AN: A campaign that I am a player in has been running for a long time now, and we just concluded our Tomb of Annihilation adventure, which when the writing of the first of these "memoirs" takes place. On the whole, the campaign is full of such wonderful moments that I just have to put it in story. The chapters will likely all be fairly short (though most will be longer than this one). Of course, each one is told from the perspective of my own character, Vicben, a half-elf bard(later valor bard/battle master). I hope you enjoy it. Also, fair warning: minor spoilers for Tyranny of Dragons and major spoilers for Tomb of Annihilation are going to be everywhere in later chapters.
Let me preface this tale with an introduction. I am Vicben Featherslayer, the half-elf son of a high elf sorcerer single parent whose work kept him incredibly busy, but also gave him troves of tales to tell when he did spend time with me while I was a young child. It sparked in me a love for stories and the adventures and deeds of heroes. I wanted to go along with one of these great adventurers, and write about their various exploits.
I'm hoping I can accomplish that here. I'm not sure if it's what they would have wanted, but it's the duty of bards to immortalize these things in story and song, so I will give my best effort.
I suppose this tale starts with my ambush near Wyvern Tor. I was only Vicben then. I had a much cleaner-cut face, and my skin was fair. Nothing like my current condition.
To this day, I don't know who it was that ordered my capture, or why it happened.
I was on my way back to my home city, Baldur's Gate, delivering an urgent message request for reinforcements to Commander Ontharr Frume, when I was struck from all directions in which I couldn't see.
When I next woke, I was in a dark cell, only dimly lit by candle, with four others. Strangers then, but no longer now.
Ace Hardlight, human. He was the first to speak in that dark cell, and I answered his introductory questions and idle chatter in kind. A good man, if a bit impulsive when it came to the fairer sex.
He explained that we now found ourselves in The Gauntlet in Calimshan's Menshaka.
Of course I had heard of The Gauntlet. Perhaps not a soul in Faerun hadn't.
A series of battles awaited both myself and the others in the cell, and if we made it through, we could go free.
The next person in our cell to speak up was Kade Strongwill, a halfling then, and a quite young man at only sixteen years old. A devoted servant to Ilmater, and perhaps one of the greatest souls to ever grace Thal with his presence.
The fourth was Noclu, a gnome, and wizard. To this day, his true motivations elude me. He was more often a hindrance than a help to our goals, but I can explain that later on in this tale. For now though, he was an ally in the same boat as the rest of us.
Finally, there was Mellik, tiefling. An unnatural one at that. Only much later from the mouth of Ace, who was closer to him than I, did I learn of his origins as a test subject for some unnamed cult. Still, nervous as he was, he was a valuable ally in battle, and like Ace and Kade, a good friend.
It has been too long for me to remember the specifics of each battle, only that there were five of them, we had to use weapons from a rack of worn-down artillery, and to cast any spells, myself, Kade, and Noclu all needed material components as our belongings were being held (along with our spellcasting focuses). I remember getting caught in a bear trap hidden beneath the sand of the arena, and being happy because I would have the blood I needed to cast my Bane spell. A spell which I thankfully no longer have need to know.
I also remember Noclu getting caught in a bear trap himself, but Ace and I were on the other side of the arena, and Mellik and Kade were busy fighting off enemies of their own. His body went unconscious, stabilized, and not much later he woke up, realized his predicament, and let out a piercing scream.
Before our fifth and final match, we were handed strange potions delivered to us by a V.F. who wished to talk to us should we make it out.
We were squared up against a single druid, who gave us all a run for our money. I don't recall how we defeated him, though to hazard a guess, I expect a well-placed bash of Kade's mace did the final blow.
We were then set free, and given our belongings back to us. Ace led us to the only inn to be found in Low-Town Menshaka, where Kade, Mellik, and I first met Bron, as well as Nan. Bron would be a helpful source of information throughout all the adventures of this tale, and Nan was a crone of a woman who protected Ace like a child and flirted with all her customers, bringing unease to most, even horror to many, but Noclu enjoyed it.
This was my first encounter with these exceptional people. It would lead to many adventures. Triumph, defeat, happiness, and heartbreak would all follow, starting with the man who came knocking on the inn at midnight the next day. We were to deliver supplies to the manor of Virian Flax, our mysterious patron during our trip to The Gauntlet.