Posted by Irzen, Willow, Serna & Scribe
on 6/22/2009, 6:56 pm
"Nice to have you back, Tommy," Alyson stretched her arms, "note to self, don't go to such extremes when calling in favors, ok?"
"Welcome back, Gamer, your presence is both well-needed and well-wanted," The Ranger walked over to Kana and handed the Wolfen her Lightning Bow, "Thank you again, Kana."
"Welcome home, Master Tommy," chirped Serna with a warm smile, "I'm glad you're back with us, safe and sound."
"Ditto!" added The Swordsman patting his friend on the back, "It is good to have you back. And you are right, we do have a lot of work ahead of us. We have to find Aurilaz the Black Dragon and we have to find The Eleventh Talisman and bring it to Venger without actually giving him the thing. Tough assignment, huh?"
"Sounds like Venger has done this before with Dungeon Master's pupils," the elementalist frowned looking at the swordsman and the assassin, "I'm gonna be forward about this quest. I DON'T like it. Not one bit. I had my fair share of talismans and amulets that haven't been properly identified. Nine times out out ten, no one reads the fine print, much less knows the side affects."
"Point taken and duly noted," deadpanned Irzen without adding another word.
"Do you think that there would be anything on the Talisman in the Library that Venger wants us to get?" Kana asked, deciding that getting straight to the point was better than dwelling on what just happened. Tommy's change in appearance was throwing her off a bit, though she found it interesting that he seemed to smell the same.
"The answer to all that you seek does lie within The Great Library, Archer," admitted the Dungeon Master sadly, "But bear this in mind, my young pupils, The Eleventh Talisman cannot be taken it must be given. For the Talisman must always have a bearer and the bearer must always have the Talisman."
"What in the Realm does that mean?" asked Serna with a questioning look.
"I think it means that the power of the talisman is apart of whomever has it," Kana speculated. "Almost a symbiotic relationship. And I guess it needs someone of their own free will to use it. But what are the prerequisites to being given it?"
"In a nutshell, the item in question can only be freely from one to another. Whether for good or bad, Venger must NOT acquire it, period." Seriah looked at the party with a serious gaze. "The evil one does not need another item of power."
"Agreed," replied Willow with a firm nod, "The Dark Lord is too powerful as it is. Any further additions to his power will only spread his darkness that much faster across the Realm."
”Sounds a bit like the Sangreal,” the Gamer commented. “Which suggests certain things to me... Hey!” He perked up suddenly. “That could be fun! I've always wanted to go on a Grail Quest.” He grinned wickedly as he glanced over at the Swordsman. “Can't I face just a little peril?”
"Tommy," The Swordsman cast a glance at his friend as he sarcastically deadpanned, "We are about to steal a Talisman of Dragon Control from a Black Dragon whose power, strength and size are currently unknown to us. You are about to face all the peril that you can handle. Be happy, my friend, your quest for adventure, peril and excitement is about to be rewarded."
When everyone turned their attention back to Dungeon Master for the answer, the Gnome was gone.
In his place though, War Scribe popped up with a book cart laden with ancient tomes, scrolls and stone tablets, "Okay, everyone, I have everything we need to bring back ol' Laughing Boy. I have tomes for resurrection, scrolls for healing, tablets on raising the undead, the half-dead, the mostly-dead and the just a little dead back to life. Muwha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"
”It'd take a Miracle,” Tommy muttered absentmindedly.
Suddenly she stopped and took the full measure of the now revived Gamer, "Hey! What are you doing up and about? Shouldn't you be on your way to paying an up close and personal visit with Death right about now? What gives?"
”Sorry,” the Gamer replied unapologetically, “I forgot to get an appointment. You know how busy She is these days. Just couldn't squeeze me in.” Soberly, he continued, “Actually, it wasn't Death I had a meeting with, but Her cousin, Oblivion. Who, I've got to tell you, is a lousy conversationalist. 'Hi, Oblivion; how's the wife and kids?' just falls completely flat. Hang about.” He paused, looking around and sniffing the air. “We're There, aren't we? Hey, you guys wouldn't mind if I spent a few years here digging around while you went off to save the Realm, would you?” Without pausing for a reply, he continued, “No, I didn't think so. Maybe in some later series, after DM's next group of Pupils takes center stage. All of which by way of saying thank you, War Scribe...” He paused, working his mouth as if tasting something foul... “for your effort, but what we actually need is any information you have available on the Eleventh Talisman. And, while we're at it, the Black Dragon Aurilaz.” Tommy paused, glancing around. “Anything else?”
"One other thing, War Scribe," added the Swordsman, "Can you please retrieve Neven and give Ianto our thanks for minding him? Thanks."
"Awwww! Do you have to, Lord Irzen?" whined Serna disappointingly, "I really was enjoying life without that mean, nasty Thief hanging around."
"What do I look like?" snapped the Drowling, "Your personal Teleporter? Good grief! I'll get you the knowledge you seek because its my job, but retrieveing that little Thief is going to cost you extra."
"Bill me!"
"Okay! I'll be back with both Neven and the knowledge," The Chroincler disappeared from view with her book cart and shortly reappeared with both the Thief and an even longer book cart occupied by two larger tomes that barely fit upon it.
"You're alright!" Neven smiled, "All of you are okay?" Catching sight of who he thought the Gamer to be, the young Thief asked, "Uh, Master Tommy, is that you?"
"Gather around the cart everyone," War Scribe encouraged the Adventurers to draw near, "I'm going to have to tell a bit of a story for both The Eleventh Talisman and Aurilaz. But when I am done, Kana, can I speak with you--alone?"
Opening the tome on her right to a bookmarked page, the Drowling began, "Before there was a Dungeon Master, before there was a Venger, heck before there was even a Realm of Dungeons and Dragons, this world was called Thalos and it was ruled by two races, The Thalan and The Dragons. The Thalan were a race of humanoid immortals led by Terenor the Terrible who ruled his half of Thalos through death, despotism and the magical power of Ten Talismans which made him the absolute master of his dominion. The Dragons were a long-lived race of flying reptiles led by Tiamat and Bahumet who ruled the other half of the planet. Mind you, this was long before they had their falling out when they were happily wed and all of dragonkind--good and evil--were united under their rule."
"The tyrant Terenor hated the Dragons because they were the only ones who stood between him and absolute control over all of Thalos. To achieve this end, he tried and succeeded in forging an Eleventh Talisman--a Talisman of Dragon Control--so that he could force the Dragons to submit to his rule. Unfortunately for him, Tiamat and Bahumet got wind of his scheme and led all of dragonkind in a great and glorious and bloody and exciting war that not only destroyed The Thalan civilization forever but also brought an end to the world of Thalos as it was once known."
War Scribe furrowed her brow as she turned a very large page, "From that point onward, the records are really fuzzy guys. For example, there is no record of how Aurilaz got her hands on the Eleventh Talisman. But many believe that Aurilaz is in possession of it and this much is known: She now resides within The Topaz Mountains. She seized the place from a colony of Dwarves about a hundred years ago and on more than one documented occassion has been seen fighting off other evil dragons who have tried to move in on her territory. Legend has it that she is breeding a brood of black dragons who have matured to the point that they can take on human form. Legend also has it that she has traumatized a town of Humans who lived in the shadow of the Topaz Mountains so badly that they now worship her as a goddess. Yep! That's right, Aurilaz has a cult following and they are so diehard in pleasing her that they are known to sacrifice their youngest males to her once a year in a blood ritual to keep her from flattening their village. Correct me if I'm wrong, Alyson, but didn't your latest Dwarven friend, Myron Ironbane, come from The Topaz Mountains? If he did, he might be able to help you guys sneak in and out of her lair without getting turned into a pool of acid."
The Drowling closed the book and opened the second one to a book marked page which featured a drawing of The Eleventh Talisman as a bright golden amulet as big as a discus with two dragons--one Oriental and golden in color while the other was Western and black in hue--intertwined around each other in a circular pattern.
"As for the Eleventh Talisman," continued War Scribe, "Most of what is known about it is that it grants the bearer the power to command Dragons--ALL of them--good and evil alike. The rest here is pure conjecture. Some say it expands consciousness. Others say it prolongs life. Still others say it connects the bearer to all Dragons living and dead across all planes of existence from The Dragon's Graveyard to The Realm of Dungeons and Dragons to Dragonwyck and beyond. Yet others say that the Talisman changes the bearer to such an extent that he or she becomes a dragon themselves. But all accounts agree on one thing: The Eleventh Talisman gives its bearer the absolute power to control Dragons--no exceptions!"
The Drowling closed the book, "Anything else, guys?"