Chapter #1114
previous chapter (#1113)
next chapter (#1115)
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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 +
+ 1991-2022 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 +
+ Paige 13th level human female warrior +
+ Razor Charlie 12th level human fighter +
+ Skektek 14th level human wizard +
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+ Daffodil 11th level human druidess of Obad-Hai +
+ Peyote 12th/12th level half-elven fighter/druid of Obad-Hai +
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+ Date: 4/19/586 C.Y. (Common Year) +
+ Time: late morning +
+ Place: the depths of the Vesve Forest +
+ Climate: mild +
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+ "They're not strange, they're passionate." +
+ - unknown +
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MCXIV. High Times Indeed
After a full day of productive (if sometimes stressful) visits to old
friends, Belphanior and his companions stayed the night in Djekul, amid
the lands of the Frost Barbarians to the far northeast. The following
morning has seen them rise early to venture to their next destination
using magical means...
Belphanior: (begins to invoke the powers of the Eye of Celestian, but
finds it more difficult this time, as if the item is not functioning
at full strength) Hmm, that's odd.
Paige: (regards the elf) Something wrong?
Belphanior: (takes a breath and refocuses) It's nothing...ah, there we
go.
The foursome found themselves in a dense wooded area, the trees rising
high all around them. It was no longer bitterly cold, and this new area
had a pleasant smell as was the case in most woodlands.
Skektek: (looking around) Another forest. Which one is this?
Belphanior: This is the Vesve, or at least that part of it where my
old friend Peyote dwells. He's a druid of significant power.
Paige: A forest-priest? I've actually never met one of those.
Belphanior: (nods)
Razor Charlie: (thinking about such people, who are said to eat weird
mushrooms and act crazy, he just grimaces)
They had appeared deep within the woodland, judging by the size and
density of the trees. The sunlight barely filtered through the canopy
above, and the forest seemed a bit dark and foreboding.
Belphanior: There are souls about...but...hmm, that's strange.
The trees all around them were gently creaking as they swayed in the
wind...except that there _was_ no wind.
Paige: Is it just me, or did some of them get closer together since we
arrived?
Skektek: It's not just you. I think they're alive. (he begins thinking
about fireballs and lightning bolts, weighing the destructive power of
each option against the risks)
Belphanior: Hold that thought. This isn't a forest we want to set on
fire.
Skektek: Then tell it not to attack us...because I think that's about
to happen-
voice: When it comes to the forest, man...I'll do the talking.
Belphanior: I know that voice. (he looks around) Peyote.
A stocky figure walked through a gap between two trees - a gap that
hadn't been there moments before. The half-elf was short but powerfully
built, his brown hair and eyes perfectly matched to the surroundings.
He wore a green and brown tunic that seemed to blend into the forest if
one looked at it the right way, and leather boots that appeared far too
soft to be comfortable for walking along a forest floor.
Peyote: Dude...you can't just teleport into my home. The forest doesn't
really like it.
Belphanior: That explains why I felt the Eye of Celestian resisting me
as we traveled here. Its power must have come up against that of some
other force.
Peyote: That would be Obad-Hai, the Shalm. (he nods to the other three
helpfully) My patron deity.
Paige: I kind of figured.
Peyote: (watching as the trees seem to relax, and the forest comes alive
with the normal sounds of such a place)
Belphanior: I was just following my magic, which told me you were here.
Peyote: Yeah. Well, don't do that. It's not cool. (he regards the
elf) This forest isn't what it used to be, man. Here, let's venture
into the safer reaches within my home.
Paige: Safer?
Peyote: Just follow me, sister.
The half-elf led them away, in what seemed like a random direction; he
seemed to know where he was going, but they were completely and utterly
lost. Skektek had considered conjuring a floating disc to ride on, thus
avoiding having to worry about roots and bushes underfoot. However, the
path Peyote took somehow avoided such obstacles; every turn they made
seemed to take them between tree trunks and under any overhanging branches
with room to spare.
Skektek: That's strange.
Peyote: Nah, you just have to know how to walk through the woods.
Belphanior: (having already known that they were deep in the forest to
begin with, he begins to realize just how immense this woodland is, as
they move yet deeper into its vast depths)
Razor Charlie: (looks around stoically, noticing that the wildlife are
still around, paying them little mind) Hmm. (he eyes Peyote, quietly
wondering just how much power the strange half-elf wields)
They walked for a short while, and while it was far from unpleasant,
there was no avoiding the feeling that they'd ventured quite a distance.
Eventually, they entered a large clearing, well over a hundred feet in
breadth. It was noteworthy that this place was hidden from above thanks
to a thick canopy of branches that had grown inward, weaving together to
mask the clearing from any airborne viewer.
Peyote: Good folks...welcome to my home.
The sizable clearing was filled with a strange combination of small
earthen huts and crude stone buildings, and everything was arranged in
a series of concentric rings. At the very center was a circle, five feet
in radius, of stone blocks that were barely the height of a man. Outside
this area, extending to a radius of about thirty feet, was another henge
ringed by much larger stone blocks. Even the smallest of these was about
ten feet high (or perhaps more, as that was just the visible portion above
the ground). Within this second, outer perimeter of stones were a few
crude stone structures; they were simple, well-worn, and probably very
old. Some didn't even have roofs, or completely-intact walls, a fact
which apparently didn't bother the various people who moved within and
around the buildings. There were also a dozen or so huts, fashioned of
hardened mud and bearing roofs of woven branches; these were also in use
by the folk who inhabited this place. Some of them - judging from their
garb - were druids like Peyote, while others appeared to be woodsmen. A
lone wood elf could be seen, his longbow and quiver of arrows resting on
the forest floor nearby. A gnome walked into one hut, while nearby a
busy-looking halfling exited another.
There were also other, more unusual denizens roaming the area. A small
fox trotted along after the halfling, while a number of birds flew freely
through the clearing. At least one of them had a nest atop one of the
huts, from which a constant chirping emanated. More than one squirrel
pranced about, leaping from tree to building to ground without a care in
the world. A particularly large tree at the edge of the clearing could
almost have eyes and a mouth, if you looked at it just right. And then
there were those things that were even more odd, like the four-foot-tall
mushroom that walked around on stubby legs and also had slender arms at
its sides...not to mention an entire face beneath its cap.
mushroom-man: (saunters past, stopping briefly to regard the strangers
who accompany Peyote)
Razor Charlie: (grimaces at the strange creature)
mushroom-man: (makes a face at the warrior, then emits a strange series
of sounds that resemble a mixture of humming, whistling, and squeaking)
Razor Charlie: (confused)
mushroom-man: (wanders away)
Peyote: In case you're wondering, my dour-faced friend...he asked, what
kind of dude are you?
Razor Charlie: ...right.
Paige: He seems a bit out of place here in the forest.
Peyote: Right on. (he gestures all around) I mean, who isn't?
Belphanior: So this is some sort of druidic temple or base?
Peyote: As the Druid of the Vesve Forest, this is my headquarters, and
also my home. From here, I oversee the affairs of the entire woodland,
and dispatch scouts to the corners of the place, and listen to their
reports, and deal with problems.
Paige: You're in command of all these...people?
Peyote: You bet. (he heads for the largest of the huts) Come.
This hut was more sizable, it turned out, because it had to be...since
it held a family of five.
Peyote: (enters the hut) I'm home! And I've got company.
Within moments, the half-elf was assaulted by three tiny attackers who
ganged up on him, trying to tackle him and knock him over.
young child #1: Daddy!
young child #2: You're back!
young child #3: Waaaaah!
Peyote: (allows himself to be borne to the ground by the three children,
all of whom appear to be about four years old, and all of whom look
exactly alike)
Belphanior: (still surprised by the presence of these children) What
the h- ...err, heck?
Paige: (smirking) I take it these are new.
Daffodil: (appears from a back area of the hut, which is larger on the
inside that it should be, with multiple rooms divided by hanging cloth
curtains) Kids. Get off of your father.
Peyote: Lighten up, it's okay. I've been out all morning. (he continues
to wrestle with the trio of energetic children)
Belphanior: You two...had three more.
Daffodil: (smiles) It was bound to happen sooner or later. Triplets,
though...THAT was a surprise.
Paige: But an efficient one, I'd wager.
Daffodil: Indeed. (she regards the warrior-woman) And who are you?
Belphanior: Forgive me, I sometimes forget which of my friends know each
other, or not.
The elf did a quick introduction of his three companions to Peyote and
Daffodil, keeping it short and concise.
Daffodil: And these are Holly...Ivy...and Lily. They'll be four this
summer.
Razor Charlie: (matter-of-factly) No way to tell which is which.
Peyote: Tell me about it. Sometimes even I get confused-
Daffodil: (punches him lightly in the arm)
Peyote: But I'm sure they'll become more individualistic when they get
older and gain interests and hobbies. (he lifts one of the children
off the floor with a powerful arm) Until then...terror tots!
Belphanior: No doubt.
Daffodil: (warily) So, what brings you to - pardon the pun - our neck
of the woods?
In short order, the children were ushered to another room to play,
while the adults addressed far more serious matters...
Belphanior: -and that's the tale of how, and why, I missed out on the
wars entirely.
Peyote: Bogus. Or maybe not so bogus, because those wars were no fun.
Daffodil: I don't think we had it as bad as some. We didn't lose our
lands, or experience mass killing...we just had to defend the forest,
and hold it against the evil ones, as best as we could. (she frowns)
For three damn years.
Belphanior: I'm sure it wasn't an easy time.
Daffodil: Damn right, especially with three babies to worry about. I
mostly stayed here, with them, while others - my husband, his superior,
and my father among them - dealt with things that needed dealing with.
Skektek: But you're still here, and alive and well, so you made out fine,
right?
Peyote: Unfortunately, the Pact of Greyhawk didn't specify which parts
of the Vesve are supposed to belong to the Highfolk, or Iuz. (he makes
a disgusted face) Though nothing "belongs" to anyone, especially that
foul one. I bet he thinks he rules the entire forest.
Daffodil: But he'd be wrong. There are many thousands of elves and men
here, mostly woodsmen...also some gnomes and halflings.
Peyote: (nods) No doubt you saw their envoys outside, amidst the henge.
We've all got to work together to keep the evil ones from spreading any
further in this place...and to plan for the many long battles that will
no doubt come in the years ahead.
Daffodil: Right now, the western and southern reaches of the Vesve are
under friendly control, while the north and eastern regions are polluted
by the forces of Iuz...dirty, stinking humanoids who have no respect for
the forest and are slowly fouling and destroying it.
Belphanior: Again...Iuz. I keep hearing that name in relation to recent
world events. (he resolves to take some time to further study the evil
demigod who's been the cause of so many problems)
Peyote: Anyhow, we're working the problem, but it's a big problem. Word
is that the Great One himself is close to a decision on the next steps.
Paige: Great One?
Peyote: The Great Druid. Oakly Greenleaf. (he casually points a thumb
at his wife) Her father.
Belphanior: Ah. (he makes the familial connection) It's all starting to
make sense now.
Peyote: (thinking about the conflicts to come, not the family tree that
he married into) We'll see.
Belphanior: So I should tell you, I've already found and talked to many
of the others...Mongo, Halbarad, Rillen and Songa, Arnold, and now the
two of you. And I'm hearing a lot of the same things, and I want to do
what I can to help-
Daffodil: -but first you have to recover your magical hoard. Which, I
have to say, makes sense, because with it you could do so much more...
equip an army, or at least its leaders.
Belphanior: (considers how he failed to do that, for all these years and
with all the treasures he ever gained, instead simply hoarding all the
items) ...yeah. (he frowns)
Peyote: Well, don't be so glum, man. I'm sure you'll find your loot
sometime soon, and then everything will be gnarly again.
Paige: (drily) That's exactly what we're hoping will happen, yes.
Belphanior: And then...I'm going to figure out a way to help you. All
of you.
Peyote: Awesome!
next: Belphanior pays his last visit, to Nenya and Deryck
www: http://www.peldor.com/download.html
homepage: http://www.peldor.com/
email: tmiller@peldor.com
released: 7/1/2022
notes: We haven't seen these two since 11/20/580 (episode 1086) at
which time they talked of soon returning to the service of Obad-Hai and
seeing what he had in store for them, and possibly starting a family as
well. They were also mentioned in episode 1091 as having gone back to
their old ways, whatever those were.
By the way, as a reminder, episode 583 contains an excellent primer
on the druids of Oerth and their hierarchy, at least as I adapted it for
the Oerth of my stories.
And, as a final thought here today...I've actually done a hell of a
lot of backstory and development for Peyote and the druidic stuff here,
especially considering that this was a non-serious character originally
played by a non-serious player (who really did talk like this most of
the time).
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next chapter (#1115)