Chapter #1214
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+ THE ADVENTURERS +
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+ Epic VI +
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+ Many of the locations, non-player characters, spells, and other +
+ terms used in these stories are the property of Wizards of the Coast +
+ which has in no way endorsed or authorized their use. Any such +
+ property contained within these stories are not representative of +
+ Wizards of the Coast in any fashion. +
+ The player characters depicted in these stories are copyright +
+ 1991-2026 by Thomas A. Miller. Any resemblance to any persons +
+ or characters either real or fictional is utterly coincidental. +
+ Copying and/or distribution of these stories is permissible under +
+ the sole condition that no money is made in the process. In that +
+ case, I hope you enjoy them! +
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+ Belphanior 18th/18th/18th level elven fighter/wizard/thief +
+ Irina 14th/7th level female human priestess/warrior +
+ Otto 12th/14th level dwarven fighter/thief +
+ Paige 13th level human female warrior +
+ Ys 14th level reptilian fighter +
+ Shemeya 19th level human sorceress from ancient Sulm +
+ Bosco 14th level halfling thief +
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+ Balgezo, male brass dragon sibling (dominant alpha) +
+ Olunzal, male brass dragon sibling (quiet and reserved) +
+ Surtoza, female brass dragon sibling (practical, direct) +
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+ Date: 4/16/587 C.Y. (Common Year) +
+ Time: late morning +
+ Place: the Brass Hills, within the Bright Lands +
+ Climate: hot and dry +
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+ "It's insane." +
+ "Heck, might even be a good thing." +
+ - from _Money Plane_ +
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MCCXIV. A Feast Fit For Dragons
Some time after finding the brass dragons' underground lair, speaking
with the three huge creatures, and summarizing the recent history of the
Bright Desert and happenings within...the party is now witnessing a most
unexpected occurrence.
Bosco: (pulling one foodstuff after another out of his magical bag) I
never leave home without at least a week's worth of food, you know.
(he tosses out another wheel of cheese)
Paige: (to Ys) Does he mean for himself, or for a small army?
Ys: Who can know?
Balgezo: (pokes at the thick disk, which is protected by a seal of red
wax but which he can still smell with his keen nose) Excellent!
Bosco: And then there's this. (he hauls out a roll of hard bread that
is almost as long as he is tall)
Olunzal: (clearly delighted, he deftly grabs the bread with one huge
clawed hand, sniffing it)
Balgezo: Don't you dare eat the whole thing. It's for sharing!
Bosco: Sharing...that's what it's all about! (he produces a sizable
hunk of wrapped ham) See?
Olunzal: (drops the bread and picks up the ham) Ah!
Shemeya: (watches this spectacle unfold, utterly speechless)
Belphanior: I told you.
Shemeya: I spent two dozen lifetimes while trapped in time, plus the
one before that, and have seen all manner of odd and amazing things...
but I can truthfully say that I have never - ever - witnessed anything
quite as bizarre as this.
Bosco: (to Olunzal) Now that's ham from the finest farms of Greyhawk.
(he pauses) Not unlike the cheese, come to think of it.
Olunzal: (holds the ham in one clawed hand, and the bread in the other)
Surtoza: (turns to the others, her tone somewhat apologetic) Please
understand, it's not that we're overly hungry. It's more that we just
have never seen this variety of foods and flavors.
Balgezo: (holding the cheese) Or smelled.
Olunzal: (clutching the ham) Or tasted.
Bosco: I'm happy that you're happy.
Balgezo: We are quite happy, small master chef. (he flips the wheel
of cheese around in one clawed hand)
Bosco: (frowns) Master chef...master chef. A chef...to dragons. (he
grins suddenly) Dragon chef! Yes, that's it. They will call me...
Bosco, Dragon-Chef!
Paige: Oh, gods.
Bosco: (he finds a large bottle of wine) And now we can all be even
more happy. (to the dragons) I had a feeling that I'd be entertaining
someone today, so I packed a little extra. (he finds a small sack of
apples) Ah! See what I mean?
Balgezo: (pops an apple into its mouth, eating the whole thing, core and
all)
Bosco: (rummaging around in his bag) The pickings are getting slim now.
(he looks up, frowning to himself) Next time I'll have to bring more
magical bags.
Olunzal: More? There's more?
Bosco: There can be. Trust in Bosco, Dragon-Chef. Among my many titles
from my many adventures!
Otto: (to Belphanior) He's really laying it on thick, isn't he?
Belphanior: If it makes them happy...it will benefit us as far as our
goal here today. I hadn't counted on the help of Bosco, but...(he
shrugs)
Bosco: (busy entertaining the dragons now, with his tall tales) -also
known as Juggernaut Warrior...Thunderdelver...Spider-Slayer...Golem-
Slayer...Fish-Killer...Dragon-Friend-
Balgezo: (nodding) I can see that.
Olunzal: A hero of many titles, you are.
Surtoza: (frowns) Fish-Killer?
Bosco: -Minotaur's Bane...Beastmaster...and of course, Dragon-Chef. (he
takes a bow)
Nearby...
Shemeya: Tall tales indeed, from such a short one. (to Belphanior)
Surely they cannot all be true?
Belphanior: They are. Or I should say, they more or less are. His
memory of certain past events is a little...skewed. But to an extent,
yes, he actually did do all of those things.
Otto: (thinking to himself about how fortunate it is that Bosco omitted
"Dragon-Rider" and "Dragon-Slayer" from his list of accolades)
Paige: Hmm.
Shemeya: (regarding the halfling with more interest now) What a strange
little fellow.
Belphanior: Sometimes I'm not sure about him...he's either a complete
idiot or he's a lot smarter than he wants anyone to know.
At this point, the dragons - led by Bosco - had begun to sample all of
the foods the halfling had assembled, while he launched into the telling
of how he earned all of his various titles. This could have gone on all
day if they'd let it, but Shemeya found an opportune moment to break in
and direct the conversation back to her actual agenda.
Shemeya: (clears her throat) If I might.
Balgezo: (licking purple jam off of its snout) Eh?
Shemeya: The small one will be happy to regale you with his stories,
but first we need to know if you'll accept our offer of a home and a
future peace.
Olunzal: (puts down the bread and ham he was eating) That's certainly
a reasonable thing to ask. And we did discuss it, before...(he looks
around at the half-devoured feast) Well.
Surtoza: We had already reached our decision. (she exchanges glances
with her two siblings)
Balgezo: Yes. While these caverns are spacious, and contain a ready
supply of water, shrubs, and fungi...this is not where we belong. We
will live atop the stone spire in the desert, and we will remain on
friendly terms with the Bright Alliance.
Olunzal: (nods) Nor will we seek and devour any livestock or people,
or drink from your lake or any of the springs amidst the sands.
Surtoza: But we have three conditions. (she cocks her huge head to one
side, studying Shemeya and Belphanior in particular) First, we will
require a monthly shipment of fine foods such as good Bosco here has
demonstrated here, this day.
Olunzal: Second, we desire the company of Lord Bosco here on those days
the food is brought, that he and we might exchange stories and tales
old and new.
Bosco: Huh?
Belphanior: (claps Bosco on the shoulder) You'll be happy to do it,
Bosco. Think of the food...the drink...the legends to be shared!
Bosco: (appears a bit dubious)
Shemeya: And third?
Balgezo: Thirdly, there will come a day when we are ready to seek out
and destroy the accursed blue wyrm known as Volte, and have vengeance
for our slain parents. When that day comes, we expect some assistance
in this effort.
Shemeya: (nods without any hesitation) And when that day does come...
you shall have our help.
Belphanior: (thinking of that deserved revenge, but also of the immense
treasure hoard that the blue dragon must surely possess) Agreed. The
dragon will die when the time comes.
Balgezo: Excellent. (he and the other two begin nodding and growling
to each other, clearly pleased)
Shemeya: So that's that.
Surtoza: (she frowns) Oh, by the way...I recall one of you mentioning
something about donating some coinage to add to our wealth as we make
our lair atop Dagger Rock in the coming days...?
Otto: We did?
Paige: Who said that?
Bosco: It wasn't me.
Surtoza: (appears confused) No, I am fairly certain that I overheard
someone offer up that tribute so that our new home would be properly
appointed.
Balgezo: (grins) That would be a nice touch, to be sure.
Olunzal: (nods) Such things are important, after all.
Shemeya: (glances at Belphanior questioningly)
Belphanior: Ahem. (he spreads his hands) Of course we can contribute
some coin and gemstones to help make Dagger Rock more comfortable and
cozy - as it should be, of course.
Balgezo: Of course.
Olunzal: Delightful! (he whispers something to his sister)
Surtoza: (listening intently)
Belphanior: Eh? what is it?
Surtoza: We were wondering...before you depart, could you possibly tell
the tale of the Bright Lands again, this time with more details? (she
grins, exposing rows of large fanged teeth) That was a worthy story!
Belphanior: (sighs)
next: a problem arises in the desert
map: http://www.peldor.com/world/atlas/Bright-Desert_1203.jpg
www: http://www.peldor.com/download.html
homepage: http://www.peldor.com/
email: tmiller@peldor.com
released: 6/19/2026
notes: I know that the traits and mannerisms of brass dragons have
changed slightly through all the editions of D&D, but I tried hard to
capture the way I thought they would act here. It's a good and useful
alliance/partnership, sure...but they also slyly pushed for more...the
snacks, the treasure, and (longer term) the help with their revenge.
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