The Later Levels
Passing timeThe three party members continued adventuring together after the first winter set in. Drewen quickly became an even more excellent fighter than he had been the previous summer. Through long practice Lana also grew hardy and more capable fighting with her dagger, also acquiring new magical spells and improved casting abilities.
Now Threy also had the ability to cast spells, these being of healing and protection as his Immortal patrons acknowledged their young servant's progress. He was also granted an increased power of turning against the undead. The young acolyte was, however, plagued by dark dreams and bad tidings, for after his Church had been expelled from Threshold the Immortals of Chaos whom he served were displeased that their cleric was doing little to convert others to their ways of free-thinking. Qualities such as anarchy and hedonism were not admirable virtues in the eyes of the more established faiths, yet Threy was not even attempting to compete with the popular ideologies. Rather, the cleric seemed solely concerned with improving his own personal circumstances. Thus Threy received warnings that he should pursue his faith more strictly, lest his clerical powers be denied to him.
It was also around this time that the heroes made the acquaintance of the ruler of the village of Verge near Threshold - Lady Halia Antonic, herself a magic-user and a keen local geographer. A slightly unstable relationship formed, since Lana was unsettled by the fellow mage whose spells resembled many of those within Lana's own repertoire. Halia spoke of how she and her husband, local nobleman by the name of Sir Retameron Antonic, were given no respite from gnoll raids upon their village.
Next, at Sherlane Halaran's suggestion, the three heroes and their retainer Otto did what they could to protect Threshold against the threat of lycanthropy, as they battled nightly against savage werewolves lurking in the dense woods outside of town. Lana had used some of the gold she had amassed during the party's adventures to purchase a dairy cow named Bella, which she kept tethered outside her master's tower. Tragically, Bella was devoured by the werewolves while the party's attentions were divered on one cloudless night of the full moon.
Drewen, Threy and Lana also ventured to Fogor's Isle to clear the town mill of an insect infestation, befriending a jolly gnome named Bifgug in the process. During this adventure the party acquired a heavy, man-sized statue made from solid silver. This was transported through use of a Floating Disc spell to the Threshold town treasury, then onward to the merchant city of Kelvin where it sold for many thousands of gold pieces.
Led by Drewen, the companions also journeyed to an abandoned dwarven stronghold known as Sith Hergon, located deep within the Black Peak mountains. Within this vast underground complex the companions' minds became exposed to a unique magical phenomenon, resulting in knowledge of the history of the dwarven nation of Rockhome being magically implanted within the minds of all three individuals.
Other adventures followed - such as uncovering a group of scheming doppelgangers within Threshold and fighting bugbears outside the town of Luln where the party befriended the local ruler, a female fighter named Sascia. They were made to feel welcome in the newly-founded town, and settled there for several days.
A charming fellow ... the theft of the ring
One night while staying in Luln, a strange-looking man entered the Inn's bar room and seated himself at a table by himself. He was tall and obese with an equally chubby face, and balding. There was a strange air about this man, a charm which none present could place their finger upon. The stranger appeared to quickly befriend whichever patrons he chose to associate with. Stranger still was how people sought to offer the man gifts after mere moments of conversation - items such as free drinks, trinkets of jewellery, even amounts of money. This unusual behaviour caught Drewen's eye and warily the dwarf went to speak with the man. Lana watched from a distance as the two conversed, and was startled when her friend returned with nothing strange to report. Was there a strange glaze across his eyes, though? Lana decided to introduce herself to the man, seating herself at his small table. The stranger's name, he revealed, was Yuri Kopurnikov, yet he would say nothing about his life or trade, or what specifically had brought him to Luln.
As her mind wandered for the briefest of instants, Lana found herself staring into the man's pig-like eyes... and realised she was entering a complacent, charmed state. There was nothing she could do to resist, the man had beguiled her. Magically, no doubt. The mage could not stop herself from handing over one of her most treasured posession - a solid silver ring, highly magical, enchanted with the power of telekinesis. The man decided he would accept the woman's gift, pocketing the ring and giving Lana his thanks.
Protest as she might, she could do nothing to get her ring back. The man promptly took his leave, stepping out of the inn and into the night. When Lana later came to her senses, irate at having been duped, she vowed to hunt the man and recover her stolen property. There was definitely more to Yuri than met the eye.
A further concern was that was that on the very same night when Yuri had appeared in the town, a barmaid was found dead in an alley - her chest seeming to have ripped apart by inhuman claws. The three companions suspected Yuri to be involved, for despite the town having only been founded recently no such crime had been committed before. Until Yuri's arrival, that was...
The threat of the black dragon
Having spent a week enjoying the hospitality of Luln, the party decided to venture into nearby Blight Swamp. A young black dragon named Falaryx was said to be holding the town to ransom under threat of mass killings. Blight Swamp was known to be utterly desolate - rumours abounded of zombies, ghouls and even more potent forms of undead roaming the lifeless wasteland. Having scoured the swamp for days on end, the dragon's lair was finally located and the three companions engaged the beast in combat. The young wyrm was haughty and arrogant, gifted in many tongues and capable of casting magical spells. The fight brought all four party members close to deat; Drewen, Lana and Threy were each blasted in turn by the dragon's acid breath. Threy nearly died from one especially heavy blast, falling to his knees amid the mire, but continued breathing through the intervention of his Immortals patrons. The fight was close but the rewards were great. Drewen acquired a set of magical crossbow bolts and an enchanted shortsword, Threy a rod of powerful cancellation magic, and Lana a new scroll - one to summon a bolt of lightning, though this was a spell she could not yet master. It was decided to visit Specularum, the capital of Karameikos to have the party's acquisitions properly evaluated.
With Otto in tow the companions set out for Specularum, following the Duke's Road and stopping by hamlets and farmhouses along the way. To their immense fright they were pursued by an unseen apparition. An Invisble Stalker had been conjured by the wizard Bargle the Infamous, of whom the black dragon Falaryx had been a close ally. On learning of his associate's untimely demise, and having lost a valuable pawn, Bargle wished the heroes dead. After much fleeing and strife, it was only with help from a powerful cleric in one of Specularum's cathedrals that the assassin was banished, and the three travellers were left feeling relieved to have survived their lengthy ordeal.
An enemy within ... the founding of the Inn
Whilst in Specularum, the adventurers discovered that the remnants of the doppelganger clan they had driven from Threshold had regrouped in the capital, and were seeking to replace key figures of state as part of a plan to erode Duke Stefan's power. Unwittingly stopping by the doppelgangers' headquarters, each of Lana, Drewen and Threy were confronted by replicas of themselves - assassins come to dispose of and replace their counterparts. Surviving the attempt on their lives, the enraged companions traced the doppelganger ringleader to his home in the affluent residential area of Specularum known as Bricktop. The lead doppelganger was a magic-user himself and had for years been masquerading as the sage Deceptus Vezaron, a collector of paraphernalia and obscure magical items. The party's attempt to expose this villain culminated in a magical chase between Vezaron and Lana Budanter through the city streets. Lana kept him from fleeing beyond the market place until finally it was Drewen's hammer which, before a crowd of hundreds of onlooking citizens, put an end to the scheming shapeshifter's life.
Word of the party's accomplishments soon reached the ears of Duke Stefan himself. As a reward, the three were granted title to the doppelgangers' estate. Sadly, most of this had been transported away a while before however much gold remained on top of magical scrolls, potions, and last but by no means least the house itself which had served as the doppelgangers' headquarters. The acquisition of this property gave Lana and Drewen the chance to fulfil one of their mutual dreams - to open an inn which would offer comfort, food and drink to weary travellers. Thus the interior of the house was renovated and gave way to a new lodging and dining establishment - The Flying Ferret Inn. Lana was an expert cook and would also manage all paperwork; Drewen would staff the bar and take care of drinks; it was suggested that Threy might assume responsibility for the stables. However it was also agreed that the sullen cleric should keep watch over the Inn's patrons each night, and step in at the first sign of rowdiness with his restraintive clerical magic should the need arise. Thus the Inn was set to run smoothly for many months.
While in the city, Lana took time in the laboratories of the Magicians' Guild to create a new spell - a variation on Magic Missile, comprising many smaller missiles which could each be directed at separate targets. The spell summoned a mass of glowing fragments - explosive missiles under the caster's control, thus the spell was named "Budanter's Amber Shards". Teldon, Head of the Guild was suitably impressed.
A return journey to Threshold had been discussed for several weeks. The route would take the companions dozens of miles to the north, upriver past the merchant city of Kelvin. Lana was eager to teach her master Amber Shards, and also to catch up with old friends. She was startled when a letter arrived for her from Threshold, in which Valtanivark referred to a man whose description sounded disturbingly similar to Yuri. This spurred the companions into action and they departed for the north immediately.
Return to Threshold
Upon arriving in Threshold, the companions found Yuri and confronted him publicly, accusing him to be some sort of shapeshifter or werecreature. Yuri laughed in their faces, delivering mockery with an inordinate amount of charm, and again the three friends felt a strange feeling creeping into their minds, emanating from the man's piggish eyes. Lana was familiar with the Charm Person spell, which had an effect such as this, though the man made no spellcasting gestures nor spoke any incantation. In any case, this time round Drewen, Lana and Threy proved capable of resisting whatever magic was at work. They still had a great deal of adversity to overcome however, as it transpired Yuri had done much to gain the appreciation of many within Threshold. He had, after all, been in town for several weeks. Therefore the party's allegations of Yuri's suspicious nature fell on deaf ears. Lana even watched as the obese man used her very own ring of telekinesis to alter the outcome of dice games he played with the unwitting townsfolk.
The companions felt justified when they broke into the luxurious suite Yuri was renting in the inn, as an attempt to uncover some evidence of the man's true motives. And they found some - a set of gnawed human bones under the man's bed. This evidence was presented to the overseer of Threshold - Sherlane Halaran, a high-ranking cleric within the Church of Karameikos, who accepted the party's evidence and sent a troupe of guards to apprehend Yuri. It subsequently came to light that Yuri was indeed a lycanthrope - a devil swine, capable of transforming himself into a huge ugly boar. The gloves he wore on both hands were NOT to conceal claws, as the party had suspected, but rather to stop his flesh from coming into contact with the solid silver of Lana's ring.
Now back in Threshold, the companions were able to put their feet up, meet old friends and take some well-earned rest. Drewen moved back into the small cottage he owned, while Lana moved back into the room which was kept for her in her master's Valtanivark's tower. Threy also, after some cajoling by his friend Lana, was persuaded to take up residence within the tower walls. It was here in Threshold that the party would soon gain two very important additions...
Read on to the next instalment - The Later Levels, Part Two