The Dark Fellowship
The Throne Card
Chapter One
The rain crashed down on the four riders, yet the heavy cloaks they wore kept them dry for the most part. Beneath his cloak the tallest, bulkiest of the four bore on his back a small chest laden with platinum and gold ingots- a remnant of the loot he and his companions claimed from the fabled burial mounds of creatures called hatori, deep in desert in the south. The rider to his right hid the plethora of various gems also acquired from that episode in his backpack. They rode on reptilian beasts with curved beaks sharp talons on their forelegs.
The four stopped before the stable, close enough for the hired hand unlucky enough to have to work in the rain to make out their mounts but too far for him to discern anything more detailed. Garadon, the only one of the four able to pass for human, dismounted; while approaching the youth he (or it, when not impersonating someone of another race) lowered his hood to show the face of a handsome, nondescript human male.
While the doppelganger's appearance may have put the stable boy slightly at ease, the youth couldn't help pointing at the mounts the four showed up on, "Those animals- I don't know if this is the place…"
"They're called Croltom," Garadon replied, "And they need no shelter tonight. I was wondering if you could direct me and my friends to Steelward Tower."
"Steel- oh right," the boy remembered the original name for what the locals now called Stoneruin, "Past those closed up mines," the youth pointed toward what looked like several hills to the northeast, "But I should tell you, once the local iron veins dried up the place was deserted- they say monsters live there now."
"Oh? Well, thank you for the information," Garadon slipped the boy a silver piece for his trouble then returned to his companions. He looked to the one name Kezreck- seven feet of muscle with protruding ears and a bear-like nose- and said to him, "It seems you have squatters on your manse, milord."
Three weeks earlier…
The four yet to be known as the Dark Fellowship stalked dangerous quarry on foot. They followed a path that appeared to be made from a giant snake yet was coated in slime no respectable serpent would ever give off.
It would be naive to think the creature was not a slithering plague; even though they made no plans to get too close precautions would be taken. Their resident healer Path-Chak, standing on two of his six insectoid limbs, telepathically cast Protection from Disease upon himself, and by touching the other three each with one of his four upper arms, them as well.
They tracked the monster to a yawning cave. Littered about its lair were strewn the shattered bones of previous meals, including several croltorm. Indeed the beast had brought another of the reptiles to its lair moments ago; and undoubtedly was already tearing the unlucky animal apart with its multiple pairs of jaws- the very reason the four hunted it in the first place.
Aside from the fear of disease none of the four liked the notion of fighting within the cramped confines of the cave- better the beast should come to them. As they planned Kezreck alone stood out in the open; one hand hovering above the metal sphere that hung from his belt while the other readied a crude javelin. The spear's haft came from local wood but its head was a serrated tooth he'd pulled from the carcass of a hatori- the dreaded 'crocodiles of the sands'.
Kezreck's allies kept behind the treeline. In addition to the shape-shifter Garadon and the thri-kreen Path-Chak stood Shoutanei, a dark-skinned elf educated in the ways of wizardry, wearing a heavy robe holding in one hand a staff that formerly was the femur of a once long-legged, unidentified organism.
Lifting a free hand the dark-elf (or drow) cast an enchantment to lure the beast from its roost. Though known as Minor Illusion it was as capable or creating false sounds as sights- in this instance the clanging sounds of a company of armed, armoured warriors on the attack.
At first what seemed the heads of six snakes emerged; soon after they revealed themselves to be multiple heads of the same serpent! From further down along its body stretched two tentacles, each terminating in pads from which filthy, sharp spines protruded. Out of that cave bolted the dreaded Gulguthydra.
Nature would never have allowed the merger of a hydra and the scavenger of other beings' filth known as the otyugh, and Shoutanei suspected the first such freaks came from the experiments of a foolhardy (and hopefully long dead) wizard who felt he simply had to play the Creator. Nevertheless one was here now, and the four had taken employment toward rectifying that situation.
Plucking the sphere from his belt Kezreck hurled it toward the beast; once it got close enough Shoutanei yelled the command word "Bludstuk!". At once the sphere- the Iron Bands of Bilarro- unravelled to truss up the gulguthydra- until the combined strength of its six necks and two tentacles broke it free.
Falling back on their contingency plan Garadon and Path-Chak diverted the beast's attention from Kezreeck; Garadon with his shortbow while Path-Chak hurled two triangular throwing blades he called chatkcha. The missiles failed to inflict serious harm but succeeded as a distraction while Shoutanei cast the spell he had prepared for this situation. At once a mass of black tentacles stabbed from beneath the gulguthydra's serpentine body, pummelling, grappling and more importantly- preoccupying it.
While most would-be heroes died attacking an ordinary hydra's multiple heads the four took a different approach; while the tentacle spell kept the monster busy Garadon's arrows and Kezreck's javeli penetrating the aberration's single heart. Once the six necks stopped thrashing and Garadon could no longer sense the heads' surface thoughts (crude and simple they may be), the four approached the monster- stopping when they saw it's leaking blood kill the grass it touched, sending tufts of smoke into the air.
"Damn," Kezreck muttered, "Even the thing's blood is toxic."
"Yes," Garadon pondered this; emptying his quiver he plated the arrows into the dirt soaked with toxic monster blood. After a minute or so he replaced them, while Kezreck stretched out his arm to retrieve his javelin- the haft pulled free but the spear's toothy head remained lodged in the beast's heart.
Kezreck decided some souvenirs weren't worth recovering.
Lashing the gulguthydra's severed heads to an impromptu travois as proof of their deed, the four returned to their temporary employers who greeted them with cheers. A swarthy breed of human, the nomadic Norami were a people who suffered from a reputation almost as sinister as that of drow or bugbears- except for most Norami the infamy was largely undeserved. This particular caravan used croltorm as mounts and beasts of burden; when the gulguthydra started preying on their animals they had sought help- and found the four, offering in payment a croltorm as a mount for each, as they were lacking in gold and gem.
A youth approached, leading the beasts promised by their bridles. He also handed them bags of feed- insisting that despite their appearance the animals could digest oats as easily as flesh, even if they did seem to prefer the latter.
As the four turned they heard the creaky vice of a Norami matron call them toward the wagon on which she sat; when they came closer she asked through gaped teeth, "You lost something when you killed that monster, didn't you?"
Taking a guess at what she meant Shoutanei answered, "The gulguthydra destroyed something that had helped us take down a dragon," referring to the lost magical restraints it had broken out of.
"Oh- that too," the matron replied, "Perhaps I can compensate in some way," from within the folds of her robe she brought forth a deck of cards fashioned from dirty ivory, "Have any of you ever heard of the Deck of Many Things?"
"I have," Garadon backed a step, "Depending on the card one draws he either benefits from some blessing or brings upon himself a horrible- if not fatal curse," He turned to his allies, "If any of you want to gamble with your lives this way I won't stop you, but you would be better to cut our losses."
Kezreck snorted at the uneasy expressions on their faces, "Pansies," then before they could stop him he plucked a card with a king's throne on one face.
For a second the bugbear almost swooned but righted himself; telling his concerned friends he felt different, he felt a little more- charming, though he'd still be boorish by most people's standards. Then he noticed the card he picked had somehow changed places with a sheet of parchment; bringing it closer he read, "Deed to the fortress known as…"
"It's a legal document," Shoutanei started, "Proves that you rightfully-"
"I know WHAT a deed is," Kezreck snapped back, "I just never heard of this Steelward Tower before. Hey lady-"
But the woman was gone- along with her wagon. Except for the croltorm handed over as payment, the entire caravan had vanished.
"I hate it when people do that," Kezreck grunted.