Tales from the Plunderbund Consortium<\/strong><\/p>\n Dark Sun Campaign \u2013 Chapter 7<\/strong><\/p>\n After a successful trip to the Rez, Ilana and company stocked up on supplies and headed back to the main road.\u00a0 The intended to continue east to Balic, with the hopes of meeting up with Coraanu\u2019s old tribe, the Silverhand Tribe (of which the Songstealer clan had once been a part).<\/p>\n A few uneventful days of travel later, the adventurers saw a huge sand cloud in the distance.\u00a0 Not only that, but the sand cloud appeared to be moving closer to them.\u00a0 It soon became apparent that this sand cloud was caused by a raiding party of about 40 Thri-kreen heading right for them.\u00a0 As the party began debating whether to run or fight, Hookeri told them to hold for he saw something very strange.\u00a0 The raiding party was being led by an elf, his father Mutami.<\/p>\n As Mutami and his bugs began to surround the party, Mutami started his, \u201cwe are here to raid you, give us your stuff\u201d speak when he suddenly stopped and said, \u201cmy adopted son Hookeri!\u00a0 What brings you to me this day!\u201d<\/p>\n After a few minutes of conversing, Hookeri learned that Mutami had given up looking for the ones who killed his distant cousins the Songstealers as he believed they will never be found.\u00a0 When asked why he did not return home to \u201cmom\u201d, Mutami explained that, while he missed Ekee, he had found a new destiny.\u00a0 During the journey he met with Celba Silttamer, the new leader of the Silverhand tribe.\u00a0 Celba explained to him that it was her great vision to bring elves and Thri-kreen together to overthrow Sorcerer King Androphinis and create a new Elven-Kreen empire.\u00a0 Enamored by Celba\u2019s ideals, Mutami joined up with her and quickly became her right hand and leader of the Thri-kreen shock troops.<\/p>\n Introducing himself as the last surviving member of the Songstealers, Coraanu asked to be taken back to the Silttamer main camp.\u00a0 Mutami, of course, agreed and the party began the next stage of the journey.\u00a0 All the while Hookeri was quick to make sure the other Thri-kreen knew that Mutami was his father and that he deserved special treatment because of it.<\/p>\n After a few hours of travel into the desert, Coraanu was treated to an unexpected sight.\u00a0 All of the clans that make up the Silverhand Tribe had appearently come together, thousands strong.\u00a0 From what Coraanu remembered of his childhood, this rarely, if ever happened.\u00a0 The party was brought to the center of the camp before an impressive \u201cwedding or junior prom\u201d sized tent.\u00a0 Out from the tent came someone Coraanu instantly recognized, the third daughter of the former chief of the Silttamers.\u00a0 Someone Coraanu had been instructed by his father to give no mind to as she should never amount to anything as the third daughter of a chieften.<\/p>\n Perhaps most disconcerting, Celba had apparently grown a foot taller and put on approximately 100 pounds of muscle while still maintaining a delicate, feminine frame.\u00a0 With all the grace of a Real New Jersey housewife, Celba came over to Coraanu, gave a disingenuous huh, and in a fake pandering voice talked about how good it was to find that a member of the Silverhand tribe was still alive!\u00a0 Coraanu attempted to engage her in conversation, but she insisted that any conversation be put off until after that evening\u2019s celebratory feast.\u00a0 Further, she directed that the adventurers be taken to the hot springs to bath before the festivities.<\/p>\n Even though they were all told that they had to bathe or they wouldn\u2019t be able to attend the feast, Dimebag showed off his bitching scars from his former dis-enstomach-ing and explained that he was not medically cleared for a hot spring.\u00a0 Mutami, who would be escorting the party to the springs, agreed, but gave Dimebag a wet-nap and told him to take a \u201clady of ill repute bath.\u201d<\/p>\n At the hot springs Mutami was very forthcoming, perhaps a little too forthcoming, with what Celba was trying to accomplish.\u00a0 They had spent the past year and a half gathering all the clans of the Silverhand tribe together, and they were recruiting any Thri-kreen who would listen. \u00a0Obviously, they still had a ways to go before they could invade a city state.\u00a0 When Mutami made that observation, Coraanu asked how they intended to be able to defeat a sorcerer king?\u00a0 Mutami deflected the question by saying that Celba was \u201cworking on plans.\u201d<\/p>\n Wanting to know just how important his father was, Hookeri asked what Mutami\u2019s rank in Celba\u2019s army was.\u00a0 Mutami explained that it was basically Celba, then him, and then a counsel made up of all the leaders of the other clans; however, they would make sure that each clan chief would think that, \u201cthey were actually the one in charge *wink wink*.\u201d\u00a0 Hearing this, a mischief making plan entered into Coraanu\u2019s head.<\/p>\n While most of the adventurers were enjoying a spa day, Dimebag decided he was going to \u201cdo recon.\u201d\u00a0 Approaching Celba\u2019s awesome-ass tent, he saw that the entrance was guarded by two bugs.\u00a0 He decided to go around to the back and, failing his arcana check, decided to lift up the tent to sneak under.\u00a0 This resulted in Dimebag taking significant magical electrical shock damage.<\/p>\n Undeterred, Dimebag consumed his fruit of invisibility and snuck past the bug-guards (DM\u2019s Note: Calling a Thri-kreen a bug is basically a racial slur and will likely get you eaten).\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>As Dimebag entered the tent, he saw that it was a short hallway leading to a black, silk tent flap that, presumably, led to the main tent area.\u00a0 Having passed his arcana check this time, Dimebag was able to sense that this silk flap was also magically trapped.\u00a0 Every the clever one, Dimebag took out and assembled his 10 foot pole and gently moved the entrance flap aside.<\/p>\n Hearing a loud explosion coming from the encampment, the adventurers threw on their clothes and rushed to see what happened.\u00a0 It turned out that moving the tent flap aside caused a fireball to go off in the entry way.\u00a0 As the party arrived to the center of camp, they saw the two guards hauling Dimebag\u2019s unconscious and charred body out of the tent.<\/p>\n Assuming it must be \u201csome terrible understanding,\u201d Celba exited the tent, went over to Dimebag\u2019s body, and used her psionic powers to revive him to nearly full life.\u00a0 Seeing this, Pane-pan realized that Celba had psionic powers far more advanced than he.\u00a0 Once again coming back from the precipice of death, Dimebag begged for forgiveness and explained that he had been coming to the tent to proclaim his love for Celba.\u00a0 Finding him cute, Celba told Dimebag that he would sit to the right of her tonight while Coraanu would sit on her left.\u00a0 She then retired back into her tent.<\/p>\n During the few hours between bathing and the feast, Coraanu decided to meet with each clan chieften individually to tell them what he had learned about how Celba and Mutami were manipulating.\u00a0 Most simply dismissed Coraanu as crazy or a liar; however, an elf chief named Solzak seemed genuinely afraid of Celba.\u00a0 He basically told Coraanu, \u201clook we all know the truth we just pretend not to, now just shut up, keep your head down, and enjoy the prosperity that Celba is bringing to the tribe.\u201d<\/p>\n That night at the feast a good time was had by most (not Coraanu).\u00a0 Pane-pan got it on with a big thoraxed lady-bug, Hookeri got to talk with his father, Alexa got to drink a lot, Ilana did a lot of drugs, and Dimebag thinks he got a handy from Celba under the table.\u00a0 At one point and elf came over and starting hitting on Alexa.\u00a0 Not impressed, Alexa used Nok\u2019s Gauntlets to knock him the fuck out.\u00a0 At the same time, Ilana cast Reduce <\/em>on the elf, causing his now tiny body to fly away from the force of Alexa\u2019s punch.<\/p>\n During the meal Coraanu again attempted to use the power of being a dick to mess with Celba.\u00a0 Using the spell Mage Hand<\/em>, Coraanu spilled wine all over the elven cloak that Celba wears to show her leadership of the tribe.\u00a0 Without any sign of annoyance on her face, Celba telekinetically wrung out the cloak, and then used Prestidigitation <\/em>to instantly clean it.\u00a0 From there Celba invited Coraanu, his \u201cbodyguard\u201d Alexa and Dimebag back to her personal tent.<\/p>\n Upon entering the tent, both Alexa and Dimebag failed their saving throws and had their minds turned off by Celba.\u00a0 She then called upon her arcane power to cast Dominate Person <\/em>on Coraanu for the next eight hours.\u00a0 Failing his save, Celba forced Coraanu to disclose everything he had learned or suspected about the massacre of the Songstealers.\u00a0 Once he disclosed all he had learned, Coraanu could feel Celba probing and re-writing his mind.<\/p>\n Celba locked deep within Coraanu\u2019s mind all that he had learned since first meeting Mutami.\u00a0 She then instructed him to continue his journey to Balic.\u00a0 Upon arriving there Coraanu was to disappear from his friends for two to three days.\u00a0 Upon returning to his friends, he was to inform them that during his independent investigation he learned that High Defiler Vaerhirmana (Androphinis\u2019s head defiler) had orchestrated the massacre and that they need to track him down and kill him as soon as possible.<\/p>\n The next morning everyone on the party woke up in the guest tent with only the memories of what a great time they had at the hot spring and feast the night before.\u00a0 All traces of memory of their conversations with Celba and Mutami had been scrubbed from their brains.\u00a0 Coraanu urged the party to continue their journey to Balic and they left the Silverhand Tribe encampment and continued east.<\/p>\n About a day into the trip they were ambushed by a pack of Brohgs.\u00a0 Luckily, their aim was terrible and three of the six party members have at least one level in barbarian.\u00a0 As such, the fight was a piece of cake.\u00a0 More unnerving, two days later Coraanu heard a voice in his head.\u00a0 The voice introduced himself as Androphinis, Sorcerer King of Balic.\u00a0 Considering the sheer psionic power tearing at his mind, Coraanu had little reason to doubt the voice.\u00a0 Androphinis instructed Coraanu to come see him in Balic one week for today.\u00a0 The sorcerer king said nothing more but it was clear to Coraanu that bad things would happen if he failed to follow the order.<\/p>\n Upon reaching Balic the adventurers had a choice to made, pay one silver and go through the regular line, or pay one gold and go through the safe \u201cbribery line.\u201d\u00a0 Despite needing to go though the bribery line or face death for being discovered as a defiler, Ilana chose the regular line.\u00a0 Having drank a number of beers by that point, I can\u2019t remember all the nonsense that happened.\u00a0 What I do know is this:\u00a0 1) Ilana got discovered; 2) some of the adventurers caused a distraction; 3) Ilana ate her potion of invisibility and ran away; 4) most of the other PCs were deputized as \u201cTemplars for a day\u201d to go hunt Ilana down and turn her in.<\/p>\n Immediately upon entering the city, Pane-pan was mentally contacted by Ender Wiggin, Headmaster of the University of Inix, a long distance learning psionic academy.\u00a0 Headmaster Wiggin asked Pane-pan to come see him the next morning.\u00a0 As usual, the adventurers took advantage of Dimebag\u2019s contacts with House Inikia to crash at their barracks while in the city state.\u00a0 Shortly after arriving there Dimebag was offered a job by someone <\/em>in the House compound.\u00a0 This individual, who offered no name and was not asked by Dimebag to provide one, was willing to pay Dimebag and his compatriots one gold now and one gold at the completion of the job to break into the Arsenal, the heavily guarded and fortified Balic military shipyard, to locate and steal a copy of the plans for building the psionically powered ship helms that propel the Balic naval fleet.\u00a0 Dimebag and company accepted.<\/p>\n The next day Pane-pan, along with good friend Hookeri, headed over to the University of Inix.\u00a0 Upon arriving and being ushered into Headmaster Wiggin\u2019s office, the Headmaster explained that he knew why Pane-pan was in the city and that he knew who had killed Pane-pan\u2019s cluch.<\/p>\n The Headmaster told Pane-pan that on that day, Girias Olivian, son of family head Giovvo Olivian, had decided to prove to his father that he was finally ready to enroll in the military academy.\u00a0 To do so, he and some of his noble friends formed a hunting party to bring back a trophy.\u00a0 Knowing of his son\u2019s mischief, Wiggin had been hired by the family to keep psionic watch over Girias.\u00a0 As such, he observed from his office when Girias and his friends ran into Pane-pan\u2019s cluch, panicked, and slaughtered them all.<\/p>\n Headmaster Wiggin urged Pane-pan to give up his quest for vengeance.\u00a0 In exchange he would enroll Pane-pan in his schools for free (a 100 gold piece per year value!).\u00a0 He would also give Pane-pan a long distance learning obsidian orb that would allow him to take \u201conline\u201d classes in his own spare time while traveling with his compatriots.\u00a0 After all, as Thri-kreen never sleep, he would have plenty of opportunity to study.<\/p>\n Pane-pan thanked the Headmaster for his offer but turned him down.\u00a0 Blood would be answered for with blood.\u00a0 Wiggen assured Pane-pan that he would not sell the Thri-kreen out to the Templars and they parted amicably.<\/p>\n —————————————————–<\/p>\n You can find us at the actual 9 Deuce website<\/a>\u00a0where we have the archives as well as other content such as horror movie reviews, wrestling blogs, podcasts, and some other material. \u00a0We’re on Facebook<\/a>, on Twitter @official9deuce<\/a>, or Tumblr @ superkent92<\/a>\u00a0or Instagram at Official9Deuce<\/a>\u00a0.\u00a0 Share this, like this, write us an email with a question or a comment at kent@9deuce.tv<\/a>. \u00a0Hell, you can subscribe via RSS. \u00a0Facebook and the website are probably the best bets. \u00a0Thank you.<\/p>\n For the month of October, if you see this logo, click on it to go see the updated list of my 100 Horror Movies In October Marathon.<\/p>\n
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