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>>1094952
A murmur grows around the campfire as different voices suggested different stories.

Alahain lost in the Green Hell!, you shout after a moment of thought.

"Alahain, huh?", Thom says in a thoughtful voice, "One of the younger tales – but set in a land as old as time itself".

Thom’s eyes swept over his audience as he began in the booming voice of a gleeman, "Sit and listen. Listen for I will speak of Alahain the adventurer. Listen for I will speak of the wonders he found in the land of plagues. Listen for I will speak of a savage land, centuries and miles away..."

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>>1094956

Once upon a time, there was a young man named Alahain. He was born in the midlands – a land where the men were civilized, where the beasts were tamed, where magic was long gone.

Alahain found life in the midlands too safe, too mundane, too ordinary. For you see, Alahain was anything but ordinary. His heart called to the savage lands – the lands that were still unexplored, uncharted, and untamed.

So Alahain traveled thousands of miles to the southwest. To the damp plague-ridden jungles men call the Green Hell. Where wild men and savage beasts still walk among the ruins of forgotten cities – cities more ancient than the race of men, cities built by the Great Old Ones who came from the stars.

The green hell is an enormous jungle, most of it unexplored by the so-called civilized men of the midlands. Explorers who delve too deep in the jungle seldom return – the few who does return claim that it is a land with no end. Sailors from the western ports have also tried to reach the bottom of the jungle using sea routes – their bravest efforts always resulting in disastrous failures.

Centuries ago, the Dragon Empire tried to colonize the green hell as well. The emperor lusted after the fabled emeralds, moonstones, and other treasures said to be hidden deep within the jungles. Slaves and sorcerers were brought from the east to build colonies deep within the jungle. Four such colonies were born from the emperor’s greed – all of which withered and died after a few agonizing years.

>>1094966

Kishir, the first colony of the dragon empire, was destroyed by the wild men of the jungle. These wild men came from a place called Opar – where the males are large brutes covered in coarse black hair, where the females are as beautiful as new-fallen snow.

Amaan, the second colony, was abandoned after half of its people died from the blood fever. The rest were killed by the savage beasts of the jungle – giant apes that can kill an elephant with one blow, monstrous striped lizards that can rip a man apart with their razor-sharp claws, snakes fifty feet tall that can swallow a horse whole.

Obyn, the third colony, met its grisly end soon after. The slaves of this colony rose in rebellion against their brutal masters. The masters were better armed and better trained – but they were few where the slaves were many. In the end, the colony died out in an orgy of blood and flames.

Geen, the fourth colony, lingered on for the longest. It was an evil place, ruled by blood sorcerers sent by the dragon emperor himself. The sorcerers devised brutal methods of torture – to keep the slaves obedient as well as to amuse themselves. Blood magic of the most perverse kind was practiced in its flesh pits. The less said about this accursed place, the better.

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>>1094975

The grim reputation of the green hell was enough to deter any sensible man from traveling there. But Alahain was not what you would exactly call sensible, few young adventurers are.

Alahain began his travel southwestward, with only his sword and the clothes on his back. On his journey, he met many remarkable people – young adventurers searching for hidden treasures, hardened criminals running from the law, veteran explorers hoping to place their names in the history books. With thirty-three companions from thirty-three different towns and villages, Alahain began his journey to the green hell.

The first weeks of the journey went better than they had hoped for – as Alahain and his fellow adventures found the abandoned colony of Amaan. In their haste to escape the plague, the men of the dragon empire had forgotten to take their treasures with them. Alahain and his men found priceless emeralds, moonstones, and other fabled jewels left behind over a century ago by the colonists of the Dragon empire.

The adventurers briefly considered turning back with the treasures they had found, but Alahain convinced them to go deeper in the jungle – to the place where no man has ever gone before. In the end, the spirit of adventure won and they journeyed deeper in the jungle.

>>1094984

Their enthusiasm soon faded though, as the land of plagues began to take its toll on them. On the third week after they left Amaan, some of the adventurers began to show signs of the blood fever. At first, the men thought that they were only feeling feverish from the heat, but soon they started coughing up blood as well. By the fourth week, nearly half of Alahain's men were either dead or dying from the blood fever.

Alahain realized that they had to abandon their quest and turn back. But they had already delved too deep in the jungle - they were hopelessly lost in the green hell, in a savage place without any sign of civilization. For days without count, Alahain and his men wondered the green hell, desperately searching for a way out. In the end, they ran out of food and water. Heat, exhaustion, and fever began to take more lives.

The beasts of the jungle preyed on them as well. Flying lizards with leathery wings, poisonous spiders bigger than sheep, wyverns great and small - all took the adventurers one by one. In the end, Alahain was the last man alive from his group.

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>>1095014

Alahain was lost in the green hell, lost for days without food or water. He nearly collapsed from heat, exhaustion, and fever. But he marched on knowing that if he collapsed, he would never wake up again.

When all hope seemed lost, Alahain suddenly found himself standing in a great city, a city made entirely of gold, a grand city like none other. Delirious with fever, Alahain thought that he had died and came to the golden shores of afterlife.

But in the midst of that golden city, Alahain saw a pale woman with green eyes. She was more beautiful than anything he had ever seen in his life. Alahain fell in love with her at first sight – he loved her with all his being. He did not know how long he stared at her green eyes, perhaps for a moment, or perhaps for an eternity longer than time itself. Alahain collapsed while staring at her endless green eyes.

When he woke up, the golden city was gone. He wondered around the jungle for days, no longer looking for an exit, but to return to the golden city instead. He searched for days, hoping to catch one last glimpse at the green eyes he saw in the golden city.

Somehow, Alahain eventually made his way back to civilization. Almost all of the treasures he and his companions had found in the long lost colony of Amaan were gone. Still, Alahain had a handful of emeralds he had nearly forgotten left in his pocket. Those emeralds would have been enough for him to live like a king for the rest of his days.

But Alahain knew that he had to go back, for her green eyes were more beautiful than any emerald.

>>1095095

Alahain returned to the jungle time and time again, chasing his ghosts, hoping to find the woman with green eyes one more time. He searched and searched for her. In his travels he discovered more of the land of plagues than any man had ever before. He rediscovered the colonies of Kishir and Obyn, found lost cities that were even older than the colonies of the dragon empire. He found exquisite treasures, hunted savage beasts, and carved his name in the history books. But he never found the city of gold again - where he had once met a pale woman with green eyes.

One day, Alahain grew old. His strength failed him. But he still kept searching for the green eyes he remembered from his youth – a pair of green eyes more beautiful than any set of emeralds. On his last journey, old Alahain went deeper in the Green Hell than he had ever gone before. Alahain did not come back from that journey.

Some say old Alahain died alone in the jungle. The green eyed beauty and the city of gold had been nothing more than a fever dream of his youth. But others say that Alahain saw her one last time – when he came close to death in the Green Hell again. When he crossed over to the other side – he found her waiting for him. For the green eyed woman could only meet an adventurer at the brink of death. For she was from the other side - something other than human. For she was the spirit of the Green Hell itself.

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>>1095155

[That took longer than I expected, we should be back on the main quest now]

Silence falls around the campfire as Thom finishes the story.

After a while, one of the younger guards asks, "Did Alahain really find her, Thom? The green eyed woman he was looking for?"

Thom takes a mug of ale and says, "That I don't know. But I like to think he did."

You think you should ask something as well.

>"Was it a true story, Thom?"

>"What really happened at Geen?"

>"Did anyone else find the City of Gold?"

>[Write-In]

>>1095168
>"What really happened at Geen?"

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>>1095185

What really happened at Geen?, you ask after a bit of hesitation, curious to know what happened at that cursed colony.

"Blood magic, necromancy, and worse", Thom looks almost disturbed as he answers your question, "Unspeakable methods of torture were invented by the sorcerers to punish any slave who dared to speak out against them. Strange beasts and demons were mated with female slaves in the flesh pits to bring forth twisted half-human monstrosities. Slave children were cut open while they were still alive to see how their inner organs worked."

Their Emperor allowed these to happen?, You feel sickened after learning the truth about Geen.

"The emperor was more than pleased with the results", Thom replies in disgust, "Through the blood of the slaves and the magic of the sorcerers - Geen prospered while the other colonies withered and died out. Well at least for a short while until its end."

What happened in the end?, you ask as your curiosity overcomes your disgust.

"Nobody knows for sure, lad", Thom sighs, "Some say that the sorcerers went too far in the flesh pits, something came out that shouldn't have been borne, and the sorcerers were devoured by their own sins. Others say that its disappearance had something to do with the great old ones who built the ancient cities, those who came from the stars. Some even go as far as to suggest that the collective pain, misery, and evil of Geen took a life of its own and swallowed its inhabitants. Every attempt to rebuild or resettle Geen has ended in horror."

>>1095276

"You should get some sleep, lad", Thom finally says, "We have a long day ahead tomorrow. Kilven would be wanting to start traveling at dawn".

You follow his advice and try to get some sleep. Lying down, you think about the adventures of Alahain and the pale woman with green eyes. You dream about the Golden City that only Alahain found. You wonder what really happened at Geen - the cursed colony that simply vanished one night.

You wake up groggily a few hours later as you hear Kilven yelling at his men to get moving before the sun rises.

>>1095314

Thom turns out to be right about having a long day ahead. On the bright side, Kilven manages to cover a lot more distance than you had hoped. The burly merchant seems to be pretty good at managing his team. At this rate, you might reach Helsin before two months.

At evening, you learn the lute from Thom. Despite his eccentricities, you feel that he is a great teacher and a much better musician than any traveling bard that visited your uncle’s inn. You wonder what someone as skilled as him doing as a simple gleeman.

“You are learning faster than I expected, lad”, Thom says approvingly, “But you still got a long way to go.”

>Roll 1d20 to check your progress in learning the lute

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>1095352

[Got really busy all of a sudden, will resume the quest as soon as I can manage some free time]

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>1095352

>>1095385
>>1107958

[Resuming the quest unless this thread Autosages]

You are a bit frustrated with your progress, but Thom finds it satisfactory for now.

"You'll get there, lad", Thom muses, "You are already a lot better than I was at your age".

>Ask Thom about his past

>Ask why he is going to the Land of Warlocks

>Ask what he knows about the other travelers

>Write-In

>>1109949
>Ask why he is going to the Land of Warlocks
His past might be a sensitive thing best saved for later.

>>1109971

You ask Thom why he is going to the northeast, curious about the old gleeman’s choice of destination. From the little you know about the land of warlocks, it does not seem like a place that is exactly welcome to outsiders. Merchants are the only ones who travel there – and even they are wary of that place, preferring not to venture too deep in its dark forests.

“Got myself tangled in a bit of mess in the farmlands, probably won’t be safe going anywhere Avelyn the next couple of years. Old Alveron is the type of man to hold his grudges”, Thom says with a sigh, “Might be a bit refreshing to travel to a place where you don’t have too many enemies, well not yet at least.”

[1/2]

>>1110048
[2/2]

Why the Northeast though? You ask, still a bit curious. As far as you know, even bards and gleemen prefer to avoid the land of warlocks if possible, the men of these lands supposedly too gloomy and too morose to enjoy music. Other lands might have appreciated Thom's songs and stories more.

“Well I did consider going up North. The nomads of the winterlands still know to honor their singers and storytellers – not like the blabbering sheep here in the midlands”, Thom says with a hint of disgust in his voice, “Sadly, that place is too cold and the nomads too poor to make the trip worthwhile for me.”

Why not the Dragon Empire then?, you remember the tales you heard of its endless riches - the land where the dragon emperor reigns in a golden palace encrusted with priceless jewels.

“You can make a great amount of gold playing in the courts of the dragon empire, aye, if they like your singing the right amount. But if they don’t like your singing, you can lose your head just as easily. And if they like your singing too much, they might chop your balls off and add you to the emperor’s harem”, Thom says with almost a shiver, “Not a risk I’m willing to take, not even at my age”.

You half wonder if he is joking, but decide not to ask any more questions on the topic.

After a while, Thom looks at you thoughtfully, "What about you, lad? Of all the places in the world, why the Land of Warlocks in particular? What do you hope to find there?"

>[Write-In]

>>1110119
Adventure, mostly. I hope to see wonderous things, find treasures and meet lots of people, learning about my abilities, improving on them and one day finding my place in this world.

My apologies to everyone following the quest, was too busy this week to continue this thread.

I plan to start the next session as soon as I have enough free time to do it justice.

I'm also working on a way to improve the quest mechanics, hopefully the updates will be much quicker next time.

>>1120192
It's okay, Ace. Take the time you need. I don't care if a good quest takes a bit longer. I'll enjoy it nontheless.