Okay, so, first the character:
Hibor Mazeproblem, a chinchilla man surgeon from Reliefsnacked.
He respects commerce, but doesn't really care about the law (nor obligations) or self-examination. He never becomes angry and is calm in general, thinking things through twice before acting. Though, his ideas might not be the most practical as he prefers ideas and abstractations.
His most prized possessions are his bronze scimitar and three lead dice.
This is his story.
Hibor Mazeproblem
Life Is, In a Word, Artifact-Destroying
9th of Slate, 201The sky was clear that morning when Hibor left Reliefsnacked. He had deliberated for quite some time when he would see his plan come to fruition: bring an artifact to Endedtreasure and destroy it. If the rumors were true, with the destruction of artifacts all suffering would end in the world.
You see, it had to be the abominable artifacts that were the root cause of all the problems. It made perfect sence to Hibor. Was it not the artifacts that had allowed wicked men to become necromancers and raise armies of vile undead? Without artifacts, would the horrors from the Underworld have been released from their prison into this world? And all those horrible creatures of the Night: certainly they too had been spawned by these powerful items!
It was a daunting task, but one that Hibor was ready to take.
And so he grabbed his bronze scimitar and packed his bag, ready to say farewells to his friends at the castle before heading off.
Walking across the snow-covered castle courtyard Hibor ran into Lir the tanner. He mentioned something about a silver sword and a temple of the Dead Cult in the west. Might be a good start point.
However, first to the keep. Sounds could be heard from inside. Everyone was awake. Good.
Inside Hibor said his goodbyes to all. He withheld the true purpose of his journey.
He learned more about 'Weatheredbitten the Attack of Racks' -- the silver sword -- from Bisan, the chief cup-bearer. It was his short sword and it was last seen in Urnshoot.
Who would've known the cup-bearer owned, or used to own, an artifact? Good thing too that Hibor didn't reveal his true intentions.
The first stop was Meetfigures, a monastery just a short walk to the west from Reliefsnacked.
Hibor approached a shrine at the outskirts of the monastery to test his luck with the dice.
It was a shrine dedicated to Doren the Pearl of Gems, the dwarven deity of trade and wealth. Maybe fortune would favor Hibor?
Hibor rolled the die according to the practice of the Luxurious Doctrines and the native silver icosahedral die landed with the word “wanderer” up. It meant that there would be no reward. Pfft. That was just to be expected. Bunch of superstitious poppycock and mumbo-jumbo anyway.
Hibor was not one to believe in fate or the power of the gods.
Hibor met a dwarven pilgrim at the monastery, but not much was learned from him. Or, more precisely, nothing was learned from him, since he was reluctant to speak with the chinchilla man.
However, there was a scroll on the floor, which caught Hibor's eye. Were scrolls considered artifacts? Maybe it would be for the best to take it with him just in case. Now, if only that pilgrim wouldn't be eyeing Hibor so suspiciously -- Hibor certainly didn't want to be implicated in any theft.
Oh well, maybe he could return this way once he had found the silver sword?
Dark clouds gathered in the sky and it began snowing as Hibor trudged past two hillocks in ruins -- most likely the work of the undead preying upon the living -- before reaching the hillocks of Glovedgrooved.
Hibor talked with some dwarves at a merchant's shop. They too were talking about the silver sword, but Hibor learned also of a bronze mace called “The Tan Skirt”, which just so happened to be in Urnshoot. That is, if the rumors were to be trusted.
Urnshoots must be one rich fortress if they have so many artifacts! What else could be found there? With luck, Hibor could drag a bunch of them to be destroyed at Endedtreasure. Well, of course there might be some issues that Hibor was only half the size of a human and not very strong.
It might be necessary to find a beast of burden if there was much to carry from Urnshoot.
A vile being! An abomination!
A demon of Ogo was unexpectedly in one of the hillocks Hibor visited. While normally comfortable around all manner of folk, Hibor was disgusted by the large, charcoal feathered humanoid with mandibles. According to stories, these beings were the creation of the terrifying fiend Ogo Steamblade. And as such a mockery of dwarves they were twisted from, the demons of Ogo had to be destroyed, too.
Hibor wasn't an accomplished fighter, though, and calculating the risks, he decided it best not to try anything without backup.
The normally calm Hibor couldn't contain himself and blurted out accusations and empty threats before hurrying out the door.
Hibor entered one more hillock (after making sure the demon of Ogo didn't follow him).
He was surprised to see a human child and several dwarves (appearing to be poets by the looks of them) surrounding another demon of Ogo. The demon looked drunk.
A plan came began to form in Hibor's mind...
Hibor now had a beast of burden.
A beast who would meet its end in Endedtreasure along with all the artifacts they'd manage to bring from Urnshoot.
As Hibor and Zuglar, the demon of Ogo, approached Urnshoot they stumbled upon a mysterious lair in the Steppe of Leaks.
Among the scattered trees and writhing wormy tendrils was a passageway leading into the earth. Hibor hesitated. What if there was some vile being living inside and they stumbled upon it? Could they have any chance against a possible creature of the Night? But what if there was treasure -- namely artifacts -- within the lair? Hibor had heard tales of monstrous beings hoarding items of power and unimaginable wealth in their burrows. Exploring the lair could be beneficial for Hibor's quest. And if things turned sour, Hibor might be able to use the demon of Ogo to distract the monster and escape while it was occupied with fighting Zuglar.
Yes. That was to be the plans then. Hibor smiled and looked at Zuglar, who was completely oblivious to what the chinchilla man was thinking.
Hibor was immediately caught off guard by the sight he saw when he entered the burrow.
What!? A child!? Here? In the middle of this cursed land forsaken by the gods?
Hibor greeted the curly-haired dwarven child, who introduced himself as Edzul. Curiously, the child began talking about “doing one's duty”, which Hibor certainly couldn't agree upon, and began insisting on how it was stupid to whittle life away by working. It was a discussion one would not expect to have with a young child.
Taking a quick glance at the burrow, Hibor decided it would best not to waste any more time here. He and Zuglar left, continuing their trek towards Urnshoot. They should arrive before nightfall.
Indeed. It was only a short walk to Urnshoot from the dwarf child's lair. Atop the cliffside sat a massive, red fortress made from blocks of cinnabar and surrounded by watch towers.
The companions stepped in.
A curious sight was to be seen at the fortress' trade depot: a group of many dwarven and human governors -- judging by their looks -- bickering with what appeared to be a towering scaly earthworm with a spiral shell.
What madness was this?
Hibor tried to greet the earthworm, but was ignored by it. One of the dwarves boasted that he was a true dwarf criminal of the Poisoned Parity, praising Doren the Pearl of Gems.
Hibor began to question his decision of coming to Urnshoot. Clearly this fortress was not controlled by the dwarves he expected to find here. Or if they were, they were not sound of the mind.
The chinchilla man thought it might be best to avoid the denizens of this place and search its halls on his own, sacrificing Zuglar in case of an emergency.
The artifacts
had to be found and destroyed.
And there it was! Edólnitig Rashgur Led, 'Weatheredbitten the Attack of Racks', the silver short sword! It was of the highest quality, encircled with cave toad bone and mountain goat hoof and with menacing spikes of pyrolusite and faint yellow diamond. A beautiful object, but one that should have never seen the light of day.
Hibor picked it up.
...but wait. What was this next to the short sword?
Erush Immast, 'The Handle of Influences', echoed a name in Hibor's mind.
Another artifact! An enormous steel corkscrew! This place was loaded!
Truly it was a wise decision to come here, after all! What more treasures might this place hold?
Down, down, down went Hibor's path.
While heading down, Hibor overheard a dwarf talking to his cat about a beast from the depths causing problems: a troll wrestler who had killed already six. Hibor began to hesitate and his steps began to slow down.
Since the dwarf looked wounded, Hibor took a closer look at him.
Oh. Oh my.
Maybe it's best not to ask
how Hibor could tell that. Let's just say surgeons know these things.
All manner of horrid creatures lurked these dwarven halls.
In that moment Hibor remembered the tale of the dwarves of the Prime Angelic Urn digging too deep and unleashing Ogo Steamblade upon the world. Of course! How could he be so stupid to forget this event from the past that changed the world forever! And it happened in Urnshoot!
Hibor felt embarrassed for not thinking clearly. Maybe he had just mixed Urnshoot with another location in his mind? Yes. Yes. That had to be it. Certainly
he could not have been so stupid as to willingly trudge into the den of the worst and wickedest beings the world had to offer.
With that Hibor continued exploring Urnshoot, taking a much more cautious approach and making sure he knew which way to run if things turned south.
Delving ever deeper into the stronghold and wandering through passages and halls bustling with dwarves, goblins, foul demons and stray cats, Hibor stumbled upon an ugly sight: the bloody corpse of a goblin with teeth strewn all around the hall. Three dwarves were hanging out near the body like it was no big deal.
It seems the legends of the brutality of goblin society were true. Life was worth nothing here.
Night had fallen when Hibor had finally managed to scour the fortress thoroughly and left.
Nothing more of value was found in the fortress. Maybe some of the citizens might have had artifacts on them, but Hibor was not going to take the risk of angering the whole fortress. Two artifacts was more than he had hoped for.
It was time to set camp. Next to the frozen river was a good place.
Before going to sleep, Hibor, still excited from his acquisitions, recounted how they managed to obtain the artifacts without anyone stopping them. Zuglar couldn't care one way or the other.
Hibor decided that maybe it's for the best not to talk with Zuglar and went to sleep.
10th of Slate, 201The following day Hibor and Zuglar began their journey east towards Endedtreasure, Hibor's final destination.
Their path took them between dark goblin pits to the mountains called the Erased Tower.
They would follow the mountains to Urdimsulus, 'Towercraters', another fortress from where was only a short distance to Endedtreasure.
As far as Hibor knew, Towercraters
should be a proper dwarven fortress governed by dwarves and not some horrors from the Netherworld. And when it comes to dwarves, they were definitely going to have artifacts among their treasures.
It was still some way there and travel in the mountains could be dangerous. But it was the quickest path, and Hibor wanted to have his quest over as soon as possible.
As they descended down the mountain, snow began to give way to the green of spring. Finally. Hibor was quite sick of winter at this point and was eager to see some greenery.
The sun was setting when the companions arrived at Towercraters.
Yet once again there were goblins in the fortress.
No, no. Please not again, was Hibor's first thought, though it was likely that this was just a goblin who had adopted dwarven culture.
Hibor decided to exchange a few words with the goblin at the trade depot -- which was full of dog meat and the goblin was a cook, according to his words. Nothing much was learned, except more talk about artifacts lying in Urnshoots. Such rumors apparently were nonsense. The only two artifacts Hibor could find were now in his possession. And were soon to be disposed of at Endedtreasure.
Certainly Hibor could not have missed anything. Or could he?
While wandering the halls of Towercraters, Hibor ran into a dwarf named Mosus who claimed to be the leader of the group that governed the fortress. Yet, there was nothing new to be learned from the dwarf: only more talk about artifacts in Urnshoots.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. What a waste of time it was to come to Towercraters. No artifacts, only a bunch of hairy dwarves rambling about the artifacts in Urnshoots.
Frustrated, Hibor left the fortress with Zuglar.
Night had fallen once again while exploring.
11th of Slate, 201
The following day began uneventfully as Hibor and Zuglar went to a nearby monastery finding nothing of interests. Well, there were a load of dwarven children playing and some prophets babbling all manner of things, but nothing that Hibor wanted.
While heading back to the road, they stumbled upon a rather fresh
butchered corpse of a wolverine. There was good looking meat still left!
A pity that Hibor had traded his precious lead dice and a codex at Towercraters for some dog meat from the goblin cook. But of course he couldn't have known that he was to run into the fresh kill of some hunter who hadn't bothered to pick the corpse clean.
Zuglar began to really get on Hibor's nerves. All the time the demon of Ogo had to greet every single living creature she saw, yet when Hibor tried talking with her, she was very negative all the time.
So, Hibor mostly tried to ignore her.
And soon they'd be at Endedtreasure and it'd be the end of Zuglar.
There it was: Endedtreasure.
Hibor's final destination looming in the east.
A pile of mangled dingo skeletons greeted the travelers as they approached the gates.
Finally!
This is where the artifacts were to be disposed of to rid the world of their curse!
Hibor put Weatheredbitten the Attack of Racks, the silver short sword, and the Handle of Influences, the enormous steel corkscrew, on the floor. He told Zuglar to wait and guard them for a while, fooling the demon of Ogo who had no clue about Hibor's true intentions with the artifacts and her.
The chinchilla man stepped to the lever and grabbed it...
“Victory! Finally!,” Hibor hopped and screamed triumphantly, his high-pitched voice echoing through the halls of Endedtreasure.
The world had two artifacts less.
...And one demon of Ogo less, too.
======
Ok. So that's that. I retired Hibor at Endedtreasure and put some of his possessions on a pedestal at the entryway. There might be some dog meat among the items.
Had a fun time. Didn't actually kill anyone else than Zuglar (I know, I get minus points -- but she probably wasn't a historical figure until I spoke with her!), except one falcon. I think.
I'll post the save soon!
Author
Topic: Endedtreasure: The Anti-Museum - come destroy artifacts! (Read 13563 times)