Wizard Wars

Once upon a time, sometime around the one hundred and fiftieth year of the New Kingdom of Oswaldia, in the lost colony of Glendale, somewhere within the mountain ranges of Oswald's Kingdom, there lived two brothers. Fire Wizard and Water Wizard. They were young and one was brash while the other was thoughtful. One day the Guild obtained certain scrolls written in a language so old that no one could decipher them. And one day, while the scrolls were being readied for transport from Hamfest to the Hill Town of Glendale, the underground chamber in which they were stored was bored into, and the scrolls were stolen.

Fire Wizard, seeing an opportunity to sabotage his arch rival, announced immediately that his brother, Water Wizard, had stolen them, to everyone's shock, especially Water Wizard's. A war of words broke out. In the end Water Wizard became wroth for the falsity of his brother, and demanded a duel. A Trial by Combat to prove his good name, and force Fire Wizard to recant his lying accusation.

In the field outside of Hamfest, over the hills and to the North, shrouded in a swath of snow, they met one crisp morning. Each had brought his retainers, stalwart men of arms, three each.

As the freezing wind howled through the nearby groves, a Judge summoned the two combatants to the center of the stone circle and stated the rules.

"Whomever shall blow out the candle on this rock, three times, shall be presumed the victor of this trial. You may stand in your places."

And the brothers stood. Around them were their retainers, who themselves brought four dogs each. And so the battle commenced and the warriors surged forward, the dogs leaping over rock and ice, all surging together to get to the candle, whom all believed could not be blown out so easily, even in this frost storm.

Dashing toward one another, acquiring a footing on the icy slate surrounding the pedestal upon which the flickering green flamed candle stood, with great shoving, and the welding of swords and the clashing of shields, the Fire Wizard seized the initiative, and blew out the candle, after the fourth try, having sustained injuries both physical and mystical.

Whatever his wounds, the wounds of Water Wizard and his friends were worse, and so he forfeit the field, and with a heart full of silent fury, returned to the Guild to plead his innocence.

It wasn't long afterward that rumors spread far and wide about the scrolls and a guard who vanished without a trace, and his aggrieved widow, and how the scrolls must have been magical, and the thieves bold and ruthless. None could say who would have been able to do this deed and how, but all eyes fell upon Water Wizard with suspicion.

And so it was that he argued his case before Gravitavius, Guild Master, who had journeyed all the way from Glendale to retrieve the scrolls, only to find them stolen. With insight far beyond the ken of normal men, Gravitavius discerned the truth. Yet, as a Guild Lord it was his duty to uphold the law of Oswald's Kingdom, and so he explained that a trial must be had, unless within seven days Water Wizard could prove his innocence.

One day, not long afterwards, while passing time in the Guild Outpost of Hamfest, the Fire Wizard, overhears a conversation while passing the dinning chamber. He recognizes the voice of the Guild Master, Gravitavius, whom he met once in far off Glendale where the main Guild Hall is.

"Do you think Water Wizard will succeed?"

"It is difficult to say, my Lord Gravitavius. However, if he fails, then the Guild will have to bring him to trial on the charges alleged by the Fire Wizard."

"But Fire Wizard has not produced any evidence, is that right?"

"That is correct. However, either way, we have little choice."

"You are right. While I can not say for certain, I have reason to believe the three scrolls were of great importance. They must be recovered."

"I understand, my Lord. Please leave it to me, and do not worry. I will take care of the matter and go with Water Wizard myself."

"Good. I am counting on you."

The conversation abruptly ends, and before Fire Wizard can peer around the corner to see who the other man was, the lamp at their table goes out, darkening the room, and they both gone, as if by magic.

And so, Fire Wizard set about plotting what he should do. And it came to pass that he was aroused to action, and finding a younger sibling gave him five pieces of iron to go and find his brother Water Wizard, in the fields and then in the town of Hamfest. Fire Wizard had in mind to look far off in Deep Gully, where Robert of the Green Rangers might be found, for it was he who first came to Hamfest bearing the three stolen scrolls. But first, other work must be done.

Finding that Water Wizard could not be found, he went himself to Hamfest to see if he could not find his brother. But Water Wizard could not be found as he was at that time investigating the chambers beneath the Guild Outpost to learn more about the nature of the theft, and perhaps discover the fate of the missing guard, which he did.

And so Fire Wizard found himself in the late afternoon at the Green Feather, talking with the bar tender of the tavern, and telling lies about his brother's guilt, and his need to find his whereabouts. When he called his brother's sweetheart a "floosy", the conversation took a sudden turn for the worse, as Fire Wizard absentmindedly insulted the girl's father, who happened to be the tavern keeper. With a scruff and wave Josiah the barkeep sent the boy away, and so he bought supplies, and headed off with his best man, Fadin, toward the far off forest called Deep Gully. No one goes that way for it is reputed to be dangerous with wolves and ghosts.

Along the way, as they passed over McFearson Hill, they passed the old McFearson house, burned out and devoid of life. The barn, disheveled looked haunted in the moonlight. But on they went, the two adventurer's, into the night, across the far fields, and to the edge of the dark, primordial wood. There they made a closed fire, and slept. In the morning the world was misty and cool, and as they walked along the edge of the forest they found a narrow animal path, and followed it into the dark forest.

Through many miles of thick wide trees over hanging with great canopies of leaves, over giant roots writing with snakes and insects, they traveled silently. Finally, they came to open clearing, at the center was Wolfstone Rock, where the Hamfest Hell Hounds, a now famous Adventurer's group from the Hamfest Guild Hall, had so recently adventured. They climbed the rock and found the rusted chainmail. They walked around the rock and found the tunnel into the rock. They lit their lantern and took a look inside, only to retreat from that long dark tunnel with the wolf tracks. Then the wolves howled from somewhere, and another answered the call from elsewhere. The two men took one of foot path southward, rather than the northern path, which was fortunate for them. After a long walk down a regular foot path covered with the hoof prints of horses, they came upon a man leaning against a tree, smoking a long stemmed pipe.

"What brings two men of Hamfest out this far into the dark wilderness?"

Thinking quickly, Red Wizard said the following lies:

"You may have heard of me. My name is the Blue Wizard. I have come all this way to find Robert of the Green Rangers, as I must find an answer to a mystery involving them."

Pretending to be Water Wizard, the Fire Wizard wheedled information from Robert of the Green Rangers, and telling lies in return. What he discovered was that the scrolls were in a language that he, nor the Guild Outpost Sargent could recognize, which alarmed them both, as this region so far as anyone knew, was never populated until the hapless colonists of Glendale found themselves stranded in these mountains by Watho and her brother Klingzor. And so it was decided that the scrolls should be shipped to Glendale for study, but the scrolls never made it that far. Someone stole them just prior to Gravitavius' arrival. This of course was news to Robert, who scarcely encounters news from the world of civilized men, far out in the wilderness as he and his men dwell. At this point Eiryn, the Fire Wizard, announced this his friend Falin, wished nothing more in life than to become a Green Ranger, the news of which caused Robert to raise the eyebrow of scrutiny. Return in a month, alone, he told Fadin, and you will be tested. If you pass the test, then you may join the Green Rangers.

With this information exchanged, and nothing else to be done, the two adventurer's departed back along a better path, as shown to them by Robert, back toward Hamfest. Along the way, as they were just leaving the dark cover of the woods, just in the nick of time, they spotted Water Wizard and a stranger coming over the crest of the hill. They hid, and let them pass.

Four hours later, after a brisk morning trek, they made their way back to the McFearson barn, determined to explore it. And lo, inside the barn, against the south wall, hidden in the straw, they found a beautiful, unmovable dragon-chest. Dark and silvery metal formed a square chest embossed with the form of a dragon, the face and head and mouth and fangs of which formed the frame around which was the strange triangular keyhole. The two men, tired and grimy as they were, in excited whispers, argued over what they should do with the chest, which neither of them could budge nor open. And then they heard a hiss and before they could think of what that sound was, they turned to see four hunched burly men with furry heads and arms, wearing red caps, brown vests, and wide belts, inching toward them with swords in their hands, and daggers. A battle commenced, in which fire bolts slew the creatures, and the others were bashed by Fadin's unerring sword, until only one remained living.

Pointing to a spot on the barn floor, with a tongue full of goblin gibberish, a key was pulled out from beneath his shirt, and into a tiny hole in the center of the marbles circle on the dirt floor of the barn fit a round, oddly tipped key. And as he did, the edges of a doorway showed upon the floor, and the Fire Wizard was saying "You know, as much as I favor your miserable company, it seems your usefulness is rapidly coming to an end, my little furry friend." But with the trap door opening, and a large dark square hole in the ground disgorged a huge gnarlesome face, head, shoulders and giant club wielding body, our heroes forgot entirely about the scrambling goblin, and concentrated their attention on the monstrosity that was exiting the trap door and bearing down on them with extraordinary malice.

Fire bolts and great slashing hacks of a sword, Fadin and Eiryn the Fire Wizard bested the monster and flung him back down the hole, where he died. And wrapping up the goblin in strong roped, they went down the latter, into the darkness below, and found forty feet below the earth, a tunnel, twelve feet tall, and twelve feet wide, vanishing off beyond their lantern light in both directions. Without further ado, they ransacked the body of the dead ogre whom they had slain, finding on his gruesome person a pouch filled with silver coins.

Up the ladder they returned, determined to get the remainder of their men and return to explore further the mystery. And so as they prepared to leave the barn they searched the bodies of the goblins they had slain, only to find them turned to leaves and sticks and briar's and blowing away in the wind. Infuriated, Fire Wizard took the remaining goblin, that little trickster, and holding him over the gaping mouth of the hole in the ground, let off a curse, and then let the goblin fall far below with a thud and a splat that signaled the end of the wretch.

And so it was that Fire Wizard found himself in possession of a strange round iron key that openned a door into a tunnel whose smooth crafted walls told of a craftmanship far beyond the talents of anyone of Glendale... And this was a great mystery to him and Fadin.

...

This is the game-play story thus far in the Elthos Autumn 2009 Game Test. The Campaign is named "The War of the Wizards".

The adventure left off there.