Meric the Storyman: Rega and the Dragonstones

The city of Striplind is the northern seaport built mainly for trade with the dwarven city of Cromwell, although a few ships from Makloran were home ported here as well. It uses mountains as a natural defense on its western edge. A large fence surrounds the rest of the city. It proved invaluable when attacked by the ogres and orcs.

To the east a short distancet, there is a small cavern with goblins and kobolds. These small humanoids have learned to be wary of the city, although some humans have not yet learned to be wary of the goblins and kobolds. Occasionally, a new goblin leader will get a little bold and head towards the city with a group of goblins, but the fence stops them too.

A large hill sits inside the fence. On the top, a lookout point has been built. From there, every location in the city can be seen.

A small community of druids lives in the southwestern part of the city. They moved there after the attack twenty years ago. This is the same group that Latala had lived with before she had given birth to Doman.

South of the druids and outside the fence are the homes of the city guards with families. Those without families live in the guardhouses in the city itself. A small contingent of soldiers from Makloran’s Order of the Silver Rose is also stationed inside the city walls.

Many shops have been set up in the city. Besides the usual bars and inns, there are a good number of shops dealing with ship supplies and ship repair. There are a variety of shops dealing in wares from other faraway cities. Of course, being a seaport, there were also quite a few places that were available to relieve sailors of their money.

At first, Rega had some suspicions about Doman, but after he had spent a day with the group, he felt better about the half-orc. Doman had explained about his being raised by a druid. His mother had taught him some of the basic spells, which was rare for a half-orc. An added bonus was that the half-orc had considerable knowledge about cooking.

Rega saw that the halflings and brownies accepted Doman readily. Since Doman had shown he had skills in the art of cooking, Stice and Lano were extremely happy about this. Thinking about the brownies and halflings, he decided to ask Stice about how they met.

Stice told the humans and half-orc it had happened two years ago while they had been traveling through the Tsalpei Forest. They had left Leafbourn early in the morning with a wagon load of Redbottom Leaf. They were heading to the majestic kingdom city of Makloran. It was getting to be late afternoon before they decided to stop for the night.

They had a simple meal and then followed it with a pipe full of their tobacco. In no time, they had visitors. Usually, they encountered some brownies on their way through the forest. These brownies would come and ask for some of the Redbottom Leaf. Stice and Lano always had some set aside, just for them.

This time was no exception. The brownies came. However, making a rare appearance was none other than the Brownie King. He came to personally thank the halflings for the gifts of pipe-weed.

Stice and Lano bowed down, paying their respects to royalty. They offered the King the usual gift of tobacco. The King accepted graciously, pulling out a small, wooden pipe. The three of them sat and talked about world events while enjoying the relaxing atmosphere that a good smoke brings.

After the King and his bodyguards left, the halflings began to prepare their sleeping gear. They wanted to be on the road early.

Suddenly, they were startled by a loud scream. Getting their short swords, they rushed to the direction of the scream. They found the source. It had come from the Brownie King. He was trapped by a huge spider.

The spider was fighting with two brownie bodyguards when Stice and Lano arrived. The third bodyguard had been bitten and was in convulsions from the poison. The halflings had to act.

They both ran to the aid of the two brownies. The spider, realizing he was being overpowered, jumped in a nearby tree and climbed to safety.

It was over just like that. One brownie was dead, but the King was safe. The halflings felt it better to escort the King back to his home.

As a reward for their help, the King told the two bodyguards to remain with the halflings. He explained that these were not just any brownies, but were Warrior Brownies. They had exceptional strength, intelligence and dexterity. The halflings were soon to find out that they had very inflated egos as well.

This allowed the halflings extra protection while they traveled. It also allowed the King access to what was going on in the land. As the halflings would pass through the forest, the brownies, Certi and Ardi, could pass on any interesting information.

This arrangement still existed today. The brownies and halflings were good friends and worked well together.

Lobaki also talked about how she came to be an apprentice to Nomis. Her father was an alchemist. He suggested she visit Nomis, as the two of them were acquaintances when Nomis led the Wizard’s Guild. He arranged for her to get a ride there on the back of a hippogriff. She later found out that the hippogriff was sent by Zekil.

She arrived at Nomis’ residence, her long brown hair disheveled from the flight. Only because Nomis knew her father was she initially allowed inside. The old wizard made a comment about being taken away from important studies, but went to his crystal ball and appeared to discuss her with someone on the other end.

Nomis finally came back, took out a wand and started passing it over her. He started at her feet and stopped when he got to her head. Satisfied of the results, he accepted her as his apprentice.

With the stories over for the night, everyone then prepared for sleep. Stice took the first watch.

The little boy was alone, hungry and very afraid. He ran away from the orphanage two days ago, tired of being picked on. He was now ready to fight back.

He could not remember there being any good days living at the orphanage. He was the only half-orc child there. All of the other children were there because their parents had been killed by the orcs and goblins, so he was constantly being picked on.

He had no friends. Sometimes, the larger boys would beat him up and call him names. The most common was “pig-face”. The adults who ran the orphanage would not step in to stop the abuse. In fact, one of them encouraged it and would laugh when it happened. He had to get away from it all. Grabbing a butcher knife from the kitchen, he had climbed out a window which had been left open to let in a breeze.

Unfortunately, he did not bring any food with him. He found a half-eaten, stale biscuit in the garbage last night. It was at least something, but he needed more. Since he was not going to go back to the orphanage, he only had one choice left. Although he dreaded it, there was no other way.

The boy saw a man leave the pub. The man had been drinking. The boy could tell by the way he was walking. This would be his target.

The half-orc boy slowly gained on the man. Without a sound, he plunged the knife into the man’s back. The man let out a scream...

“Doman, are you O.K.?” asked Dexir. “I heard you talking in your sleep and then you let out with a scream.”

Doman let the effects of the dream fade. “I’m sorry. I was just having a nightmare.” he finally answered.

“Well, if you need anything, let me know.” said Dexir. “I just started my turn on watch, so if you want to talk or anything, I’m here.”

“Thanks. I’ll be fine.” said Doman. Inside, he knew he was not. Out here, he did not have the comfort that his mother always provided. He was like the little boy in the dream. He was now all alone.

Doman fell back into a restless sleep. No more nightmares bothered him the remainder of the night.

It took two days after meeting up with Doman before they made it to the outskirts of Striplind. This city had heard about the attack in Esapha too. The gates were open but guarded. There were also a few soldiers from the Order of the Silver Rose in plain sight. Rega spotted several with the solid black shields bearing an image of a rose in the center.

Rega had encountered groups of the Order on occasion during his travels. Their primary task was to protect citizens throughout the kingdom. Groups made up of ten to twelve soldiers would leave Makloran. Traveling on horseback, they would go to different areas of the kingdom, returning many months later when their patrol was completed.

In addition to Striplind, there were a few strategically posted keeps placed throughout the kingdom where the soldiers were also stationed. One such group of soldiers did come to the aid of Ractah twenty years earlier. In many cases, Striplind included, the local city guards took guidance from and were trained by the Order.

They passed through the gates after a brief inspection of the wagon and goods. There was an additional delay due to Doman, but with the halflings vouching for him as one of their bodyguards, things were fine.

The group then got a place to stay the night. No ferry boats were allowed to dock at Cromwell after sunset, so they would have to wait until the morning. Also, the halflings had to deliver the ordered Redbottom Leaf. Rega doubted there would be any time to do so afterward if he succeeded in getting the Dragonstone.

Rega had to finish a plan of action. Most of it had been worked out during the trip. He just had to check with Lobaki to see what spells the novice wizard could do. As much as he dreaded it, there just might be a useful spell. As luck had it, she knew of one that should help. Whether this would be good or bad luck, time would tell.

In the morning, Rega had most of his plan completed. He would have to check the castle and the surrounding area for the last details. After getting a good breakfast, he called the group together.

First, Lobaki and Doman needed to know the truth. So far, they had only been told that Rega and Dexir were acting as guards for the halflings. He sat them down and told them both about his meeting with Soliat.

“So that is why Nomis wanted me to join up with you.” said Lobaki. “He must think I may be of some use for you.”

Rega then brought up his plan. Lobaki, the halflings and the brownies would travel to Cromwell with him. They would leave the wagon in Striplind and take just enough Redbottom Leaf to not draw suspicion.

Dexir and Doman would stay in Striplind. Their goal was to locate a boat, arrange for the boat to be at a specific location at Cromwell, and to have the wagon ready to go if the mission was successful.

Rega gave Dexir some information on a place to look for help. He told his friend to look for a person named Luxod. He explained that Luxod was someone who owed him a favor, and it was time to collect. Along with the location, he gave his friend a code phrase that would get him in to see Luxod.

If all went well, he would have the first Dragonstone, the Stone of Luck, soon after nightfall tomorrow.

Rega, Lobaki, the halflings and the brownies boarded the ferry which would take them to Cromwell. The halflings hid Certi and Ardi in with the sacks of tobacco. They were small enough to avoid detection.

Dexir and Doman stayed behind. They would have to succeed in finding a boat for Rega. If not, Rega might get the jewel, but still be stuck on the island.

Rega had given his friend some of the silver pieces for expenses. They shook hands and wished each other luck. So much was depending on luck, and ironically they were trying to get the Stone of Luck. Then the ferry was on its way.