Bethesda’s oration:
“A party of adventurers was put together by some interested parties in Drakenberg, some of whom were concerned about the welfare of the citizens in the Lowlands area. These citizens had been under attack by broo and other chaos threats associated with the quickly growing chaos marsh.
One of these adventurers, Rod, had also previously had a close encounter with the old man on the beach. The adventurers agreed to help Rod with his quest and the magic stones were shared out between members of the party.
At which point Rod takes up the narrative:
"O, Watery ones!
Hear ye the deeds of a Wind Warrior,
And know thou art tested,
To tell a superior story!"
Rod proceeds to describe being contacted at Near Tradepost whilst on an infrequent visit to ‘civilisation’, "How was it that the denizens of Drakenberg learnt of Lightning Rod? This Grocer Man I knew not, but he knew of me and of where my wanderings would take me. Perhaps our patron had access to arcane arts?"
On hearing of a chaos threat Rod immediately sets off for Drakenberg along the coast road and here a strange encounter occurs.
“Wet and weary I wandered that wild shore,
'Til damp and darkness declared my day done.
My fight to find fire the fog foiled,
My limbs could no longer lift me.
From the sea an old salt gained the shore,
Guiding his crude craft 'cross the waves.
Alone he sailed the Sea of Fortune –
I saw that sailors have no sense!
Light your fire and let me lie here,
Then feast we, fellow, on my fishy fare."
So spoke he, taking sandy steps,
"Hold fast, my hearty" I hailed, halting him.
Loudly I listed the lines of the Lord,
Which told that tar to take up arms.
The call to combat he could not consider,
Such deeds, in his dotage, he declined.
Again he bade me build a blaze,
The mist moved magically aside.
Cooked we then crustaceans that cold night,
And during dinner we held discourse.
I told a tale of terrors I had tackled,
He praised my prowess, then made a plea.
"My daughter needs deliverance from the Devil,
In her house with her husband she is hounded by Broo.
Wallburn is what the young woman is called,
I ask for your aid to alleviate her pain."
I countered, "A call to kill chaos,
Is a hail which I have to heed."
From the fish upon which we were feasting,
A pile of pretty pearls was produced.
"Take these for your trouble" intoned the tar,
"A fee for the friends you must find."
"By what name are you known?" I nosed,
"And how can I call you when we are complete?"
The solemn sailor refused to say,
"Wallburn will warn me when she is well."
Sated and sleepy, we sank to the sand,
I mused on my meeting with this mysterious; man?
Waking in warmth with the sun on the water,
All trace of the tar was totally gone."
Rod steps back, exchanging courteous nods with the King, and Bethesda returns to her narrative:
“The party attempted to advance stealthily towards the area but were discovered by the locals who suspected a raid by trolls. Fortunately this potential disaster was diplomatically averted, and a useful but elderly fighter, Sincerity, was recruited to the party.
Khalid interjects: "What really happened was Sincerity and myself had been seeking information about St. Nimitz. When we saw the locals mistake the rest of the group for trolls I told them the truth, that they were with me and not there to harm the village they relented. In my experience diplomacy seems to involve lying."
Bethesda starts again: “The local representative of the Lowland rangers, Sergeant Nimitz, was found to have gone missing. The party advanced to Sunny Waters and found the chaotically hideously warped remains of Sergeant Nimitz who reported that sacrifices were being made by the broo and that Bethesda's parents were dead. Some vile chaos beast seemed to be lurking in the depths of the pool.
Deadeye entered the Spirit World and this disturbed the marsh which sent out various chaos creatures to attack the party including some chaos zombies, but they were unguided and the party sneaked off without a fight.”
Khalid interjects again: "We did not sneak off because sneaking would imply that we were trying to hide which was not the case. In this event fighting was unnecessary."
Bethesda is still not put off her stride: “Later the party was attacked by some other chaos creatures including a vampire chicken which was slain by Khalid.
The party headed south. It seemed that the forces of chaos had become very powerful and Bethesda felt obliged to warn the villagers so she went back to Farflung to warn the population, but they were not willing to heed her warnings. She went to visit her Uncle Stanislav Armorica, a recluse on the edge of town. He said he had seen a figure riding on a centaur and that he had shot the rider, a woman, and she had dropped a satchel of papers which he had then proceeded to burn, but Bethesda managed to retrieve a fragment of one of the pieces of paper and also a letter.
Bethesda then rejoined the party, but on the way the woman who had been riding the centaur tried to snatch back the letter during the night but eventually fled from Bethesda.
The next day this rider was spotted in an area probably under Broo control. Bethesda surmises that this woman was a messenger for the some dark cult that had infiltrated both the city of Drakenberg and also the Broo. The cult seemed to have some inside contacts with the broo, but also to be plotting against them. It seems that this cult used its influence with the broo to incite some raids against Farflung for the sole reason of provoking a response from Drakenberg. This same woman later left a 'head' for the party to discover and question.”
Scuttlebug interjects: "These are evil servitors of the severed god. Their ways are twisted, often beyond their own understanding. Long have they dogged my path...but sometimes the hunted turns hunter..." Turning directly towards the watery King, she asks "Was the package I delivered into your care in Lüneport given the full treatment?" But no one present seems to have any idea what she means so Bethesda goes on…
“The party found evidence of some large creature heading into the chaos area to attack broo, possibly a dragon.
The party was spotted by broo and came under heavy attack. The party defeated the first wave of attacks and then fled to a path leading up to the cliff tops, the flight was assisted by a major strike against the broo by dragon-newts.”
Khalid interjects, praising Sincerity for her brave efforts fighting to the death against the broo. He says, “Though she was an annoying woman to travel with she proved her worth when it mattered and that she will not be forgotten.” Trak mutters something about tactics and the correct use of blasting powder but Bethesda talks over the top of him as she resumes.
“On the path leading up the cliff a 'head' was found clearly left by the centaur rider. The head was attacked by Khalid before being questioned. Once on the top of the cliffs the party made quick progress to the site of the statue which they eventually managed to fix.”
"Bethesda,” interrupts Scuttlebug, “you make it sound like putting a wheel back on a cart. It was neither so simple nor so insignificant."
"It was a bit of work wasn't it?” expands Trak, “First we started by getting the bits back in the right place, as it were; what with the young Goddess being in a dramatic pose and all, I had to rig a series of steadying ropes and use the horses to hold here in place. The nose was broken off, and we couldn't find it, so I made a replacement out of clay. We noticed that the eye sockets were a good match for a couple of the gems Rod had given us, so we put them in place. At that moment, the Goddess came back to life, but with the stone still broken and all, She started bleeding pretty badly; it all looked pretty bad for a few moments, I think my glue spell helped a little, but then Scuttlebug called upon some God magic to heal her and all was well. An interesting bit of construction; a little out of my usual line of work, but perhaps I should write something of it for the University."
At this point, the woman at the King’s right hand smiles and bows her head gracefully. “My husband and I shall have been and will be have continued to soon become, very grateful.”
Turning to the rest of the party, Scuttlebug adds, "Indeed, but few understand how an assault on the being of any deity imperils us all - each, no matter how mighty, has their role defined by the Great Pact. Remove any thread, no matter how small and the whole could unravel. Thus it was necessary to call upon the assistance of Chronos to preserve the Goddess."
Bethesda resumes once more:
“The party then returned to the cliff top where they were attacked by a vampire broo and a severely armour plated critter with a poison bite.
Deadeye went into another of his trances and came back with a bundle containing thousands of broo spirits.” Deadeye nudges Bethesda and points to himself; she duly cues him in.
"So it is decided that I must tread the path of the Shaman and leave the mortal realm to seek what can be found in the land of the spirits. With my staunch companions to guard me from the perils of the world of the living I must travel alone and unguarded into the domain of the dead." Deadeye then starts to tap out a slow rhythm on his drum, using it to punctuate his words.
"I take up my drum and by the light of the fire let the powers of the dreamroot transport me through the barrier into the place beyond. The darkness descends and then light returns and there I stand awake and alone. And there is the path I must tread: foul cloven hoof prints descending into the pit of the earth and I must follow them for is that not why I am here? To find the source of the chaos taint..." Deadeye stops drumming and continues unaccompanied.
"Down, down into the tunnel I go, but it is not as I expect. No foul stench of chaos. No misshapen forms lurking in the darkness. All is clean and wholesome and in the distance I hear the sound of water. I walk further on and I can hear voices. There is someone ahead!"
"I make my way towards the sound although the passage twists and turns and suddenly I find myself confronted by a strange sight: for there is the Lord Wall newly cleansed coming out of a pool of water; ridding himself of the last traces of foulness ready for his wedding night. At his request I remove the plug and the water carries the filth away to the cesspit."
"'Would you be so kind as to empty the cesspit for me?' asks the noble Wall, and I agree for is it not my duty to help rid the world of such chaotic spirits. He sends me to find the Shaman Armin but alas the maze of tunnels proves to be too difficult for me to remember the way. I wander about for a long time and eventually find myself out in the open. I call on Armin to help me, and am much relieved when he appears. He teaches me the ritual that I will need to contain the spirits and he provides me with a suitable container...” Deadeye flourishes the bag for all to see."…and puts me on the right path."
"One again the way is not straight but I follow my nose to the source of the great stench and soon I find myself in a place of horror. Imagine if you can the moans and groans of a thousand of the newly dead. There cries fill the air as their souls lie trapped in a vast stone tub. And the smell of death and decay is strong."
"I gather my courage and start the ritual. I must complete it before the spirits awaken and start to fight back. Until they are safely in the bag they could escape if they knew how and there are far, far too many for me to fight."
Deadeye starts to move in the steps of the ritual dance he used to trap the spirits.
"I begin to chant and feel the powers building. There is a giant tap and at the right moment I will open it and the spirits will flow forth into their new prison. It is all working perfectly. The moment arrives. The tap is opened and the spirits begin to gush forth."
He pauses dramatically. "But suddenly one among the mass of chaots decides to fight back. He manifests and immediately starts to attack - and horror - the nature of his attack is that of possession! I call upon the aid of Azrael at this moment of my peril and bolstered by divine power I am able to withstand his assault although I am unable to vanquish this foe. He escapes alas but his many thousand fellow spirits are now trapped as the ritual finishes."
"The bulging sack is now a heavy burden but I must take it with me back to the world of light and life. I climb the endless staircase and at last I see the light at the end of the tunnel... and I am back amongst my companions - who look like they have a story of their own to recount."
Deadeye will turn and look expectantly at the others for someone else to take over the tale and Bethesda winds things up.
“It was decided to cast these into the lake hopefully for disposal by some kind of water related forces. The rest is known.”
Khalid finishes with the words, "An interesting story and the truth for the most parts. I understand now why my runepriests told me to beware plays and storytellers who weave webs of deceit."
Rod comments, "I think it's a damn fine story, one which will bear retelling in a few pubs and around a few campfires for many seasons. Hurrah for the Heroes of the Honeycomb Curtain!"