Tavern Rumors of Peltarch
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_As if the looming threat of the Kuo-Toa were not enough, portals letting out horrific creatures sprouted city-wide, pressing guards, Ceruleans and adventurers alike to spring into frantic action. Hairy spiders giggling like children, enormous floating eyeballs, tall and gaunt tentacle-faced monstrosities - everywhere the red portals spewed them out, spreading fear and death.
Frightened residents of the Residential district murmur and peer cautiously behind their curtains, as rumours also circulate about dread demons such as Vrocks and Succubi appearing out of the blue, assailing Magistrate D'Arneau and his two companions. Though it's without a doubt that the fiends soon knew Torm's wrath, the reason for their appearance gives much room for speculation.
And in the Commerce district, a red-headed woman in clingy blue silks tells the tale of a massive black dragon, disguised as a man until revealing its true and fearful shape. The dragon is said to have spewed its contempt for humankind with a searing acid breath before taking to the skies, due south._
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A sleek ship was spotted gliding into port as if a feather over silk, upon it's landing a handful of weary adventurers are reported to have come ashore. Rumors of adventure and piracy abound as chins wag. The ship doesn't stay for very long, and absent one prominent passenger it departs with uncommon haste returning from whence it came. A blonde haired shieldmaiden left behind in place of Krovel and the Elven Wizard Elvadriel.
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Vague rumours once more mention blood-thirsty followers of Garagos rearing their ugly heads in the region, leaving death and destruction in their wake…
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Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble… More undead Kuo Toa rise from the waters south of the city, after a single assassin of theirs had crept all the way into the heart of the Jewel to aim his wicked blades at the stout back of the dwarf Gnarl. Though the attack was repelled, the word "Leviathan" is mentioned afterwards in tones of some concern.
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_Tongues in Peltarch wag about the vicious northern Raiders recently flushed from a seaside cave by adventurers bold, lead by the vivacious purple elf, Elvadriel. It is said a number of local children, would-be-slaves to these terrible men, were rescued from the cave, though gossip then goes on to more unbelievable details such as headless men, spontaneous combustions and a creature of living flame, set to consume the world…
Meanwhile, Isolde spins a more light-hearted tale of adventure at the Commons, detailing her and the equally red-haired Shaundakulite Krovel's death-defying wrestling of giant snakes amidst the falling stones of a collapsing mine! Every so often, a pixie pokes out of her curls to comment, harrass the audience or simply nag for more jam._
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With many a horrified shudder and delicate gasps, the tale of the Man-Eating Frog King is told at the Commons by the crimson-haired Isolde. She details in great and explicit lengths the enormous size of the frog - worshipped as a god by feeble-minded Kobolds - its slimy green hide and the incomprehensible lengths of its horrendous tongue, used as a sticky whip to suck helpless maidens into its wide and dripping maw!
"One man stood up against the Green Terror", she insists, dark blue eyes alight with enthusiasm as she spins the tale. "A man, a myth, a legend ~ Randolpho!"
After a vivid description of her heroic character, in glorious shirtless detail, she goes on to the epic battle between frog and man.
"A flash of lightning, the sound of thunder pierced the night! The Frog King's wicked tongue, unleashed towards his next fair maiden meal, appears suspended in motion, so swift is the flashing axe that is flung from Randolpho's mighty arm. So true is his aim, so sharp the axe's edge that it cuts clean through the tongue, a knife through hot butter!
Darkness as the lightning fades, the Frog King howling of agony - in the next heartbeat, as lightning illuminates the scene anew, our hero is upon it! Randolpho, with nothing but his courage and the raw, bulging strength of his muscular arms, wrestles the monster to the marchy ground! Though it wriggles, slippery with its own vile mucous, Randolpho pins it firmly, tearing its jaws apart with his bare hands, using the weight of his masculine body to press out the beautiful captive within!
The girl shudders, clinging weakly to her rescuer, who carries her off into the darkest of nights. What happens next, good listeners, is a tale of a different kind! To spare you reddened cheeks, I shall hide it within the covers of a book, for you to read in more private settings~."
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_Vague tavern rumours go around about a band of adventurers having a "Boys Night Out", frequenting every watering hole the Jewel has to offer. While the details of this merry band of men vary, most will insist one of them bore the strikingly heroic name of "Justice". Whether a knight or a would-be vigilante, the wagging tongues can but speculate.
Meanwhile, just outside the city walls, a small group of ladies - some very scantily clad indeed - provided no little amount of distraction to the patrolling guards. Numerous wine and spirits bottles litter the area around the campfire and the grass in the distance is scorched by outbursts of vivaciously unleashed magic._
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Wild rumours circulate about a ~dragon~, walking the streets of Peltarch in the guise of a man. Assuredly to abduct fair maidens, upsets tongues may insist, while others claim it was just to enjoy the dulcimer tones of miss Vera C. Tingle playing at the commons.
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The red-haired cleric Shesarai, wearing a priestess' long gown rather than her usual leathers, visited the Peltarch Orphanage in the Lighthouse Temple. After speaking with several children recently brought there from a village far to the north, she gives them a couple of magic scrolls.
These scrolls are a gift from the Mage Akseli, who helped rescue you from your village. He thinks you might have fun practicing with them. They contain a simple spell called Daze. Do not use them on your caretakers.
Login: AubreyMaturin
Characters: Romulus Grey, bard the bowman
Trotter, spooky Halfling ranger
Shesarai Foutopolis, red-haired cleric of Mystra
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"The swamplands bubble and with hisses and sickening moans, they rise anew - Kuo Toa, rotten flesh hanging off bared bone. That same hateful cry rises from torn throats, echoed by the thousands yet to rise from the dank waters: Destroyer! The Dwarven Destroyer… vengeaaance..."
_Isolde stops to have a light sip from her glass, leaving her audience hanging for a moment before continuing to relate the tale of the battle at the walls, the undead fishmen heroically repelled by the shiny-armoured might of Torm's most faithful servant, Sir Shannon D'Arneau, alongside stealthy Hen, her bow firing arrows of living flame! The bursts of fire are vividly described to have illuminated the heaving bosum of the beautiful sorceress Naomi, fighting side by side with a shirtless Cormac, bulging pectorals glistening in the moonlight with each swing of his mighty axe!
Any listeners not yet sated will also be regaled with the tale of the heroic river captain Sticks, stoically suffering imprisonment at the hands of the ~vile~ and vicious Sahuagin who captured the riverboat, alongside its travellers. To save those innocent lives (here Isolde's dark blue eyes glisten emotionally), the good captain offered himself as hostage, awaiting ransom from those that were let go. After great efforts and generous donations of goods by the stout Norwick farmers and Peltarch's own Seafarer's Guild, the Sahuagins demands were met and the captain set free._
"But don't for a moment believe this will be the end of those haddock-breathed monstrosities machinations! These creatures are cunning and cold as the Icelace itself, with nothing but contempt for the surface world! They have ~ambitions~, mark my words."
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Rumours abound throughout the Jewel about the sudden emergence of Kuo Toa, right at the city's gates! An elegant red-head going by the name of Isolde can be overheard praising "Peltarch's skilled and fearless guards for their resolute aid in repelling the vile fishmen! Murder shone in their bulging eyes, vengeance was the call upon their haddock tongues! But in reply, the sting of the Jewel's steel!"
The story goes on to include the sinister emergence of undead Kuo Toa rising from the nearby swamplands, their broken and half-rotted corpses moaning the same hateful cry for revenge upon the "Dwarven Destroyer"…
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Possibly in an attempt to silence years of persistant cat rumours, the Cerulean Walter was seen in the company of an actual, factual woman, and a pretty one at that! Side by side on a bench at the commons they sat, sharing a pork bun and a chilling tale of bloodthirsty Garagossans and the relentless crushing powers of a mountain that moved!
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_One early evening, a motley crew of Legionaries, Wolves and assorted independent adventurers could be seen emerging from a ravaged ship at the docks. With sections of railing missing on both sides, several sections of the mid and upper hull smashed or battered and an array of scorch marks across it's main deck, the fact that it still remains afloat is marginally less believable than it's unlikely compliment of sailors.
Later into the evening, the old Wolf Rasuil graced the Lucky Ferret with a round of drinks and a thrilling tale of high adventure at sea. From krakens greedy tentacles and ship to ship combat, to vicious boarding battles and the crews capture and imprisonment at the hands of their assailants - a scurvy band of undead sailors and their vampire captain - the tale grows louder and grander as the empty mugs pile up. The boastful recounting continues through a harrowing jailbreak and a narrow escape from their insidious captors, where the ship was liberated from the undead fleet and "safely" sailed home by it's new captain, Rasuil.
Regaling the patrons well into the small hours, the ranger eventually disappears into the harbormasters office to discuss securing the acquisition._
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_One evening a group of people were gathered around the Commons when a foul stench suddenly interrupted them. The dwarf Brumir Silverhammer came out from behind the Mermaid Inn laughing. The ranger Rasuil laid on the ground motionless for several moments before getting up again.
Soon thereafter Akseli placed something behind Brumir that caused the others in the Commons to flee. Unbeknownst to this, Brumir wondered what they were all doing. Suddenly, an explosion took place right where Brumir was standing and the dwarf went flying into the fountain right outside the City Hall. After getting some help from Willow, Brumir squeezed some water out of his beard and started shaking his fist and grumbling towards Akseli.
Though no one was hurt, it appears the flowers in the Commons planted by Marty have been burnt to a crisp._
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While it's no secret to the townsfolk of Peltarch that adventurers can be a rough and unkept lot, the sight of Brumir, Rasuil and Willow limping into the commons must surely have given the more genteel of citizens a pause. Bruised, bloodied, frost-bitten and covered in slimy strands of some disgusting mucus, the three could be overheard mentioning trouble at the Icelace Beach to the much cleaner Akseli and Sheserai.
"The ogres are totally up to no good, I'm telling you! All those mages, they gotta be doing some serious mojo and what with posting the most gigantic of giants on the bridge as guard? Definitely a do not disturb sign, am I right? We should so find out what they're hiding in there! …some time soon... ow."
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The red-haired cleric Shesarai was overheard talking to the guards at the Peltarch Sewers entrance. She had been downstairs on what she called a "normal scouting patrol", and reported a startling emptiness in the sewers. There were plenty of undead and a few cultists hanging around the areas under the docks, but the portion of the sewers underneath the Peltarch Commercial District were completely empty. There were no undead, no cubes, and no cultists. Has somebody cleaned that place out?
AubreyMaturin
Characters: Romulus Grey, Bard the bowman
Trotter, Spooky Halfling ranger
Shesarai Foutopolis, Priestess of Mystra
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Rumour has it the nearby swamplands were recently the scene of a gruesome battle, not against the usual kobold rabble but a band of fierce and armoured trolls, lead by a bloodthirsty follower of Malar. According to a certain wandering healer, her group was "totally ambushed" but did not fall prey to the Malarite hunt "'cause even though Helene and I are kinda squishy, Gnarl and Ras are no floppy bunnies!".
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A new and popular book has been mass produced and is currently being sold in the streets of Peltarch, detailing the exciting events of the recent unseen war below the surface involving the dwarves of Aura Runedar and they're many courageous allies!
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_Word spreads that a trio of adventurers, one of them being the dwarf Brumir Silverhammer, entered the city after cutting down some Kuo Toa in their caverns. As the trio were selling loot, a couple of women in the Commons screamed and covered their noses and ran off in terror. Eventually a female spellcaster, whom some might recognize as Lady Maurina started casting spells against the dwarf.
Details of what happened next are sketchy, but it appeared Brumir let out another one of his very nasty farts that put Lady Maurina on the ground for several moments. Soon after she summoned a water elemental and cast some more spells that left the dwarf running towards the south gates cursing.
It would appear some of the people in Peltarch have no tolerance for Brumir's farts._
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_Orc aggression continues to escalate, following the busted gates incident where a huge orcish warrior broke through the defences into Peltarch proper. Most recently, a large orcish warband spilled down into the foothills towards the gateless walls, but were repelled with swiftness and determination by the brave Defenders, aided by a pair of able adventurers.
Rumour has it a chieftain was killed in the assault, possibly buying the hard working defenders some respite while the remaining orcs bicker over leadership._
