Aporeu chronicles Issue 63: For the sake of literacy

Stories from the adventurers

This week

Short introduction

For the sake of literacy by Gerolt

Had a mission today to help out a friend of that crazy old gnome from Through the Pages, little bookstore near the market. How that old geezer has any friends to begin with, I have no idea.
So, I arrive at the guild hall, runnin’ late on account of a bit of an emergency at home. So much for bein’ professional. Waitin’ for me there are Noaz, Surron, the doc, and some blue lookin’ woman from the city guard I haven’t seen before, named Midrina. Asked her if this was some sorta exchange project with the guard, but turns out people can just skip bronze and go straight to bein’ a gold adventurer with the right connections. I was already preparin’ myself for havin’ to babysit some jumped-up rookie, but I needn’t have worried. Turns out there’s some people in the guard actually worth a damn.
After some lengthy introductions, I start to wonder why I bothered to hustle, since V decided to delay things some more anyway with his whole pre-mission “we’re all friends now” gunshul. No handler for this quest, so we head straight to the client. Been to the bookstore before, so I knew the way. While walkin’, I try to make nice with Surron. Was awkward as hell, but I had to try since Jade seems to like the weirdo for some reason.
At the store, we find Pinker, the old gnome that somehow runs the place despite havin’ a memory like a sieve and the attention span of a quipper that got hit in the head too many times. V seems to somehow connect with the old man and drag some useful info out of him. Guess that forked tongue of his is good for somethin’. While the rest decides book shoppin’ can’t wait till after, I start headin’ over to the sactum to look for an old woman named Lorinna, who got ambushed and robbed on her way to Arnheim. I’m startin’ to wonder why anyone still thinks travelin’ on that road west is a good idea.
The others catch up just in time for me to find a priest and ask her where to find a near-sighted and possibly wounded old gnome woman. V seemed upset I didn’t ask for the priest’s life story first, but at least Midrina can appreciate a direct approach. The priest leads us to Lorinna, who apparently got shot in the leg with an arrow and still managed to leg it three miles to Arnheim. Gotta say, I’m kinda impressed.
Needless to say, our job is to find the bandits or whatever that attacked this lady and take care of ‘em. Preferably recover the books she was movin’ too. She mentioned somethin’ about the attackers bein’ “shamblers”, which worried me a little. On our way out of the sanctum, V goofs around and uses some sort of magic to try and make himself look more attractive. I don’t even bother askin’ what that’s about and push on.
On the way out, I try to focus on the mission, but the doc just keeps managin’ to get under my skin with his constant prodding and fake camaraderie. Would have completely missed the obvious wagon tracks off the road if it weren’t for Noaz keepin’ an eye out. We follow the tracks into the hills, and Surron does that scouting magic thing like Quen, spottin’ some sort of cave ahead.
We decide to get a closer look. Midrina says she’s good at bein’ sneaky, so the two of us go in to take a look. She wasn’t lyin’ about her skill, lost track of her myself when we got to the entrance. I noticed some skeletons standin’ guard, great, undead. and was goin’ to get Midrina and head back to report, but this city guard woman decided she was gonna take ‘em out herself instead. Scramblin’ to make somethin’ out of the situation, I climbed up the ledge to where the skeletons were and took one out before shoutin’ back to the others to move their ass and help out.
The skeletons didn’t seem too much trouble, but I was split up from the rest and fightin’ alone, which ain’t my strength. To make things worse, two massive piles of bones near the cave entrance suddenly started movin’, one headin’ for me and the other for Midrina. I’d never seen an undead like this before, so I call upon Lathander to guide my blade. It strikes true, but this new thing is damn tough.
As a tide of bone washes over me, I call upon Lathander again, for protection this time. The glint of the sun on my shield tells me he’s with me, but then so is Surron’s damn bird, which decides to help out by takin’ a shit on my head. The others finally arrive, with V gettin’ behind this thing that’s tryin’ to bash me to bits. Even in the heat of battle, this guy still finds time to taunt me and get on my nerves. Gotta admit though, sure was glad to have somebody fightin’ alongside me.
Noaz joins the fight as well, swingin’ a big new axe that looks like it was forged in hell itself. Apparently, the big undead thing didn’t much like bein’ surrounded, which it proved by collapsin’ into a landslide of bones to batter us with. It hurt like hell, and it killed Surron’s bird too, which you’ll have to forgive me for not cryin’ ‘bout.
Over on the other side, Midrina is takin’ on one of those things alone, though V and Noaz softened it up a bit on their way over. She lands a good hit, and suddenly this pile explodes into an entire horde of skeletons. The things swarm around Midrina, and I’m already figurin’ we’ll have to bring her back in a bag. Turns out I underestimated her again, woman is damn near unkillable despite wearin’ no armor.
We take out our big guy too, and the same thing happens. Before these new skeletons can do much however, V uses some sort of unholy power to sap all the color from the world and drag more than half of the things to their doom with black tentacles. Weird thing is, though it looked creepy as hell, there was somethin’ strangely… bright ‘bout it too.
As if V’s death magic wasn’t weird enough, Surron decides to add to the madness by conjurin’ up a herd of odd-lookin’ cows, which charge into the skeletons like a damn wing of mounted lancers. I catch my breath, havin’ nearly blacked out from my injuries, while the others clean of the last of the undead. Midrina emerges from the pile of bones they leave, covered in blood and grinning like a madwoman.
We decide to take a breather to recover and assess our strength. I felt pretty tapped out already, and this was just the first fight, hadn’t even gotten into the cave yet. I feel the talkin’ stone in my pocket and think about lettin’ Jade know the mission might not go well. However, I only get one use per day outta this thing, and I don’t wanna worry her unless it’s serious. In the end, I press on and focus on gettin’ back in fightin’ shape.
With everyone ready to continue, I check the entrance and don’t see or feel any more undead. Noaz takes this as his cue to stoll in so he can better show off his new glowy gem he’s got on his armor. When he goes further inside, Noaz seems to get confused by somethin’ and claims the cave looks different on the inside somehow. I’m assumin’ he must be back on those mushrooms, but then I follow him in and can’t believe what I’m seein’. Steppin’ into the cave, we suddenly find ourselves in a big open field outside, with a big, round tower in the middle.
Seem logical whoever stole the goods must live in that tower, and I figure it’s probably some wizard type considerin’ the weird cave. Midrina and I get scout duty again, with her simply slippin’ through the front door while I use a grapplin’ hook that V loans me to enter through the third floor window. Climbin’ up to take a peek, I find myself face-to-face with some armored warrior whose breath smells like death. This Dukhal starts tryin’ to undo the grapplin’ hook, so I don’t hesitate and rappel down as far as I can before he gets it loose. Still fall on my ass pretty hard, but at least I didn’t turn into a red stain on the ground.
With the sneaky infiltration plan a bust, we regroup to form a new plan. Midrina says she saw a guy behind a desk inside, and we decide to just try and talk to him. The cart we were lookin’ for is on the ground floor, so clearly this guy had somethin’ to do with it, just need him to explain what and why.
There’s nothin’ stoppin’ us from just walkin’ upstairs, so we just head up. Once there, we find this suspicious man just sittin’ there. He’s sure got an evil look ‘bout him, with the horns and red skin an’ all. The whole room just smells of demons and undead. With some proddin’, he admits the skeletons were his, and that they were the ones that attacked the gnome woman. However, the guy claims he ain’t responsible for the actions of the abominations he summoned, which doesn’t sit right with me.
There’s talk ‘bout just takin’ back Lorinna’s books and callin’ it a day, but somethin’ about leavin’ this clearly dangerous necromancer here to harass travelin’ merchants as he pleases goes against my instincts. I argue my case with the others. Surron seems to be on my side, and Noaz is waverin’, but V is adamant and I’m feelin’ the effects of his silver tongue breakin’ me down. I’m about to relent, decidin’ it ain’t my problem after all, when Midrina suddenly pulls a bow and takes a shot at the dark wizard. I’m surprised to see a city guard with this kinda balls, maybe Midrina’s captain had her join the guild because he couldn’t handle her or somethin’.
Noaz seems pretty disturbed by the sneak attack, but the rest of us leap into action. The necromancer starts weavin’ some sort of spell, but Surron puts a stop to that, freezing the guy in place with a spell of his own. I rush up, figurin’ this was my chance to end the fight in one decisive blow. Didn’t count on the wizard havin’ prepared some sort of arcane barrier, which my blade glances off of. V runs up next to me. He puts his hand on the necromancer and the guy just… melts, flesh rotting away and sloughin’ off the bone in seconds.

Seems V managed to cover for my mistake, and the shame stings bad. I’d be pissed, but still better to have that necromancer dead than alive and castin’ spells at us. That’s the thing ‘bout wizards; easy to kill, but let them live long enough to get a few spells off, and you won’t live to regret it.
Just when we think the fight’s over without a hitch, a small demon appears outta nowhere and stings the doc with its tail. I push V aside and manage to at least erase some of my debt to him by banishing this thing back to the hell it crawled out of with Lathander’s cleansin’ light.
Meanwhile, Surron and Midrina have finished off the armored undead, and we proceed to shakin’ the place down. We recover the missin’ books, as well as some other goods. Midrina uses some kinda magic to lift the broken cart we found while Noaz and V fix it up. I just do what I can, haulin’ books and other stuff to the cart with good ol’ fashioned muscle power.
We head back to town, mission successful and a cart full of loot. However, I can’t help but think that I wasn’t performin’ as I should have today. Maybe my skills and discipline are slippin’. Maybe the others are leavin’ me in the dust. Maybe V is just impossible to work with, useful as his creepy powers are. Or maybe I’m just more distracted havin’ what’s really important to me so far away rather than at my back where she can watch over me while I keep her safe.

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For the sake of literacy by Vasilievski

Doctors Log entry 13
Doctors Disclaimer Anything you read is the clear and truthful memory of Viktor Vasilievski. If you recall it differently, then I am sorry about your mistakes.
Another day, another mission, and today we recant the tale of the Shield of Dawn, slayer of evil, destroyer of Necromancers and defiler of undead. Our tale begins at a request to find a missing shipment of books, ordered by a lovely Gnomish bookkeeper, called Pinker. Normally, there are quest handlers, but it appears Lornan was too busy with the new bronze rookies, and the gold quest handlers are still out of town. But at least Loïs had the mission request up, and it had reasonably clear instructions.
I’m met with Surron, Ravencaller of the West, Noaz, the Sword of the people, an air Genasi, which I remember as a guard, named Midrina, and Gerolt, the Shield of Dawn. I greet all my old friends, and speak to Midrina, about how I prefer adventuring. With a bond of trust. With introductions finished, Noaz surprises me with an experimental potion. I wish I could say I researched its contents, but it seemed like I needed it during the mission. So know that the Sword of the People valiantly saved a humble doctor in a mission that went way over his head.
As we arrive at Pinkers humble abode, a lovely book store named Through the Pages, he hails Gerolt, who has been browsing. It appears he is looking for books concerning procreation between different species. I inform him I would be more than willing to help with the enterprise, but it is met with a modicum of animosity. It appears the subject is touchy, so I refrain from prying. I speak with the lovely Pinker, who has a bit of a scattered mind. But, by merely prodding the right places, and asking the correct questions, the quest is laid out for us easily.
A lady, named Lorinna, was bringing books from Taviacen, when her cart was ambushed, and the shipment was stolen. The lady managed to escape, and is currently residing in the Sanctum. I also ask about the Shadowfell, and Pinker, bless his soul, goes off to find any information he may acquire for me. With that sorted, the Shield of Dawn pushes on, and steers us towards the great Sanctum, where his strong, muscular features impress a priestess sufficiently that she swoons and tells him everything without even the need of basic social interaction. But no ladies, the Shield of Dawn is a taken man. Unlike The Ravencaller, or the Sword of the People! Remember, they love signing their autograph, so feel free to ask them for one if you see any!
Lorinna is recovering in one of the shrines alcoves, and has a bit of a sight issue. Poor soul thinks I’m a lady, and who am I to change her beliefs. With a little interaction, we figure out that she was a few miles outside of town and got assaulted by shambling things that shot her in the thigh. She then hid, and slowly dragged herself to town, without shipment. Thankfully she remembers one of the books names, and with that information, we travel to the scene of the crime.
I explain to the Ravencaller the convenience of becoming another man, but it appears to have an opposite effect, as he stops believing my good intentions and fears I may have bad ones. To be fair, it takes time, and miracles, to have people believe. The Ravencaller will one day realize I am merely there to make sure the others survive. The Shield of Dawn appears a little flustered by our interaction, but thankfully, we have others. The Sword of the People finds the cart, and Midrina deduces that the tracks mean one of the wheels came off, and it was dragged, making tracking it easy. We follow the tracks, towards what appears to be a stairway. On the way, the Ravencaller warns us of this, using his third eye, similar to Quenvayas, the Eye of Twilight. A very nice magical effect that allows you to extend your sight using animals, or in the case of Quenvayas, visions of the future.
Midrina suggests a stealthy approach, and I point out we’re all in armor. It appears, the Shield of Dawn however, knows how to move in armor, and it is decided they will scout ahead. Unfortunately, after a while it seems there was an altercation, and Midrina is fighting, as the Shield yells us over, and enters the fray as well. The enemies are skeletons, which seem rather easily dealt with, as well as giant bone constructs.
I suggest to the Sword of the People his bow may be necessary for now, as he shoots one of the constructs to great effect his shots echo like bells across the plains. I attempt to assist the Sword of the People with what I can do, as The Ravencaller of the West provides a ranged support.
It takes some time, but Midrina manages to down the bone construct using the Sword of the People’s aid. Then to my surprise, the construct erupts into many smaller skeletons. But I have no time to think about it, as the construct I am now close to, who has been fought off, bravely, by Gerolt alone, explodes, and then reforms. Thankfully, Gerolt is here to save us, as he valiantly slashes the creature down. Then, as hope fades, the Cowvalery arrives.
Surron has summoned a herd of Rothé and they begin goring the skeletons, as Midrina, The Sword, the Shield, and the Caller clean up the terror. I even helped a little here and there. As it seems, being the best of the best, means sometimes even the social butterfly has to show his fangs. But mostly, it’s the actual heroes doing the work.
After we finish, we take a moment to regain our composure. I explain I can, if need be, bring back a dead person, provided I have the time. It is again, taken with distrust. I tell them that I can also withdraw the statement, but then I will need them to sign a no-revival waiver. Apparently they do prefer life over death.
We decide to push onward, and Midrina and the Shield of Dawn scout ahead once more. This time using a grappling hook, which of course, a good Doctor provides. It takes a little while, but it seems there is a man sitting at a desk, who is most likely the culprit, as the cart is downstairs. We take a moment to assess the situation, then move in to ask him questions.
It appears, while Ulfgar, the Pig King, has Words using his hammer, Midrina has Questions using her arrows. As such, combat ensues, probably good, because the vile Necromancer was preparing its magical onslaught. But not if the Ravencaller is with you. His magic binds the Necromancer, and the glory that unfolded before me was… Intense.
A bright beam of light shone upon the great hero, the Shield of Dawn, as he charged forwards. His blade aloft, as his battlecry echoed across the plains. I could not resist his call, as I followed his charge. The Shield raised his sword like an apotheosis made flesh, and struck deep as the Necromancer wailed in agony. To no avail, as he succumbed instantly to the greatest hero of our time, leaving me with nothing to do, except fight off a demonic fiend, which came from the shadows. Thankfully, even that fiend was swiftly dealt with by the Shield of Dawn.
I wish I could say that I knew what the others did during that time, but other than knowing they took care of a Skeletal abomination in a suit of armor, I cannot say. Sadly, sometimes the radiance and glory of one hero, takes over the limelight.
Praise be the Shield of Dawn. Praise be his power. With that, we collected the books, and Midrina uses her magic to levitate the cart, which was still without wheel. It takes some effort but thankfully, the Sword of the people knows how to mend things. With that, we load up the books, including the others in the tower, as the Ravencaller grows us a path to follow. Pinker will have some more books to sift through, and Lorinna will not be destitute.
And me? Well, I survived, and I managed to make a few new friends.

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On the next issue:

The eight symbol