Chapter 1: We're off to see the wizard

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badams30
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Chapter 1: We're off to see the wizard

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You arrived in Moosburg yesterday. Tired, dusty, hungry, but excited that you're finally here. The town is quaint and beautiful, sitting in the shadow of mountains and deep dark forests all around. A clean and clear narrow river shoots through and past the town, it's literally like a beautiful painting.

With few notable businesses, you migrated to the Gasthaus, and met Rudi, the burly and kindly proprietor, and with no visitors in residence at the moment, he offers you the common room for your party for a rate of 1SP per night, at least until other guests might arrive. He gets you some hot water, towels and some belly filling food and drink and you sleep like the dead, waking late in the morning to a hot fresh meal and Rudi's son Jurgen with a note in hand. He says "Good morning. My father says that you are adventurers, and might be seeking work. He suggested that you visit Sigfried the Wizard, he is always looking for something. You can find his house near the mill, it's the one with all the goats."

With nothing else having presented itself, you agree to visit this wizard and see if he might have some work for your capable band. Stepping into the daylight, it's a sunny day, a bit on the cool side, but with few clouds, the mountains and nearby forests look that much bigger than they did in the fog that was present when you arrived. A few curious villagers nod greetings to your band, and after a short stroll you pass the small mill with its slowly turning water wheel, and about 500 feet away is a small two story house with a small ramshackle barn to the left. The house is very old, but reasonably well maintained. The barn is another story - it leans precariously to one side, but despite this dozens of colorful goats stroll around the grounds, munching on grass and shrubs, bleating quietly. As you approach the house several of the goats pause their eating and begin to follow you toward the door. By the time you arrive about 12 goats are closely behind you, making the occasional BAAAH to try and get your attention. Before you have a chance to knock at the solid wooden door, it opens and in front of you is an elderly man in cosmic blue robes with a pointy hat (well, at one time it was probably pointy, but it sags down touching the wide brim, almost comically.) The man has long white hair and an equally long white beard, and he has a set of wire framed glasses perched at the tip of a pointy nose. He has a friendly face and with a smile he says "Well, good morning. I see you've met my bodyguards. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

The man shoos off the goats with a wave of his robed arms, and they scatter across the yard, as the man nods approvingly and waits for your reply.

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tumblingdice
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Re: Chapter 1: We're off to see the wizard

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Albrecht the acolyte looks dubiously at the barn as the group passes by on the way to the wizard's house. As my abbot back home would have said, the young cleric quips, the only thing holding up that barn is tradition! He grins in amusement at the sheep escort.

At the old man's greeting, Albrecht tries to muster as much professionalism and confidence as his youth and inexperience will permit. Good sir. I am Albrecht the Acolyte, and these are my friends, Zapolas and Kane. We seek to further the cause of law and order, always, and heard you might be looking for some help. Idle hands are the devil's workshop, you know. What would you have us do?

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kipper
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Re: Chapter 1: We're off to see the wizard

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"And we don't mean menial labour, we're not farm hands." Kane adds. "I've had enough of that," he mutters to himself.

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connivingsumo
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Re: Chapter 1: We're off to see the wizard

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kipper wrote:
Thu Mar 09, 2023 3:11 pm
"And we don't mean menial labour, we're not farm hands." Kane adds. "I've had enough of that," he mutters to himself.
:lol: :lol: :lol:

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connivingsumo
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Re: Chapter 1: We're off to see the wizard

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Zapolas
Image

Zapolas dips into a shallow bow, and gives a knowing nod to a fellow practitioner of the arcane arts.

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tumblingdice
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Re: Chapter 1: We're off to see the wizard

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connivingsumo wrote:
Thu Mar 09, 2023 5:31 pm
kipper wrote:
Thu Mar 09, 2023 3:11 pm
"And we don't mean menial labour, we're not farm hands." Kane adds. "I've had enough of that," he mutters to himself.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
"You're in the army now,
You're not behind the plow!"

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badams30
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Re: Chapter 1: We're off to see the wizard

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The wizard gives each of you a quick look over and says "Law and order you say... well that's good. Just the three of you? No offense intended. Hmmm... I can certainly use some help in retrieving some things. Come with me, if you please." He motions for you to follow him, and he leads you behind his house to a small fire pit with a small crackling fire going, and a large bubbling teapot on a grate above it. He beckons for you to sit on one of several small stools around the pit, and he pours each of you a small cup of steaming tea that smells herbal and quite delicious.

"I'm Sigfried, but you probably heard that already from someone, otherwise you wouldn't be here. I am what the locals call a retired wizard, but I assure you I am not retired in the least, I just spend most of my time researching things and helping out where I can. And that's where you fine gentlemen come in. I'm assuming you don't know much about the area, but allow me to give you a brief earful of what it is I require. About a hundred or so years ago, there was a group of several adventurers who called this area home when they weren't out roaming around. One of these adventurers was Anora the Grey, a wizard of moderate skill, but with a passion for collecting books and antiquities. The group came into some wealth due to their exploits, and despite their relative youth, they decided to take a break from adventuring for a bit, and it seems for the most part, they never returned to it, save for a couple of their group. Anyway... Anora had a modest tower built in the privacy of the woods northwest of here on the site of an ancient ruined manor or some structure, and it was rumored that she spent most of her time researching something big... what I do not know, but she was never seen leaving her tower, and she received supplies and foodstuffs on a regular basis from some locals whom she hired for just that purpose. They'd deliver her things, pick up a list of what she required, and that was that. This went on for several years and one day the group brought her the scheduled delivery and failed to receive a reply. They returned a couple more times and it seemed that Anora had simply disappeared. Rumor has it that others came to find out what had become of her, only to be unable to enter her tower due to the magics securing the only portal in or out. Even members of her entourage reassembled to try to enter, only to fail as did everyone before. Soon after, one of the band, a priest who was particularly close to the wizard kept a vigil at the site for some time, apparently with no success. Shortly after, Anora faded into the history of the region, and was seldom mentioned as time passed."

Sigfried pauses for a couple sips of tea and to make sure everyone is awake and continues "Very boring, right? Well let me get to the meat of it then. I have been seeking a very special and specific book. Supposedly several copies once existed, but as I've tried to track them down, all seem to have been destroyed or lost to time. But as I was following the trail of the one last unaccounted for tome, imagine my surprise to learn that our own Anora had apparently purchased that very book some time before she disappeared. So what I need you to do is to find her old home, assuming it still exists, and attempt to locate this book and bring it to me. I will reward you handsomely, and whatever you find during the course of your quest is yours to keep, and of course if you find any interesting tomes or items, I'd appreciate the opportunity to purchase them from you if they are of interest to me."

He politely refills each of your cups and looks at you inquisitively.

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kipper
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Re: Chapter 1: We're off to see the wizard

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"First off, what's the name of the book?" Kane asks baldly, "Or at least tell us how to recognise it. If it's not written in common, you'll need to write out the title for us so we can compare them to confirm it."

He pauses to scratch the stubble on his chin and spits onto the ground.

"And secondly, perhaps even more importantly, what makes you think we can get into the tower where so many others have failed?"

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connivingsumo
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Re: Chapter 1: We're off to see the wizard

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Zapolas
Image

Zapolas clears his throat, obviously nervous. He starts to speak and his voice cracks; very uncharacteristic of an Elf! "You said her Old Home; do you mean the tower, or is there an existing 'home' where she lived before she constructed her tower?"

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badams30
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Re: Chapter 1: We're off to see the wizard

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kipper wrote:
Mon Mar 13, 2023 2:49 am
"First off, what's the name of the book?" Kane asks baldly, "Or at least tell us how to recognise it. If it's not written in common, you'll need to write out the title for us so we can compare them to confirm it."

He pauses to scratch the stubble on his chin and spits onto the ground.

"And secondly, perhaps even more importantly, what makes you think we can get into the tower where so many others have failed?"
Sigfried nods and says "There is no writing on the tome, but assuming it survives and is where I think it is, it should be quite easy to identify. It is a relatively modest looking book, bound in brown leather, with the symbols of the four elements pressed into the cover. Earth, water, fire, and air. But most importantly, the book is said to have a luminescent glow to it, alternating from brown to blue to green to red. I have no reason to believe the magics contained in the making of the tome have faded over time, so it should be simple to spot if it's there."

He chuckles at the question of getting into the tower. "Well, that is my main concern at the moment. But you seem to have a capable wizard in your ranks, and I will give him the means to hopefully gain entry and get past any hindrance. In my years of practice I have yet to find a portal that won't yield to my magics, so I'm trusting that I'll be able to give you the tools you need to get in. Again, that's assuming you can find this place and that it's still extant. But in the event you can't locate it and make a good effort, I'll still compensate you for your time."

"Oh, and while I have no doubt to your motivation and abilities, there are only three of you, and it's always helpful to have a strong sword arm with you. If you don't have anyone in mind, there's a local lad who is trustworthy and well known to me, and I'm sure he'd be excited to join you for a share of your spoils or some arrangement."

To Zapolas: "Oh, yes. I mean her tower. Although I believe that there were some ancient structures at the site, but quite ruined. She had the tower constructed on the high ground in a favorable spot using most of the old stones found on site."

"So what do you think, gentlemen? Can you help an old wizard out?"

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