Prospectus Logs #28: The Tom Wars +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Goblin plots. Of cognate faeries, wherein one may replace another. | | How Arcadia may be drawn toward Iberia, and how Iberia may be drawn | | toward Arcadia. Finally, talking squids, beautiful singers, and other | | strange beings. | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Dramatis Personae: Berengarius the Bloodthirsty Magus of Criamon (Eric Rowe) Fabricarious of Verditius Magus (Chris Van Horn) Fraxima the Faerie Flambeau Maga (Donald Kubasak) Lorum of Merinita Magus (Bill Filios) Frangere of Tremere Magus (Eric Fulton) Larissa of Mercere Maga (Kevin Wong) Risus of Criamon Magus (Dave Woo) Viator (as Giant Mosquito) Magus of Jerbiton (Dave Pickering) Hufar Grog Jean-Claude Grog Jean-Patrice Grog Julian Grog Michelle Grog Roger-Tien Grog Torp Grog Vincent Grog Grom Goblin Champion for Tomas Rurk Goblin Leader Sansanio Dark Elf Thom Faerie Lord of Death & Dying Tomas Faerie Lord of Enlightenment & Illumination Angle the Barbarian Human Champion for Thom Black Wyrm of Boyaten Dragon The Darcist Dog Querying Canine Edward the Elder Peasant Happy Henry Bard Samson (Sammy) the Squid Squid The Silver Knights Knights Sophia Beautiful Singer Story Guide: Shannon Appel - * - The Memoirs of Aubrin the Evil January 6, 1218 It seems that Berengarius is finally ready to set off to put down that uprising at Lord Thom's castle, as we had discussed a few weeks ago. He has done it in a most unorthodox manner however, I suppose as one would expect of a Criamon. For totally arbitrary reasons, Berengarius decided to put Vincent in charge, despite the fact that Vincent is mere grog, neither captain, lieutenant, nor sergeant. Suffice to say, both Viator and Frangere had qualms with this. Viator spoke out with words and Frangere with a certamen; I must say, I had begun to wonder whether Frangere was a true Tremere at all, but now I am somwhat less worried, for not only did Frangere challenge Berengarius, but he faced the Criamon's best magical arts and still emerged victorious, and as a result Berengarius may no longer promote grogs above their station. A large expedition is leaving tomorrow: Berengarius, Lorum, Frangere, Viator, Fabricarious, Risus, Larissa, and a number of grogs. Fraxima has some disagreement with the expedition, and has decided to leave in advance, so that she may talk with Lord Thom and so ensure he is pleased with us putting down his rebellion. +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | "You're toying with them." | | "Shhh...." | | -Viator and Berengarius, on the utility of grogs | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ - * - From The Book of Exile As Dictated by Michelle du Provencal January the Eighth, Fourth Year of Exile (1218 AD) The female lord Fraxima rejoined us the evening. She had apparently encountered the goblin-demons on her way to see Lord Thom and had been repulsed by them. She has given up her attempt to visit the demon lord and has opted to join us in the righteous slaughter of these infernal beasts. Tomorrow we shall be upon them. +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | "The goblins are revolting?" | | "The trees aren't too hot either." | | -Fabricarious and Viator, on straight lines | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ - * - From The Book of Exile As Dictated by Michelle du Provencal January the Ninth, Fourth Year of Exile (1218 AD) "The tainted shall be struck down like wheat before the scythe." Those are words from our scripture, written in a book that I always carry near to my heart. For a time I have wondered if those lords that we now swear allegiance to are among the tainted, but today gave me new hope, for we struck out against the demons of our world. This morning we went forth into the swamps surrounding Thom's castle. We were not surprised when we found the goblin-demons lying in wait, just as they had waited for Fraxima yesterday. They were preparing some type of sacrificial ritual, and their leader Rurk stood at the center of the gathering, seemingly ready to ward us off. But, all was not as it seemed, and Frangere shouted that he believed it was a faerie that was to be sacrificed. His words were too late to stop Torp's arrow, however, and it struck Rurk straight through. This day we had some small amount of luck in this foul world, however, for Torp's blow was not fatal. Rurk fell to the ground, but did not die. So we defeated the satanic ritual of the goblin-demons. With their leader down, the rest of the goblin-demons fled. Through apt use of their powers, Frangere and Berengarius were able to stop one of the creatures, but the rest escaped into the swamps. Afterward, we revived Rurk and questioned our two captives. We learned that they had been dealing with another faerie lord, named Tomas, and that they were trying to summon his realm down from Hell to replace Thom's. Thanks to the work of the goblin-demons, Tomas' realm already lay halfway between Hell and our world. If we had slain Rurk and so completed their ritual, it would have been brought into our world. Almost, the demons made us do their work. After that we spent several hours tracking down goblin-demons. The lords came up with a most clever plan where they disguised themselves as giant mosquitos, for according to our captives, "skeeters" were a favorite food of theirs. Fraxima and Viator flew about and so managed to lure another two goblins to their death. +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | "Buzz, man, buzz." | | "All this blood is weighing me down." | | -Viator, on deception | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ There was other tomfoolery as well, and I found it hard to fathom how lightly the lords took our demon hunting. Frangere spent the afternoon dangling from a tree. Risus took on the image of a giant fly, then Berengarius became a giant frog and spent the day chasing him. Nonetheless, the work we did was good. We slew three of our four goblin-demon captives--all but Rurk. We questioned him more as evening fell. This was when we learned that "Rurk" was actually a title, meaning chief. The Rurk we spoke to now was not the same one that we had once slain. We also learned that we had been unable to find the rest of the goblins because they had all been instructed to flee into the realm of the demon-lord Tomas, which lies nearby due to Rurk's satanic rituals. So tomorrow we shall journey there. Rurk has told us the rituals to enter Tomas' realm--there are apparently entrances scattered throughout the realm of Thom--and has also told us certain drum calls we may use to summon the other goblins. There should be eight of the demons left if Rurk can be relied upon. - * - From The Book of Exile As Dictated by Michelle du Provencal January the Tenth, Fourth Year of Exile (1218 AD) "There are plots within plots: a byzantine set of plans that rule our world." Those were the words of Bernardo, a _prefecti_ too wise for this world. Wheels always turn within wheels, and what we believe to be the truth never is. We move within realities that we cannot understand. Today we crossed over into the realm of the lord Tomas, the so-called Lord of Enlightenment and Illumination. We found it to be a sharp contrast to the realm of Thom; swamp was replaced by a beautiful and clear lake. We were still taking in the realm when we were attacked. A goblin again was our assailant, but this one was prepared for war, and seemed much more skilled in its practice than any of his fellows. Through use of their powers the lords were able to contain him, but I must not understate his dangerousness. When we questioned this goblin, we learned that he was The Grom--another title--and that he was the champion for Lord Tomas in some manner of contest. We did not understand all the facts at that time. More disturbingly, The Grom said that all the other goblin-demons were being held captive by Tomas in his dungeon. The lords tried Rurk's drum calls, but they were to no avail. So, after slaying the demon Grom, we decided to return to our own world. There was a parting of the ways then. Berengarius, Frengere, Fraxima, and Viator all wished to speak with Thom, hoping to offer him knowledge of Tomas and the goblin's rituals in exchange for some reward. Lorum led a group leaving the swamp; he did not wish to approach Thom while carrying the bodies of his subjects. Leaving the swamp was not a problem, but afterward we ran into a distraction. There we were accosted by Sansanio, a dark elf swearing allegiance to the May Queen. This dark elf badgered us, trying to get us to swear allegiance to his queen. For some reason the lords did not make him fly away at once. And, as a result, tragedy. Torp, one of my warriors and our best tracker, began to worry about his own questionable heritage and the claims that the demon-lord Aquil made upon the people of our realm. So, before I could stop him, he swore half of his allegiance to the May Queen and half to the Vole Queen. So another of the people of Prospectus Locus fell prey to the seductions of this foul world. It was a short time afterward that Viator flew in to tell us of what they had learned at Thom's castle. He said that a contest was being conducted in Tomas' realm that would determine who would achieve supremacy in this part of the world. There are two globes, one black and one white, and by discovering these globes and shattering the one belonging to his liege lord, a champion will decide who claims these lands: Thom or Tomas. In exchange for increased tree-tapping rights, Viator agreed that we would act on Lord Thom's behalf. So we work for the demons once more. After the rest returned from Thom's castle we all met under the same tree that we had used as a gateway before, and then we passed back into Tomas' realm. Back in the great lake we set out north, and there we came to an island that was larger than should have been possible, and from there we traveled to a small village. We found an elderly man in that village, Elder Edward by name, and asked him if he knew of the twin globes and the Black Wyrm of Boyaten that was alleged to guard them. He pointed us toward a certain mountain, far away, and soon Viator had us flying to it. We also agreed to watch out for a certain book for Elder Edward, the Book of Questions. On the mountain we met another inhabitant of Tomas' realm, a man named Angle the Barbarian. He claimed to be a champion for Lord Thom, but mistrusted us greatly. Still, we journeyed with him as he climbed the mountain, and soon we came to the cave where the Black Wyrm was said to dwell. Advancing into the cave we saw three signs, and the magi read them thus: "Music Calms the Heart of the Sauvage Beast", "Don't Even Think of Entering without the Golden Lyre", annd "This is Your Last Warning." The magi wisely decided to hold back when Angle the Barbarian entered the last door. He screamed like a woman when the flames washed over him. No frenchman he. After that we decided to return to Elder Edward and see if he knew of the Golden Lyre. But, it was late, so we made camp. And thus we were met with another coincidence. As Julian dug a latrine he found buried in the soil a book: The Book of Questions. The coincidences of this place are... odd. And surely the work of the Devil. - * - From The Book of Exile As Dictated by Michelle du Provencal January the Eleventh, Fourth Year of Exile (1218 AD) Little of event today. We flew back to the village and met with Elder Edward again. He was willing to tell us of the Golden Lyre only after we gave him the Book of Questions. He revealed the Lyre was lost in a Dark Monstrous Grotto, and told us that certain passages from under Lord Tomas' castle led there. So, we decided to travel to Tomas' castle, and this time we walked. Quite fortunate, for--by coincidence--we ran into a bard on the way, Happy Henry by name, and he claimed to be the best lyrist in the land, but alas all of the strings of his own gitar were broken. He agreed to play for the Black Wyrm in exchange for the Golden Lyre, and so joined our expedition. We should reach Tomas' castle tomorrow. - * - From The Book of Exile As Dictated by Michelle du Provencal January the Twelfth, Fourth Year of Exile (1218 AD) "Distrust that which you do not understand." Once more the words of Bernardo. We arrived at the castle of Lord Tomas today and as Henry had warned us we were met by a group of Silver Knights. We had been prepared for this, however, and we knew that the Silver Knights were but empty suits of armor, and that their greatest desire was for bodies. So, we bargained with them to allow us down into the dungeons, and there we set free the goblins. There were six Knights and seven goblins, so we offered up the living bodies of six goblins to the Knights. At least we were able to slay the last demon. We had also learned that Henry's sister, Sophia, was imprisoned within the dungeon. Despite Henry's protests we set her free as well, hoping that her singing could accompany Henry's lyre playing and thus sooth the savage Black Wyrm of Boyaten. I should take a moment here to speak of Sophia. She is tall and lean and has fiery-red hair. She is quite simply the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Strangely, one of the Silver Knights was quite taken by all of Sophia's finery. The lords took to calling him the Silver Lady. Afterward we were able to find the secret passage that Elder Edward had described, and soon we were on the long path that led to the undersea grotto where the Golden Lyre was said to lay. Halfway down the passage we encountered yet another impediment, in the form of a small dog that was able to block our passage. He peppered us with questions, never making statements. We discovered that we could pass by this Darcist Dog only by asking him a question he did not know of--fortunately we knew of a whole book full of such obscure questions. Viator went off to fetch Elder Edward who then proceded to offer a query from the Book of Questions, forcing the Darcist Dog to let us pass. It was at this time that we learned that Elder Edward was the father of Sophia and Henry. More coincidences in this demon-ruled land! We proceeded onward then, finally coming to the grotto, and there we found a huge squid wrapped around the golden lyre. This last obstacle was easy to deal with. We simply had to help this beast out of the grotto where he had been imprisoned by a Sea Witch. Viator was able to do so quite easily with his lifting power. So, our entire entourage left the grotto, Golden Lyre in hand. One last note, on the Squid. He is Sammy by name, or Samson. Viator has convinced him to return home with us. In return Viator has said he will return to Tomas' realm when Sammy is restored to his full power, and here help Sammy to defeat the Sea Witch. We are camped a bit away from Tomas' castle this evening. In the morning we shall journey back the Wyrm's cave, and so make our final assault. - * - From The Book of Exile As Dictated by Michelle du Provencal January the Thirteenth, Fourth Year of Exile (1218 AD) It is done, and we are free of that hellish realm of Tomas, thank faith. The journey to the wyrm's lair was easy. There we passed once more through the ominous gateways, and as we approached the wyrm's lair Henry began to play and Sophia began to sing. The wyrm was lulled near to sleep and so we passed it by. The two globes were easy to find. The black one portrayed Thom. The white globe portrayed a fair-haired young man whom we assume is Tomas. We then returned to the tree, out on the lake, which held our route home. Sammy was there waiting for us. The most beautiful lady Sophia had also decided to return to our world; she seemed most happy to never see her brother again. And so we traveled back through the magical portal that divided that ring of Hell from our own tainted world. And then we shattered the globe of black. Thus we proclaimed the demon-lord Thom's victory and did his bidding, but at the least we could take comfort from the fact that we had banished his demon-twin, Tomas. Fraxima confirmed that the portals to Tomas' realm were gone. We should be back home in two days. Samson will take up residence in our lake and Sophia shall light our keep with her beauty.