

I've been everywhere, man.
I've been everywhere, man.
Sailed the Sea of Swords, man.
Wandered Underdark caves, man.
Of quests I've had my share, man.
I've been everywhere.

I've been to:

High Moor, Trollmoor, Cormanthor, Myth Drannor, Crimnor, Suldophor, Iriaebor, Priador, Skullport, Calimport, Ashabenford, White Ford, Daggerford, Calaunt, Selgaunt, Melvaunt, Phlan, Luskan, Menzoberranzan, Highmoon, Wheloon, Saerloon, Silverymoon.

See you soon!

I've been everywhere, man.
I've been everywhere, man.
Roamed the High Forest, man.
I’ve marched across the Shaar, man.
Of tales I've had my share, man.
I've been everywhere.

I've been to:

Halarahh, Tashluta, Eveningstar, Mintar, Eshpurta, Ormpetarr, Hillsfar, Jalathar,  Quaevarr, Evereska, Iltkazar, Soorenar, Laprendar, Immilmar, Mulmaster, Loudwater, Neverwinter, Evermeet, Trademeet, Westgate, Baldur's Gate, Immersea, Nesme, Tower of Achemie?

Where could it be?

I've been everywhere, man.
I've been everywhere, man.
Lost in the Plains of Purple Dust, man.
Hacked through the Chultan jungles, man.
Of wandering I've had my share, man.
I've been everywhere.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:10, Thu 23 Aug 2007.

I don't have any Tales of the Realms yet, but here's one of Todd Wanlorn's favorite inspirational war chants. [Todd was a half-elf rogue/bard that played in The Sword of the Dales over on PlayByWeb]

"Draw the Sword of the Dales!"

Draw the Sword of the Dales! The Dales! The Dales!
Over marsh and mountain has passed the war sign,
The bells are pealing! pealing! pealing!
Who heeds not the summons is no son of mine.

The Heroes they are gathering! gathering! gathering!
The Heroes they are gathering by lake and by meadow,
The banners they are flying! flying! flying!
The banners they are flying that lead to Victory.

Draw the Sword of the Dales! The Dales! The Dales!
Charge as you have charged in days long ago.
Sound to the onset, the onset, the onset,
He who but falters is no son of mine.

Sheath the Sword of the Dales! The Dales! The Dales!
Sheath the Sword of the Dales for dimmed is its shine,
Our enemies are fleeing! fleeing! fleeing!
And who knows no mercy is no son of mine.

The struggle is over! over! over!
The struggle is over! the Victory won!
There are tears for the fallen! fallen! fallen!
And glory for all who their duty have done.

Sheath the Sword of the Dales! The Dales! The Dales!
With your beloved thistle new laurels entwine,
Time never shall part them, part them, part them,
But hand down the garland to each son of mine.


Edit: And another favorite..


Oh I am a Rover, I roam the land over,
and I'll never settle until I get caught.
From village to township my sword hangs at my hip, an'
you'll never catch me I'll always be sought.

A knave so beguiling that while your still smiling
before you know it I've got all your gold.
And I am so dashing I'll escape the thrashing
so damnably vexing I'll live till I'm old.

No you cannot beat me nor ever defeat me.
I am but a sinner and I have no shame.
To filch all that glimmers purloin all that shimmers.
To nab it and grab it that's our favorite game.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:19, Thu 12 Apr 2007.

From the Vast comes the following headline:

The Procampur Herald
Fourthday, Flamerule 4, Year Of Risen Elfkin, 1375 DR

Hamayarch Alamondh Slain By Adventurers!

Necromancy & Corruption Scandal!

Conspiracy Uncovered!

Alamondh, Hamayarch of Procampur in the Vast, was slain yesterday by adventurers who had gained access to his hidden lair in the sewers, where they found a laboratory for necromantic research and many people held prisoner for experimentation.

Simultaneously, the Thultyrl Rendeth led a force of guardsmen into Alamondh's tower to apprehend the mage, routing his personal retinue of bodyguards. They later turned out to be hired thugs and pirates.

Subsequent investigations by Lord Hlartam revealed that Alamondh had secretly been practicing necromancy with the goal of attaining lichdom and using an army of undead to take-over the city to install himself as ruler. He was aided in this plot by a conspiracy of Velsharoonite cultists and hired thugs and pirates.

Rising levels of crime, mysterious disappearances, sudden deaths and undead attacks in the city in the last few years have been attributed to Alamondh and his agents.

This conspiracy was uncovered by leading small-business owners Traver, Yallathorp and Opara Rendril. They hired adventurers from outside the city to investigate Alamondh - Aerin of Damar, Solinor, Rokat Ironeyes, Red Ronja Of The Shining Sun, Arrazin and many others who have declined to be named.

Thultyrl Rendeth proclaimed them Heroes Of Procampur in a reward ceremony held earlier today.

See Page 2 for the full story.

(Translation: Hamayarch - mage-advisor; Thultyrl - the king.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:58, Thu 23 Aug 2007.

Since early Uktar of 1375, the bard Addison Talbot has been wandering the Sword Coast and the lands of Amn telling the following tale:

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Please let me introduce myself formally: I am Addison Talbot, bard of renown and traveler of the lands near and far. Many of you have heard of the war in Amn, of how vast armies of orcs, goblins and ogres as well as many other dreadful monsters, invaded Amn and even tried to spread to Tethyr. Amn's capital, Athkatla fell first to the monstrous hordes and it seemed all hope was lost."

"But there was a group of heroes who stood against the tide of darkness."

"The heroes names shall be remembered: Aaeir al-Raji - master of the sky and master of the blade, Randall Hawksword - Paladin of Sune and lover of the beautiful Jasmine, daughter of the desert. Kaijn Tur'kin, a wizard of skill and ingenuity, and the plucky and loyal elf Elyonna Shadowright. And there were many others who fell tragically in the final battle: the dutiful priest Drake Strongheart, the deadly Doln Windsong and Dymheir, the dangerous Lyren Howlingblade, the devout dwarven warrior Ethgrim Yurar. And myself, who told their story.

"The city had been enslaved. It's people suffered under the ogre magi's fists. With the guidance of the wise dwarven archmage Felix, they searched for the root of the evil and found it in the old mint building where worshipers were in the process of summoning a demon prince to Toril. Just in time the heroes managed to slay the evil summoner and closed the portal to the other realm. Now, without a leader, the monsters fought amongst each other for supremacy and lost the advantage they had. Eventually, Athkatla was free and the heroes could go and search help for her friend Nini... but that is another story."

(With thanks to DM Raven.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:58, Wed 29 Aug 2007.

Some time ago, the sages of Candlekeep announced that this year, 1375 by the Dale Reckoning, was the Year Of Risen Elfkin in the great Roll Of Years. The seers and prophecy-makers predicted a great many events to occur this year involving the Tel'Quessir, and now these events are seen to be coming to pass.

Adventurers across the Realms are warned to be mindful of elves of all breeds, and events in which they could be said to have 'risen'. The precise circumstances of each event are unknown, so adventurers are advised to act as they would normally.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:56, Thu 23 Aug 2007.

... The town of Gal was recently besieged by draconic creatures from out of Unther, until they were driven out by travelling entertainers. This is a tale that I shall presently relate.

It was the summer of 1375, the 25th day of Flamerule, when a young slave-boy reported a draconic creature of blue coloration lurking near his flock of sheep. Two groups set out from Gal to investigate this. One was a militia of local men formed by a visiting emissary of Lord Tchazzar, one Lycaeon The Bloody. The other were members of Cadmus' Menagerie, an all-woman travelling band of entertainers, along with a few foreign travellers. These were: Sylvia Skylark, a halfling entertainer of Ursuma; Lavender Moontread, an elven priestess of faraway lands; Amethia Bragonarian and Valas, magic-using half-elves of drowish complexion and origin; Chave Riordan, a trickster mage from the cold northern lands; and K'fushat of House Wolf-Pack, a orcish lady-knight of Airspur. There was some rivalry between Lycaeon and the members of the Menagerie.

The latter group proved to be successful, when they discovered and slew a type of burrowing dragon-spawn on the outskirts of town. They returned in triumph to Gal, after spinning a tale to Lycaeon to distract him from their prize. But their celebratory feast was interrupted when Lycaeon was pursued back to town by a horde of the beasts, after he had disturbed their lair. A desperate fight at the city gates ensued, ended only with the sudden unexplained appearance of a fully grown golden dragon that scared the beasts away, before disappearing again.

An impressive debate was then held between Lycaeon and Chave Riordan, who laid the blame for the battle upon the Tchazzaran's reckless behaviour, and succeeded in having him driven from the city in shame. Those who heard the debate declared the oratory worthy of the greatest demagogues of Cimbar, Soorenar or Mordulkin.

However, the then rulers of Gal - a group of philosophers calling themselves Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma, under their meditating leader, the Great Mentos - insisted on the complete eradication of the dragon-spawn threat, and placed a bounty upon their heads.

Aided by a local druid and guide, the members of the Menagerie set out once more to hunt the draconic beasts. After fighting numerous beasts, they eventually tracked them back to their lair, where they discovered a man of Unther, Megaxerxes, a worshipper of Tiamat trying to threaten Chessentan safety. It was said that they fought for a day and a night, matching blades and spells and draconic powers, before the Menagerie emerged victorious.

They returned safely to collect their reward and declared the town safe, before moving on...

- Excerpt from The Historia by Hippochryses Of Cimbar

<slightly offtopic>

One of my favorite mercenary company chants:

We are Voland's Venators
The Drunken Calvary
We cannot march
We cannot fight
What wretched knights are we
But when we see the enemey
Our heads get very clear
We charge straight for their baggage camp
And liberate their gear!


(this was from a warhammer mercenary group)
</slightly offtopic>

   There is a growing murmur among the villages of Rashemen that a great and evil plague upon the land was halted, and a siniter plot by their untrustworthy neighbors in Thay was averted. Surely the wychlaran, those benevolent female spellcasters whose only desire is to keep the Rashemi people safe from harm, had something to do with this.

---

   A meeting of groups took place on the outskirts of a deserted town nestled on the edge of a vast and growing wasteland - one that had been, until only a few weeks ealier, a lush farmland sustaining an abundance of life and vegetation. In the first, a ranger, a druid, and a shaman picked their way west, following the backtrail of fleeing herd animals and the predators that stalked them. From the south came the second: a young hathran-in-training and her steady barbarian charge.
   The five joined forces and travelled to the head of the now-dried riverbed where they discovered that the river itself had been diverted, apparently by magic, to flow directly into the bowels of the earth. Unable to reverse the damage and fearing the worst, the group travelled west; the next nearest river had also been diverted in such a manner. At this rate, the entire central section of Rashemen would be as dry as the Anauroch in less than a year!
   A quick visit to the Valley of Eternal Spring met with mixed success: the shaman was blasted by an errant spell and rendered permanently ethereal, and an interesting bard was brought into the fold to replace him. Encounters with stone guardians, charming nixies, gnoll mercenaries and of course ghostly wizards kept the heroes occupied the entire time.
   Armed with advice from their ghostly allies the party made haste to reach the third largest river which flowed from the nearby mountain range - the River Ashan itself. They thought it odd that they were not being attacked by the trolls whose communities dotted the crags and peaks through which they ran, and were only momentarily distracted by a brief encounter with a pair of vicious and surprisingly agile zombies.
   But the true test of their mettle came in the form of an ambush by a Thayan hunting party. That it had made it this far into their lands was a testament to both the audacity of the Thayans [an invading force during an enforced peace] and the dire straits in which Rashemen found itself with this destruction of their homeland. Fortunately, the Thayans called off their attack before it truly began, and it came to pass that they were hunting one of their own - a rogue arcanist who had stolen an artifact of great power.
   While negotiations were being made between their two forces, the barbarian was kidnapped and the Thayan renegade assaulted his countrymen's camp. Using the stolen artifact to summon a pair of great earthen elementals to augment his own small army of undead minions, the Thayan hunting party was routed and destroyed, and the necromancer fled to the north.
   The party gave chase, after first recovering their warrior and gathering what supplies they could from the smashed camp of their would-be [temporary] allies. Among the mess two things were discovered: a wand of soul-trapping, which was used to release the imprisoned soul of a good sorceress [who immediately joined the party on their quest], and the corpse of the Thayan knight-commander, which immediately rose as a [sort of] revenant, seeking vengeance upon its slayer.
   Bolstered by new members, the party took up the trail again, pausing only once to change hathrans [the original called away to report her findings thus far and turn in several captured items, the new to take up the mantle of leadership], and then a second time when an impromptu ambush by shadows [placed by the fleeing necromancer to slow the party] forced the heroes to stop and fight.
   Eventually they reached the mouth of the river, and discovered a great obsidian tower, magically conjured by the necromancer, and surrounded by the skeletal remains of trolls. No wonder they hadn't been bothering them earlier! During the ensuing battle the skeletons were destroyed, as were two more summoned elementals - due largely to the Thayan knight's ensorcelled blade - and the necromancer himself entered the fray, casting down bolts of dark magic and clouds of death from his perch high atop the fortification.
   Through tactics and trickery, the necromancer's tower was dispelled, and the evil spellslinger forced to flee...but in his haste to leave, the artifact was dropped, and in an ill-advised attempt to retrieve it, the death-caster was brought low by the combined efforts of the heroic Rashemi gathered that day.
   With the artifact in hand, the three rivers were visited and returned to their former states, once more bringing life to the lowlands, and hope to the hearts of the Rashemi citizens.

---

Adventure successfully completed by:
Eirik the barbarian
Bergdis the witch
Relgar the ranger
Vicril the druid
Cecania the conjurer
Harto the bard

Other players:
Navarra the witch
Graros the dragon shaman

The Procampur Herald
28th Flamerule, Year Of Risen Elfkin, 1375 DR

Maerstar Treasure Found!

History was made on the 26th Flamerule when the Maerstar treasure was finally found. This collection of moonstones, pearls and trade-bars was hidden by the merchant Uligker Oloskar and the entrepreneur Shondarl Stonegiant, each of Procampur, when they sought refuge in the town of Maerstar during the Time Of Troubles of 1358, and were murdered by unknown assailants before they could retrieve their belongings.

The treasure was found by members of the "Company Of The Icon", consisting of: Redginald "Redgie" Smith, a human warrior of Ravens Bluff; Lydia Tosscobble, a halfling thief also of Ravens Bluff; Jonas Jones, a human cleric of Lathander from Tantras; and Emily Siannodel, an elven wizard of parts unknown. They were part of a plague of adventurers and treasure-hunters that recently descended upon the town, following the mysterious appearance of treasure maps on notice boards across the cities of Procampur and Tsurlagol. The Iconics also uncovered the mystery of the mind flayer of Maerstar - a rare creature known as an alkada or "wingless wonder", that had consumed much of the treasure. They have since taken the creature as their mascot.

The Iconics were aided in this endeavour by the Heroes Of Procampur, who recently overthrew the Hamayarch Alamondh. Aerin of Damar, Arrazin of Thay and Rokat Ironeyes were joined by Pheylan, a priest of Oghma from the Domes Of Reason in Procampur. The Heroes defeated a gang of bandits who also sought the treasure and terrorized the town, and made two arrests.


See? Sometimes PCs do lose! :p
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:57, Sat 29 Aug 2009.

...Now, the psionic aboleth is a dangerous creature, equivalent to the psionic mind flayer when it comes mind control and mental assault, and with numerous powers of its own, and just as much intelligence and cunning.

One such creature was recently discovered lurking in caverns beneath the city of Innarlith, on the shores of the Lake Of Steam. It had come there after dominating a Colonel Timperius, a noble of that city and former big-game hunter who'd discovered the aboleth on an expedition into the Realms Below. Timperius was presumed dead on one of his expeditions, but had in fact been forced to retire into seclusion into the caverns after suffering the aboleth's sliming attack. His similarly-dominated son managed a slave trading business on the aboleth's behalf, who sought to gather creatures of psionic ability and consume their brains to gain their powers and knowledge. Spare creatures were held in a menagerie beneath the family estate, and the nobility of the city were invited to view the creatures, while the aboleth would sift their minds and spread its control.

The plot was uncovered when two travellers of psionic ability, Lorentz Everseer and Illianka, chose to investigate a slave-ship and freed a slave there, Ivy Winterstorm. They later infiltrate the Timperius Estate, and discovered the menagerie and the still-alive colonel. They fought off a number of the aboleth's frog-like Skum minions, and an escaped umber hulk, and freed more captives: Jurchot Shatteredaxe, a goblin kind of the south, Teran, Thamol Liadon, and others. Some of them had psionic ability, but all would no doubt have been consumed by the aboleth in time, or transformed into skum.

Thus released, they all went to confront the aboleth, who graciously shared some knowledge from its vast memory as it prepared for combat. Ultimately, the rescuers and freed captives were victorious, and slew the aboleth. Now there was the small matter of returning all the captive creatures in the menagerie...

 - Extract from Dialogues On The Invisible Art With The Great Mentos Of Cimbar And A Student

***

Would you believe it? There was a drow woman running through the Sapphire Street markets today. And she was holding a soaking wet cat of all things, with wings even! Well, the hue-and-cry went up and we gave chase, and a barricade was set up. And she jumped clear over the squad! She leapt like a kreen over every obstacle, and sprinted like a cheetah. Well, next she ran up and over an elephant, then we lost her on the Golden Road. Some drivers spotted her bouncing from wagon to wagon, and you know the speeds they get to.

Somehow she turned up in the Prowling Purr... No, she wasn't in a bed. No, it was the patrons there who saw her, we just questioned them after. That's all. So, this drow wench met with the high priestess, who healed her cat. Apparently she hung around there a while, meeting with some others. We wanted to search the place for the drow, but those Sharessin refused, so that was the end of that.

 - Overheard in the Centaur's Tail, between Black Firedrake guardsmen, in Innarlith, 13th Uktar 1375 DR.

Marpenoth 23rd, 1375 - Loudwater

A group of heroes was overheard at the Scarlet Shield Inn, returning from their adventure in the nearby woods after investigating the savage attacks on several farmsteads. The men and women were talking about huge spiders, gigantic bears and talking dire wolves. As if that wasn't scary enough, if it were to be believed, they were talking about a maddened druid who had staged the attacks they believed. We still have to hear if this was the end of the shrewd tale...