Bonetown - Sam's Journal
Contents
“Adventures of the Lionfish” - The Accounts of Sam Snapdragon McFisticuff
Forward
For those who might read of my adventures detailed in this journal, I would hope that it serves you well in your travels through this mysterious and wonderful place that we know as “the Wold”. May the contents found within this journal provide you with both entertainment of our adventures and knowledge of the perils that we have faced.
Chapter 1 - “Sam and Terser”
My story is best started by giving you, the reader, a quick introduction to my past. My name is Sam Snapdragon McFisticuff. I'm a gnome from the Scab. For those who haven't been there, I'd recommend staying wherever you are, or traveling anywhere else. The Scab is basically a harsh and horrible wasteland with a few nice places that are surrounded by more wastelands. That place is teaming with some of the nastiest and deadliest monsters that the Wold has to offer. STAY AWAY!
Enough of that unpleasantness and back to me! I served as the bard for an all-dwarven group who eventually became known throughout the Scab as the Grim Guard. Together we retook DrakesMeade (an ancient dwarven stronghold) from an army of duergar. Shortly thereafter, we lost the group's most precious member, Tahni Wyrmrider. Her kidnapping and the subsequent failure of the Grim Guard's in finding her lead to the group being disbanded. It was a very sad time for us all. My brethren went their separate ways. Each carried with them the shame, guilt, and sadness of the group's failure. Luckily for me, one of my brothers stayed with me. His name is Terser.
Terser is one of the Grim Guard's strongest members. He's a big, tough Dwarf. Anyone who meets him can instantly tell that he's seen a bunch of combat. The guy has almost as many scars on his body as a wolf has hairs on his back. He's a bit impulsive at times, but he never once let his friends down. He fearlessly charges in with his glaive no matter what enemy faces off against him. I watched him cleave a wyvern in half from throat to tail with that thing. He's definitely a child of the Scab. As a friend, you'd never want for better. As an enemy...
Chapter 2 - “The Turning Tide”
Terser and I traveled through the Scab. We decided it would be best to to leave that forsaken place and find work and adventure elsewhere. Both knew the reason that the other was so ready to leave. Maybe enough distance, time ,and ale would get her out of our minds. So far, for me, it hasn't.
For some crazy reason, we decided to hitch a ride on a ship bound for...wherever. That's how we found ourselves in the Turning Tide Inn and Tavern. The place was nice. Actually, when you're drenched from a downpour of rain, any place with a roof is nice. So there we were, thinking of Tahni as we poured alcohol down out throats as fast as we could. Terser can obviously drink a touch more than I can handle. That day was no exception. That's when, with a loud creak of the tavern door, we met the crew of the Lionfish.
Having been the only gnome in a group of dwarves, they seemed like a strange collection of individuals. But what outwardly seemed like a mismatch of characters, proved time-and-time again (throughout our many adventures) to be the perfect combination that formed a family of heroes. I guess this is the point I should name these characters. You can form your own opinion as you read of our adventures.
First and foremost, the captain of the Lionfish, Coerator Asterion. Coer (as he is known by his friends) is a massive Minotaur. It was later in our travels that I learned that this monk was born at sea. I guess having a home at sea makes for the perfect captain. Some leaders lead with charisma. Others lead with cunning and guile. Coer lead with courage and unwavering loyalty to his crew. It was clear to me from first meeting him, that the crew would (and did) follow him to face any evil from any corner of the Wold.
Next up is Magana d’Protegido. She's is the other minotaur of the group. Her pallor appearance struck me as odd at first meeting. Seeing that I'm a gnome of only a few feet, I didn't have the nerve to ask her about her apparent albinism. What I can tell you is that she always, fearlessly waded into conflict, while swinging her flail at anything in her path. Almost every conflict ended with her needing much of my healing talents. So she was basically the Lionfish's version of Terser.
Zeoll is the elderly liontaur of the Lionfish. Don't get me wrong, he's older than most of the crew, but still has quite a bit of pep in his step. I first took him as cranky and cynical, but quickly found him to be quite friendly. You just have to get to know him. Zeoll provided much of our much-needed spell support during conflicts.
So by now you're probably wondering how the Lionfish didn't sink with three “taurs” aboard. I'm not exactly sure myself, but it managed to stay above water with all of us on that hunk of wood. Anyway, back to the crew.
Jozhur Derile was the ship's resident rogue. Whether he was getting a lock open or putting arrows in enemies, he was always helpful in a pinch. I especially liked him because he was a bit short (short for a human that is). As a gnome, you're always looking up to non-gnomes in a literal sense. Jozhur was much taller than me, but at least he looked up to others literally, as well.
Spirysn’rar Kilarn was another “caster” I met at the Turning Tide. This elf, like me, preferred to stay well out of sword range. “Spire” always leveled the enemy with a barrage of spells. I also assisted him in identifying any treasures found during our adventures. He had a sharp eye for detail.
I was shocked to meet Aexanna in this group of giants. In all of my travels in the Scab, I rarely met another gnome, but there she was. She was quite older than me, but I always noticed a youthful glint in her eyes. As a druid, she often shape-changed during battles. Typically, that made me the smallest member of the fight. It is probably sounding like I have an issue with being short at this point in the story. Maybe I do, but I can't do a thing about it. So stop thinking about my lack of height!
Last, and certainly not least, was Kane’ Ma’Kai. This half-elf was the first blood witch that I had ever met by this point of my journey. I didn't know him well, but I could definitely tell that he was very close to the rest of the crew. I wish I had gotten a chance to know him better, but each Woldian has a path they must take. Like members of the Grim Guard after losing Tahni, Kane's path started to veer from that of the Lionfish's crew when we first heard that dreaded sound...
