Candlekeep Public Collection Reference

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Twin Terrors
Unknown Author

Throughout the ages there of course have been many great rivalries between two people or causes. It makes for a great story. It keeps people like me in a job I suppose.

However I might add that less rivalries are set to survive beyond age, but this one does. Rivals in life Efar and Polvich passed to Undeath Polvich the Lich, and Efar the Dracolich, each by separate journey.

Polvich created a cult following, one able to summon his essence by spell that he might yet torment the living world by their action and his will.

His route was by way of a book one of ultimate evil. It is said is written there how one might follow his path. That he lost the book which once influenced the events around the Friendly Arms before it was once again found and hidden by persons or creatures unknown.

Fortunately his lair, a demi plane was destroyed by heroes of the Coast, and creating his current lair keeps him occupied and he is little more than a summoning of his followers for now!

Efar had gathered artifacts of Dragons and sacrificed himself at the hands of another allowing a group of mercenaries end his life that he might pursue Undeath. Located perhaps beyond the Coast it is rumored he would return and seek his own Cult, ousting his rival for the affection of the necromancers and Palemasters of the Coast.

This is where my story ends and yours begins. Twin terrors on the Coast!

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Polefish and Neck Romancers
by Ogruhn Ogrillon

(( This book may read as gibberish to the untrained eye, as the text jumps from one subject to another, is written in poor common and accompanied by crude drawings ))

--- I ---

Hello! Ogruhn like write stuff so head not hurt so much no-more with memberin big thoughts.

Long thinking from long-go bring bad taste in big mouth, when mighty Ogruhn think of bad Bone-man.

Ogruhn tell mighty tale to many ears. But sun and moon travel from woods to sea, and make mighty thinkin from long-go thin like mist. Like sea make pretty drawin in sand go bye-bye. Slowlike, more-and-more. Till no picture left at all, and beach again all pebble and sand.

(picture of a sun and a moon passing east to west over a badly drawn forest and disappearing into crudely drawn waves - the sun has a smiley face)

--- II ---

Ogruhn lived many stories. There was crew-sade up to big Bone-man with Oth-man. Lich say him Oth-man's old masta. Back when him not the Oth-man, but him with other-name lived in long-go.

(a crudely drawn picture of a large heavy-set figure and a smaller thin figure with long hair battling a number of stick figures made up of bones)

But-fore that was great Seekin-Of-Bones. When Ogruhn find mighty bone of Pole-fish. Nice friends told Ogruhn keep bone safe, it mighty and important. The blanket-giver Rania trusted Ogruhn with mighty bone. She nice!

(drawing of a small stick figure with a big smile, next to an even bigger stick figure with an even bigger smile - and a blanket in one hand and a big bone in the other)

--- III ---

Many strange thing happen that make big head hurt much. One thing - many nekromansies make clan, like tribe. Them make strange fogs appear in dark places. From foggy dark places come many dead-stuff-that-walks.

Ogruhn ask bout foggy mists and hears name Pole-fish again. Pole-fish, Pole-fish!

(a poor drawing of a bunch of bones around what appears to be a smudge in many colours - underneath the drawing it says: "kultmists of sumthin")

--- IV ---

Great Ogruhn lost mighty bone. Now thinkin him gave up bone to little fwend. Forgot name of fwend. May-bee Serai? May-bee Rania! Now Ogruhn no longer keep it safe. Dead-things-that-walk no longer try to fight Ogruhn as much...

Ogruhn miss breakin and gnawing bones...

Forgot bout whole thing with bone and fish, till him save little travellin folk from weird north tribe in forest. Them Ogrillon tribe! Found paper letter among raggedy dead Ogrillons that try kill little travellers. Letter talk of finding gems. Funny dat. Like gems Ogruhn re-member from the Batty-bat. Gems that make pretty mists. Mists that make dead-things-walk.

Letter had letter... How explain? Paper had letter at the bottom, like name. It read: "-Z"

Who Z?

(a drawing shows a big stick figure fighting other stick figures in a forest - surely the depiction of an epic battle, had the artist been more skilled)

--- V ---

Gems and lich-fishes and drako-liches and stuff. Ogruhn try re-member how things is in long-go times:

*So there was Pole-fish. He the big bad bone-man that do magicks and have bones and staves lost all over land! Them were SEVEN such bones.
*Then Ogruhn also re-member Drako-lich. It big bone dragon that make even Ogruhn pee little when scared. It have name. Think it was Efar or sum-thin. It too want bones, like Pole-fish and many others.
*Then Batty-bat. She like nekromansies. She want gems too. Maybe she hire tribe from north?

(a sketch of a massive dragon-like creature made up of bones adornes the bottom of the page. It appears much larger than the mountain it is drawn perched upon - the whole thing resembles an undead chicken much closer than a draco-lich)

--- VI ---

Ogruhn almost forget write stuff bout when him went find north tribe from letter!

When Ogruhn go north to speak with tribe of north Ogrillons, them tells us many things.
Them talks of stones. Them stones be gems that make mist. Stinky men come see Ogrillons. Them had dark rags. Robes. Ask Ogrillon to go look for stones for lots of gold. Tribe tell Ogruhn that raggedy men stink of death. Ogruhn thank tribe and leave all in peace.

(the text is paired with the drawing of a campfire with several stick figures sitting and standing around it)

--- VII ---

More thinkins:

*Gems had funny name. Merry-tar or sum-thin. Me-marry-tar... Them said gems had Elven name. Green, purple, many pretty colours.
*Gems given way by strange man with mask.
*White hair squirrel collects em. She the batty-bat. A neck-so-fancy. No. Nekromansee.
*Big dragon attack close to tribes by Greenest. It not alone. Many dead-that-walk too!
*Nother big dragon, but now shadowy and dark. It attack friend of keep. Ogruhn help fight dragon and help candle friend Adrian.

Ogruhn bored now of writins. Many more thinkins but maybe more writins later.
Now go eat.

Buh-bye.

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Exploring the Act of Spellcasting: Musings on the Patterns Behind Wizardly, Sorcerous, and Bardic Casting, and its Possible Applications
by Kayle Walker
Special Thanks To: Isabella Villame

Definitions

While there are many exceptions to the rule, most arcane disciplines can be categorized under three classifications: Wizardry, Sorcery, and Bardic magic. All three forms draw from the Weave to power their spells, with the main distinction being the manner of casting employed by each discipline.

Wizards by far are the most effort-driven discipline, in that spellcasters of this variety study specific magical theories and techniques to draw forth spells. Everything - from verbal to somatic (and even physical) components are specific to the wizardry school one was taught in. Their approach to magic is methodical - predicated on precise effects from precise processes.

Sorcerers, on the other hand, rely on force of will as the basis of their spellcasting. Though they are still an arcane discipline in that they need different components for their spells, Sorcerers do not need specific chants or movement, relying instead on an innate feel for magic to guide their casting for them. What this results in is a brand of magic that is almost instinctual in nature, varied in methodology up to the individual level.

The last type - Bardic magic - also lacks a wizard’s focus on the minutiae, and performs similarly to sorcery, requiring as much force of will to perform. The biggest difference with the two comes in the form of its medium - a bard’s songs and inspirations do not need chants, but rather literally that: singing. It could also be drawn from poems, music, or even whistling - it is because of this that the author believes that this discipline of magic relies on sound itself, or to be specific, the rhythm that a bard associates with a particular effect.


Analysis and Breakdown of Spellcasting

As widely believed for these disciplines to differ from their contemporaries, a comparison in their basest forms can be made. All disciplines require a verbal and somatic component, and sometimes a physical and temporal component, depending on the complexity of the effect desired.

But therein lies a hole to this logic. There are techniques in spellcasting that actually aim to forgo any (and in the case of Quickened magic, all) components a spell may require. In the opposite vein, a normal person may attempt to read off of a scroll and copy the method recorded, and still would not be assured to produce magic.

The author posits that the secret lies in the spellcaster themselves. As discussed above, the three classic disciplines of arcane spellcasting differ in their approach of casting. Study, instinct, sound - looking at it closer, and considering the similarities in base methodology and the end magical effect, what one actually taps into when casting a spell is its base ‘concept’.

One can word it in any manner of ways: the way the energy courses through the body during the spell, or the mental image one conjures into reality as they cast it - the very essence of the spell is what a mage forms methods around to create a logical (at least in their case) formula. The Weave provides the power needed, but it is ultimately the spellcaster (through the spell) that consciously draws this energy by grasping this concept, shaping it, and releasing it into reality. Simpler spells have concepts that are easier to grasp and progressively becomes harder to image the more potent its effects.

Thus, it can also be argued that the three disciplines differ in the extent of their ‘feel’ for this central concept - with wizards needing the most conceptualization through their study, and sorcerers and bards having an innate sense of this basest of essences. This can also explain why non-educated individuals will have mixed successes when it comes to magical devices - it is predicated in whether or not they can grasp the concept of the spell for the said item to work.


Applications

The hope of this reflection is not to revolutionize a new type of magic, but rather to look back at its roots, simplify the process altogether, and create advancements through better understanding of the foundations of the Art.

Specifically, the author posits that it is possible to change the way spellcasters (especially of the wizardly kind) learn and approach magic, using a streamlined curriculum drawn from a logical analysis of sorcerous and bardic approaches to spellcraft. Rather than memorization, it may be fruitful to nurture in students a line of thinking that touches more on grasping the concept of a spell, than wholly relying on memorization.

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Kobold Union Guide I
by Arorn

In this book you will find the adventures, or misadventures, of my attempts at fostering a proper relation with a pack of kobolds. This book will be a reminder of the steps I, and several others, have taken on this possibly ill-advised journey, and should this whole plan backfire and I get eaten by a dragon, it will also serve as a reason not to try and employ kobolds.

I give my deepest thanks to those who helped along this hairbrained scheme, and possibly to those who told me it was a terrible idea too. I also thank the various organizations who I managed to hoodwink into either helping me or supplying me with the things I needed to get this whole operation running. So before I even thought about tackling kobolds, I had to make a game plan. The first few drafts of this plan were less than stellar; recruiting someone to pretend to be a dragon in order to fool the kobolds was not the most honest way to go about the whole thing.

The second plan, however, was a lot more sound. I wanted to learn a few phrases of the kobold tongue, Yipyak, that was I could communicate simple concepts with them at the very least, from there it becomes a matter of knowing what term kobolds wish to work under.

My first thought was "well, they're kobolds, pay them in gems!" but then I wondered if it wouldn't be a bit more official to at least offer them gold, turn it into an entire legitimate business. They were, after all, going to be mining gems for me. In that regard I was just replacing a dragon with a half-elf. The next step in this master scheme is of course to find some kobolds. Luckily, I stumbled upon a group that was willing enough to listen to reason. We talked for a few minutes before they took notice of a small pile of gems I had acquired. It was surprisingly easy to get them to go along with the plan, as long as I offered to share the gems with them in return for their services.

Normally I wouldn't want to speak ill of the intelligence of someone I'm paying to do work for me, but these kobolds were... not the brightest. I think I could have painted rocks green and convinced them i was giving them emeralds, so it's important to realize that while clever, kobolds can be fairly easily tricked into working for, essentially, nothing. That was not my intention, but it's good to note that they may need some hand-holding in terms of understanding their worth. It has been a month or so, the koblds do odd tasks in a small mine nearby. In exchange for bringing in raw materials, I pay them in gems, typically whatever they end up bringing in is just handed back to them, though the raw stone is handy to have in case we need construction material.

A few things I've noted is that without a kobold in charge, they tend to get distracted easily. I've checked in on them more than once only to find a dart-trap shooting me in the arm. After this happened a third time, I decided to elect the kobold with the best memory as their foreman. This one keeps them on track and makes sure they aren't trying to kill me every time I come to check on them.

Note: You'll never remove their instinct to trap their holes, it just won't happen. If you plan to check on them regularly, invest in a sturdy shield or have designated days for them to meet you outside. Kobolds are still driven by instinct at the end of the day.

It has been a few months, I returned from a trip to Waterdeep to find out that everything had gone terribly wrong. The kobolds, almost as soon as they lost leadership, went back to their usual routine. They converted the mine into their lair, trapped it to the nines, and didn't even recognize me when I returned. The foreman had been cast out long ago, and they were now hoarding the gems that they were digging, but their lair was plagued with unrest and infighting.

It's my understanding that without solid leadership that constantly hangs around, the kobolds will eventually just collapse into civil war. Maybe this is an isolated incident, but I don't have another group to test this with. This will have to be an experiment run multiple times, but for now this will be book 1.

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Dragon Hunting and You
by Halgrim Ironmantle

Preface and the Draconic

The first stage to any dragon hunt is fostering an understanding of your quarry's mindset. Those who fail to know how their Dragon thinks and acts will die. It is, after all, for good reason dragon hunts stand as the crown jewel of many adventurer's career.

This tome will help make clear the very basics of draconic warfare.


Dragon Anatomy Basics

Most dragons share in the same fundamental needs: food, water, shelter, and a relatively intact physical form.
Each different colour will have advantages and disadvantages in certain aspects. While greens lairs in areas with both an abundance of food and shelter with dense tree cover don't expect a great deal of aerial manouvering, conversly blue dragons make their homes within arid expanses of sand, and can be expected to both roam far for their required food and are adapted to hunting on the wing.

When engaging a dragon it is best to do so with as many advantages as you can get. Disruptions to food supply and tainted water sources all can help set your quarry on the backfoot. A hungry dragon is a terror to face, though better than a well fed and prepared foe.


Author's note

Regarding shelter, scouting understanding your quarry's Lair is a must however one should if at all possible avoid facing most dragons within their lair. Prepared ground set by an ageless and intelligent foe puts the hunter at a distinct risk of becoming lunch.


Wounding a dragon

Wounding a dragon is a difficult prospect, striking a solid blow against such a large foe leaves a body within range of gnashing teeth and rending claws. Pole weapons are recommended for any wishing to engage in axe-and-claw battle. However I strongly advise against such a course.

Ranged weaponry should be of quality make with heavy draws capable of shredding the wing membrane of your target. Flight is your biggest obstacle to defeating a dragon outside of its lair. Without means to be set and maintain an engagement a hunting party is vulnerable to being picked off or chipped away at.


Use of Magic

If your hunting party should happen to have the service of an accomplished evoker see that they prepare magic that can strike both unerringly and is not innately resisted by the color of their quarry. Those not specialised should focus their efforts controlling the space the hunters are in, protecting the party from the dragon's breath weapon, and impairing the dragon's ability to cast their own magic.


Terrain

Terrain is an important aspect to any dragon fight. You will live or die by your placement and understanding. Your average blue dragon sticks to hot arid expanses, the perfect place to put to use their ability to burrow and their breath weapon.
What might have been a sturdy passage has become a deadly sinkhole. A swirling cloud of coarse sand might become a far more lethal stream of raining fulgurite or Lightning quartz.

A blue dragon on a desert floor is just as dangerous as in the air, be ever mindful of sand traps and false terrain, a split hunting party is a dead hunting party.


Networks

Dragons are long lived and proud creatures. It is natural for them to seek out others to command be it with benevolence and compassion or tyranny and brutality. When hunting a Wyrm of any age it is critical to know and dismantle it's network of allies. Younger wyrms are less likely to have vast sprawling power bases but likely will have a token support network depending on color and disposition.

Due to the placement of their favoured terrain it is common to find blue dragons in defined social groups, with the oldest or perhaps strongest leading as Suzerain. While working together is not common among creatures so committed to pride and sense of superiority a band of sizable strength risks drawing the attention of other blues in the area.


Stages of a hunt

Scout: Determine your quarry's strength, network, movements, lair, and goals. Understanding these things is key to the next step.

Prepare: Undermine as much of your quarry's goals as you can without direct engagement. Disrupt their followers, free their slaves, deprive them of food. Whatever creative means you can think of could save lives.
Invest in your best arms, armour and magic you can afford. Slaying a dragon is an expensive venture and miserly men end up donating their saved coin to their new foes horde.

Establish: With equipment and personale the next stage is to establish a space you can defend. A fall back position and a staging ground for activities in your quarry's domain. It is important to set up your staging ground to be as uncomfortable for your chosen quarry as possible. Be it cramped stone passages for a blue, or barren dead earth for a green.

Lure: Draw your quarry to you. This is a safer alternative than engaging your quarry within their lair. An action which is not recommended.

Cripple: Congratulations, if you've drawn your quarry out of their lair you've now the need to strip them of their favoured method of combat. In the case of a Blue it is recommended to ground them and force them into a heated and committed engagement.

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High Moor Shackles
by Emrys Kerr

Chained to filth-green moor
Where hazed in the tumbling air
Dancing lights smudge within branches
Like colored moons in a well of tar
An undistant slave stares beyond all reason

Chained to filth-green moor
Where cries only travel twenty feet
And dark pools reflect the lolling eyes of chaos
Thoughts split like wounds
To nourish the taste of torment

"You can walk so easily
But cannot confide
Cannot put faith in anything
Because nothing is impervious enough
Because nothing will ever
Make you good
In your own sight."

He stands while the rain falls
In that bitter place
Digs his nails into his sides and cries
As the clay turns red
He bends to drink
And laughs at everything
That anyone loves

All you damned (germbag)
Climbing to Celestia

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A treatise on the introduction to portal magic
Written by Kay; Abjurer

Flamerule 1356

First, to start let us discuss what is portal magic? Portal magic is a multi discipline field of magical study that connects great distances together like the rooms of a single house.

Portal is another word for doorway, so it is easiest to think portals as magical doorways and locations as rooms. As an example if one wanted to make a portal from Candlekeep to the Friendly Arm Inn then Toril would be the home, Candlekeep one room, the Friendly Arm Inn another room and the portal between them the doorway that connects them.

In order to create and maintain portals the caster must have a clear and intimate portrait of how the portal will connect the two locations. Both the entrance and the exit must be studied and pictured with focus and discipline. This is in fact the first step to creating a portal, intimate knowledge of the entrance and exit. To that regard the first thing a hopeful mage wishing to take upon the discipline of portal magic is the study of Geography and Astrology.


Portals upon the surface of Toril:

The simplest of portals are ones connecting two locations upon the surface of Toril. As previously mentioned the first step is in fact an intimate knowledge of the two locations meant to be linked. Having the knowledge of geography and the firsthand knowledge of exploring the locations will allow any aspiring portal mage to accurately create stable portals.

Having firsthand knowledge of each location is not a replacement for study, nor is study a replacement for having firsthand knowledge. To do one without the other is perilous.


Portals within the Underdark of Toril:

Everything already discussed in previous pages also holds true to the Underdark of Toril with the exception of the Faezress. The Faezress is a magical radiation that permeates many locations of the depths of Toril. It has many properties but the important one to focus one while creating or stabilizing a portal is the inhibition that Faezress puts on any sort of magical travel.

Spells such as teleportation frequently send the caster into a completely different destination even if the caster has had regular visits to the destination that they are teleporting to.
Furthermore teleportations can place the caster into potentially lethal areas of the Underdark such as lava flows or purple worm lairs.

Stable portals therefore are created in areas where the Faezress does not form. The potential disasters that could happen are simply too many to list but rest assured that portals to places they should not be have never ended well.


Interplanar Portals:

Simply put an interplanar portal is a doorway between two different planes such as the prime material plane and one of the upper or lower planes. The same dangers in creating a portal between two locations still applies. In addition perfect knowledge of the plane and the exact location of the portal will need to be established. Planar knowledge, therefore is a requirement in order to create one.

One must also contend with the added affect that the barriers between the planes will be constantly trying to shut any doorways that have been opened between the prime material and wherever the portal is connected to.

The danger in creating an interplanar portal cannot be understated catastrophe levels of disaster can occur from creating one, even a properly created portal with every precaution isn't immune to the potential dangers that interplanar portals inherently have. My best and most sincere advice is to never attempt to create a portal between planes.


Portal Gate materials:

They physical part of portals that are often thought of when the word portal is used can be made up of almost anything. From stone, to bone and wood. There are even some druidic portals that are made out of living plants. Portals can be of nearly any shape as well from as small as to only let a single person through at a time. To as large as to let an entire caravan wagon through.


Portal Keys and Enchantments:

Portal keys can be any object one could imagine, a key for a portal is the same thing a key is used for a mundane doorway. It allows only certain people access to the portal. Portals can also be enchanted with any number of runes as long as the creator of the portal has the proper materials and knowledge of the spells required one's imagination and knowledge of the weave with that many things are possible.

It is my sincere hope that you the reader have learned much about portals and have gained an interest in their creation and maintenance. There is still much to write about this subject such as the specific spells and methods used to create and maintain portals. As this is merely the introduction to portal magic, the continuation of the topic will be found in my next book, Portal Magic Basics. The next book will cover spells, material components, and detailed equations to aid one's magical pursuit into the wonders of portal magic.

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An Explorers Guide to the Ladies of the Coast
by Reiker Vexx
23 Tarsakh 1357 DR

Gentleman of the Coast! Do you have trouble with the ladies? Unsure how to handle a certain spirited lass? Well worry no more. With my vast experience on this subject I have decided to share some advice for budding bards looking to be a legend with the ladies.

Disclaimer: Due to the unpredictable nature of the female sex this book can't guarantee the outcome at all encounters, some results may vary. The author takes no responsibility for any damage to person or property that may arise from following such advice.

An Explorer's Guide to the Ladies of the Coast"
Written By
Reiker Vexx

Humans:

Description:
Humans are among the most varied of the races, ranging in all kinds of sizes from short to tall, thin to husky and all variety of dirt like skin tones. They are easily the most common of the ladies you may find yourself in the company of.

Tips and Tricks:
Gifts, lots and lots of gifts, Women of the human persuasion no matter the faith or region of birth love a thoughtful gift, especially those of a shiny and valuable nature. While it is possible to have more than one of these lovely ladies at a time make sure they never meet or you may find yourself being chased out of a city or two.

If that fails copious amount of alcohol can help to make you more of a catch.


Tieflings

Description:
Unlike humans most fiendbloods have some kind of unusual trait or quirk that marks their heritage, perhaps horns or a tail or even an odd skin tone. Almost all of them have some supernatural trait.

Tips and Tricks:
Ever heart the saying "Fine line between pleasure and pain" well in this case the line is very very blurred, Tiefling women are fierce lovers and once they have you in their sight you have little chance to escape... but let's face it, why would you? Cardio and stamina training are important.


Aasimar

Description:
Think of the most beautiful human woman you can... now imagine she had perfect skin, otherwordly eyes and gave you a tingling sensation that might have you concerned enough to see a cleric. That would be an Aasimar.

Tips and Tricks:
No tricks will work on these women, they are the pinnacle of beauty, grace and serenity and it shows. If you really want to woo one of them you had better be a knight or nobility of some kind because she don't want no beggar in the streets. That being said if you can snag yourself one of these fine ladies oral skills are a must.


Orcs and Half-Orcs

Description:
That slightly green tinged woman with the underbite and muscles that make a grown make warrior feel ashamed? That's an orc blooded woman.

Tips and Tricks:
Don't.


Drow Elves

Description:
Black skin, white hair and eyes as red as they come. Lithe, powerful and the definition of "if looks could kill" because they probably will.

Tips and Tricks:
Unless you feel like being used, abused and then sacrificed to their evil goddess. Don't.


Elves

Description:
Elves come in a variety of different colours, some earthy others pale and blue, but they almost all exclusively have the bodies of a dancer. Lithe and flexible in all the right ways these women will outlast you like no other... literally... they don't age.

Tips and Tricks:
Respect! These women are very very big on respect and tradition, they are smarter, faster and can hold a grudge for centuries so be sure you treat them proper or you may just find yourself in hot water... or in some cases with the more magically gifted ones... set on fire.


Final Words of Wisdom

If it isn't clear by now then let me just say this. No guide in the world will help you understand women, they are all fascinating, beautiful amazing creatures and should be treated as such, if you are lucky enough to have a good woman in your life there is honestly little more you could ever need.

Respect, Love, Honesty and most of all understanding will get you further than any amount of power or money ever could.

And that's the honest truth.

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An Explorers Guide to the Men of the Coast
by Reiker Vexx
24 Tarsakh 1357 DR

Ladies of the Coast! Looking to chase down that white knight! perhaps you wish to net that rugged scoundrel? Well look no further! This guide will help you to find that special someone.

Disclaimer:

Let's be honest here, most things go over a man's head ladies, if this book doesn't help then just use the good ol trusty "haha I was just jesting" and chase after his better looking brother.

An Explorer's Guide to the Men of the Coast"
Written By
Reiker Vexx

Humans:

Description:
Much like their female counterparts the men of the coast come in all different shapes and sizes from big and burly to short and tiny. Their skin tones also vary from light earthy colours to much more darker tones, and in most cases more hair on their body than necessary.

Tips and Tricks:
Buy him a drink and "Stroke his ego" if you know what I mean.


Tieflings

Description:
Much like their female counterparts the men of this race appear almost human with the odd fiendish trait, be it a tail or horns or any variation of skin colour including reds or blues or anywhere in between. They are also quite handsome, dashing and just a little bit rugged.

Tips and Tricks:
The tail is VERY sensitive, especially when you get closer to the base. Nails and teeth add to the experience. Nails and teeth add to the experience.


Aasimar

Description:
These men are the knights they talk about in the stories, tall, muscular with flowing locks of spun gold and eyes that pierce the soul and a voice that could make a kitten purr.

Tips and Tricks:
Buy him a mirror, he will spend hours upon hours staring lovingly into it while you are free to do the things you want to do without listening to a man complain about it.


Orcs and Half-Orcs

Description:
Basically human men with green skin, bad teeth and way more body hair than you thought possible, also their muscles have muscles.

Tips and Tricks:
Hit him, no seriously strength in a woman is a must for an orc blood so wind up that fist and hit them with a haymaker and you will make his day.


Drow Elves

Description:
Black skin, white hair and red eyes just like the females, in fact they are so alike you can usually tell who is the male by who is wearing the leash (it's him).

Tips and Tricks:
Tie him up and spank him in to submission.


Elves

Description:
Male elves can be difficult to tell from females as they have a similar body shape and hairstyles and the clothing can make it terribly hard to tell if an elf has breasts or not. Still if you like your men feminine then these are the men for you.

Tips and Tricks:
Talk about your feelings, share deep thoughts about the world and nature and how you feel connected to it. On another note Elves are quite the polygamist and usually stay that way till marriage so if you like it put a ring on it and stop him from sleeping with your sisters and cousins.


Final Words of Wisdom

Men are dumb, find a woman.

Clearly none of this is accurate or true and once again is made completely as a joke. People are complicated, unique and have their own individual personalities and if you are lucky to find one who you can stand to be around long enough to feel something special with them... cherish it, life can so quickly end in our world and we should enjoy every moment of it, it's the special people we meet along the way that make it all worthwhile in the end.

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Unforgotten Guide to the Forgotten One
by Sariel

A Nearly Forgotten History of Death

While the Lord of the End of Everything may serve under other deities of death, it is only that keeps the true accounting of the fate of the world and those who died upon the mortal plane a the world continues its slow descent into true Death.

It is said Jergal had grown weary of the empty power of the Lord of the Dead, and in his pragmatism, willingly succeeded his power to instead serve as guide and seneschal.

Jergal soon faded into obscurity, only a few devout followers still knew of his existence. The dedicated priests and clerics of the Forgotten One still to this day act as scribes, funerary workers, and morticians, recording the fate and affairs of the mortals who die under their purview.

Clerics of Jergal pray for their spells at dusk, as this is the time of day representative of death. Many spend their days maintaining scrolls and adding new ones to the archives of the dead.

At the end of each year a sacred rite is held where the names of those who have died in the past year are recited and at the end of the list all those present respond with "One Year Closer!", this alluding to the unending procession of the world to death and its end.

This is but a brief history of Jergal, Lord of the End of Everything. What follows will be a more personal accounting: tips and tricks for embalming the dead, how to make bone dust to dry ink on scrolls, and even a little treat of 'Jergal Cookies' to serve at a funeral to the little ones.


On Embalming Bodies

There are two ways one may embalm a body; one natural, the other artificial. Natural means include desiccation either by cold or heat. These methods can indeed do the job well enough, though if one is to display the body, I would personally recommend the more scientific approach. Besides, as with most things in nature, it takes a very long time to desiccate a body, and unfortunately many don't have the patience for such things.

This is why I recommend, if possible, the use of artificial means. While still using heath and cold, powders such as sawdust mixed with zinc and sulphate speed the process. Eviscerating the the corpse and injecting the cavities with various chemicals also help with preservation and to keep the body looking more like its living state. This is, if you hide the incisions. I recommend loose clothing many layers and dark colours.

My go to for embalming includes evisceration immersion of the body in alcohol, the insertion of the preservative herbs into the incisions made in the fleshy parts of the body, and then wrapping the body in tarred or waxed sheets.

Below is a recipe for a quick and simple embalming powder. You should be able to find all of these ingredients either on hand or at the local alchemist.

2lb Aloes
1lb Myrrh
7 handfulls of Wemut
1lb Pumace
4lb Majoran
30g Storacis Clamata
1/2 lot Zeltinalipta Muscate


Recipe for Powdered Bone

As it's required to sprinkle powdered bone over inscribed names to blot the ink for those that follow the Scribe of the Doomed, I've written a guide on making the most effective bone meal for just such a rite.

Step 1. Clean the Bones.

You'll have to remove any remnants of meat and fat from the bones of the deceased. You'll need a good metal scraper, even steel wool if it's available. You want those bones sparkling clean!

Step 2. Bake.

You must make sure when you bake the bones that the fire is hot enough. It must be at least 400 degrees. Magic can be used, though a good hot kiln should suffice. The bones are done when they get dry and fragile. Small and medium bones usually take an hour.

Step 3. Fragment.

Transfer your baked bones to a leather bag or sack and use a club, mace, or even rolling pin to smash them into fragments about a inch long.

Step 4. Grind.

A mortar and pestle is a must, and the bigger the better. Toss the bone pieces in and grind them thoroughly until they make a fine mixture. You can add ashes to this mix, or simply use the bone dust itself.

Step 5. Pray.

A simple prayer to Jergal over the powdered bone will ensure it's allowed to be used on the sacred scrolls. As Jergal is a more pragmatic deity, I usually opt for something along the lines of 'Account the dead as death moves ever on.'


A Recipe for Fun!

Children, being the farthest from death in a way, have a hard time understanding the need for the unavoidable final demise of life. As such, I have found that sweets will often dry many tears, and children may even come to look forward to funerals! Below is my recipe for a simple cookie one can make to give out to the little children.

Make the Dough: Bea together butter, sugar, and flour until blended.

Form the Cookie: Form the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in sugar and then flatten them.

Bake: Bake until just barely golden around the edges and bottom.

Decorate: After the cookies have cooled, you can decorate them with icing. I like to put a little smiling skull with a scroll, personally. I find the children tend to enjoy such frivolity.

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[Almarea90]

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On Hollyphants
by Anonymous
2nd of Mirtul 1357

Hollyphants are golden-furred, elephant-like creatures from the Upper Planes, who act as servants of the powers of good.
They look like a tiny little flying elephant with golden fur and wings. Some who had encountered hollyphants claimed that their wings were golden like their fur; others insisted that the wings were shining white. Its small tusks appeared to be made of ivory. There seem to be variety in their eye color. Some hollyphants have amber to glowing brown eyes. For others, their eyes display a rainbow of colors.

They also have an alternative form that they could take, that of a large, bipedal mastodon with shaggy, black fur, huge leathery wings, and massive curved tusks.

In their small form, the golden fur of these elephantine creatures seems to glow. Because of the aura surrounding one, any good creature observing a hollyphant feels a fondness toward it, while any evil creature feels immediate loathing and fear.

Some scholars made speculations that a hollyphant's appearance was a projection of some kind and that they were actually spirits with a different true appearance, since surely no creature would look so goofy in reality. Hollyphants take great offense at such an idea, and anyone who had ever looked upon them with true seeing saw only both of their elephantine forms simultaneously.


Abilities:

Hollyphants are both magical and psionic creatures. When in their usual small size, their shimmering fur gives them invulnerability to spells of weaker power, while their tusks provide them with immunity to poison and diseases. They have several additional inherent magical abilities, including the ability to detect evil, banish outsiders, bless allies, create light, gate in allies from the Upper Planes, protect from evil, teleport, and call down a column of fire on their foes. A hollyphant also has several impressive healing abilities, including the power to raise the dead.

Beyond all these magical abilities, a hollyphant has a limited number of psionic powers as well, including forms of telepathy and the power to see invisibility and make mind-controlling suggestions.

Perhaps most uniquely, the hollyphant can use its trunk in a variety of ways. It can cause a trumpeting blast of intense, damaging, deafening sound, which can also stun its opponents, or it can shoot out a burst of positive energy particles, called "sun-sparkles". Sun-sparkles inflict great damage on the undead or creatures from the Lower Planes.


Personality:

Hollyphants love helping good creatures, do not care much for those of a neutral bent, and would actively seek to destroy evil beings. They would do all they can to avoid having to battle with a good or even neutral creature. They enjoy observing noble mortals and serving their masters.

Hollyphants are very sensitive about their appearance, which many find to be silly. Likewise, visitors to the planes are advised not to speculate on their origins, as they take offense at this. Otherwise, the typical hollyphant does not take itself too seriously, and as a rule, they strongly enjoy harmless pranks and joking.


Society:

Hollyphants are native to all of the good planes but have especially high populations in the Beastlands, Bytopia, and Mount Celestia.

On their home planes, they can be found in groups of one to three or four.

Among themselves, hollyphants have their own language.

Hollyphants serve as messengers and helpers for the good deities or their agents. Deities known to have hollyphants as servants include Ilmater, Milil, Eilistraee, Moradin, Aerdrie Faenya, Corellon Larethian, Hanali Celanil, Labelas Enoreth, Sehanine Moonbow, Solonor Thelandira and Yondalla.

They often travel through Ethereal and Astral Planes on their way to the Material. If sent to the Material Plane, where they sometimes serve as advisors to good people, they would usually appear alone and almost always would be flying. When providing aid, they try to help their charges to defeat evil in their own ways rather than solving the problems for them.


Ecology:

Hollyphants do not need to rely on natural means to survive. They require neither food nor drink, nor do they need to sleep. They can eat and drink, and they often do so, just so those around them would not feel uncomfortable. When they eat, they prefer nuts, berries, and young shoots.

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[Almarea90]

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The Book and the Dragon
by Scribe Edelgarde Spades
17th of Mirtul 1357

To Mark, Yyiriss, the avowed of Candlekeep, Ashenie, Alexander and all those who made this possible.


Chapter 1: a bookwyrm at Candlekeep's doors

This story starts like many other stories in Candlekeep: with a book.
Before I joined the Keep, a Brass Dragon in the guise of an elf named Mark knocked at our very doors to offer a trade: three rare books for a sketch and poems written by a bard named Yyiriss Valcovani, that was allegedly stolen from him by a blue dragon. As we found out later on, the deceased author was dear to the dragon, his wife to be precise, and he requested that no copy of the book was made.
I joined shortly after and, although I was but an acolyte at the time, my opinion was asked on whether or not it was appropriate to petition the Keeper of the Tomes with such a request. Most of the avowed expressed themselves in favour and a letter to Ulraunt was written. Needless to say, the Keeper of the Tomes denied it.

We didn't hear from the dragon for more than a year, until one day he came back and reiterated his request to the Guide. One of our acolytes, Arendyll Hakwsong, took the dragon's request to heart and this time she decided to petition the First Reader. We all underwrote the letter, but alas our request was denied again.

The first time I met Mark was at the friendly arm on a day of Ches, this year. The earth trembled briefly and violently, and while we all staggered a tall elf in light blue robes advanced towards us, asking to speak with the Guide. At first I did not realize who he was and I asked if he had any idea what could have possibly caused such a tremor.
All of a sudden and without a warning, the elf shifted into a huge wyrm as tall as the Friendly Arm, his body covered in shining scales of brass. He introduced himself as Lyvinicus Drycus, the Golden Maw and such a large list of honorifics that I forgot. Quickly losing focus on his previously stated task, he started recounting a story about red dragons and within moments, a large crowd was gathered in awe listening to the tale of the majestic creature.
Unfortunately, the story was cut short by two guards from the Friendly Arm who requested the dragon to leave as he was, according to them, scaring the merchants.


Chapter 2: Out of the blue

Few weeks later, Mark visited us in Candlekeep, his arrival announced by a guard suddenly falling asleep while walking after breathing his sleeping gas. After a candlemark of pleasantries and stories, he stated his intention to seek audience with Gorion, who promptly confirmed this fact and led the dragon with him inside the main building.
When the door had barely closed behind them, a group of three armored men walked in our courtyard. One of them, the only one whose eyes showed a modicum of intelligence, introduced himself as Azurel Sunderspark and asked if a tall elf had visited the library. I confirmed it and at that point he walked away, while his associate was so kind to notify me that his lord would not waste anymore time talking with "less than a half blood".
It was at that point that I realized that name was ringing a bell. Azurel Sunderspark was in fact a pseudonym for a slaver blue dragon who, as a cherry on top of that unpleasant cake, was also a human supremacist.
Accompanied by Senior Seeker Lucia, I bolted inside the library and walked in the middle of a heated conversation between poor Gorion, who was trying to enunciate the efficacy of our wards, and Mark who seemed to be in great distress.
Without wasting anymore time, I mentioned a blue dragon named Azurel Sunderspark was waiting for him outside and likely not to catch up on the latest fashion on the Sword Coast. Surprisingly, the dragon was startled and dropped the book. I immediately ran towards it to assess the damage, only to discover the book was completely blank. After spending an untold amount of time wondering what manner of calamity could have caused the content of a book to disappear completely, sporting what must have looked like an expression of utter horror, I realized that the book was probably a false to begin with. That could only mean one thing. Well, two: we had been played for fools and the book was still out there somewhere.
Suddenly serious, Mark revealed us that his feud with Azurel had been going ahead for centuries. In fact, the foul creature kept a large amount of slaves in the desert and Lyvinicus' efforts to free them proved fruitless.

The best book seekers of the whole Coast, of course, could not let this chance slip from their hands: help Mark to recover his stolen property and claim whatever books the blue dragon kept in his hoard.


Chapter 3: To the dragon's den.

The first ten-day of Tarsakh and another encounter with Sunderspark as pleasant as the chicken pox where he punched Acolyte Hawksong came to pass. A distressed woman walked within the premises straight to Winthrop and asked him to help her against a group of bandit. Since the poor man was ready to charge ahead armed only with a shovel, we immediately followed suit to prevent the untimely death of our freshly made shovel knight. As soon as we stepped out of the gate though, we literally bumped in a brass-scaled talon.
Our bookwyrm friend kindly shed some light on the distressed woman, who was in fact sent by him to lure Winthrop out so he could accompany him to a scouting mission to the blue dragon's lair, which happened to be in the Calishite desert.
Needless to say, Winthrop was quickly to leave shovel and resolve at the door and run back to the tavern at the mention of said dragon. But fear not, dear reader, this too was planned by Lyvinicus, who now had a group of competent folks ready to venture to the lair.
After preparing, me, Senior Seeker Lucia, Guard in Training Cyran, his aunt Riva and her employer Beram flew towards Calimshan carried by our brass friend. Before departing, he warned us not to intervene and just observe since the previous time he was there the guards proceeded to kill the slaves as soon as they registered Mark's presence.

When we landed near the encampment, concealed by draconic magic, we witnessed a terrifying sight. The landscape was devastated by ruins in flames, the sands dotted by crystal formations, created by sand melted by the blue's lightnings. Deformed sphynxes ravenously flew overhead, like condors circling a carcass and all around the camp Sunderspark's guards forced a group of starved slaves into mining an unknown ore. According to the druid Riva, Sunderspark wasn't only exploiting the people but the land as well.
After sketching the camp from the top of a hill, Cyran hid in the shadows to fetch some books from the camp, but at that moment the earth trembled, the sand boiled and shifted in place. What we thought was a rock outcrop was none but the horn of the blue dragon who had been buried under the sand for the whole time and now was emerging in all his might.
Mark urged me to teleport the others away, and uncaring of my objections he charged ahead against the blue, bringing the fight high in the sky.
We teleported away and for a few candlemarks we worried over our friend's fate. Finally, he answered to Lucia's sending and confirmed he managed to escape with his life.


Chapter 4: Mystery revealed.

Later on, we found out he -barely- escaped with his life, as he returned severely wounded and probably would not have returned at all if someone had not healed him on his way.
While the brass dragon recovered under the care of Winthrop and his forty odd cakes, we avowed analyzed the books Cyran so valiantly recovered from the encampment.
Among our findings were some of the sketchbook's pages that Mark was after, which were promptly returned to him, and other books that all pointed to the sinister goal the blue was working towards. He was in fact building, or repurpousing as we learnt later, a weapon capable of provoking the death for old age of whoever is stricken by it and whose name is spoken in the enchanted green gem the weapon must be fashioned out of. Three names were hastily scribbled at the corner of a page: Marqis Del Nova, Jaques Elena and Alexander Calborn. All three of them related to Baldur's Gate.

With no further ado, a group of avowed guided by Guard Kamine traveled to Baldur's Gate to investigate those three names. Although nothing was found about Calborn, they soon found out that Del Nova and Elena were two artisans capable of fashioning weapons out of stones. The first was reported dead of old age at the age of twenty last year, the second had disappeared more or less at the same time shortly attempting to fashion a dagger out of a spear.
I set myself to the task of finding more about the books found in the lair and therefore proceeded to find a bibliography for its author. In one of those works I found an illustration of a man killing a bronze dragon with a green-tipped spear. The text indicated the man as Alexander Calborn, a fallen ilmateri, and the dragon as Igadol Zymeta, his master. Surprised by this finding, I immediately proceeded to look for any work written by the man and, by the blessing of the Lord of All Glyphs and Images I found his own diary.
Before his fall, Calborn invented a spell capable of saving a person close to the spellcaster from the brink of death. After a fateful encounter, Calborn was changed, his mind slipping away, and that led him to pervert his own spell into one that Azurel was trying to reproduce.

I promptly reported my findings to Lyvinicus and listened to his recount.
Calborn claimed innocence until the end and wrote the name of his instigator in the dirt, dying shortly after in the attempt of uttering it. Yyiriss witnessed the event and was killed shortly after with the same weapon, disguised as a dagger. The dragon revealed that nothing less than a Wish spell would be able to bring her back.


Chapter 5: Reunion.

Encouraged by this new hope of bringing back Lyvinicus' lost love, we set ourselves to two new tasks: tracking the real culprit and finding a Wish spell. The first lead brought me to Baldur's Gate, where I found the aid of the Temple of Ilmater. Thanks to Sister Ashenie's faith, we walked a path that led us without bloodshed, not only to discover the whereabouts of the cursed weapon, but also to an artifact capable of bringing back one of its victims.

With great joy I witnessed Mark and the gracious elven woman of the sketches, now suddenly alive, strolling hand in hand in our courtyard. I was soon to discover her beauty was only a fraction of her kindness, as she thanked us and offered to donate the very book we were meant to recover from the blue, which was also her best work of art, to the Keep.


Chapter 6: Before the "Great Storm"

Now that Livynicus was given the chance to see his spouse again and it was known to us that the weapon was brought to Azurel's encampment after one of his men used it to kill Yyiriss, it was time for a counterattack.
Our was not an easy task: not only we had to defeat Azurel and his elites, but we had to do so while protecting the slaves and breaking the domination spell on his guards. Not to mention we had to seize the weapon before it could be used against Mark. As we could not take any chance, we asked for the aid of not one but two skilled strategists: Alexander Holgart, squire of Sir Althalous Fenwick, and Sir Sean of the Order of the Radiant Heart.

The plan was simple but effective: it only required three separate groups, a druid and a lot of Mind Blanks. Each group was to approach one of the three camps, concealed by a sandstorm conjured by the druid, free the slaves from mental domination, deal with the elites and then join Mark who in the meantie would be keeping the blue in check. There was only one unknown variable: whether or not the weapon was ready.

During the two tendays that followed, Ciran, Acolyte Kayle and Yyriss infiltrated in the western encampment. Those were mostly occupied by guards forcing slaves into hard labor, dragon disciples and flesh golems. When they braved the darkness of the tunnels they found an even worse place: a torture chamber that was being used. Unable to help the slaves in any way, the group proceeded ahead and found themselves in a forge, where a blacksmith was tempering a green gem, as big as half of a dagger, in water. Assuming that this gem was going to be part of the weapon, Cyran relocated it in his pockets. Just before they could leave, though, the found themselves face to face with Azurel Sunderspark in human form. Yyiriss tossed a crystal at him, while Cyran unleashed his powers and conjured a jet of acid right in the face of Azurel. Needless to say, the dragon was not too pleased, but that gave them a moment necessary to flee.


Chapter 7: The fall of Sunderspark

With the weapon, for now out of the picture, we could focus on the attack and on the 16th of Ches we met in Candlekeep ready to leave. Mark joined us shortly after, distributing the potions Seeker Colds prepared that would make us immune to Mark's sleeping gas and that as a boon, tasted like oranges.
Unfortunately, things started going not as planned as soon as Mark informed us that the eastern camp collapsed for unknown reasons. Now our plan required to check the western camp quickly and then move to the north.

As soon as we teleported to the location we visited previously, the one near the western camp, we realized something was very wrong. No living being could be spotted and horrid flesh golems, made with Sunderspark's soldiers and slaves patrolled the land. This and the number of brand new siege engines made us suspect that Sunderspark did not take well the previous visit to his lair, and even less so having half of his face soaked in acid. After the initial horror, we cautiously proceeded towards the western camp, while Mark flew over the cave where the slaves were kept and engulfed it with his sleeping breath.
On our way we were attacked by countless flesh golems and dragon disciples, but Jalib, Alexander, Fenwick and Riva in tiger's form, aided by Lucia, Cyran and Nalissa's spells dismantled them quick enough. In the meantime my wards, Gwyn's songs and Ashenie's healing spells provided support.
The inside of the passage was full of bodies and here too we were attacked by dragon's disciples and flesh golems. Our surprise was great when, after opening one of the doors, two living men of Sunderspark stopped us at spear point. They were guarding a cage full of sleeping slaves and they feared if they moved Sunderspark would turn them into flesh golems. They believed he had lost his mind after Cyran scarred him with acid.
Ashenie offered them mercy and invited them to follow a better path in life. With no objections we let them flee. While we forged ahead, Sir Fenwick and Lucia stayed behind to teleport the unconscious people to the temple of Ilmater and then rejoined us.
Eager to reach Mark, we descended further in the tunnel, into an older part infested by undead and ghosts. In the meantime, the earth trembled under the strife of the two ancient dragons. On our path we found a man busy burning books and Cyran confirmed he was the torturer he saw in his scouting mission. While disarming him, Cyran managed to take from him the book he was going to burn and with great surprise found that it was Yyiriss' book. The torturer, a former Red Wizard, confessed he raised the ghosts to fight the flesh golems. Sister Ashenie, showing great mercy, tried to heal him but he punched her. Uncaring of the blow, sister Ashenie went back on her feet and tried to heal him again, but the spells did not take any effect. Before dying for his wounds, the wizard mocked us for being exactly like him and admitted refusing the healing spell.
Finally we reached the end of the tunnel and resurfaced in the desert, in correspondence of what once was the northern camp. We were welcomed by the booming sounds of thunder and strife. Overhead we could see the glimmer of brass scales and the angry red of fire towards the entrance of the lair. Knowing Mark was still alive we proceeded with renewed vigor and once we got close enough I teleported us to the lair.
The majestic halls were hollow and dark, carrying the heavy steps of the undead and the roaring of the two dragons. We fought our way through the foes and finally found our path blocked by the blue. Azurel the Great Storm stood majestic in his draconic form: rocklike horn and reptilian eyes focused on our group, skin hanging like a curtain where Cyran's acid had burnt him.
Cyran taunted him, while Nalissa tried to get him to see reason. The large wyrm, surprisingly agreed to talk and while his attention was focused on the others, Alexander gestured us to surround him. While we drifted away like ghosts to encircle the dragon, Ashenie tried to stop his madness.

"Help bring back those who are no more" said the priestess. "Instead of violence, choose Mercy."

But Azurel focused on me instead. "Mud rat.. So far away from home.. Not a fiend, not a human. How terrible it must be to be a failure at two entirely seperate matters at once." he said.

"Yet I am not the one who had to turn his people into flesh golems to get allies" I replied with a raised eyebrow.

At that point, Cyran dangled the half weapon he had stolen during the scouting mission right in his face. "You lost to us already" he said.

But the wyrm would not give up, claiming that Tiamat would not allow his failure.

"I don't give a crap what Tiamat thinks! ENOUGH!" shouted Jalib before charging with his spiked mace, Wenchslapper.

"NOW! SLAY THE DRAGON!" Alexander followed suit with his blessed greatsword, signaling the attack.

The battle was fierce and our weapons and spells seemingly bounced on the hard scales of the dragon leaving barely a scratch. As if he wasn't enough, he regularly called upon undead, ordering them to attack us, but he wasn't the only one with allies. Acknowledging the strength of my foe, I touched two of the thaumaturge foci on my necklace, a red feather and a white one, and called upon my planar allies: Jasnah, my Asura planar cohort and long time ally, and Asriel, a planetar sworn to Deneir whose mission is to intervene where knowledge is used for evil purposes. The winged celestials heard my call and joined our efforts, while Lucia blasted the undead the dragon sent against us with acid bursts and Ashenie sustained us with her prayers. No matter how hard the fighters hacked. No matter how many spells we threw at the creature, he still stood in full force, while his electric breath could not get past our wards. We had reached an impasse and it was clear to all we needed our brass friend's aid to prevail.

"GET YER ARSE HERE, MARK!" Jalib shouted in his contact medallion, without stopping his flurry of blows.

In a few heartbeats, the huge figure of Lyvinicus engulfed the entrance of the lair, brass scales glimmering at the light of the torches. He charged is avowed enemy.

"Drycus! I will kill you first!" roared Azurel in response.

But we were quick to move and support Mark, who bolted ahead, biting the blue's neck and breathing fire across his throat. He almost fell to the ground, but did not surrender and raised back on his feet between labored breaths. On the other hand, we did not fare much better and were almost overwhelmed by exhaustion.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps thundered across the large halls. Expecting yet another horror conjured by Sunderspark, we all faced that direction. My heart almost jumped out of my chest when another draconic silhouette covered in shining silver scales approached the battle and charged ahead. I instantly recognized the new comer from Mark's tales: advancing towards us among the surprise cries of my companions was Justice, the Great Void.
With her powerful aid, we quickly prevailed. The blue crumbling with a loud roar.
We all stood for a long moment, catching our breath and still disbelieving it was finally over. Ashenie, in deep sorrow, approached the blue and tended to his body. While those present rejoiced and wounds were tended, Mark and Justice greeted each other. The silver answered to the brass' surprise explaining their late friend Igadol would have wanted her to help him. She then bowed her head gracefully and take to the skies after agreeing to meet with Lyvinicus later on.
Tiredly, we approached the hoard of the blue. At that point, I approached Mark and handed him the book we recovered from the torturer before it was burnt. He picked it at first, but then shook his head and offered to donate it to the Keep.

"At first it was all I had" he said smiling. But you've all have given me back more than I could ever ask for."

Grateful for the kind gift, I thanked him on behalf of the Keep.
In the moments that followed, Mark recovered the things stolen from him, while the rest of us picked whatever we could, us avowed focusing on the books. Sister Ashenie consecrated the bloodied altar, defiled for so long by blood sacrifices.


Chapter 8: A night to remember

While Lyvinicus lingered a while longer we teleported back to Candlekeep. When he rejoined us, only me, Jalib and Cyran remained. He and Yyiriss were to visit Igadol's tomb and then move back to his old lair. Before saying our farewells he thanked us again, with the promise he will never forget us or the Keep.

I will not say "all's well that end's well". I will not say we triumphed as heroes. We failed in saving the slaves and we could not, or were not prepared enough, to save countless lives. I will not hide the truth as failures, like successes, must be recorded for posterity. But I will not focus on only on failure either. We freed a whole region from the tyranny of a blue dragon. We removed prevented a weapon that should never have seen light from being reforged, undoing part of the evil that was done with it. We allowed a couple that was separated in such a violent way to reunite. No less importantly, we all grew up a bit, because this one like all good stories has many lessons to teach. I will therefore leave you one of these lessons, albeit not the most important one:
I can now say with absolute certainty that Candlekeep has the best seekers in Faerun: we were tasked with recovering a book and we brought back the author herself.

THE END

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[Almarea90]

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Musing of a Frustrated Fairy
by Edelgarde Spades
24th Tarsakh 1357 DR

To my beloved grandmother, who made me fairy wings out of burlap sacks.

Once upon a time, in a far far away land, there was a merry kingdom, whose name is unknown as the fairy tales authors of old could not care less about historical and geographical context. As much as an oxymoron it could seem, the kingdom was ruled by a wise and benevolent king and his beloved wife, whose pinnacle of skills was wearing overly pompous and over-sized gowns.

One fine day, which alas we cannot place within a global timeline because the choice between the aforementioned gowns and the wages of a skilled scribe is not as obvious as we would like it to be, the queen gave birth to a girl.
The newborn princess, who was named something cheesy and sugarcoated like Clarissa... or was it Arabella? Wait, maybe it was the one before. Anyway, let us go with Arabella, who cares anyway. Arabella's birth was celebrated with a three-days-long feast and I, of course, received an invitation because, let us be honest, these day nobody will take a ruler seriously if their daughter doesn't have at least one fairy godmother. You heard me, I once saw three being called at the same time: Flora, Fauna and Merryweather.

So, the final day of the celebration came and with it the time for the usual augury of the princess' future. Now, my dear readers, I have been doing this for two hundred years and every single time I wonder why I did not stay in the Feywilds. Seriously, why do they even need a fairy? Everyone and their grandmother knows it is always the same old story every time a princess is born. Anyway, right before I proclaimed my divination with imperious voice, I spotted a cowled figure among the crowd, who I instantly recognized as old Alecto the hag, trying to sneak at the party again. I mean... cowl or not cowl that nose can be spotted all the way from the Spine of the World. Although I can certainly see where the lass is coming from, as inviting her to a ball is the equivalent of using the crown budget for acquiring the services of an historian: shameful, utterly unfashionable and definitely unheard of, but at this point we all know where things are going.

So, I recited my prophecy, which was something akin to:

"A malevolent curse will befall the princess at her eighteenth birthday and she will be forever chained at the highest chamber of the highest tower."

As expected, the king and his spouse were horrified and distressed and of course they looked at me expectantly as if I had the magic wand. I do have the magic wand, but you see what I mean. Now I might or might not have been a bit tipsy and instead of waving my wand and stating something about the curse being broken by a kiss of true love, I opened my bag of holding and grabbed a spell book I was meant to deliver to my wizard friend at the second-highest tower of the realm (the highest is in the castle was already taken to hold the cursed princess). I tossed the book to the king and snapped:

"Well... How about you teach your daughter some goddamn magic rather than having her clumsily poking cursed items!"

At that point, I stormed off the castle, but some of the guests could swear the rulers took that as some kind of omen and were dead set in having that book strapped to the princess day and night.

Eighteen years passed and Arabella had grown into a fine young lady, who inherited her father's benevolence and her mother's love for oversized gowns. On her eighteenth birthday, Old Alecto knocked at the castle's door polymorphed as an old lady. The hag told the princess that she was sent by a relative from a far far away land to deliver her a silver bracelet as a birthday present. I know, I know, this is the oldest con in the world but back in Alecto's days it was advanced deception. Of course, Arabella never left her castle and Alecto was probably the first stranger she saw in a long while, so she invited her to her room in highest floor of the highest tower of the castle. Because, what could go wrong?
As soon as the princess wore the bracelet, it became an unbreakable chain stuck in the wall, that trapped her in the aforementioned room. Old Alecto was of course too busy cackling manically to notice Arabella, who in these eighteen years had nothing else to do other than being stuck in her room with a spellbook, had just fingerwaggled a Remove Curse spell.

Clink

The chain reverted back to bracelet and fell to the ground. Alecto, who was supposed to turn into a black dragon and guard the princess, decided she had enough and left the room without even bothering to go all the way to the door. I heard she then applied to be repurposed as a Frostwing Virago. May Icewind Dale be kinder to the lass.

More years passed and one day, Prince Wilbur passed "by chance" near the castle. I mean, we all know noble scions' best pastime is hunting for cursed princesses, but whatever. Recognizing the tallest tower of the realm, unlike his friend Prince Charming who ended up climbing the second-highest tower instead and found himself up for a nasty surprise, he worked his way up the ivy covered wall.

"Oh, fair maiden" he said after entering through the window. "I am Prince Wilbur and I am here to break your curse".

"Sorry, who?" asked the princess, visibly annoyed at the stranger who just entered the premises uninvited.

"The Prince. Wilbur. Son of the King" he reiterated, with the expression of someone who was just slapped in the face.

"Sorry to inform you the curse is already broken" the princess explained. "Besids, how are you going to break the curse? Are you a wizard or something?"

"Love is the most powerful magic of all" said Wilbur before being shown the exit by a Bigby's Hand.

The years passed and more and more princes tried the fateful climb to the princess' room, who visibly annoyed cast wards upon wards to protect the tower. In time said tower became a wizard tower proper, which also happened to be the highest of the realm, to the dismay of my wizard friend and everyone lived happily ever after. Except my wizard friend, that is.

The story teaches, as you can tell,
to always have a curse-breaking spell
of all nice things you can buy from a merchant.
And for all things holy, get a scribe as a servant.

THE END

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[Almarea90]

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The Legend of the Water Magus
by Clarif Thunderstone

When the world was old, there were only two realms: earth and fire. They did not interact and always left well enough alone.
Until one day, a wildfire unexpectedly tore through the earth and destroyed the fields.
The fire realm claimed no involvement.
Soon, a war began and the realms were livid.
Until one day, an elf-like creature emerged from the flames unscathed.
Everyone was amazed and dropped their weaponry.
She moved her hand up with force and brought a wave of freshwater down on the burning fields.
The crops were still destroyed, but the fires were gone.
The watermage then introduced the people to new crops that grew quickly. The fire realm helped boil water nearby.
Thanks to the watermage, the town was saved and she will still come by every now and again to bring us rain and wisdom.

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[Almarea90]

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In Opposition to Fatalism
by Hjalmar Karlsen

Contemptible is the life of men,
Whose spirit equates to fowl,
Made cheap beyond all measure,
That which can't be bought.

The coward names all brothers,
Yet his heart is plated tin,
Forging chains of sinew, prostrate to circumstance,
Imagine Fate's cruel lash, a gentle tender warmth,

Inured with apathy's respite,
The coward quails no more,
With nought left to take from him,
He feigns at pride anew,

Behold the noble coward who cast away his crown,
Whose mind shan't know of sorrow, all is as it should,
Passion's fires dampened, all colour drained away
When life has lost its essence, suffering fails to sting

With splintered mind and supine soul, the man becomes a mouse,
Pitiful and wretched, nursed on vinegar's bile,
He proclaims it sweet ambrosia, all taste then turned to soot
Knowing all does happen in accord with Fortune's will

Cast off then now, your fetters and fear not to love,
With hope now greet your sorrow, for it cleanses as spring rain
Know intensity in feeling, embrace both high and low
Let passion be but fleeting, as wealth both comes and goes

Forget not your values, for all is not of like,
gold is not of copper, and a spear not the plough,
Strike forth then with fastness, to sever Fate's red thread,
Shelter what is precious, never fear not to mourn
Death rides in on gladness to bear aloft true.

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