THE HIDDEN: BEYOND NEW WATER
13 THE PALE MOUND
SEGMENT 211
”ARTIFACT FROM AN OLD AGE“
05/12/18
RHAAN 3, 1000 WITHIN THE PALE MOUND
Payne sees no obvious reasons to not approach this…. Furnace. He looks around the room. It is small and seems impractical for a work space. The walls are simple. He looks back at the group whom are all at the bars waiting.
He looks into the flames. This is obviously magical in nature. He wonders if it is a furnace or a kiln. Maybe a forge even. He stares into the incredibly hot flame. There is something within but he cannot make it out.
With a dagger, he tries to poke through the flames. His hand is singed despite his unnatural resistance to harm- especially flame. Holding his steaming hand, he looks into the flames again. He spots something he has dislodged within the coals….. the hilt of a sword. Curious.
Xena can not help herself. She gasps as she witnesses the warlock reaching into the flames. He growls from the pain. The fires that overtake his resistance and damage reduction. Then the pain stops as he grasps the leather bound grip and removes the sword from the flames.
Clearly it is magical. The aura of magic shines on it. There are runes on it. He can not read the runes. Looking closer he sees what he believes were runes on the pommel but looking closer, it is not runes but images.
“What do you have?” asks almost pleading the goblin. His greed and desire growing by the minute.
“Just a moment more. It’s a sword.” And he looks closer that the pommel. There are four heads of dragons etched into it. Red, Black, Blue and a White. Curious….. there is a circle in the center with a small black arrow. It is pointed to the Red dragon. Slowly the warlock begins to understand.
He uses his magic to shift beyond the bars once more. “There are runes on here that I cannot read.”
Xena glances at it. “Some of that is orc. Or at least I think it is.”
Dan looks at it over her shoulder. “And draconic.”
“You speak draconic?” asks the warlock with some surprise.
“I come from the Land of Dragons. I learned your common second. I grew up speaking draconic.”
The goblin takes note of this. Contacts to the dragons…….
Together they read it as best as they can. “Together, Orc and Dragon, we breath power and wield the Mighty Surocose. Together we can defend the helpless from the twisted realms and truly unnatural.”
“That image on the bottom…. Is that a dial?” asks the goblin.
[DM NOTE: Longsword +1 set dial for +1d6 extra damage based on dragon’s breath weapon type. Also gain Resistance 10 of matching energy type. Also the sword is Intelligent but slumbering still]
“That sword…. It speaks to me. I can use it better than you. Better than any of you.” Declares Dan the Barbarian.
“How much?” says the warlock. “I like gold.”
The barbarian lists what he has. It is not enough.
The goblin clears his throat.
The three look down at him.
“Sounds like you need a loan.” Says the goblin with a very large grin.
“Don’t trust him.” Xena says then steps away. She wants nothing to do with this.
“Would 200 more gold work?” asks the goblin to the warlock.
“He doesn’t have it.”
“But IF he did?”
Silence as he thinks about it. “Yes.”
The goblin jumps for joy within his own mind as he then turns to the barbarian. “I can offer it but there will be interest.”
Fearful of the amount he looks at the sword. His desperation to hold it overwhelms his common sense. “How much? What are your terms?”’
“Not much. It is truly a beautiful sword. And to think, by it’s word, a dragon created it. 25%.”
“Don’t” whispers Xena. She strongly suspects this goblin has connections with Yrlag’s thieves guild- The Web.
“25%?”
“Per week.”
The barbarian does some quick math. They are over a week’s travel just to return to Yrlag. “In my land, we barter fairly. No interest. Even trade only.”
The goblin begins to persist but feels he may lose the deal. Less money is better than none. Lord Spyder will be most pleased. “What terms do you offer then?”
The negations continue for several minutes. In the end, for the 200 gold the goblin gets several thousand gold of goods he has collected. He has made much money today.
They agree on it and items are transferred and the sword given to the barbarian.
He is happy as he takes practice swings with it as they walk back to the last exit they didn’t take. It leads to a stairway leading down.