The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

*******Setting*******

A smoky and cavernous space, filled with the sounds of laughter and cheerful drunkeness, the Boar's Head Pub is a great gnarled cavern buried in the roots of a worldtree on the edge of the Known World.

Sprites with their melodious voices(and oversharp teeth) and Trolls covered with the remains of somebody else's dinner seem to have successfully ignored each other, and are having a grand old time inside. Perhaps it's due to the heavy, perfumed musk from Harpies preening near the center tables, or the smoke from an Elemental made of steaming iron. Whatever the cause, somewhat intelligent beings from all over the Land Beyond have gathered around to drink in this most famous hall.

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

A toast to the owner.

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"My soul to nothingness: but I will strive against all doubtings, and will keep alive..." ~ John Keats's Sleep and Poetry

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

A huge and mishapen ogre with evil eyes stared over the enormous iron bar, glaring at the patrons. Her name is Ilfred, and she's been serving ale for so many years that many of the folks who booze around here think she came with the place. . .

An elf with ruddy cheeks approached the bar, weaving a bit from an excess of fire-dancing. He grinned and tipped his hat back, and looked at the rim of his glass. Ilfred's stare pierced through his reverie as she said, "So, whatchu want elf-boyo drinkman?"

"Ah, just a leeetle bit more of that. . . that. . ." he paused for a moment, lost in thought. . . "ah, that Chateau Beauxbeux from the Grimwald Forest, ah . . . Year 19823 of the dwarf king Kriegshammer. . ." If it's possible for a race as arrogant as the Elves to be both worried and puzzled at the same time, he certainly seemed so, as he blurted "ah, no. . . wait, that's not it. . . it was. . . ah. . ."

We shall never know what the wine was- but we're sure it was good stuff, for when Ilfred threw the elf into the Drunk Tank(which also does triple duty as a jacuzzi and emergency vampire barrier) he took quite awhile figuring out:

A. Which end was up
B. Why he was suddenly surrounded by mermen
C. That water isn't air

Eventually, however, these questions were happily settled by the judicious application of a sharp trident to his elfly posterior, whereupon our poor(and thus far, unnamed) protagonist . . .

[This message has been edited by Argh (edited 22 May 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

***setting elaborated***
Monty the Plebeian King entered the Boars Head, made his way to one of the darker sections and finds himself a comfortable rock to lean back on. He throws his mostly brown (severely worn and multi-patched) cloak on the ground to keep the dust off of his royal posterior, whips out a large wineskin supposedly filled with an amusing liquor that he traded for this afternoon, and prepares to take a squirt of the brew.
Monty sat down on cloak. He can't quite recall the name that the stranger called the liquor(and strange he was, appearing out of nowhere on a wide soft thing).
The fella had said the drink was called, something, didn't actually make sense. It sounded something like a "Pan Galag-tick Gargle-BLasta." Well, he understood the reference to Pan, but he had never heard of a Galag tick. Maybe the drink was made from the blood of the Galag tick, wherever that was.
Oh well, he had drunk weirder things before. Monty squirted a shot into his mouth, and suddenly had the feeling that his head had been hit by a large brick that had been rather unpleasantly wrapped around a lemon. He was just beginning to reel from this (good thing he was already on the ground) when he suddenly had the feeling that he had been hit in the head again!, this time with a large lemon that had been rather pleasantly wrapped around a brick.
Monty settled down for a light snooze, thinking Hmm...has quite a kick, that one. Nice aftertast...


[This message has been edited by monty (edited 18 May 2001).]

[This message has been edited by monty (edited 18 May 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

Cautiously, I entered the Pub. I know nothing's amiss because it's quite late, but people fill the room with music and laughter.
Nevertheless, I feel the comfort of my wooden, hidden weaponry, my special throwing vials of Holy water, and the rest of my equipment in my fight against those foul creatures known as vampires.

I've lost my family, friends, and too many party adventurers to them, but I see some others in a corner, that fit the description of survivors in this wretched land. One was peculiar about the wine, the other was a non-chalant, charming person.

I'll approach them. Maybe they can help to fight off this plague I dedicated my life to eliminate...

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I wish I had more time to adventure...

[This message has been edited by VampiricDread (edited 18 May 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

****
Monty wakes up, looks around in confusion.
"What the H*ll? This isn't Hoom Forest!"
He looks over to the right and sees an old friend. Trying to sit up, Monty realizes that the world is still an unsteady place. He decides to call from the comfort of the floor.
"Hey VampiricDread! How's it hanging?! You got to try some of this. Got it off of this guy named Arthur. Don't think he was the legendary King though."

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

After raising his mug of ale high, Drago sits down and puts his feet up on a nearby rock. This adventurer has traveled long and far during his journeys through the years. He has been a poet, a dragon slayer, and many other things. Enough to encompass several lifetimes. Now he finds himself in this strange pub full of laughter and revelry. He sees a few friends around from jouneys past. "Hello VampiricDread and Monty. A toast to your health," he says. He takes a sip of his ale; closes his eyes and rest his head up against the wall. He decides to relax for a bit.

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"My soul to nothingness: but I will strive against all doubtings, and will keep alive..." ~ John Keats's Sleep and Poetry

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

A Vampire whose name is unpronouncably vague entered the Boar's Head Pub, swinging something vaguely disturbing from his right fist. It almost looked like a small head on a chain, when the light hit it right. . . and he had a scowling, grim visage that suggested that he occasionally dined on Hunters.

Seating himself at a distant table, between a sour-faced Troll and a lovely(but deadly) Neelu, the Vampire ordered from one of the harried Halfling waiters, who tried to take the order as quickly as possible: "hi, thisistheBoar'sHeadPubandI'mGloffliyourserverwould youcareforsomethingtodrinkoreat?" Knowing that the Halfling would screw up anything else, the Vampire kept it simple and said, "blood, shaken, not stirred" in an icy voice. The poor Halfling then set a new land speed record heading for the kitchen, knocking over a befuddled Owlbear that had somehow gotten past the bouncers.

Meanwhile(there's always a meanwhile, isn't there?) Bargehead the Garrolous Dwarf entered the hall with a host of other talkative bowing dwarves in variously colored clothes. They kept muttering snatches of songs that hadn't been popular for long ages past- something about "under hill and under stone" while they scuffled across the chipped wooden floor.
Bargehead stopped before Ilfred, and asked in his loud(and garrolous) voice, "So, what do ya have 'ere, ya pansy barkeep? Got any beer worth the drinking? Aye, it's all the same with these here bars and pubs and clubs and cafes these days, ain't it? No Dwarf canna get beer worth fighting and scrapping over, nosirree, what d'ya say to that, eh?"

Ilfred, who'd just as soon bite your head off than speak to Dwarves at all, scowled down her long warty nose. It could be seen that she held a full magnum of Bertle's Best Booze in one scruffy hand, and was contemplating the kind of exit interview one has when one has smashed a patron into smallish bits, when. . .

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

The elven lord suddenly noticed something swimming out on the edge of his(usually) keen vision. If he hadn't been nearly so drunk(and wet and kicked and poked, mind you) he'd have noticed that it was the sad visage of a Vampire Hunter, and the Hunter was lookind down from a great distance- or perhaps that was just the wine.

Unfortunately, just at that moment there was some sort of confusing noise in the background- it seemed that a whole crowd of people were singing, "Oh ee Oh, Oh e Oh!" over and over again, for no apparant reason.
Dusting himself off(which is hard to do when one is soaking wet), the still nameless elven lord introduced himself to the Hunter now standing before him in the traditional Elf manner, by slapping both of the Hunter's cheeks and singing a bar from "My Way".

Now that the formalities were over, the elven lord grinned and gestured over to a table, saying, "Boy, do I have a tale to tell you!"

[This message has been edited by Argh (edited 22 May 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

Soon after greeting the party, I noticed the Vampire that entered the Pub. My blood boiled at its sight, and a deep desire to exact revenge came up.

Seeing how tense I was, Monty pulled me down to sit and handed me a mug of frosty ale, whispering "Not here, not now."

Trying hard to dominate my emotions, I sat and replied "Not here, yes. But not yet".

Then I saw the thing being served blood by an afraid Halfling...

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I wish I had more time to adventure...

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

"Boy, they'll let anyone in this place."
Monty thought of several punishments suitable for the Vampire, but since this was a 'civilized' place, he had to throw half of the ideas out immediately. Some of the others would work quite well though.
Turning to Vampiric Dread, Monty said, "Hey VampiricDread, why don't we show this thing some hosptitality." Borrowing a vial of holy water, Monty flagged down a waiter
"Would you be so kind as to add some of this fine fluid to the vampire's order? Thanks a lot!" Monty then sat back down, relaxed, and waited for the show to begin. A smile lit his face. Nothing like giving a vampire heartburn to put a smile on your face. This place can let anyone they like in here, doesn't mean that we can't have some fun.

[This message has been edited by monty (edited 23 May 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

The elven lord sipped on a bottle of Bertle's Best and burped. Staring around at the assembled group of adventurers, he noticed that at least one had been unfortunate enough to have sampled the Two-Headed Annoying Guy drink, which is a bit on the strong side for anybody who's not at least part Troll.

Mumbling a bit, he started to say something about "the Gem of. . . ah. . . let's see. . . it was. . ." until he was interrupted by a roaring curse from the Vampire across the hall, who'd apparantly drunk something unpleasant. The Vampire spat out a stream of what appeared to be burning blood while holding the Halfling responsible in one fist. When he'd calmed down, he stared at the Halfling in his odd Vampish way, and soon the Halfling started to turn slowly, like a zombie, toward the table where the adventurers sat.

With growing horror, the elven lord realized that this somehow meant he was now on the bad side of a Vampire, and he very quietly muttered, "I sure hope you people realized what you've done with that prank. . . we'd better go, don't you think?"

But it turned out that there wasn't any need, for the Vampire, after carefully recording each face with his cold dark eyes, turned into a veritable cloud of bats and flew out of the room.

The elven lord and all present blew big sighs of relief, drank up another brew, and listened to the sound of a rather garrolous dwarf arguing with Ilfred, of all creatures! At one point, the bearded little fellow was gesticulating and saying something about "-anna drink that bat pee! If you knew better, you'd suggest that me and me mates roll ourselves in pigswill and call ourselves supper! You know that they don't even fully hull their hops first, madam? Well, it's like this-"

For some strange reason, Ilfred didn't seem to appreciate this Last comment(ogres are incredibly intolerant of the word "madam" in any setting not requiring pain) and, with great restraint(for an ogre) simply picked the dwarf up, placed his garrolous and angry form upon an enormous platter used for drinking games, and slid him all the way into the back row of seats- in fact, not very far from our heroes. . .

[This message has been edited by Argh (edited 24 May 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

"Oh, well, another Vampire to be on the look out for", I said to my friends. "Just as a measure of precautionary antecipation, please take these small vials, that you should drink the contents from, and rub your neck with a bit of it, when we leave".

They all looked suspiciously at the little bottles, and me, then back again to the bottles.

"It's nothing more than a rather potent garlic extract. It's good for everybody's health, but Vampires don't appreciate it much. You may complain about a slight side effect, especially if you are thinking of people of the fair gender, because of the smell of your neck and a positively...ahhh... potent breath."

The elven lord took one, raise it to eye level for closer inspection, and exclamed:
"It's elven made! Where did you get it?"

"Oh, back in Beladriel Forest."

"You've been there?", he seemed appauled. "Only my people are allowed there!"

"Well, if you must know, my family and I lived nearby. When the Vampire formerly known as Birubiruash killed my family, the Elves took care of me, because my father was seen as a nice neighbour, and a elven-friend."


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I wish I had more time to adventure...

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

I dived into the pub, grabbed my phaser from its pouch and yelled, "Eat radiation, Bat Boy!" Without really looking, I aimed it at everyone in the pub in turn, but without firing.
Several people screamed, gulped down their beer and dashed out of the pub.
"Where did he go?" I asked disappointedly.
Monty shrugged and ordered another beer. "Ah, he probably went back to his home or something."
VampiricDread licked his lips before taking another swig of beer himself. "You've gotta admit, it was a shame. I wanted to slay it myself."
Despite this, I smiled. "Oh well, at least I'm safe. I'm a Vulcan and vampires don't drink green blood."
Drago, nearly falling off his stool with laughter, sneers, "Will you phone the Enterprise for help?"
I grinned, sat down and ordered a grenadine and lime drink. I knew that my Starfleet communicator wouldn't pick up any signals in this RuneSword world.
After I'd finished the drink, I murmured, "I really wanted to kill that vampire, you know. I would have become famous, or earned a reward. But I suppose, in this world, only men are allowed to kill vampires."
As soon as I had said that, a blonde-haired sixteen-year-old girl kicked the door down and ran up to the bar. "Have you seen Xander and Willow anywhere?" she asked.

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Visit Pogimon Central at www.angelfire.com/tv2/pogimon and its companion site, www.geocities.com/mewtwo_alex !
(Trust me, I'm a Trekkie!)

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

At that moment, just as things seemed to be calming down, Bargehead the Garrolous Dwarf stood up, shaking the remains of his(lousy) beer out of his beard with great vigor.

He suddenly looked at the elven lord with perspicacious(don't ask) eyes and said, "Haven't we met before, boyo?"

The steadily growing crowd of adventurers, some of whom were actually sitting on one another's laps at this point to get to the table, sat and stared at this new arrival. Drago whispered something funny to VampiricDread, who chuckled as the elven lord looked at Bargehead quizzically and said, "Well, I don't normally associate with your. . . people. . . but somehow you seem familiar. . ."

Bargehead scowled and said, "Well, of course I look familiar, boyo! Why, Last time we met, I seem to recall hauling you out of a pit full of Goblins. . . or have you forgotten?"

"Oh, you're that stump- er, Dwarf! Why, I haven't seen you since we Last went searching for the Gem of EverLasting Sunshine. . . say, I was just about to start talking about the new Quest I'm putting together. . ."

"Well, Last time weren't bad, laddy, what with all the killin' and treasures and all- alrighty, let's hear what you're planning now." Bargehead settled back on one of the wooden chairs, ordered a new beer and nodded as the elven lord started speaking about. . .

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

Monty got comfy. He was always one to help out. He looked around at those gathered around and was glad to see all the differences. Even a few human women were here. Monty looked around for Lady Pendragon.
"Wonder where's gotten off to?"
He scratched absentmindedly at the tattoo on his left shoulder and took another squirt (very small this time!) from his wineskin before offering it around the table.


[This message has been edited by monty (edited 25 May 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

"Master BargeHead, please join us, and help us follow that tale of yours, shared with the elves. I'm sure we're all curious of a party of elvenkin and dwarvenkin working together."

Monty chuckled and grabbed a pitcher of the ale from a passerby maiden, to the distressed looking of disapproval of Ilfred.

"Well, Elf and Dwarf. You seem to have a tale to share. I'm not going anywhere now, and I'm pretty sure the Plebeian Lord next to me is also very much interested. Please ellucidate and ellaborate on your previous statements, if you will."

After a pause, I added "If you tell us your tale, we might give you some insight into the Eorian valley."
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I wish I had more time to adventure...

[This message has been edited by VampiricDread (edited 25 May 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

He drank some of Monty's wine. "Quite good, did you make it yourself?" Drago said. Monty replied, "no, it was made by a group of monks from Argos. This fine wine was given to me as a reward for defending their monastery from a group of thieves." This is a robust, exquisite wine Drago thought to himself. It reminded him of his wine cellar back home.

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"My soul to nothingness: but I will strive against all doubtings, and will keep alive..." ~ John Keats's Sleep and Poetry

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

Downuner Tom, A Kender from a another land enters the pub watching a Gaul thief fleecing all the pubs customers with a shell game, The owner comes over and asks him to leave but but he refuses, the owner calls over his bouncer, a two headed ogre to throw the thief out on this ear. The owners says to me that he does not mind people running games in his pub as long as they don't give the pub a bad name. In one corners a twoup type game and a another a spin the bottle are running.

Tom


(Just a little bit of fun!}

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Wth a little help from my frieds , we can make this the best RPG ever.


[This message has been edited by Downunder Tom (edited 27 May 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

Monty waves a greeting to Downunder Tom. It's been a while since Monty has been in Tom's neck of the woods, but he'll always have a spot in his heart for anywhere that the Southern cross shines on.

[This message has been edited by monty (edited 27 May 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

"I must rest." I got up, and asked for a room upstairs.

"If you want one of our dearies, love, I may be able to accomodate you for a reasonable fee", Ilfred replied.

"Where can I get some rest, Ilfred? I have to sleep, you know." I gave her a few silver coins.

"Since you're being so nice, love, I may have a room for you, then."

Ilfred escorted me to the upper floor into a small room, and handed me a key.

"Sleep tight, then. Do lock your door."

The room was barely able to drop oneself onto a bed of bale. I prayed a safety from bugs prayer I had learned from a Priest, and went to sleep.

....
....
....


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I wish I had more time to adventure...

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

After absently following Ilfred's conversation with VampiricDread, which was an unusually nice conversation. . . the elven lord slowly started to tell his tale, while swishing a small pint of bitters in between sips of wine.

"Well, I suppose I should start at the beginnning, right? Well, 3000 thousad years ago, my ancient ancestors were in the middle of a war with this dreadful horde of demons called the T'hula, who'd emerged from a trapdoor in time that an angry Eternal opened. After the war had continued for almost 50 years, my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather turned towards his wife, who was busy talking about shrubberies or some such nonsense-"

"Do get on with the important parts!" Bargehead snapped.

"Oh. . . er, very well, my stout companion!" Said the elven lord lightly, and Bargehead snorted loudly and patted his barrel chest, which was hardly fat, and then waved his hand to encourage the Elf to get on with the story.

"At any rate, and to make a long long long story very short, the T'hula invented this special thingy called the Gem of EverLasting Darkess to aid their warriors. Basically, this Gem was said to 'blacken the face of the Earth', and it was also said to 'blot the Sun from the sky'. We Elves have the ability to see in the dark somewhat, but our enemies were cold-blooded creatures. . . and things started going very badly. . ."

Bargehead laughed. "Ha! I'll bet that was a sight to see! You skinnies- er elves, m'lord- must've been in deep trouble! 'Course, back then we were still mainly living in the far northern keeps, below the icepack of the Great Freeze,we were. . ." Bargehead ground to a halt, noticing that Monty and Drago were both starting to yawn. . .

"Well, it was a very bad scene, to be sure," the elven lord responded, "but we Elves are not to be equalled in magical feats, when put to the test. . . and we came up with a solution. After several decades of warfare, one of our mages created the Gem of EverLasting Sunshine, a device of truly Elven beauty. . . which 'shone across the sky like a hundred dawns breaking' and gave the Elves enough light to kill by."

Bargehead stirred from his seat, and exclaimed, "So your people were the ones who ended the Great Freeze! We still tell stories of the caverns that were awash in melted glacier ice, and the tales of woe and misery. . ." Bargehead began to rummage around his bag of Useful Stuff, and eventually pulled out a worn but serviceable Book of Woe, in which he entered new writings for the Neverending Saga sung in the lowest deeps.

"Er. . . yes, well. . . we eventually had some problems with it too- namely, some nasty sun rashes and a few too many parched throats- it was horrible!" Bargehead just grunted and continued to scribble furiously, no doubt planning a massive war of revenge a few centuries from now, when the Elves had forgotten all about this little slip.

"Well. . . ah. . . anyway. . . we eventually hid it away, along with the Gem of EverLasting Darkness, in great magically-trapped tombs at the poles- until recently, when somebody, er, lost the password that opened the gates to the place. . ." He blushed and said, "It was, unfortunately, one of my cousins. . . so I am honor-bound to retrieve the device, so that it may be re-buried in a newer, nicer tomb, and, uh. . . using a shorter password."

"Figures! You Elves would lose yer arses, if they weren't firmly glued in place! Why, my mother once told me of an elven maiden who lost her eyeballs once, while applying makeup! And then there was the time that an Elven lover lost his-"

The elven lord was swift to interrupt with, "Well, that may be so, but the plot is thicker than that. . . the Gem of EverLasting Darkness is missing from its tomb, and my cousin's memory loss is rather total. A shame, really, he was very good at Trivial Pursuits and such, even if he was a bit of a drip."

"So someone may. . . possess that horrible Gem?" Drago interjected, looking worried. Meanwhile Monty was heard muttering, "Always the same, these darned Quests. . . gotta save the world again. . ."

The elven lord beamed, and said, "Right in one! Now all we have to do is. . ."

[This message has been edited by Argh (edited 29 May 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Argh (edited 29 May 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Argh (edited 29 May 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

After a few hours sleep, interwoven with Elf meditation (you know Elves don't sleep, just meditate on Nature), I went down to the Pub.

Though it was sun rising, and most of the Pub's hands were busy at cleaning, the windows were fully oppened, and the morning air was fresh and invigorating.

The Elven Lord was pissed drunk, like the Dwarf in front of him. I wondered what the business was to have them sit at a table for so long.

I got out and the morning dawned with the singing of birds. I rushed to the wood hill nearby, to relax, but Jonesy was waiting fo me there.

"Hello, Vamp."

"Don't call me that, Jonesy."

"Don't call me Jonesy, then." It said, feigning offense taken.

"Should I call you by your name, then?"

"No, no, no. Sorry, VampiricDread."

"What is it then?"

"The elf in the Boar's Head... He's been talking..."

"Come on. I hate riddles in the morning, you know that!"

"Very well, then. Ask your former companions. He told them of the Gems of EverLasting, and he is setting up a party on prizes that are not his." With this, Jonesy went away, as fast as a Wood Sprite could.

I went back to the Boar's Head Inn. It was deserted, but I was given the same table.

"I think your friends went to sleep", a maid said.

"I'll wait, if you don't mind. Bring me some tea, fresh bread, butter and cheese, please".

I was puzzled! Why would an Elven Lord, in fact why would any elf mention the Gems of EverLasting? I saw no point in brooding over it, so I took my meal, went to the stables and practiced my morning rituals and body tune-ups, before returning.

It took some hours waiting before they showed up...

------------------
I wish I had more time to adventure...

[This message has been edited by VampiricDread (edited 29 May 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

Monty crawled out from under a nearby table. Something had definitely shat in his mouth Last night. At least he had gotten out of the way. He ran his fingers through his short hair and looked around.

"Hey VampiricDread, good morning."
Monty offered VampiricDread some dough crescents. In between bites, Monty told VampiricDread of what happened Last night and asked him a question. "Do you have a nickname or something short we can call you? Vampie doesn't really fit you, but we can't call you in a hurry with 'Hey VampiricDread!'"

"The quest sounds prety important. I'd hate for the world to go all dark or light. I can offer some magical muscle and some fighting skills."

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

Drago awoke from his slumber; washed up and went downstairs. He drank way too much Last night and was still feeling the effects. After eating some elven muffins for breakfast
he rejoined his friends and exclaims: "Good morning you guys. Quite an adventure we have in store for us; I hope Monty let you in on all the details VampiricDread."


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"My soul to nothingness: but I will strive against all doubtings, and will keep alive..." ~ John Keats's Sleep and Poetry

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

"Good morning, Drago. Yes, Monty has just told me what you discussed Last night. I have some reservations on the quest, but I'll help you out, if you want to. Do you know where to start?"

And to Monty "Why don't you call me just Dread, then? It's just a name of no consequence."

------------------
I wish I had more time to adventure...

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

Monty smiled. "OK, Dread I like. That'll work!"
Monty looked around. "This may sound like a dumb question, but does anyone know what the surrounding area is like? I'm not from around here."

[This message has been edited by monty (edited 30 May 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

"Well, I suggest that we pack up our things, and leave the tavern to start out with. We should go to the town of Northia which is nearby the elven lord's tomb. Ask a few questions to the townspeople, and further inspect the tomb for any clues the elves may have missed in their investigation" Drago stated.

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"My soul to nothingness: but I will strive against all doubtings, and will keep alive..." ~ John Keats's Sleep and Poetry

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

"Won't the elven lord and Bargehead, the Dwarf, join this company?", I said.

It seems strange to go on with them, I reflected, but then again, this is strange company.

"I'm as ready as I can be, and packed, so I'll wait for you."

"But you're carrying nothing!", Drago exclaimed. Before I could speak, Monty winked an eye, and said "Don't be deceived by the looks of Dread. He's packing, I'm sure."

------------------
I wish I had more time to adventure...

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

Monty went up to the barkeep and bartered for some road rations and various other sundries. Ilfred wasn't much in a bargaining mood, she started her side of the conversation with a left hook. Monty did manage to get her settled down enough to get what he wanted.
He gave up much of a thick rod of dwarvish hacksilver and some elvish woodcarvings in trade.
As they prepared to leave, Monty turned to VampiricDread. "To continue from before, Names are very important where I come from. Nothing is 'just' a name."



[This message has been edited by monty (edited 31 May 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

Well, I thought, I've never been to Northia, and I can use the change of airs, though it's strange that the Gems of EverLasting were hidden around those parts, but an elf is an elf, and questioning their reasonings can take more time than asking an Ent which way is north.

"If you know that, you know also that names carry a magic of their own, my friend", I said to monty. "Even the names we elect to use, or accept upon ourselves, Plebeian King."

With a wink from the corner of my eye, we both laughed. Monty being taller than myself, and stronger, is nevertheless a character of quick humour and a friendly smile, but quite dangerous and effective in a fight.

------------------
I wish I had more time to adventure...

[This message has been edited by VampiricDread (edited 01 June 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

Drearily shaking themselves out of bed, the elven lord and Bargehead slowly tramped down the stairs.

Bargehead was already laden down with gear, and sat heavily at the bar, trading "how to skin a Troll" jokes with Ilfred. The elven lord, wrapped only in a silken smoking-robe, lounged at a table with an enormous glass of orange juice in front of him.

Seeing that the others were preparing themselves for a journey to the Far North, the Elf smiled lazily and said, "Er. . . there's no need for that. . . we'll just take a. . . um. . . yah. . . er. . . oh! A Cloudgate!"

Several members of the gathering band looked at the elven lord with thinly disguised annoyance. Drago was heard muttering, "But what about the cost? Isn't that really expensive?"

The elven lord, doing his best to look cool and collected, simply said "Well, it's all paid for- don't worry about the cost." Bargehead looked incredulous, but the elven lord said, with a sly grin, "Well, we Elves do have some advantages- having lived over 774 years, for example, it's surprising how much interest compounds, if you invest it in Dwarven banks and don't spend much. . ."

[This message has been edited by Argh (edited 01 June 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Argh (edited 01 June 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

"A CloudGate! Where are you going to get one, my lord? It's not that you don't have the funds to put us all using it, from what I can see."

The Dwarf seemed to be on the verge of an hearth attack, fuming like a salamander, or just about any other fire elemental. He was speechless, looking at each one of us for help.

"We are but five, now: your Lordship and your friend Bargehead, plus the Plebeian King, the misterious Drago, and myself. Are we enough of a party to go after the quest you proposed?"


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I wish I had more time to adventure...

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

"Cloudgate, hmm?" Monty shakes his head. "Nope, haven't done that yet."

Monty turns to VampiricDread and says. "True. Names, even ones like you said, have Power. I try not to use my lofty title for anything other than to remind myself that, as far as I have come, I am but a humble man, no better than anyone else. I do not like to hold myself above others. One benefit is that, while I am a little out of place around the high-brows (no offense misseur elf) I find all sorts of friendliness among the masses. My grandparents were streetsweepers and I am comfortable around those who work hard for a living. I always enjoyed helping out my grandparents and I don't ever want to forget my humble roots."

"So, is it time for all the party people to jump on a cloud?!"

**VampiricDred wrote: the dwarf was on the verge of a HEARTH atack!!!!
Haw haw!! ROTF mispelling laugh!!!**

[This message has been edited by monty (edited 02 June 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by monty:
[B**VampiricDred wrote: the dwarf was on the verge of a HEARTH atack!!!!
Haw haw!! ROTF mispelling laugh!!!**
[/b]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Clarification: you cannot be 100% perfect, though you may try. There's heart, and hearth, both dear to a Dwarf. I should have ammended the word to heart(h) to get my initial idea conveyed, but thinking is one thing, writing is another. I'm sorry...

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

Quite all right. I do the occasional mistype myself, this one was just funny to me. Like you said, heart and hearth are dear to a dwarf. I was trying to picture a dwarf having a hearth attack!

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

((Back in Character))
Monty says to VampiricDread, "I think we're enough to start this quest. We have an elf, a dwarf and a few humans already. Who knows who or what we'll pick up on the way?"
Monty finishes stashing away little goodies here and there amongst his person. His backpack bulges at the seams, a few of which have torn under the strain. "She'll hold," Monty said, pointing to his pack. "Always has." He opens it up and shifts a few of the contents around. The party see a few odd things pop in and out of the pack, including what looks like a small ball of fur. "Never can tell what you'll need on a trip!"

Drago looks at VampiricDread and Monty.
"What a pair! One of you looks like he's carrying nothing and the other looks like he's carrying everything!"

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

"I guess we'll never know what we need until we need it", I said. They all looked at me like I was a moron for stating the obvious. I shrugged and added:

"Shall we get going? We're wasting good daylight, or is any of you waiting for someone else to show up?"

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I wish I had more time to adventure...

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

The gathered party leave the dank and dusky confines of the Boar's Head.

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

Downunder tom wakes up, thinking that must have been a party and a half Last night.

He gets up quickly brushes him self off and runs after Monty and the group.

When he catches up with them we askes if he can join them, as his thief and tinking skills might be usefull to them



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Wth a little help from my frieds , we can make this the best RPG ever.

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

"Of course you can come!! You never know when you might come in handy." Monty laughs and gladly welcomes Tom on their quest. "Only, stay out of my backpack!"

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

Tom Shakes Monty's and frieds hands and picks up his sack of items the he has found, Kenders are not really thiefs but just loan things to see how they work and sometimes forget where they got them. Of course it could be dangerous with Gnome devices as most of them seem to blow up instead of working like there ships which is too big for a Kender to steal anyway.

In his other hand he picks up is Hoopak a strange combination of staff and sling.

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Wth a little help from my frieds , we can make this the best RPG ever.

[This message has been edited by Downunder Tom (edited 04 June 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

"Glad to have you with us Tom. No trip is boring with a Kender along!"
Both Bargehead and the elflord look suspiciously at Tom, like he is some sort of deranged second cousin.
Monty is glad to be outdoors again. The day is bright and sunny, birds are chirping, and the grass is a brilliant green. Not a cloud in the sky...A giant can be heard in the distance, winning an argument with a large tree that doesn't want to become a club.


[This message has been edited by monty (edited 04 June 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

I was pleased to see a Kender join the party, if for nothing else, their natural merry and innocent disposition (though their borrowing habits are somewhat upseting).

In the distance, a rendering sound of timber being broken just showed the giant got his point over the tree..

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I wish I had more time to adventure...

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

The party stopped, looking warily at the Giant, until the elven lord came around the bend(he was chatting merrily with Bargehead about ancient traps in the rear of the party). The elven lord looked up at the Giant(which was just starting to think about whether or not Kender are tasty) when he whispered in Monty's ear, "We should really get out of here, don't you think?".

Monty looked at the elven lord and grinned. He wasn't afraid of such a stupid(if powerful) creature. The giant began picking its teeth with bits of the treetop, and slowly moved one of its legs as if to give chase, but the party was soon out of sight- and it being a hill giant, that meant out of mind.

About thirty minutes later, they arrived at a tiny hut that stood in front of a larger house. The elven lord gestured to the party to walk up to the hut, and they were greeted by a very strange and wizened figure.

The figure was humanoid, and had a somewhat human face- but its incredible layers of wrinkly nut-brown skin made its face look somewhat like a collection of leather gloves. Its wide dark eyes stared from under its dark brow. . .

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

"Is this where we get to the CloudGate, my lord?" I asked the elf.

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I wish I had more time to adventure...

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

Well we are waiting for a reply we hear a big crash in the distance ....

Tom tells the others that giant was not going to make a snack of him and decied to get in first by tieing the giants shoe lances together and that was the giant falling over we heard. He also shows them a strange device that he got from the lord when he was not looking. The others look displeased thinking that lord will be after them when he works it out.



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Wth a little help from my frieds , we can make this the best RPG ever.

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

While the party of adventurers is waiting for a reply to Vampiricdread's question Drago goes into his black leather backpak and brings forth a small trinket. It is a little golden pocketwatch with a cluster of diamonds in the shape of a dragon encircling a moon and a sun. The back of it is engraved in a few different ancient Languages: egyptian, chinese, and another one that is unrecognizable to him. He describes it as an old family heirloom passed down from his great, great grandfather William Thomasticus.
In the final days of the Great War he had uncovered it while exploring a cave during a reconnaissance mission. "It has the ability to stop time for a brief period," Drago states.
"How long a period of time?" Monty asks. "Five minutes," Drago says. The third ancient language was known by Drago's great grandfather but he died before he could pass on his knowledge. Perhaps someone from the party could decipher it.

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"My soul to nothingness: but I will strive against all doubtings, and will keep alive..." ~ John Keats's Sleep and Poetry


[This message has been edited by Drago (edited 08 June 2001).]

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

the mysterious figure seated them on the floor of the small hut, there being only room for an earthen bed and a small table in the corner. He left breifly and returned with a small bucket. From this bucket he served the purest water Monty had ever tasted.
VampiricDread remarked that the water tasted like it had certain properties versus evil and asked if he could fill a vial of the fluid.
The wizened creature, who had yet to talk, motioned VampiricDread to go ahead.

As the party drank, the elven lord explained that the larger house belonged to a Powerful Lord of the area, who had control of a cloudgate that appeared now near the top of the the tallest tower of the house.
"This being before you is the gardner of the House. He is a very ancient and wise being who has taken care of this part of the Land for many generations. No lord would try to remove him because he keeps the orchards producing, the grass green and the water pure, as you can attest to. He comes with the property, so to speak. He is kin to both myself and the dwarf. It is my opinion that he can help us gain access to the cloudgate."

"Wait a minute," Monty said, slightly confused. "I thought you said that this cloudgate was already paid for?"

The elven lord motioned the party to a small window that looked onto the larger house. "Gaze up at the manor house. See the flag flying above the main entrance? That is the flag of a new lord of the manor. My deal was with the previous owner."

"I know the device that flies," VampiricDread said, noting the red field and large black fist upraised in the center. "He is in league with evil Powers."

"Just so, VampiricDread, Just so. That is why we cannot approach the manor as civilized beings."
The elven lord reached into his bag and removed some elvish delicacies and passed them with both hands to the owner of the hut.
His eyes danced and a long tongue snaked over his teeth. Showing courtesy, the figure portioned the bread up into small pieces and passed it aorund for all to share. His breath smelled like freshly turned earth.

Re: The Boar\'s Head Pub
 

Monty examined Drago's precious watch. "Maybe it's Mayan. 'Tis said that their ancestors came from Asia."