llf@houxz.UUCP (L.FENG) (03/16/84)
Subject: Lanissan Chronicles- "Now What Do We Do?" [Issue 3] Intro: When we left our adventurers last, they were imprisoned by "the boss" of an ogre, contemplating their prospective fate as slaves. Without a thief or monk amongst them, within cells whose bars were too sturdy to bend, the party would have to rely on their wits to get out of this dilemma. When the ogre guard returned, they were ready. "Guard -- quickly, look in the last cell -- Brunhilde has escaped!" They were banking on his intelligence to aide them in their plan. The ogre dashed down to Brunhilde's cell, and was astonished when he peered in through the window to find it empty. He unlocked the door and raced inside to investigate (ogres ARE stupid, aren't they). Brunhilde had been hiding off to the side of the door, of course, and immediately attacked Tall Dark and Ugly with her only weapons, her berserker fists. Thanks to some lucky shots, she was able to daze the ogre long enough to grab the keys and lock him in her cell. She then freed Alexis. Brunhilde wanted to return to finish off the ogre, but was convinced by the others that it was a waste of time. Meanwhile, Alexis freed the others. Weaponless except for the ogre's club, without armor, in an unknown building, the party wasn't pleased with their prospects, but decided to make a run for it. They found where their equipment was stashed, and managed to strip the storeroom without incident. Quickly donning armor and weaponry, the group then tried to decide on their next move, check the next door, or head up the stairs. The decision was to head up stairs, as it seemed the only way out. At the top of the stairs was a door. After opening it they were confronted by an undead goblin. Luckily, Odyssa and Alexis turned it. In fact, it exploded! Chuckle, surely Athena was on their side that day. The next room lead into a hallway. There was a troll guard which put up a tough fight. His master, a Magic User, used charm and invisibility spells to attack the party. He managed to charm Alexis, much to the surprise and distress of the party. The troll was finally hacked to pieces. In fact, quite a few times before they figured out the regeneration trick and burned him down. The MU was slept and got his throat cut. The MU's treasure wasn't too bad; lots of coins, a dagger with a ruby jeweled hilt, a box with something that rattled and hissed in it, and a vial with 4 sips of some unidentified potion. The rest of the building was ransacked and nothing else was found. Soon there arose disagreement between Odyssa, Alexis, Brunhilde, and Gary over what their next course of action should be and the division of the newfound wealth. Gary returned to the building in a huff with the vial and the box, but no other treasure. The others returned to Blund. Several days later, when Gary rejoined the party in the local hang out - Good Time Charlies - he was asked where he'd been. Sheepishly he announced that he'd gotten lost in the forest and had sought the help of some local wood cutters to get back to town. He promised the group that he'd try not to be so touchy in the future. Now the party was prepared for its first foray into the dungeon. Since everyone was still relatively poor, they could not afford horses. The dungeon was apparently six hours away by foot, and as they started on the trek, Odyssa expressed some concern that a lot of nasty things could happen during a six hour hike. The cleric proved to be right; about halfway there the party was ambushed by a band of lizardmen robbers. The dozen or so bandits clearly outnumbered our heroes, so Brunhilde forked over the jeweled dagger and the bandits let the party proceed in peace. The first few rooms in the dungeon proved fairly typical; there were lots of monsters and some experience to be gained, but almost no treasure. On one of the earliest raids, one thing unique did occur. An unfamiliar word was found written on the map - "Toyota". Alexis pondered aloud, "I wonder what 'Toyota' means?" and suddenly, POOF!, to everyone's amazement, a man dressed in rich, gaudy robes appeared out of nowhere. When questioned, he introduced himself as Toyota, the foreman/ caretaker of the dungeon. He explained that he had been hired to feed the monsters and keep an eye on the place. Visitors he stated, could call on him by merely saying his name aloud (in any context) and he would immediately arrive. However, once summoned, the summoner would be required to make a request of him. Toyota guaranteed the request would be satisfied, (his motto is, "You asked for it, you got it."), but the requester would then be required to pay for this service. Toyota sets the price, non-negotiable, AFTER the request is made. You do have the option of paying for a request to find out how much your request will cost, but payment will be made...you have one of two choices, pay or retire from adventuring. As an example of what he meant, Toyota explained that the party had just requested information from him (who he was, what was his role in the dungeon, etc.) and the price of that request was that all party members would be required to come and visit his rooms when the last party member reached 5th level. This didn't sound too bad until Toyota mentioned that he lived in the back of the deepest level of the dungeon...! As a parting gesture of good will, he mentioned that his powers were limited by the confines of the dungeon; he could not be summoned except from within these catacombs. On that note he cheerily disappeared in a puff of pink smoke. Well, everyone quickly agreed to refer to him as "Mr. T" in the future, so as not to invoke him unnecessarily. It was also agreed that he should be called upon only in dire straits, when a deus ex machina was required for survival, since the price was likely to be almost as bad as the calamity that necessitated his aide! So concurring, the party made an uneventful return to Blund, where things weren't quite as tranquil and bucolic as one might desire for rest and relaxation.... [Next Issue: "Destination Tark Cindel"] Edited by: Lynda Feng [houxz!llf] & Chris Sotinsky [houxe!chris]