Aporeu chronicles Issue 349: Gielinor: In search of the Myreque
Stories from the adventurers
This issue
It seems even an experienced wizard has trouble understanding the peculiarities of this strange world known as Gielinor. This time, the adventurers are sent to track down an elusive group in need of assistance.Gielinor: In search of the Myreque
A new stranger has appeared in Canifis with a job to track down some local heroes known only as "The Myreque".Gravi
Good day dear reader! Today I have for you the tale of a world that defies explanation. At least, anything I could try to explain it would result in you not believing me until you experienced it for yourself. So, let us not dally and get to the story. I meet with Nox the owl and Sonari the Kalashtar at the Guild hall. Both of my companions today have been to Gielinor before, and nothing they said could have prepared me for the experience that followed. Sonari assuring me that it had to be experienced was not an overstatement. Simply meeting Hans was an experience I was not prepared for. Something done on a mission before today allows us to tap straight into the network Gielinor has for quick travel between cities, and we arrive in the town of Canifis rather than the usual town of Lumbridge. Which Hans says is the usual town one arrives to Gielinor in. I do not profess to understand this world or its quirks. All I know is that someone at the “Hair of the Dog” tavern in Canifis has requested the help of the Guild. So that is where we will go to be informed. Arriving in Gielinor is an experience in itself, with a sensation as if one is flying at great speed, before magically being stopped without injury mere moments from almost certain death. We are each given possession of a “Lode Stone” for use while in Gielinor. An item that will apparently move one back to the last Lodestone platform one arrived at. As Nox helpfully demonstrates, several times. At least these Lode Stones do not seem to be limited in their uses. There is a bit of discussion of each of our abilities, and a minor demonstration of my magical specialization for the benefit of my companions to glimpse at the power I wield as my weapon. Beyond that, the town of Canifis seems like a relatively small village. And everyone in the “Hair of the Dog” tavern seems rather shady. The man that requested our aid included. He wants to aid the Myreque with a shipment of “steel weapons”, to assist in their struggle against the vampire lords that rule over this region. Sounds like a noble enough cause, so we accept. We are also told that a boatman in the town of Mort’ton can assist us in getting to the Myreque. So off to Mort’ton we go. Arriving in Mort’ton through the same high-speed movement that brought us to Canifis, we find the town looking sad and destroyed. But at least in the process of being rebuilt. Sonari wishes to check on the church as he was part of the mission that helped liberate the town of an undead infestation previously. After being part of the conversation with the head priest, who seems more interested in getting back the fancy goods for his church than in the rebuilding of the town that is hemorrhaging population in a search for better fortunes elsewhere, I am uncertain if the town was best served by his survival against the undead infestation that plagued it… At least he told us that the boatman’s boat is in need of repairs. The supplies for which we will NOT be acquiring through a ‘donation’ to his church, but from the merchant in town that seems to have acquired the attention of the gods in the worst way. At least a quick chat with Sonari gets us the needed supplies at a rate that is less heinous than how much the church priest would have ripped us off. And the merchant was at least honest about the fact that he was overcharging.
But, with the supplies gathered, we make our way to the boatman to let him fix his boat, and garner his assistance. The end result is a fixed boat, directions to where we might find the Myreque, and information that the weapons we have been tasked with delivering are rife with Abjuration magic. Oh, and the knowledge that the boatman soiled himself in fear. Nothing my magic cannot clean up so we do not have to suffer the stench during our travels.
...Which are unnaturally quick. I cannot say if it was merely great speed, or if time slowed down, but the distance we traveled does NOT match up to the time spent doing so. But I am not about to look that particular gift horse in the mouth, if it means that we get home that much sooner.
Following the directions that the boatman gave us, we find ourselves face to face with a somewhat bored looking guard in the middle of the mire. Seems we have the correct place. I work some of my magic to aid in passing the test the man has for us to prove we are allies. Getting to the hideout of the Myreque to meet them is simple enough from there.
With the benefit of hindsight, them not expecting a shipment of weapons should have been our first clue something was amiss. Sadly, before we knew what had happened, a vampire had manifested itself and killed 2 of the Myreque by decapitation. Seeming content with that much, while the rest of us were considering that perhaps discretion is the better part of valor and that a heroic retreat to live to fight another day might be our plan of action… Vanstrom the vampire disappears, leaving behind a humongous skeletal dog that burrows from the ground. As he put it: “To finish off the rest”. Considering their first instinct was to fight rather than to flee the creature that instantly took out 2 of their number, I am most glad that we remained to aid the Myreque.
Sonari takes to the frontline, as it were, as Nox and myself remain back somewhat. My Gravitic Grasp was rather unhelpful, but I have come to expect that of it. At least my new spell performed quite well, living up to my expectations. Between the 3 of us, and the remaining Myreque, the beast falls swiftly enough, along with the 2 Shades it summoned to aid itself. Nox slays both the Shades, shortly before Sonari and the glaive he conjured as the fight opened seem to absorb the energy that gives this skeletal creature the semblance of life it possesses.
After the quick but clean fight, we lament the loss of 2 of the Myreque, but the remaining members are smart enough to consider relocating. And I suggest they use aliases to make hiding easier to do as well. Something they apparently had not considered themselves.
We travel back to Canifis, and meet with a man who looks remarkably similar to the man that requested our aid. It would appear the vampire had enthralled him, or borrowed his likeness in some fashion. We are given a trio of orbs he did not understand how they came to be in his possession, but hoped that they could aid us in our hunt for the vampire that tricked us.
After this encounter, we travel to Lumbridge, where Hans is waiting for us with the quest payment and a gift from the Myreque as a token of their appreciation of our assistance in the resulting fight. I am uncertain if I shall be returning to Gielinor any time soon. As a scholar, the strangeness of the world both intrigues me, and honestly scares me a little. A mind as sharp as mine being unable to grasp an understanding of its quirks? I worry too much exposure might warp my mind in ways I do not wish it to be warped. Only time will tell if my relatively brief exposure to it thus far will prove detrimental.
Yours truly,
Gravi Tas, The Master of Magic
Gravi Tas, The Master of Magic
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