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Ember's Tale 22: Delving in the Mine


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#1 Guest_Cel_*

Posted 11 June 2006 - 07:28 PM

Chapter 22: Delving in the Mine


Not all of the dead half-orc's valuables were in his treasure chest; he had been wearing quite a few as well. Kivan took the half-orc's protective boots, a small ring with a bright blue stone, and his symbol of Cyric, which they'd present in Nashkel as evidence. When the elf grabbed the corpse's greasy hair and reached for his dagger, Ember and Imoen hurriedly turned away and busied themselves with the chest.

"Interesting," Edwin remarked, "although I fail to see its purpose. (Cooking, perhaps?)"

"Watch what you say, wizard," Kivan growled.

"Edwin, why don't you go help Minsc and Ajantis inspect the other two caves?" Ember suggested pointedly. Edwin started to say something, but seemed to think better of it. He closed his mouth and walked out of the tapestried chamber.

Ember sighed. If only he could keep a civil tongue in his head. She looked at Imoen, who was gleefully pulling spell scroll after spell scroll out of the half-orc's treasure chest, her eyes shining as she examined each in turn and identified it as best she could. He had better teach her well.

"Hey, look at these!" Imoen exclaimed, holding up two parchments that did not have the characteristic look of spell scrolls. "'My servant Mulahey,'" she read from the first parchment, "'Your progress in disrupting the flow of iron ore does not go as well as it should. How stupid can you be to allow your kobolds to murder the miners?' And then it goes on about poisoning the ore... oh, and Tranzig is his contact! He's in Beregost, at Feldpost's inn! The letter's signed 'Tazok'."

"Let me see that," Kivan said. Imoen handed him the note, and he studied it closely while she unrolled the second parchment.

"What does it say? Is there any more about Tranzig?" Ember asked excitedly.

"No... it says Tazok sent the kobolds and more poison... and that Tazok's superiors hired the Black Talon and the Chill to destroy iron caravans! It's all tied together!"

Ember leaned against one of the tapestries. All tied together... the raids, the brittle ore, and the bounty on my head. Her mouth felt dry.

"Tazok is a fiend, amongst the cruelest to walk the earth," Kivan muttered. "He has no heart. Any organization with one such as him in a position of authority..."

"And it must be a powerful organization, too," Ember added. "To succeed at locking down the ore supply to the entire sword coast... and unless Tranzig has more than one master, they're after me as well. I'm beginning to feel surprised I am still alive." She laughed nervously.

"Look on the bright side, Em. Now we get to look into your bad guys and Kivan's bad guys and investigate the iron crisis, all at the same time," Imoen said with a faint grin. "If that isn't a very efficient way to be heroic, I don't know what is."

The silken curtains parted, and Minsc entered the chamber. "Come, hurry! There is an elf in the cave. He is chained to the wall, and he says we are doomed!" the giant exclaimed anxiously. Ember and Imoen hurriedly grabbed the remaining contents of the chest. Along with Kivan, they followed Minsc into the middle cave, where an elf in stained purple robes indeed was chained to the wall. Ajantis was trying to break the shackles while Edwin watched with a look of impatient suffering.

"It is hopeless. You may as well leave me and try to flee," the elf said.

Kivan turned and left the cave, returning a minute later with a keyring. The third key he tried unlocked the shackles, and the robed elf rubbed his wrists painfully. "At last I am free of my dreary prison; five and eighty days are far too long for one of the fair folk to live as a dwarf," he said.

"How did you come to be trapped in such an inhospitable place?" Ajantis asked.

"I am Xan, a Greycloak of Evereska, and as proficient in the ways of magic as any man can be," the elf said.

"(Hah!)" Edwin said under his breath.

Xan did not appear to have heard the remark, and continued unabated. "Alas, I was sent to investigate the strange goings-on about this area. It was a hopeless cause, of course; Mulahey found me, bound me, and took my Moonblade. I have not seen the sun almost as long as I have not seen my home."

"We have Mulahey's treasures. Perhaps your blade was one of them?" Imoen asked.

"Doubtful; the brute probably discarded it when he could not use it," Xan said, but nonetheless he watched eagerly as Ember and Imoen displayed the two finely made short swords they had taken from Mulahey's chest. The elf grabbed the hilt of the frailer looking of the swords, and the blade came alive with white flames.

"It's beautiful," Ember said.

"(How that blade could choose someone like him is unfathomable,)" Edwin mumbled behind Ember.

"Look, Boo, it is another sword of justice!" Minsc exclaimed.

"Do you want something to eat?" Imoen offered.

"Thank you, but we should try to get out of this dismal place, hopeless though it may be."

"We've killed all the kobolds, I think, and Immy disarmed the traps. It should be safe," Ember said drily.

"You found and secured the secret entrance?" Xan asked.

"What secret entrance?" Ajantis asked

"It is nearby. A narrow tunnel that leads straight to the surface; it was my entry point. It was not guarded then, but now its guardians are bound to be insurmountable."

"Of course they are," Ember said.

"So it'd be much faster than walking through the entire mine, right?" Imoen said.

"Show us this tunnel," Kivan said.

Xan sighed. "Very well, but do not say I didn't warn you. Come, let us face the impossible together."

They exited the inner three caves and followed a path that curved to the right around a large pool of stagnant water. There were no lights ahead of them, and they heard no sounds other than the ones they made in their passing. There were little signs of the path being used much; even the rock beneath their feet was slimy.

Something made a wet, slurping sound ahead of them.

"What was that?" Imoen asked nervously.

"The guardians. We shall fight them, even though we are bound to fail," Xan said.

The slime on the floor pulled itself together into several grey, viscous masses on the path ahead of them. A contraction rippled through the closest jelly, and it spat a foul liquid at Edwin. The liquid hissed as it struck his hand. Edwin gasped with pain and fired a volley of magic missiles at the jelly, but the spell passed through the grey goo without causing any damage.

"Curses!" Edwin spat, nursing his wounded hand.

"Bad jellies will not harm any, not even evil wizards, while they travel with Minsc!" Minsc bellowed and charged at the jelly. His large sword cut through it, but the viscous mass closed as the sword passed through it.

"No effect?" Minsc said in puzzled voice. "Minsc needs bigger sword!"

Ember jabbed at the grey ooze with her sword. To her satisfaction, the cold blade froze what it touched, and her cut remained. She slashed it a couple times, dodging a burst of fluid as she did so. Kivan struck the half frozen jelly with his hammer. An electrical charge coursed through the ooze, and it exploded into a patch of wet slime. Xan ran ahead of them, stabbing his fiery moonblade into the next jelly. Ajantis followed closely behind the elf, and his lightly enchanted blade also managed to cut the monsters. Imoen and Minsc remained in the back with Edwin, helping him tend his burnt hand, while the others hacked up the remaining oozes.

"Here is the tunnel," Xan said, pointing at a crevice between two large rocks. "No doubt there will be more traps ahead."

There weren't.

A short while later they were all on the surface, watching the first evening stars appear.

"It is certain to rain later," Xan said.

"We shall return to Nashkel in the morning," Ajantis told Xan, "and thereafter, we shall follow the trail of those behind this. You may come with us, if you like."

"I thank you for your offer, but I must return unto Evereska with all haste and report of these dire straits," Xan said.

"You do that," Edwin said.

They shared some food and gold with the elf. He bade them a hasty farewell, telling them how brave they were to continue against insurmountable odds, and wandered off into the night.

"Em, you know how the stories always describe elves as cheerful, happy people?" Imoen asked as they set up camp beneath a cliff wall.

"Yes?"

"Why are none of the elves we meet like that?"

Ember paused and looked at Kivan, who was making a smokeless fire. "I think he might have been like that, once," she said quietly.

---

"You there! Is your name Ember of Candlekeep?"

Ember groaned. This is not funny anymore. Squinting against the early morning sun, she could barely make out the forms of four armored women in front of her.

"Hurry up and answer," the woman continued. "Your answer better be the truth, for your life depends upon it."

Ember stood up and noticed that the others were also getting to their feet. She was wide awake now; her blood rushed with the anticipation of battle. "No, that isn't my name," she said. "I think you have the wrong person."

"You lie!" the woman hissed. "Remember what I told you about lying. You were foolish to even try, as my god Cyric allows me to see through all falsehoods. You shall now die, Ember of Candlekeep. You will never interfere with the Iron Throne ever again."

"Fools," Edwin said. He quickly cast a spell, entangling three of the women with thick strands of cobweb. "(How dare they disturb my sleep?)" Ember grinned at his muttered statement; it was a sentiment she definitely shared.

The free woman threw a dart at Ember, hitting her unprotected arm. Cursing herself for having taken her splintmail tunic off for the night, Ember gritted her teeth and charged at the woman. With a yell, she thrust towards the woman's chest and skewered her just as she raised her arm to throw a second dart. Ember pulled her sword free from the woman and whirled around. Her friends were firing missiles, magical and otherwise, at the women in the cobwebs. One of them had worked her way free - Ajantis was engaged in combat with that one - while another had freed her arms and was firing burning arrows at Minsc. A magical blast from Edwin finished the archer just as Ajantis broke his foe's neck, and the last woman fell to Imoen and Kivan's arrows moments later.

With the battle over, the burning pain in Ember's arm began to draw attention to itself again. She looked at her arm and grimaced when she saw black ichor mixed with blood seeping from the dart wound.

"Here, little Ember. Boo told me you were hurting," Minsc said, holding out an antidote and a healing potion.

"Thank you, Minsc," Ember said with a smile. She swallowed the antidote and then the healing potion, and was relieved to see the wound close cleanly even as the pain was fading.

"Who is the Iron throne?" Imoen asked.

"A trading coster of some importance," Ajantis said. "If I recall correctly, they deal mostly in iron, but also in other supplies, and their methods are rumored to be on the unsavoury side."

"The perfect candidates for housing Tazok's and Tranzig's superiors, in other words," Ember said.

Kivan briefly examined the bodies. "None of them carry letters," he said. "They were well equipped for combat; the leather armors are magical, and they have many potions."

"I don't think they were bounty hunters. They sounded more like bodyguards, or perhaps mercenaries," Ember said.

"But they were sent here to wait for you," Imoen said.

"Maybe they were just told 'Ember of Candlekeep is meddling, get rid of her' with no mention of the fact that I've been wanted since before I ever had a chance to meddle?"

"Why does it matter what they were told?" Edwin asked irritably. "We are only wasting time here, and I doubt those who are after you will tell every insignificant minion why they want you dead - especially when those minions are stupid enough to reveal who hired them before your life is bleeding out of you. (Why do I have to be the only one capable of seeing the big picture?)"

Ember chuckled. "You have a point, I guess," she said. After all, it didn't really matter if those after her head were paid or ordered; she'd deal with them all just the same.

"Let us ready ourselves and leave this place," Ajantis said.

Ember bent down over the dart thrower's body and began stripping it of the magical leather armor.

#2 Guest_Finduilas_*

Posted 12 June 2006 - 01:42 AM

Not all of the dead half-orc's valuables were in his treasure chest; he had been wearing quite a few as well. Kivan took the half-orc's protective boots, a small ring with a bright blue stone, and his symbol of Cyric, which they'd present in Nashkel as evidence. When the elf grabbed the corpse's head by its hair and reached for his dagger, Ember and Imoen hurriedly turned away and busied themselves with the chest.


Definitely don't remember having to take his head. I'm with Ember and Imoen on this...yuck! I hated having to haul Neb's head around in BGII.

Ember sighed. If only he could keep a civil tongue in his head. She looked at Imoen, who was gleefully pulling spell scroll after spell scroll out of the half-orc's treasure chest, her eyes shining as she examined each in turn and identified it as best she could. He had better teach her well.


Oh, hon, don't hold your breath about the 'civil tongue'. ;)

"What does it say? Is there any more about Tranzig?" Ember asked excitedly.

"No... it says Tazok sent the kobolds and more poison... and that Tazok's superiors hired the Black Talon and the Chill to destroy iron caravans! It's all tied together!"


:evil: No!

"Look on the bright side, Em. Now we get to look into your bad guys and Kivan's bad guys and investigate the iron crisis, all at the same time," Imoen said with a faint grin. "If that isn't a very efficient way to be heroic, I don't know what is."


LOL. I suppose that's one way to look at it!

"It is hopeless. You may as well leave me and try to flee," the elf said.


Xan!

"I am Xan, a Greycloak of Evereska, and as proficient in the ways of magic as any man can be," the elf said.

"(Hah!)" Edwin said under his breath.


Feeling a little green, Edwin? ;)

"Bad jellies will not harm any, not even evil wizards, while they travel with Minsc!" Minsc bellowed and charged at the jelly. His large sword cut through it, but the viscous mass closed as the sword passed through it.

"No effect?" Minsc said in puzzled voice. "Minsc needs bigger sword!"


Love that line.

"Em, you know how the stories always describe elves as cheerful, happy people?" Imoen asked as they set up camp beneath a cliff wall.

"Yes?"

"Why are none of the elves we meet like that?"


Immy obviously never read any Tolkien as a child.

Ember paused and looked at Kivan, who was making a smokeless fire. "I think he might have used to be like that," she said quietly.


The sentiment is nice, but the last line seems awkward to me. How about, "I think he might have been like that, once."

"You there! Is your name Ember of Candlekeep?"

Ember groaned. This is not funny anymore. Squinting against the early morning sun, she could barely make out the forms of four armored women in front of her.


I honestly don't remember this foursome, but I'm with Ember, this is way beyond annoying.

"Hurry up and answer," the woman continued. "Your answer better be the truth, for your life depends upon it."


And why are they always so *rude*?

Ember bent down over the dart thrower's body and began stripping it of the magical leather armor.



She's really getting used to this life--but I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. :D

#3 Guest_IronDragon_*

Posted 12 June 2006 - 03:15 AM

Not all of the dead half-orc's valuables were in his treasure chest; he had been wearing quite a few as well. Kivan took the half-orc's protective boots, a small ring with a bright blue stone, and his symbol of Cyric, which they'd present in Nashkel as evidence. When the elf grabbed the corpse's head by its hair and reached for his dagger, Ember and Imoen hurriedly turned away and busied themselves with the chest.

its as bad as having to scalp all those bandits

"Edwin, why don't you go help Minsc and Ajantis inspect the other two caves?"

a real explosive combination there

Edwin started to say something, but seemed to think better of it. He closed his mouth and walked out of the tapestried chamber.

Ember sighed. If only he could keep a civil tongue in his head.

may as wish the sun to rise in the west

"No... it says Tazok sent the kobolds and more poison... and that Tazok's superiors hired the Black Talon and the Chill to destroy iron caravans! It's all tied together!"

and wrapped in a convenient package for the slower gamers.

Ember leaned against one of the tapestries. All tied together... the raids, the brittle ore, and the bounty on my head. Her mouth felt dry.

I never quite bought the connection to the collection of the worlds most inept assassins. Where did they find some of these guys?

The silken curtains parted, and Minsc entered the chamber. "Come, hurry! There is an elf in the cave. He is chained to the wall, and he says we are doomed!"

only if you take him with you….


"I am Xan, a Greycloak of Evereska, and as proficient in the ways of magic as any man can be," the elf said.

"(Hah!)" Edwin said under his breath.

chill out Eddie…your not Elminster yet

"Doubtful; the brute probably discarded it when he could not use it," Xan said, but nonetheless he watched eagerly as Ember and Imoen displayed the two finely made short swords they had taken from Mulahey's chest. The elf grabbed the hilt of the frailer looking of the swords, and the blade came alive with white flames.

"It's beautiful," Ember said.

"(How that blade could choose someone like him is unfathomable,)" Edwin mumbled behind Ember.

and why it would choose someone not usually allowed to wield a sword is also a mystry.



"You found and secured the secret entrance?" Xan asked.

"What secret entrance?" Ajantis asked

"It is nearby. A narrow tunnel that leads straight to the surface; it was my entry point. It was not guarded then, but now its guardians are bound to be insurmountable."

oh THAT secret entrance


"So it'd be much faster than walking through the entire mine, right?" Imoen said.

except for the fact you end up miles and miles away…

Something made a wet, slurping sound ahead of them.

ewwww.

"Bad jellies will not harm any, not even evil wizards, while they travel with Minsc!" Minsc bellowed and charged at the jelly. His large sword cut through it, but the viscous mass closed as the sword passed through it.

"No effect?" Minsc said in puzzled voice. "Minsc needs bigger sword!"

maybe size REALLY does matter

"Here is the tunnel," Xan said, pointing at a crevice between two large rocks. "No doubt there will be more traps ahead."

There weren't.

wonder if Xan was disappointed by their absence

"I thank you for your offer, but I must return unto Evereska with all haste and report of these dire straits," Xan said.

"You do that," Edwin said.

They shared some food and gold with the elf. He bade them a hasty farewell, telling them how brave they were to continue against insurmountable odds, and wandered off into the night.

hmmm…I notice no one tired to talk him into staying….

"Em, you know how the stories always describe elves as cheerful, happy people?" Imoen asked as they set up camp beneath a cliff wall.

"Yes?"

"Why are none of the elves we meet like that?"

yeah…why don’t we?

"You there! Is your name Ember of Candlekeep?"

Ember groaned. This is not funny anymore. Squinting against the early morning sun, she could barely make out the forms of four armored women in front of her.

well at least these are a challenge…though not terribly competent. A competent assassin/bounty hunter would already know just who you were…and maybe join your group till its time to betray you…

Ember stood up and noticed that the others were also getting to their feet. She was wide awake now; her blood rushed with the anticipation of battle. "No, that isn't my name," she said. "I think you have the wrong person."

"You lie!" the woman hissed. "Remember what I told you about lying. You were foolish to even try, as my god Cyric allows me to see through all falsehoods. You shall now die, Ember of Candlekeep. You will never interfere with the Iron Throne ever again."

so…if you already knew…why did you ask?


The free woman threw a dart at Ember, hitting her unprotected arm. Cursing herself for having taken her splintmail tunic off for the night,

but you just can’t sleep in armor….leads to a bad case of armor chafe…ohhh

"I don't think they were bounty hunters. They sounded more like bodyguards, or perhaps mercenaries," Ember said.

I always guessed bounty hunters

"Why does it matter what they were told?" Edwin asked irritably. "We are only wasting time here, and I doubt those who are after you will tell every insignificant minion why they want you dead - especially when those minions are stupid enough to reveal who hired them before your life is bleeding out of you. (Why do I have to be the only one capable of seeing the big picture?)"

Eddy has a point

#4 Guest_Cel_*

Posted 12 June 2006 - 10:59 AM

Not all of the dead half-orc's valuables were in his treasure chest; he had been wearing quite a few as well. Kivan took the half-orc's protective boots, a small ring with a bright blue stone, and his symbol of Cyric, which they'd present in Nashkel as evidence. When the elf grabbed the corpse's head by its hair and reached for his dagger, Ember and Imoen hurriedly turned away and busied themselves with the chest.


Definitely don't remember having to take his head. I'm with Ember and Imoen on this...yuck! I hated having to haul Neb's head around in BGII.


Kivan was only going for the scalp of Tazok's underling (he didn't have one in game, though). I edited away the mention of the head, so I hope it'll be a bit clearer now.

Ember sighed. If only he could keep a civil tongue in his head. She looked at Imoen, who was gleefully pulling spell scroll after spell scroll out of the half-orc's treasure chest, her eyes shining as she examined each in turn and identified it as best she could. He had better teach her well.


Oh, hon, don't hold your breath about the 'civil tongue'. ;)


The sad thing is, of course, that Edwin believes he is more civil than any of the simians around him deserve.


"No... it says Tazok sent the kobolds and more poison... and that Tazok's superiors hired the Black Talon and the Chill to destroy iron caravans! It's all tied together!"


:evil: No!


;) Yes!

"It is hopeless. You may as well leave me and try to flee," the elf said.


Xan!


The man!

"I am Xan, a Greycloak of Evereska, and as proficient in the ways of magic as any man can be," the elf said.

"(Hah!)" Edwin said under his breath.


Feeling a little green, Edwin? :D


Edwin: Of course not. Clearly, the elf is delusional.

Imoen: At least he knew how to identify stuff.

Edwin: That spell is insignificant compared to the power of a good fireball! (I wonder what else he knows?)


"No effect?" Minsc said in puzzled voice. "Minsc needs bigger sword!"


Love that line.


With so many resistant creatures there, I just had to use it :D

Ember paused and looked at Kivan, who was making a smokeless fire. "I think he might have used to be like that," she said quietly.


The sentiment is nice, but the last line seems awkward to me. How about, "I think he might have been like that, once."


Thanks, I was struggling with the wording :D


Ember groaned. This is not funny anymore. Squinting against the early morning sun, she could barely make out the forms of four armored women in front of her.


I honestly don't remember this foursome, but I'm with Ember, this is way beyond annoying.


They're loitering near the exit from the mine. Two clerics and two thieves with magical ranged weapons. Very painful, and I usually use stinking cloud to neutralize them so I can kill them (actually, I intended to use that spell instead of web, but I forgot when I was writing this yesterday. Oh well.)

"Hurry up and answer," the woman continued. "Your answer better be the truth, for your life depends upon it."


And why are they always so *rude*?


Sarevok likes 'em that way.

Ember bent down over the dart thrower's body and began stripping it of the magical leather armor.



She's really getting used to this life--but I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. :D


I know the answer, but I'm not telling.

#5 Guest_Cel_*

Posted 12 June 2006 - 11:08 AM


"Edwin, why don't you go help Minsc and Ajantis inspect the other two caves?"



real explosive combination there


At that moment, it was better than having Edwin near Kivan :evil:



"No... it says Tazok sent the kobolds and more poison... and that Tazok's superiors hired the Black Talon and the Chill to destroy iron caravans! It's all tied together!"



and wrapped in a convenient package for the slower gamers.


Yes. Very convenient. (Of course, normally Tranzig's involvement with the bounty would not be known until they get back to Nashkel)

Ember leaned against one of the tapestries. All tied together... the raids, the brittle ore, and the bounty on my head. Her mouth felt dry.

I never quite bought the connection to the collection of the worlds most inept assassins. Where did they find some of these guys?


Some of them are actually dangerous, especially the first time you meet them. Problem is, the PC tends to be more dangerous ;)


The silken curtains parted, and Minsc entered the chamber. "Come, hurry! There is an elf in the cave. He is chained to the wall, and he says we are doomed!"



only if you take him with you….


:D


"I am Xan, a Greycloak of Evereska, and as proficient in the ways of magic as any man can be," the elf said.

"(Hah!)" Edwin said under his breath.



chill out Eddie…your not Elminster yet


Still, he can't help it, can he.



"So it'd be much faster than walking through the entire mine, right?" Imoen said.



except for the fact you end up miles and miles away…


They're already miles and miles away as it is. The difference is whether they're a hundred feet below ground or not.


"Bad jellies will not harm any, not even evil wizards, while they travel with Minsc!" Minsc bellowed and charged at the jelly. His large sword cut through it, but the viscous mass closed as the sword passed through it.

"No effect?" Minsc said in puzzled voice. "Minsc needs bigger sword!"



maybe size REALLY does matter


I was tempted to have someone give him the magical short sword they just looted ;)

"Here is the tunnel," Xan said, pointing at a crevice between two large rocks. "No doubt there will be more traps ahead."

There weren't.



wonder if Xan was disappointed by their absence


There will always be more traps.


They shared some food and gold with the elf. He bade them a hasty farewell, telling them how brave they were to continue against insurmountable odds, and wandered off into the night.


hmmm…I notice no one tired to talk him into staying….


Even Ajantis's offer was a bit halfhearted, don't you think?


Ember groaned. This is not funny anymore. Squinting against the early morning sun, she could barely make out the forms of four armored women in front of her.



well at least these are a challenge…though not terribly competent. A competent assassin/bounty hunter would already know just who you were…and maybe join your group till its time to betray you…


Yeah, it's no wonder nobody suspects Yoshimo's novel approach :D


"You lie!" the woman hissed. "Remember what I told you about lying. You were foolish to even try, as my god Cyric allows me to see through all falsehoods. You shall now die, Ember of Candlekeep. You will never interfere with the Iron Throne ever again."


so…if you already knew…why did you ask?


Cyric told her to be boisterous.


"I don't think they were bounty hunters. They sounded more like bodyguards, or perhaps mercenaries," Ember said.



I always guessed bounty hunters


Me too, usually. I decided to make them mercenaries this time; it seemed to fit better.

"Why does it matter what they were told?" Edwin asked irritably. "We are only wasting time here, and I doubt those who are after you will tell every insignificant minion why they want you dead - especially when those minions are stupid enough to reveal who hired them before your life is bleeding out of you. (Why do I have to be the only one capable of seeing the big picture?)"


Eddy has a point


With that 18 intelligence he is bound to have some on occasion :D

#6 Guest_Futurist_*

Posted 12 June 2006 - 12:26 PM

Ember sighed. If only he could keep a civil tongue in his head. She looked at Imoen, who was gleefully pulling spell scroll after spell scroll out of the half-orc's treasure chest, her eyes shining as she examined each in turn and identified it as best she could. He had better teach her well.


I do think Edwin would make a good teacher... Its just that he and a civil tounge is kind of.. ehh not happening

Ember leaned against one of the tapestries. All tied together... the raids, the brittle ore, and the bounty on my head. Her mouth felt dry.


It is quite a conspiracy.

"Look on the bright side, Em. Now we get to look into your bad guys and Kivan's bad guys and investigate the iron crisis, all at the same time," Imoen said with a faint grin. "If that isn't a very efficient way to be heroic, I don't know what is."


Always a plus.

The silken curtains parted, and Minsc entered the chamber. "Come, hurry! There is an elf in the cave. He is chained to the wall, and he says we are doomed!" the giant exclaimed anxiously. Ember and Imoen hurriedly grabbed the remaining contents of the chest. Along with Kivan, they followed Minsc into the middle cave, where an elf in stained purple robes indeed was chained to the wall. Ajantis was trying to break the shackles while Edwin watched with a look of impatient suffering.


It is a wonder they didn`t gag him. He should be able to at least goad some poor kobold into commiting suicide.

"It is nearby. A narrow tunnel that leads straight to the surface; it was my entry point. It was not guarded then, but now its guardians are bound to be insurmountable."

"Of course they are," Ember said.


:evil: Ember is taking to him I see.

The slime on the floor pulled itself together into several grey, viscous masses on the path ahead of them. A contraction rippled through the closest jelly, and it spat a foul liquid at Edwin. The liquid hissed as it struck his hand. Edwin gasped with pain and fired a volley of magic missiles at the jelly, but the spell passed through the grey goo without causing any damage.


Neat description of those things.

A short while later they were all on the surface, watching the first evening stars appear.

"It is certain to rain later," Xan said.


He doesn`t give up.


"Why does it matter what they were told?" Edwin asked irritably. "We are only wasting time here, and I doubt those who are after you will tell every insignificant minion why they want you dead - especially when those minions are stupid enough to reveal who hired them before your life is bleeding out of you. (Why do I have to be the only one capable of seeing the big picture?)"

Ember chuckled. "You have a point, I guess," she said. After all, it didn't really matter if those after her head were paid or ordered; she'd deal with them all just the same.


Well, all that int isn`t just for show.

#7 Guest_Keldan_*

Posted 12 June 2006 - 01:44 PM

When the elf grabbed the corpse's greasy hair and reached for his dagger, Ember and Imoen hurriedly turned away and busied themselves with the chest.


Glgh. That Kivan, he's not afraid of getting dirty...

"Interesting," Edwin remarked, "although I fail to see its purpose. (Cooking, perhaps?)"


If that's that case, I am not sticking around for dinner.

Ember sighed. If only he could keep a civil tongue in his head. She looked at Imoen, who was gleefully pulling spell scroll after spell scroll out of the half-orc's treasure chest, her eyes shining as she examined each in turn and identified it as best she could. He had better teach her well.


Civil tongue + Edwin = disappointing x 1000

Let's face it, we all like him that way he is. :D Or at least, the readers do.

"Look on the bright side, Em. Now we get to look into your bad guys and Kivan's bad guys and investigate the iron crisis, all at the same time," Imoen said with a faint grin. "If that isn't a very efficient way to be heroic, I don't know what is."


That's some quality reasoning, that is.

"It is hopeless. You may as well leave me and try to flee," the elf said.


Xan! O, Xanny boy, the pipes, the pipes are caaalliiiing...

[insert Edwin casually blasting me with a fireball here]

"(Hah!)" Edwin said under his breath.


;) A single-word sentence plus parentheses, an Edwin line made in heaven.

"We've killed all the kobolds, I think, and Immy disarmed the traps. It should be safe," Ember said drily.


I'm afraid dry humour just doesn't work with Xan unless he's in a good mood, Ember... and how likely is that to happen in our lifetimes?

Xan sighed. "Very well, but do not say I didn't warn you. Come, let us face the impossible together."


"I'll do my best... but expect very little." Ah, Xan, how delightfully morose you are.

Something made a wet, slurping sound ahead of them.


Ick. I always hated those things.

"What was that?" Imoen asked nervously.

"Curses!" Edwin spat, nursing his wounded hand.


Poor ickle Edwin. You should find a nice courtesan to kiss it better...

"No effect?" Minsc said in puzzled voice. "Minsc needs bigger sword!"


;) I always loved that line.

"Here is the tunnel," Xan said, pointing at a crevice between two large rocks. "No doubt there will be more traps ahead."

There weren't.


And I'm sure Xan was sorely disappointed.

"I thank you for your offer, but I must return unto Evereska with all haste and report of these dire straits," Xan said.


Aww. :D No more Xan in the party?

They shared some food and gold with the elf. He bade them a hasty farewell, telling them how brave they were to continue against insurmountable odds, and wandered off into the night.


Guess not.

... oh well!

Ember paused and looked at Kivan, who was making a smokeless fire. "I think he might have been like that, once," she said quietly.


Yeah, I think he was. :D

"You there! Is your name Ember of Candlekeep?"


Gah, these harpies. I enjoyed hacking them limb from limb.

"Fools," Edwin said. He quickly cast a spell, entangling three of the women with thick strands of cobweb. "(How dare they disturb my sleep?)" Ember grinned at his muttered statement; it was a sentiment she definitely shared.


Indeed! Edwin must have his beauty sleep! As well as a nice razor in the morning to keep his beard in shape... doesn't want to end up with a beard like Elminster, after all. And several beautiful women to give him massages on demand, and mud baths, and various other luxuries...

None of those? Oh, fine, just the beauty sleep then. :evil:

"Who is the Iron throne?" Imoen asked.


I don't think you really wanna know, Immy. Unfortunately, you will.

"Why does it matter what they were told?" Edwin asked irritably. "We are only wasting time here, and I doubt those who are after you will tell every insignificant minion why they want you dead - especially when those minions are stupid enough to reveal who hired them before your life is bleeding out of you. (Why do I have to be the only one capable of seeing the big picture?)"


Sometimes, Eddie, you make a lot sense. We should somehow film those moments and put them on Ripley's Believe It or Not. :D

Ember bent down over the dart thrower's body and began stripping it of the magical leather armor.


I always thought it wasn't so much the killing in self-defence bit built into the plot that scared me about the PC... it was being able to calmly nick their victim's possessions. Ember sure is getting used to it...

Great chapter. :D I wonder how they'll deal with Nimbul next... he was always a tough fight for me.

#8 Guest_Theodur_*

Posted 12 June 2006 - 04:04 PM

Not all of the dead half-orc's valuables were in his treasure chest; he had been wearing quite a few as well. Kivan took the half-orc's protective boots, a small ring with a bright blue stone, and his symbol of Cyric, which they'd present in Nashkel as evidence. When the elf grabbed the corpse's greasy hair and reached for his dagger, Ember and Imoen hurriedly turned away and busied themselves with the chest.


"Interesting," Edwin remarked, "although I fail to see its purpose. (Cooking, perhaps?)"


You can never be sure with these northern brutes, eh, Edwin? :D

Ember leaned against one of the tapestries. All tied together... the raids, the brittle ore, and the bounty on my head. Her mouth felt dry.


But you still don’t know the most important question… why?

"Look on the bright side, Em. Now we get to look into your bad guys and Kivan's bad guys and investigate the iron crisis, all at the same time," Imoen said with a faint grin. "If that isn't a very efficient way to be heroic, I don't know what is."


It could also be a very efficient way into an early grave. :)

The silken curtains parted, and Minsc entered the chamber. "Come, hurry! There is an elf in the cave. He is chained to the wall, and he says we are doomed!"


Sounds oddly familiar.

"(How that blade could choose someone like him is unfathomable,)" Edwin mumbled behind Ember.


I agree, it must have been a very desperate blade. :(

"You found and secured the secret entrance?" Xan asked.


"What secret entrance?" Ajantis asked


That’s why they call it secret – you never found it! :D

"Bad jellies will not harm any, not even evil wizards, while they travel with Minsc!" Minsc bellowed and charged at the jelly. His large sword cut through it, but the viscous mass closed as the sword passed through it.


"No effect?" Minsc said in puzzled voice. "Minsc needs bigger sword!"


:D Nice way to work it in. How about trying a club? :D

"Here is the tunnel," Xan said, pointing at a crevice between two large rocks. "No doubt there will be more traps ahead."


There weren't.


He must be disappointed then!

A short while later they were all on the surface, watching the first evening stars appear.


"It is certain to rain later," Xan said.


Of course, Xan. :D I wonder if his character was based on Rincewind from Discworld books. :D

They shared some food and gold with the elf. He bade them a hasty farewell, telling them how brave they were to continue against insurmountable odds, and wandered off into the night.


Xan is a nice enough fellow, but really bad for morale. :D

"Em, you know how the stories always describe elves as cheerful, happy people?" Imoen asked as they set up camp beneath a cliff wall.


"Yes?"


"Why are none of the elves we meet like that?"


Don’t even get me started about the one you meet in BG2.

"You lie!" the woman hissed. "Remember what I told you about lying. You were foolish to even try, as my god Cyric allows me to see through all falsehoods. You shall now die, Ember of Candlekeep. You will never interfere with the Iron Throne ever again."


Why did you ask for her name, if you already knew who she was, and also, nice way to give away who are your employers. :)

The free woman threw a dart at Ember, hitting her unprotected arm. Cursing herself for having taken her splintmail tunic off for the night, Ember gritted her teeth and charged at the woman. With a yell, she thrust towards the woman's chest and skewered her just as she raised her arm to throw a second dart. Ember pulled her sword free from the woman and whirled around. Her friends were firing missiles, magical and otherwise, at the women in the cobwebs. One of them had worked her way free - Ajantis was engaged in combat with that one - while another had freed her arms and was firing burning arrows at Minsc. A magical blast from Edwin finished the archer just as Ajantis broke his foe's neck, and the last woman fell to Imoen and Kivan's arrows moments later.


They can be quite difficult to defeat, especially at low levels.

"A trading coster of some importance," Ajantis said. "If I recall correctly, they deal mostly in iron, but also in other supplies, and their methods are rumored to be on the unsavoury side."


"The perfect candidates for housing Tazok's and Tranzig's superiors, in other words," Ember said.


Yup, the dealing in iron thing is a dead giveaway.

Kivan briefly examined the bodies. "None of them carry letters”


A shame, no more conveniently placed information. Oh well, they already told you everything you needed. :D

"Why does it matter what they were told?" Edwin asked irritably. "We are only wasting time here, and I doubt those who are after you will tell every insignificant minion why they want you dead - especially when those minions are stupid enough to reveal who hired them before your life is bleeding out of you. (Why do I have to be the only one capable of seeing the big picture?)"


Edwin is nothing if not practical. :D

Ember bent down over the dart thrower's body and began stripping it of the magical leather armor.


I have this mental image of her skinning a wabbit. :D

#9 Guest_Cel_*

Posted 12 June 2006 - 05:59 PM

Ember sighed. If only he could keep a civil tongue in his head. She looked at Imoen, who was gleefully pulling spell scroll after spell scroll out of the half-orc's treasure chest, her eyes shining as she examined each in turn and identified it as best she could. He had better teach her well.


I do think Edwin would make a good teacher... Its just that he and a civil tounge is kind of.. ehh not happening


No, but it makes his lines scarily easy to write.


The silken curtains parted, and Minsc entered the chamber. "Come, hurry! There is an elf in the cave. He is chained to the wall, and he says we are doomed!" the giant exclaimed anxiously. Ember and Imoen hurriedly grabbed the remaining contents of the chest. Along with Kivan, they followed Minsc into the middle cave, where an elf in stained purple robes indeed was chained to the wall. Ajantis was trying to break the shackles while Edwin watched with a look of impatient suffering.


It is a wonder they didn`t gag him. He should be able to at least goad some poor kobold into commiting suicide.


Well, he might have been gagged when Ajantis found him, you know :)


"It is nearby. A narrow tunnel that leads straight to the surface; it was my entry point. It was not guarded then, but now its guardians are bound to be insurmountable."

"Of course they are," Ember said.


:) Ember is taking to him I see.


Yes. It is the start of a long and beautiful friendship.


The slime on the floor pulled itself together into several grey, viscous masses on the path ahead of them. A contraction rippled through the closest jelly, and it spat a foul liquid at Edwin. The liquid hissed as it struck his hand. Edwin gasped with pain and fired a volley of magic missiles at the jelly, but the spell passed through the grey goo without causing any damage.


Neat description of those things.


Thank you :D


A short while later they were all on the surface, watching the first evening stars appear.

"It is certain to rain later," Xan said.


He doesn`t give up.


He'll be resigned to his fate till the day he dies :(

#10 Guest_Cel_*

Posted 12 June 2006 - 06:17 PM

When the elf grabbed the corpse's greasy hair and reached for his dagger, Ember and Imoen hurriedly turned away and busied themselves with the chest.


Glgh. That Kivan, he's not afraid of getting dirty...


Dirty has nothing to do with his scalp collection.

Imoen: Actually, I think it has everything to do with those beastly things *makes a disgusted face*

Ember sighed. If only he could keep a civil tongue in his head. She looked at Imoen, who was gleefully pulling spell scroll after spell scroll out of the half-orc's treasure chest, her eyes shining as she examined each in turn and identified it as best she could. He had better teach her well.


Civil tongue + Edwin = disappointing x 1000


Civil tongue is what I keep Ajantis around for.

Let's face it, we all like him that way he is. :D Or at least, the readers do.


Well, so far Ember and Imoen find him amusing, Minsc takes his protection duties seriously enough to include evil wizards, and Kivan doesn't care either way as long as Edwin doesn't do anything bad/stupid. It's really only Ajantis that is itching for him to be gone.

"Look on the bright side, Em. Now we get to look into your bad guys and Kivan's bad guys and investigate the iron crisis, all at the same time," Imoen said with a faint grin. "If that isn't a very efficient way to be heroic, I don't know what is."


That's some quality reasoning, that is.


Edwin's not the only one with int in this party, I'll have you know!

"It is hopeless. You may as well leave me and try to flee," the elf said.


Xan! O, Xanny boy, the pipes, the pipes are caaalliiiing...

[insert Edwin casually blasting me with a fireball here]


:)


Haven't figured out when and where to let Edwin get his hands on that baby yet :D

"(Hah!)" Edwin said under his breath.


:) A single-word sentence plus parentheses, an Edwin line made in heaven.


*bows* Thank you, I'll be here all week.

"We've killed all the kobolds, I think, and Immy disarmed the traps. It should be safe," Ember said drily.


I'm afraid dry humour just doesn't work with Xan unless he's in a good mood, Ember... and how likely is that to happen in our lifetimes?


...if you consider the fact that I suspect Xan is only in a good mood if his predictions come true?

Something made a wet, slurping sound ahead of them.


Ick. I always hated those things.


In all their incarnations.

"No effect?" Minsc said in puzzled voice. "Minsc needs bigger sword!"


:( I always loved that line.


The best 'ineffective' line in existence, that is :D

"I thank you for your offer, but I must return unto Evereska with all haste and report of these dire straits," Xan said.


Aww. :D No more Xan in the party?


Can you really blame me?

Guess not.

... oh well!


That's the spirit :D

Ember paused and looked at Kivan, who was making a smokeless fire. "I think he might have been like that, once," she said quietly.


Yeah, I think he was. :D


He probably never was talkative, but I do think he used to be happy.

"You there! Is your name Ember of Candlekeep?"


Gah, these harpies. I enjoyed hacking them limb from limb.


Yes. A nasty surprise the first time I came across them, gleeful slaughter ever since (even if it takes several reloads to accomplish the gleeful slaughter).

"Who is the Iron throne?" Imoen asked.


I don't think you really wanna know, Immy. Unfortunately, you will.


Imoen wants to know everything! or so she thinks.

Ember bent down over the dart thrower's body and began stripping it of the magical leather armor.


I always thought it wasn't so much the killing in self-defence bit built into the plot that scared me about the PC... it was being able to calmly nick their victim's possessions. Ember sure is getting used to it...


You kill a hundred or two kobolds and see what it does to your sensitivity to death.

Great chapter. :D I wonder how they'll deal with Nimbul next... he was always a tough fight for me.


Glad you liked it :D As for Nimbul, he'll end up dead (oh no! a spoiler!), but I haven't decided how yet.

#11 Guest_Cel_*

Posted 12 June 2006 - 06:26 PM


"Interesting," Edwin remarked, "although I fail to see its purpose. (Cooking, perhaps?)"


You can never be sure with these northern brutes, eh, Edwin? :D


Especially not with elves that barely speak. It's always the quiet ones, you know...

Ember leaned against one of the tapestries. All tied together... the raids, the brittle ore, and the bounty on my head. Her mouth felt dry.


But you still don’t know the most important question… why?


With the ineptness the minions have shown so far, I am certain she'll run into some clues later on :P

"Look on the bright side, Em. Now we get to look into your bad guys and Kivan's bad guys and investigate the iron crisis, all at the same time," Imoen said with a faint grin. "If that isn't a very efficient way to be heroic, I don't know what is."


It could also be a very efficient way into an early grave. :D


But they were going to do all three things anyway, so... :D

"(How that blade could choose someone like him is unfathomable,)" Edwin mumbled behind Ember.


I agree, it must have been a very desperate blade. :D


I'm guessing the other option was Abduh.

"Bad jellies will not harm any, not even evil wizards, while they travel with Minsc!" Minsc bellowed and charged at the jelly. His large sword cut through it, but the viscous mass closed as the sword passed through it.


"No effect?" Minsc said in puzzled voice. "Minsc needs bigger sword!"


:D Nice way to work it in. How about trying a club? :D


I'll be getting Minsc a nice magical sword soon, and I might let him have the toothpick (short sword +1) to tide him over :D

"Here is the tunnel," Xan said, pointing at a crevice between two large rocks. "No doubt there will be more traps ahead."

There weren't.


He must be disappointed then!


But of course!

A short while later they were all on the surface, watching the first evening stars appear.

"It is certain to rain later," Xan said.


Of course, Xan. :D I wonder if his character was based on Rincewind from Discworld books. :D


I was thinking a lot about Puddleglum from Narnia as I wrote this chapter :D

They shared some food and gold with the elf. He bade them a hasty farewell, telling them how brave they were to continue against insurmountable odds, and wandered off into the night.


Xan is a nice enough fellow, but really bad for morale. :D


Let's just say he got to spend significantly less time in my party than Jaheira did the first time I played :D

"Why are none of the elves we meet like that?"


Don’t even get me started about the one you meet in BG2.


You wouldn't be implying anything about the moods of formerly winged elves, would you? :)

"You lie!" the woman hissed. "Remember what I told you about lying. You were foolish to even try, as my god Cyric allows me to see through all falsehoods. You shall now die, Ember of Candlekeep. You will never interfere with the Iron Throne ever again."


Why did you ask for her name, if you already knew who she was, and also, nice way to give away who are your employers. :)


Cyric always got the best and brightest in his fold.

"The perfect candidates for housing Tazok's and Tranzig's superiors, in other words," Ember said.


Yup, the dealing in iron thing is a dead giveaway.


:D

Kivan briefly examined the bodies. "None of them carry letters”


A shame, no more conveniently placed information. Oh well, they already told you everything you needed. :D


They pretty much did, didn't they :D

"Why does it matter what they were told?" Edwin asked irritably. "We are only wasting time here, and I doubt those who are after you will tell every insignificant minion why they want you dead - especially when those minions are stupid enough to reveal who hired them before your life is bleeding out of you. (Why do I have to be the only one capable of seeing the big picture?)"


Edwin is nothing if not practical. :D


Edwin, practical? Oh no, what have I done! :(

Ember bent down over the dart thrower's body and began stripping it of the magical leather armor.


I have this mental image of her skinning a wabbit. :D


Well, if it works for you :D

#12 Guest_Coutelier_*

Posted 13 June 2006 - 12:05 AM

Not all of the dead half-orc's valuables were in his treasure chest; he had been wearing quite a few as well. Kivan took the half-orc's protective boots, a small ring with a bright blue stone, and his symbol of Cyric, which they'd present in Nashkel as evidence. When the elf grabbed the corpse's greasy hair and reached for his dagger, Ember and Imoen hurriedly turned away and busied themselves with the chest.

"Interesting," Edwin remarked, "although I fail to see its purpose. (Cooking, perhaps?)"


Tarant: I wonder what type of wine you should have with that.

"Hey, look at these!" Imoen exclaimed, holding up two parchments that did not have the characteristic look of spell scrolls. "'My servant Mulahey,'" she read from the first parchment, "'Your progress in disrupting the flow of iron ore does not go as well as it should. How stupid can you be to allow your kobolds to murder the miners?' And then it goes on about poisoning the ore... oh, and Tranzig is his contact! He's in Beregost, at Feldpost's inn! The letter's signed 'Tazok'."


Imoen: I wonder why they wrote their actual names down. If it was me I'd have come up with some kind of code.

Tarant: What would your code name be?

Imoen: Pink Panther... obviously.

"And it must be a powerful organization, too," Ember added. "To succeed at locking down the ore supply to the entire sword coast... and unless Tranzig has more than one master, they're after me as well. I'm beginning to feel surprised I am still alive." She laughed nervously.


Edwin: Yes... you are not the only one.

Kivan turned and left the cave, returning a minute later with a keyring. The third key he tried unlocked the shackles, and the robed elf rubbed his wrists painfully. "At last I am free of my dreary prison; five and eighty days are far too long for one of the fair folk to live as a dwarf," he said.


Aerie: I know how you feel... but you have to do what you have to do to help your friends.

"Do you want something to eat?" Imoen offered.

"Thank you, but we should try to get out of this dismal place, hopeless though it may be."


Aerie: Oh my... m-maybe someone should check to see if he has a concussion...

Tarant: No... this is what he's like all the time.

Something made a wet, slurping sound ahead of them.

"What was that?" Imoen asked nervously.

"The guardians. We shall fight them, even though we are bound to fail," Xan said.


Tarant: Such a defeatist attitude.

The slime on the floor pulled itself together into several grey, viscous masses on the path ahead of them. A contraction rippled through the closest jelly, and it spat a foul liquid at Edwin. The liquid hissed as it struck his hand. Edwin gasped with pain and fired a volley of magic missiles at the jelly, but the spell passed through the grey goo without causing any damage.

"Curses!" Edwin spat, nursing his wounded hand.


Imoen: Tell us about it... we were hoping it would hit you in the mouth.

"Here is the tunnel," Xan said, pointing at a crevice between two large rocks. "No doubt there will be more traps ahead."

There weren't.


Imoen: See. You don't need to be so cynical about everything.

"We shall return to Nashkel in the morning," Ajantis told Xan, "and thereafter, we shall follow the trail of those behind this. You may come with us, if you like."


Tarant: I'm sorry? Who the hell gave him permission to speak? Somebody tell him to keep his mouth shut.

"Em, you know how the stories always describe elves as cheerful, happy people?" Imoen asked as they set up camp beneath a cliff wall.

"Yes?"

"Why are none of the elves we meet like that?"

Ember paused and looked at Kivan, who was making a smokeless fire. "I think he might have been like that, once," she said quietly.


He lost his love. Aerie lost her family and people and basically everything. But then most of the non-elf NPC's have lost things as well... adventurers just aren't a very happy group of people.

"Thank you, Minsc," Ember said with a smile. She swallowed the antidote and then the healing potion, and was relieved to see the wound close cleanly even as the pain was fading.


Personally, I always make healing take a little while. And resurrection pretty much impossible even for insanely high level clerics. It's one of those things... you need stuff like that in a game because otherwise it can become very frustrating, but in fiction I find its obviously a bit more tense when characters are getting badly hurt.

Ember chuckled. "You have a point, I guess," she said. After all, it didn't really matter if those after her head were paid or ordered; she'd deal with them all just the same.

"Let us ready ourselves and leave this place," Ajantis said.

Ember bent down over the dart thrower's body and began stripping it of the magical leather armor.


Yes... another excellent chapter.

#13 Guest_Cel_*

Posted 13 June 2006 - 11:00 AM

When the elf grabbed the corpse's greasy hair and reached for his dagger, Ember and Imoen hurriedly turned away and busied themselves with the chest.

"Interesting," Edwin remarked, "although I fail to see its purpose. (Cooking, perhaps?)"


Tarant: I wonder what type of wine you should have with that.


A nice Chianti, perhaps?

Imoen: I wonder why they wrote their actual names down. If it was me I'd have come up with some kind of code.

Tarant: What would your code name be?

Imoen: Pink Panther... obviously.


:)

"And it must be a powerful organization, too," Ember added. "To succeed at locking down the ore supply to the entire sword coast... and unless Tranzig has more than one master, they're after me as well. I'm beginning to feel surprised I am still alive." She laughed nervously.


Edwin: Yes... you are not the only one.


Edwin (mine): Yes. Clearly it is only my superior intellect and skills that keep her alive at this point.

Kivan turned and left the cave, returning a minute later with a keyring. The third key he tried unlocked the shackles, and the robed elf rubbed his wrists painfully. "At last I am free of my dreary prison; five and eighty days are far too long for one of the fair folk to live as a dwarf," he said.


Aerie: I know how you feel... but you have to do what you have to do to help your friends.


Xan: I have no friends. When I meet people, I try to help them see the truth, but then I never see them again. Eaten by dragons or gnolls, no doubt.


"Curses!" Edwin spat, nursing his wounded hand.


Imoen: Tell us about it... we were hoping it would hit you in the mouth.


Imoen (mine): Aw come on, he's funny!

"We shall return to Nashkel in the morning," Ajantis told Xan, "and thereafter, we shall follow the trail of those behind this. You may come with us, if you like."


Tarant: I'm sorry? Who the hell gave him permission to speak? Somebody tell him to keep his mouth shut.


Ajantis: I follow the path of Helm.

"Thank you, Minsc," Ember said with a smile. She swallowed the antidote and then the healing potion, and was relieved to see the wound close cleanly even as the pain was fading.


Personally, I always make healing take a little while. And resurrection pretty much impossible even for insanely high level clerics. It's one of those things... you need stuff like that in a game because otherwise it can become very frustrating, but in fiction I find its obviously a bit more tense when characters are getting badly hurt.


This is a small wound, so it closed pretty fast (not instantaneously, though). And I'm with you on the resurrection stuff and how it should be all but impossible - I intend to have as little as possible of that stuff.


Ember bent down over the dart thrower's body and began stripping it of the magical leather armor.


Yes... another excellent chapter.


Glad you liked it :)

#14 Guest_Pen52_*

Posted 13 June 2006 - 11:52 AM

Since I never got to play through BG 1, I generally tend to stay away from fiction concerning it (I didn't want to know the entire plot; well, except the obvious 'You are a child of Bhaal and Sarevok is the villain of the piece' TA DA! :) )

Well I caved, like a big ninny, and red 'Ember's Tale'. Guess what, I'm not sorry. :D

The party you chosen to accompany Ember is brilliant (of course, having not played BG 1, I am not familiar with the other NPC's available for the choosing, but still...) Humor, adventure and lately... Xan! What more could a girl ask for. Now, Xan I am familiar with, because of the BG 2 mod featuring him.

I love your Edwin and the exchanges between him and Imoen and dead on in my opinion. Having him be her 'mentor', was also brilliant.

And Minsc... Minsc is Minsc and no more need be said. :D



"Interesting," Edwin remarked, "although I fail to see its purpose. (Cooking, perhaps?)"

"Watch what you say, wizard," Kivan growled.


Edwin is being Edwin. :( Go with it.

Ember sighed. If only he could keep a civil tongue in his head.



When hell freezes over. Maybe...

"Look on the bright side, Em. Now we get to look into your bad guys and Kivan's bad guys and investigate the iron crisis, all at the same time," Imoen said with a faint grin. "If that isn't a very efficient way to be heroic, I don't know what is."


And, as everybody knows, being heroic (in an efficient way) is what it's all about. :D


It is hopeless. You may as well leave me and try to flee," the elf said.


Xan! :)

"I am Xan, a Greycloak of Evereska, and as proficient in the ways of magic as any man can be," the elf said.

"(Hah!)" Edwin said under his breath.


Well, technically, he is an elf. *pats Eddie on the head* Don't feel threatened Eddie.


It's beautiful," Ember said.

"(How that blade could choose someone like him is unfathomable,)" Edwin mumbled behind Ember.

"Look, Boo, it is another sword of justice!" Minsc exclaimed.


:D :D



"It is nearby. A narrow tunnel that leads straight to the surface; it was my entry point. It was not guarded then, but now its guardians are bound to be insurmountable."

"Of course they are," Ember said.


Xan: We're doomed!
Edwin: Obviously, you have never traveled in the company of a wizard as superior as myself.
Xan: It's hopeless.
Edwin: (Simian.)


"Bad jellies will not harm any, not even evil wizards, while they travel with Minsc!" Minsc bellowed and charged at the jelly. His large sword cut through it, but the viscous mass closed as the sword passed through it.

"No effect?" Minsc said in puzzled voice. "Minsc needs bigger sword!"


:D :D :D Minsc...


"Fools," Edwin said. He quickly cast a spell, entangling three of the women with thick strands of cobweb. "(How dare they disturb my sleep?)" Ember grinned at his muttered statement; it was a sentiment she definitely shared.


Yeah, I hate it when people do that.


Ember bent down over the dart thrower's body and began stripping it of the magical leather armor.


Yes. And looting is another thing BG is all about. (Comes in close second to being heroic.)

#15 Guest_Cel_*

Posted 13 June 2006 - 02:36 PM

Since I never got to play through BG 1, I generally tend to stay away from fiction concerning it (I didn't want to know the entire plot; well, except the obvious 'You are a child of Bhaal and Sarevok is the villain of the piece' TA DA! :) )


Is there a particular reason you haven't played it? I think it's still available some places. My husband bought both games for me in 2004.
I do use quite a few direct quotes from the game, but they're often altered a bit, and there should be plenty of sidequests and stuff that you'll never see in my story; I've bypassed at least 3 joinables and a lot of content already, mostly while they were loitering in the hills and chasing bandits :D

Well I caved, like a big ninny, and red 'Ember's Tale'. Guess what, I'm not sorry. :D


:( :D

The party you chosen to accompany Ember is brilliant (of course, having not played BG 1, I am not familiar with the other NPC's available for the choosing, but still...) Humor, adventure and lately... Xan! What more could a girl ask for. Now, Xan I am familiar with, because of the BG 2 mod featuring him.


Well, Xan won't be back in my story :D

I love your Edwin and the exchanges between him and Imoen and dead on in my opinion. Having him be her 'mentor', was also brilliant.

And Minsc... Minsc is Minsc and no more need be said. :P


*blushes some more* :D


"Interesting," Edwin remarked, "although I fail to see its purpose. (Cooking, perhaps?)"

"Watch what you say, wizard," Kivan growled.


Edwin is being Edwin. :D Go with it.


I sincerely hope that my party never reaches a point where they'll let Edwin get away with absolutely *anything* :D

Ember sighed. If only he could keep a civil tongue in his head.



When hell freezes over. Maybe...


Somehow I doubt that'd be enough :D

It is hopeless. You may as well leave me and try to flee," the elf said.


Xan! :)


Pretty hard to mistake him for anyone else :D

"I am Xan, a Greycloak of Evereska, and as proficient in the ways of magic as any man can be," the elf said.

"(Hah!)" Edwin said under his breath.


Well, technically, he is an elf. *pats Eddie on the head* Don't feel threatened Eddie.


Edwin: I am not threatened! A charlatan like him is nowhere near being competent enough to even be worthy of my consideration! (I wonder if he knows fireball, though...)

"It is nearby. A narrow tunnel that leads straight to the surface; it was my entry point. It was not guarded then, but now its guardians are bound to be insurmountable."

"Of course they are," Ember said.


Xan: We're doomed!
Edwin: Obviously, you have never traveled in the company of a wizard as superior as myself.
Xan: It's hopeless.
Edwin: (Simian.)


:D

"Bad jellies will not harm any, not even evil wizards, while they travel with Minsc!" Minsc bellowed and charged at the jelly. His large sword cut through it, but the viscous mass closed as the sword passed through it.

"No effect?" Minsc said in puzzled voice. "Minsc needs bigger sword!"


:D :D :D Minsc...


He's a sweetie :D


"Fools," Edwin said. He quickly cast a spell, entangling three of the women with thick strands of cobweb. "(How dare they disturb my sleep?)" Ember grinned at his muttered statement; it was a sentiment she definitely shared.


Yeah, I hate it when people do that.


Usually, it's my alarm clock that does that :D

Ember bent down over the dart thrower's body and began stripping it of the magical leather armor.


Yes. And looting is another thing BG is all about. (Comes in close second to being heroic.)


Absolutely.

#16 Guest_Pen52_*

Posted 14 June 2006 - 01:11 PM

Since I never got to play through BG 1, I generally tend to stay away from fiction concerning it (I didn't want to know the entire plot; well, except the obvious 'You are a child of Bhaal and Sarevok is the villain of the piece' TA DA! :lol: )


Is there a particular reason you haven't played it? I think it's still available some places. My husband bought both games for me in 2004.
I do use quite a few direct quotes from the game, but they're often altered a bit, and there should be plenty of sidequests and stuff that you'll never see in my story; I've bypassed at least 3 joinables and a lot of content already, mostly while they were loitering in the hills and chasing bandits :(


Alas, Baldur's Gate 1 is unavailable where I'm from. I keep hoping it will turn up somewhere, but nothing so far.

Same thing with Planescape Torment (did I spell this right?), nowhere to be found.

And I really want to play both games.
:)

Perhaps it's for the best. I don't have enough free time as it is.

#17 Guest_Cel_*

Posted 14 June 2006 - 02:52 PM

Ah, slow day at work :)


Is there a particular reason you haven't played it? I think it's still available some places. My husband bought both games for me in 2004.
I do use quite a few direct quotes from the game, but they're often altered a bit, and there should be plenty of sidequests and stuff that you'll never see in my story; I've bypassed at least 3 joinables and a lot of content already, mostly while they were loitering in the hills and chasing bandits :(


Alas, Baldur's Gate 1 is unavailable where I'm from. I keep hoping it will turn up somewhere, but nothing so far.

Same thing with Planescape Torment (did I spell this right?), nowhere to be found.


:) Game availability is variable where I am as well. In such cases, Amazon or play.com are my friends. (playx.com is not, as they took my money for Xbox Baldur's Gate, ran out of stock and never refunded me)

And I really want to play both games.
:lol:


There, there.

We have Planescape, but I've never played it. My husband complains that I tend to only play games where I can be a female PC :D

Perhaps it's for the best. I don't have enough free time as it is.


If only I didn't have to work for a living :)




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