5Wizard's Fate 81-111

The Online Campaign

A Wizard's Fate

Turns 81-111

Notes from the Jericho: And thus ends our first adventure online. Overall, I was just glad that I had survivors. With all the people jumping in and out for various reasons the start was rocky, but I knew that would probably the case from the email games that I have played in on AOL. The dungeon exploration could have been reduced into 1 or 2 rooms and the movement of the module would have improved. Finishing the module took forever. Nearly a year. When we started, we played only two days a week. So you do the math and see how slow it is. Now, we play weekdays and things are much faster, thank goodness. It was nice to see that David and John can still role-play and well! My two goals for the email campaign have always been to 1) give all the old players who have moved away from Wichita Falls a chance to play again and 2) to use the game as a vehicle to renew friendships and to keep in better touch with some of the best friends of my youth and young adulthood. Both goals accomplished, the game is so far a success.

Wizard's Fate:Turn 81

Gareth follows Jus into the corridor while Chala mutters the words to a spell and places her hands on Nonam. The wounds Nonam received from the skeletons slowly fade away, and and a fierce gleam replaces the look of pain that he had been wearing most of the day.

Jus comes to the bend in the hallway and says to the Gareth, "Take a quick look through the door behind us to make sure we don't miss anything." While Gareth does this, Jus rounds the corner and begins walking through the hallway slowly looking for traps on the walls,

ceiling, and floor, and he calls out behind him, "I don't think we should rush through this section; what with the special doorway."

Gareth stops at the corner and looks back as he was instructed. Nonam, Chala, and Erilyn are still in the doorway. Nonam looks back down the hallway, but sees nothing. So the group goes into the corridor and joins Gareth. The four then turn and wait for Jus.

Jus doesn't notice any traps as he walks down the 30 foot hallway. He does notice that this section is much cleaner. There is no dust and the stone floor almost shines. He also notices two doors in the hallway. One, which is on the left wall and made of stone, is trapezoidal in shape, becoming wider toward the floor. Carved into its surface is a horned and leering gargoyle fresco with a large keyhole set into its gaping mouth. The gargoyle's fangs are made of what appears to be iron, and there is no knob. The other door is at the end of the hall. This door is made of a sturdy wood, and looks very plain. Jus notices in his carefullness that the knob looks as if it has been turned many times.

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A Wizard's Fate: Turn 82

ceiling, and floor, and he calls out behind him, "I don't think we should rush through this section; what with the special doorway."

Jus doesn't notice any traps as he walks down the 30 foot hallway. He does notice that this section is much cleaner. There is no dust and the stone floor almost shines. He also notices two doors in the hallway. One, which is on the left wall and made of stone, is trapezoidal in shape, becoming wider toward the floor. Carved into its surface is a horned and leering gargoyle fresco with a large keyhole set into its gaping mouth. The gargoyle's fangs are made of what appears to be iron, and there is no knob. The other door is at the end of the hall. This door is made of a sturdy wood, and looks very plain. Jus notices in his carefulness that the knob looks as if it has been turned many times.

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Wizard's Fate: Turn 83

Jus stands in the hallway between the trapezoidal door and the wooden door with the worn handle thinking. Then he speaks:

"Tell you what guys, I think we should go through the other door we

passed earlier before continuing this way. Whatever you want to do is

fine, though."

No one in the group disagrees, and Jus and Nonam quickly head back to the door the group passed before opening the door with the iron bands and opens it to see

what is beyond. It opens onto a room filled with so much rubble and debris that it is not possible to enter.

Nonam says, "Well it looks like the stone door and the wood door are the only places that we haven't checked yet. I suggest that we open the wood door first because it looks like Elzid used it often. Perhaps it leads to his study or library or somewhere else where we might be able to find out what happened here."

-----------------------

I think things have become confusing as to where we are. So here's my map of the hallway I described last turn.

_____

1 D___ I

I I

I D 2

I I

Door1 is the door to this hallway that was opened last turn. Everything that we've already done can be reached by going through door 1. Just to make things simple I left the skeleton room, the statue room, the door Jus just opened, and all the rest off because we shouldn't have to go back to any of those.

Door2 is the trapezoidal stone door.

Door3 is the wooden door.

Don't worry too much about the layout of the place. It won't prove to be important, and you haven't passed by anything.

----------------------

Subj: A Wizard's Fate: turn 84

Gareth moves down toward Jus and says "Lets do the easy door first. Probably

less painful." If no objections he listens at the door at the end of the hall

and opens it (unless Jus does it first).

Jus agrees with Nonam and Gareth and walks back to the wooden door. He looks around to the others to see if they are ready, and Gareth indicates that he wishes to listen at the door before going in. Gareth listens and hearing no sound he tries to open the wooden door (3).

As soon as Gareth touches the knob, there is a sound like the crash of thunder, and a booming voice echoes loudly down the hallway, "BEGONE, OR BY ZOTZPOX'S NAME YOU SHALL BE CURSED!" Gareth also discovers that the door is locked.

At the mention of the name Zotzpox, Eryilyn turns a pasty white and starts to cry in fear.

Chala immediately draws her sword and turns around to look down the hallway.

Nonam grins and says, "Just a magic mouth spell. We're lucky it wasn't trapped with a fireball. Still, the name invoked is one of power. We should be careful."

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Wizard's Fate: Turn 85

"Well," says Jus, "I guess we have to try and open it." Jus checks for traps

(as best as he can), and tries to pick the lock with his non-existent theiving

skills.

Gareth says to Nonam, "How about that key you found in the skeleton? I wonder if that fits this lock? Try it." Nonam pulls out the key. It's about four times bigger than the lock. It obviously won't fit. Nonam says, "Remember Jus also found a key in the statue, but as I recall it's about the same size as this one."

Gareth then says "Can anybody really pick locks?" No one answers. So then Gareth tries to force the door with his great strength. At first it seems that Gareth will be unable to break the door, but he pushes harder. Then as the veins are standing out on his forehead there is a loud CRACK as the lock breaks, and the door flies open. Gareth stumbles forward as the door flies open, but he retains his balance.

The room behind the door was obviously once a library, but it has been destroyed by fire. The charred remains of tables and shelves litter the room, and burned books lie scattered on the floor. Ruthlessly etched onto one wall are the words, "ELZID WAS AN EVIL MAN." The E's are scrawled backwards.

On seeing this Eryiln begins to cry. Tears are streaming down her cheeks.

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Wizard's Fate: Turn 86

"Let's take a quick look around," Jus says as he begins seeing if anything is retrievable. He finds several books that are intact with titles like "Demon Lore," "Death Rituals of the Sagunda," "Poisons and Acids." However most of the books that he finds are in some unknown language. None are magical.

Jus pauses and looks up at Eryiln, "We aren't finished looking around

yet, Eryiln." Jus glances at the writing on the wall and then back to

Eryiln. "Try to ignore this babble. Remember the poem Elzid wrote for

you?" Eryiln looks up at him for a minute then smiles as she remembers the poem. Then she whispers, "...but he's dead now," and she begins crying again.

Gareth rummages through the books and debris with his sword tip to see if he

can find anything (not trusting wizard books). He also searches the walls and

shelves for concealed doors. He raps on each bookcase to see if he hears a

hollow sound on the other side of any of them, but he finds nothing.

Nonam looks through the books as well. While he's searching, he speaks to no one in particular, "So much knowledge wasted." Then he looks at Eryiln, "You know Elzid probably destroyed this himself in an effort to rid himself of his evil ways. He must have loved you very much."

Chala ignores the books. Instead she goes to look at the inscription on the wall. She mutters, "Why are the E's backwards." Then she notices a section of wall that seems strange somehow. She begins to search this, and she finds a secret door. She searches a little more and finds the opening mechanism. She looks around at everyone and says, "Guys, I found a secret door."

------------------------------------------

John says, I'll be changing internet providers in August. Hopefully this will improve my e-mail service. BTW: For those that do not know, we will be moving to

Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands at the end of August. We will be visiting

relatives beforehand. I'll still be able to participate in an e-mail campain,

but I don't know how long delays may be.

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Wizard's Fate: Turn 87

Jus says, "I tend to agree with Nonam, it appears these books are not

altogether wholesome."

Looking at the title of the "Death Rituals of the Sagunda" book, Jus

asks, "Anyone remember what type of creatures were promised to Elzid?"

Nonam says, "He was promised a legion of baetzu... Jus, do you have any idea what Kizzimic means?"

Jus looks at Nonam and says, "Let me know if you want any of these

carried out." Nonam shakes his head, "Most of them are burned too badly."

Gareth trips the mechanism and says "Stand ready...". Jus turns his attention to the secret door as Gareth looks into the opening.

The door swings into a dusty unlit room. One end of which has collapsed in response to the explosion of Elzid's tower, and heaps of fallen rocks and debris have piled up on the floor. Webs fill the room and conceil the ceiling.

Chala says, "Do you think there might be spiders in there."

---------------------------------------

I'm upgrading my computer this week. So if I don't answer for a while, I probably killed my computer. Movin' up from the DX4 120 to the P200 with 40megs of RAM, yeeha.

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Wizards Fate: Turn 88

Gareth moves into the room slowly moving webs and being careful where he puts

his feet.

"No, I don't know what that means," answers Jus. As he draws his sword

(just in case) and approaches the secret door, he continues, "But when

Gareth ripped open the door, I recalled that word and wondered if it

would have opened the door."

Nonam says, "I wonder... kizzimic... hmm" He follows Jus.

Erilyn refuses to go near the web filled room and Chala stays with her.

Gareth hasn't gone far into the room when a large spider drops out of the webs, and tries to bite him. It fails and falls to the floor. Nonam and Jus, notice three more crawling in the webs.

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A Wizards Fate: Turn 89

Jus takes a quick look to see how big the room is. It was once about 20'x40', but with the rubble at one end it is now 20' x 30'. He also notices that the rubble seems less massive in this room than the others. It could be moved and sifted through. He then gets beside Gareth to try and keep any of the spiders from coming behind them.

"Chala!", Jus calls, "If things start getting ugly, burn the webs! Wait

to see how we do -- so we don't destroy anything that may be within!"

Chala nods and moves to stand within the doorway, and she begins to light a torch.

Nonam rushes into the room and throws a pair of daggers at two separate spiders. The hilts glow as they leave his hands and, he hits both spiders. One falls dead from the webs and makes a thudding noise at hits the ground. The other is merely grazed.

Gareth whacks 'em with his sword. Especially the one that tried to bite him. He cleaves the spider at his feet in two with a mighty blow.

The wounded spider moves toward Nonam and attacks him. It drops onto him from the webs, but it is unable to bite him. It is on his head.

The fourth spider moves to Jus. It bites at him but misses, and it remains in the safety of the web.

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A Wizards Fate: Turn 90

Nonam stabs the spider on his head. It dies. The mage is covered in dead spider.

Jus attacks the spiders with both swords. Each blade finds its mark. The final spider falls dead from the webs.

Chala enters the room and with the added light from her torch. The group is able to see a potion trapped in the webs near the ceiling. Gareth also notices something shiny on the floor.

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A Wizard's Fate: Turn 91

Gareth examines the shiny object. It is a brass milk dish with the name "Zotzpox" painted on it in large black letters. Inside it is a scrap of paper with the words "ELZID I HATE" scrawled on it. Again the E's are backwards.

Jus sheaths his swords and starts looking through the rubble, careful

not to cause a major landslide. He finds another secret door.

Nonam retrieves his daggers. Then Chala and Nonam work at getting the potion down from the ceiling. She stands on his shoulders and grabs the potion. As she reaches out to take it several dead rats fall from the webs. She screams but manages to maintain her grip on the potion. It has no label. When she gets down her legs glow briefly where Nonam touched her while helping her stand on his shoulders.

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A Wizard's Fate: Turn 92

Gareth says "Maybe this familiar or whatever it was hated Elzid and did this to him. That probably means that he was attacked or something as opposed to having an accident."

Jus calls everyones attention to the new secret door as he attempts to

find a way to open it. Nonam says, "Perhaps the command word is 'Kizzimic,'" but when he says it, nothing happens. However, Jus finds the catch. He then looks around to make sure all are ready and opens the door.

Beyond the door is a 10'x10' closet which contains a chest.

Nonam mutters, "That word must do something... I wonder... Kizzimic." As soon as Nonam says Kizzimic that time, the chest makes a loud hissing noise like air rushing out of a tire, and then runes on the lid glow red for a second. Then everything is quiet.

------------------------------------------------------------------

JK says, Everybody welcome Kevin back. He'll be playing Chala until he gets a character of his own because neither Jerry or I have heard from Tom in a few weeks.

John says, More Blond jokes as Jerry requested...

>A blonde gets on an airplane and sits down in the first

>class section. The stewardess tells her she must move

>to economy because she doesn't have a first class

>ticket.

>The blonde replies, "I'm blonde, I'm smart, I have a

>good job and I'm staying in first class until we reach

>Jamaica."

>The stewardess gets the head stewardess who asks the

>woman to leave and she says, "I'm blonde, I'm smart, I

>have a good job and I'm staying in first

>class until we reach Jamaica."

>The stewardesses don't know what to do because they

>have to get the rest of the passengers seated to take

>off, so they get the co-pilot.

>The co-pilot goes up to the blonde and whispers in her

>ear. She immediately gets up and goes to her seat in

>the economy section. The head stewardess asks the

>co-pilot what he said to get her to move.

>The co-pilot replies, "I told her the front half of the

>airplane wasn't going to Jamaica".

-------------------

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 93

Chala will duck away from the entrance to make sure she isn't in the path of

a possible attack. She hides around the corner waiting.

Gareth tosses a rock over on top of the chest saying "Stand back". It lands on top of the chest with a thud. He then moves it with his sword. It scoots back a little, but nothing else happens. Then he says "Try one of those keys." Jus and Nonam take out their keys, but they are obviously too large to open this chest.

Jus carefully walks to the chest, casually checking for traps as he walks. He then kneels down to the chest and looks for a way to open it, but he can't figure out how.

Nonam looks around at everyone as if they're slightly off balance mentally, and he walks up to the chest, takes Gareth's rock off the top, and opens it. He looks inside and whistles.

Inside there is a silver spearhead wrapped in velvet, 4 blue gems, a shortsword, a broad sword, a scimitar, a long sword, 2 daggers, a quiver of 24 arrows, a ring, a scroll with 2 spells on it, and a wand with the word 'sizzle' inscribed on the handle. Finally there is a brass key. It looks like the wooden key Nonam has and the iron key Jus has.

Nonam takes the scroll, one blue gem, and the wand and turns to face the others. "Anybody mind if I keep these?" Then he says, "Feel free to split up the rest."

----------------------------

JK says- read the long messages from Jerry & John

Jerry says- I appreaciate everyone's patience during my vacation and insanity towards the end of the school year. As someone once said, "I feel much better. I think I'll go for a walk now."

Jerry also says- I requested blond jokes?...

A duck goes into a bar and asks, "Do you have any duck food?"

The bartender answers, "No we don't have any duck food. This is a bar! Get out of here!"

Tne next day the duck returns and asks, "Do you have any duck food?"

The bartender answers, "No! This is not a duck bar. We don't have duck food! Get out of here!"

The next day the duck returns and asks, "Do you have any duck food?"

The bartender loses his temper and says, "I hate ducks! I don't feed ducks! I don't even know what ducks eat! Get out of here! If you ever come back I'll nail your webbed feet to the wall!"

The next day the duck returns and asks, "Do you have any nails?"

The bartender answers, "No I don't have any nails."

The duck then answers, "Well, then, do you have any duck food?"

John says:My family will be moving to the Kwajalein Missile Range with arrival on

August 25th. The Kwajalein Island, on which we will be living, is in the

Kwajalein Atoll (rim of volcano) in the Marshall Islands which is

halfway between Hawaii and Australia at about 155 Deg. Latitude and 9

Deg. Longitude. We will be visiting relatives and having a vacation from

July 25th until we leave from California.

The job is not too exiting, mostly maintenance of real-time software for

the TRADEX radar on island Roi-Namur. The new software domain --

real-time on real systems -- will provide a learning curve that should

keep me interested for a while. In the next year or two, the software

and hardware will be going through major renovations which will provide

much more excitement.

We will be living on the island of Kwajalein which is the largest island

in the Atoll -- a whopping 1.2 square miles. The 40 min. 50 mile commute

to Roi-Namur is via bicycles (to and from airports) and airplane (across

the Atoll).

Ask your questions, get your answers...

Oh, going for the experience and family-oriented life; base pay is same

as now, but with no taxes and paid housing/utilities.

For lots of pictures are enclosed showing where things are and what

things look like, see:

http://www.aloha.net/~spartan/photos.htm

Or the main Kwajalein High School Web Page:

http://www.aloha.net/~spartan/

jrk

---------------------

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 94

Jus says, "Mayhap we should do a quick divide here, and another after we

determine what we have. Right now; I'm interested in the long sword,

daggers, arrows, and maybe the ring."

Gareth pulls out the spearhead and says "I'd like this." He also indicates that he would like the longsword and the ring. He goes on to say, "We'd better keep all three keys in one place." Nonam agrees and gives Jus the wooden key. Jus picks up the brass key, and puts all three together.

Chala Says: " May I have the Scimitar? I don't care about the rest." The others readily agree.

Erylin decides to take the shortsword at least until she gets out of this place.

Since nobody showed any interest Nonam picks up the other three gems and says "Well who gets the longsword and the ring. And what about that other sword?"

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A Wizard's Fate: Turn 95

Gareth says "You can carry the longsword for now since it is your main weapon.

I'm not ready to say who gets what just yet. Maybe the old sage can tell us

what we have and then we can make the split as fair as possible. I'll carry the

other sword."

Gareth takes the broadsword and put it in his belt. After a thorough search which turns up nothing, he moves to the trapezoidal door in the hallway that hasn't been opened and examines it. (He makes no mention of the ring and leaves it for Jus to take.)

The unopened door is trapezoidal in shape. Carved into its surface is a gargoyle with iron fangs. It's mouth is a keyhole.

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A Wizard's Fate: Turn 96

Jus and the others follow Gareth down the hall.

Jus pulls out the iron key and looks to see if it would fit the keyhole. It looks to be a perfect match. He puts it in the keyhole.

As soon as the key is placed in the Gargoyle's mouth, the door vanishes with a loud pop. The hall continues 10 more feet and ends at another strange door.

The 2nd door is circular. It is smooth unsculpted stone with a large keyhole at its center.

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A Wizard's Fate: Turn 97

Gareth examines specific features on and around the door. He tries to estimate

if the keys will fit into the keyhole. He decides that either the wood or brass key would fit. They look the exact same other than the material they are made of. He says "Those words you keep mumbling - maybe they'll work here?"

Nonam shrugs his shoulders and says, "KIZZIMIC." Nothing happens.

Jus looks around to see if he can tell whether to use the brass or

wooden key. He can determine nothing either. If he can't tell, he pulls out the brass key and looks to see if it would fit. It does so he says, "Well, here it goes." He puts the key in.

As soon as he does so, electricity races up the key and burns him for 1 point of damage.

Nonam pulls him away from the door and says, "Maybe we should use the wood key." He takes it and inserts it into the keyhole. The door disappears. 10 feet beyond it is another door. It is also made of stone and is diamond shaped. It bears the inscription, "Let he who would enter speak his name." Below the inscription is a keyhole.

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A Wizard's Fate: Turn 98

Gareth says "I wonder if it means say "Zotzpox" or something. I bet because

Elzid decided to turn good somebody or something attacked his home and I bet

it's behind this series of doors."

Nonam says I doubt it. I think Zotzpox is the thing we fought that killed Korok. I bet there's treasure back here.

Chala says, "Whose name do we speak then, our own?"

Nonam shrugs. "Our name or Elzid's I guess."

Jus says, "Now the question is: should we speak our name, or Elzid's

name?" Jus then holds up the brass key and asks, "Any takers?" No one volunteers, and Jus goes up to the door and says "Elzid". Nothing

Happens. He then says "Jus". Nothing happens. Then he shrugs his shoulders and puts the last key in the keyhole. Nothing happens.

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A Wizard's Fate: Turn 99

Jus tells the others he thinks he can read the runes. They are an old dialect,

so he hopes he is reading it correctly. He then faces the spheres and says,

"merlock."

At the same exact time...

Gareth opens the first sphere with the tip of his sword. He uses his sheild as

cover.

Immediately things begin to happen. As soon as Jus finishes saying "Merlock" the first door to this hallway reappears with a resounding BOOM. Jus spins around behind him to look at it and notices that there is no keyhole on this side. There is also no handle.

And when Jus opened the sphere the paintings came to life. They slowly began to waver and take on a third dimension. They jump down from the wall and prepare to attack the party. There is an elf, a dwarf, and a human.

Nonam who had been studying the paintings immediatley reacts and casts 'Burning Hands.' The spell strikes the elf and the human causing 4 points of damage.

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A Wizard's Fate: Turn 100

Gareth says "I wonder if it means say "Zotzpox" or something. I bet because

Elzid decided to turn good somebody or something attacked his home and I bet

it's behind this series of doors."

Nonam says I doubt it. I think Zotzpox is the thing we fought that killed Korok. I bet there's treasure back here.

Chala says, "Whose name do we speak then, our own?"

Nonam shrugs. "Our name or Elzid's I guess."

Jus says, "Now the question is: should we speak our name, or Elzid's

name?" Jus then holds up the brass key and asks, "Any takers?" No one volunteers, and Jus goes up to the door and says "Elzid". Nothing

Happens. He then says "Jus". Nothing happens. Then he shrugs his shoulders and puts the last key in the keyhole. Nothing happens.

---------------------------

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 101

Gareth says "How about the other 2 keys?" Nonam points out that the other two keys disappeared when the doors they were placed in disappeared.

Jus tries again with "Elzid", then puts the key in the keyhole. Nothing happens. If still nothing happens, "Zotzpox" then the key. Nothing happens. Then he hands the key to Elyrin and asks her to say her name and try. She does so and nothing happens.

Chala Says, " Try the names again after you put the key in."

Nonam says, "I think Chala may have the answer." He takes the key, puts it in the lock, and says, "Elzid." The door disappears.

Beyond the last portal lies a circular chamber. In the center of the room floar five identical metal spheres, each 2' in diameter. The balls hover 4' above the floor and have seams along their equators. Painted on the chamber's walls are three warrior figures: a human clutching a spear, a dwarf wielding an axe, and an elf brandishing a sword. Runes are painted above each figure.

-------------------------------------

Just to let everyone know where we stand, this is our final room.

From Jerry:

Guys, what about a live game here in WF when John is in town with John, David, JK, Kevin and I. Could be fun and a great way for you 4 to meet each other.

Along that line, I am extremely interested in finding a web site for us to play live in a private chat room somehow about once a month. It would solidify the group with the socialization, and push the speed. I think that we could cover about a month's worth of action in one 4 hour session.

Also, my next major project is to get the campaign folder online at a website with the intent of getting approved as a TSR approved website with a link from their official site. I think we'd be eligible for that from what I've seen if we can just get our campaign folder online maps included. I would appreciate any help you programmer guys could provide there.

JK please let the guys know of how much AOL space each member gets for free and what you've done so far. I'd like this to be a project for all of us to share as far as you guys are interested, but as usual I'm prepared to go it solo if necessary.

I get RPGA stuff via email now and am going to send this last batch of stuff to you just in case you are interested. This will be a one-time sending. If you want me to continue to send this stuff to you just let me know.

John, I threw away the email stating when you were going to be in town. Please remind me of those dates again. In fact, pass it along to everyone to see if we can get together....assuming you want to.

John, and David. Please notify when you receive your campaign folders. I sent them book rate. Kevin, please call me at 691-1078 and come by to pick yours up.

I called Tom and he has been disconnected from his online server. He didn't seem to excited to continue, but stayed just on the correct side of me not saying just forget it. If we hear from him we'll see about his interest.

I'm finding myself getting "twitchy" fingers every time JK sends out a turn. I must be ready to DM again. Muhahaha!

Tell JK what a good job he is doing. He really is gifted with words. Whoever said History professors were boring. :/ (my students - jk :) )

Well, that's all for now.

Jerry

--------------------

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 102

Chala looks around and says, "What now?"

Gareth stands battle ready with sheild and sword and says "So, we get to fight

some more... can anybody explain the runes?" He does not enter the room but

lets whomever wants to look do so.

Nonam says, "Just who is it you think we're going to fight... the paintings?" He steps into the room and begins to examine the murals.

"Can you read any of these runes, Nonam? If you can, just let me know what to

do and I'll do it." Jus says.

Nonam says, "The runes aren't magic but are some ancient elven script, but I'm not sure exactly what they say. The words aren't elven... just the letters. It's very strange. It looks like gibberish."

Jus looks at them and recognizes the old letters from his elven schooling. He determines that they read merlock, tarlock, and gorlock. He keeps this information to himself for the time being though.

The silver spheres are still floating in the center of the room.

-----------------------------------------------

Congratulations to John for rolling 1% and discovering what the runes say. There was a 15% chance. You can tell him how much you love him after he says the words. If he says the words. Will he do it. Will he say the words. Come on. Say the words. I dare you.

John says, BTW: If ya'll would, also send to my other address.

Doing some beta testing stuff...

Kevin says, You are doing great JK, course that could be cause you are also

an english expert.

Actually, You might just qualify as a genius.

I think he should get a hero point for that. :)

--------------------------

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 103

Gareth enters the room saying "It just seems that things which stand still jump

out at us whenever we come near." He examines the spheres closely looking for

any mechanical means of suspension.

He finds no mechanical means of suspension. He notices a hinge near the back of each globe. The seam around the middle appears to be where they open. He also finds small numbers on the hinges. They are numbered 1-5.

Nonam begins looking at the wall with the paintings. He's looking for a secret door or some kind of trap that might be hidden in all the designs.

--------------------------------------------------------------

David's the only one who responded. I figured it had been several days, so I decided to send out this turn with just one response.

The first part is from David, and the 2nd part is Jerry's response.

Jerry,

I got my folder. I glanced at it and it looks good. I look forward to checking

it out. Thanks for all your work.

JK,

You are doing a great job. About that history, the revisionists seem to have

completely changed the way our American histry purportedly happened. They have

secularized everything attempting to remove any refernce to the Christian faith

of our forefathers. I was wondering what you think about all of that? I'd like

to find out what you've learned (in your spare time, of course).

David

JK, pass this forward with the next turn.

Thanks for the kind word about the campaign folder David. It was a huge job. However, as the campaign expands and things change and expand, you will receive supplements. I would appreciate any criticism (as long as it isn't so mean as to harm my fragile ego) as well as areas you would like to find out more about. I'm especially interested in finding someone with more artistic talent than me to do some location specific artwork such as a picture of the Floating City as seen from the shore, etc. Also a couple of the maps really need to be redone, a.k.a. the Continent of Yrth, and the Emerald Kingdom. If any of you guys want to vent your creative juices, I can ALWAYS find something for you to do from legends, to maps, to city locations, to developing villains and adventuring NPC groups, to anything else that one does in an ongoing AD&D campaign. We also could use some help with the website if anyone is interested. Just ask and volunteer. No pressure. We accept whatever you give and don't worry if you don't finish.

Yes, JK, pontificate for us.

Jerry >>

David and I have already carried out the discussion he initiated at some length. So I'll not pontificate at this time.

Jerry also wished me to pass this on:

In a message dated 97-07-12 01:48:23 EDT, you write:

<< JK please let the guys know of how much AOL space each member gets for free and what you've done so far. I'd like this to be a project for all of us to share as far as you guys are interested, but as usual I'm prepared to go it solo if necessary. >>

Each screen name gets 2MB. So for each account, you can have 10MB. I've only used about 1MB. You can fit just about an infinite amount of text in a megabyte, but the pictures take up a lot. That stupid little map of the town Rogar is from takes up more than half of the space. >>

Pass this on to the other guys.

Jerry

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A Wizard's Fate: Turn 104

Nonam throws a pair of daggers at the dwarf. The first misses. Somehow Nonam tosses the second dagger behind him.

The Dwarf quickly scans the room and determines that Gareth looks to be the biggest threat. He runs and attacks with his wicked looking axe. He swings what could have been a deadly blow, but he misses the well armored warrior.

Chala leaps into the fray and slashes at the elf with her scimitar. She strikes hard and true dealing 8 points of damage to the elf.

The human moves to engage Nonam as the mage is the closest target. He swings his massive sword but misses.

Jus spins toward the dwarf and human holding to be sure none of the three attempt to cast a spell, saying, "Why does everything have to attack? Whatever happened to peace, love, and respect between the races?" When he is assured of that, he attacks the one who appears the most powerful or the one that has been wounded the most to try to get rid of one this round. He quickly decides to attack the dwarf since it is closest to him, and it appears to be the biggest threat. He posititions himself and shoots his longbow. One arrow misses and comes dangerously close to hitting Gareth instead. The other hits the dwarf for 8 points of damage.

Gareth (who opened the sphere not Jus FYI) engages the dwarf. He tries to see

if there is any indication that these guys don't want to fight, and he comes to the conclusion that they want to fight. He attacks but misses.

Finally the elf attacks Chala. He swings his longsword but misses.

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A Wizard's Fate: Turn 105

Gareth attacks the dwarf with his sword. He strikes 2 mighty blows. The first deals 14 points and nearly cripples the dwarf. The second does 12, and the dwarf falls to the ground. As soon as it hits the ground, it disappears.

The human tries to hit Nonam, but he fails to do so.

Nonam stabs the human with a dagger and does 4 points of damage.

The elf deftly swings his thin blade at Chala, but she nimbly dodges.

Chala continues to slice at the elf. But she only slices at it. She never slices it.

Jus, once again holds to see that no one uses spells. Then attacks with his bow shots the elf. The first shot misses and comes dangerously close to Chala. The second strikes the elf in the middle of the chest. It falls to the ground and disappears.

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A Wizard's Fate: Turn 106

The human attacks Nonam again but misses.

Nonam stabs the human for 3 points of damage.

Chala lunges for the human and hits for 5 points of damage.

Jus, now pretty sure that no spells are imminent, turns on the remaining human, utters a silent elven battle litany, and shoots the remaining human taking the penalty to hit (which is a -4) so as to avoid hitting his comrades. The first arrow strikes the human full in the chest, and he falls like the dwarf and the elf did. When the human hits the ground he disappears.

Gareth is unable to get an attack in before his companions slaughter the last opponent.

Jus clears his head of battle by looking around the room once again to determine the next course of action.

The room is circular and 30' in diameter. In the center of the room float 5 identical spheres, each 2' in diameter. The balls hover 4' off the floor. There are no mechanical means of suspension. The paintings which were on the wall are now gone. The runes remain.

Gareth has opened the first sphere but hasn't had a chance to look inside. Jus spoke the first rune which caused the first door to this chamber to close behind him. On looking at the door he notices that there is no handle or keyhole or any other apparent method of opening the door. He guesses that the other two runes will shut the other two doors. He also surmises that Elzid spoke the words to make the doors reappear upon leaving this chamber. It appears the party is trapped.

------------------

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 107

Chala ignores the spheres, turns to the door and speaks the first rune again to see if anything happens. Nothing does.

Jus waits with bow drawn for Gareth to look inside the first sphere. He nods to him to proceed with a grin that says, "Adventuring is cool." Nonam approaches the spheres to look in with Gareth.

Gareth looks into the first sphere and continues down the row as the

contents are identified.

In the first sphere is Elzid's private journal. The first portion of it deals with alcemical experiments and evil exploits, but the final pages are full of his love for Erilyn. Nonam takes it and reads the last entry:

"I shall spend this afternoon picking flowers for her, choosing only those that are as beautiful as she. But, of course, no flower is quite that beautiful. Yet I close my mind for now, for I sense Zotzpox returning. Cruel Zotzpox! He should no not of this affair. Perhaps I should send him back."

Upon hearing this Erilyn begins to weep, and she asks for the journal as a way of remembering Elzid.

Gareth moves onto the 2nd sphere. As he reaches out to touch it, everyone anticipates another attack, but is opens without incicdent. It contains 5 scrolls in ivory tubes. Nonam's eyes nearly pop from his head when he sees them. He takes them and looks at them, one has 'phantasmal force,' one has 'mirror image,' one is 'protection from poison,' one has a treasure map, and the last one has two words written on it 'thissum' and 'thossum.' Nonam indicates that he would like the two with spells. He offers the protection from poison and treasure map to any who would like them. He speculates that 'thissum' and 'thossum' are the command words for something or other. Then he gets it in his head that maybe they open the door. Chala tries it out saying one then the other, but they have no effect on the doors.

Gareth moves to the 3rd sphere. It contains 400 copper coins. Everyone is awed by the sight, and they also wish that it was gold.

Next the mighty warrior opens the 4th sphere. It has four potions labelled 'shrink,' 'sweet,' 'speak,' and 'swim.'

Finally Gareth moves to the final sphere. Everyone leans toward it in eager anticipation. He pushes back the lid, and immeditely an iron cobra strikes out at Gareth. It shoots past him and lands on the floor. Immediately Jus and Nonam cry out 'thissum.' The snake goes limp. Chala reacts just a split second later and cries out 'thossum.' The snake reactivates and Nonam and Jus give her an evil look. They both shout out 'thissum' again before the snake can react, and it goes limp. Nonam suggests that this might be of some value to the right buyer since the command words are known. (everyone cheer for Nonam and Jus for making perception checks at -15 allowing them to turn off the cobra. Jeers to Chala she made it at -10 and figured it out in general. Gareth didn't have a clue).

The treasure has been found, and the journal contains the answers that the sage sought. Now only one thing remains... opening the door.

-----------------------------

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 108

Jus says that we should take the copper, get it changed into at least electrum and then split it up although it's not worth much. We need all we can get right now. Especially if we think we're ready for the Big Float.

Nonam says, "What do you mean, 'Big Float'? We haven't talked about doing anything once we get out of here."

He also suggests that Nonam be allowed to identify the potions and then for his trouble have his choice of the four. Nonam says, "I'll have to cast the spell when we get out of here."

Jus agrees that we should sell the snake to a collector once we get to wherever we're going.

And speaking of going, does anyone know how to get us out of here? Open Sesame? Turn the handle? Jus tries to remember all that has passed and determine what we have forgotten. He remembers every thing that happened with the doors. You found keys. The doors had locks. You put the keys in, and the doors disappeared along with the keys. There are no handles or keyholes on the inside. He even remembers all of the command words that were found. All of them, except for the two that will close the other two doors, have been used.

Gareth says "I have no use for scrolls and potions. I want the weapons."

He then says "Zotzpox" in an attempt to open the doors. He also tries

"Open sesame" as it worked on the first big block at the beginning. It doesn't do anything.

Nonam says, "There has to be a way to open them. Elzid wouldn't have taken a chance on locking himself in here." Maybe there is a secret handle on the inside. He goes up to the door and begins to feel for a hidden catch. As soon as he touches the surface of the door, it disappears. He looks at Gareth and Jus, "Open Sesame... hmph."

The hallway beyond appears to be empty.

---------------------

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 109

Gareth shoulders whatever anyone else can't carry and proceeds with sword in

hand down the hall. The rest of the group follows him.

Jus says, "Hmm...let me back up a step. Weren't you a boy once? Every boy I know of dreams of walking the streets of the Big Float as an adventurer. I know I did. Maybe even to someday see the grand Adventurer's square! If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere!"

Nonam snaps back, "When I was a boy I worked hard. I didn't run around playing make believe in the woods with the fairies, and I assume that by the Big Float that you mean the Floating City. If so, then I haven't ever really had daydreams about going there."

Chala shrugs and walks into the hall, "I will be leaving all of you, I think, after we are done here "

The group slowly winds its way back out of the underground level of the dead magician's tower. They encounter nothing. When they finally reach the surface Erylin says, "Thank you for getting me, and thank you for finding my Elzid's journal. I will be eternally grateful, but I would ask one more thing of all of you. You would please take me home to my parents. After all that has happened, I'm afraid to be in these woods alone." All through her request she looks as if she will cry, but she holds the tears back.

--------------------------------------------

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 110

Gareth agrees to take Erylin home on his way to see the sage. He says"I look

forward to more adventure. I've never heard of the floating city. What is it?"

Nonam says, "I'm glad to see someone else kept busy during their childhood. Floating City is a big city like any other, full of crime and poverty. Many idolize it because it floats on the water."

Jus says, "Geez, Nonam, you sure are the serious one. I can see you sitting inside by the table window while all the other kids played "Fireball the Demon." Loosen up man! You've earned it. I hereby make it a goal to help you enjoy the "fun" moments of life."

"Fireball the Demon???... hmph," Nonam responds testily.

Breathe deep Nonam. Can you smell it? The fresh air after the stale air of the dungeon and the blood? Sigh! Makes one glad to be alive!

Hmm, I wonder what the Big Float smells like?"

"Like a sewer I would imagine."

To Erilyn, Jus offers his arm as a friend and says, "Of course, young lady, we wouldn't dream of saving you from the dungeons to leave you to the wolves. Your safety is our primary concern."

Chala says, "My journey lies this way", and she strikes off in the opposite direction. She never even turns back when the group calls after her.

Jus shrugs his shoulders and begins to sing an old elven travelling song about the joys of nature as the party travels down the road.

After an hour our so the group arrives at Erylin's home. She rushes in to see her family, but asks the party to wait for her. Shortly after a large, fat bearded man comes running out of the house in his small clothes. He's yelling, "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU" He reaches the group out of breath and says, after a minute of huffing and puffing, "Thank you for bringing her back. I don't have much but please accept this token of my thanks." He hands Gareth a small bag containing 75 electrum. From the looks of his living conditions, it's a fortune to him.

-----------------------------------

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 111

Gareth says "Please keep your money. We have no need. Use it to celebrate your

families return if you must spend it. Thank you for your offer." When he can

do so politely he suggests the party go see the sage.

Jus calls the others aside and says, "Guys, I don't feel right about taking this guy's money. You can see in his eyes that it's all he has. If you disagree I'll be glad to pay you your share of this reward out of my pocket."

He dares anyone to accept him with intense eyes.

To the father, Jus says, "Sir, the look of joy on your face is more than sufficient for us." He bows and closes the mans hand over his money and releases smiling warmly.

Then Gareth says, ""Please keep your money. We have no need. Use it to celebrate your family's return if you must spend it. Thank you for your offer."

When Gareth can do so politely he suggests the party go see the sage, and Jus loudly announces, "Fellow adventurer's Let's be off to the Sage. We have much to tell him."

The group of three travels back into town discussing their adventures. Jus believes the whole adventure to have been a grand event. Nonam and Gareth however remember some of the more unpleasant events. After a long journey the group enters town and goes to the sage's home. On the front door, a note is attached. It is addressed to "The three that rescued Erylin." Nonam takes it down and reads it aloud:

Mighty heroes I congratulate you on your exploits. I was able to watch the conclusion of your adventure through my magic. I saw you emerge from Elzid's underground lair with Erylin so I know that you completed the task you were given, and I congratulate you. Unfortunately, however, I was called away on urgent business to the Floating City just this morning. I still wish to hear all that you discovered about Elzid, and I still have some gold for you. So come meet me in the "Big Float" as Jus loves to call it, and we will conclude our business. I will be staying at the Inn of Kings.

-Loren

ps. I have made arrangements for you to stay in the village inn here for as long as you wish before journeying on to meet me. I also told Hegman, the inn keeper, to outfit you with any supplies you might need. So check in and rest a day or two, and then hurry on to the Floating City.

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end