The Ashbury Times
June 612
“All The News That Fits, We Print”
Blythedale Wins Tournament by Half a Point;
Highly Competitive Tourney Lifts Spirits
of Ducal Soldiers
On May 19th of 612, the biannual Ashbury team tournament
was held in the frontier town of
On the eve before the start of the Tournament, a few
adventurers and nobles professed interest in participating and it looked as if
the Tournament might have as few as two teams. When tragedy struck that
evening and two renowned citizens of Ashbury, Dame Daralassia
of
But in some ways, the twin tragedies sparked the fire
of the assembled adventurers. By morning, five teams were ready to
participate, including a hastily formed Nordenn team
and a Romani team formed to honor their fallen kin.
Of the five teams, two baronies were represented, Blythedale and Nordenn.
Additionally, dressed in the traditional colors of Trellheim,
Vanguard represented the people of the Contested Lands (the former Barony of Trellheim). The most colorful team was called For Gregor and was formed in memory of the fallen hero.
Finally, a Thessi ambassadorial contingent
participated, calling themselves Envoy.
Once all the teams were ready, the Tournament started
traditionally with the Colors competition. The colorful, drum playing
Romani easily earned first place while Vanguard earned second place, primarily
due to Ithaca mistakenly referring to Blythedale as a
duchy and calling Leona an Armani elf (she is Kiergani).
Archery was next and Nordenn
stunned everyone by winning handily with more than twice the points of the next
best competitor.
Immediately following Archery, the teams lined up for
the Race. Nordenn’s speed was entirely
unmatched, though the remaining teams were relatively close. Due to one
member of Blythedale having a bad run,
By the end of the third event, the top four teams were
each separated by one point and Nordenn was in a
surprising first place. The large crowd was appreciative of the highly
competitive nature of the Tournament. Many locals and ducal soldiers were
on hand, rooting for their favorite teams.
The next event was the Three-Man Combat. This
year Combat permitted spells and gasses in order to test mixed tactics.
This change made it possible for the team For Gregor
to participate, since the team was composed of no true warriors. For the
most part, might proved dominant over magic or alchemy, though at least one
battle did turn on the abilities of a very efficient spell caster. The
final and most impressive battle was for first place between Blythedale and Envoy.
After dinner, the Tournament continued with Trivia,
although the Thessi team did not participate.
The teams sat in a circle around Seneschal Trevor Donovan while he
quizzed them on various historical, technical, and trivial bits of knowledge.
An early mistake on Trevor’s part proved inconsequential, if a tad
embarrassing for the seneschal. From that point the rest of the contest
went rather smoothly, though Vanguard protested angrily when informed that
“theft” was not a crime in Ashbury (burglary and larceny are
crimes).
Entertainment proceeded immediately after and Envoy
returned for that event. Each of the other four teams presented smart,
funny, or entertaining shows. Blythedale, For Gregor, and Vanguard all performed musical pieces, while Nordenn performed a silent play. Envoy soured the
event by reading an insulting letter to His Majesty, which incited the King to
promptly banish the ambassadors from the kingdom and disqualify the team.
The final portion of the Tournament was held the
following morning. The Caster’s
Citing more pleasant conditions, the superlatives of
the Hunt were held in the tavern. Going into the superlatives, Blythedale and For Gregor were
neck and neck in the Hunt while Nordenn and Vanguard
were almost equally out of contention, a fact of which Trevor was heard
grumbling over when he pointed out that neither team had even bothered to turn
in “a pine cone.” The two most memorable performances of the
superlatives were Ren’s turn at comedy with his
disturbing but brilliantly-ended telling of a Gunther’s
Knee story and the side splittingly funny “Top Ten Books You Can’t
Find in the Bardic College Library” of team Nordenn, reproduced here:
TOP 10
BOOKS NOT FOUND IN THE BARDIC COLLEGE!
A carefully
compiled and researched list brought to your attention by the Norden Tournament team.
10: Knock Knock: A
list of Stone Elf Jokes
9: The Dwarven
12-Step Program by Muggs & Barly
8: A World Without Golems: A Fantasy Novel
by Duke Frost
7: The Green Feast: 101 Vegetarian Recipes From the Sarr Nations
6: How to Charm People and Make Friends, by
Loscarnos de Morganna
5: Drab! The New Black: a Gypsy Guide to
Fashion
4: Top Ten Tropical Vacations Guide by Lord
Find’rth
3: Bursh Bursh Bursh! Teef Care for Young Orcs
2: Necromancy For
Dummies. No Really, It’s for Dummies! by Qualin Brightoak
1: Growing Leaves In Places They Have Never
Been: A Dryad’s Guide to Puberty
One
honorable mention: Imperial Funerals: A Galanthian How To Guide is disqualified from the list as it has been found. It is on semi
permanent loan to King Broomis
After the final tally, Blythedale
and For Gregor tied for first place in the Hunt,
giving each team 4.5 points and putting Blythedale in
first place for the tournament by exactly ½ a point over Vanguard.
Amazingly, the final score was even closer than the above suggests.
If Blythedale had gotten one fewer point in the
Hunt and had come in second, Blythedale and Vanguard
would have tied for first and due to the order of Colors being the tiebreaker
for the final score, Vanguard would have won the
tournament.
With two first place wins in a row, Blythedale is now looking ahead to 614 to pull off a never
before three-peat.
New Land Artifacts Created with Help of Thessi
A tremendous sight now stands in the frontier town of
His Majesty, King Broomis,
apparently had concocted the concept several years ago, but lacked certain
specifics of information as to the powering of the portal. This
information His Majesty was able to obtain from Hagrik
Thardik, House Wizard of the House of Thardik in Thessi. Hagrik is well renown in magical
circles for his treatise in blood-empowered ritual magics.
The recent political situation made it possible for His Majesty to
convince Thessi to share certain aspects of this
“blood magic” with him.
The ritual apparently required two parts: the first of
which His Majesty was quite prepared for. By using his Celestial High
Magic abilities to empower his Land Bond, he called a portal (called a Geolithe) from the ground. Albeit successful, this did
cause a slight “ripple effect” of magical energies backlashing across the region, which immediately attacked the
town. Once these backlashes were disposed of, His Majesty informed the
collected Nobles and Adventurers that for the next 36 hours, they would need to
collect small stones which would now be laden with arcane energies. The
“Numen Stones” would be used to fuel not
only this Geolithe, but several like it that King Broomis would be erecting in strategic locations throughout
the kingdom.
Sunday afternoon, once the adventurers had collected
over 100 stones, and decided on how many to use in each Geolithe,
His Majesty returned to complete the ritual and empower the Geolithe.
He informed the adventurers there were unusual risks involved: the
backlashes of energy would again occur, and be drawn towards the ritual circle-
and able to penetrate it! If they did so and struck His Majesty during the
ritual, the resulting ritual backlash could be “unpredictable.” As
the ritual began, adventurers were stations both inside and outside of the
circle.
Healing on the Run: A Field Healer’s Guide (Part Three)
by
Natalia Gallonovitch
After last month I feel the need to address a slightly
less agonizing, albeit still important, topic. This is mainly for independent
career healers, though all should take heed and be mindful. I wouldn’t
want to send healers out into the world unprepared for even the most seemingly
mundane concerns. So, here it is.
I do so hate to be blunt, but if you intend to spend
your life on the battlefield keeping others alive, you must resign yourself to
the fact that it will not make you wealthy. There are several reasons for this,
some due to the behavior of others, some simply due to the nature of battle
itself.
First, and perhaps most obvious, is the simple matter
that healers, by their very nature, drop fewer targets in battle than warriors.
Dedicated healers rarely, if ever, take substantial amounts of offensive magic.
There are simply not enough spells left for offense if you have decided to
fully dedicate yourself to healing, and trying to do both often leaves one
feeling only marginally successful at each. Treasure acquired during a large
battle mostly comes from fallen opponents, and you are simply not felling them
yourself, so you do not have first access to their treasure.
Often, the people doing the fighting neglect to search
their kills for treasure, so, theoretically, there is still treasure to be
collected, but that brings us to the second aspect of the problem.
Generally speaking, collecting treasure on the
battlefield is very risky for a healer. Searching a body for treasure, or even
bending over to pick up loose treasure, takes a precious few seconds during
which an opponent can approach and attack you. Most aggressors can drop most
healers with very little effort, especially if the healer is caught unawares.
Once you are engaged, you will most likely fall, especially if the enemy
engaged you when your back was turned. Additionally, of course, any time you
are spending collecting treasure is time you are not spending surveying the
field and doing the more important aspect of your job.
Given the nature of treasure on the battlefield, then,
it usually falls to the warriors to make sure the healers get paid. They are
the ones making the most kills, thus having the most access to treasure looted
from enemy bodies. They are also the ones who most often require your services.
There are, however, several problems with this natural arrangement.
For one, the people who you will need to rescue most
are the less experienced fighters. Most of these individuals are taking out
smaller targets, which tend to carry smaller treasure. Also, being
inexperienced, they usually are less wealthy to begin with, and often truly
need the profit from their kills as much, if not more, than you.
Additionally, the cultural concept of
“owning” your kills negatively affects the healer in this
situation. The general perception is that the person who did the most damage to
the target is the one with the rights to its treasure. This is almost never the
healer. It often does not occur to even an honorable fighter that any damage
they did to the enemy after the point at which you healed them is damage they
could not have done without you.
Now, to be fair, some warriors do understand the value
of their healers, and some offer fairly substantial compensation to people they
know healed them. But this, alas, is not the majority. You will make some money
from healing people on the battlefield, but it will not be substantial. And,
most likely, you will never be acquiring the special items, such as magically
imbued ones, that are looted in the field of battle.
There is another way of acquiring treasure that is
often engaged in by adventurers and adventuring nobles that is a possible
avenue to income for a combat healer. Small groups of adventurers and nobles
often go on small, specific missions for local people in need or to further
some larger military endeavour, and these missions
often produce substantial monetary reward. Often, these small teams will not
already have adequate healing, and you can offer your services on the mission
for a share of the treasure, which is usually, in this case, compiled by anyone
who can grab it and redistributed at the end of the mission, due to the smaller
nature of the encounter.
The downside to this approach is that the skills
specific to the field medic style of healer are best used in a large,
open field of battle, and that these missions usually occur in close
quarters (hence the small size of the squad going on them). The dedicated
combat healer uses an ability to observe and maneuver about the field as one of
his primary means of self defense, a means that is robbed from him in close
quarters. In order to go on such missions, then, a field medic needs to either
accept the higher level of personal risk and more greatly rely on the fighters
to be able to protect him, or he needs to practice skills that are more useful
in close quarters and reserve a greater amount of his daily memory for spells
that can be used in self-defense.
The practice of healing, therefore, is not to be
looked upon as a means to great wealth. It may very well provide you enough to
live on, if you are savvy enough, but it does not generally imbibe tremendous
monetary rewards. If one wishes to take up battlefield healing, one should,
ultimately, do it for other reasons. And if one wishes greater than subsistence
wealth, I would recommend taking up an additional craft.
The upside, by the way, is that, although most people
do not find the need to make healers wealthy, they do tend to believe that it is important for their healers to be
well-fed and safe, so, once you are known to be a good healer, you will likely
never want for food or lodging. There will almost always be someone willing to
take care of you.
Unusual High Ogre Behavior Analyzed
by Kialda Loa, Child of Autumn
To friends and fellow
adventurers:
I document my experiences here
because I feel I have important insight to share. During the second
day of this past gather, adventurers were unexpectedly attacked by a traveling
entourage of abnormally aggressive High Ogres. This attack was
quickly followed by the appearance of a black shadowy figure, distinguishable
only by the mark of Azer Doon. I
am concerned because the behavior of the High Ogres was most unnatural, and
because we have seen creatures and items of Azer Doon before, yet we still have no conclusions or solutions. Detailing
observations and sharing insight is, in my opinion, the best step for us to
take at this time.
I therefore chronicle this
interaction in hopes that adventurers approach these situations with better
understanding - that innocent High Ogres may be peacefully reeducated, and that
the abominable, necromantic Azer Doon
creatures are more quickly defeated. I have personally collected
some other information about Azer Doon
and his cursed items, and am happy to converse with any other knowledgeable individual
by private missive. For this publication, however, my focus will be
to cite what I know of High Ogres, explain how their behavior was abnormal,
detail what steps the adventurers took, and finally close with my advice on how
to address the situation. I will incidentally include my
observations of the Azer Doon
creature, and again invite any other friend with insight to please contact me
privately.
High Ogres are citizens, and
as such they may not legally attack other citizens, nor are they naturally
inclined to do so. High Ogres do have a tendency towards fighting
and martial strength, but this is a natural occurrence for many races, such as
the Vansir. This cultural tendency does
not inherently lead to unlawful or hurtful actions.
High Ogres also have a strong
bond with the Earth. If you are familiar with Children of Autumn,
sometimes referred to incorrectly as “dryads,” you understand that
there are citizens who have a true and physical connection to the Earth and
The group of High Ogres that
were met at the last gather had ambushed the Black Stag tavern and surrounding
fields, claiming that every adventuring citizen was an evil
necromancer. This was most upsetting, for a High Ogre has the
distinct ability to clearly feel and distinguish the evils of necromancy in
comparison to other magics. These High
Ogres were particularly distasteful of earth casters, including a Child of
Autumn like myself, failing to recognize that necromancy would torment me in
the same way it torments them. They were blinded by a pitiable
bitterness. While it is true that there have been instances of
certain races with a strong connection to the Forest feeling a bitterness about
the modern failure to protect the Earth, this bitterness is generally easily
dissuaded and reeducated, and does not normally lead to aggressive or illegal
action.
These High Ogres were
completely unreasonable, and a battle ensued. Only in binding
one against his will and taking him into the Healers Guild were we able to
begin a discussion. Even then, those adventurers who are more
inclined towards anger or quick temperedness were unable to tolerate his
behavior. I cannot emphasize the following enough: Do not
react with anger towards these High Ogres. Protect yourself on the
field of battle if necessary, but your anger only sparks their bitterness.
Through patient discussion, I
was able to hear what logic this High Ogre was following, and assist him in
some ways, before he eventually renewed his bitterness and
fled. This High Ogre explained to me that he believed it was any
hate or distrust the adventurers hold in their heart
that would tempt them to use necromancy. I attempted to slowly explain
that I, a Child of Autumn, would never
be tempted toward necromancy. The High Ogre was not interested in
listening to words or reason. The most effective course of action
was for me to manifest aura and heal him with Earth Magic, against his
will. I believe this visceral experience with Earth Magic sparked
within him a memory of the healing and beauty that can be brought forth from
the good-hearted adventurers.
My conclusion is
this: High Ogres must be treated with respect, as they are
civilians, and they will respond more easily if you are patient and
kind. However, they will begin to understand only if they feel Earth
Magic used peacefully to heal their wounds.
While many of our efforts
were frustrating and futile, be it known that at least one High Ogre has been
reeducated to understand our mutual hatred of necromancy, and has pledged a
renewed friendship with the adventurers. This High Ogre has been
given a favor to mark herself as non-aggressive ally. Please contact
me privately if you wish for more details. Please remember –
this task was only accomplished with patience, courtesy, and the casting of
Earth Magic to heal this High Ogre.
Lastly, I will cite my
observations of the disgusting Azer Doon creature. It walked through the tavern, seemingly
unaggressive. When it saw the few High Ogres we had bound and were
attempting to talk to, it stated “threat!” and began casting
necromancy to debilitate them. If it was attacked by adventurers, it
would fall quickly, but then simply stand again and label its attacker
“traitor!” This creature was able to walk in and out of
circles of power. It seemed that this creature was attempting to
protect one of its cursed items. Disposal of these cursed items back
into the Tomb of Azer Doon
is a topic that other adventurers have more insight about.
I can generalize the
following: Azer Doon
creatures are marked. They speak in short phrases or single
words. They seem driven by a single task, in relation to cursed
items that also bear the mark. They have been seen dealing
incredible amounts of damage and casting necromancy, but only when provoked in
certain ways. Certain people (myself included) have been deceived
and cut down by those who look like familiar, friendly adventurers, but (upon
closer inspection) are imposters, marked by Azer Doon.
I thank you, friends, for your consideration of these observations and insights. I am
always happy to receive a missive if anyone wishes to further discuss or share
any information.
Letters and
Missives
Greetings to all patrons past and future,
In honor of the diplomatic visit of some of Icenia’s heroes to the
Looking forward to serving you,
Thaddeus Burntwick
Auctioneer, Liche’s Hoard Trading
PS: The Liche’s
Horde will also auction items on behalf of private collectors in exchange for
10% of the proceeds. Items may be auctioned anonymously if that is the
owner’s request.
…
“Daralassia
from the Vineyard.” That’s what she called herself when you got to know
her. Though she rose through the peerage, she never forgot what it was to be a commoner.
Dame Daralassia was a true
knight of Icenia. From those humble beginnings in the
vineyard she brought with her a sharp mind, and one of the kindest hearts
I’ve ever known. In battle she was fearless, always willing and ready to
put herself in harm’s way to protect others. To those who were privileged
enough to call her mellon,
she was just as steadfast and true, and the world is a darker place without her
in it. We will carry on, and strive to be the champions of the right and good,
just as she was.
Arrangements will be made for a Spirit Farewell. The
exact date and location will be announced once things have been finalized so
that those who wish to say their goodbyes may do so.
Squire Ezri Silverthorn
Court of the
…
Rai, friends, and fellow adventures. It saddens me to have to tell of this but Gregor Gallonavich was
permanently slain in battle when the town of
We
will be saying goodbye to our brother Gregor on the
thirteenth night of October. Details of where that will occur will be announced
closer to that time, but it will be the lands of Icenia.
Dmitri
A Little Birdie
Told Me
By Sue D’Onym
Hello,
drearies. Have
you missed me? Well, I can only remind
you that without your missives giving me The News They
Don’t Want You To Know, there’s little I can do. There were hardly any submissions this month.
The
big scandal involves Squire Ithaca who had his belt removed for not
following Sir Ulthoc’s order. He then challenged Ulthoc
to an honor combat to the death. When
told the terms of the honor combat,
The
deaths of beloved Ashbans Dame Darlassia
and Gregor Gallonovich
have influenced many. Gypsies and
nobility were seen shaking hands and getting along. Or maybe this is an example of the fabled
“ritual curse” we’ve heard tale of?
Duke
Frost unnerved everyone when he appeared at the Ducal Ball with a
strange biata from Thrommel. Guildmistress Zatarina did not look at all pleased, and mumbled
that it was well known that Thrommel was secretly
loyal to Thessi and not Ashbury.
And
the Thessi team that appeared at the Tournament was
not well greeted by most Ashbans. There was actual booing during their
competitions, which may have led to the Thessi
dropping out of the Tournament – or at least, that was their stated
reason. Sir Eros was overheard
saying “Oh, I feel so sorry for those poor necromantic slavers.”
Well, that’s all for
this month. Be sure to keep those cards
and letters coming and remember – If you can’t say something nice
about someone, come sit by me.
A Request from
the Editor
Good Gentlepeoples
of Ashbury:
Over the last few years, my sources of news and information of and within the Adventuring Community has fallen sadly slight. To this end, I must use a sizeable portion of my personal holdings to attempt to get better news!
Running through all issues of 612, I will be accepting submissions en masse from the general populace. Each issue, the article judged as “best” by myself and my staff will win a prize of five gold coins. At the end of the year, the writer of the “best article” from the entire year will win a vial of the Warmth of Fortannis, the Catalyst for the Regeneration Ritual! So, if you and your friends are looking for one, here’s an easy way to get one! Or, if you’re not, they sell really well -- trust me, this thing’s expensive!
What makes an article “best,” you ask? Well, I’ll tell you! It has to be engaging, something people will want to read. It has to attempt to be unbiased in view, and it must be factual - any articles later discovered during the year to be untrue will immediately be discounted from the final prize.
If you wish to have your
article posted anonymously, then please inform me of
this in the heading of your article, and I’ll see to it that it is done.
Good luck to you all, and happy writing!
Eric
Wolcott, Editor in Chief