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!
Check Out Part I of The Envoys of Spark
Check Out Part X of The Envoys of Spark
Old Friends
Sailing away from the ship graveyard, the sombre remnant of a cruel war fought over 30 years before, the Envoys of Spark asked their ship to set a course for the mysterious “fertile land that breathes”, due west. As they were tired from their expedition in the intestinal systems of a fish, Regor III, Beatrice, Medea and Virgil went to rest below deck. Kohmai, who did not require food or sleep, kept watch in the crow’s nest.
A strange sound woke Kohmai out of a reverie in the middle of the night. He descended carefully from his post, leaned overboard, and perceived a dark silhouette in a low boat, hugging the Waveweaver’s hull. Kohmai tiptoed down to the sleeping quarters, where Medea, Regor and Virgil snored happily. In his haste, he smashed a door off it’s hinges trying to respectfully knock.
“Hurry, we are being boarded! Wake up!”
He then rushed to the kitchens, where Beatrice slept, and, trying to be gentle, violently shook her awake.
Up on deck, the sleepy Envoys met a very large and familiar hoard of Lizard Folk, ready to attack. A great number of them had remained at sea and surrounded the Waveweaver.
“Alas, we have found you, deceivers!”
Medea stepped forward, “What do you mean, deceivers, we made a simple error I admit, and we have been trying to find you since. I have here the true jewel you have been seeking!”
Out of her sleeve, the Wizard of the First Order revealed the egg-shaped jewel she had pushed out of gelatinous flesh inside a decomposing fish.
The LizardFolk Leader’s eyes widen and he opened his palms to accept the jewel. “Sadisha Sadisha…” He whispered under his breath. The LizardFolk surrounding him joined in, admiring the jewel with hypnotic adoration.
“Now be gone, leave my ship immediately!” Medea said, whishing with all her might that her lies would be forgotten.
“No!” The Leader shouted, snapping his gaze away from the jewel. “We demand reparation. This jewel is sacred to us, we do not wish to sell it. Meanwhile, we are left without nothing since the Bandits took everything from us. You deceived us, we demand reparation!”
Medea was about to insult the LizardFolk’s choice of footwear when Beatrice stepped forward, carrying the large Solemite snake killed beneath Miapolafa Lighthouse. The snake alone was worth a fortune.
“Great Leader, please accept this as reparation for your ill-fortune. Please know that the bandits that previously did you wrong are no more. We are the Envoys of Spark and we were glad to help.”
The LizardFolk were very satisfied by the hobbit’s offer and kind words. They took the Solemite snake and departed.
Land that Exhales
As they approached their destination, Kohmai, from the crow’s nest, could see a large column of smoke, melting into a permanent cloud line above a small, very green island with a dark mountain at it’s center. Soon, they could see streams of glowing lava descending, steaming as it poured into the sea surrounding it.
The Envoys, having learned that flying no flag meant piracy, debated as which identity to take. They had found a well-enough preserved, unidentified flag in the ship graveyard, displaying a golden tower on burgundy and wondered what the effect of raising it would be. They, in the end, opted to raise the flag of Miapolafa, trying to appear as Merchants or simple hirelings.
The Waveweaver spotted a dock, the only safe place to approach the island, which opened into a wide, fertile valley below the mountain. The Envoys allowed their ship to dock, and descended onto grassy and dusty soil. Three soldiers in matching uniforms greeted them promptly.
“You must be the mercenary specialists here just as planned?” The men asked.
“Why yes of course, I am the specialist!” Medea said.
“Haha, what my assistant means to say,” Regor said, “is that I am the specialist.”
The soldiers seemed relieved.
“Wonderful, we have been needing new Ice Mages for the Extinguishment Effort! Please follow us, our Captain will show you to your quarters and introduce you to the Governor of the E. E.”
The Envoys followed the sentinels. Regor and Medea meanwhile still argued over who was the true expected specialist. Soon, they reached an ancient ruin at the bottom of the volcano, an old stone structure that seemed inhabited by a small labour force and exterior guard.
In the center of the small settlement, the Envoys spotted a monument. The plaque read: “Commemoration of the Extinguishment Effort by the King of Eashane, Lord Duzuaac”
The name of the King made a few of the Envoys gasp; this was the man Spark had tasked them to stop!
Beatrice approached a group of young mages in blue robes passing by. She pretended to be from a far away land and asked politely what the E. E. was.
The mages were surprised by her ignorance but explained nonetheless. The E.E. was the large endeavour of putting out the Xelif Volcano, which formed the entire island. Over 30 years, by employing countless mages and workers, the powerful Juuls and Eashanees were able to build a powerful fortress inside the mountain and greatly reduce the volcano’s activities.
The Captain of the guard emerged from a nearby building, “Welcome to the E.E. and thank you for joining us in our battle again Xelif Volcano”
“But why, if you don’t mind me asking, are you trying to quench the volcano?” Virgil asked. Again, The Captain seemed very surprised to hear such a question
“Long ago, Xelif the magician used an Etching of Spark, and created this volcano, trying to make a barrier for Dunnri and to fight back the Enshanees. The control over the volcano all the years had ensured, with the alliance of the Juuls mages, Enshane’s victory over the northern Kingdoms, such as Dunnri.”
The heroes remembered well the ship graveyard they had just left, where inside a cursed fish they had met a magical imprint of Duzuaac. He had been eager to move his armies higher North, and it seemed the Kingdom of Dunnri had resisted their conquerors very fiercely.
Dance of Lies
The Envoys were led to a gate entirely covered in ice. Upon the Captain’s orders, mages nearby dispelled their curse from the door, and froze it again after they had passed. The Captain spoke in great awe of the governor and his place as representant of Lord Duzuaac, as the Envoys held on to their false personas.
The Governor had been alerted of their coming, and would need a bit of time to prepare for their meeting, as he meant to test their magical abilities. The Envoys were invited meanwhile to settle in their quarters, where they were served alcohol and acquainted with a small library. The Envoys were very weary of the drinks they were offered, and decided to skim through the literature instead, only to find grossly exaggerated propaganda. All of it seemed to be written for the benefit of Lord Duzuaac, who was credited with conquering almost the entire world, with creating the Etchings himself, and with having discovered an ultimate catalyst of power, promising the discovery of his apocalyptic Sea of Stars in the next year. The Envoys were unsure what to believe.
Finally, the Captain of the guard invited the Envoys into the reception hall for an audience with the Governor. Only Regor and Medea followed, as they argued as to who was the specialist. Down a long and regal hallway, they pinched and kicked one another.
“Your honor, it is a pleasure to be entirely at your service, I am the specialist,” Regor said, with a flourishing bow.
“What this servant means, your greatness, is that you are saved, because FINALLY, the Wizard of the First Order has arrived!” Medea said loudly.
Each demonstrated by power of illusion and wit very apt abilities in ice magic. The Governor was pleased and seemed completely oblivious to their true identities.
“Thank you for these impressive demonstrations, my dear specialists. I have, however, one test I need you to survive before this piece of business can go further.”
He stepped to the side of the room and pulled on a large lever. A large stone throne began to shake, becoming hotter until it glowed red with fiery heat.
“Battling the forces of a volcano requires powerful magic. I need at least two of you to be able to sit on this chair, sizzling as it is, for a full minute.”
The jaws of the two “specialists” dropped.
Secret Beneath
Regor III, an incredibly clever Hynerian, transformed his floating chair into a very thin, buttock shaped disc, and deployed it skillfully a split second before taking a seat on the chair. Using his in-depth experience in lying and acting, he managed to seem perfectly comfortable as the steam and hot air coming from the chair burned his thighs and stung his amphibian eyes.
Medea tried to think of some way of sitting on this chair of coals but found none. Instead, she yelled down the hallway for Virgil. The sorcerer took his time to present himself to the governor.
While discreetly pointing at the palm of her hand to indicate the Etching, Medea asked Virgil to sit on the burning throne, knowing that with the Etching of Recovery, Virgil could return the chair to it’s previous, unburnt, state.
“Are you not able to use your endless magical powers to sit on this chair, Wizard of the First Order?” Virgil teased, knowing that Medea had used her illusion powers to appear as a flaming silhouette to unsuspecting and impressionable minds.
“Please, show us your power, great sorcerer…”Medea pushed out between gritted teeth.
Virgil sat happily on the fiery stone chair, and used his Etching to turn back time, to a few minutes before the lever had been activated. The chair appeared to have been thoroughly extinguished.
“Very good, Specialists,” said the Governor, “finally, I can explain the nature of your work here, which I can promise will be very well recompensed.”
“Yes, of course we still should discuss exactly how much,” Regor interjected.
“If you can complete this job, I assure you, you will never want for anything again. Below ground, my men and mages have uncovered Xelif himself in the mountain. Still, he controls the volcano, and your job will be to defeat him finally accomplish the objective of the E. E.”
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