Neverending Nights

Race: Human
Occupation: Salt Vendor
Place of Birth: Elkayjun
Known Relatives: Mother (Unknown Name), Father (Unknown Name), Hannah (Daughter), Katie (Daughter), Craig the Commander (Husband)
First Appearance: Neverending Nights – Episode 5: Ye Salty Dog
History: Having grown up in the run down city of Elkayjun all of her life, when Poppy had her two daughters Hannah and Katie, she wanted to have a better life for them. While she lived in Elkayjun, she could never afford much – so she always used salt to enhance the same meals that they ate, day in and day out. She began experimenting with salt, and trying to create various ways to make it taste different on their food – when one day, she stumbled upon the creation of Pepper Flavored Salt. She had originally thought nothing of it, as she had made other forms of salt as well (lemonade flavored salt, fresh iced tea flavored salt, etc). But her eldest daughter, Hannah was hopeful that this Pepper Flavored Salt could make them money. Poppy left for the City of Neverending, where she vended her Pepper Flavored Salt, and discovered, it was quite a huge success.

Poppy finally had earned enough money to move her daughters out of Elkayjun and into the much nicer Blackmire City. Poppy established a Salt Route, where she would sell her Salt – traveling from the City of Neverending to Galana; from there to City of Ator then Logue Bario; then to Port Ynhi and then to Port Freese, and finally Helen Township. She sent whatever surplus of money she could to Hannah to take care of herself and her younger sister, Katie. For years, Poppy traveled this route, visiting her daughters every time, along the route.

However, during one of her routes, the path that she had been on, when leaving the City of Ator and heading for Logue Bario, had vanished as a mysterious sand storm blew away, as if it had never existed. Only moments before the mysterious sand storm, back at Blackmire City, Hannah had met Peter and Grayson who had just fetched coins from the Wishing Well in the City. (Note: This event appears to be tied to the fact that Peter and Grayson took the coin that Hannah the Hopeful had used to wish for her mother’s safe return; due to the legend of removing coins from a wishing well destroys the wishes that were made with those coins).

Peter was concerned that Hannah had been right and asked Grayson who blew it off as common superstition. Still, Peter watched as Hannah left the well and returned home, clearly looking sad.

As Grayson returned to the Bar with the gold they recovered from the Well, Peter told Grayson he’d be there in a moment. Instead Peter went to Hannah’s home to speak to her and ask her why she had looked so sad at the Well. Hannah explained that her mother was a Salt Vendor and had been traveling for quite some time. Peter immediately asked if her mother was none other than Poppy the Salt Vendor, whom he had encountered in both Galana and the City of Ator. Hannah was pleased to know that her mother had been fine. Peter reached into his pouch and gave Hannah 300 gold (which he had no idea where he got that from; unaware that once again, he was drawing money from Alan (“The Astounding!”)’s magical pouch). He told Hannah to give that gold to her mother as payment for more Pepper Flavored Salt (in truth, hoping that all that gold would set them for a long time, so that she would not have to be away from her daughter).

After several weeks of not hearing from her mother, Hannah the Hopeful, took the money that Peter had given her and gathered her young sister and headed for the last known location Peter had mentioned seeing her mother – the City of Ator. After two weeks of travel, she arrived in the City of Ator to discover her mother had left several weeks ago. She put out a reward in the City of Ator to help find her mother. Commander Craig of the City of Ator Army answered the reward and gathered men to find Poppy the Salt Vendor.

Commander Craig found Poppy in the Stormpeak Mountains – the supposed home of the Blue Dragon, Cobalt. They safely retrieved her and returned with her to the City of Ator. When it came to collecting the reward from Hannah, Commander Craig refused the award and said that he had done it because someone needed help – not because he had wanted the reward. Poppy the Salt Vendor refused to let Commander Craig leave without accepting something – so, the two of them went on a date where they discovered they had several things in common and bonded very closely.

Before long, Commander Craig became a steady member of their family – finally, officially proposing to – and marrying Poppy the Salt Vendor, and adopting Hannah and Katie as children of his own.

Poppy opened her own store, and no longer travels the world selling her salts. She is the main provider of salt in the City of Neverending, and has a large vending booth in the Bar of Destiny.

Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Blond

Accessories:
SALT: Poppy is armed with an assortment of salt that she knows how to use like a weapon.

Race: Dwarf
Occupation: Cartographer, Spirit Walker
Place of Birth: Vista Kingdom
Known Relatives: Mother (Unknown Name), Father (Unknown Name) Cousin (Unknown Name)
First Appearance: (Mentioned) Neverending Nights – Episode 3: Come On Baby Light My Fire; (Seen) Neverending Nights – Episode 9: It’s Not the Size.
History: When Pawl the Dorf was born, his parents knew that he was different. Shortly after his birth, his parents traveled to Arkadia handing him over to a set of human parents to raise him. With a teary farewell, the Pawl’s parents their infant son farewell and left, to never be seen again.

As Pawl matured, he realized that he was not growing as tall as his ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters.’ He questioned his father, who explained that they had adopted him when Pawl’s real parents dropping him off with them. Pawl’s father, who had raised him, tried to explain that Pawl’s real parents were fearful of the Mark of the Maker that had been on his arm. It was a simple birth mark that looked like a hammer. Dwarven belief was that, on the day the moon and sun crossed in the sky, a child would be born to restore the glory of the Dwarves and be marked with the Hammer of the Maker. Pawl the Dorf’s father who had raised him seemed as if he was about to explain more, but then thought better of it.

Pawl was distraught that his parents had given him up; especially if he was destined for greatness. When he was old enough, he ventured to the Vista Kingdoms in search of his true parents, but never found them. He also found that most of the Dwarves there looked down at Pawl because of how he spoke (since he lacked the true Mountain Dwarf accent). As a result, the Dwarves called him “Pawl the Dorf” purposefully mispronounce Dwarf to insult him and his lack of Mountain Dwarf Accent.

Distraught and downtrodden by his lack of success in locating his parents and the treatment he had received by his own people, Pawl returned to the City of Neverending, where he began studying the Mountain Dwarf dialect. It was just as he was leaving one of these classes that he collided into a human named Grayson. Grayson helped pick up the books that Pawl had been carrying (“How To Be A Dwarf”, “Dwarves: Speak It And Be Heard”, “Lord of the Dwarves”, etc). Grayson did not recognize Pawl’s unusual accent – and asked him about it. Pawl had said that he was from the Vista Kingdom of Dwarves, but still it was not an accent that Grayson had heard before. Grayson befriended the unusual sounding Dwarf, and the two became companions.

Grayson soon discovered that most of the Dwarves were actually annoyed by Pawl, as well as his accent – and most referred to him as “Pawl the Dorf” (mispronouncing “Dwarf” on purpose because of his inability to speak with a proper Dwarven Accent). Grayson shrugged off the other Dwarves, and continued to maintaine a strong friendship with Pawl. To thank Grayson for his kindness, Pawl gifted him with a sword that he had forged himself. The sword was unbalanced and blemished, but Grayson nodded and thanked Pawl regardless. Pawl eventually introduced Grayson to Peter the Ranger, whose Uncle owned the Red Dragon Inn (the most popular Inn in all the land).

Peter often talked about how he would live off the land and explore the wilds, far beyond the City of Neverending. Grayson was enamored by the stories that Peter told; the wild adventures and the daring escapes. Grayson expressed an interest in venturing past the walls of the City of Neverending; and Peter agreed to take Grayson on some of his adventures, but there would have to be training first (which sometimes involved mixing up King’s Leaf and Poison Ivy). Most of the time, this training involved camping in the backyard (which was several acres in size) of Peter’s Uncle, who owned the Red Dragon Inn.

Pawl, Grayson and Peter frequently hung out with one another; whenever Pawl wasn’t studying how to be a “real” Dwarf. Pawl met with his (human) cousin, who was supposedly a bard who had traveled the world and had an assortment of maps. Pawl was determined to go out and find his own destiny, when Peter approached him seeking a map. Pawl sold Peter one of the maps his cousin had made.

As Peter bid farewell, Pawl too left the City of Neverending. His parents had dropped him off because he was destined for something – and he was going to find out what that destiny was. From what he had found within the volumes of books he had read – there was something about a mystical forge. If he could only find it and forge a magical weapon, perhaps then the Dwarves of the Vista Kingdom would accept him for who he was.

Pawl ventured through the Elven Kingdoms that surround the Eastern Walls of the City of Neverending, and got to the Stonefrost Mountains where he entered a cave and encountered what he believed was a bugbear (Note: It was actually Charlie, the Goblin.) He tried several times to go back into the cave, but could not build up the courage. He refused to go back to the City of Neverending, a failure. So he camped out at the cave entrance, hoping eventually the cold would get to him and force him to seek shelter inside the cave.

Unfortunately that never happened, but as luck would have it, Peter and Grayson happened upon him, heading in the same direction as Pawl the Dorf. Peter and Grayson agreed to go with Pawl through the caves. Peter and Grayson become separated from Pawl and when they tried to keep warm by setting up a campfire inside the cave they passed out from smoke inhalation.

When Pawl recovered, he had gone in search for some food – and found an underground stream. However, when he tried to find his way back to Peter and Grayson – he actually found the exit that led to the desert sands of Ator. He debated going back to find Peter and Grayson, and decided against it, continuing his own quest instead. Pawl made it to the City of Ator, and proceeded, after a short stop at the tavern through the cavern behind the City. As Pawl wandered through the caves, his Dwarven instincts told him he was traveling much deeper into the world. It was there that he encountered a number of Dwarves. He approached them to ask for directions to get out of the mountain when he suddenly found himself attacked – and killed.

But Pawl the Dorf’s story did not end here. It had only just begun.

After leaving the Silver Dragon, Peter and Grayson found themselves lost in the caves again. Peter managed to start a campfire, that Grayson learned the following day, had been started using the paper in the backpack – which was their map. Wandering aimlessly, they eventually ran into Pawl the Dorf – who, much to their surprise – was a ghost.

Pawl explained that some “evil dwarves” had killed him, and that he couldn’t enter the Light At The End Of The Tunnel, because his claustrophobia kicked in. Grayson was about to debate the logic of a Dwarf, of all the people in the world, suffering from claustrophobia but decided to let it go. They eventually, with Pawl the Dorf’s help, managed to find their way out – but not before unintentionally inciting a War between the Dark Elves and the Dark Dwarves (the very ones who had murdered Pawl the Dorf).

Once outside of the cave, they eventually made their way to Blackmire City where they encountered a Resurrection Priest by the name of Zoe Din. He offered to resurrect Pawl the Dorf for 300 Gold Pieces, which they determined they could not afford. Instead, they went with a Reincarnation Spell – which would transport the soul of Pawl the Dorf – either into an existing body (where he may or may not remember what he experienced while in that body if he ever switched bodies again) – or, on a rare chance it might act as if he had been reincarnated.

Though Pawl did not like the idea of not being himself; he opted for that choice, rather than eventually dissipating and becoming an evil spirit to haunt the world for all eternity. Peter and Grayson left Pawl with the Resurrection Priest who explained the spell would take hours to complete. Through several attempts of Reincarnation – Pawl’s spirit was transferred into Bob the Goblin’s body, where he overheard Andrea the Assassin talking about the need to kill Peter and Grayson once they recovered the magical sword.

Pawl managed to leave Bob’s body (granting Bob control of his own bodily functions again) with his next form being a canine that he was able to think with. He tried to communicate with Peter the Ranger using Peter’s ability to speak with animals, but had been completely misunderstood. He ventured outside of the city of Blackmire only to be killed by a wolf pack.

His soul is pulled back to the Resurrection Priest who then manages to reincarnate Pawl as a Minotaur. Leaving the City and looking for a maiden in distress, the trio encountered three Mind Flayers that lived in The Dark Woods. Though normally extremely dangerous, Peter, Grayson and Pawl had managed to escape unharmed. That night, however – Grayson had a vivid dream about a mysterious, shadowy figure cloaked in black engaged in combat with an army of orcs – and standing his own. When Grayson awakened – he discovered that it’s been the sword’s voice in his head all along. The sword, whose name was Pat, explained that it had been in many great battles, and followed a bloodline – the one that Grayson was a part of.

Passing a Ettin that guarded the next set of caves, the trio entered – only to have Pawl killed again, this time by a deadly trap set by Bugbears, in fear of goblins raiding their caves. The Reincarnation Priest attempted to reincarnate Pawl yet again; this time, throwing Pawl’s spirit into the form of a Bugbear.

Pawl managed to locate Peter and Grayson again, and the three of them made their way through the caves, until once again – Pawl was killed, this time by Andrea, who had finally managed to catch up to Peter and Grayson. The Resurrection Priest finally cast another spell; this time return Pawl back into his original form – but placed him back with Peter and Grayson, who were confronting Andrea.

Dean the Dragon, in human form, revealed himself. He told Andrea that she is not truly evil; simply misguided. Dean knew that Andrea the Assassin, as the younger, more naive Ruth was merely fearful of being alone. When Grayson had broken up with her, that fear turned to anger and when the Crimson Mother found her, she took that anger and forged it into hate. But a life of knowing only hate, would lead to endless suffering – and that she would never find the happiness she so desperately wanted.

Grayson confessed that he had loved Ruth – or Andrea – whatever she was calling herself, but she had become so obsessive that he feared for his own life (especially when she threatened his favorite stuffed animal, Mister Snuggles). Ruth (Andrea) listened and knew that what she had done had been wrong – but still, she couldn’t turn back now. She told Daniel to teleport them to the Crimson Draco Mother, unaware that Dean had removed a memory tampering spell that had been placed on Daniel’s mind.

Daniel teleported Peter, Grayson, Pawl and Dean to the Crimson Mother, hoping that Dean would destroy Her. The mysterious figure that had haunted Grayson’s dreams suddenly emerged through a magical portal. He explained that he was not only Grayson’s father – but Peter’s father as well – making them half-brothers! Grayson’s father explained that he could not turn over the Blade of Destiny to the Crimson Draco, or else they would destroy it and there would be no weapon to stop the Dragon of Silverlake. Grayson, in a spurt of unexplainable courage, attacked the Crimson Mother Dragon, causing a massive explosion.

Pawl awoke from the explosion in a cell of the Crimson Draco Legion. As he talked to himself he realized his voice had changed. He actually sounded like the Dwarves of the Vista Kingdoms! He had no idea where Peter and Grayson were – and was quite surprised when Andrea, now with Blond Hair and wearing the armor of the Silver Dragon Army, had come claiming to save him. It took some convincing that Andrea had truly switched sides, but Pawl finally accepted her help to be free of the prison.

The two of them traveled together, until they got to the Nameless City, where they had been reunited with Peter, Grayson and Amiee. It was here that Amiee the Armorer once again used her resources, and discovered that they needed help from Madame Marie and Sam the Smith. Sam the Smith had shown Pawl the Dorf how to forge magical weapons; and Madame Marie was able to use magic to locate the Forge of Eternal Flame, which was needed to reforge the Blade of Destiny. Madame Marie was then able to teleport them fairly close to the Forge of Eternal Flame, deep within the Mountain of Silverlake. The Dragon of Silverlake sensed their presence and sent wave after wave of monsters and magic, to try and stop them; forcing them to split up, so that Peter and Grayson could confront the Dragon of Silverlake.

Standing before the Dragon of Silverlake, Grayson was struck and killed by the Dragon’s undead magic. It then taunted Peter that none would be able to kill him. Peter realized that since Grayson was his half-brother, he could use the Blade of Destiny – which he did to destroy the Dragon of Silverlake. He then used a potion that Madame Marie had given him, to resurrect Grayson. Grayson had no memory of his untimely demise or what happened – so Peter explained that it had been Grayson who killed the Dragon of Silverlake, and that the explosion had knocked him out.

Peter and Grayson were able to recover all the treasure that the Dragon of Silverlake had acquired. Grayson used his funding to open up The Bar of Destiny back home in the City of Neverending, where it gained immense popularity because Grayson offered free food and drink for the first year it was to be open. Grayson and Ruth married, but parted ways a short while later, when Ruth left to help the Silver Dragon Legion. Ruth had realized that she had never truly been in love with Grayson, but rather the idea of love itself.

When news of Pawl the Dorf’s actions reached the Vista Kingdom, the Dwarves hailed him a hero and gave him a welcome worthy of the greatest of kings. With the Dragon of Silverlake destroyed, Pawl the Dorf’s true parents came forward. Pawl was glad to be reunited with them. While catching up with them, he learned that his birth name was Taylor – and so he became Taylor the Tinkerer. Taylor was last heard about gathering an army to march against the Black Dragon, Shadow, who lived somewhere in the marshes that surrounded Blackmire City, according to rumors spread by a bard named Dimi.

Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

Accessories:
AXE: Pawl the Dwarf carries a non magical axe.

Race: Human
Occupation: Alligator Hunter
Place of Birth: Alon Wen
Known Relatives: Father (Unknown), Mother (Unknown)
First Appearance: Never appeared officially; was only mentioned in a post credit of the original version of the series.
History: Patrick the Panicked was a man who grew up in the thick swamps of Alon Wen (one of the most dreaded swamps in all the land!). Alon Wen is not only populated with an abundance of alligators (for which the people of Alon Wen depend on as a food source), but it is also full of covens of women who practice Oddov, a form of practice that some say is similar to Necromancy and mind control. It’s believed that Patrick ran into one of these covens while hunting alligators in Alon Wen, because he ended up coming out of the swamps crazy one night, and never truly recovered after that.

Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Reddish Brown

Accessories: None.

What is Steel Destiny?

Read my previous post about playing Steel Destiny!

Today’s session – the DM knowing how much I love Clue (The Movie) – made a session that was very, very, very inspired by Clue! (Nice DM trick, knowing this would definitely hook me!) In this game, I am now playing the bass player of this fictional band, Steel Destiny, named James Aldrich (see the aforementioned previous post for more on that).

Some of the people we’ve met so far…

• Brody Helsinton
  • Brody is a reference to Mr. Body
• Dr Berry
  • Professor Plum
• Ruby
  • Mrs. Scarlet
• Major Saffron
  • Colonel Mustard
• Mr Moss, legal counsel
  • Mr. Green
• Yolanda, housekeeper
  • Yvette

Some of the rooms we’ve explored –

• Grand hall, entry
• Library
• Study
• Conservatory
• Kitchen
• Dining Room
• Ballroom
• Billiard Room
• Lounge

Anyway, as always, when I played Sam Branor (the singer of Steel Destiny – I always wrote “lyrics” for that session)… so I did so again. In this session, Brody believed he would die on his 32nd birthday, because everyone before him in his family had…

New Steel Destiny track – now available!

“Mansion of Murder” © Steel Destiny, written by James Aldrich

Beyond the doors of sanity and truth
Lies a man suffering from madness
Believing he will be robbed of his youth
Believing an ancient curse thrived in the darkness.

There are secrets hidden within the walls
Pierce the veil of shadows, by looking through the eyes of another
Waiting there in the darkness, his final destiny calls
Unless we can work together

In the Mansion of Murder
Where Death waits at every turn
In the Mansion of Murder
The Secrets Hidden, We Must Learn
In the Mansion of Murder

Nothing here is what it seems
Velvet oceans of lies and misguided dreams
There is more here than the mortal eye can see
In order to save this man from his destiny

Someone here has played their part
Eager to feast on this man’s beating heart
We must unravel the illusions and lies
And discover who is behind the disguise

In the Mansion of Murder
Where Death waits at every turn
In the Mansion of Murder
The Secrets Hidden, We Must Learn
In the Mansion of Murder!

And naturally had to make a CD/Single cover…

Race: Dragon
Occupation: Terror of the Tenacious Swamps
Place of Birth: Avas
Known Relatives: Ankalagun (The All Father of Chromatic Dragons – Deceased), Skatha (The All Mother of Chromatic Dragons – Unknown), Emerald (Green Dragon – Sister), Crimson (Red Dragon – Sister), Cobalt (Blue Dragon – Sister), Frostmourn (White Dragon – Sister)
First Appearance: Never appeared in the series
History: When the Platinum Dragon arrived in the World of Mortals, he brought with him light and life to the world. Skatha, the all Mother of Chromatic Dragons, seeking to devour the light, had tried to consume the rainbows that burst through the dark, dank clouds of the world. She tried so furiously to prevent any and all color to enter the world that she absorbed it into herself – in the end, becoming a colorful dragon herself – each head, representing one of the colors of the world – Red, for the fire; Blue, for the Skies; Green, for the grass and tress; Black, for the shadows created by the light; and White, for the pure snow in the Northern Lands.

She grew so furious at the Platinum Dragon, that she cut herself and bled each of the five colors. In a vile attempt to ruin what each of those colors meant, she corrupted her blood and grew each of them into a mighty dragon – Red – whose breath of fire was hotter than anything known; Blue, for the skies, whose lightning bolt breath could destroy anything; Green, for the grass, whose poisonous breath was made from some of the most lethal plants; Black, for the shadows, whose acidic breath was a massive force of destruction; and White, for the snow, whose breath could freeze anyone’s blood. When they were ready, she unleashed them upon the world.

After a thousand years of fighting and nearly sundering the World of Mortals, the Chromatic and Metallic Dragons agreed to leave the World of Mortals; it had been Cobalt that had arranged for the agreement, weaving her words in such a manner that it left a loophole for the Chromatic Dragons to return to the World of Mortals, knowing that once her deception had been revealed, the Metallic Dragons, bound by their Word and Honor, would still not violate their Oath.

Emerald claimed the Evergreen Forest as her domain; a land, prior to her arrival that had once been ruled by Elves. Emerald attacked and destroyed the Elven cities within the woods, and earned the name ‘Emereth’ among the Elves, which translated meant ‘Green Death.’ With Emerald within the Evergreen woods, the very forest around her began to die and become as tainted as her evil heart. Her very breath contaminates and changes the plants; from a vibrant green, to a murky, almost swamp like life – dubbing the lands The Dark Woods. The Elves who survived Emerald’s attack have sworn to one day retake their home; but for now, they have fled to the City of Neverending, where they have been forced to adapt to living like humans.

Eyes: Black
Hair: None, Scales Black (as if made of shadows)

Accessories: An acid breath that causes mass destruction.