Novgorod Log #25: The Hero with Seven Faces +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Of the return to the land of faerie and seven heroes of that place. A | | story of honey, apples and oranges. Finally, a marriage, a grouper | | and a leviathan. | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Andron of Bonisagus Seeker Mage (Eric Rowe) Ballisto of Tytalus Rock Mage (Bill Filios) Carmen of Bjornaer Bird Mage (Donald Kubasak) Carolinus of Tremere Rego Mage (Chris Frerking) Felix of Flambeau Fire Mage (Dave Pickering) Gorm ex Miscellanea Chicken Mage (Matt Seidl) Nihil of Criamon Mage of Nothing (Chad Weetman) Pacifer of Tytalus Warrior Mage (Shannon Appel) Torris of Tremere Fire Mage (Kevin Wong) Una of Tytalus Lightning Maga (Clayton Springer) Hal Kid Little Claus Norse Grog Captain Adrian German Grog Big Claus Norse Grog Jarl Norse Grog LyanBruno Faerie Grog Skald Norse Grog Dustie Horse of Dust & Thunder Fluffy Cat Fredo Grasshopper Leonid Lemming Loretta Cat Louise Horse Prince Olaf Lemming Regina Cat Spot Cat Arnodd Great Shaman Beast Invulnerable Beast of Terror Bobino Hero of the Land of the Savage Beasts Boss Grouper Depplegrim Hero of the Barren Isles Drassus of Criamon Criamon Grithari Hero of the Land of Prickly Rocks Leviathan Big Whale Minikkin Hero of the Land of the Great Desert Pippin Prince of the Green & Pleasant Lands Ruby Woman Sam Raven Simon Peasant Boy Thorkle King of the Land of Splendor Yrka Princess of the Land of Splendor Zizi Hero of the Land of Tremendous Ravines +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | "This is the land where we do good deeds." | | -Felix | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ The Book of Nature's Teeth as Chronicled by Pacifer of Tytalus Summer, 1204 I suppose the tale of our return to the faerie land, the land of talking cats, King Thorkle, the beautiful princess Yrka, the great Rocks of Corson and all the rest, truly began in April, after we had returned from slaying the evil Merchant of the Killing Beasts. Thus, that is where I will begin this chronicle. It was the twentieth of April when we returned to Nature's Teeth, and we were all in the best of moods. The foul merchant had been justly slain, and so the power of the Master of the Killing Beasts had been reduced. It was a great start to the year, and we all thought it boded well. Back at home, though, we were reminded of other troubles. Felix's adopted son, Hal, began to speak once more of his desire to return home, so that he could visit his parents for a bit. Many of us sympathized with him, I know, torn from of our original families, so long ago, to enter the world of magic. So, we began to plan a trip back to the Faerie Realm. At first, we wondered how we would ever find it again, for in truth, we had stumbled upon it by accident when we first visited it two years ago. We began to despair when even Gorm, as adept as he is with other realms, said that it would be very hard to ever locate the place again. But then, we were rescued from our dilemma, by, of all things, a cat. Looking casually up from his preening, Fluffy mentioned that all of his cats knew the way back home. Reassured, we made our plans. We decided to leave on the twentieth of May, a full month later. We talked of other things at that Council Meeting, such as the Shaman Arnodd, and his constant promises of a visit, the Master of the Killing Beasts, and our continued vendetta against him and a piece of pottery which Andron bought in Poland a few years ago, and the strange glow that it emitted. We also talked again of the Green Gem which we have heard rumors of. Before the Council Meeting was done, it was decided that Una would leave us for a bit, to travel to her home covenant of Brosis. We hoped that she could dig through their libraries, and perhaps gain some information on gems, killing beasts or priests of Odin. And then, we all dispersed, heading back to our labs to study for the month that we had allocated. Drassus the Criamon, the magus who we had invited to our island wandered off too, apparently to study the cats. It seems like that month went by in moments. Very soon, the time of our journey was drawing near. An excited enthusiasm lay upon us all. All told, nine magi journied to the Faerie Realm that second time, myself, Carmen, Nova, Ballisto, Felix, Gorm, Nihil, Torris and Carolinus. And then there were the cats, of course, a full boat load of them, our trusted grogs and, oddly enough, Gorm's woman, Ruby. For seven days we journeyed. Our progress seemed to be marked by the growing brightness from Andron's shard of pottery. He had lent it to Gorm for the trip, clearing recognising the correspondence between it and the land, a fact that we had all missed, a fact that we would not realize until much later. And then, there was a magical jolt, and we all knew that we were once more in the Faerie Land of Talking Animals. Shortly, we had come to Hal's village. Hal was overjoyed, and he ran off at once to see his parents, Felix and Ruby in tow. The rest of us waited, wandering about the town and wasting time, and this was when the betrayal came. When the rest of us had left the ship, wandering Hal's little village, Fluffy approached Ballisto. Apologizing, he told Ballisto that he and the rest of the cats were leaving, for they felt unsafe in our covenant. Turning quickly, he and the rest of the cats slipped into the night. And that was the last that we saw of most of them. Only Felix's cats, Spot and Loretta, were loyal enough to remain with us. Later, Regina would join us as well. At first, we were all consumed by a great anger over this betrayal, but quickly, the beauty of the land washed it all from our minds. Meanwhile, Felix and Ruby acted the doting parents. They smiled quietly as Hal regaled his father and mother with tales of his travels, and of the many people that he had encountered. Finally, near the end of the day, Felix, Ruby and Hal rejoined us. The youngster seemed quite happy, his loneliness for home gone. We had decided by that time that we would not waste our visit to the Faerie Realm. This time, we would search it thoroughly, to ensure that we recovered the Green Gem reputed to be held by the Faeries if it truly was in the Faerie Realm. And that was why we headed North the next day. We desired to seek the wisdom of King Thorkle on this matter. On our journey to King Thorkle's Castle, a trip made atop talking horses, we met five heroes of the Faerie Realms, each a legend in a different land of that huge place. The first hero was named Grithari, a man from the Land of Prickly Rocks. He told us of the huge bees of his homeland, and how their tails were as big as daggers. We smiled kindly, purchased some of his honey, and talked a bit. As we talked with him, we asked questions, hoping to gain information. We soon learned that there was indeed a magic green gem in the realm, held by the hero, Simon, a Peasant Boy, but the gem was very small, clearly not at all what we were looking for. Finally, we headed on, thanking Grithari for both his honey and his hospitality. Next we met Zizi, hero from the Land of the Tremendous Ravines. When we came across him, he was scaling a tremendous cliff. We stood upon the road near a group of peasants, and together we all watched in awe. As we watched, the peasants tried to convince us to knock Zizi from the rock, for he had made a bet with all of them that he could climb the daunting cliffs. We smiled and said no, for somehow, in the Faerie Realms, we could never consider such treacherous acts. Finally, Zizi reached the top of the cliff, and then began his long walk down. We talked with Zizi for a while too, and even offered him employment with our covenant, for his climbing skill was quite impressive. He turned us down, but we took it in good cheer. We asked him of green gems too, and he could only name one, the green gem held by the hero, Simon, a peasant boy. It was the next day when we came across the apple orchard, and the poor farmer, wringing his hands over his crop. It looked like an army had been through his land, for every tree had been stripped near bare of fruit. We felt sorry for the fellow, and so, at once, we volunteered to help. Skald began to track the miscreant, aided slightly by a trail of apple cores. And that was how we met DeppleGrim, hero of the Barren Isles. We found him at the end of the trail, lounging in the shade of a tree, eating apples. Perhaps four or five thousand of the fruit had fallen victim to his appetite before we came upon him. DeppleGrim told an odd story of his home, where all of the trees there had names upon them. Seeing trees without names, he had taken the fruit, thinking it was free. When we explained that several farmers were very distraught, he seemed apologetic. So, we took DeppleGrim back to the farmer that we had met, and DeppleGrim agreed to help in the fields, to repay what he had eaten. As we escorted DeppleGrim, we talked with him, and as had become our custom, we asked him of Green Gems. At first, he thought only of apples. Then, he remembered one more, held by the hero, Simon, a peasant boy. We saw a definite pattern developing. It was at this point, after meeting the first three heroes, that we took a small detour. We were coming near the great hill of the lemmings, and Nihil wished to talk with his old friends, Thorin and Olaf. Only Nihil and Carmen were allowed into the hill, and so the rest of us sat and waited. When our two friends returned, they brought new fellows back with them. The Prince Olaf, and his bodyguard, Leonid, had agreed to join our fellowship. Shortly, a third friend joined us, a small grasshopper named Fredo. Immediately, we became the best of friends. It was just hours later that we met the fourth hero, Bobino of the Land of Savage Beasts. His presence first became known to us when the animals, horses, cats, lemmings and grasshoppers, all began to leave the path that we were walking, veering far to the right, off into the woods. Finally, we came to a clearing where Bobino sat piping merrily away. When he finished, he looked up smiling, and at once, all the animals gave a great sigh, saddened by the loss of the beautiful music. We talked to Bobino, asking him if he would join us in our battle against the Master of the Killing Beasts. Politely, he declined the offer, and so shortly, we moved on. Before we left Bobino though, we did ask him one final question, about Green Gems. As expected, he told us that he knew of one, held by the hero, Simon, a peasant boy. It was just a few hours before we arrived at King Thorkle's castle that we met the fifth of the heroes. We came upon a small village, and learned there that their creek had run entirely dry. We quickly promised our aid, and then began to walk upstream, searching for the cause. We were not surprised when we found Minikkin, hero from the Great Desert. He had dammed up the creek, and was waiting for a lake to form, so that he could drink all the water in one gulp. We explained to him the trouble that he was causing, and suggested that he drink much further down stream, near the sea. He agreed and headed away, but not before telling us of the the green gem held by the hero, Simon, a peasant boy. Arriving at Castle Thorkle's Castle, we learned there was a crisis, and so we leaped at once to help. Thorkle told of how the foul sorcerer, Simon, had come to the castle and demanded the hand of the Princess Yrka in marriage. Desperate, Thorkle had invoked the ancient laws of the Land of Splendor, and so Simon was faced with seven tests, tests that he had to pass in order to win the hand of the Princess. King Thorkle had tried to kill Simon in six ways, by boiling him in oil, and cutting off his head, and throwing him down a bottomless pit, and throwing his down a well, and caging him with a raging bear, and dosing him with a lethal poison. Each time, Simon had passed the test, and now but one remained. Thorkle told us of how he was considering sending Simon to the Cave of Cataviss, where he would have to defeat the Invulnerable Beast of Terror and sit in the Chair of Knowledge, and then asked if we might know of any better alternatives. We told him that we would consider the issue, and then we slipped away, to discuss the problem. It was clear that all was not as it seemed. We spoke briefly with both Yrka and Simon, and learned that the two of them were deeply in love, just as I had suspected. Simon, however, was worried that he would not be able to survive the seventh test, for all the others had been beaten by subterfuge. I do not think I have mentioned it yet, but the hero, Simon, a peasant boy, possessed a green gem, an item of magic. When any wore it, they looked exactly as he, and that was how Simon had won the first six tests. A hero from a land of great heat had survived the test of the cauldron. Grithari, who is nearly invulnerable to harm due to the prickly rocks of his home, withstood the blow that should have beheaded Simon. The great climber, Zizi, had easily escaped the bottomless pit. Minikkin had drunken the water of the well that Simon should have drowned in. The great bear had been easily calmed by Bobino's pipes. Depplegrim had not even noticed the poison as he ate King Thorkle's food. And now, there was just one test left, and it was clear that we, the heroes from the land where the fish do not speak, were destined to help him in it. The next day, Thorkle officially announced Simon's final test, it was the task of Cave of Cataviss and the Chair of Knowledge and the Invulnerable Beast. Bravely, Simon set forth. A short time later, we joined him upon the road. The cave was exactly as we expected it. It was a dark hole in the hill that belched forth smoke and evil mists. Simon, though, was undaunted, and bravely he took a gong forth and rang it, summoning the Invulnerable Beast of Terror. Slowly, it came forth from the cave, glaring at us each in turn. It was a lemming. Standing amidst the bones of a full fifty men, we tried to reason with the great beast, but it was pointless. He began to threaten us, and we all began to tremble greatly. Quickly, with shaking hands, we began to search through our packs, hoping that something we had won upon our journey might serve us well. We offered him beautiful green apples and the finest honey, but nothing would turn the great beast from his task. And then the chicken mage, Gorm came to our rescue, as he has before in the lands of faeries. Thinking of the mage Trollwise, he began to quietly conjure, and then he offered the Invulnerable Beast of Terror an orange. The beast cowered before Gorm, for he had found the creature's weakness. Gorm began to gesticulate wildly with the orange, and the Invulnerable Beast fled in Terror. Calling upon the magic of Imagonem, I garbed us all in orange, and then we entered the Cave of Cataviss. The Beast whimpered quietly in the corner. The chair sat in the back of the cave, a huge golden throne, embedded with gems. We all stood respectfully to the side, and Simon ascended into it. The earth shook as he sat, and when he again rose, lines of wisdom lay upon his face. When we returned to King Thorkle's castle, there was a great celebration, for the King had seen the depth of his daughter's true love for Simon. And when their marriage was announced, Simon revealed that there had been a deception, and that he was truly the hero, Pippin, a prince. In his youth, he had first seen the beautiful princess Yrka, and thus he had become determined to win her. And then, the rejoicing became even greater. The wedding was three days later, and Nihil was Simon's best man. After it was all over, Simon gave his green gem, the gem which had won him Yrka, to Nihil, for it was Nihil who had supported Simon the most of us all. Before he would let us leave, King Thorkle insisted upon giving us all gifts. Nova was given beautiful purple diamonds, Carolinus, a marvelous faerie warrior, and Felix, Dustie, the Horse of Dust and Thunder. I accepted a beautiful white horse named Louise, which I shall soon gift to Agripinilla. Finally, we were all named the Protectors of the Princess. Leaving the Castle of King Thorkle, we set out to talk to the wise owl that we had encountered before in the lands of the fay. Although we had indeed found a green gem in the faerie lands, we still yearned for another, one which we fit within the door, and we hoped that the owl might know of it. As before, the owl was the most pleasant fellow, and we talked of many things. He told us that he was sure that none of our door gems were in his land, then he went on, pontificating on other matters, a great many of them, for he is a hugely wise beast. The most interesting thing that he told us was the story of Andron's pottery shard, still carried by Gorm. As I earlier mentioned, it had indeed come from the faerie land, where it had once been part of a great pot which controlled an ancient leviathan. The rest of the pot had been swallowed by that leviathan long ago. We nodded sagely, unaware of the importance of the knowledge, and then began our long trip home. Arriving back in Hal's village, we learned that all was not well. One final act of heroism was needed. By some great coincidence, for coincidence is what seems to run the Faerie Realm, the very leviathan that we had talked of just days before had come to the village. It now dwelled off the coast, eating any boats which dared to enter the water. For weeks, we struggled with the leviathan, turning all of our resources against the creature. We tried feeding it Andron's pottery shard, but though it swallowed the bauble, there was no reaction. We attempted to set the Invulnerable Beast of Terror upon it, but we were unable to carry the creature from the caves. Finally, Carmen volunteered to scout, flying bravely out to the leviathan, and then down its blowhole. She did not return. And so, we determined that we had to do all that we could to save our friend, and we embarked upon a boat, and sailed out into the sea. Slowly, the leviathan swam towards us, and with one gulp, he swallowed us all. There was an entire world inside the leviathan, a dock, buildings and even a garden. Fish-men and giant fish wandered about, clearly at home. We were happy to see Carmen, safely flitting about the garden, and with the matter of her safety no longer an issue, we were able to examine our predicament. Shortly, Felix and I demanded to see the Boss, and we were soon taken to him. The Boss was a huge grouper. He held the pot which controlled the leviathan, the pot which we had given him a piece of him, and thus he controlled the entire crew. We approached him respectfully, and asked why he plagued Hal's poor town. We learned that Sam the Raven, a friend of the Boss, was unhappy with the town, for they had made fun of him and called him names because of his black feathers. Felix and I offered to set the matter right, so that the Boss could end his vigil. And so, we returned to the town with Sam the Raven, and we were full of wrath, for the townspeople had clearly done Sam a wrong. Speaking of the leviathan, and the anger of God, we cowed the entire town. Each townsperson approached Sam in turn, and apologized for their prejudice. Never again shall a black bird be ostracized in Hal's village. That was how our second trip to the realms of faerie was brought to an end. Happily, Sam returned to the leviathan, and our imprisoned friends were freed. And then, the leviathan left the shores of the village, its mission of vengeance complete. Boarding our boat, we headed west. Soon, we were again in the world of man. We had spent perhaps three months in the land of faerie, but in the world of man, much more time had passed. By the time we returned to Nature's Teeth, September was almost gone, the year of 1204 wasted away.