Celeste:
You fetch a pot from your cooking set and head outside to your horse roach with your shortsword. Your loyal, ageing steed knows exactly what is coming, and allows you to make a small gash in its leg and collect some blood. You then heal it up and return inside to wait for Stanton.
After about five hours of tidying your flat and fighting off boredom the Half Orc returns. You greet him and ask him for news. "The lord is interested in your offer, and is preparing your supplies, but he would like a demonstration of your power before he lets you near his daughter."
You nod. It can't be too difficult to impress a human with the spells you have memorized. "Very good love. We shall depart at dawn. Now then, I have to ask, do you have any preference as to which mold I use to make an insect out of you?"
The half Orc pauses for a second. "Well... If I were a lightning bug, I could continue being the light of your world. But if I were a stag beetle I could devote to you my unyeilding strength. As I dragonfly my love could take wing, and as a Mantis I could kill for you... but in the form of a silkworm I could keep you clothed and beautiful..."
Your lover continues his long winded speech about how each bug form could bring your relationship to a whole new level. You shake your head, Stanton has to be the most hopeless romantic you have ever had the pleasure of meeting. You interupt him by disrobing, and a huge grin spreads across the half Orc's face. "I'm going to pratice assuming the form of a troll for the ritual. You are welcome to come to my bedroom and pratice with me."
Your body begins to swell in size and aquire a layer of shaggy green wool...
You awaken in your bed next to Stanton. You are both soaked in the blood of a deer, whose bones are scattered across the room. Your bedding is ruined by the deer blood and the legs of your bed seem to have buckled and snapped under the weight of your troll form. You re-assume your relatively human shape and walk outside to look at the sky. There are still several hours to pass before dawn...
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Koral:
You open your potion book and find the recipe for the drought of stone soldier, a drink that turns it's consumer into a living statue for several hours. You can make a cauldron full of the stuff using mostly common ingreediants that you can find around your cave. However you do need the pelt of a large mammal to complete the potion. The brew also requires you to offer up one of your gems, something you are not sure you want to do.
You ask the Kobold to explain the layout of the fortress leading up to the trade depot. Through his translator he explains that the entrance to the fortress is a long corridor. The trade Depot is the second door on the left. The walls and floor of the room are built from solid dwarven steel, making tunneling in unlikely. The room contains a large area for wagons to be loaded and unloaded, several desks for the beancounters to work, a small living area for the merchants, and a large party area to celebrate sucessful trade relations with various groups of outsiders.
The room is generally defended by two hammer dwarves and whatever soldiers the merchants choose to bring. There are fortifacations carved into one of the walls, allowing crossbow dwarves to shoot at threats in the Depot from the safety of their barracks. The Kobold explains that this information is about half a decade old.
You begin to pace around your new friends' campsite and ponder this information, hoping to come up with a plan.
Agurtha:
You arrive at your wagon and dig through your potion book until you find a good one for controlling slaves. The Master's Call prevents a slave from feeling anything other than sorrow and fear unless he is actively carrying out his masters will. You jot the instructions down in simple terms on a piece of parchemnt and hand it to Polok.
"This nice brew should keep you disobedient slave under control. It is so simple even a mortal such as yourself can make it. I'd find somebody to transcribe it into Orcish first though. If you speak common so terribly I highly doubt you can read it."
The shaman nods and smiles. "Polok give a thanks to hag Agurtha. Polok buy you snakey-girl at slave auction."
You nod and lie down for a quick nap. Several hours later a group of Shaman gather in the center of camp and call the sun to rise early across the Orcish lands, so that the business day can begin. You explore the camp and look into the posibility of buying an elephant. There seem to be seven total pachyderms for sale. Luckily you recall nothing in the part about the offering of livestock that says that all the livestock must be of the same species.
You are somewhat disheartened when you inquire about the price. The cheapest elephant you can find is going for 75 gold coins. Most of the rest are in the 150-200 price range. It seems that if you want an elephant you will have to resort to barter or theft.
Eventualy most of the camp gathers around for the slave auction. The auctioneer speaks in Orcish, which you cannot understand, however somebody translates his words into common for the benefit of the few treacherous humans, dwarves, and elves that do business in the camp. It is explained that a snakeman warlord from deep in the caverns sold to the Orcish tribe one of his wives and her entire family in exchange for metal weaponry. They have a poisonous bite and are thus sold gagged.
Most of the Snakemen sold are far to old to serve as the offering of maiden, however eventually one is shown that catches your eye. The translator explains her situation. "This snake lady is both the daughter and granddaughter of the sitting serpentine warlord. Her name is unpronounceable in any surface tongue. She is 16 years old, and trained in no useful skills. She will make a fine taxidermy trophy, or for those not afraid of her bite, a fine mistress. Bidding starts at two silver."
You tap Polok on the shoulder. "Buy me this one."
Your Orc associate stands up with two silver in hand and gives a rousing speech in his native tounge. You don't understand most of it, but he points at you and mentions your name along with the orcish word for 'coven'. The other bidders turn to stare at you, and then back to the shaman. A silence falls across the crowd and no further bids are made. Polok has just purchased on your behalf an offering of maiden of noble blood for less than the price of a dog!
Some of the auction house employees help you haul your new purchase to the wagon and dump her on the floor. You look her over and ponder what to do. You could harvest her soul now, but you only have one gem left, and you are not sure what kind of dragon a clear diamond would attract. You also note that like most slaves she was sold naked. The spell requires that she be dressed in rags to call a feral and destructive dragon or beautiful garments to attract a more civilized and reasonable patron.
You can easily fashion her some rags with your sewing kit and the clothing of your other two victims. You would need to aquire some more valuable material if you want something nicer for her to wear...
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Topic: Young Coven: A Hag Adventure! (Read 12504 times)