The Harvest Moon Consortium

[rdjparadis]

Posted 07/07/07 23:43 (GMT) -- Jace Salzman

It started when the ground shook in the farmlands followed by a bright flash. Darias was sitting around the camp in the farmlands with Theyan, a dwarf fighter who he had traveled with before, along with a few others. When the ground finished shaking Darias got up and went to investigate a flash that was seen in the western part of the farmlands. Alastair, Theyan, Aril, Emerald, and another who Darias didn’t know followed shortly behind Darias. As Darias approached to militia men he asked them if they had seen anything and they didn’t answer him… so he moved on he asked the farmer if he had seen anything, the farmer also ignored him. Darias was a bit frustrated by this and started looking around and saw a man standing not far away and as he approached he realized who the man was, it was, well himself.

As they walked toward each other Darias was a bit confused about what was going on. The man Darias saw who looked amazingly like him- he even wore armor identical to Darias’- looked at Darias and said “Is this the right time?” then he looked at Theyan and to himself, “Theyan is still alive so I must be in the right time.”

“Who are you?” Darias asked as he put his weapons away not seeing this man as a threat.

“I’m you, from the future… You have to listen to me; I don’t have much time I don’t know how long this will last.” The future Darias said.

“I’m all ears.” Darias replied.

“You need to go south to the jungles, talk to someone there who can take you to the Eran Islands,” With that he started fade in and out, “Damn out of time… Your dream… you’ll find it there…” and with that he was gone.

“What did he mean I was still alive?” Theyan asked.

“You were dead in his time apparently,” Aril replied.

Darias sighed, “Well… I don’t really know why I need to go to an island I’ve never even heard of. Guess the only way to find out is to go there.” And Darias started walking toward the city of Lapis to get on a ship to take him to the druid camp on the edge of the jungle. Theyan followed after. Just before they reached the camp in the farmlands they were approached by another man who looked like Darias, carrying a greatsword like the one Darias had purchased from the Temple of Bahumut some time ago, and wearing Black armor. “Don’t go, its too dangerous, don’t believe what he told you.” The man said.

“Who are you?” Darias asked, and then the man disappeared.

“He looked a lot like you too,” Theyan said.

Darias nodded, “And I have a sword like that one as well.”
“What about the armor?”

“The armor I’m wearing is the only armor I have… for now. The Future me mentioned a dream of mine… I dream of forging a suit of armor from Black dragon scales. Now though… I have two versions of myself giving telling me two opposite things…”

Theyan nodded, “Which will you believe?”

Darias shrugged, “I don’t know… but the only way to find out what’s going on that I can see is to get to the Jungle and see what is known about this island.” With that, Darias headed once again to the ship to take him to the Jungle. After an uneventful ship ride Darias and Theyan- who accompanied Darias with out Darias asking him to- arrived at the druid camp. They ask the ship captain what he knew of this Eran Island.

“Why would you want to go there?” The captain asked.

“It’s a long story,” Darias said. “Can you take us there?”

“I can’t and I refuse to go to that island,” The captain said.

“Why?” Darias asked.

“Because the reefs are so high around the island I would likely get stuck taking you to them, it’s also in habited by large lizards, and it’s rumored that there’s a planar gate on the island,” The captain simply replied.

“Darias, there’s a raft over there,” Theyan said pointing out a raft along the beach. He turned to the captain and asked, “How far is Eran Island from here?” The captain gave them the answer and told them that the owner of the raft Theyan pointed out had probably been to this island and she was ‘probably crazy enough’ to take them there. Darias and Theyan asked one of the local druids who owned the raft and she pointed them to a woman on a small island and told them to just take the raft over to her and they did.

Upon reaching the island (Darias having crossed first while Theyan went to get something to eat) Darias saw on one end of the small island two large, grayish-black toad like creatures; near a tower on the opposite end, a woman who Darias took to be the owner of the raft and the woman who could take him to the Eran Islands. Darias approached the woman.

“What do you need?” the Woman asked.

“Are you the owner of this raft?” Darias asked.

“I am,”

“Can you take me to the Eran Island?”

“Why would you want to go there?”

“I was told I needed to go there… it’s a long story… one you probably wouldn’t believe if I told you.”

“The island is a dangerous place…”

“I had heard it was in habited by large lizards and there was a planar gate on the island.”

“The island used to be in habited by a group of mind flayers and their slaadi slaves. The mind flayers they are there no more so who controls the slaadi now I don’t know. Last I was there two followed me back and I have been trapped on this side of my island for weeks now… I will take you to Eran Island if you can get rid of them,” The woman said pointing to the two slaadi at the wooded end of the small island. Darias nodded and prepared himself for battle. Having never battled slaadi before, he prepared himself as he would for a battle with the nest mother of the black dragon caverns. He pulled his axe and shield and ignited his axe with a magical fire, he used the magic of a book to grant him greater endurance in battle, and the magic of a stone he had received long ago in a quest that saw him bound and gagged by a drow from another timeline to increase his strength. Last, but not the least, he used a scabbard he had purchased from Lathander’s temple long ago to bless himself… and an amulet granted him by a strange little man after defeating a bear and a horde of badgers to aid him in combat. Darias charged in swinging his axe in a powerful arc at one of the two creatures scoring an incredible strike before the creatures summoned two of their lesser kin to aid them… Darias having fought many mages, including the powerful Alastair who taught him some of the signs of a well protected mage, knew he had to press the two summoners if he were to be victorious against them. He ignored the attempts to strike him by the two red slaadi and continually landed blows against the two grayish-black slaadi, eventually felling both and sending their lesser kin back to where ever they were summoned from and Darias returned to the woman.

“Are they defeated?” she asked, to which Darias simply nodded. “Perhaps you are the one.”

“What do you mean the one?” Darias asked.

“The sea has told me of a warrior who will over come the darkness after embracing it.”

“What do you mean?”

“The sea has told me of a warrior of light who is covered in darkness who will overcome the darkness, this is all I know,” she replied. Theyan finally arrived on the small island at about this time having temporarily satisfying his hunger. Darias again simply nodded as he took in this information. “Do you follow a god? You may need to too survive this trip.”

“No… nine in ten warriors pray to a god before a battle and claim to have a god on their side… they fall to the one warrior who isn’t filled with false hope of divine help in the battle,” Darias replied.

“I see, but what of Tempus… isn’t he a warrior’s god?”

“He is… but I have survived a long time with out following a god.”

“Shall we go then? Or do you need a bit of time?” she asked.

“Give me a moment to rest and then we shall leave,” Darias said. To which she nodded and went about preparing the raft for the trip to the island. Darias sat in the shade of the tower and rested gathering his thoughts and preparing his muscles for the battle he knew would come. With his thoughts colleted Darias muttered to himself ‘what can it hurt’ and began to pray… soon a calm came over him like that calm which comes just before a battle, and he knew that the choices of the future hold death but that those who look death in the eye and spit will be the victor. With this calm over him he approached the raft, the woman, and Theyan.

“Theyan… if you want now is the time to turn back,” Darias told him.

“And turn my back on a good fight? No I’m going with you,” Theyan said.

“Then let’s spit in deaths face.” Darias nodded, and looked to the woman, “Shall we go then?” And once again they were off on the sea, this time heading into an unknown island with an unknown challenge.

They arrived safely enough… though Darias and Theyan had to wade through the reef, as the woman would only take them close to the island. When the stepped upon the beach the man in black armor approached them again “You came despite the danger…”

“Who are you?” Darias asked him for the second time.

“Darias,” He shook his head slightly, “… Deimos. I am going unleash the hells upon you” with that he disappeared and in his place stood many of the grayish-black slaadi from the woman’s island and one large pure black salad. Darias and Theyan fought long and hard but eventually killed all the slaadi including the amazingly powerful black.

Deimos reappeared, “You’re out of shape old man… to bad your getting lazy in your age. Theyan stay out of this.” He pulled his greatsword and looked at Darias. Darias nodded to Theyan and pulled his axe looking to Deimos. They charged at the same moment Deimos avoiding Darias’ Axe easily, Darias didn’t have that luck against the greatsword and took one of the hardest blows he had taken in his years as a warrior. Darias drew back away as they traded blows… seeing his axe having almost no effect dropped his axe and shield pulling a greatsword he had purchased at Bahumuts Temple… a sword he had had for some time but rarely used. The greatsword was hurting Deimos badly but it was to late in the fight for it to be of much use as a few swings later Deimos had Darias helpless on the ground.

Darias look up at him waiting for the final blow to be struck. Deimos stared down at him. “Why do you hesitate?”

“FINE,” Deimos growled, “NOW SEE WHAT YOU SHOULD BE!” He shook terribly and with a fierce roar he transformed in to the largest Black Dragon Darias had ever seen… during this transformation though Theyan had used a magic item to heal Darias, who then scrabled to grab his shield and pulled his rapier Dragnipur, the blade that thirsted for dragons blood.

The battle was on again still between Deimos and Darias alone, and it was going in Darias favor until the Deimos paralyzed his muscles with a spell. Theyan jumped in when he realized what had happened and Deimos focused on Theyan to long feeling Dragnipur’s bite once more as the spell wore off. The inevitable defeat of the dragon at Darias and Theyan’s hands came soon after. Darias picked up a number of scales that he deemed enough to make a suit of armor from, and just as they were about to leave the island a headache so powerful hit Darias hard enough to make him drop his weapon. It was at that time that he heard a voice in his head, Greater power lies in darkness Lord Mars. Go to the tieflin in the north he will make the armor from the scales of your future self… then perhaps you will be complete. The headache subsided enough for Darias to pick up his weapon and get back to the druid camp, where he took a boat to Cleaverness.

Near the casino in Cleaverness a second headache more powerful than the one on the island struck him again this time dropping him to his knees and he heard a second voice IF YOU MAKE THAT ARMOR YOU WILL BE CHANGED… WE CANNOT HAVE THAT! When the headache subsided enough for him to move again he headed once more to the docks to go to Lapis Port and find the caravan to take him to Dandelion Dale as it was closer to the Temple of Bahumut. When he reached the temple, he spoke to Limilngials, the silver dragon cleric of Bahumut. Once there he asked her to cleanse the scales he had gotten from the dragon. She told him to give her the scales and to kneel in front of the alter. After Darias knelt in front of the alter Limilngials began chanting in draconic. A few moments later Darias heard her move to the basin in the temple she was still chanting. And again a few moments later, she was finished and she gave him the scales.

Telling him to be careful with them, especially after hearing his story of how he had come acquired the scales. His headache was bearable now, much less painful… either she did something or I’m getting used to the pain, Darias thought. Again Theyan and Darias took the trip back to Cleaverness by caravan and boat. This time nothing but the were wolves stood in their way… amazing they never learn even after so many of their companions had been cut down between the two warriors. They neared Asheron’s shop when a group of mind flayers appeared before them… the two warriors had laid out a plan to deal with them before they went to the island, and they split up and came at the flayers from both sides hoping that if the flayers stunned one, the other could kill them. The flayers didn’t last long as both warriors were efficient in their attacks and brought them down quickly. They moved quickly hoping there was nothing more standing between them and Asheron.

They reached the shop and after a bit of negotiation with Asheron, he agreed to forge the armor for Darias. Two weeks later Asheron delivered the armor to Darias, with a warning. “The scales did not wish to be tamed, be careful with this armor.” Looking back now Darias can understand why the scales didn’t want to be tamed, but that’s a different story.