Post by Todd on Nov 30, 2021 16:19:43 GMT
Where are we?
-Written in a hurried hand-
Today is by far the strangest day of my life! I had just laid down on the couch and dozed off after a great day with my children and wife, we just finished watching a funny movie when I put them to bed. When I awoke, I found myself in a field in the middle of nowhere at night wearing what appeared to be burlap clothes. The only thing I had was a very strange necklace with what appeared to be a large marble pendant with a celestial supernova moving inside. As I stood up to gain my bearings I glanced up at the stars and it was unlike any constellation I have ever seen. A few minutes went by when I heard a young boy’s voice call out to me in the distance. He called himself Michael and appeared the same as me unaware of how he got into this field.
We walked around for a while and began to see other’s that appeared in this strange field. Michael seemed to know almost everyone we found, then I saw a familiar face. . . Robert Layman my best friend for over 25 years. Bewildered like me we spoke about this strange land and how and why we are here. Rob seemed to know the others, Mike who is Michaels dad; Sean, Mikes longtime friend; and Carmen, a brother of Mike, Sean, and Robs friend Sonny. We got to know each other as we walked toward the sound of a river heading in the direction of a town. I pick up 4 golf ball size stones in case I need to defend myself. The one thing we all noticed on that walk was our lack of ailments, I had ZERO pain. I felt GREAT! Stronger, smarter, and faster; I could move in ways I haven’t been able to since I was a young Soldier in the Army.
Upon reaching the edge of a small river I noticed another individual who appeared like the rest of us and seemed much more confused. I called out to him “Hey Buddy, you ok”? He responded in confused words which asked more questions than provided answers as to who he is. He said he didn’t know his name and would accept Buddy as his moniker until he could remember. As the group is asking questions of Buddy, Rob was telling me that he wanted to figure out what this pendent did and said he wanted to see if it could break. I Said, “Don’t mess with it, were still trying to get an understanding of what any of this place is about.”
As soon as those words left me lips SPLASH! As I turn Buddy is in the river flaying about and going under. Without hesitation I dove in, swam to him and pulled him out of the river. As I was trying to figure out what happened I glance over, and Rob is gone!! The only thing left is the chain of his broken pendent and two palm size river rocks. Damn! He smashed it! We all concluded that wherever we are, these pendants seem to be the anchor keeping us here. I don’t know if Rob went back home or if he was gone forever; I just know that I‘m not ready to possibly disappear from all existence. I HAVE TO GET HOME.
As we got close to the town I start talking with Carman another Soldier about how we should move tactically since we don’t know who these people are. Carman, Sean, and I were going through the field to get a closer view to see if this could be a place of sanctuary or if we need to find another safe shelter. As we get into position to see and listen to what these people are saying we see it’s a celebration (Feast of the Visitors) for some reason and everyone appears to be dressed in primitive almost medieval styles. This is all truly strange. Sean nudges Carmen and I and points to the main road that goes to this town. Walking with a stick straight towards these people is Buddy. WTF?!? He is going to get himself killed I think.
Suddenly the music and revelry stop, and all eyes are on him. The leader of the town guard (latter known as Corry) with a sword approaches him and welcomes him. Corry asks if there are anymore that arrived with Buddy. We all cautiously make our way towards Corry and he happily greets us. Corry introduces us as the Sergant at Arms and second in command of Landtor, and said he will bring us to Gareth the town leader to explain where we are and to offer us possible answers to questions, we most certainly have.
When we meet with Gareth and go over our arrival, the vanishing of Rob and some of the events that have transpired, he welcomes us to Landtor by offering some food and drink while he brings us up to speed with what he knows of this land/alternate dimension of Thirith. He offers us to stay in the Barracks near the main gate and says he will explain more in the morning and that we are free to roam as we please and are not prisoners but guests.
The next morning Gareth shows us around town and points out other “Visitors” like ourselves. It seems most of the people of the town have been from the USA and Earth like us although depending on when they arrived all from different times and locations. Gareth tells us that according to “Natives” those that have only known this place have said that this land used to be filled with magic and powerful gods although for nearly 500 years the magic and gods have disappeared. Gareth introduces us to a young man named Jesse who was born here from two Visitors and will show us around and get us new clothes and train us in the ways they fight here.
We each get a nice set of leather armor which fits well but will take time getting used to. Jesse introduces us to Ardel the town blacksmith who will issue us weapons, that we can take to the training grounds and begin practicing. Everyday we train with swords, shields, and bows. They also tell us of some of the creatures that have been known to attack outside the town walls.
Over the next few weeks my companions and I grow close and get pretty good at using these weapons. Every day is training from dawn to midafternoon, after training I typically wander the town meeting people and learning about some of the key players in the neighboring towns. I am working on building a network of sources that I can use to gain and spread intelligence. At night I fall asleep gazing at the stars, since my arrival I have felt a pull and wonderment of them. Maybe with more concentration I will make sense of them and why I have this obsession with them. I ask the other guys about it but they brush me off and say “Todd, there just fuckin stars”.
While we’ve been here the guys have been trying to find their way and make the most of it. Mikey spends his time sneaking around the town, hiding in shadows and playing pranks on some of the locals. Sometimes he moves items from one place just to sneak into some shop and place the item there, a strange little kid. Mike seems to be focusing most of his time on sword play and observing the various characters of Landtor. After training Sean has been working on brewing, which gets no complaints from me. I look forward to it being done so we can have some tasty beer. Carmen and Jesse have become close friends and have been improving their tracking and hunting skills by adventuring outside the town walls. They have been tasked with scouting out the surrounding woods, keeping the main road safe for travelers. Finally, that brings me to Buddy who spends most of his time wandering the town aimlessly trying to make sense of what is going on.
During one of our walks around town we end up in the refugee camp where Menion a visitor of 50 years. A strange man who speaks of random and prophetic things. He speaks about the return of magic and the powers of the gods. He knows that we can find and harness the power and become great and well known throughout Thirith. As he speaks a large refugee covered in rags hides in the corner. Mike and Sean try to speak with him, and he avoids their questions and just shakes his head. Trying to find out more about this strange man, I walk behind him faking a fall and reaching for his cloak. As I fall hitting the ground with his cloak in my hand I glance up and see a Half Orc standing trying to cover himself up. Menion and the rest of the group tell the Half Orc to relax and that we mean him no harm. After a while he calms down and intorduces himself as Bardhbolvag or White Curse in common. He was kicked out of his clan located in the Center Plains for being a Half Orc, he tells us his story and that he is just looking for a place to belong.
When we brought Bardhbolvag to Gareth he said that he could not stay inside the town walls, for fear that the citizens might not be so welcoming to him, since over the years Orcs have attacked the town and killed their friends. Gareth said that we could move into the broken-down tower outside town where Menion resides. Over the next few weeks Bardhbolvag or Bard as we started to call him began to feel more comfortable around us. We started to fix up the tower slowly making a home.
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5 June 16 March 2021
Gareth asks us if we could help Dr Joseph Sebanko by collecting Oron flowers which has become the best source of medicine here. There is a large Oron field north of the river near Lake Ester. We agree to this and begin preparing for our journey tomorrow by stocking up on supplies.
6 June
As we prepare to leave the town of Landtor Mikey stays behind since it is still way to dangerous for him to go out into this new and dangerous world. Buddy decides to stay behind and watch over Mikey, while he tries to figure out who he is. Our adventuring party consists of Sean, Mike, Carmin, Bard our half orc companion, Jesse our young Landtorian Ranger, and me. Near the docks we hear sailors from Brith, the town just south of us speaking a large continent to the west called Grandish. This is a strange new world.
We make our way down the trail heading east Jesse says in an hour we should spot the campsite used by him and Carmin’s. We find it destroyed and 3 dead humans who appear to have been sent from Corith. Mike climbs the large 40’ rock to the north of the camp to see if he can spot anything that might have done this destruction. He quickly alerts us to a Giant that is heading south towards us. I climb up with him and the rest prepare to flank him as the Giant nears. Mike and I draw the Giants attention with our volleys of arrows, while Carmin, and Sean attack with their swords with Bard stabbing every chance he has with his spear and Jesse constantly flanking and firing Arrows from bushes. The Giant threw a large boulder at mike and I forcing us to jump off the rock. I made it but Mike hit his head and was knocked out. Carmin ran to Mikes aid and Jesse fired two more arrows into the neck killing the great beast.
We had our first epic battle in this new land, and as tough as it was, we acted courageously and as an effective and coordinated team. After we slayed him, we took this opportunity to inspect him since none of us but Bard have ever seen such a fictitious creature in the flesh. As we inspect this Giant I cut off one of his ears which was the size of my hand, to look back on to see if this was just a dream, truly unbelievable. I asked Bard and Jesse if they have ever known Giants to be in this area. They both said they normally stick to themselves in the Southern Wastelands. I was interested to see if hunger might have been driving him to venture out of their traditional areas. I assisted Bard in cutting open the stomach to see if he was hungry. The most awful stench once we cut into him. However, my hypothesis was proven wrong since it appeared he recently ate. Bard said he likely attacked the Corith travelers unprovoked and would have killed us as well if we did not fight back.
During the night while Jesse was on watch he awoke us as he saw 2 zombies walking toward our camp. It appeared to be out of The Walking Dead, no matter the injury or limb we cut off they continued to come for us. It appeared that chopping off their head was the only way to kill them. After we killed the last one Sean said “This is fucking crazy, just like in the movies. We need to burn them to make sure they don’t come back.”
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7 June 6 April 2021
Jesse said that he will run back to Landtor and inform them of what we have seen so close to Landtor. The rest of us stay behind resting and healing our wounds. When we began to feel better, we decided to go on a scouting mission to try and find where these zombies were coming from. As we began to walk following the zombie tracks toward the east we came across we ran into eight dog looking humanoids. Bard told us that in the common tongue they are called Knolls and typically stick to their own kind. We stood on guard for a few tense moments not fulling know what to expect from them. We talked in gestures and realized we both meant no harm. They motioned that they were heading to Landtor to ask for assistance. We told them we will escort them to Landtor. I told the Party that I will run ahead give Gareth a heads up that these Knolls would like to meet with him. Halfway back to Landtor I ran into Jesse briefed him on what we ran across as we headed to find Gareth.
Once in Landtor we briefed Gareth that the eight knolls wanted an audience with him. Within the hour the rest of our party and the Knolls were at the city gates. I went to Elise’s bakeshop and got sandwiches for the Knolls and my party. The Knolls were pleased with the food, after a brief meal they got down to business. They delivered a written message in very poor common that stated, “HEAD NORTH WITH KNOLLS BIG THINGS HAPPENING”. After delivering the message the Knolls went out the gates of the city and would wait for us to make our decision. Gareth told us that he needs us to go with the Knolls so that we can collect intel on them and what if any alliance could possibly be made. Gareth also tells us to head toward Lake Ester and pick Oron flowers to help Dr. Joseph Sebanko try to cultivate them for Landtor and to study their healing properties. We agreed to this assignment and resupplied, had a great filling meal, and tried to get one more good night sleep since we don’t know when our next good sleep will be.
That night like every night since I have been here, I gazed at the night sky trying to make any sense of the constellations and perhaps any idea of how we came to this strange land.
8 June
We began our journey north along coast, a Midwest Plains type of vegetation that went on as far as the eye could see. After a few hours of travel and taking in the sights and shooting the shit we felt a rumble underground. This was unlike any earthquake I have ever felt. Suddenly the ground opened, and a giant green cockroach emerged. After the initial fear of seeing this grotesque creature, we began attacking it. I fired at first with my bow, then everyone began melee attack. After a few minutes of battle my friends and I killed the creature. I cut off a piece of the creatures’ carapace to cover my shield. We journeyed for a few more miles and found a nice, protected area to rest. Over the course of the night, we had many close calls. Four Giants passed by close enough for us to feel their heavy weight vibrate through the ground. Latter that night some strange creatures that Bard called Ettercaps walked by.
10 June
At the end of another long and uneventful day of traveling we found the mouth of the Backwards River that flows from the Sea towards Coreth. Again, I gazed up at the sky to clear my mind and prepare for sleep, when I saw a very bright constellation that seemed to be brighter than anything else in the sky. It seemed to be in a shape of a triangle with a tail from the bottom left and ending with a line angling down at the 7 o’clock from the farthest right star. I felt a strange tingle and surge through my body, it seemed like it came simultaneously from my mind, and heart to my hands. I asked a few of the other guys to look at it since it was truly amazing. No one else could see the constellation and brushed it off. What do I make of this, is something trying to communicate with me?
11 June
We awake fully healed to a foggy morning; we assess the river which is easily 150 yards across with a very strong current. I suggest that we tie our ropes together and me being the strongest swimmer, swim across and try to help pull everyone across. While talking over this plan a giant shadow goes over us and a Green Dragon landed near us. . . A real Green fucking Dragon lands and speaks to us. WTF?!?! She introduces herself to us as Lellyrth. We bow and introduce ourselves. After a few minutes of pleasantries, she asks us to help her retrieve her three dragon eggs which were stolen by a group of Hill Giants. She says in her weakened state she cannot attack them on her own. I show her my Giant ear and tell her of the one we slayed a few days ago and the four that passed by our camp two nights ago. She was pleased and by seeing the Giants ear and knew that we would be able to retrieve her eggs. She tells us that where we need to go is on the North side of the river and she can take us there. (How often can someone ride a real Dragon?) We all agree to aid her. We have an amazing time flying above the plains and taking in this once in a lifetime adventure. After what seemed to be six hours and covering many miles we land outside of a large cave. She informs us that her eggs are here and so are the Giants. We thank Lellyrth for the amazing ride and talk amongst ourselves to on how best approach this cave.
Jesse and Carmin creep into the cave. They see the Giants in there, they come out and tell us that the best option might be trying to bring them out and attack from all sides. We got in position Mike and I above the entrance to the cave, Bard, and Sean in the bushes 50 yards from the opening. Jesse and Carmin fire two arrows at the group of Giants getting their attention and run out of the cave seeking cover. As the Giants come charging out we all unleash our arrows firing as fast and accurately as we can. Just then Lellyrth swooped down and exhaled a heavy noxious green gas that seemed similar to chlorine gas. As we fought the Giants began trying to hit us with rocks and clubs. During the fight one of the Giants knocks out Bard and is quickly slayed. After three of the Giants were killed the last one swings his club at me, I try to dodge out of the way but was too slow. The Giant hit me hard with his club flinging me 20’ back and knocking me unconscious. When I awaken Lellyrth is with us and it appears that only one of her eggs remained. She stays with us through the night healing us slightly with her presence. For Mikes bravery Lellyrth give him one of her scales that he wants to use as a shield.
12 June
We awaken feeling totally refreshed and not sore at all. Lellyrth is an amazing and magical creature, and we part grateful for meeting her and aiding her. She points us in the direction of Lake Ester and bids us farewell. For the rest of the day we traveled and spoke about this amazing and awesome experience we were able to participate in.
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14 June 26 April 2021
We continue our journey to Lake Ester in search for the healing power of the Oron flowers. A few hours into our march we come across an abandoned village. As we search the few buildings, we come across a small building with three men inside. They invited us in and told us that most of the town left to follow a Dwarf Prophet named Gugen who is said to be a messenger of the gods. Nebethmann told us that him and his friends were sent to gather more goods and would be joining the rest of the town to become disciples of Gugen. Gugen claims that with the arrival of the Visitors, magic has once again began to grow bringing more power to the gods. We listen to what Nebethmann tells of the miracles of healing and prophecy that Gugen has demonstrated. We feign interest in Gugen and convince Nebethmann that we will provide him an escort if he waits for our return from Lake Ester. He eagerly agrees and says once we see the power of Gugen we will be loyal followers as well. He tells us Lake Ester is only a half days march to the north.
15 June
We have a late start to the day and march toward Lake Ester we encounter a Half Orge which is quickly dispatched. I take a K9 tooth as a trophy. We arrive to Lake Ester as the sun begins to set.
16 June
We spend the day collecting Oron flowers, they are very beautiful white flowers that resemble the edelweiss and a daisy from Earth. They be tricky to pick which we found out, by carelessly ruining a few of them. To properly pick the Oron flower you must cup below the petals and sepal carefully snap off from the stem. If you squeeze to hard you will crush the receptacle turning that flower worthless. To properly dry you just hang it upside down for three days. The Oron is more potent in its fresh state but only loses about ¼ of its healing properties once dried. However, being properly dried you are able to lock in its healing and medicinal properties. By the days end we ended up picking 82 Oron flowers around 13 each. Hopefully we won’t run into much danger out here, providing the maximum amount for Dr. Sebanko and his research.
17 June
We started the day off early to get back to Nebethmann and his companions so we could start our journey to Gugen and see what he is about. When we arrive to the town Nebethmann and the two other men he was with are dead. From the look of the destruction, it appears to have been an attack by damn Giants. After searching their bodies Jesse found a map to Gugen which appears to be a ½ days march. We dug graves for them and cut off their heads for fear of them turning into zombies. That night during my guard shift an Ice Imp attacked us we killed it and I took its tail.
18 June
After 2 or so hours of hiking down a trail Jesse found Gugens village. Jesse heads down the path to meet Gugen, I head into the trees to the left to scout out the village for any possible threats. Sean and Mike go scout out the right side. Gugen happily greats Jesse and invites the rest of us out of the trees. I come out of the left side and Sean comes out the right side, Mike stays hidden. Gugen introduces himself as a Dwarf from Clan Rumble Fish. He explains his visions and powers to us and says his Knoll companions arrived a few days ago and informed him of our plan to visit. As Gugen speaks Sean and I share a glance as we both notice a pit in the middle of the camp that has traces of blood around it with a crane on its edge. It is too deep to properly gage its depth from our location. Gugen notices Sean’s necklace and tries to reach for it. Sean brushes his small hand away. In an effort to gain his trust I express enthusiasm towards Gugen and knell before him expressing my gratitude towards him and how he might be able to answer our questions as to why we have been brought to this strange land. He speaks more about the gods power returning and how he is their vessel. He tells us how the Dwarfs on the other side of the mountain thought he was crazy and banished him. He told us how he wandered from town to town professing the power of the gods and how magic is returning and he is the vessel of the gods. Suddenly behind us some muffled wispers, when we turn to see what it is we see Bard strolling in. Without missing a beat Gugen begins speaking in Orcish, I later find out that he was praising Bard as the first halfbreed to come to the camp and welcomes him to join. He speaks common again and says that this is truly a glorious day and must be celebrated with a great feast in honor of his new guest and to proclaim the glory of the gods.
The great table on the small rise on the eastern end of the camp that overlooks the pit is laid out with hot fresh meat and vegetables. Infront of Gugen is a beautiful silver chalice. A few Knolls begin to pour out a sweet smelling wine for us, stopping once they have filled Gugens chalice. At midnight Gugen begins the toast, and waits for us to drink. . . He pays special attention to Bard eagerly waiting for him to drink, Bard says he doesn’t want any. Gogen then motions for us to drink, the guys seem apprehensive, I stand up raise my glass and drink the whole thing. Before the last gulp passes my lips, my eyes fade to black and I fall on the table.
19 June
When I awakened the guys told me what unfolded once I passed out. They said as soon as I passed out, they fought the Knolls and killed Gogen. Gogens plan was to throw us into the pit and sacrifice us to the gods. He believed that by killing the visitors the gods would give him great powers. Jesse and Carmin find the blacksmith a dwarf named Tizen hiding behind his forge. For sparing his life he gives them a javelin, kopis, and a shield. Jesse takes the kopis and Carmin gives the javelin to Sean. We tie Tizen up and speak about searching the mine. Bard took Gogens chalice and stays behind and speaks to the remaining humans about Gogen and how the gods would not want this needless sacrifice. head into the nearby mine to search. Tizen is extremely nervous and does not want to lead the way. As we enter the mine I make marks on the wall and a map to prevent us from getting lost. It appears that as we move further and deeper into the mine we enter a cavern that appears to be under the camp and near the spot where the well should be. Suddenly two Xorns appear from holes in the wall. Mike pushes Tizen in further as we make our way out of the mine. As we run down the tunnel back towards the entrance, we hear horrific screams behind us from Tizen as it sounds like he is being ripped to shreds and viciously eaten by the Xrons.
That night as we prepare to bed down, the guys speak of the crazy events of the day, and I stare at the night sky slowly drifting to sleep.
20 June
We wake early and prepare one of the wagons that we commandeer with supplies and three horses as we prepare for our journey back to Landtor. Bard tells us that while he was sleeping one of the gods of old, Yin Wang Yeh, (the Judge of the Dead) came to him in a dream. Yin Wang Yeh revealed to him that the Dwarf Gogen was a false prophet and was using the chalice dishonorably, Bardhbolvag has a true heart worthy of becoming a cleric of Yin Wang Yeh. The Judge of the Dead revealed the Eucharistic Chalice purifies any liquid into the purest water of the gods and conveys friendship on any antagonist who drinks from it.
25 June
After a few days of exploring Gogen’s village, speaking with the villagers that remain, gather our supplies, and heal from our wounds we begin our travel back to Landtor. We managed to get two riding horses, one for Carmin and the other for myself. My horse is a beautiful and strong grey colored stallion with black socks, in honor of one of my favorite childhood movies I name my new adventuring companion. . . Falkor. We loaded up a cart pulled by two older horses and filled it with supplies and headed south.
29 June
The last week of our travels south toward Landtor have been uneventful. We see an abandoned village that appears to be a nice place to stay the night.
-Written in a hurried hand-
Today is by far the strangest day of my life! I had just laid down on the couch and dozed off after a great day with my children and wife, we just finished watching a funny movie when I put them to bed. When I awoke, I found myself in a field in the middle of nowhere at night wearing what appeared to be burlap clothes. The only thing I had was a very strange necklace with what appeared to be a large marble pendant with a celestial supernova moving inside. As I stood up to gain my bearings I glanced up at the stars and it was unlike any constellation I have ever seen. A few minutes went by when I heard a young boy’s voice call out to me in the distance. He called himself Michael and appeared the same as me unaware of how he got into this field.
We walked around for a while and began to see other’s that appeared in this strange field. Michael seemed to know almost everyone we found, then I saw a familiar face. . . Robert Layman my best friend for over 25 years. Bewildered like me we spoke about this strange land and how and why we are here. Rob seemed to know the others, Mike who is Michaels dad; Sean, Mikes longtime friend; and Carmen, a brother of Mike, Sean, and Robs friend Sonny. We got to know each other as we walked toward the sound of a river heading in the direction of a town. I pick up 4 golf ball size stones in case I need to defend myself. The one thing we all noticed on that walk was our lack of ailments, I had ZERO pain. I felt GREAT! Stronger, smarter, and faster; I could move in ways I haven’t been able to since I was a young Soldier in the Army.
Upon reaching the edge of a small river I noticed another individual who appeared like the rest of us and seemed much more confused. I called out to him “Hey Buddy, you ok”? He responded in confused words which asked more questions than provided answers as to who he is. He said he didn’t know his name and would accept Buddy as his moniker until he could remember. As the group is asking questions of Buddy, Rob was telling me that he wanted to figure out what this pendent did and said he wanted to see if it could break. I Said, “Don’t mess with it, were still trying to get an understanding of what any of this place is about.”
As soon as those words left me lips SPLASH! As I turn Buddy is in the river flaying about and going under. Without hesitation I dove in, swam to him and pulled him out of the river. As I was trying to figure out what happened I glance over, and Rob is gone!! The only thing left is the chain of his broken pendent and two palm size river rocks. Damn! He smashed it! We all concluded that wherever we are, these pendants seem to be the anchor keeping us here. I don’t know if Rob went back home or if he was gone forever; I just know that I‘m not ready to possibly disappear from all existence. I HAVE TO GET HOME.
As we got close to the town I start talking with Carman another Soldier about how we should move tactically since we don’t know who these people are. Carman, Sean, and I were going through the field to get a closer view to see if this could be a place of sanctuary or if we need to find another safe shelter. As we get into position to see and listen to what these people are saying we see it’s a celebration (Feast of the Visitors) for some reason and everyone appears to be dressed in primitive almost medieval styles. This is all truly strange. Sean nudges Carmen and I and points to the main road that goes to this town. Walking with a stick straight towards these people is Buddy. WTF?!? He is going to get himself killed I think.
Suddenly the music and revelry stop, and all eyes are on him. The leader of the town guard (latter known as Corry) with a sword approaches him and welcomes him. Corry asks if there are anymore that arrived with Buddy. We all cautiously make our way towards Corry and he happily greets us. Corry introduces us as the Sergant at Arms and second in command of Landtor, and said he will bring us to Gareth the town leader to explain where we are and to offer us possible answers to questions, we most certainly have.
When we meet with Gareth and go over our arrival, the vanishing of Rob and some of the events that have transpired, he welcomes us to Landtor by offering some food and drink while he brings us up to speed with what he knows of this land/alternate dimension of Thirith. He offers us to stay in the Barracks near the main gate and says he will explain more in the morning and that we are free to roam as we please and are not prisoners but guests.
The next morning Gareth shows us around town and points out other “Visitors” like ourselves. It seems most of the people of the town have been from the USA and Earth like us although depending on when they arrived all from different times and locations. Gareth tells us that according to “Natives” those that have only known this place have said that this land used to be filled with magic and powerful gods although for nearly 500 years the magic and gods have disappeared. Gareth introduces us to a young man named Jesse who was born here from two Visitors and will show us around and get us new clothes and train us in the ways they fight here.
We each get a nice set of leather armor which fits well but will take time getting used to. Jesse introduces us to Ardel the town blacksmith who will issue us weapons, that we can take to the training grounds and begin practicing. Everyday we train with swords, shields, and bows. They also tell us of some of the creatures that have been known to attack outside the town walls.
Over the next few weeks my companions and I grow close and get pretty good at using these weapons. Every day is training from dawn to midafternoon, after training I typically wander the town meeting people and learning about some of the key players in the neighboring towns. I am working on building a network of sources that I can use to gain and spread intelligence. At night I fall asleep gazing at the stars, since my arrival I have felt a pull and wonderment of them. Maybe with more concentration I will make sense of them and why I have this obsession with them. I ask the other guys about it but they brush me off and say “Todd, there just fuckin stars”.
While we’ve been here the guys have been trying to find their way and make the most of it. Mikey spends his time sneaking around the town, hiding in shadows and playing pranks on some of the locals. Sometimes he moves items from one place just to sneak into some shop and place the item there, a strange little kid. Mike seems to be focusing most of his time on sword play and observing the various characters of Landtor. After training Sean has been working on brewing, which gets no complaints from me. I look forward to it being done so we can have some tasty beer. Carmen and Jesse have become close friends and have been improving their tracking and hunting skills by adventuring outside the town walls. They have been tasked with scouting out the surrounding woods, keeping the main road safe for travelers. Finally, that brings me to Buddy who spends most of his time wandering the town aimlessly trying to make sense of what is going on.
During one of our walks around town we end up in the refugee camp where Menion a visitor of 50 years. A strange man who speaks of random and prophetic things. He speaks about the return of magic and the powers of the gods. He knows that we can find and harness the power and become great and well known throughout Thirith. As he speaks a large refugee covered in rags hides in the corner. Mike and Sean try to speak with him, and he avoids their questions and just shakes his head. Trying to find out more about this strange man, I walk behind him faking a fall and reaching for his cloak. As I fall hitting the ground with his cloak in my hand I glance up and see a Half Orc standing trying to cover himself up. Menion and the rest of the group tell the Half Orc to relax and that we mean him no harm. After a while he calms down and intorduces himself as Bardhbolvag or White Curse in common. He was kicked out of his clan located in the Center Plains for being a Half Orc, he tells us his story and that he is just looking for a place to belong.
When we brought Bardhbolvag to Gareth he said that he could not stay inside the town walls, for fear that the citizens might not be so welcoming to him, since over the years Orcs have attacked the town and killed their friends. Gareth said that we could move into the broken-down tower outside town where Menion resides. Over the next few weeks Bardhbolvag or Bard as we started to call him began to feel more comfortable around us. We started to fix up the tower slowly making a home.
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5 June 16 March 2021
Gareth asks us if we could help Dr Joseph Sebanko by collecting Oron flowers which has become the best source of medicine here. There is a large Oron field north of the river near Lake Ester. We agree to this and begin preparing for our journey tomorrow by stocking up on supplies.
6 June
As we prepare to leave the town of Landtor Mikey stays behind since it is still way to dangerous for him to go out into this new and dangerous world. Buddy decides to stay behind and watch over Mikey, while he tries to figure out who he is. Our adventuring party consists of Sean, Mike, Carmin, Bard our half orc companion, Jesse our young Landtorian Ranger, and me. Near the docks we hear sailors from Brith, the town just south of us speaking a large continent to the west called Grandish. This is a strange new world.
We make our way down the trail heading east Jesse says in an hour we should spot the campsite used by him and Carmin’s. We find it destroyed and 3 dead humans who appear to have been sent from Corith. Mike climbs the large 40’ rock to the north of the camp to see if he can spot anything that might have done this destruction. He quickly alerts us to a Giant that is heading south towards us. I climb up with him and the rest prepare to flank him as the Giant nears. Mike and I draw the Giants attention with our volleys of arrows, while Carmin, and Sean attack with their swords with Bard stabbing every chance he has with his spear and Jesse constantly flanking and firing Arrows from bushes. The Giant threw a large boulder at mike and I forcing us to jump off the rock. I made it but Mike hit his head and was knocked out. Carmin ran to Mikes aid and Jesse fired two more arrows into the neck killing the great beast.
We had our first epic battle in this new land, and as tough as it was, we acted courageously and as an effective and coordinated team. After we slayed him, we took this opportunity to inspect him since none of us but Bard have ever seen such a fictitious creature in the flesh. As we inspect this Giant I cut off one of his ears which was the size of my hand, to look back on to see if this was just a dream, truly unbelievable. I asked Bard and Jesse if they have ever known Giants to be in this area. They both said they normally stick to themselves in the Southern Wastelands. I was interested to see if hunger might have been driving him to venture out of their traditional areas. I assisted Bard in cutting open the stomach to see if he was hungry. The most awful stench once we cut into him. However, my hypothesis was proven wrong since it appeared he recently ate. Bard said he likely attacked the Corith travelers unprovoked and would have killed us as well if we did not fight back.
During the night while Jesse was on watch he awoke us as he saw 2 zombies walking toward our camp. It appeared to be out of The Walking Dead, no matter the injury or limb we cut off they continued to come for us. It appeared that chopping off their head was the only way to kill them. After we killed the last one Sean said “This is fucking crazy, just like in the movies. We need to burn them to make sure they don’t come back.”
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7 June 6 April 2021
Jesse said that he will run back to Landtor and inform them of what we have seen so close to Landtor. The rest of us stay behind resting and healing our wounds. When we began to feel better, we decided to go on a scouting mission to try and find where these zombies were coming from. As we began to walk following the zombie tracks toward the east we came across we ran into eight dog looking humanoids. Bard told us that in the common tongue they are called Knolls and typically stick to their own kind. We stood on guard for a few tense moments not fulling know what to expect from them. We talked in gestures and realized we both meant no harm. They motioned that they were heading to Landtor to ask for assistance. We told them we will escort them to Landtor. I told the Party that I will run ahead give Gareth a heads up that these Knolls would like to meet with him. Halfway back to Landtor I ran into Jesse briefed him on what we ran across as we headed to find Gareth.
Once in Landtor we briefed Gareth that the eight knolls wanted an audience with him. Within the hour the rest of our party and the Knolls were at the city gates. I went to Elise’s bakeshop and got sandwiches for the Knolls and my party. The Knolls were pleased with the food, after a brief meal they got down to business. They delivered a written message in very poor common that stated, “HEAD NORTH WITH KNOLLS BIG THINGS HAPPENING”. After delivering the message the Knolls went out the gates of the city and would wait for us to make our decision. Gareth told us that he needs us to go with the Knolls so that we can collect intel on them and what if any alliance could possibly be made. Gareth also tells us to head toward Lake Ester and pick Oron flowers to help Dr. Joseph Sebanko try to cultivate them for Landtor and to study their healing properties. We agreed to this assignment and resupplied, had a great filling meal, and tried to get one more good night sleep since we don’t know when our next good sleep will be.
That night like every night since I have been here, I gazed at the night sky trying to make any sense of the constellations and perhaps any idea of how we came to this strange land.
8 June
We began our journey north along coast, a Midwest Plains type of vegetation that went on as far as the eye could see. After a few hours of travel and taking in the sights and shooting the shit we felt a rumble underground. This was unlike any earthquake I have ever felt. Suddenly the ground opened, and a giant green cockroach emerged. After the initial fear of seeing this grotesque creature, we began attacking it. I fired at first with my bow, then everyone began melee attack. After a few minutes of battle my friends and I killed the creature. I cut off a piece of the creatures’ carapace to cover my shield. We journeyed for a few more miles and found a nice, protected area to rest. Over the course of the night, we had many close calls. Four Giants passed by close enough for us to feel their heavy weight vibrate through the ground. Latter that night some strange creatures that Bard called Ettercaps walked by.
10 June
At the end of another long and uneventful day of traveling we found the mouth of the Backwards River that flows from the Sea towards Coreth. Again, I gazed up at the sky to clear my mind and prepare for sleep, when I saw a very bright constellation that seemed to be brighter than anything else in the sky. It seemed to be in a shape of a triangle with a tail from the bottom left and ending with a line angling down at the 7 o’clock from the farthest right star. I felt a strange tingle and surge through my body, it seemed like it came simultaneously from my mind, and heart to my hands. I asked a few of the other guys to look at it since it was truly amazing. No one else could see the constellation and brushed it off. What do I make of this, is something trying to communicate with me?
11 June
We awake fully healed to a foggy morning; we assess the river which is easily 150 yards across with a very strong current. I suggest that we tie our ropes together and me being the strongest swimmer, swim across and try to help pull everyone across. While talking over this plan a giant shadow goes over us and a Green Dragon landed near us. . . A real Green fucking Dragon lands and speaks to us. WTF?!?! She introduces herself to us as Lellyrth. We bow and introduce ourselves. After a few minutes of pleasantries, she asks us to help her retrieve her three dragon eggs which were stolen by a group of Hill Giants. She says in her weakened state she cannot attack them on her own. I show her my Giant ear and tell her of the one we slayed a few days ago and the four that passed by our camp two nights ago. She was pleased and by seeing the Giants ear and knew that we would be able to retrieve her eggs. She tells us that where we need to go is on the North side of the river and she can take us there. (How often can someone ride a real Dragon?) We all agree to aid her. We have an amazing time flying above the plains and taking in this once in a lifetime adventure. After what seemed to be six hours and covering many miles we land outside of a large cave. She informs us that her eggs are here and so are the Giants. We thank Lellyrth for the amazing ride and talk amongst ourselves to on how best approach this cave.
Jesse and Carmin creep into the cave. They see the Giants in there, they come out and tell us that the best option might be trying to bring them out and attack from all sides. We got in position Mike and I above the entrance to the cave, Bard, and Sean in the bushes 50 yards from the opening. Jesse and Carmin fire two arrows at the group of Giants getting their attention and run out of the cave seeking cover. As the Giants come charging out we all unleash our arrows firing as fast and accurately as we can. Just then Lellyrth swooped down and exhaled a heavy noxious green gas that seemed similar to chlorine gas. As we fought the Giants began trying to hit us with rocks and clubs. During the fight one of the Giants knocks out Bard and is quickly slayed. After three of the Giants were killed the last one swings his club at me, I try to dodge out of the way but was too slow. The Giant hit me hard with his club flinging me 20’ back and knocking me unconscious. When I awaken Lellyrth is with us and it appears that only one of her eggs remained. She stays with us through the night healing us slightly with her presence. For Mikes bravery Lellyrth give him one of her scales that he wants to use as a shield.
12 June
We awaken feeling totally refreshed and not sore at all. Lellyrth is an amazing and magical creature, and we part grateful for meeting her and aiding her. She points us in the direction of Lake Ester and bids us farewell. For the rest of the day we traveled and spoke about this amazing and awesome experience we were able to participate in.
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14 June 26 April 2021
We continue our journey to Lake Ester in search for the healing power of the Oron flowers. A few hours into our march we come across an abandoned village. As we search the few buildings, we come across a small building with three men inside. They invited us in and told us that most of the town left to follow a Dwarf Prophet named Gugen who is said to be a messenger of the gods. Nebethmann told us that him and his friends were sent to gather more goods and would be joining the rest of the town to become disciples of Gugen. Gugen claims that with the arrival of the Visitors, magic has once again began to grow bringing more power to the gods. We listen to what Nebethmann tells of the miracles of healing and prophecy that Gugen has demonstrated. We feign interest in Gugen and convince Nebethmann that we will provide him an escort if he waits for our return from Lake Ester. He eagerly agrees and says once we see the power of Gugen we will be loyal followers as well. He tells us Lake Ester is only a half days march to the north.
15 June
We have a late start to the day and march toward Lake Ester we encounter a Half Orge which is quickly dispatched. I take a K9 tooth as a trophy. We arrive to Lake Ester as the sun begins to set.
16 June
We spend the day collecting Oron flowers, they are very beautiful white flowers that resemble the edelweiss and a daisy from Earth. They be tricky to pick which we found out, by carelessly ruining a few of them. To properly pick the Oron flower you must cup below the petals and sepal carefully snap off from the stem. If you squeeze to hard you will crush the receptacle turning that flower worthless. To properly dry you just hang it upside down for three days. The Oron is more potent in its fresh state but only loses about ¼ of its healing properties once dried. However, being properly dried you are able to lock in its healing and medicinal properties. By the days end we ended up picking 82 Oron flowers around 13 each. Hopefully we won’t run into much danger out here, providing the maximum amount for Dr. Sebanko and his research.
17 June
We started the day off early to get back to Nebethmann and his companions so we could start our journey to Gugen and see what he is about. When we arrive to the town Nebethmann and the two other men he was with are dead. From the look of the destruction, it appears to have been an attack by damn Giants. After searching their bodies Jesse found a map to Gugen which appears to be a ½ days march. We dug graves for them and cut off their heads for fear of them turning into zombies. That night during my guard shift an Ice Imp attacked us we killed it and I took its tail.
18 June
After 2 or so hours of hiking down a trail Jesse found Gugens village. Jesse heads down the path to meet Gugen, I head into the trees to the left to scout out the village for any possible threats. Sean and Mike go scout out the right side. Gugen happily greats Jesse and invites the rest of us out of the trees. I come out of the left side and Sean comes out the right side, Mike stays hidden. Gugen introduces himself as a Dwarf from Clan Rumble Fish. He explains his visions and powers to us and says his Knoll companions arrived a few days ago and informed him of our plan to visit. As Gugen speaks Sean and I share a glance as we both notice a pit in the middle of the camp that has traces of blood around it with a crane on its edge. It is too deep to properly gage its depth from our location. Gugen notices Sean’s necklace and tries to reach for it. Sean brushes his small hand away. In an effort to gain his trust I express enthusiasm towards Gugen and knell before him expressing my gratitude towards him and how he might be able to answer our questions as to why we have been brought to this strange land. He speaks more about the gods power returning and how he is their vessel. He tells us how the Dwarfs on the other side of the mountain thought he was crazy and banished him. He told us how he wandered from town to town professing the power of the gods and how magic is returning and he is the vessel of the gods. Suddenly behind us some muffled wispers, when we turn to see what it is we see Bard strolling in. Without missing a beat Gugen begins speaking in Orcish, I later find out that he was praising Bard as the first halfbreed to come to the camp and welcomes him to join. He speaks common again and says that this is truly a glorious day and must be celebrated with a great feast in honor of his new guest and to proclaim the glory of the gods.
The great table on the small rise on the eastern end of the camp that overlooks the pit is laid out with hot fresh meat and vegetables. Infront of Gugen is a beautiful silver chalice. A few Knolls begin to pour out a sweet smelling wine for us, stopping once they have filled Gugens chalice. At midnight Gugen begins the toast, and waits for us to drink. . . He pays special attention to Bard eagerly waiting for him to drink, Bard says he doesn’t want any. Gogen then motions for us to drink, the guys seem apprehensive, I stand up raise my glass and drink the whole thing. Before the last gulp passes my lips, my eyes fade to black and I fall on the table.
19 June
When I awakened the guys told me what unfolded once I passed out. They said as soon as I passed out, they fought the Knolls and killed Gogen. Gogens plan was to throw us into the pit and sacrifice us to the gods. He believed that by killing the visitors the gods would give him great powers. Jesse and Carmin find the blacksmith a dwarf named Tizen hiding behind his forge. For sparing his life he gives them a javelin, kopis, and a shield. Jesse takes the kopis and Carmin gives the javelin to Sean. We tie Tizen up and speak about searching the mine. Bard took Gogens chalice and stays behind and speaks to the remaining humans about Gogen and how the gods would not want this needless sacrifice. head into the nearby mine to search. Tizen is extremely nervous and does not want to lead the way. As we enter the mine I make marks on the wall and a map to prevent us from getting lost. It appears that as we move further and deeper into the mine we enter a cavern that appears to be under the camp and near the spot where the well should be. Suddenly two Xorns appear from holes in the wall. Mike pushes Tizen in further as we make our way out of the mine. As we run down the tunnel back towards the entrance, we hear horrific screams behind us from Tizen as it sounds like he is being ripped to shreds and viciously eaten by the Xrons.
That night as we prepare to bed down, the guys speak of the crazy events of the day, and I stare at the night sky slowly drifting to sleep.
20 June
We wake early and prepare one of the wagons that we commandeer with supplies and three horses as we prepare for our journey back to Landtor. Bard tells us that while he was sleeping one of the gods of old, Yin Wang Yeh, (the Judge of the Dead) came to him in a dream. Yin Wang Yeh revealed to him that the Dwarf Gogen was a false prophet and was using the chalice dishonorably, Bardhbolvag has a true heart worthy of becoming a cleric of Yin Wang Yeh. The Judge of the Dead revealed the Eucharistic Chalice purifies any liquid into the purest water of the gods and conveys friendship on any antagonist who drinks from it.
25 June
After a few days of exploring Gogen’s village, speaking with the villagers that remain, gather our supplies, and heal from our wounds we begin our travel back to Landtor. We managed to get two riding horses, one for Carmin and the other for myself. My horse is a beautiful and strong grey colored stallion with black socks, in honor of one of my favorite childhood movies I name my new adventuring companion. . . Falkor. We loaded up a cart pulled by two older horses and filled it with supplies and headed south.
29 June
The last week of our travels south toward Landtor have been uneventful. We see an abandoned village that appears to be a nice place to stay the night.