Bob the Bards Grand Adventure
Chapter 12
That evening the recovering champions settled into the keep while Bob looked out from the highest tower over the lands at the setting sun. The raven companion was on his way back to town to spread the good news that the evil is finally been vanquished.
As Sir Jeepea approached with two flagons of mulled wine Bob commented that he fears this grand adventure is going to end soon.
Sir Jeepea passed Bob a flagon and replied. From your description of how you arrived I suspect you may be correct. There is lore of a gate way near here that leads to other worlds. Maybe tomorrow we shall see if it is true but for tonight we celebrate our victory and remember our fallen friends.
Yes, you a correct my friend, said Bob. Let us join the others. And they joined the victory celebration as all good adventure stories should. Bob sang most of the evening and into the middle of the night entertaining them all. Of all the songs he performed the comedic Company With No Name was the most appreciated.
Come the morning Bob was found once again upon the tower watching the sunrise. The latest batch of good berries had cured the last of the wounded (and his arm) as a hail from below summoned him to breakfast with his companions before they departed.
Many of the champions accompanied Bob to the gate way that they found was set into a rock face. They watched as over time it shifted views from place to place. Some scenes showed it to be day and for others it was night and after some viewing Bob spotted a familiar looking scene of the Saffin Valley. They let the images pass by once more and Bob confirmed the location was of his local valley looking towards the Great Keep of Saffin. Bob pointed out the distant theater, the training barracks, the stables and training fields below the mountain keep.
As the images started over again Bob turned to the other champions and said his fare wells. Bob took off the magic shield, sword and tabard and presented them to his friend Sir Jeepea. Here, take these back to the people for their future need.
No Sir Bob, replied Sir Jeepea. The legends say that they are meant to stay with you until your passing. Then they will return to await a new hero. Clasping each other's arm and vowing eternal friend ship Bob turned and saluted the champions before playing the bone flute to pass the time until the view of the keep was about to returned. Bob made his way to the portal as he continued to play. Just before the portal he turned around and bowed to his audience of champions, doffing his hat as he did so. Slowly he rose up and began another tune as he entered the portal to Saffin.
Bob was unaware that a chaotic entity had been watching him in his adventure and been waiting a long long time to implement its convoluted plan. In fact it had been waiting since before the ancient tome artifact was even completed almost an eon ago. With an amused thought it watched Bob's safe arrival in the Saffin valley before it activated the smallest of changes to the tome then cackled as its latest manipulation of this worlds order was started. Now was the time to begin another game of the gods.
A wave of dizziness passed over Bob before he realized he was lying in a field of wild flowers some distance from the Great Keep of Saffin and that he was once again buck naked. In the palm of one hand he held some tiny items, a tiny sword pin, a tiny ribbon, a tiny disk, a tiny silver and bejeweled ankh, a bone pin and three sprouting shrubberies. An almost proud Bob made his naked way back to the keep (but first stopping along the way at the Halfway Pub for a bare naked pint of ale). There he found out that his leaders, the six mighty adventures he served, had followed him into the ancient magical tome to rescue him. Of the senior leadership of the realm all that was left was the returned Bob and the Stewart of Saffin Keep.
Soon he was back in his room where the ancient tome still rested under guard. After he recovered his cloths Bob checked the tome and there it was. His grand adventure was now written down in the ancient magical book detailing everything for any future readers along with instructions on making a holy bombard. But the glowing words telling the story of the six adventurers were obscured as if they were still being written. Bob explained to the steward of the keep the nature of the situation and the watch was maintained upon the six adventurer's story page while a squad of guards went to the area where Bob had appeared (and carried extra cloths for the bosses).
The next day the ancient tomes guards reported that the story about the six mighty adventurers had finally been finished. Bob read their story aloud and what he read brought both groans of pity and belts of laughter from the great keeps staff. But all too soon they realised that the adventurers had not been returned home to the Saffin Valley as had Bob. Magical scrying and holy divination revealed that the six were now far away, they were in great danger and were most alarmingly now entangled in a game of the gods.
But that is for the next tale to be told by Bob the Bards tale of the "Six Mighty Adventurer's Miserable Adventure" followed by the new tale of their failed return and beginning of their epic world changing adventure.
Bob Has Acquired A lot (D 2nd Edition)
The Bone Flute of the Rat, enchants/attracts rats and rat-folk/were-rats within hearing to start dancing and spinning helplessly.
The Ancient Tabard of Honour (11 intelligence, 2 charisma, empathic, alignment neutral good, armour class 2, +5 protection, (animated+spell extension 3): limited independent movement (block-grasp-trip or whip strike dmg d2 within 6 feet). fly (3xday improved haste+spellextension 3), detect evil/good 20 foot radius, playful personality. Requires one day of attunement)
The Ancient +5 Long Sword of Justice (d6 sonic/holy damage), intelligence 13, alignment lawful good, dancing (animated+improved haste spell+extension 3), and singing (carries the bards song plus its effects after one complete recital allows the user a free action beginning when the sword starts singing), first strike(preferred foes ear as target), counter attack, master of all dancing swords (commands all other nearby dancing swords to activate in 30 foot radius), joyous/outgoing personality.
Three different potent quick growing shrubbery sprouts that will be planted in a soon to be built garden of the gods in the town of Saffin. Unknown to anyone there is a certain tiny caterpillar's egg under one leaf.
The Ancient +5 Large Shield of Truth (intelligence 12, limited speech), alignment chaotic good, (self-animated+improved haste spell+extension 3), limited independent movement for 2 of 3 actions+auto block (1 per round), bash (1 per round, d6 damage save-or-knock back) or smash (1 per round, d6 strike with the shield rim into a foe, feet are preferred). As a free action the shield grip toggle can open the shield boss revealing a large sun-stone that has been permanently enchanted with the clerical sun-ray spell (All creatures* in 10 foot area in front of the shield roll save vs. spell or blinded 1d3 rounds, those using infravision are blinded for 2d4 rounds. Boisterous personality with outbursts, chants/hums along with the songs. Gives one word statements for each action performed, set free=Liberty!, block=Hah!, bash=Huzzah!, smash=Nii!, sun-ray=Excelsior!, others statements include Nope, Yup, Eh, Doh, Hmmm, etc.
Creatures to whom sunlight is harmful or unnatural suffer permanent blindness if save is failed, and blinded for 2d6 rounds if the save is within its area of effect (10 feet), as well as creatures within 20 feet of its perimeter, lose any infravision capabilities for 1d41 rounds. It dissipates miasma/icor in a 25-30 feet radius. *Undead caught within the sun-ray's area of effect receive 8d6 points of damage, one-half if a saving throw vs. spell is successful. Those undead 20 feet to either side of the sunray's area of effect receive 3d6 points of damage, no damage if a save is successful. In addition, the ray may result in the total destruction of those undead specifically affected by sunlight, if their saving throws are failed.
The ultraviolet light generated by the spell inflicts damage on fungoid creatures and subterranean fungi just as if they were undead, but no saving throw is allowed.
All four items (flute, tabard, sword and shield) are enchanted to shrink down to a tiny size and take the form of a medal with ribbon. The bone flute attaches the tabard to the shield, the tabard forms the ribbon, the sword forms the pin attaching the tabard to the clothing and the shield forms the medal. Takes one round to equip/enlarge and unequip/shrink.