Glurm looks to Snow and whispers, "Dont forget to give the elders the gloves we got from the Goblins".

OCC - I missed this part.  My bad.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:45, Mon 10 May 2010.

[ ~ OCC ~
Potion of Enlarge and Reduce Size.  Not super useful that i know of i doubt the NPC's would want or have a use for it.  When she has a chance Snow does a slight taste test as well, as she's seen Elana do, so that she can identify these potions in the future.
Snow did give the gloves to her to review... (points @ msg #829)]

"I dont know if the portal should be destroyed.  Doing so would be a permanent and irreversible action.  We have a portal key so we can go through if such suits our purpose, or we can present it to the golden temple, and leave it in their safe keep to decide if anything needs to be done there.  I thought it appropiate to present the key to the elders of the fang before making such an offer though.

The Trogs are a concern, obviously they have designs on these lands and people, and while the xenophobic actions of destroy the portal might seem obvious, you have to wonder if they have other such portals about not yet discovered?  If so, destroying this one denies 'us' the means to enter their lands, while leaving them other means to enter ours.", Snow stops to think about it.

"The Trogs are not mindless, and showed an impressive level of sophistication.  They have temples, their own gods, and that they tried to sacrafice Arkus, divine spells.  They craft and are every bit as capable as humans.  They're larger and stronger, but, they smell... BAD...", Snow takes out the fabric she took from the temple and shakes them out to lay out for Elana...

"This is a sample of their crafting... and you can see that the scenes are not those of witless primatives.  I've aired them out, but havent had time to wash them.  You can catch a 'mild' whiff of what they smell like on the drapes.  I assure you, it's mild and up close it's much worse."

Snow points at Mord, "Mord and the others did much of the fighting, they can inform you on their martial prowess better than I.  The highlight of my combat with them was mostly limited to dealing with the priest at the temple."

Snow yields the floor to Mord, who she knows is dying to recount his tales of martial prowess to the elders.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:10, Mon 10 May 2010.

Just two minor notes.  First off, while trogs are typically tough they are slightly smaller than humans.  In play Snow knew this and gave a correct account of their size to Elana.

Unless I'm mistaken, Snow is showing Elana the cloth from the upper temple battle.  It does not have any scenes on it.  They are sheets of shimmering fabric, one yellow and one orange.  They are however, impressive construction, so they fit Snow's purpose of illustrating the trogs'  level of sophistication.

My bad, i thought there were drapes dipicting scenes of Trog history, and presumed the ones i grabbed might have some of those depictions on it.  It was random grabbing more for color than anything else.

There were two tile mosaics on the lower level where Glumr yanked the glowing cylinder off the wall.  Maybe that caused some of the confusion.  The cloth upstairs was all solid colors.  The good news is this will make better garments than depictions of history would've.

Elana carefully considers what Glumr and Snow have to say about the portal and the Troglodytes.

"It does sound like there is a threat from these troglodytes, be it to the Triplefang or the scattered Ferisedan villagers of Gollag.  For this matter we should consult Heinrich.  His experience is unparalleled and his word is final.  Will one of you please fetch him?"



note: Elena is the only elder in Volge.

"Normally I'd tell you to beware, or to forget it altogether.  This smacks of a scam played upon the gullible.  However, Arkus is both far too noble to be reduced to such trickery and too wise to have been taken in himself.  I believe his information to be genuine.  While I will not order you on a quest for this artifact you certainly may take it upon yourselves to find and retrieve it.  What more do you know about this item?"

OCC - I thought Heinrich was an elder

Glumr steps forward to address Elana, hoping one of the others in his clan will run to find Heinrich.  "Very little my eldress" Glurm says to her. "Akrus told us who writes their names in the book will become legendary heros till the end of their days.  The book will record their deeds within itself magically.  It is kept by Proctor Limon of the Ferisedan city of Rankor Heights.  That is all we were told."

"I'll go get him...", Snow volunteers...

"Let me know what i miss when i get back, and try and keep Glumr out of trouble...", Snow mentions to Holly before trotting out the door to do as Elana bids.

Glumr gives Snow a dirty look as she walks outside.  He looks back to the group and shrugs.

Even though Volge is small compared to Silvergate, it is the primary location for martial training due to Heinrich, the clan's warchief, living here.  Snow knows that she'll either be able to find Heinrich out at the training fields, or find someone who knows where he is.  Sure enough, Heinrich is guiding a group of young warriors through and exercise in storming light fortifications.

She waits until there's a break in the mayhem before informing Heinrich that Elana requests his presence.

"Something serious, huh?  What's this all about?" Heinrich asks, setting his battleaxe aside.

It was fastenating watching drills.  It was something Snow rarely paid much attention to.  After her little adventure she decided it wouldnt hurt to visit Heinrich a little more when she had time.  He might be able to help her improve her martial prowess.  She was never going to be as big or strong as Mord but that didnt mean she had to be clueless on how to protect herself, or learn where best to stick her blade to hurt someone while Mord distracted them.

"Theres a matter where your expertise might be helpful.  I think it's best to let Elana explain it.  I was sent to ask if it might be convient for you to come now and wait for an answer or to show you the way if now was a good time."

Snow is mindful to be polite, and not speaking out of turn discussing matters that Elana might want to discuss.

"Eh, now's as good as ever.  Cadby!" he calls out.  "You take over the drills.  Get this group over here to work on protecting their flank and not allowing overrun."

He turns and heads off to Elana's cottage.

"You're not going to tell me anything, are you?" he says.  He looks more amused than upset by this.

"Me?  What could i possibly know that might possibly interest you.  I do think i need to drill a little more though, do you think i can join one of your classes and drill a little bit.  I know i havent been the most enthusiastic, but i'm getting a new appreciation for the martial skills you teach."

Heinrich stops and regards Snow.

"Well, you're a bit small and weak, aren't you?  But bravery counts too.  If you want..."

Heinrich is cut off by the loud chuckling of a nearby stranger.  Both he and Snow turn to see who's laughing, but neither recognize him.  The man is dressed in dark leathers- not the ragged type of armor the Triplefang tend to wear, but something more precise and clean cut.  He's also sporting a long wide brimmed hat which shades his face, but leaves his grin visible.

"He's right of course, my dear.  With your build you will never be able to chop a man in half with an axe with one blow the way your mighty Heinrich does.  His teaching will be wasted on you.  If you want to learn to kill a man, and I can see you do, you will need to be more..." he waves his hand nonchalantly and a long, slim, knife appears in his grasp. "subtle."

Heinrich scowls.

"But I see you are busy now.  Meet me at the boarding house this evening if you are interested.  Good day."

The stranger bows and makes his exit.

Heinrich looks at Snow questioningly, but she just shrugs.

Shortly thereafter the two arrive at Elana's cottage.

"Hello Eldress.  I hear you need me.  Why all the secrecy?" asks Heinrich as he and Snow arrive.

"I doubt it's as much a matter of secrecy as minimal knowledge, War Cheif," answer Elana.  "The Triplefang adventurers you see here have recently been to Gollag and beyond to rescue Goldenpoint's lost champion.  They are concerned with the troglodytes who captured the hero.  These creatures are numerous and aggressive and they threaten to plague Gollag further, perhaps they even pose a threat to us."

"You should hear all the facts first hand.  Please tell Heinrich what you know about these troglodytes and the situation in Gollag."

"Who was that?  I've never seen him before.  I've been away for a bit a few days, is he new to town?", Snow's been warned against talking to strangers, and yet she was curious by nature.  The teaching of childhood warred with her natural tendacies.  For now, it was a draw and she was uncertain what she would do.  Her immediate concern was to have Heinrich return with her to Elana.

"I'm small but i'm not weak.  Mord is another story, theres no mistaking him for small or weak.  You should have saw him Heinrich...", Snow passes time briefly recounting Mord's heroics to him in a conversational fashion.

Glumr speaks up to tell Heinrich about the trials they've been through.

"After returning the idol, we found that Arkus, the champion of Goldenpoint, had been taken.  We traveled to Gollag to find the village scattered into the wilds due to the Troglodytes kidnapping locals.  The locals guided us to a cave where we had dire rats summoned against us in the first direction we explored.  Realizing that Arkus was not that way, we changed our path and found a door where Troglodytes were exiting.  After defeating them in combat, we found they had this stone key which Snow used to open a portal in the wall."  Glumr points to the key.

"We went through the portal and found ourselves in a vast ocean of sand and hot sun with no water around.  There was a quarry, where thunder shook the ground and Troglodytes were mining.  There was large triangular structure of stone with a refuse put near that had human remains.  We also saw a vast city in the distance near a river.  We went into the triangle structure and fought our way to Arkus with the help of a Troglodyte prisoner we had rescued on the way.  We stopped them midst a ceremony where they were sacrificing Arkus.  We freed him and made a hasty escape through the portal and back to home."  Glumr tries to recount everything that had happened in the past week.

"From what I could tell, it seemed as if they are worshiping a dragon as their god, but we did not see such a creature.  We brought back some artifacts from the building, or temple as it seemed.  I feel like the Troglodytes will continue to intrude and possibly take prisoners for their rituals.  Snow may offer some more information as she conversed with the creature and is able to read some of their script."

Glumr gestures to Snow to add any embellishments he may have missed.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:52, Tue 11 May 2010.

Heinrich doesn't know the guy.  Strangers used to be very rare, but every year brings more travelers through Volge.


Heinrich seizes a chance to speak after hearing Glumr's description of events.

"Whoa, there...  That's quite a lot of tale in just a few words.  Lets focus on the problem and ignore the other details.  You say troglodytes are coming through a magic door to kidnap the people of Gollag?  How many of these creatures are we talking about?  Why did they go to Arkus for help and not the Ferisedan?"

In reply to Heinrich (msg #850):

The patrol we met coming through to the Gollag side had 4.  When we scouted the mine on the foreign side, it seemed like there was living space for maybe a dozen, but it was hard to judge how many might really be deep in the mine.   We encountered 11 or so in our short stay at the temple, but I'm sure there were many many more in areas we did not search.

The patrols came through periodically to snatch more villagers from Gollag... hoping to find fodder to sacrifice I guess.  The townsfolk have fled to remote farms and cottages so future patrols will have to search longer to find new prisoners.

With the priest we killed during Arkus' rescue, its hard to know if the Trogs will seek vengeance on the scattered townsfolk in the hills and farmland around Gollag or try to find easier captives elsewhere.  I would plan for their vengeance or at least bigger patrols doing more of the same.

We don't know who Gollag called for help, just that Arkus was trying to help the town.

When Snow came back in with Heinrich, Holly said quickly "You didn't miss anything," and then sat quietly again. When Mord had had his say, she decided to pipe in with, "Mord is right. I believe they were looking for sacrifices to finish something for their god. They will still have that need. I don't know if our actions will mean they will seek to come through in larger numbers. If they do, they will need to roam further to find anyone."

Snow nods slowly, "They said that if Arkus stayed, they would come back for no more because he would fill their need for a sacrafice.  With him gone, they will inevitably return.  They arent all evil and bad though.  We found one jailed that helped us quite a bit.  Arkus seemed to be familiar with him and might be able to provide more information if you spoke with him."

Heinrich nods.

"From what I hear, we can be sure that the troglodytes will attack again.  Their numbers do not sound overwhelming.  Nevermind the magic portal.  It is like they are raiding in a boat that can hold 12 men.  We can defend against that quite easily."

The Triplefang Warchief ponders the situation for a while.

"Gollag has rich forests nearby and possibly mines too.  If the Ferisedan cannot defend Gollag then it is no longer their village.  We will send warriors first and farmers, loggers, millers, and miners later.  Rolf?"

"Yes, sir."

"Are you and..."

"This man's name is Vidar."

"Are you and Vidar ready to return to Gollag?"

"If we must.  But we have some business in Silvergate still," says Rolf looking around at everyone else.

"That's fine.  Go to Silvergate, but hurry back.  I will gather trained men and equipment for you to take with you to Gollag," Heinrich says before turning to Elana.  "Is that all?"

Elana nods and Heinrich bids everyone farewell, preparing to leave.

Snow watches Heinrich go thoughtfully.  It sounded like violence was on the horizon.

"Elana, we wished to travel with these two to Silvergate to peddle some of the items we've collected and to better equip ourselves for the next legs of our quest.  Can you offer us any information on Rankor Heights or the Ferisedan clan before we depart with them?" Glumr asks the eldress.

"Rankor Heights is the Ferisedan capital and the home of the Bards' Guild.  It's a walled city much larger than Silvergate.  The new city was built around the time you were born.  The design was a collaboration between dwarves and the empire.  They have taken many customs from the empire, so things will be a bit strange to you there.  Rankor Heights is about a two week walk south-east of Volge.  You'll need to travel to Crim, our southernmost village and go to Kammarra from there."