Roleplaying table top games make for great stories! The Envoys of Spark is a Dungeons and Dragons campaign created by Elyse T. Join hilarious and entertaining player characters on their voyage in an unknown world, as they try to accomplish an enigmatic mission.
The Envoys of Spark Chronicles are published every Monday! Check back for new adventures!
Plucked from their own world and lives, five mismatched heroes awoke on a deserted beach. As the sound of crashing waves brought them back to consciousness, they strained their senses to detect anything surrounding them.
Halfway in the water, one of our adventurers, a small, humanoid toad-like creature named Regor III, turned back to see large bubbles in beneath the waves. The trail seemed to get further, and eventually disappeared. Known to Farscape fans as a Hynerian, Regor III dismissed the strange occurrence and instead focused on the fact that a man, rising from the sand a few steps away, was starring at him. Worse, it waved.
An ever-curious but sombre-looking man, Kohmai, someone we will call post-Humanoid had just seen in the corner of his eye, a large light disappearing from the sky. After saluting the Hynerian in a both warm and awkward manner, he became aware that his clothing was entirely covered in blood. He checked his body quickly, realizing he was not hurt, and that the blood might have belonged to someone else. Not far from them, a young female halfing, Beatrice, known in the Tolkien universe as a hobbit, shook sand out of her clothes, and dug in her pocket silently for a snack.
What is going on?
As Regor III threw a “What the hezmana is going on here?” at Kohmai, further away, on a cliff edge surrounded by sea water, a female wizard awoke. Not wanting to appear confused, she rose confidently and posed dramatically on her outcrop, perfectly appearing as though it was her intention to be there. Below, on the beach, a tough sorcerer, Virgil, awoke as well. Looking around, he decided that the coconuts on the cliff where the wizard stood looked delicious. He absent-mindedly tried to climb, and fell on his face on two occasions, getting himself soaked in salt water.
Kohmai and Regor III, who for a moment thought the sorcerer might have been who kidnapped them and conspired to bring them to this beach, changed their minds. Each began retelling their last memories before awakening here. The hobbit was at home, having tea. The Hynerian was on Hyneria, enjoying a bath while being fed by richly dressed servants. The sorcerer had been in a jail cell.
Clearly, something or someone went to great lengths to bring them all together on this deserted beach.
Suddenly, the wizard, still on her outcrop, exclaimed:
“Hello there strangers! Fear not! I am Medea Zu’l Zorander, Wizard of the First Order, all will be fine! You are saved!” (Some fantasy fans might recognize that she must related to Zeddicus Zu’l Zorander, the key wizard in Legend of the Seeker)
The group on the beach were actually comforted by the statement, but most realized it was a stroke of ego. They gathered around Virgil, where the cliff seemingly was easiest to climb down from, and awaited their “savior”. Kohmai offered to help her down. She tripped, he was unable to catch her, and he fell himself. She landed in shallow water, sending splashes on his legs.
Virgil, thinking himself clever, tried to catch the tumbling Kohmai, and found himself crushed under an incredible weight. The wizard attempted to use her Mage Hand to free him, but the post-humanoid could not be lifted by her magic. Kohmai’s legs seems oddly burned by the salt water.
Magic that Tastes Good
Kohmai apologized the incident, explaining that he was much heavier than normal, and that salt water was a danger to him. He mentioned having trouble getting passage on ships because of his personal weight, and the group admitted that it would be quite a risk to take on such a heavy passenger at sea. He also revealed that he had been roaming islands similar to the one the group now found themselves on. Kohmai thus stated that he had at least been in this world, or planet, before waking on the deserted beach, as opposed to the others, who had been taken from faraway lands.
Further exploration was postponed as the group realized the sun was setting. The wizard and the sorcerer had been soaked in water and were now very cold. Looking around led them to the entrance of a cave, which they explored, and of course, bats flew at someone’s face. Virgil showed a talent for fire-starting, and made a makeshift torch.
They spent the night in the small cave, which seemed to go on very deep. Strangely, the back-end of the cave’s floor was man-made stone tile. Beatrice was curious and slipped deeper, noticing a large amount of spider webs. Being a hobbit, she of course had some rations on her, which she shared honestly with her four companions. The meal was meagre, but brought them good cheer. Medea gifted Beatrice with a magically summoned flower, which the hobbit used to make tea. Of course, as the flower was only created by magic, its entire existence, and whatever was made of it, was only temporary. Their hot water thus at least tasted good while they drank it.
The group decided to stay put for the night and slept in shifts, keeping watch at both the entrance of the cave, and the underground passage. Virgil, tormented by the unknowns behind his magical abilities, heard a strange voice coming from deeper down the cave. Unsure whether he was hearing this with his ears or his head, he did not sleep much that night. Kohmai also did not seem to require sleep.
A Swim, Island Hobbit Brunch and Symbolism
After an extended rest, the group was not in the mood for cave exploring. They returned to the beach, hoping to investigate the strange bubbling the Hynerian had seen in the sea. Regor III can swim easily, and did his best to remember where he saw the strange phenomenon. After a bit a searching beneath the waves, he clearly saw the giant footprint of an aquatic creature he couldn’t identify.
The heroes then split off to gather whatever food they could from the island, and met again on the beach to watch Beatrice intently as she cooked, before enjoying their first real meal together.
They then explored the cliff side for a while. They found two symbols engraved into the stone. The first looked like a spiral, with a line drawn vertically through it. The second was a hollow triangle. The Medea, being a Wizard of the First Order, as she loved to repeat, could guess that on her own world, the first symbol meant “inside”, and the second meant “messenger”, but could not guarantee that the meaning had been the same for the artists. As Regor III pointed out: “Sure, nobody thought of drawing triangles before!”
Final Defense Scenario
They returned to the cave, determined to find out what awaited them beneath. They advanced carefully, armed with small torches against the darkness. Strangely, as they advanced, mysterious sconces that contained no fire came to life, illuminating a hallway, and a first room. The inhabitants of the deeper cave, a giant spider and her many offspring, were unhappy with the disturbance. The heroes fought valiantly for the first time together, and successfully killed off the spiders.
The room they had found appeared to be a dead-end. Supplies seemed to once have been stored in this room, but anything that might once have been useful had been destroyed by spider refuse. They searched for a while through the mess, and debated a bit too long against Kohmai who thought a spider-dung covered crate would be useful and insisted on carrying it.
Finally, the Hynerian felt a strange breeze, coming from below a stone wall. Kohmai immediately punched through the stone and broke it in a thousand pieces.
The group made their way down another corridor, expecting another set of enemies. To their relief, they found no giant spiders. They entered a room with wooden floors and walls, a desk and scattered objects. A strange, high-pitched but dimmed noise buzzed through the air and tickled at their ears. Against the furthest wall was a large table with a set of levers, cogs, wheels and switches with a row of lights beaming a curtain of illumination at the ceiling. In the light, a large cluster of sparkling dust danced coordinately to the buzzing noise, rising back and forth like a gentle breathing motion.
Regor III knows a console when he sees one, and started playing around with the controls on the mysterious table. He didn’t really know what he was doing.
The dust cluster came to life within the light beams, looking like a chaotic dust cloud. A loud siren rang out, deafening the group. An annoyingly calm voice coming from the console said:
“Alert. Final Defense Scenario has been triggered. Alert. Total flooding of the storage gallery in 30 minutes”
“Frell!” The Hynerian shouted, as he pulled a last lever that seemed particularly relevant.
Behind them, a wall suddenly opened, revealing yet another stone tiled corridor.
It is important to point out that at this point, we assume Kohmai is still carrying his spider-dung covered crate obstinately.
Check out Part II of The Envoys of Spark
