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PCs NPCs Maps Calendar Post Archive Old PBeMs: The Darkening The Game	Something Stinks! I Think It's Kale. Tang's Story - Part 1 Strange Travels The kender moves to the back and searches the small crack. He finds he's just small enough to fit into the crevasse. He squeezes in and finds a sack jammed into the opening. "Hey guys," yells Tang. "He's another little sack." He tosses the sack out into the room and it lands with a THUMP! Something inside the sack starts flapping around, obviously a small living creature of some type. "There's something else back here," says the Kender. "This crack goes back more and there some green light coming from back there." The Kender crawls further back into the wall. The last thing you hear him say is, "Hey!" before the entire crack in the wall seals shut. Maruk and Bert frantically try and find a way to open the crack again, but to no avail. The cave wall seems to have sealed into one piece, with no evidence the crack was ever there. Tang finds himself encased in solid rock, but still able to move. "I think this is a cave or something guys," he hollars to the others, though no one responds. The kender slowly moves around in the dark area, looks down at himself then realizes he's moving through solid rock! "Whow! Cool! Hey guys, I can move thrrough the rock," says the kender. "Neat-o!" The kneder moves freely through the mountainside for a bit, then findshimself in the cavern once again with his friends. "What's your name, friend fremlin?" asks Praha. "I don't have a name," admits the small creature. "But you can call me Flips." "Hey Flips!" says Tang excitedly. "Finally someone shorter than Bert. I haveall kinds of questions for you. What's it like being a fremlin? I see you have wings. Can you fly?" "Hello Flips!" Sandera says. "How on earth did you end up in this bag?" "Well did you ever try to make a owlbear laugh? My advice is not to try it," Flips smirks. "That sounds like a funny story," says Tang. "It reminds me of my uncle Tass who once met these tall bear like thingies in the forest..." "Indeed," Praha says. "Tell us how you came to these parts and what you might know of the surrounding area. And before Crash adopts you too forcefully, we should ask about your intentions. What will you do now that you are free? Do you live nearby?" "Actually I've been wandering from a village," admits the short green creature, "but I've gotten so turned around I have no clue to where I am or where that village is." "Oh you're a wanderer, too?" asks the kender. "So am I, but I come from..." Crash looks at the wall for a second with a confused look. Seeing the creatures small size and odd appearance, he starts to chuckle. "Flips is small! Crash like Flips!" grins the man-bull. Crash reaches to pick up the fremlin. "Crash look after Flips." "Why is everyone ignoring me?" asks the kender. "And why are you all so fuzzy? You look like you ate some funny green berries that turned your color. And where did all this fog come from? I can harly see?" Tang heads outside the cave but finds the grey-green fog doesn't clear up at all. The land all around is covered by the stuff, obscuring vision to only a few dozen yards. He returns to the cave and asks, "what is all this fog. guys? Won't someone answer me?" The group finishes talking about smashing the owlbear eggs. "There should be no harm to us if we break them open," says Praha. "Oh filp, Flip. Come back Tang! Come back," shouts Bert, clearly still distressed at his friend's disappearance. "I'm right here!" says the kender walking up the distressed Bert. "Right in front of you! Bert, here I am!" "It must be magic," says the gnome. "Great Quetzalcoatl, reveal that which bears the weight of enchantment to mine eyes." Bert then casts a Detect Magic but it reveals nothing as well. "No, no trace. But it was HERE!" "Why doesn't anyone hear me?" asks the kender again. Reaching out to Bert, the kender tries to touch the gnome, but is repelled by some type of aura. Baffled he says to himself, "Well now I can walk through walls, but I'm invisible to everyone. I wish I could tell them all about this." "I was just getting used to the little guy. He is with the Earth Father now," Maruk says quietly. Turning to the mages, Bert asks: "Have any of you a magical way of marking this rock, so we'll know where to return to, when we're stronger? A Wizard Mark, perhaps?" The mages admit that they have no access to that spell. Shrugging, Bert takes out his magical shortsword and incises a "T" upon the rock where Tang vanished. "Hey, 'T' for Tang," says the kander. "Cool. But why would you come back? These caves are just too foggy." "I should have cast a Sacred Guardian upon him, as I was meaning to do!" Bert continues to berate himself. "If only I had, I would have had some warning of the danger that he was getting himself into. I could have saved him!" The gnome slumps against the wall and sobs a bit. "The fog's not so bad, Bert," says Tang. "I guess I'll get used to it." "It's possible that he may not be dead," says Sandera. "I'm not dead!" says Tang. Sandera continues, "Maybe he's trapped in a cave or something. Maybe he can find another way out!" "Why, you're right!" beams Bert. "He may have only been cut off from us, unable to reach us, as we cannot reach him. After all, he wasn't from this world in the first place. I will find out." Bert removes some small sticks from his back pack and casts them to the ground, while intoning: "Quetzalcoatl, keeper of wisdom and knowledge, please impart onto me, thine humble servant, whether the kender, known as Tangleknot Reed, still lives." "He is! He is still alive!" shouts the gnome. "Well, whatever situation he's in, I'm sure he'll be able to look after himself. That makes me feel a lot better." "Um, I _told_ you I wasn't dead, sheesh," says the kender to deaf ears. "Surely there must be something we can do for Tang?" says Leeth. "At the very least, let's leave a note for him. I don't feel right about just abandoning him. Let me examine this wall." Once again Leeth summons the power, this time for a Find Traps spell. "Lord Tarantin, lend me the benefit of your divine wisdom, that I may see with your eyes. Lord Tarantin, reveal to me the treacherous machinations of evil, all that may do us harm or discomfort. Lord Tarantin, show to me as in the illumination of your lightning that is beyond brightness, all traps and tricks which stand before me, awaiting my careless tread. Thanks be to you, O Tarantin!" Leeth eyes the wall in great detail for some minutes, then stands away with one unkempt eyebrow raised. "The enigmas of the universe are manifold. The inexplicable will not be revealed, despite mortal man's attempts. Entropy is manifest." At this cryptic note, Leeth pulls up his hood and walks into the open air. Ian kicks the wall where Tang vanished. "Now I'll never get that whip, must have been worth 3 or 4000 gold." He perks up suddenly. "What's in the scroll case?" Maruk approaches Ian and snorts, "You don't share and consider other's property yours. And just where is that Ring that you say went to its rightful owner. Nothing is in the scrollcase that concerns you." Maruk holds his hammer meaningfully. "I would give Sandra anything that she asked for before I gave you anything. So, it was about the money for the whip? And who appointed a greedy person such as you to represent us, Willow? I surely did no such thing. Who are you going to turn your greedy eyes on next? Me," he raises an eyebrow, "you try anything and I warn you up front I will break your arms several times." He says to the other party members, "I will not give Ian any share of any battle treasure that he does not earn. Blur spells don't count." At that, Tirant tries to shrink into the background and stares intently at the two vocal combatants. He mumbles to himself, "If Maruk's got a gripe with non-belligerents having access to the loot, I am certainly next on the list." At this Tirant goes to his saddle bags and empties them of their treasure contents. Gathering them together into the Wings of Flying he had previously received, Tirant drops the lot of it in front of Maruk and Ian. "I do not speak for others, but I am not going to have money tear this team apart. I've not done much Maruk as far as battle is concerned, so I'll avoid the verbal dressing down now. If giving up the gold I have found to date will appease your anger then take it in lieu of Ian's share. But one way or another this matter needs to end here and now." Leeth chuckles with amusement. Maruk talks loud enough to Tirant so that the party hears him talking in an even and calm voice, "You sir," waving at Tirant, "have at least shared in knowledge and deserve your share of what you get. I do not take issue with non combatants taking a share of treasure. I do take issue with the way people do it. Ian acts as though it is his and he will take it ALL if he chooses. If Ian would learn not to be money grubbing and self serving I would not mind HIM having any. Ian there, wanted that whip for the MONEY and now sees its loss as a personal slight... not the loss of our companion. If he wants something than you best watch your back because you may have something valuable that he wants like any magic armor that might be worth five times as much as that whip." He waves his hand at Praha and Buford. "I want him to learn that he is not to have anything without putting himself on the line at least a little. You sir," still speaking to Tirant but he becomes offended and loses his even and calm voice, "have me all wrong if you think that this is about money. And have done me a great disservice by thinking so. Responsibility and community participation in the danger on this undertaking are great and that is what I am attempting to show Ian Willow." Maruk stomps off hurt and offended that the party thinks such of him. Tang follows Maruk, trying to catch him to thank him for standing up for him against the greedy Ian Willow. "I never liked that guy much anyway," says Tang. The group mounts up without Maruk. The dwarf finally returns as the group is just wondering what to do about waiting for him. He jumps on his pony and off he rides. Tang tries to jump on him pony, but the animal seems to have an aura similar to Bert's, which won't let him touch the thing. The pony turns in the direction Tang is standing and Tang gets kocked away and flals to the ground. The group rides off with a final "Salut" from Bert, while the kender is left trailing the group witht he fog clouding his vision. "Hopefully this stuff will clear up soon," Tang says to himself. The kender walks along behind the group, soon growing bored of walking and falling a bit behind. He srtays from the path a bit to find interesting plants and wildlife in the trees, but as it grows dark, he rushes to catch up to the group. Late into the night, the kender finally spots the group, and curls up next to the fire to sleep, though he realizes there's no heat coming from it. Undaunted, he sleeps soundly, waking only to the sound of horses pulling out. The fog is still present in the morning, much to the annoyance of Tang. He once again trail the group, but the tired kender quickly falls behind. Realizing he will never reach Kale with the group via this method of travel, Tang comes up with a plan. Go to Part 2