Prelude - Rockmaw Run: Heart and Hammer

The Age of Magic is ended, Bhall, the Goddess of Fire, has succumbed to the whispers of Agares and fallen into Hell. Her worshipers and creations driven mad, and fire, which has been a powerful ally to man, has turned against him. Each good god was charged with the opposition of an evil god. Bhall was responsible for balancing Mulcarn, the God of Winter. Finding himself unopposed Mulcarn has broken The Compact and moved into Creation.

Creation was on the verge of another open war between the gods, that which they had outlawed with The Compact. To keep that from happening a deal was struck and the gods agreed that one god would enter Creation to challenge Mulcarn. That was Sucellus, the God of Nature. The two gods battled across the face of Creation, entire civilizations still recovering from the Burning Skies that marked the fall of Bhall were destroyed by their power. In the end Sucellus was killed and Mulcarn remained.

The Eternal Winter has begun...
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Re: Prelude - Rockmaw Run: Heart and Hammer

Post by Vardaen » Mon Jan 25, 2010 7:38 pm

Sorry about no map, sure that adds to the confusion.
Torias takes a few sets back and eyes the situation, his dwarven rage is coming out. Then his curse, a rather... colorful one at that. Leaping forward the Cleric swings his axe with all his might down overhead. The weapon whistles through the air as it connects with the skull of the kneeling Bugbear. *thunk-splunk* the ax chops solidly into the skull of the beast splitting its helm in twain. Quivering the bugbear gurggles up some blood and then topples over to the side very much dead.

The foe is no more and no more parchments will be besmerched by the bugbear.
Keep in mind you can't move onto a space you've left already. Like backing up and charging forward. I'm just not worring about it this time because it doesn't matter in the end and since I didn't post a map lately.

Attack: 18 Hit for 6 dmg = DEAD
The battle ends, and the sun shines a bit brighter through the exit of the Rockmaw Run... success is only feet away.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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Re: Prelude - Rockmaw Run: Heart and Hammer

Post by Eanwulf » Mon Jan 25, 2010 10:25 pm

Sensing his brother's rather wild form of incoming attack, Torrak quickly relinquishes his hold upon the foul beast and promptly rolls to one side in an attempt to avoid having any of his limbs or extremities severed in the process. *Thunk-Splunk*

Upon realizing that the bugbear is indeed quite dead, Torrak promptly stands to his full height and proceeds to slap his bewildered brother upon the back. "GOOD JOB BROTHER," the dwarf exclaims proudly, his face beaming with a smile, "Another one for the dungpit!"

Torrak's attentions then become focused upon his surroundings. The echoing sounds of battle have all but lessened and waned to silence. This can't be good, he thinks to himself as he continues to listen, best we make haste now, less our victory be for naught. "Come now brother," he then states in a rather grim and serious tone, "Best we leave this beast for the rats to eat and finish what we've started. The day has just begun and we still have a long way to travel!"

With this Torrak promptly gives his brother's arm a tug and proceeds to dash off down-and-out of the tunnel exit...
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Re: Prelude - Rockmaw Run: Heart and Hammer

Post by Grimbold » Tue Jan 26, 2010 12:33 am

Torias stares at the dead bugbear. "Bless the Crafter. I would not have thought that I would ever be in such a situation. Strange times indeed." With that, he gives in to his brother's tug and follows him, slowly at first, then faster. His eyes are open and he is looking out for traps or anything that might hinder their progress.

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Re: Prelude - Rockmaw Run: Heart and Hammer

Post by Vardaen » Tue Jan 26, 2010 8:46 pm

The two dwarves come to their senses, the battle for Rockmaw Run still rages behind you, but with the commong of dawn you know your dwarven kinsmen are withdrawing and pulling back. The plan was to get you out of here by morning, and morning it is, the Captain will be retreating to spare the lives of his troops as much as possible.

the two bald headed twins race out under the carved arch into the bright light of day and escape into the wild lowlands of the world beyond the dwarven kingdoms....

*** Five Days Later ***

It has been five days since your escape from Rockmaw Run. After racing out into the sun filled lowlands you turned east onto the plains south of The Burning Pit. For the first two days things were tense, the Ember Clans remained close behind, and the dangers of the orcs and goblins were ever present, but the lone pair of you easily slipped through the countryside undetected and unharmed.

The lowlands turned into mudflats where various geothermal dangers plauge the land just on the edges of the ruins of Braduk. Mudpots, natural geysers and other shifting terrain makes travel in the region dangerous. Yet your natural affinities with the earth have kept you safe, and perhaps the guiding hand of Kilpmorph as well as played a part in it. Three days of travel around the southern end of The Burning Pit ends and you've turned north heading across what maps name The Darkmoon Plains for the Foam River and a small human settlement there called Falcon's Hollow. This small community is to be your launching off point for a deep investigation into the region around the mountain once called Torag's Crag, but on some of Torais' maps and in those forbidden tomes it was named Droskar's Crag -- The Crag of the Dark Smith.

Your supply of Ironbloom Mushrooms is just about out, they aren't fresh for very long and that feeling of home is quickly fading as you make camp on the plain a day's travel from the River Foam and Falcon's Hollow. The weather has gone from early fall type weather to early winter in only a matter of days. If not for the mudpots and hot springs under the ground this whole area would be covered in frost and possibly snow already (far too early than normal even this far north). A small fire burns at your camp, and the pair of you sit talking about what is to come tomorrow when you once again reach civilization.
Pushing this game forward. Tomorrow you'll reach the river and Falcon's Hollow and Chapter 1! I want to give you a bit to RP your travel, back posting, homesickness, or just something between the Run and FH. So go ahead and do your thing. Likley Chapter 1 will start this week.

The other two groups are in the same situation, and ICly the same day.
Geothermal Activity: Various forms of surface-level geothermal activities exist all throughout the plain, particularly in the areas south of River Foam and between it and the Burning Pit. Explorers after the Fall of Bhall in the area faced'€"in addition to the usual dangers from monsters, wild animals, and savage humanoids'€"the hidden hazards presented by subsurface mudpots and hot springs. Many early expeditions lost men or pack animals when an unsuspecting victim stepped on a particularly thin bit of ground and fell into the superheated mud or water underneath. Modern guides know of these dangers and lead their patrons around such obstacles, often following game trails. Unfortunately, even the most experienced guides sometimes lead their employers astray, as the geologic activity beneath much of the Darkmoon Plain remains relatively active and constantly shifts.

Most of the geologic features of the plain remain in plain sight, however, and announce themselves regularly or continuously. Many of these exposed geysers and mudpots attract the attention of people and creatures drawn to natural displays of beauty and heat!!
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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Re: Prelude - Rockmaw Run: Heart and Hammer

Post by Grimbold » Thu Jan 28, 2010 4:50 pm

When they are out of the Run, Torias smiles at his brother and comments: "This hammer and anvil move really works. You hold the fiend and I can strike him... Anyway, let us walk on to get out of these mountains. We still need to be careful as there will be orcs and other things around, but I am sure we can avoid them."
***
Every morning, Torias ponders over some maps he found, trying to find the best path to get to their goal unscathed. "Yes, Torrak, this map is quite out of date, but I am taking this into consideration. After all, it is only 570 years old." He points to Torag's Crag on the map. "It is called 'The Crag' on the map. Kilmorph knows what they call it today. But is seems to have been called Droskar's Crag at some point. This is where we are going" He says this as much to his brother as to himself.
Every evening, the cleric writes into his little diary, sketching in maps, as well as any other thing that he deems interesting. After that, he loses himself in one of the books he has brought with him, trying to go through their task again and looking for loopholes in their logic and research.
At times, he happily chats with his brother, in a way enjoying the time with Torrak but still yearning back to the cold solace of his mountain library.
I am assuming Torias has 4 books with him and a (small) collection of out of date maps. Would that be possible?
***
Now, Torias is sitting at the fire, holding his hands at it and rubbing them. Writing and sketching is not very good with cold hands. "We will arrive in Falcon's Hollow tomorrow. Perhaps we can find a guide to the Crag? What do you say, brother?"

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Re: Prelude - Rockmaw Run: Heart and Hammer

Post by Eanwulf » Sun Jan 31, 2010 11:30 pm

Despite having successfully made their way through the Rockmaw Run, Torrak still remains to be rather silent and grim. The thoughts of all his former kinsman that had given up their lives in order for two brothers to simply rush off in pursuit of a dream doesn't seem to bode well with the stoic dwarf and his face reflects this. Crafter help me if we're wrong...

For the most part, Torrak's behavior is calm and reassuring. The young dwarf does his best to make sure that his brother is comfortable and able to examine the maps and tomes properly. On several occasions, the monk wanders off to try and forage up something to eat or drink, but for the most part remains by his brother's side.

When asked whether or not they should look for a guide upon reaching Falcon's Hollow, Torrak merely smiles and replies. "We shall see brother...we shall see..."
Sorry, rather odd weekend and barely managed to get this post up before it ended! Keep the buttery wholesomeness coming Vard!
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Re: Prelude - Rockmaw Run: Heart and Hammer

Post by Grimbold » Mon Feb 01, 2010 11:40 pm

"Well then, we shall see. Let us rest and then we will walk to the city. Perhaps they do have a library or something there... We might get more information from the scholars living in the town." Lost in thoughts he munches his last mushroom. Torias yawns and readies his bedroll.

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Prelude - Rockmaw Run: The End

Post by Vardaen » Tue Feb 02, 2010 1:07 am

The twins haven't spent this much time together in a long while. While the dwarves are both members of the same order, their training has taken them down very different paths of late. The two speak, and Torias show his old maps, on the old maps they call it Torag's Crag, but on one of them its listed as Droskar's Crag. It is this term Droskar that in the point of interest, for from time to time Torais discovered this name here and there, but it always seemed like it was intentionally stricken from all the records save where it was missed by a careless hand. This does not bode well in the scribe's heart, anytime something is stricken from the records, its never good.

The two manage to survive the Darkmoon Plains, their geysers and mudpots, and the pair camp the last night before reaching Falcon's Hollow, the stepping stone human village to The Crag and hopefully the successfull completion of their mission. The last of the Ironbloom mushrooms is eaten, a bit stale but good and the last lingering bit of home is gone now.

Dawn arrives and the twins pack up and head off along the last bit of the Darkmoon Plain. The geysers, hotsprings, mudputs and shifting geothermal vents makes the going slow and extremely dangerous. Thankfully however your natural affinity for all things earthy helps keep you safe along the last day of travel. Soon you spot the River Foam and the Falcon's Hollow Ferry up a head.
The End! Your Prelude is at an end. I'll be opening Chapter One shortly.

Grimbold, I'm fine with the four books, as long as one of them is the one you wrote. Please fill out your sheet and add the books, with a bit of detail on what they are about. You don't have to go crazy, but a short summary would do well.

Great Job. You both recieve: 880 XP!!!
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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