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Fri 28th Apr 2023 03:08

Journal #12 - The Death of Tybeerian Quikhand

by Umak Bonebreaker

Tybeerian and Domino went ahead to scout the fortress under a cloak of magic. Not long after, an urgent message came from Domino. Things had fallen apart, she had had to run away. Unsure of what happened to Tybeerian.
 
We were unsure what to do. We couldn’t leave Tybeerian unassisted, yet whoever was in the fortress courtyard was able to detect an invisible rogue – how could we risk an approach? We went as close as we dared, and just before deciding whether to charge into battle, Lug appeared.
 
I still don’t know where he had been this past week, but I was glad to see him. For a few seconds. He blurted out that Tybeerian had fallen. Lug had gone into the fortress in an animal shape and seen Tybeerian interrogated by Straga of the Black Quartz. They demanded him to convince his ward, Arlo, to unattune to Malastar’s staff so that he could more easily be sold to the warlord her, Dumont. He refused, and Myrabel, the daughter of the chief rival to the Quikhands, beheaded him.
 
The light left our eyes. Tybeerian was gone, and the odds were stacked against us. It would be suicide to charge into the fortress now, with nothing to gain. We deduced that this was the base of operations for Dumont, thus it was unlikely that Arlo would be moved quickly, while Straga and her forces would depart soon, having come here explicitly to sell the child. We chose to wait it out, and attack once Straga had left.
 
The next morning, we saw Straga and Myrabel depart with their escort. She had stripped Tybeerian of all his possessions, and marched off towards the mountains. With the reduced force, we invaded in search of Tybeerian’s body, and Arlo.
With Lug’s assistance, we approached in stealth. We took them by surprise, a dozen or so orcs, several mounted on bears, a pair of wolves, and Dumont, a shaman of dark magic it seemed. We slew them, several being pushed into an apparent abyss beneath the icy ledge. During the battle, a strange Wizard of evocation magic joined the fray, seemingly a friend of Tybeerian’s past. I am unsure how he came to be here at this time. Dumont claimed to serve King Gomant, who I believe to be the Orc of the Five Kings. He threatened us with this knowledge, and unleashed an undead frost giant by sundering an ice mountain. Ghiravont smote it before I could even reach the creature. Dumont died by a flurry of blows from all sides, and ultimately falling into the chasm.
 
Lug pointed us towards the interrogation tent; there, we found Tybeerian Quikhand, headless.

Continue reading...

  1. Preface: Umak Bonebreaker:
  2. Journal #1: Funeral at Forge
  3. Journal #2 - Flight to Tamalir
  4. Journal #3 - Journey to Gloedan
  5. Journal #4 - The Butcher’s Pit
  6. Journal #5 - The Wizard Tower
  7. Journal #6 - The Tree
  8. Journal #7 - The Applewood
  9. Journal #8 - Sister
  10. Journal #9 - By Land and Sea
  11. Journal #10 - The Battle of the Bards
  12. Journal #11 - In Pursuit of Arlo
  13. Journal #12 - The Death of Tybeerian Quikhand
  14. Journal #13 - Aldandun
  15. Journal #14 - The Orcs of Aldandun
  16. Journal #15 - The Chalice of Pylanthia
  17. Journal #16 - The Deep Blue
  18. Journal #17 - The Tomb of Baranthus Aubrador
  19. Journal #18 - Journeys and Tales
  20. Journal #19 - The Ruins of Jendra
  21. Journal #20 - Many Warnings
  22. Journal #21 - The Depths
  23. Journal #22 - The Doom of the Pit
  24. Journal #23 - The Sunken Summits
  25. Journal #24 - The Dorndepths
  26. Journal #25 - Scourge of Helmcroft
  27. Journal #26 - The Burial of Korrigash
  28. Journal #27 - The Battle For The Ru’steppes
  29. Journal #28 - The Trial of Ghiravont the Werewolf
  30. Journals 29-32 - Reporting to Zuranda
  31. Journal #33 - The Swamp in the Sky
  32. Journal #34 - The Filter of Souls
  33. Journal #35 - The Battle of Kalypsia’s Keep
  34. Journal #36 - Castle Dalobar
  35. Epilogue

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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.045 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 23:18, May 27 2025