Expanded Timeline for After Chaos (AC) Part 334

Year 334 AC
A plague sweeps through all of Martapa.  It is carried by ships and caravans, causing ports to close and caravans to be killed and burned out side cities.  The cities are hit the hardest and the farmers and outlying villages seem the least affected.  Thousands die, leaving every family in cities with at least one dead, if not large portions of their families dead. Panic at strangers arriving are not unheard of and healers are in high demand, even held as prisoners by the rich so they stay healthy.

Writing Tips for Those With Little Time

Hello, all!
So I've been bad at keeping up with my blogging, with family emergencies and the busy life of a mom of teenagers.  So I came up with a few ideas for those busy writers who want to catch a few minutes of writing when even spare minutes are hard to find.

1) Keep a small notepad in a coat pocket or your car.  I have one to jot down ideas, short thoughts, even editing ideas.  You can use something on your phone, too.  It's not butt in chair time, per say, but at least you can have a few minutes to jot down ideas to work on when you have that mythical writing time.

2) Driving time is a good time to ruminate on ideas (thus the notebook in the car).  I have a 50 minute round trip of dropping off my daughter/picking her up twice a day.  It give me plenty of time to think on my ideas and while I have that 3 minutes in the parking lot waiting for her, I can jot down my ideas.

3) Any time is a good writing session.  Many of us think if I don't have a half hour or so to write, we have no time to write.  I haven't been writing, but I have been taking 5 to 10 minutes to edit my older stories when I have a chance.  Mostly when I waiting for lunch to cook or I'm eating it, (the days I have time for that), but I take it.  If you can sneak that in even a few times a week, it's still progress.

4) My biggest advice, don't give up.  Clearly you like to write, so do so.  Don't make it a chore, learn to enjoy it again.  And maybe you can make that few minutes here and there turn in to more time!

Keep on trucking!

The Castle of the Lake Part 6

The Castle of the Lake Part 6
The sleeping quarters are spacious, though covered in layers of dust.  The beds have fallen through their frames, the mattresses are moth eaten and falling apart, and any other furniture in the rooms is questionable whether anyone wants to sit on or use them.  The curtains and blankets are moth eaten, but look as if they were beyond beautiful at some point in time.  The windows are stain glass, though many are just of simple garden scenes or battle scenes.  Sir Vargin states that the royal family was large and well loved by the locals, but he does not know if they lived or not.  He will not say what happened or when he is from and if pressed, he seems very hurt by the questions.

For the GM the royal family did escape, though several were lost during the escape.  They resettled near by and became leaders of a small village that grew into a moderate sized city.  Most, if any, do not know they are descended from the royals of this castle.  Here is the crux.  If a member of the royal family, or their descendants, were to enter the castle, it would remain and no longer be cursed to bounce around in time and space. If the players were to pry this from Vargin and accomplish bringing a descendant to the castle, Vargin would be forever grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving, safe travels and best wishes to you for the holiday season and the year to come!

The Castle of the Lake Part 5

The Castle of the Lake Part 5
The ballroom is huge, larger then the outside would suggest.  There are stain glass windows all around the hall, depicting Gods, heroic battles and the wonders of nature.  The floor is covered in dust, but beneath the layers is a mosaic so breathtaking it's hard to walk upon the floor without feeling you are walking upon something sacred.  It is of the major Gods creating the world, and even with age, the colors are splendid.  There are tables and chairs around the edges of the dance floor, but none look reliable to sit upon or use.  There are more light stone here that also come to life as the party enters, and light stones placed upon a giant chandelier above the middle of the dance floor.

The Castle of the Lake Part 4

The Castle of the Lake
The library of the castle is huge, and Sir Vargin is not surprised the party wants to see the repository of knowledge.  The room is as large as four peasant hovels and 2 stories high.  Books line every wall, with small bookcases in the center of the room, along with study tables and chairs.  The room lights up as the party enters.  Sir Vargin is very proud of the magic, saying the lightstones have an extra magic to sense when people are in the room.  It would take weeks to find anything in the room, but Sir Vargin says there is a book catalog on the table near the door.

This is the main reason the keep continues moving through time and space.  The library is very complete in its knowledge, some of the books from future times, since Sir Vargin sometimes is able to convince his guests to leave knowledge with him.  But the keep continues to move because a mage wanted to save the library from a ruler who wanted to use the knowledge to conquer the whole world. There is some very powerful mage magic books here, but they are not cataloged and are hard to find.  Sir Vargin will help the group find mundane history or simple magics, but he will not help them find those books.  If the party does find those books, he will question them on their intent and if he finds them unworthy, he will attempt to kill them.  If anyone tries to take the books out of the keep, the keep will instantly disappear to the next new location and time it deems safe.

The Castle of the Lake Part 3

The Castle of the Lake
   Upon entering, the inside of the castle looks far better then the outside, though there is no life, no movements, save that caused by the wind, and a layer of dust.  Sir Vargin will greet the party , a smile upon his face, and strangely shakes their hands.

   "It has been some time since I have seen people to speak with and show the castle to.  Let me show you the way."

   He leads the party past the stables, a training area, and an area for carriages.  There is one carriage present, in poor shape, and probably not road worthy.  Granted, there are no mounts in the stables to pull the wagon if it could be pulled.  Not even crows or pigeons fly from the lofts as the party walks by.
   The next room is a cloak room, with faded rugs and curtains, and Sir Vargin asks them what they would like to see first or anything they would like to know.

For the GM this castle has all the normal bits, a library, kitchen, dinning halls, rooms, (for both servants and masters), etc.  I will go into more detail of each, shortly.

The Castle of the Lake Part 2

The Castle of the Lake
Once reaching the castle, the group will notice that the drawbridge is rotting through in a few places, but the small door in the drawbridge is still whole.  The stones of the castle are covered in moss and other hanging plant life.  And though it doesn't appear as if anyone is living there, a voice calls out to know who approaches.

For the GM, the voice is that of the seneschal of the castle.  He is tied to the castle, no matter where or when it might go.  He is a middle aged man, dressed in fine dark blues and blacks with the symbol of the tree of life upon his tabbard.  He carries a long sword and a curled horn on his belt and a ring of keys at his neck.  Depending on the group's answer he may or may not let them in.  If they say something along the lines that they want to explore or learn about the castle, the seneschal, Sir Vargin, will let them in to explore.  If they say something along the lines that they are there to plunder he will refuse to let them in and they will have to break in.  He is considered a fighter/mage of 10 levels higher then the party, with magical armor and arms and a large knowledge of magic.  He will be amused by their attempts to get in, but he will not try to stop them if they are not really making headway.  He, after all, likes to have entertainment now and again.

The Castle of the Lake Part 1

The Castle of the Lake
The castle has a magical aura about it, towers at each corner, at least 4 stories tall, while a taller spire is in the middle.  The walls stand 3 stories tall and there are clearly buildings of stone inside, which all look in perfect condition, at least from a distance.  There is a draw bridge, and a smaller door inside it, but it would never reach the shore.  The nearby villages and towns are willing to supply people to go investigate, but none of the locals want to explore themselves.

For the GM, many of the locals will rent out boats to get explorers out there, but none are willing to take them, so someone will have to know how to use a boat.  Any supplies the locals are selling will be two times the list price. (The locals are not above price gouging.)  There is not magic keeping anyone out, but the whole castle emanates a strong magic.  The magic is the translocation magic that brought it from a different location and time. (The time can either be in the future or the past, what ever fits your campaign.)  More details on its origins to come.

Expanded Timeline for After Chaos (AC) Part 333

Year 333 AC
In the middle of the great lake near Lakeshire, a great fog arises, lasting for days.  The fog is nothing new, since the lake bares fog during the winter months all the time.  This time, though, after the fog clears a great castle sits in the middle of the lake upon an island that was not there before.  People from Lakeshire go to investigate, but do not return.

The Lost City of Nuyah Part 4

The Lost City of Nuyah
The voices of the dead become more frantic and more frequent as a person enters the temple.  They beg to be released.  As the party remains in the temple a dark shadow fills the cave and a loud, rumbling voice asks, "Who dare disturbs the dead?"

For the GM this shadow is a red dragon, large enough to fill a good portion of the cavern.  He came in to the cavern as a dwarf, (or what ever humanoid would blend in best with the people working in the cavern), and wants to know what the people here now are doing to the resting place of his friends.  He was content to let people explore until the temple is breached.

The dragon's name is Fornoon.  He had befriended the former leader of the dwarves when they were both young and came to adopt the small settlement as his own.  He was devastated by the death of all his friends, but does not know how to release their souls, for he was never good with magic.  If a character says he may know of a way to do so, Fornoon is all ears.

The way to release their souls is up to the GM.  A priest of Taniger sanctifying the temple once more would do so, but if you want the group to go on a quest to find some magic item, feel free.  Once the dwarves' spirits are freed, the dragon will reward the group with tokens of his esteem.  If there is a dwarf in the party, he will ask the dwarf if he wishes to reestablish the small settlement for mining.

The Lost City of Nuyah Part 3

Lost City of Nuyah Part 3
In the center of the city is a large temple to Taniger, though it is in great disrepair.  The roof is caving in, the doors have been blasted inward, and the pillars that line the walk way in the temple itself are teetering.  Inside is the most devastating find.  The stone benches are shoved to one side, many broken and upside down.  The mosaic tile upon the floor with pictures of dwarves at work are broken and scorched.  There was once a stain glassed window behind the alter, (a stone fixture carved with lovely pictures of Taniger and his followers), but it was blasted out, as well.  Near the alter and behind the broken stone benches are the skeletons of hundreds.  Many hold axes and shields, even some of the children, but they are all piled where they died.

For the GM, this is where the wizard trapped the dwarves, then bust in the doors before casting his spell to suck out their souls to power his spells he wished to cast to take over the nearby kingdoms.  Their deaths were painful, and unfortunately not quick, but none from the city escaped.

The Lost City of Nuyah Part 2

The Lost City of Nuyah
The streets are made of stone, laid in intricate patterns, mostly geometric shapes, though it appears each street has it's own pattern.  Dirt and rubble cover the streets, small animal prints here and there in the dust.  Tools and wagons lay strewn upon the road ways, as if people just left them and walked away.  Most are in poor shape, (wooden handles falling apart at a touch, wagons leaning to one side because a wheel is broken, etc.).  The sound of dripping water can be heard but no living beings seem to be present.

The first major structure anyone would come to from the miners entrance is a large archway of stone with writing carved into it.  The language is familiar but not instantly recognizable.  As people go under the archway the whispers begin.

Anyone walking anywhere in the ruins will hear whispers of voices saying anything like, "Go back", "He is coming" or "help us" or any variation there of.  There is no visibly living people to actually talk, so the source is unknown, persistent, but not constant, at first.

For the GM, this is the first hint that something bad happened here.  For your knowledge these are trapped souls of the dwarves that lived here.  A wizard trapped them in the archway to give him power for his dark spells.  There is a way to release the souls, (though not bring them back to life), so they may continue on to their gods.  The writing is in an ancient form of dwarven, so anyone with the ability to read dwarven should be able to decipher most of the sign that says, "The City of Nuyah" or the City of Stone.  Anyone with a very high dwarven lore skill would know a little about the city.  The city was said to be abandoned because of a plague and that no one should go there if they didn't want to catch the plague.  The truth, which your players will not know yet, is that a dark wizard cast a horrific spell that sucked up all the souls in the city, from child to oldster, and placed them in the archway to serve as his focus.  Delightfully, the wizard died shortly after when the dragon that was friends with the city ate him, but was unable to save his friends.

The Lost City of Nuyah

The Lost City of Nuyah
The city sits in the middle of a large underground lake, three causeways leading out to the island, all of which are damaged in one way or another.  The cavern itself is large, reaching into the depths of darkness.  The tunnel the miners broke into appears to have once reached the surface but caved in at some time in the past.  It is a good mile from the surface, though more in then down. There are also two other tunnels, that are blocked, that may lead elsewhere.

The buildings are made of stone, with very little wood used in structure, though some for furniture.  Glowing fungus give the cavern an eerie glow and bats line the stalactites that are nearer the tunnel.  Blind fish swim in the water, (which the water appears to be fed by a spring but flows out of the mountain in a stream, which eventually becomes a river outside the mountain).

Expanded Timeline for After Chaos (AC) Part 332

Year 332 AC

While mining in the northern Tsalagi Mountains, a group of miners stumble upon a small village/city in the mountain itself.  There are homes, businesses, even tools of trade everywhere, but no people.  Mages and scholars from all over come to see who the village may have belonged to, underground as it is.  But some of them begin to disappear and help in investigating the disappearances are called for.

For the GM this could be a good hook for adventure, for either a mystery or just ruin exploring.  In the next few days I will expand on the location and the history of the small village.

Expanded Timeline for After Chaos (AC) Part 331

Year 331 AC
Farmers riot against the leaders of several cities in the south eastern part of Taina.  The cities are demanding lots of tributes for little protection and leaving the farmers destitute as well as hungry.  The farmers band together and block food deliveries to the nearby cities, causing starvation and calls for retribution against the farmers.  The farmers ask for help from the nearby city leaders who are not over taxing, as well as mercenaries.

Expanded Timeline for After Chaos (AC) Part 330

Year 330 AC
The leaders of several large cities west of the Tsalagi Mountains meet and discuss a treaty involving them all.  It includes trade, non-aggression and aiding the other cities when the need arises.  Leaders of Pathfinder, Weatherworn, Jasper and Swiftwater, (all in the south eastern part west of the Tsalagi Mountains) are apart of the agreement.

Expanded Timeline for After Chaos (AC) Part 329

Year 329 AC
Scholars find a small, ancient ogre village off the east coast of Taina when the ocean recedes for a few years because of coastal flows. The village has stone buildings, though the roofs are long gone, and many of the objects of every day life are embedded in ash and sediments.  Adventurers were asked to be protection as well as help with the discovery.

For the GM, the village was covered in a ash from a nearby volcano that had erupted, then covered by the ocean once more.  No more ogres are in the area, but the ghosts of those who were killed still linger. This is an ideal way for an encounter with ghosts or saving the scholars form bad happenings brought on by the ghosts.

Expanded Timeline For After Chaos (AC) Part 328

Year 328 AC
Princess Rose and her family, while out inspecting nearby holdings, comes upon a herd of wild horses.  As Rose, now four, approaches the herd of horses, all giggles, the horses bow before her and she runs right up to a beautiful bay mare.  The mare allows herself to be led away from the group and handled by the princess.  No one else but the princess can approach her, but with the princess she as gentle as a lamb.  She calls the horse Ginger.

Expanded Timeline for After Chaos (AC) Part 327

Year 327 AC

A mercenary group carves out a small "Empire" in the northeast corner of Taina. They demand taxes and tribute from those who live there, and if they do not receive them, whole villages burn.  A few villages come together to sponsor a group of adventures to take out the mercenaries before they become a bigger problem.