COMPLETE: The Champions of Iridon

[LightningTopaz]

(Rated E10+ for fantasy violence)

"So that's 'Chambers and Charizards'..." a young blonde haired girl muses as her elder brother, a boy with similar features to her, sets up an array of maps, adventure books, reference books, paper, and figurines at his place at the table.

"I have my own set at home, and Misty and Brock often join me for a game, Bonnie." a black haired boy explains as he motions for his companions, an orange haired girl and a brown haired boy, arrive at the table.

"The point of this game is to tell stories about a band of adventurers." a dull blonde haired girl explains as she takes a seat next to the black haired boy. "Think of it like a real video game."

"Cool!" Bonnie smiles before addressing the black haired boy. "Who hosts the game when you guys play, Ash?"

"Usually my dad is the dungeon master, but Brock isn't too shabby of a dungeon master either." Ash replies. "Can't wait to see how Clemont does it."

Once sure all his supplies are in order, the blonde haired boy starts passing out character sheets. "Take one and pass'em down." he instructs.

He notices Bonnie has taken a character sheet and is enthusiastically filling in the stats, every so often looking in the Dungeon Master Manual. "Welcome to the game, Aldaron the Red, Dame Meri of Azulan, Minstrel Larkin, and Ramina the Pure." he announces as he enters the data for Ash's, Misty's. Brock's, and Serena's characters into his PokeNav.

Hm...what class should I pick? Bonnie thinks as she studies the detailed list of the 16 core classes.

A picture of a girl in fairy-like armor gives her an idea, so after filling in her character's name and the rest of its stats, she hands Clemont her sheet. "Did I do this right, big bro?"

Clemont studies the sheet and smiles. "You did this right--welcome to the game, Sanja the White Valkyrie."

He goes on "While the valkyrie has decent stats, she's best in close combat, as her dexterity isn't high enough to wield a bow, and her intelligence isn't high enough to cast magic."

"So she's the girl version of the warrior?" Bonnie asks.

"Yeah...she also has high resolve, meaning she can hold up against powerful attacks." Clemont explains before taking the adventure book "The Raid on Munstone" and reading the introduction. "The village of Munstone sits at the crossroads of a major trade route, making it very attractive to bandits and monsters. When rumors of a kobold raid begin to fly, the villagers decide enough is enough, and call the party--you guys--for help."

"Moon Stone--clever." Serena giggles at the town's name.

"You arrive in town at sunset, where everyone is on edge about rumors of kobold raids." Clemont sets the scene.

The scene swirls into the fantasy world, where the heroes are walking into the small village--Ash is now wearing a majestic red, white and gold costume, Misty now wears some beautiful silver and blue mail armor, and Brock wears a magnificent purple, red, and gold minstrel's costume. Serena now wears a flowing blue, green, white, purple and gold priest's robe, and Bonnie now wears the silver and blue fairy-like armor, with a winged tiara to match.

"Excuse me, can you show us to the inn?" Minstrel Brock asks a passing villager.

"How could ye want to stay when those blasted kobolds could attack at any moment?" the man gasps.

"Peace, sir. We want to help stop the kobolds and save this fair town." Valkyrie Bonnie explains.

The man smiles. "Well then, little warrior--all those that can fight have gathered at the inn to prepare a strategy for any raids."

"Thank you--Arceus' blessing upon you." Priest Serena smiles as the man shows the way to the inn.

Later, as the party is discussing strategy with the townsfolk, war cries snap Wizard Ash to attention. "Kobolds..."

The villagers with weapons prepare to fight, but Knight Misty has other ideas. "Wait--we will try and engage the kobolds ourselves--you guys should remain here as reinforcements."

"The village of Munstone's peaceful existence is torn asunder by the din of battle." Clemont narrates via voiceover as the five adventurers spot a band of small dog-creatures charging down the hill. "A kobold raiding party has descended from the hills and set about ruthlessly sacking the small community. Drawing your weapons, you rush to repel the invaders!"

"YAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!" Valkyrie Bonnie leads the charge to battle.

Knight Misty strikes first, firing a beam from her blade to freeze a kobold about to break down the door of a house. Priest Serena, meanwhile, spots a group of three kobolds laughing as they set a barn ablaze. "Bright light, shine down on bloody impurity! Holy!"

The kobolds flee in terror at the bright light, but soon succumb as the barn's owner puts out the fire. "That's one way to get rid of kobolds..." he smiles.

"They are creatures of evil, so of course they fear the light." Priest Serena smiles before running to lead a family to safety.

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Minstrel Brock sings, conjuring a wave of fire that catches some kobolds trying to ambush him off guard.

"Hah! Hut!" Valkyrie Bonnie cries as she duels a kobold one on one. Her opponent, however, lunges at her, nicking her arm with his rusty blade.

"Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!" Priest Serena calls, surrounding Valkyrie Bonnie's small wound in a blue light.

"Thanks!" Valkyrie Bonnie calls to Priest Serena before resuming her duel.

Wizard Ash, meanwhile, is nearly overwhelmed by kobolds in his position near the town square. He picks off a few hiding on rooftops, but the horde on the ground is closing in.

Then he remembers his own magic would be able to take out an entire wave of kobolds at once, rather than picking them off one arrow at a time.

"Scatter your chilly sharp blades! Blizzard!" he commands, sending a wave of ice flying at the horde, and allowing him to rejoin Minstrel Brock near the inn.

As the girls reunite near the inn and the group's reinforcements emerge, Minstrel Brock proceeds to protect them all in a glowing shield by singing Leishu shun ji, lei si...

"For Munstone!" a villager calls as the larger party rushes to engage the terrified kobolds, who flee in terror...

Back in the real world, Clemont reads the aftermath of the adventure. "The village is saved and the remaining kobold raiders scamper off into the fields. The grateful villagers reward you handsomely, with 100 gold pieces per person and an uncommon weapon for each person. The task now remains to track these miscreants back to their lair and put a stop to the attacks."

"This is getting good..." Serena smiles.

"Believe me, the campaign gets better from here!" Clemont grins before consulting his experience chart. "Kobolds are easy pickings, so you didn't get much experience this time. Ash, however, got the most kills thanks to that Blizzard spell."

He then gets out the adventure book "The Forest Encampment" and puts "The Raid on Munstone" away. "Before we continue this storyline, what weapons did everyone pick?"

"Aldaron chooses a Crystal Bow." Ash announces.

"Meri chooses an Ornate Spellblade." Misty replies.

"Larkin chooses an Elven Harp." Brock declares.

"Ramina chooses a Dreamer's Staff." Serena replies.

"Sanja chooses a Splendid Sword." Bonnie announces.

"Great choices, all of you." Clemont smiles as he adds the group's new weapons to their character data...

 

[LightningTopaz]

Clemont opens the book "The Forest Encampment", and reads the introductory scene. "You pursue the kobolds into the treacherous hills surrounding Munstone. Before long, a musty stench alerts you to the presence of the remaining kobolds. It seems they are gathering their ill-gotten possessions and are making preparations to flee. It is up to you to stop them from warning the main camp!"

"Sanja warns the others to be quiet--we can't let the kobolds know we're here." Bonnie begins the adventure as the scene swirls...

"Okay everyone--keep it quiet." Valkyrie Bonnie instructs the others as they arrive on a hill overlooking a makeshift campsite. "We can force the kobolds to engage us directly...."

"Who knows if there are more than what we see down there--just fighting them back in town was hard enough." Wizard Ash interjects.

"As wild creatures, the vast majority of kobolds do not listen to reason, so negotiation likely will not work." Priest Serena adds.

Minstrel Brock thinks a moment, then suggests "Suppose we turn the ambushers into the ambushed?"

"Great idea!" Valkyrie Bonnie suggests.

After sneaking around to a rock overlooking the camp (thanks to a favorable Dexterity check), Priest Serena casts a spell of protection on the group. "Precious light, be our armor to protect us!"

A green aura forms around everyone, rendering the kobolds' crude daggers and clubs useless. Once protected, Misty fires a blue beam of light from her blade, which freezes the ground around the council fire, confusing the kobolds.

The kobold's leader, however, spots the wings on Valkyrie Bonnie's tiara and the white plume on Wizard Ash's hat, and barks an attack order in the kobold tongue.

But the group is prepared--the kobolds discovering them was actually part of the plan all along!

Valkyrie Bonnie decides to engage the largest kobold, Wizard Ash manages to wound two more, and Knight Misty flanks Valkyrie Bonnie by freezing the ground her opponent is standing on, making it easier for the struggling Valkyrie Bonnie to hit her opponent.

A harp chord snaps her to attention. Furiya, shuru shamato... Minstrel Brock sings, turning the entire campground to ice. As the kobolds slip about, the kobold Wizard Ash is dealing with charges at him, knocking him to the ground, with his bow and the arrow he was going to shoot landing beside him a moment later.

"You okay?" Priest Serena asks as she helps Wizard Ash up.

"I think so..." Wizard Ash weakly smiles before retrieving his weapon. Once sure he does not have any injuries, he readies his shot and fires...wounding the kobold leader! Seeing their leader wounded, the remaining kobolds turn to flee in hopes of getting their chief to safety...

"Having dispatched the raiding party, you overturn their camp and liberate what items they had, enough for one uncommon treasure per person." Clemont explains as he reads the aftermath of the battle in the real world. "Searching the area reveals a cave mouth and crude earthen tunnel leading into the darkness under the hills. Is this where the kobolds have come from? Only time will tell!"

"Are we gonna have some more complex adventures?" Misty asks--the simple adventures with few encounters are getting tedious.

"Yes, we will get into more complex stuff as the campaign goes on." Clemont replies. "I picked an easy storyline to start so Bonnie could get used to the game."

After calculating everyone's experience, he announces "So far, you guys are on track to reach level 2 at the completion of this storyline--while everyone had an even number of kills, what treasure from the camp did you find?"

"Aldaron finds a Burning Ring +1." Ash replies.

"Good choice...10% extra fire protection than a normal Burning Ring." Clemont grins as he looks over at Bonnie, who smiles back.

"Meri found an Ancestral Pendant." Misty replies.

"Nice...a knight that equips that gets 10% magic resistance." Clemont explains.

"Larkin finds an Amulet of the Hero." Brock reports.

"That's a good choice--boosts a minstrel's attack 10% while worn." Clemont explains.

"Ramina finds a Saint's Amulet." Serena reports.

"If a priest equips that, they are allowed to cast Raise on a fallen party member once per adventure." Clemont explains. "If the priest already knows Raise, they can use it one extra time per adventure. Any other class gets 10% Light damage added to their attacks."

"Sanja finds a Sacred Tiara." Bonnie reports.

"A valkyrie that equips that gets extra resistance to undead attacks." Clemont explains as he inputs the new items into each player's inventory. "Let us continue, then." he grins as he puts away "The Forest Encampment" and gets out "The Tunnels Beneath the Hills"....

 

[LightningTopaz]

After Bonnie and Serena return from the bathroom, Clemont opens "The Tunnels Beneath the Hills" and reads the introductory scene. "You light your torch and head into the kobolds' tunnel...."

The scene swirls into the group's characters walking through the tunnels. Priest Serena leads the way, holding Valkyrie Bonnie's hand. Wizard Ash is next, then Knight Misty, and Minstrel Brock brings up the rear. "The passageway leads down and then runs straight for many miles before reaching a three way intersection." Clemont narrates via voiceover as the group reaches the intersection. "While you ponder which way to go, a crude horn sounds and a mighty kobold warrior emerges to confront you!"

As if on cue, a low pitched tuba-like sound echoes through the cave, making Valkyrie Bonnie jump in surprise. Knight Misty draws her weapon and Wizard Ash nocks an arrow as an armored kobold approaches the group.

"Just because there are five of us against one of him doesn't necessarily mean we have the advantage." Priest Serena cautions.

Minstrel Brock nods, and plays a gentle chord. Leishu shun ji, lei si...

"Good idea." Priest Serena smiles as a protective aura appears around each person.

Knight Misty takes the first shot, but her beam is deflected by the kobold warrior's sword. The ice that forms on the shield does, however, weaken the kobold warrior's defense a little.

"Stupid Resolve save..." the real Misty comments via voiceover as the kobold warrior laughs at her fantastic counterpart.

Knight Misty growls at being laughed at, then tries her spellbeam again. This time, the beam shatters the frozen shield to a zillion pieces, leaving the kobold warrior vulnerable.

Angered by having its main means of defense destroyed, the kobold warrior charges at Knight Misty, but what is meant to cause major damage only nicks her arm thanks to her steel shield.

Minstrel Brock notices Knight Misty struggling and plays a D chord. Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul...

Knight Misty dives out of the way as a wave of fire conjured from Minstrel Brock's song races towards the kobold warrior, burning him.

"HAH!!!!!!!" Valkyrie Bonnie cries as she lunges for the kobold's warrior's legs, aggravating the burn wounds on them already.

An arrow from Wizard Ash injures the kobold warrior's sword arm, but his next shot delivers the fatal blow as the scene swirls back to the real world...

"The tunnel finally emerges high above the floor of White Skull Canyon." Clemont reads. "As you look around, you conclude that this is where the kobold lair is. You will return with your allies to finally stamp out these monsters and liberate the treasure they have stolen from the surrounding villages."

He then calculates everyone's experience. "Well done! Everyone gained a level, but Ash gets a little extra for delivering the final blow."

"Aw, it was just a lucky hit roll." Ash grins as Pikachu bounds on his shoulder.

"As you all gained a level, you each get to pick one skill from the level 2 skill list for your class to learn." Clemont explains as he nudges the skill list and recommended stat builds towards the group.

"Aldaron learns Thunder." Ash declares, petting Pikachu."

"Good choice--that might come in handy on a future adventure in the campaign." Clemont grins.

"I'm just glad we'll get to do some more complex adventures." Misty muses as she writes in a new blade skill "Meri learns Fire Blade."

"Larkin learns the secret of the Swanna's Song." Brock announces as he writes the skill on his character sheet.

"Are you sure?" Clemont asks. "You can only use that once per adventure, and when you do, it drains all your HP to 1. But I can see why you might have picked that--it does do major damage to all foes."

"I understand the risk." Brock replies. "Besides, my last minstrel character had it, and I only had to use it twice in the whole campaign."

"Okay...if that's what you really want to learn, I won't stop you." Clemont replies.

"Ramina learns Purge." Serena announces her spell choice.

"Good choice. Purge will be a big help against monsters that can cause unpleasant conditions." Clemont grins.

"Sanja learns Armor Break." Bonnie announces. "In case we run into any more armored monsters."

Serena nudges Brock. "Of all the people I've played with that have a minstrel character, you're the first one that has ever dared to learn the Swanna's Song...so how do you think it goes?"

"Like this..." Brock clears his throat and sings Gatrandis favel, secret, edena...
Emusto ronzen fine el balaziis...
Katoradis favel siicletu edena...
Emusto toron zen fine, si...

Clemont leads the applause. "That was pretty good! Of course, you're one of the few minstrel players I've met that actually sings for their character."

"You should see one of his storytelling shows!" Ash smiles, making everyone laugh as Clemont puts away the finished adventure book...

 

[LightningTopaz]

"Last one of this storyline..." Clemont smiles as he opens "White Skull Canyon" and reads the introduction. "Returning to White Skull Canyon a week later, you follow the winding dry riverbed until you come to a high wooden wall. Suddenly the gates are thrown open. Kobold warriors rush forward, egged on by their high priestess, Vanatrix!"

The scene swirls into the fantasy world, where the group has readied their weapons for battle against the wave of kobold warriors, egged on by a female kobold priest hidden in an alcove on a rock.

Knight Misty decides to try out her new skill, and fires a red beam on the ground as the horde is approaching, making some warriors scream in surprise as they run to douse their hot feet. When that isn't enough to halt the horde, Knight Misty tries firing a Fire Blade at a stalactite positioned directly above a good portion of the kobold warriors. The red beam ignites the stalactite, and sends it falling to the floor, squishing a few unlucky kobolds.

"Armor won't help the heart stay sharp!" Valkyrie Bonnie taunts as she cuts one kobold's armor down the middle. With the kobold vulnerable, Knight Misty freezes the defenseless kobold seconds before it can slice Valkyrie Bonnie's arm.

"Thanks!" Valkyrie Bonnie calls before looking for another opponent.

"Pika pika! Round and round you go!" Priest Serena calls, the yellow beam from her staff turning some kobolds into Pikachus, who flee in panic.

Wizard Ash smiles. "Think you can turn Vanatrix into a Pikachu?"

"If I can find her--she is very powerful, so the spell may not work." Priest Serena cautions.

Knight Misty, meanwhile, throws off a burly kobold, knocking four smaller kobolds over. She then fires a red beam, engulfing them all in flames.

"Where is Vanatrix?" Wizard Ash calls over the noise. "Maybe if we defeat the leader, the horde will retreat!

Seilei colfin ar kardram tro... Minstrel Brock sings, revealing the kobold priestess in the alcove, exhorting the horde of warriors. "Up here! Hidden in the rock!"

"Right!" Knight Misty calls before firing a Fire Blade at the alcove. The firey attack causes the alcove to cave in, revealing a seemingly dead Vanatrix as the panicked horde retreats....

"Victorious, you search the bodies." Clemont reads the aftermath. "While your back is turned, Vanatrix's Feign Death enchantment dissipates and the shifty little kobold priestess slips away deeper into the lair."

"After her!" Bonnie orders as she strikes a heroic pose, clearly enjoying playing her character.

Everyone laughs, but a stomach growl gets everyone's attention. "Can we take a break for lunch?" Ash suggests.

"Speaking of lunch, I'm hungry too." Bonnie agrees.

Just then, Meyer peeks into Clemont's room, where the group is playing. "Anyone for pizza?" he asks as he brings in a few pizza boxes.

"PIZZA!!!" Bonnie leads the charge to the kitchen...

---------

After settling in with their pizza, Clemont finds where the group left off and reads the next encounter description. "Pursuing the kobold priestess, you corner her in her secret lair deep within the caves. The time has come for the final showdown with these murderous bandits!"

"Let's do this!" Misty exclaims as the scene swirls....

In the fantasy world, the group corners the kobold priestess. "The game is up, Vanatrix!" Wizard Ash begins. "You have nowhere to run now!"

Vanatrix just sneers, and barks a warning cry, revealing her three best bodyguards. "Be careful what you wish for..." Minstrel Brock cautions.

As everyone braces themselves for battle, Minstrel Brock plays a D chord. Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul...

Vanatrix flees for another alcove, but her bodyguards are started by the wave of fire the harp conjures. Angered, they charge at the group, but are knocked back by a magical beam from Knight Misty.

"Aim for Vanatrix!" Wizard Ash calls to Knight Misty as he dodges spears and daggers on his way up to a ledge, where he will have a better view of the burly warriors and possibly a shot at Vanatrix.

Knight Misty nods, and fires an Ice Blade into the alcove. A vaguely canine cry of pain confirms she hit Vanatrix.

"Precious light, be our armor to protect us!" Priest Serena calls, summoning the protective aura around the group,

"Thanks!" Valkyrie Bonnie calls before diving out of the way of a spear.

Wizard Ash takes advantage of his new vantage point to aim for the kobold warrior chasing Valkyrie Bonnie. His arrow lands in the hulking warrior's back, making him crumple to the floor.

"Great shot!" Valkyrie Bonnie smiles, thankful her pursuer has died.

"Thanks--that's what party members do, protect each other." Wizard Ash calls back. He smiles as Valkyrie Bonnie slashes the legs of the second warrior.

He sees his vantage point is directly aimed at Vanatrix's hiding place! "Strip away the ground with glistening blades! Thunder!"

A screech of pain and the crackle of electricity fills the air as the thunderbolts Wizard Ash has summoned turn the dark cave to daytime.

Valkyrie Bonnie getting raked by a kobold blade spurs Priest Serena to help. "Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!"

"Thank you!" Valkyrie Bonnie grins as her wound dissipates.

An arrow from Wizard Ash knocks her opponent backwards, just in time for Minstrel Brock to sing Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul..., engulfing the second warrior in flames.

Piqued, Minstrel Brock casts his seeing spell. Seilei colfin ar kadram tro...

He smiles when he sees Wizard Ash's Thunder spell has gravely wounded Vanatrix. "Your leader has fallen--do you still wish to fight?" he taunts the remaining kobold warrior?

The remaining kobold warrior turns to flee along with the rest of the kobolds with the party in hot pursuit....

"Searching through the muck and bodies, you recover what treasure you can, enough for one uncommon item per person." Clemont reads the aftermath of the battle. "The kobolds are overthrown, and those that remain are put to flight. The villagers can rest well tonight, but your adventure is only beginning!"

"There's more?" Bonnie gasps.

"Sure there's more--I have an entire epic adventure planned." Clemont assures his sister as he calculates everyone's experience. "Everyone gets a 10% experience bonus for defeating Vanatrix--you're not quite to level three yet, but you are close."

"Aldaron finds a Seviper's Bow among the spoils." Ash reports.

"Good choice--you have a 1 in 4 chance of poisoning your target with that." Clemont explains.

"Meri finds a Royal Blue Cloak." Misty is next.

"That boosts the wearer's magic defense by 10%." Clemont reports.

"Larkin finds a set of Icy Pipes." Brock reports, showing Clemont a set of crystal-like panpipes standing in for the fictional instrument.

"...which fires balls of ice when played." Clemont smiles as he admires the beautiful blue-white pipes in Brock's hands.

Bonnie gains star eyes. "I've always wanted to play one of those!"

"You can actually make them out of ordinary drinking straws, but I find reeds or plumbing pipe makes a better sound that projects in a large room or outside." Brock smiles.

"Ramina finds an Elemental Salve." Serena reports.

"...which will protect the drinker from elemental attacks for an hour, or sixty turns." Clemont explains.

"Sanja finds a suit of Angel Mail." Bonnie reports.

"...which protects against undead, curses, and life drain." Clemont explains.

He next gets out the adventure book "The Wizard's Workshop". "Onward to the next adventure!"

 

[LightningTopaz]

"Okay..." Clemont muses as he finishes setting up his maps and figurines for the new adventure. After looking over the finished scene, he reads the adventure introduction. "The wizard Silvanus Ashmourne comes to you one night seeking your help. His recent attempts at creating mechanical golems have gone haywire, and the golems are attacking anyone and everyone that sets foot in his tower. He offers to handsomely reward you if you can destroy the rogue golems, and allow his fellow wizards and his friends to safely visit again."

"But why was he building Golems when he can catch them just fine?" Bonnie asks, confused.

"In this case, your brother does not mean the Pokemon Golem, but a mythological human-like figure magically created entirely from non-living matter." Brock explains. "Usually, they are made from clay or rock, but metal ones are not unheard of. Some examples of true golems are the Regi family of Houen, Golett, and its evolution Golurk."

"Fascinating!" Serena smiles.

"Can we go on to the first encounter now?" Ash is not amused by Brock taking up gaming time for a lecture.

"Yes, are you done with your lecture, Professor Brock?" Clemont asks.

"I've answered your sister's question, so now we can continue." Brock assures Clemont.

Clemont nods, and reads the first encounter description. "Silvanus' tower is neat and well-furnished. The wizard is fond of gardening, and he has placed magnificent Berry trees in the corners of this room. As you step inside the tower, two tin golems whir to life and lurch towards you with murderous intent!"

In the fantasy world, the party balks at the two hulking tin humanoids walking towards them. "I have a bad feeling about this..." Valkyrie Bonnie shudders.

"Precious light, be our armor to protect us!" Priest Serena calls, surrounding the group in the familiar protective aura.

Wizard Ash tries to fire an arrow at the golems, but it bounces off the metal body with a tink. Angered, the golem he aimed at aims a punch at Wizard Ash, but ends up demolishing part of a column.

"That was close..." Knight Misty heaves a sigh of relief. "May want to stick with your magic for this fight."

Wizard Ash nods, then charges a ball of lightning energy. "Strip away the ground with glistening blades! Thunder!"

The thunderbolts streak at the two golems, frazzling them and searing their metal bodies. The first golem tries to punch Wizard Ash again, but knocks over one of the Berry trees.

He spots the second golem chasing Valkyrie Bonnie, and charges another spell. "Strip away the ground with glistening blades! Thunder!"

Valkyrie Bonnie dives under a toppled table for cover, but her pursuer isn't so lucky. "Can't you try summoning a powerful Pokemon?" she calls to Priest Serena.

"I can try..." Priest Serena replies before focusing some ice energy in her staff. "Wind, fade to silence and light, give me power! Suicune!"

A swirl of snow and ice crystals emanate from Priest Serena's staff, forming into the Legendary Beast of the North Wind. The first golem tries to punch the holy beast, but its tin fist is barely a pinprick to Suicune. Suicune pounces on the golem and delivers an Ice Fang, sending it clattering to the floor.

"Thank you, Suicune..." Valkyrie Bonnie hugs Suicune before he disappears in a flash of light.

Knight Misty, meanwhile, isn't doing so well against the remaining golem. "This bucket of bolts doesn't even flinch to my sword beam!"

"Metal does reflect light, so maybe if you tried standard swordplay rather than the sword beam, it would defeat it?" Priest Serena suggests.

Before Knight Misty can attack, a breathy note is heard, and a ball of ice energy floats by her before fading away.

She looks over to see Minstrel Brock with the Icy Pipes in his hands, and realizes where the ice energy ball came from. "Play the most rollicking fast dance tune you know!"

Minstrel Brock nods and obliges by playing a mysterious melody that starts out slow, but quickens into a blazing fast melody, creating a flurry of ice balls with every note.

He finishes with an Ice Beam created from his last flutter tongued note, sending the second golem crashing to the floor in the now thoroughly trashed room...

"The once elegant room is now ruined." Clemont reads the aftermath of the battle. "The golems have been reduced to piles of scrap metal amongst the debris of fine decor. You leave the piles of scrap metal for Silvanus to clean up, and climb to the second tower level."

"Just how do you GO that fast?" Bonnie asks Brock, who is still breathing hard from his performance.

"Easy..." Brock wheezes. "Breath control and lots of practice!"

---------

"This level of the wizard's tower houses his library." Clemont reads the description of the first encounter for the next section of the adventure. "There is a single golem here, but this time constructed from gleaming bronze! Plus, it is considerably larger and more threatening than those in the previous room...."

In the fantasy world, the party braces themselves as the aforementioned golem approaches. "It goes without saying that it doesn't look pleased to see you." Clemont narrates via voiceover.

"Gee, you think?" Knight Misty retorts as she readies her weapon.

"Let's see if bronze will hold up to lightning!" Wizard Ash suggests before charging a ball of lightning energy. "Swirling bolts, gather and strike with power! Thunder!"

The golem howls with pain as the lightning opens a gaping hole in its metal skin. "Now!" he calls to Knight Misty.

Knight Misty nods, then fires a sword beam into the golem's inner workings, making it stumble around the room. Wizard Ash tries to aim an arrow into the golem's clockwork, but has to flee his vantage point as the golem stumbles into a shelf.

"Hold still!" Knight Misty calls as she fires an Ice Blade, freezing the golem in its tracks.

Priest Serena takes advantage of the frozen golem to heal Wizard Ash's wounds. "Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!"

"Thanks!" Wizard Ash smiles before retreating to the other end of the room.

About then, the golem breaks free of its icy prison, sending Wizard Ash and Knight Misty diving for cover as the wounded golem punches a wall.

"That was close..." Knight Misty heaves a sigh of relief.

A harp chord and a familiar voice singing Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... snaps Wizard Ash to attention as a wave of fire engulfs the bronze golem. "Oh yeah, metal things hate fire as well!"

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" Knight Misty snaps as she jumps away from the golem's fist.

Wizard Ash, meanwhile, cups some of the sparks from the golem's punch in his hand, then infuses it into one of his arrows.

"Well, that's one way to make a fire arrow." Minstrel Brock notes as the fire arrow melts a hole in the golem's left side. "Although I am seriously considering using the Swanna Song..."

"I would wait for that--there may be something stronger further up the tower." Priest Serena cautions.

"Yeah--you don't want to burn your one use against a weak opponent." Valkyrie Bonnie agrees.

"Say...would Armor Break work against a golem?" Knight Misty wonders.

"I can try..." With that,Valkyrie Bonnie makes a running leap at the thoroughly damaged golem. "Armor won't help the heart stay sharp!"

The others watch in awe as Valkyrie Bonnie's blade cuts the golem in half as the scene swirls...

"With the huge golem shattered, you are able to search the library - it contains a variety of arcane construction manuals and a few recipe books." Clemont reads the aftermath of the battle. "As you peruse the books, you are distracted by a loud persistent buzzing sound emanating from the room above..."

"Not again..." Bonnie groans. "Cutting one bronze golem was enough!"

"Thank that lucky attack roll you got." Ash grins.

"It's not another golem, okay?" Clemont assures Bonnie as he flips past the finished encounters the group has just completed to reach the next section...

---------

Clemont turns a few pages in the adventure book to reach the next section. "The third floor of Silvanus' tower is a kitchen." he reads. "Two more tin golems defend this area. They are accompanied by a pair of clockwork Fletchinders. You shudder at the madness of it. Yet you can't help but wonder: Just what was Silvanus doing with these automatons?"

"I'm thankful you didn't make those clockwork Talonflames..." Serena heaves a sigh of relief.

"Talonflames would be too challenging for five characters on the brink of lv. 3." Clemont explains as the scene swirls...

In the fantasy world, the party braces themselves as the two clockwork Flechinders circle around them, screeching a warning. Valkyrie Bonnie tries to hit one, but it swoops down and scratches her left arm with a talon.

"At least it didn't get your sword arm." Priest Serena assures Valkyrie Bonnie as she quickly bandages the wound.

"I'll take care of the big guys--the Fletchinders may just be a distraction!" Valkyrie Bonnie suggests as her blade leaves a small gash in one of the golems.

"Precious light, be our armor to protect us!" Priest Serena calls, creating the aura of protection.

She gasps at a clockwork Fletchinder dives for her and ducks, leaving a scrape on her leg.

"Back! Get back!" Wizard Ash also tries to shoo away the clockwork bird Pokemon, receiving a few scrapes for his efforts.

A sword beam snaps him to attention, hitting his assailant point blank. "Thanks!" he smiles at Knight Misty, who is observing the wounded clockwork bird's hobbled flight,

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Minstrel Brock directs his spellsong towards the two golems--just a valkyrie's sword won't be enough.

His confident grin turns to horror as one golem punches the ground in anger from its burning wound, making Valkyrie Bonnie trip on the shockwave the punch creates.

"I gotcha!" Knight Misty sheathes her spellblade for a moment and makes a diving leap, catching Valkyrie Bonnie in her arms before she can hit the ground.

"Mm..." Valkyrie Bonnie comes to a few tense seconds later. "Thanks for saving me..." she groggily smiles.

"It's what a knight is supposed to do--help someone in danger." Knight Misty explains. "Even if that someone is a comrade."

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Minstrel Brock sends another wave of fire towards the two golems, making them crash to the floor in twisted metal and flames. "There--now they can't try to knock you out anymore." he smiles at Valkyrie Bonnie.

"They didn't knock me out--the force of their attack almost did." Valkyrie Bonnie explains.

A screech gets her attention, but when she looks over, she sees Knight Misty rubbing her arm in pain. "Maybe you could switch instruments and take down these Fletchinder automatons with ice arrows!"

"Good idea!" Minstrel Brock replies as he switches out his harp for the Icy Pipes.

After thinking for a moment for a suitable tune, he launches into a breathless flurry of notes that create various sizes of ice balls. Try as the clockwork Fletchinders might to dodge, by the time the spirited dance ends, both of them are frozen solid by the panpipes' last triumphant note...

"The fight destroys the kitchen and much of its contents." Clemont reads the aftermath of the battle, aware of Brock breathing hard from his earlier performance. "You think all this is worth it to the errant wizard. You can now climb to the last level of the tower and secure it from it's artificially animated assailants."

"Didn't know Clemont had a knack for poetry..." Misty smiles.

"That's how the book says it." Clemont explains. "Besides, I have no idea how to write a poem."

Ash, meanwhile, is awed by Brock's performance. "Just how do you GO that fast?"

"Practice." Brock heaves. "...and lots of it!"

---------

After thumbing to the final set of encounters, Clemont reads "At the tower's apex is Silvanus' master laboratory. The walls are lined with shelves of herbs, regents and potions. This room is guarded by two clockwork Fletchinders and another bronze golem...."

In the fantasy world, the party prepares for battle against the monsters Clemont described. "These mechanical monstrosities represent a threat to magic, living creatures, and the Iridonian way of life." Clemont narrates via voiceover. "They must be smashed to pieces!"

"Scatter your chilly sharp blades! Blizzard!" Wizard Ash strikes first, freezing the golem in place.

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Minstrel Brock sings, his harp conjuring two fireballs that fly at the clockwork Fletchinders. But one of the mechanical Pokemon evades the fireball meant for it and scratches Brock, leaving a small tear in his costume by his shoulder.

Wizard Ash hears Minstrel Brock cry in pain, and charges a ball of lightning energy. "Strip away the ground with glistening blades! Thunder!"

"Thanks." Minstrel Brock smiles, rubbing his wounded shoulder in pain as thunderbolts streak from Wizard Ash's hands and take down the clockwork Fletchinder that attacked him.

Some of the lightning bolts swirl into Valkyrie Bonnie's blade. "Absorb power in the sky and strike! Lightning Blade!"

Knight Misty is stunned by Valkyrie Bonnie stabbing the bronze golem, creating an explosion of thunderbolts. "I didn't know valkyries could learn spellblade skills!"

"They can, actually." Clemont explains via voiceover. "So if Bonnie wants to learn Lightning Blade permanently after this battle, that is a valid level 3 Valkyrie skill--it just manifests differently for a valkyrie."

"I know what skill I'm learning next!" the real Bonnie comments via voiceover as the battle rages on.

Priest Serena hurries by Minstrel Brock's side. "Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!" Minstrel Brock smiles as his wound heals and his costume is repaired in a flash of blue light.

Meanwhile, Wizard Ash turns his attention to the frozen golem. "Strip away the ground with glistening blades! Thunder!"

While Wizard Ash's spell is successful, he discovers that the golem can still punch. "Can the next adventure have something I can use my bow against?" the real Ash groans via voiceover as Wizard Ash dives to safety.

"I can assure you that the next storyline has creatures that are vulnerable to arrows." Clemont assures the real Ash via voiceover as Knight Misty fires a Fire Blade at the golem.

It dawns on Minstrel Brock he too has an ice spell he can use with his harp! Furiya, shuru shamato...

The remaining clockwork Fletchinder does not anticipate the wave of ice and silver dust that the harp conjures, and lands as a mangled ice cube at Knight Misty's feet seconds later.

"Two down, and one to go..." Knight Misty grins as she kicks away the mangled clockwork Fletchinder.

Frustrated at the prospect of a long and drawn out battle against the bronze golem, Minstrel Brock decides to sing Gatrandis favel, secret, edena...
Emusto ronzen fine el balaziis...

"The Swanna Song!" Priest Serena gasps before whispering the incantation to a teleport spell, warping the party out of the tower and allowing Minstrel Brock to complete the powerful song outside.

Katoradis favel siicletu edena... Minstrel Brock continues, the spellsong forming a rainbow aura around his body.
Emusto koron zen fine, si...

On the beautiful song's haunting last note, the aura goes flying, consuming the tower's top floor in a massive rainbow explosion...

"The powerful magic of the Swanna Song destroys the laboratory completely." Clemont reads the aftermath of the battle once the applause for Brock's performance dies down. "Both Silvanus and the local authorities are grateful for the party's successful efforts. With a sigh, Silvanus swears a solemn oath never to dabble in the dark arts of alchemy again. He rewards you with what he can salvage from his ruined lab--enough for one uncommon magical item per person--and pledges to assist you in your further adventures whenever he can."

Does that mean we will get to see Silvanus again?" Bonnie asks.

"Yeah..." Clemont replies as he calculates everyone's experience. "And everyone levels to 3, but Brock gets a bonus for delivering the final blow."

"Aldaron learns Fire." Ash reports.

"Meri learns Lightning Blade." Misty muses.

"Larkin learns Song of Earth." Brock smiles as he writes the skill in.

"Ramina learns Haste." Serena reports. "Just in case we run into more Swanna Song worthy brutes."

"Sanja learns Lightning Blade too!" Bonnie announces, proudly showing her updated character sheet to the group.

Clemont just chuckles as he puts away "The Wizard's Workshop." "What magical items did everyone choose, before we go on to the next storyline?"

"Aldaron chooses a Pin of the Charismatic Dragon." Ash smiles.

"Not that you need a Charisma boost, but okay..." Clemont assures Ash after checking his stats

"Meri chooses a pair of Glorious Gauntlets." Misty replies.

"Larkin chooses a Harp of the Queen." Brock reports.

"Ramina chooses a Defenders' Salve." Serena reports.

"Sanja chooses a Spiritual Amulet of the Meowth." Bonnie reports.

"That should give you a small Dexterity boost, at least." Serena smiles.

Clemont enters the new items into his inventory database, then reaches for the adventure book "The Caverns of the Troglodytes." "Now for some organic monsters for a change..."

 

[LightningTopaz]

"Are we ready?" Clemont asks once sure his stats and information are in order.

"Let's do this, big bro!" Bonnie smiles.

With that, Clemont reads the introduction to "The Caverns of the Troglodytes". "Following a rash of disappearances, the people of Munstone are offering a reward to anyone who can clear out a troglodyte infested cavern not far from town. Just what do the half human, half troll monsters have to do with the villagers?"

"Nothing good, I'd wager..." Ash muses as the scene swirls.

In the fantasy world, the five players follow some older men to a hillside with a large opening. "The elders of Munstone direct you to a lonely hillside, into which is hewn a crude opening, the location of the troublesome trog lair." Clemont narrates via voiceover as the elders bless the party.

The scene fades to the party in the cave. "A dark tunnel snakes downward through the earth, a tunnel filled with an increasingly revolting smell." Clemont narrates via voiceover as Knight Misty gags from the horrible smell, and Priest Serena pulls some of her robe over her nose and mouth to block out the smell. "It ends with a cave littered with human and Pokemon remains. Rising from their haunches as you approach, two vile trogs bare their filthy yellowed teeth and rush to attack!"

Everyone draws their weapons as the trogs charge at them. "Precious light, be our armor to protect us!" Priest Serena calls when she spots the sharp spears the trogs are carrying.

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Minstrel Brock sings, making the trogs scream in surprise as a wave of fire comes from the harp strings. Knight Misty helps by firing a Lightning Blade, which frightens the trogs even more.

"Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!" Priest Serena calls, a blue aura from her staff speeding up Knight Misty enough to dodge the trog's spears.

"Speed me up too!" Valkyrie Bonnie begs.

"Okay...Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!" Priest Serena calls, the blue aura speeding up Valkyrie Bonnie as well.

The trogs can hardly touch Knight Misty, she is moving so fast. Then, Priest Serena gets an idea. "Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!"

"Why would you be hasting yourself?" Wizard Ash asks, confused.

"So I can heal someone faster, and summon faster." Priest Serena replies.

"Absorb power in the sky and strike! Lightning Stab!" Valkyrie Bonnie calls as she stabs a trog, paralyzing him with her charged blade.

Inspired, Wizard Ash climbs on a ledge, and aims an arrow at the paralyzed trog. But when it just barely misses the trog, Minstrel Brock jumps in to help. Imultaos, ame no hao bakezo...

As if on cue, a stalagmite comes up from the ground, impaling the trog. "That's one way to kill a trog..." Knight Misty notes as she speeds by Minstrel Brock.

Angered by the loss of its comrade, the other trog heaves its spear at Valkyrie Bonnie, but she veers out of the way, leaving it embedded in the wall. "Missed me!" Valkyrie Bonnie calls.

The trog is about to chase after Valkyrie Bonnie, but an arrow lands in its shoulder, making it howl in pain. "That should teach you to go after little warriors!" Wizard Ash smirks as Knight Misty speeds in for the final blow...

"You search the cavern. It is devoid of anything except for the splintered skulls and broken bones scattered around the trog's guard post." Clemont reads. "Poking around what must be their bedrolls, you discover some battered loot secreted inside, most of it broken or too weak for you. Beyond this, the tunnels lead deeper underground. Selecting the one leading downward leads you onward."

He smiles. "But you all got 50 gold pieces for your efforts."

"Better than nothing..." Serena replies as Clemont thumbs to the next section of the adventure.

---------

In the fantasy world, the group arrives in a large room in the cave "You reach a large gallery cavern." Clemont narrates via voiceover. "Anemic beams of light filter down from cracks in the ceiling. There are many stalactites and stalagmites as is common for such places, and it is populated by a variety of Rattatas and Zubats."

"Eep!" Valkyrie Bonnie gasps as a Rattata runs over her foot.

"Thanks for the warning, Mr. Dungeon Master." Knight Misty sighs, a note of sarcasm in her voice.

Clemont still narrates via voiceover "A band of trogs are engaged in a horrid smorgasbord in the center of the cavern."

"Oh, gross!" Priest Serena winces at the four trog's disregard for table manners.

The trogs, however, hear Priest Serena's cry of disgust and charge to meet the group! "The food drops from their greasy paws as they emit shrieks of surprise and rush toward you!" Clemont narrates via voiceover.

"Waugh!" Wizard Ash jumps out of the way of a trog's club. Knight Misty is not so lucky, as a second trog's club sends her falling to the floor, her spellblade clattering beside her moments later.

"You okay?" Valkyrie Bonnie calls as she evades the first trog's club, then counters with a slash to its leg.

"I think so..." Knight Misty replies as she eases herself to her feet.

"Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!" Priest Serena calls, surrounding Knight Misty in a blue glow.

"Thanks!" Knight Misty replies as she retrieves her weapon.

She aims and fires a Lightning Blade at the second trog, sending it falling to the floor. "Now that's what I call payback!" she grins.

"Yipe!" Minstrel Brock is caught off guard by a trog club. Not one to be deterred, he plays a D chord. Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul...

"That's one way to pay these brutes back!" Knight Misty smiles as the trog is engulfed in flames. Knight Misty follows up with an Ice Blade some moments later, freezing the trogs' campfire.

Priest Serena notices the remaining two trogs have spears. "Precious light, be our armor to protect us!" she calls over the carnage, surrounding her and the others in the familiar green glow.

Inspired, Wizard Ash fires an arrow at one trog, who is chasing Valkyrie Bonnie. "Got any ideas to boost attack strength?" he asks Priest Serena when the trog doesn't bat an eye to his attack.

"Not yet, but I can do this..." With that, Priest Serena calls "Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!"

Valkyrie Bonnie suddenly speeds up, making it difficult for the trog to catch her, Wizard Ash follows up with four shots in a matter of seconds, killing the trog as Valkyrie Bonnie escapes to the safety of a ledge.

Furiya, shuru shamato... Minstrel Brock sings, impaling the last trog with an icy spike as the scene swirls...

"The cavern is filthy and knee deep in Zubat guano." Clemont begins as Bonnie makes a face of disgust. "Though a nauseating task, you are able to find some items of value among the detritus, although they are only common items."

His face turns somber. "Sadly, you also discover the remains of several missing villagers. Returning these gruesome bundles to the villagers will surely bring both gratitude and heartache."

Bonnie brushes away a tear. "Poor villagers...I hope we can pay the trogs back for killing them!"

"Your wish is my command." Clemont grins as he reveals the second adventure in the storyline: "The Lair of the Trog Wizard."

Serena notices Brock softly singing what sounds like Gaelic as Clemont clears off the previous adventure and sets up "The Lair of the Trog Wizard." "Interesting song.."

"It's Arran's walking song in 'The Song Mage Chronicles'--the lyrics differ from episode to episode, but it is the same tune every time." Brock explains. "Thought I'd sing the version from the episode where Arran, Jelan, and Loras go up against trogs to save a lost child."

"Unlike our villagers, the boy was alive at the end." Ash notes. "The episode in question is called 'The Trouble with Trogs'--it's on the Season 6 box set."

"I have sets 1 through 5, but I can never find any sets beyond that." Serena muses. "Although you make a perfect Jelan Mirana." she adds before turning her attention to her character sheet...

 

[LightningTopaz]

"In the deep holes beneath the troglodyte cave, a mysterious chanting can be heard." Clemont begins as he reads the adventure introduction. "Are the rumors true that the trogs are led by an evil enchanter? It's up to you to discover the truth!"

"What truth is there to discover? The answer's most likely yes." Ash interjected.

"If it were no, we wouldn't have an adventure, would we?" Misty agrees as the scene swirls...

In the fantasy world, we join the party in a long tunnel. "You enter into a dark and claustrophobic stretch of tunnels." Clemont narrates via voiceover as we see Knight Misty leading the way with the torch. Priest Serena is next, holding Valkyrie Bonnie's hand, and the boys bring up the rear. "As your torchlight pierces the murk, a dreadful caterwauling precedes the appearance of some especially filthy troglodytes. They won't listen to reason; you must slay them."

The party draws their weapons as the three small trogs approach, their howling echoing through the cave. Knight Misty strikes first, knocking one trog back with a Lightning Blade. However, the second trog catches her offguard, almost making her drop her blade.

"Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!" Priest Serena commands, healing Misty's injured arm.

"Thanks!" Knight Misty smiles before running to engage a third trog.

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Minstrel Brock sings, summoning a wave of fire that engulfs a trog chasing Valkyrie Bonnie. Knight Misty arrives to deliver the final blow moments later.

"Thanks!" Valkyrie Bonnie grins before engaging one of the remaining trogs.

As Valkyrie Bonnie continues to battle her opponent, she sees an arrow land in the other trog's leg, making it hobble in pain. She shoves back her opponent and hurries to dispatch the wounded trog.

"Destruction of nature, gather in flame! Fire!" Ash commands, igniting his next arrow in flame and dispatching the second trog in a fiery explosion.

"That's one way to kill a trog..." Knight Misty notes.

"Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!" Priest Serena commands speeding up the entire party enough to have them surround the last trog. Wizard Ash fires an arrow, but it is only a pinprick to the trog. Knight Misty fires an Ice Blade, freezing the trog in place for the group to perform an all out attack...

"The trogs appear to have been protecting a small cavity in the wall, containing a variety of disgusting objects considered precious by these subterranean monsters." Clemont explains. "Tossing them aside, you discover a few uncommon items that can be salvaged, once cleaned."

"Aldaron finds a suit of Divine Archmage's Chain Mail." Ash reports. "It is in remarkably good condition for its location.

"Wise choice--magic resistance is key against enemy wizards." Clemont tells the group.

"Meri finds a pair of Aura Earrings." Misty is next to report. "They are a little grubby, but easily cleaned."

"Another good idea--20% magic defense." Clemont smiles.

"Larkin finds a Mandolin of Ancient Courage." Brock reports.

He stifles an embarrassed chuckle as Bonnie looks over, expecting him to reveal a real instrument to stand in for the imaginary one. "Sorry, can't play one in real life."

"I can a little bit!" Ash volunteers. "I can teach you!"

"Said the one who is still taking lessons." Misty shoots back.

Brock just concludes his report. "It is surprisingly still in tune considering where it has been."

"A minstrel can never have too many instruments." Clemont muses.

Bonnie notices a familiar silver whistle with a black mouthpiece peeking from Brock's bag. "Please pick a flute for your next instrument." she requests.

"I'll think about it." Brock assures her before motioning for Serena to report.

"Ramina chooses an Invoker's Staff." Serena reports.

"That will allow you to use your summons one extra time." Clemont replies before reading over the remaining encounters. "In fact, you have the option to make a contract with a new one when this adventure ends."

"Sanja chooses a suit of Blessed Armor." Bonnie reports. "Since we're fighting the titular trog wizard next!"

---------

In the fantasy world, Priest Serena wipes her brow as the party arrives in a chamber with a strange glow. "You reach an unpleasantly warm chamber lit with a flickering yellow glow." Clemont narrates via voiceover. "This final cavern is the sanctuary of the dreaded Trog Wizard, known as Wanjin in his own tongue."

The camera pans over to a large trog in a wizard's robe standing in a magic circle. "The evil creature stands inside an arcane symbol, etched into the ground with a mysterious glowing substance." Clemont continues. "Wanjin sneers as you approach and barks a harsh order to his guards!"

Wanjin notices the party and rallies two young trogs and a trog spearman with an attack order in the trollish tongue. True to form, Knight Misty is first to attack, firing a Fire Blade at the larger trog while Valkyrie Bonnie runs to engage one of the smaller trogs. He then spots Priest Serena and charges a skull-shaped orb of shadow energy. "Dark gods carving life, take her soul! Death!"

However, the evil spell fizzles out as Priest Serena draws a holy sign of Arceus, rendering her and her allies immune to instant kill spells. "Thank you, Wisdom save!" the real Serena comments via voiceover.

Next, Priest Serena charges a familiar blue glow. "Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!"

"Thanks!" Wizard Ash calls as he speeds over to a ledge to attack from.

Not one to be deterred, Wanjin tries another dark spell. "Conjurors, seek truth in silence!"

Wizard Ash tries to avoid the spell, but ends up taking it as he falls on the ledge. "Are you okay?" Priest Serena asks as Wizard Ash gets up.

She figures out what has happened as Wizard Ash mouths a reply. "Heavenly wind, carry Ash to the fountain of power! Purge!"

"Mmm...I said 'I'm fine, just a little shook up.'" Wizard Ash explains before finding a new vantage point to shoot from.

"Can't you try using one of your summons?" Knight Misty suggests over the carnage.

Priest Serena nodes, and charges some ice energy in her staff. "Wind, fade to silence and light, give me power! Suicune!"

A blue beam streaks to the magic circle, catching Wanjin off guard as icicles form in the magic circle, then form into Suicune, who lunges at Wanjin and delivers an Ice Fang before disappearing. Knight Misty then fires an Ice Blade, making it even harder for Wanjin to move.

Furiya, shuru shamato... Minstrel Brock sings, pinning the larger trog to the cave wall with a flurry of icicles. Valkyrie Bonnie dispatches one of the smaller trogs seconds later.

Inspired, Priest Serena charges some energy in her staff. "Pika pika! Round and round you go! Pikachu!"

The other small trog is transformed into a Pikachu, and flees the battle, leaving only the large trog and Wanjin in the room. Minstrel Brock decides to dispatch the large trog. Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul...

"Nice shot!" Wizard Ash smiles as the large trog is engulfed in a wave of fire.

"Three down, and one to go." Knight Misty agrees as the party approaches the magic circle.

She then fires a Lightning Blade, disrupting Wanjin's next spell. "Bright light, shine down on bloody impurity! Holy!" Priest Serena calls, engulfing Wanjin in light...

"Wanjin lies slain." Clemont announces in the real world, to cheers from the five players. "As the lifeblood drains from his carcass, so too does the light from the arcane symbols traced on the floor. Whatever foul incantation he was attempting will never be completed. Behind a cleverly concealed chunk of wall, is the trog wizard's collection of stolen rare items. You liberate them before retracing your steps back to the surface, to bring the joyous news back to the villagers."

He then calculates everyone's experience. "You're just barely about to reach the next level, and the first plot point of the campaign I've designed to be level 4....so we'll play a one shot storyline next to allow everyone to level. You all are guaranteed a rare item for completing this storyline, so what do you choose?"

"Aldaron chooses an Icy Amulet." Ash reports.

Clemont smiles "That would help immensely in the first plot point by powering up your ice magic."

"Meri chooses an Angelic Brooch." Misty reports.

"Good choice--instakill protection is always good." Clemont grins.

"Larkin chooses a suit of +2 Singer's Mail." Brock reports. "I doubt trogs have any musical talent..."

"Well, Singer's Mail will double the damage your offensive spellsongs do, and extend the protection of your defensive spellsongs." Clemont replies.

"Ramina chooses a +2 Clear Robe." Serena reports. "In addition, she makes a contract with another of the Beasts--Raikou."

"Nice choice--doubles your evasion stat." Clemont reports as he puts the finished adventure away.

"Sanja chooses a Prismatic Tiara." Bonnie reports.

"Great choice--elemental defense is always good as well." Clemont explains as he sets up the next adventure....

 

[LightningTopaz]

Clemont opens "Highway Robbery" and begins reading the introduction to the adventure. "A shipment of stolen weapons is en route to the notorious Bloodspear goblin tribe. If the shipment reaches its destination, who knows how much destruction the goblins could wreak?"

"Quite a lot actually." Misty muses.

"But this also presents a golden opportunity...for the robbers to become the robbed!" Clemont announces as the scene swirls...

In the fantasy world, we join the party on a road somewhere in Iridon. "Entreated by the elders of Munstone once again, you set out to track and destroy the Bloodspear goblins' supply caravan." Clemont begins.

"Munstone again?" Valkyrie Bonnie complains.

"Remember what the dungeon master said when this campaign started--Munstone is at a crossroads, making it an attractive target to bandits and monsters." Knight Misty explains.

Just then, Wizard Ash spots some familiar tracks. "Hey, look! Goblin tracks!"

"After following the tracks for a mile or so, you come across a group of spear-wielding goblins lurking behind some roadside boulders, no doubt left behind to slow your progress." Clemont narrates as a gaggle of six goblins run out from behind some rocks.

"Oof!" Valkyrie Bonnie gasps as a goblin knocks her to the ground with its spear. Once she regains her composure, she retrieves her sword, chases after her assailant, and counters by slashing it. "Take THAT, greenskin!"

"Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!" Priest Serena commands, healing Valkyrie Bonnie's wounds.

Wizard Ash, meanwhile, manages to impale one goblin before they can ambush him and Minstrel Brock, Valkyrie Bonnie rushes to help, easily defeating a second goblin.

"Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!" Priest Serena calls, speeding up Knight Misty enough to outrun the remaining three goblins, and reunite with the others.

"Look out!" Knight Misty calls as the remaining three goblins heave their spears at the group, but thanks to a favorable Dexterity check, they all miss the group and embed themselves in trees.

"That was close..." Wizard Ash notes.

"I'll say..." Knight Misty smiles before firing an Ice Blade at the goblins and freezing the patch of road they are standing on, making them slip and slide about.

Furiya, shuru shamato... Minstrel Brock sings, freezing the goblins, and then making them shatter on the frozen spot on the road...

"You finish off the goblin rearguard and empty their packs, adding fifty gold pieces to your moneybags." Clemont reads. "Inspection of the tracks reveals that the wagons are headed for a small forest. Though the tracks are fresh, you feel the urgency of the situation, and give chase."

"That was fast..." Ash notes.

"Well, goblins are easy pickings anyway, so what do you expect?" Misty smiles as Clemont turns to the next group of encounters....

---------

In the fantasy world, the party discovers a variety of broken boxes and shattered jars. "Broken crates and other containers tell the tale of a panicked change of direction for the Bloodspear wagons." Clemont narrates via voiceover. "A gang of dismounted caravan guards stands in the middle of the road. The shrill voices of goblins, this time backed up with the sharp barks of their guard Houndours, bely their malice and fear."

Sure enough, as the party approaches the two guards, their footsteps awaken a third goblin's Houndour, who growls a warning.

Wizard Ash sighs. "I know what spell I'm learning next..."

He is caught off guard by the Houndour, and is knocked to the ground as the Houndour bites him, making him scream in pain. But he throws off the Houndour, gets up, retrieves his bow, nocks an arrow, then fires at one of the guards.

"I'll save you!" Valkyrie Bonnie offers, slashing the Houndour before it can attack Wizard Ash again. The Houndour, meanwhile, forgets about Wizard Ash and decides to go after Valkyrie Bonnie instead, managing to scratch her as she dashes away.

An arrow lands in the Houndour's leg before it can pursue Valkyrie Bonnie up a ledge.

A harp chord gets her attention. Imultaos, ame no hao bakezo...

She winces as rocks begin raining on the goblins, including squishing the Houndour. As she climbs off the ledge, she sees the goblins running in panic from the rain of rocks.

"That's one way to kill a Houndour when you don't have a water spell." Wizard Ash grins at Minstrel Brock.

"I think the minstrel does have a water song...I'll have to check the skill list." the real Brock comments.

"Now that the Fire type's dealt with..." Minstrel Brock grins as he sings Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul...

The goblins run to flee the wave of fire the harp conjured, only for one to be consumed and another to be wounded by Valkyrie Bonnie.

Priest Serena notices Wizard Ash is still in pain from the Houndour attack earler. "Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!"

"Thanks." Wizard Ash grins.

"I'll take the last one!" Knight Misty volunteers, but her Lightning Blade only paralyzes the remaining goblin before it flees in terror...

"As you pause to catch your breath after dispatching the goblins, you catch a glimpse of the caravan rattling away around the bend of the forest road. You, however, are not far behind!" Clemont reads the aftermath of the battle.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Bonnie grins. "Let's go catch them!"

Misty smiles at Bonnie's enthusiasm. "Looks like you didn't really need me for the battle proper..."

"Without that successful wisdom check, the adventure would be over!" Ash agrees.

"Glad to know the band of adventurers are still going strong in here..." Meyer smiles as he peeks in the room to check on the group. "I keep hearing instruments and singing in here..."

"That's because Brock's really getting into playing a minstrel...he actually sings and plays most of the instruments himself!" Bonnie explains.

"That explains the singing and instruments..." Meyer chuckles before telling Brock "Keep singing and playing the music--it brings the campaign world to life!"

"Thank you..." Brock is surprised and flattered he has a fan. "There will be more songs and a few more instruments the minstrel can use that I can play in real life.

"What if you do want to use the mandolin you found before?" Serena wonders.

"Easy--MyTube recordings." Brock assures Serena as he preps a video of a set should his character decide to use the mandolin.

"Big bro...can any of the other classes use an instrument?" Bonnie wonders.

Clemont pushes away the dungeon master's screen long enough to check the skill guide. "Let's see...wizards can use magic whistles, if they can find one...druids use flutes to summon, fighters can channel chi through a flute, and rangers often use whistles to signal."

"So why didn't Ash play a ranger if he wields a bow?" Bonnie wonders.

"That's because in 'Chambers and Charizards', the weapons a class can wield according to the skill guide are only suggestions, sweetie." Meyer explains. "So if you give your wizard a good dexterity score, he--or she--can wield a bow just like a ranger. You're also not limited to just published adventures--there's a whole community devoted to writing adventures for other people to use in their campaigns."

"Haven't you written some adventures before, Dad?" Clemont wonders.

"I have, but I'll have to look for them--if you want, I can add one of the villains I created to your campaign." Meyer offers. "In the campaign I created him for, you are first supposed to face him at level 8, so you have some time to train while I dig up my stash of adventures."

"Okay!" Bonnie smiles as Meyer departs.

"Good luck finding your stash." Clemont smiles before turning his attention back to the adventure at hand.

---------

In the fantasy world, we join the party as they emerge from the brush to find an abandoned wagon. "You emerge from the bracken to discover that one of the wagons has lost a wheel and the goblins have left it behind." Clemont narrates via voiceover as the party examines the wagon for clues.

Just then, a huge shadow looms over Valkyrie Bonnie. "I think we have company, guys....

"Oh?" Wizard Ash looks up and gasps at the shadow's owner.

"They clearly intend to return, for it is guarded by a huge goblin warrior." Clemont narrates as we see the shadow's owner: a huge and muscular goblin warrior armed with a mace! "It bellows a war cry and rushes to attack!"

"Watch out!" Knight Misty pushes Valkyrie Bonnie out of the way, but receives the brunt of the goblin warrior's attack.

Priest Serena is by Knight Misty's side moments later. "Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!"

"Thanks...now to teach this brute some manners." Knight Misty grins deviously as she looks for a safe place to attack from.

Wizard Ash, meanwhile, rolls out of the way of the great mace before scrambling onto a small hill. "Missed me!" he taunts. The goblin warrior just roars again, but is knocked backwards by Wizard Ash's next attack.

Priest Serena notes the size of the mace and charges the spell of protection. "Precious light, be our armor to protect us!"

"I hope you can sing the Swanna Song...." Valkyrie Bonnie tells Minstrel Brock as he leads her to safety behind a tree.

"I would, but what if the dungeon master has something else up his sleeve that may require it?" Minstrel Brock reminds Valkyrie Bonnie.

Valkyrie Bonnie then spots the goblin warrior and tries to attack, but her blade is only a paper cut to the massive goblin.

"Incoming!" Knight Misty calls as she fires an Ice Blade, freezing the ground beneath the goblin warrior. As the goblin warrior slips about on the icy ground, a fiery arrow lands in its back, making it fall down in the brush with a sickening THUD.

"Nice shot!" Minstrel Brock smiles as he flashes a thumbs up to Wizard Ash.

"Absorb power in the sky and strike! Lightning Blade!" Valkyrie Bonnie calls as she delivers an electrically charged slash to the fallen goblin.

"And stay down!" Knight Misty adds her own Lightning Blade.

The goblin warrior tries to get up, but sends Valkyrie Bonnie flying. Luckily, Minstrel Brock catches her before she lands in the brush.

"Thanks..." Valkyrie Bonnie weakly smiles. While she is not terribly injured, the force of her landing knocked the wind out of her.

"Here's some payback for you..." With that, Minstrel Brock sings Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul...

The goblin warrior can't get up due to its paralysis, and is soon engulfed in flames...

"The abandoned wagon is empty--it was only a diversion intended to buy time for the main convoy." Clemont explains. "The greedy goblins' pockets are stuffed with loot, however. You quickly gather up what looks useful--a hundred gold pieces per person--and hurry onward."

"If Clemont put us up against a huge goblin warrior, I dread to know what our final boss of this adventure is going to be." Ash swallows hard as Clemont flips to the last set of encounters...

---------

In the fantasy world, Knight Misty leads the group up a hill to a cave. "The tracks lead to a hillside cave." Clemont narrates via voiceover. "Creeping through the brush, you are able to avoid the caravan guards and spy upon the lair's inhabitants." Minstrel Brock leads the party behind a rock, where they observe a large goblin in chief's attire speak with a goblin shaman in brightly colored robes. "You recognize Jurm, a notorious goblin raider and a high ranking chief of the Bloodspear Goblin tribe. Nearby is a goblin shaman dressed in clothes matching the caravan, on his way to request Jurm's aid for his mission."

"We're definitely going to need the Swanna Song for this guy..." Wizard Ash notes.

"Before Brock does any singing, we need to take out the shaman first--who knows how many unpleasent effect spells he has?" Knight Misty replies. "Be ready to Purge any evil magic." she instructs Serena.

After a few tense moments, Knight Misty signals Minstrel Brock to sing a standard spellsong to get the goblin's attention. Minstrel Brock nods, then sings Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul...

The shaman shrieks as he tries to avoid the wave of fire, but when Jurm turns to look at what has happened, Valkyrie Bonnie slashes him in the leg. Knight Misty chooses to focus on the shaman, and fires a Lightning Blade.

"Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!" Priest Serena commands, speeding up the group to where Jurm can't keep up with them.

"Time, rest and give your kindness to the worthy! Slow!" the shaman counters, slowing the group back down to normal.

Knight Misty just takes the shaman canceling Priest Serena's spell in stride, and fires an Ice Blade at the ground, freezing where the shaman is standing.

Priest Serena isn't fazed by her spell being canceled. "So that's his little game, is it? Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!"

"Armor won't help the heart stay sharp!" Valkyrie Bonnie cautions as she cuts Jurm's armor. Knight Misty, meanwhile, scores a direct hit on the shaman, freezing him in place.

"All light, fall into darkness!" the shaman commands, the totem on his staff creating a bright flash that blinds everyone.

"I can't see a thing!" Wizard Ash complains as his next shot goes sailing over Jurm's head. He then ducks for cover as Knight Misty blindly fires an Ice Blade at a tree, making it ricochet off some rocks before freezing a patch of ground.

Seeing as his bow will not help while blinded, Wizard Ash tries a spell. "Destruction of nature, gather in flame! Fire!"

A goblin cry of pain reveals that even while blinded, he managed to hit Jurm!

Jurm angrily tries to squish Wizard Ash, but he scrambles away seconds before the mace impacts where he was standing with a THUD. Knight Misty takes the sound of the mace's impact to figure out where Jurm is, and fires an Ice Blade at him.

"Heavenly wind, carry us to the fountain of power! Purge!" Serena commands, allowing the party to see again.

Not one to be deterred, the shaman tries a different approach. "Lose conscious, wash away into the silent sea...." he chants, making Priest Serena slump to the ground, asleep.

He does not, however, expect to be impaled by an arrow in the back, waking Priest Serena up in the process. "Good shot." she sleepily smiles at Wizard Ash.

Knight Misty and Valkyrie Bonnie, meanwhile, are firing sword beams of all the elements they know, but Jurm appears impervious to them. "Can someone sing the..." Valkyrie Bonnie starts before she and Knight Misty scramble out of the way of Jurm's mace.

Gatrandis favel, secret, edena.... a familiar voice sings over the noise.

Knight Misty musters a relieved smile before leading Valkyrie Bonnie to safety with the others as Minstrel Brock continues Emusto ronzen fine el balaziis...

Katoradis favel siicletu edena... At this line, Minstrel Brock begins charging a massive rainbow ball of light in his hands. Emusto koron zen fine, si...

The others shield their eyes as the goblin camp is obliterated in a bright rainbow light...

"With Jurm defeated, what goblin raiders that survived the Swanna Song immediately scatter, leaving the wagons behind." Clemont reads. "The Bloodspear tribe has suffered a significant setback with the loss of the weapons and their strongest chief. The villagers of Munstone are once again indebted to you."

He smiles. "And with that, you guys have reached level 4...."

"Aldaron learns Water." Ash reports before declaring "Great will of the sea, let all hear thy marvelous voice! Water!" making everyone laugh.

"Nice choice..." Misty grins before declaring her new skill "Meri learns Holy Blade."

"Larkin learns the Song of Light." Brock reports before singing Seios, higarima laisido...

"Ramina learns Shell." Serena reports. "So I can be more help against wizards, shamans, and other magic users."

"Sanja learns Power Break." Bonnie reports. "So we can soften up big brutes and Brock doesn't have to sing the Swanna Song that often."

"There may be more foes where that may be helpful though." Clemont cautions.

"I don't mind either--it's fun thinking up the different effects it has every time I sing it." Brock assures Bonnie.

"You guys also get a guaranteed rare weapon too." Clemont adds.

"Aldaron chooses a Defender's Bow." Ash reports.

"That'll help with physical defense." Clemont grins as he puts "Highway Robbery" away.

"Meri chooses a Runed Spellblade." Misty reports.

"About time...I was wondering when you'd finally get an upgraded spellblade." Clemont muses.

"I wanted to focus on building up my armor first, to make up for the magic knight's low physical defense." Misty explains.

"Makes sense." Ash replies.

"Larkin chooses a Harp of the Guardian." Brock reports. "Defense needs a boost."

"Ramina chooses a Staff of Glory." Serena reports.

"That'll help against demons, undead, and cursed items." Clemont replies.

"Sanja chooses a Glimmering Sword." Bonnie reports.

Clemont enters Bonnies new weapon into his database, then shows the group the adventure book "The Ruby Demon Portal". "Now we're ready for the first plot point of our campaign...."

 

[LightningTopaz]

Ash stretches as Clemont reads the introduction to "The Ruby Demon Portal". "One night, the wizard Silvanus Ashmourne sends you a warning of demonic portals--magical gateways to the underworld. When one opens in the realm of mortals, millions of demons can pass through it at a time. He goes on to tell you that he has seen a worrying number of them as of late, and one of them is already opening nearby! You promise Silvanus you will slay what demons have already emerged, then destroy the sigils to destroy the ruby portal forever...."

In the fantasy world, the party arrives in a forest, where they see a ominous red light in the sky. "Silvanus' directions bring you to the ruby demon portal." Clemont narrates via voiceover. "It squats in a scrubby wilderness, surrounded by towering obelisks and tall dead trees in four concentric rings. You must fight your way to the center and have a priest cast a holy spell of sealing before it spews forth an unending army of demons!"

As if on cue, a swarm of small demons rush to engage the group. Valkyrie Bonnie rushes to engage one, but Minstrel Brock is prepared with the Song of Light. Seios, higarima laisido...

The demons scream in terror as they try to flee from the waves of light the harp's raising and falling melody is conjuring, but many of them are engulfed in the shining rainbow waves.

"Silent light, shield from evil!" Priest Serena commands, conjuring a pale pink aura around the group when the last note dies. "There may be more demons where those came from..."

Sure enough, another wave of demons is waiting for the group. One demon breathes a fireball at Valkyrie Bonnie, but the Shell around her only makes her feel a little warm. She winces from the pain, then runs and slashes another demon. A few take flight to avoid both the melee and magic attacks, but they do not expect Wizard Ash's arrows.

Minstrel Brock takes a new tactic with the second wave of demons. Furiya, shuru shamato...

As the demons slip and slide on the newly slick ground, Priest Serena charges some holy light in her staff. "Bright light, shine down on bloody impurity! Holy!"

"More incoming!" Wizard Ash calls as he dispatches another flying demon. Valkyrie Bonnie is already engaging the leader of the third wave, and Knight Misty is scouting ahead, looking for a way through the never ending horde of demons. Wizard Ash fires another shot, then calls "Any luck?"

"Not so far!" Knight Misty calls back over the noise. With that, she fires a beam of light that kills several demons in a row and creates a way forward.

"Come on!" Priest Serena leads the way through the opening, but the party is surprised by even more demons! "Bright light, shine down on bloody impurity! Holy!"

Wizard Ash is suddenly knocked to the ground by an angry demon, but a flash of holy light defeats it. "Thanks..." he smiles at Knight Misty as he gingerly stands up. Once sure he is not injured, he creates an arrow filled with shining light and fires it into the horde...

"Inside several of the demons, are useful treasures--one rare item per person." Clemont reads. Wincing, you retrieve them for later use. Shadows dance among the plinths ahead...you must press on to the next ring of the circle."

"Finally...I was wondering if we'd ever make it through all those encounters." Misty muses.

Clemont thumbs through the adventure book. "Hate to break it to you, but it only gets worse from here."

Misty just sighs, but Ash just begins the item reports. "Aldaron finds an Illuminated Dancing Ring--it glitters in the pale moonlight as he feels himself getting more agile."

"Meri finds a suit of Glowing Mail--it's a miracle it wasn't cursed." Misty reports.

"Larkin finds a Serene Flute." Brock reports as he shows Bonnie the whistle she found before with a grin. "Its song should calm these raging demons."

"Ramina finds a Fine Elixir--although why a creature of the underworld has such a powerful healing potion is unknown to her." Serena reports.

"Sanja finds an Anklet of Unspeakable Light--for a moment, its bright glow overpowers the portal's own red light." Bonnie reports.

Clemont then calculates everyone's experience. "At this rate, this story adventure will take you all the way to level 5 if you keep slaying demons like this!"

---------

In the fantasy world, Knight Misty winces as she discovers the remains of several dead trees. "Beyond the standing stones of the outer ring stand a dozen dead black trees." Clemont narrates via voiceover as various imps come out to play among the rotting branches. "Imps frolic unwholesomely among the boles. Several of these emit an evil green glow, and acid drips from their talons. They bound toward you and attack."

One of the poison imps leaps at Wizard Ash, only to be impaled mid flight by an arrow. "Silent light, shield from evil!" Priest Serena commands, praying that the resulting pink aura can resist poison.

"Back, get back!" Wizard Ash pleads as the horde of imps begins surrounding his feet faster than he can pick them off. He fires a shot into another poison imp, but the horde continues advancing.

Furiya, shuru shamato... a familiar voice sings as a massive ball of ice comes crashing onto the ground, freezing many of the imps. Wizard Ash heaves a relieved sigh when he sees Minstrel Brock arriving. "Thanks..."

"Anything for a friend and comrade." Minstrel Brock replies.

"Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!" Priest Serena commands, speeding up the five adventurers fast enough to outrun the horde.

"Try your ice spell again!" Wizard Ash suggests.

Minstrel Brock nods. Furiya, shuru shamato...

This time, the icy spell creates a tornado of icy wind, snow, and silver dust, freezing any imp in its path.

A white beam then smashes a frozen imp--Wizard Ash looks up and smiles as Knight Misty and Valkyrie Bonnie arrive on the hill "Took long enough..." Knight Misty muses.

"Just in case there's more..." Minstrel Brock assures the group before singing Leishu shun ji, lei si... creating a purple shield around everyone, just as another wave of imps arrives on the hill!

Valkyrie Bonnie jumps to avoid an imp, but the sharp claw is only a paper cut to the mystical shield. Wizard Ash and Knight Misty each combine their powers to begin shattering the millions of frozen imps and slaying any living ones as well.

Just as Valkyrie Bonnie joins in, the stones marking the inner ring begin to glow. "I have a bad feeling about this..." Valkyrie Bonnie shudders as the scene swirls....

"As you approach the inner ring, the stones begin to throb violently, radiating sickly green light." Clemont reads the aftermath of the battle. "The portal seems to be building in power and the delighted cries of more demons can be heard in the distance."

He then addresses the group. "That set of encounters went by faster than I thought..."

"I'll admit that natural 20 Intelligence check had something to do with it." Brock grins.

"So what if Brock got a natural 20 on any check? At least all the demons are gone, right?" Misty asks, annoyed that everyone has to argue about something as rare as a natural 20.

Clemont musters a knowing smile--Misty does have a point. "That is correct--so let us continue our tale." he smiles as he flips to the next set of encounters...

---------

In the fantasy world, the party arrives in what looks like a courtyard. "You enter a walled courtyard, with old cracked flagstones and evil looking standing stones arrayed in its center." Clemont narrates via voiceover. "On the opposite wall is an archway leading to the portal itself. More demons pour forth to bar you path, cackling with diabolic glee."

"There's no end to these guys!" Wizard Ash cries as a new wave of demons charges to meet the party. He fires a warning arrow into the night sky, killing a demon about to swoop in on the group.

"Precious light, be our armor to protect us!" Priest Serena calls, creating the green aura to guard against the demonic claws.

"Take that!" Valkyrie Bonnie cries as she slays one demon.

She does not, however, see the demon swooping in from behind, and goes tumbling down the hill.

Wizard Ash picks off Valkyrie Bonnie's assailant, then runs to assess her injuries. "You okay?"

"I think so..." Valkyrie Bonnie replies as she weakly stands up and brushes leaves from her armor.

Furiya, shuru shamato... Minstrel Brock sings, creating a wall of enchanted ice so the demons can't touch Valkyrie Bonnie. A flash of holy light comes moments later as Knight Misty arrives with Priest Serena.

"Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!" Priest Serena calls, healing Valkyrie Bonnie's wounds.

Valkyrie Bonnie stands up with renewed vigor. "Now to give these demons some payback!" she comments before engaging a demon.

Knight Misty fires another Holy Blade, mowing down an entire row of demons. Valkyrie Bonnie slays the demon she was battling, then cuts down three more while running to meet with Knight Misty.

"Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!" Priest Serena calls, speeding up the group.

Furiya, shuru shamato... Minstrel Brock sings again, this time conjuring a wave of icy needles that go flying at the horde, pinning many of them to the nearest flat surface.

"Great will of the sea, let all hear thy marvelous voice! Water!" Wizard Ash commands, summoning a large tsunami that washes away a large swath of the horde....

"The air is rank with the smell of sulfur as you extract treasure--most of it gold pieces, the rest common items--from the demon corpses." Clemont reads. "You are almost there, but the twisted nature of this unholy plane seems to rob you of any feelings of triumph at first, before giving you the resolve to press on."

"How much further do we have to go?" Bonnie complains. "We've played what, a billion encounters for this adventure?"

"I wouldn't say a billion, but it certainly feels like it." Even Brock is growing weary of the long adventure.

"Good news, everyone--we're almost to the end." Clemont reports.

"Good timing too--it's almost bedtime." Meyer reminds Clemont as he passes by the room. "So wind up the adventure you're on."

"Aw..." Bonnie sighs.

"It's okay, sis--we can continue the campaign in the morning." Clemont assures Bonnie before turning his attention to his dungeon data....

---------

In the fantasy world, the party approaches a black obelisk with glowing red demonic runes carved inside it. "The ruby demon portal, a monolith carved with evil runes, flickers with an unholy light." Clemont narrates via voiceover. "As you arrive, a blazing demonic fire spirit emerges from the portal. You must destroy this hateful harbinger of evil before the portal can be sealed!"

The party draws their weapons as a huge fire spirit appears before them. "Silent light, shield from evil!" Priest Serena commands, creating the pale pink shield.

Knight Misty fires a Holy Blade at the fire spirit, but it doesn't appear to do much damage. "I know what skill I'm learning next." the real Misty sighs.

Furiya, shuru shamato... Minstrel Brock sings, creating a wall of cold energy to protect the group from the heat.

"Great will of the sea, let all hear thy marvelous voice! Water!" Wizard Ash commands, spraying a stream of water at the fire spirit, putting out its flames and exposing its dark core.

"Hah!" Valkyrie Bonnie performs a jump-slash on the core, making it rear backwards.

Minstrel Brock gets an idea when he sees the rocky core. Furiya, shuru shamato...

He grins as the core is enclosed in a ball of ice. "There...that should delay its reignition for a bit longer."

"Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!" Priest Serena commands, speeding the group up.

Knight Misty tries Holy Blade again, this time managing to do some damage to the spirit's core. "Now this is more like it!"

Moments later, the spirit reignites, shattering its icy prison. But Wizard Ash is quick to douse it again. "Great will of the sea, let all hear thy marvelous voice! Water!"

"Good thinking, Ash..." Valkyrie Bonnie comments.

Knight Misty fires another Holy Blade at the drenched core, followed by Wizard Ash piercing the center with an arrow second later, leaving a orangey gash of lava.

"I've got this!" Valkyrie Bonnie makes a flying leap and delivers the final blow, cutting the core in two...

"With the last of the demons dispatched, you may now cast the spell of sealing taught to you by your ally Silvanus." Clemont reads.

Akuryo taisen! Serena calls, pointing at a coat rack standing in for the portal.

Clemont stifles a giggle before reading "As you pronounce the mystical words, the lights within the portal flicker before disappearing. The gate has now been closed and you have halted the demonic invasion for the time being."

He notices Meyer standing in the living room doorway. "And we'll stop here for tonight--just write down a level 5 skill on your character sheet."

"Come on sweetie..." Meyer leads a sleepy-eyed Bonnie to her room as Clemont folds down his dungeon master's screen and leaves the adventure book "Dungeon of the Lizard Priest" by his place at the table before showing his friends to the guest rooms...

 

[LightningTopaz]

The next morning, the group returns to the gaming table along with their breakfast. After taking a few bites of cereal, Clemont sets up the dungeon master's screen and retrieves the book "Dungeon of the Lizard Priest". After finding the introduction, he sets the scene for the adventure. "Somewhere in the ancient sewers of the town of Shieldhaven lies the hidden lair of Garec, a priest of the evil lizardmen. They know of the demon portals, but in order to find out if Garec has any connection at all, you must venture into his domain!"

"Look out Garec!" Misty grins.

"We're coming for you!" Ash agrees as the scene swirls....

In the fantasy world, Knight Misty leads the way down into the sewers of a city. "The journey to find Garec's lair begins in the sewers beneath the city of Shieldhaven." Clemont narrates via voiceover. "The ancient sewers are a place fit only for these monsters."

"Ew, what's that smell?" Valkyrie Bonnie gasps as she waves away a sickening smell.

"The stench of ordure is overpowering." Clemont continues as two lizardmen approach the party. "You are approached by two lizardman warriors, stationed here as an outer guard. They bar your path with wicked, poisonous spears."

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Minstrel Brock sings, conjuring a stream of fireballs from the harp. The lizardmen deflect a few with their spears, but still get burned.

Knight Misty fires a Fire Blade at one lizardman, while Priest Serena charges some light in her staff. "Precious light, be our armor to protect us!"

"Hah!" Knight Misty tries an Ice Blade at the other lizardman, freezing some of the water dripping from a pipe.

Angered, the first lizardman heaves a spear at Knight Misty. While it doesn't damage her armor, it still leaves a small gash on her shoulder.

"Demolish weapons with fury!" Valkyrie Bonnie cries, cutting a lizardman's spear in two.

She does not, however, see the other lizardman that is still armed, and dives onto the damp stone, leaving a few scrapes and bruises. Not one to be deterred, she shakily gets up and charges at her assailant, knocking him back.

"Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!" Priest Serena commands, healing the other girls of their wounds.

"Try the ice needles again!" Knight Misty suggests as she corrals the angry lizardmen.

Minstrel Brock nods. Furiya, shuru shamato...

The lizardmen scream, but both end up pinned to the sewer walls by ice needles some moments later. Valkyrie Bonnie easily slays one, and Wizard Ash takes aim at the other...

"Only creatures like lizardmen would use poison in open battle." Clemont starts to read.

"These foes lack honor!" Misty announces, clearly enjoying her role.

Clemont just grins and continues "You search the lizardman corpses and find several uncommon items of value. Fortunately, the noxious gases and raw sewage here are deeply corrosive and will dissolve their bodies, covering your tracks."

Ash leads off the item reports. "Aldaron finds a Perfected Pendant--he feels an aura of holy protection around him as he puts it on."

"Meri finds a Royal Hat--it has a plume of silver in the brim, a sign that it once belonged to a knight of the Blue Dragons." Misty reports.

"Larkin finds a Creator's Ring--it is said a minstrel that wears this is more easily inspired." Brock reports as he writes in the item name on his character sheet.

"Ramina finds a Heavenly Cloak--this is said to boost the holy magic of a priest by 20%." Serena reports.

"Sanja finds a set of Spiritual Armor, meant to protect warriors from curses, hexes, and evil magic." Bonnie reports.

Suddenly, Bonnie gets an idea, and dashes to her room. "Hey, the adventure's not--!" Ash starts to protest.

When Bonnie returns wearing a prop feathered tiara not unlike what a valkyrie would wear, it clicks in Ash's mind. "I see...you want us to somewhat dress up as our characters?"

"Yeah...that way, we can pretend we are our heroes!" Bonnie smiles, petting Dedenne as she skitters onto the table.

---------

"Careful, everyone..." Wizard Ash cautions as he leads the group down an old and rusty ladder in the fantasy world.

"Descending a rusty ladder brings you to the Slime Tunnels, a maze of filthy and unsanitary passageways." Clemont narrates via voiceover. "Garec has posted more of his guards here. Bubbling out of a cracked pipe comes some kind of sentient black ooze!"

Valkyrie Bonnie swallows hard as the black ooze inches from the pipe Clemont mentioned. "I have a bad feeling about this...."

Just then, the black ooze lunges a slimy tendril at Valkyrie Bonnie, making it hard for her to walk, much less run. The splat of the attack also alerts the lizardmen, and they too run to join the fight. But after Valkyrie Bonnie attempts to get up despite the slime, she tries to attack her gooey assailant, only for her sword to barely make a dent.

"Slimes and creatures like them are resistant to weapons!" Knight Misty calls over the noise as she grapples with one of the two lizardmen.

"Come on!" Priest Serena leads Valkyrie Bonnie away from the angry ooze, then cleanses the slime from her. "Heavenly wind, carry Bonnie to the fountain of power! Purge!"

Valkyrie Bonnie grins, pleased she is clean again. "Thanks!" she calls before running to engage the other lizardman.

"WAUGH!" Wizard Ash cries as the ooze lashes out at him. He scrambles away to a rocky ledge, narrowly missing being doused in slime.

Knight Misty tries firing a Fire Blade at the ooze, but it only does a little damage. "It's no use...you'll have to blast it with a full-on spell."

"Behind you!" Wizard Ash calls, pointing out the ooze sneaking up behind Knight Misty. Try as she might to run, Knight Misty ends up with a goo tendril around her leg, being reeled in like a Goldeen to a slimy fate.

Wizard Ash panics, but before he can attempt to save Knight Misty, one of the lizardmen prods him in the shoulder with its spear. As he rubs his shoulder in pain, he sees a flash of blonde running up the hill! "Armor won't help the heart stay sharp!"

He smiles when he sees Valkyrie Bonnie has slain his pursuer. "Thanks."

"Anything for a bro in arms." Valkyrie Bonnie replies.

Knight Misty, meanwhile, tries firing a Lightning Blade at the ooze, making it let go of her as it writhes in pain and allowing her to run away. Wizard Ash makes sure Knight Misty is not in his line of fire, then charges a ball of lightning energy. "Strip away the ground with glistening blades! Thunder!"

As thunderbolts rain on the ooze, Valkyrie Bonnie runs to engage the other lizardman. Priest Serena, meanwhile, runs to assess Knight Misty. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah--although the middle of my left leg is burning like the underworld at the moment." Knight Misty grumbles.

Priest Serena takes the Defender's Salve from her bag, and gently rubs a little of the soothing medicine on Knight Misty's leg, easing her pain. "There."

She hears the splats of the slime approaching, and leads Knight Misty to safety in an alcove moments before the ooze tries to attack them both. "Where's Brock when you need him?" Knight Misty grumbles.

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... a familiar voice sings, sending a wave of flames at the ooze and the other lizardman...

"After scraping the remains of the black ooze from your weapons, you look around for valuables--a hundred gold pieces per person and some common items--and then continue your search for Garec." Clemont reads the aftermath of the battle."

"Can we please not have any more slime bad guys for a while?" Bonnie requests.

"Yeah--I wanted to help more, but that ooze would have eaten through my armor like lunch." Brock explains. "So I hung back until the opportunity to strike presented itself.

"Well, hopefully you'll find some slime-proof garb before we run into slimes again." Ash notes, making relieved giggles fill the room...

---------

In the fantasy world, the party arrives in a large open room. "The dripping tunnel opens out into a dimly lit cavern." Clemont narrates via voiceover. "Vile liquid drips from stalactites, pooling on the ground in treacherous puddles. Garec, a lizardman underpriest, makes his stand here. He is accompanied by several nimble looking bodyguards, some of them brandishing nets."

"Ah!" Priest Serena gasps as a warrior jabs at her. Knight Misty counters by firing an Ice Blade at the warrior, making him stumble. Wizard Ash fires an arrow at one of the netters in an attempt to get to Garec.

The netter Wizard Ash attacked tries to restrain Wizard Ash, but Wizard Ash kicks him away. "Demolish weapons with fury!" Valkyrie Bonnie calls as she cuts the net in half, making the vulnerable netter flee.

She is then knocked to the ground by the lizard warrior, but minutes before the other netter can restrain her, she cuts through the other net, prompting him to also flee in terror.

Knight Misty then fires a Fire Blade, sending a stalactite falling to the floor and creating a barrier between the lizard warrior and the party. Try as the lizard warrior might to try and attack, the stalactite in the way makes it hard for his spear to reach.

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Minstrel Brock sings, conjuring a flurry of fireballs from his harp. While the lizard warrior falls, Garec is only singed, and in a deep trance, unaware his guards have fallen.

Valkyrie Bonnie strikes first! "Armor won't help the heart stay sharp!"

But Garec is aware of his would be opponents. "Spell break, turn into an avenging light!"

Knight Misty swallows hard at the lime aura Garec has conjured. "So much for casting spells..."

"Silent light, shield from evil!" Priest Serena counters.

"Is Reflect a valid Priest skill?" the real Serena asks as the pink Shell aura forms.

"Yes, but it is a level 6 spell." Clemont replies.

"Then I know what my next skill is gonna be..." the real Serena sighs as the party waits for Garec's Reflect to wear off.

Valkyrie Bonnie runs to attack Garec after a few tense moments, seconds before Garec's reflect fades away.

"Now!" Wizard Ash calls.

Knight Misty fires a Lightning Blade, making Garec howl in pain as thunderbolts criss cross him. "You land a crippling blow on Garec." Clemont narrates via voiceover. "At that moment there is a fetid puff of swamp magic--he has cheated death and escaped your grasp!" The party sweatdrops as the scene swirls...

"You search the bodies that remain and find a map marked with the spear-and-scale insignia of the lizard folk." Clemont reads. "It reveals the location of a secret temple deep in the marshes."

"This must be where Garec has fled to." Bonnie smiles in character.

"You help yourself to his valuables--one rare item per person--nonetheless." Clemont continues before calculating everyone's experience.

Ash--now wearing a red mage's hat--reports first. "Aldaron finds a pair of Ghostly Bracers--their pale silvery color almost makes it seem as if they are not there at first."

"Meri finds a pair of Celestial Shoes." Misty reports before brushing aside the royal blue towel she is wearing like a cape. "She feels a burst of speed as she puts them on."

Brock is the only one of the group in full costume--his trademark purple, red, and gold minstrel's outfit. "Larkin finds a Perfect Flute--while the tiny instrument may indeed have the best sound of any flute he has played, he is also aware that there may be other flutes that are beyond perfect."

"Ramina finds some Archmage's Balm." Serena--wearing a white bathrobe to stand in for priestly robes--reports. "This special medicine is said to cure even the worst of magical diseases."

"Sanja finds a Royal Bracelet." Bonnie reports as she readjusts her costume winged tiara. "Just wearing this gives her the resolve of a queen!"

"Great choices, everyone." Clemont smiles. "But Garec still roams free..." he intones as he shows the group the adventure that forms the second part of the storyline--"Garec's Sanctum."

 

[LightningTopaz]

In the fantasy world, Wizard Ash leads the way into a grotto in the middle of a swamp. "Your map leads you deep into the swamp, where you find a long, wooden hall that the lizardmen use as a feasting hall." Clemont narrates via voiceover as the party arrives in the aforementioned hall. "Approaching stealthily, you pick the lock and enter the stronghold to discover tables covered with rotting meats. Chomping and slavering over the dubious feast are three lizardman netters."

"Ew!" Valkyrie Bonnie cries as she discovers the disgusting scene her brother described.

The slurping of another black ooze makes Knight Misty wince. "Not again..."

"Physical fighters, take on the lizardmen...magical fighters, deal with the ooze--simple as that." Minstrel Brock grins as he readies his harp to play.

"Got it!" Valkyrie Bonnie before ambushing a netter. "Demolish weapons with fury!"

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Minstrel Brock sings, sending a flurry of fireballs at the ooze.

Priest Serena notices the two other netters about to capture Valkyrie Bonnie. "Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!" This speeds Valkyrie Bonnie up enough to make the two netters crash into the table, tangling themselves in their nets in the process.

Knight Misty, meanwhile, fires an Ice Blade at the ooze, freezing it in place. "She's all yours." she grins at Minstrel Brock.

Minstrel Brock nods. Furiya, shuru shamato...

A wave of ice engulfs the ooze in a snowy explosion, killing it. "I love the fact that ice magic does double damage to frozen enemies." the real Misty comments.

Wizard Ash, meanwhile, manages to wound one of the tangled netters as they frantically work to get free. But he balks when the unwounded netter pulls out a knife and cuts them both free. Panicked, Wizard Ash fires an arrow at this netter, sending the knife flying.

Meanwhile, Valkyrie Bonnie finishes off the netter she disarmed while Minstrel Brock sings Seios, higarima laisido... blinding the two remaining netters with a flash of light.

"Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!" Priest Serena commands, healing Valkyrie Bonnie of her battle wounds.

"Thanks!" Valkyrie Bonnie calls before slaying one of the blinded netters.

"I'll take this last one..." Wizard Ash volunteers before charging a fireball. "Destruction of nature, gather in flame! Fire!" At this, a huge fireball goes flying at the doomed lizardman...

"The room contains a chest containing a summoning scroll and the lizardmen's possessions, as well as a great deal of spoiled meat." Clemont narrates. "At the back of the hall, you find a pathway leading east, deeper into the swamp towards another wooden hall with light visible from the inside. You must be close to Garec now."

"Ramina takes the scroll and uses it to make a contract with the firebird Moltres." Serena replies.

She then gets up from her place at the table and declares in character "I beseech you, queen of the flames, lend your power to mine, as decreed by the promise Arceus made to the first summoner now written on this scroll...my name is Ramina!"

Clemont grins. "The beautiful firebird accepts Ramina's request, and adds some of her holy flames to the gem on Ramina's staff as a sign of the contract."

"Queen of flames, bear down upon the enemy! Moltres!" Serena commands in character, prompting Brock to perform a mimic of Moltres, to some laughter.

---------

In the fantasy world, Knight Misty kicks in the door, startling a lizardman in an ornate robe. "Kicking in the door, you surprise Garec, the one-time scourge of the southern swamps." Clemont narrates via voiceover. "In this room there is a dais with a statue of a reptile. Garec genuflects urgently in front of the statue. Two lizardman darters stand between you and their master, the firelight glinting wickedly on their sharp spear tips."

"Take the darters first!" Wizard Ash suggests.

"Silent light, shield from evil!" Priest Serena commands, making the dull pink aura of protection form.

"Illusions, lies, to heaven! Dispel Magic!" Garec commands from the dais, making the protective shell break.

"Not one to be deterred, Priest Serena tries again. "Silent light, shield from evil!"

Garec, meanwhile, conjures a summoning circle. "Death song, death door, death river awaiting! Lich!"

Knight Misty gasps as a skeleton-like being in a long cloak rises in front of Garec. "W-what do we do now?"

"This!" Priest Serena replies as she charges some light in her staff. "Bright light, shine down on bloody impurity! Holy!"

Light beams rain down on the lich, making it wince in pain. Knight Misty helps with a Holy Blade, while Valkyrie Bonnie focuses on the two darters. "Precious light, be our armor to protect us!" Priest Serena calls, adding a layer of physical protection to the group.

Minstrel Brock gets an idea. Seios, higarima laisido...

Sure enough, the lich is engulfed in a wave of light. "Well, that's one way to kill a lich..." Wizard Ash smiles.

"Filthy blood of revenge, inject!" Garec commands, a wave of noxious green goo flying from his staff.

"Watch out!" Wizard Ash calls as the group dances around the poisoned spots on the floor. Valkyrie Bonnie narrowly misses falling into one, while the darter is not so lucky.

"If Garec can summon, we need to show him we can summon as well." Knight Misty suggests.

Priest Serena nods. "Queen of flames, bear down upon the enemy! Moltres!"

Flames spew from Priest Serena's staff, creating Moltres in the room. As Garec trembles in terror, Moltres uses Flamethrower around him, creating a circle of flames.

"I could've killed Garec right there, but where's the fun in that?" the real Serena comments as Moltres disappears.

"Lost energy... raise the heartrate!" Garec commands, draining some of Wizard Ash's energy to heal himself.

On the ground, Valkyrie Bonnie looks up from slaying the other darter to see Wizard Ash drained. "Ash!"

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Minstrel Brock angrily sings as Wizard Ash heaves in exhaustion...

"With Garec and his bodyguards slain, you are free to plunder his ill-gotten treasures." Clemont reads. "You find a chest hidden under a pile of furs and skins, containing a collection of epic weapons. Now that Garec is defeated, the lizardmen threat will fade. Without their charismatic leader, they retreat to the swamps, returning to a peaceful existence--or so one would hope."

"Wow! Epic weapons!" Bonnie gasps, excited as she pores over the Epic sword list.

Ash is first to report. "Aldaron finds the Stardust Bow--it is believed the arrows fired from this bow manifest as shooting stars."

"Meri finds the spellblade Masamune--its magic is strong enough to even cleave mountains." Misty reports.

"Larkin finds the Astral Harp." Brock reports. "It is said the light goddess played the universe into existence on this holy instrument."

"Ramina finds the Whispering Staff--sometimes, the gods' voices can be heard from this shining staff, giving a priest wisdom and guidance." Serena reports.

"Sanja finds the great valkyrie blade Curtana, said to have been made from pure mythril." Bonnie reports.

Clemont then calculates everyone's experience. "Not even close to Level 6...but I have just the adventure for that!" he grins, showing the group the book "Rescue From Shieldhaven Prison"...

 

[LightningTopaz]

Clemont opens "Rescue from Shieldhaven Prison", and reads "The Shieldhaven Prison is said to be inescapable, but Baron Morton has asked you to do the impossible--save his daughter..."

"Tarina!" Ash suggests, memories of Brock's brave Pichu dancing in his mind.

Clemont considers the name for a moment, then continues reading with Ash's suggestion in place of the name in the adventure book. "But Baron Morton has asked you to do the impossible--save his daughter Tarina, who has been wrongly accused. The rewards are great, but the danger is even greater."

He then reads the introduction to the first set of encounters. "By bribing a groundskeeper, you gain entry to the prison via a conveniently unguarded drain cover. Once inside, you set forth to rescue Baron Morton's daughter, Tarina, from this dank nightmare. Your first obstacle will be a guard lecturing some servants..."

As we join the party in the fantasy world, they catch the tail end of the aforementioned guard's lecture. "...but whatever you do, do not let anyone--not even a prisoner's family--get in here. Anyone that does will be killed along with the intruder. Understood?

The three servants nod yes, more out of fear than willful obedience. "Good...once we kill the girl, Baron Morton will have no choice but to go to war..." the guard sneers.

"No one is killing ANYBODY on our watch!" Valkyrie Bonnie announces, startling the guard as the party enters the room.

"Furthermore, the lady Tarina is innocent of her accused crime!" Knight Misty adds.

One of the servants trembles as two guards armed with spears arrive. "Help us!" one pleads.

"Our master framed the baron's daughter on trumped up charges, and the penalty for her supposed crime is death." the second servant adds. "You have to rescue her, or else an innocent girl will die in three days, and her father will start a needless war he has no chance of winning."

"So your master wishes to defeat the baron and take the ruling seat for himself?" Minstrel Brock asks.

"Yes--our master knows the baron loves Tarina very much." the third servant replies. "But I will never bow before a traitor and tyrant!" The other servants nod in agreement.

"I'll take the servants to safety while you guys deal with the guards." Priest Serena offers before leading the servants to the vent they entered from.

"Got it!" Knight Misty smiles before firing a Lightning Blade, making one guard stumble backwards.

Valkyrie Bonnie fires a blue beam from Curtana, knocking the other guard onto his knees. Knight Misty then spots the vulnerable guard and freezes him in place with an Ice Blade while Valkyrie Bonnie grapples with the other guard.

Priest Serena arrives back in the room some moments later. "Precious light, be our armor to protect us!"

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Minstrel Brock sings, restraining the other guard in a chain of fire.

Wizard Ash absorbs some of the flames Minstrel Brock's song created into an arrow. "Now for a little distraction for the rest of the guards..."

He then aims the flaming arrow into the night sky and fires, causing a major uproar as the party makes their way to a trap door at the other end of the room...

"With the guards defeated, you can now venture further inside the prison." Clemont reads. "A trap door at the end of the corridor is the only way forward. Loud voices can be heard from beyond."

He smiles. "First of all, you guys are the first players in a long time to take the angelic path for this adventure--most people I run this adventure with come in with the proverbial guns blazing and kill the servants too."

"Thank that Wisdom check Misty got earlier." Ash smiles. "If you fail that check, you would never know the servants are innocents."

"Well, there are a few more left to rescue as well as Tarina..." Clemont smiles before addressing Bonnie. "Once this adventure ends and you reach level 6, you have an opportunity to take on a solo quest to get a legendary sword--the blade Mailbreaker. You don't have to decide right now, but be thinking about it."

"I'll think about it." Bonnie replies as she watches her brother flip to the next set of encounters.

---------

In the fantasy world, Knight Misty balks when she sees more servants tending to more guards and thieves. "I knew it...the warden of this prison is in cahoots with the thieves' guild..."

"The servants are innocent--they likely are being kept here against their will by their masters." Priest Serena adds.

"The prison is guarded by a brutish posse of mercenaries who dedicate their lives to administering summary justice--if you can call killing innocents like their servants justice--to their guests." Clemont narrates via voiceover, confirming the real Serena's pre-adventure wisdom check. "During their time off duty they reside here in the Guard House, to play cards and drink wine. But the real danger here are the guard Mightyenas. These cowardly beasts are capable of quickly taking down a fully grown man if he is careless enough to allow one to get behind him."

As one Mightyena growls at Valkyrie Bonnie, Knight Misty instructs Priest Serena "Take the servants somewhere safe--we don't want any innocents getting hurt."

"Right!" Priest Serena finds three servants and rushes out, just as Knight Misty fires an Ice Blade into the snarling Mightyena.

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Minstrel Brock sings, surprising the other Mightyena with a stream of fire. Not surprisingly, the Mightyena's master charges at Minstrel Brock, but he backflips out of the way.

"Can you do that in real life?" the real Bonnie asks.

"Not really, but I thought it would make a cool dodge." the real Brock replies.

About then, Priest Serena returns, where she sees the spot the guard's spear nicked Minstrel Brock. Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!"

Knight Misty fires a Lightning Blade at the guard, knocking him to the ground. "Precious light, be our armor to protect us!" Priest Serena commands, making the green aura of protection form around everyone.

One Mightyena lunges at Knight Misty, but Knight Misty counters with a Fire Blade, killing it. "Bright light, shine down on bloody impurity! Holy!" Priest Serena commands, engulfing the other Mightyena, leaving their master the only opponent left.

The guard tries to throw his spear, but is wounded by an arrow from Wizard Ash. "Armor won't help the heart stay sharp!" Valkyrie Bonnie calls as she moves in to deliver the final blow...

"With the guards taken care of, you can now proceed into the prison in search of Tarina." Clemont reads. "Frenzied barking can be heard from up ahead. More of those accursed canines must be dealt with, and quickly!"

"Oh boy..." Misty sighs.

Clemont just calculates everyone's experience. "Well! Playing the angelic path paid off--you've hit level 6 sooner than you would playing the adventure normally."

"Aldaron learns the spell Fira." Ash reports before announcing the incantation. "Out of the ground, raze all greenery with flame! Fira!"

"Meri learns Leaf Blade." Misty reports.

"Larkin learns a rousing Fight Song." Brock reports. "Which the walking song I was singing before will play the role of."

"I can't wait for you to sing the lyrics that fast." Misty grins, silently hoping Brock won't trip singing the Gaelic-esque language at fast tempos.

"The mystic tongue is based on a real language?" Bonnie is impressed.

"Yes--the creators of the original comics based it heavily on Eire region Gaelic to give it a mystical sound." Brock explains. "It works, if the hundreds of issues and TV show episodes are any indication."

"Ramina learns Spirit." Serena reports. "Arceus is watching, have faith! Spirit!"

"Sanja learns Ice Blade." Bonnie reports as her brother flips to the next set of encounters...

---------

In the fantasy world, Valkyrie Bonnie rears back as three growling Mightyenas approach. "The Dog Yard is home to a pack of three starving guard Mightyenas who have been trained to attack strangers on sight." Clemont narrates via voiceover. "They are tended to by a feral urchin, and though incapable of speech, he has the audacity to ask you--in his own unique way-- for help."

"You are...being forced...to care for these Mightyenas...against your will?" Wizard Ash interprets the young boy's frantic sign language.

The boy nods and signs a frantic message to Priest Serena. "Will you...get rid of...these dogs...and get me out...of here?" Priest Serena asks. The boy nods.

She takes the boy by the hand and leads him out as the others brace themselves for battle. "The boy is innocent, but your job is to make his charges share the same fate as their brethren." Clemont instructs.

"Got it!" Wizard Ash replies before jumping out of the way as a Mightyena swipes him. The attack does manage to graze his right arm.

"Ha!" Valkyrie Bonnie cries as she counters the second Mightyena.

About then, Priest Serena returns to see Wizard Ash rubbing his wounded arm in pain. "Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!"

"Thanks..." Wizard Ash replies. "The boy is safe?"

"He's safe--I took him to the local temple, where he will be cared for by the priest." Priest Serena explains.

Wizard Ash nods, then fires an arrow into the third Mightyena, making it stumble backwards. As the Mightyenas surround the group, Priest Serena calls "Arceus is watching, have faith! Spirit!"

An orange aura forms around each person, making their attacks stronger. Knight Misty's next Fire Blade leaves a charred trail leading to its target.

"Okay, Brock..sing!" Valkyrie Bonnie suggests as she attacks a Mightyena.

Minstrel Brock nods, snaps a lute into existence, then starts playing it, singing in a Gaelic-esque language all the while, strengthening Priest Serena's attack boosting spell and boosting defense as well. One Mightyena tries to scratch Knight Misty, but its claws just bounce off her protective aura. She dispatches it with Lightning Blade some moments later as Minstrel Brock's song picks up speed.

"So far so good..." Wizard Ash notes as he fires a shot into the alpha Mightyena.

"Ow!" Valkyrie Bonnie yelps as a Mightyena scratches her. Knight Misty hears Valkyrie Bonnie's cry of pain and dispatches her attacker with an Ice Blade, Minstrel Brock and his lute droning on in the background all the while. Valkyrie Bonnie just winces in pain, then jumps to deliver the final blow to the alpha Mightyena...

"Crossing the Dog Yard brings you to the entrance of the dreaded Prison Catacombs, where the majority of the prisoners are held." Clemont reads the aftermath as the last chord of Brock's song fades. "Tarina is surely inside."

"Teach me how to sing the mystic tongue that fast!" Bonnie asks Brock, who is checking his guitar's tuning.

"Just listen to the song you want to sing many many times." Brock assures Bonnie. "Then keep practicing until you can do it without tripping. "

---------

No one has escaped the prison in twenty years." Clemont reads. "Imagine Warden Gorald's surprise to find that someone has broken in! He will seek retribution for this outrage. He has a small retinue of innocent servants and a fanatically loyal Houndoom named Scar. Scar wears a bespoke chainmail suit, making him even tougher to harm than the Mightyenas you have faced thus far. You hear Tarina's faint cries for help from nearby."

"For the house Morton!" Brock cries in character.

"To battle!" Knight Misty agrees as the scene swirls....

In the fantasy world, the party confronts Warden Gorald and Scar, creating a scene of chaos. As Priest Serena leads the innocent servants to safety, Knight Misty attacks Scar with an Aqua Blade, making him stumble backwards.

"Where's a Lucario when you need one?" Wizard Ash sighs as he fires an arrow at Warden Gorald, but it is just a pinprick to his ornate armor.

"If you'd thought to meet one in the forest on the way, this would be so much easier..." Knight Misty groans in agreement. "Would make a great familiar."

"Thanks, but I'm fine with Pikachu." Ash replies as he jumps to avoid Scar's claws.

"Arceus is watching, have faith! Spirit!" Priest Serena calls as she returns, creating the orange aura around the group.

"Yipe!" Valkyrie Bonnie yelps as Scar tries to bite her. "Why didn't I learn a water spell before?" she sighs.

"Huge sword incoming!" Minstrel Brock warns as Warden Gorald swipes at the group. While the large sword is powerful, Warden Gorald is not as quick as he would be with a conventional one handed sword.

"Yeow!" Wizard Ash yelps, wincing at the claw marks Scar has left on his left hand.

"Take this, you big bully! Armor won't help the heart stay sharp!" Valkyrie Bonnie calls as she attacks, cutting off some of Scar's mail and exposing his fur.

"Great will of the sea, let all hear thy marvelous voice! Water!" Ash commands, summoning a large wave that douses Scar and Warden Gorald.

"Armor won't help the heart stay sharp!" Valkyrie Bonnie yells as she makes a flying leap on Warden Gorald, making a large gash in his armor and knocking the huge greatsword from his hands with a loud clang.

Minstrel Brock growls in annoyance, then starts to sing Gatrandis favel, secret, edena...

Knight Misty is especially relieved to hear the song. "Thank you, Swanna Song!"

Emusto ronzen fine el balaziis... Minstrel Brock continues as Priest Serena warps the group outside to safety. Katoradis favel siicletu edena...

At this line, an aurora-like aura forms around Minstrel Brock. Emusto koron zen fine, si...

On the last "si", Minstrel Brock fires the aura into the prison, creating a massive explosion....

"The defeated Warden Gorald has a set of keys on his belt which open the cells throughout the prison, which is miraculously still standing despite the Swanna Song." Clemont reads the aftermath of the battle, pleased with the group's role playing. "You discover Tarina in a cell nearby, unharmed but bedraggled. She is overcome with relief at her rescue, and promises great rewards--one rare spell book or skill scroll and 200 gold pieces per person--upon her safe return to her father."

He smiles. "Rewards you have truly earned!"

Ash is first to report: "Aldaron learns Aero."

He then announces "Gentle winds, gather before me and transform into blades of air! Aero!"

"Meri learns Wind Blade." Misty reports.

"Larkin learns the Song of Water." Brock reports before singing Rou iitsa ron selga vichii... for effect.

"Ramina learns Reflect." Serena reports before announcing the incantation. "Spell break, turn into an avenging light! Reflect!"

"Sanja learns Fire Blade." Bonnie reports.

"Do you want to try for Mailbreaker or not?" Clemont asks as he puts away "Rescue from Shieldhaven Prison". "Keep in mind this may be your only chance for a Legendary item."

Bonnie thinks a moment. "Yeah...I would like to try for Mailbreaker."

Clemont motions to the others. "The rest of you can take a break if you want--this next adventure is just for Bonnie alone...."

 

[LightningTopaz]

As Clemont opens "The Defense of Woodhome", he explains to the others and Bonnie how a single-player sidequest will work. "Okay...for a single player sidequest, try and complete a certain amount of encounters within a set time limit or complete a certain objective in a set time limit. If you meet or beat my benchmark, or successfully complete the objective before time is up, I will consider that section of the adventure cleared. Clear every section, and you get a Legendary weapon--in Bonnie's case, Mailbreaker. Any questions?"

"Nope!" Bonnie smiles.

"No questions here." Misty replies.

"All right then...anyone have a timer app on their PokeNav?" Clemont asks.

"I think TimeNav has a timer function..." Ash muses as he opens TimeNav in his PokeNav and scrolls past the default clock to display a number of clock and time related apps. "Current time...world clock...stopwatch...a-ha! Timer."

"Set the timer for ten minutes, but don't start it until I finish reading the introduction." Clemont instructs before addressing Bonnie. "Corpses are somehow rising from their graves in the town of Woodhome--can you, a brave Valkyrie, lend your blade to defend the town?"

"Of course!" Bonnie smiles as the scene swirls...

In the fantasy world, Valkyrie Bonnie arrives in town to discover utter chaos has ensued as the town guard battles with a seemingly never ending horde of zombies. "Woodhome lies besieged by a horde of undead." Clemont explains as Valkyrie Bonnie hurries to the town's south gate. "You must mount your first line of defense at the southern gates into the town. These gates offer little protection against the never ending wave of zombies, and despite your best efforts, they are soon breached." As if on cue, the south gate shatters as the zombies break through, despite Valkyrie Bonnie's efforts.

Suddenly, a crash at the north end of the town gets Valkyrie Bonnie's attention. "As you move against these attackers, disaster strikes. The north gate has been overrun and the hordes are now flooding through." Clemont continues. You are surrounded, but you are a Valkyrie, and you will not back down from a challenge!"

He adds "Defend the north gate for ten minutes."

A clock set for ten minutes appears in the top left corner of the screen, and begins ticking away as Valkyrie Bonnie first slays the four zombies surrounding her in one stroke. After picking off the rest of the small horde, she makes her way up the hill to the broken north gate, picking off more zombies on the way up.

Once back by the broken gate, she realizes just how many zombies she is up against. Picking them off one by one would be too time consuming, and would easily overwhelm her. Not one to be deterred, she begins charging lightning energy into her blade. "Absorb power in the sky and strike!" Lightning Blade!"

The zombies are caught off guard by the thunderbolts streaking from Curtana, many of them fleeing, but some fall to the ground paralyzed. But a few withstand the electric onslaught and continue lumbering up the hill.

After assembling a makeshift wall out of rocks and boxes, Valkyrie Bonnie next attempts to freeze the advancing zombies. "Fangs of ice, roar forth! Ice Blade!"

A large wave of icy blades flies from Curtana, each of them impacting a zombie and freezing it in place.After a few tense moments, the ice shatters, killing the zombie inside.

Once sure all the zombies have died and the north gate is secure, Valkyrie Bonnie hurries off to see if any more regiments of the guard need help....

"You kill the first wave of zombies, allowing you time to retreat into the town to a more defensible position." Clemont reads, pleased his sister cleared the first objective with five minutes to spare. "The townspeople have left you supplies that may assist your efforts--healing potions, boost potions and things like that."

"Hopefully, I can do better once I'm inside somewhere..." Bonnie muses as her brother turns to the next section of the adventure....

---------

In the fantasy world, Valkyrie Bonnie takes advantage of the remaining zombies being occupied with the south gate to make a beeline for an unassuming stone building with the sign of Arceus on the spire. "The shrine is the only stone building in the town, and therefore the most defensible position." Clemont explains via voiceover as Valkyrie Bonnie races inside and barricades herself behind the main altar. "The townsfolk have fortified it, reinforcing the windows and the doors with makeshift obstacles." Clemont goes on, as the camera pans around to see the doors barred and the windows reinforced with wood slats.

As Valkyrie Bonnie braces herself for an attack, a parade of skeletons armed with swords clatters through the main entrance, some of them burning, glittering with ice, or crackling with electricity. "You must face the brunt of the assault here. This is led by a group of skeleton warriors, both normal and elemental varieties."

He then instructs "Defeat ten skeletons or more within five minutes." With that, a clock reading five minutes and a counter appear on the screen.

The clock begins ticking away, but Valkyrie Bonnie decides to attack an ice skeleton first. "Wielder of the flame, reduce these evil souls to ashes! Fire Blade!"

A stream of fire goes flying from Curtana, melting the ice skeleton closest to her and setting a normal skeleton ablaze, making her counter read 2 out of 10. Wait a second, didn't Brock or Serena say at one point undead don't like fire?

She deviously grins. Here goes nothing... "Wielder of the flame, reduce these evil souls to ashes! Fire Blade!

The crowd of skeletons gasp as Valkyrie Bonnie makes the fiery blade-like spell arc on the shrine's vaulted ceiling, and three more ice skeletons melt due to the spell. The fire and lightning skeletons, however, barely bat an eye.

Okay, I'm halfway towards my goal, and I have three minutes left... Valkyrie Bonnie thinks, ever aware of the skeletons approaching her. I can't get burned or paralyzed, because there's no one here to heal me...

The beady eyes of a lightning skeleton snap her to attention. She shoves the electrified skeleton out of the way with Curtana's hilt, then cuts through its crude armor. "Armor won't help the hear stay sharp!"

Inspired, she decides to charge an Ice Blade, and arc it to hit the flaming skeletons. "Fangs of ice, roar forth! Ice Blade!"

The cold spell is surprisingly effective on both the flaming skeletons and the lightning skeletons. What skeletons that remain flee the shrine as time expires, with Valkyrie Bonnie having killed more than double the ten skeletons needed to clear this section of the adventure.

She emerges from her barricade, makes sure no other monsters remain in the shrine, then steps outside, where she notices a breach in the northwest wall....

"After defeating the skeletons, it becomes clear you cannot defeat the undead by yourself." Clemont reads the aftermath to Bonnie. "You must try to escape by fighting your way back to a breach in the northwest wall."

He smiles. "You're doing great, sis...just a few more encounters and you'll have Mailbreaker!"

---------

In the fantasy world, Valkyrie Bonnie makes a diving leap towards a hole in the wall near the north gate. "A hole in the northwest wall offers an escape route." Clemont narrates via voiceover before giving Valkyrie Bonnie her objective. "However, you must first defend this area for four turns to allow some of the townsfolk to escape."

"Got it!" Valkyrie Bonnie smiles as a two minute timer marking her turn appears in the top right corner and begins ticking away.

She then yells in the direction of some panicked townsfolk "Hey! There's safety and shelter this way!"

The townsfolk take up Valkyrie Bonnie's call, but there are also zombies and skeletons pursuing them. Valkyrie Bonnie first dispatches two zombies. "Absorb power in the sky and strike! Lightning Blade!"

But she rolls out of the way of two skeleton's blades as her turn expires, taking the opportunity to reinforce her position as the turn counter ticks down to three.

"For the record, a turn in this case means both you and the monsters have had a chance to move and/or act." Clemont explains.

"Oh, okay." the real Bonnie replies as her Valkyrie self braces for more monsters. "Sanja defends this turn."

The zombies, meanwhile, are not quite within reach to attack Valkyrie Bonnie, so all they can do is move to end the second turn.

Valkyrie Bonnie gets an idea as her third turn begins. After guiding a family to safety, she charges an Ice Blade. "Fangs of ice, roar forth! Ice Blade!"

The blue beam lands on the advancing zombies, freezing a few and knocking the ones closest to her back down the hill, rendering them unable to move again.

This is it...my last turn! Valkyrie Bonnie smiles as she charges a Lightning Blade to deal with the skeletons that have walked around the frozen zombies. "Absorb power in the sky and strike! Lightning Blade!"

As the thunderbolts from her sword rain down on her foes, Valkyrie Bonnie runs to help more townsfolk to safety as the scene swirls...

"You successfully lead a small group of townsfolk out of the burning ruins towards safety." Clemont reads the aftermath. "For your brave feats this day, the mayor gladly presents to you the town's pride and joy: the Legendary valkyrie blade, Mailbreaker. You are confident that these townsfolk are a tough and resourceful people, and are already planning on how to rebuild."

Ash applauds as Bonnie writes Mailbreaker on her character sheet. "Well done!"

"Props for you learning how to battle without us." Serena agrees.

"It got scary in a few places, especially during the encounters in the shrine with all the skeletons." Bonnie replies.

"Speaking of Legendary items, will the rest of us get to try for a Legendary weapon?" Misty asks.

"Yes--I designed a solo sidequest for each of you." Clemont replies. "Yours is coming up shortly after we conclude the storyline 'Beneath the Frozen Earth', where you will try for the Legendary spellblade Swiftwing."

He tells Serena "Yours is right after Misty's, where you can try for the Legendary staff Aurora."

He then tells Ash "Yours is after we conclude the Forest Goblin storyline, where you can try for the legendary bow Tar Caitha."

"Which is a misspelling and mispronunciation of Gaelic for 'rainbow'." Brock explains. "It's actually pronounced 'too-ahr cay-ah-tha', not 'tar kai-tha'."

Clemont smiles. "That's actually fascinating, but Tar Caitha is what the book calls it...."

"I'll give the book writers a pass, as the misspelling and mispronunciation actually gives it a fantastic flair." Brock assures Clemont. "So what is my solo sidequest?"

"Yours comes after we conclude the late game 'Tomb of Tvericus' storyline." Clemont replies. "You will be trying for the Legendary harp Satakieli."

He studies Satakieli's stats. "It should be worth the wait, though--Satakieli dramatically boosts your stats and ups your magic resistance."

He then reaches for the book "Diamonds of the Kobolds". "For now, let us begin a new storyline together."

 

[LightningTopaz]

Once the others return to the table, and Brock checks the tuning on his guitar, Clemont reads the introduction to the next adventure. "All that stands between you and the legendary diamond mine of Whitestone Canyon is a clan of kobolds! They have re-opened the mines and are even now chipping away at long forgotten veins of jewels, fed by mountain streams. But why would the kobolds want the diamonds? It's up to you to find out!"

In the fantasy world, Wizard Ash leads the way through a mountain pass. Knight Misty is next, Priest Serena and Valkyrie Bonnie follow her, and Minstrel Brock brings up the rear. "You travel through the rocky and dangerous lowland hills leading to the mountains." Clemont narrates via voiceover as Wizard Ash carefully climbs over a rock. "The mines can only be accessed via the Whitestone Pass, a passageway so narrow that legend has it that a band of adventurers once defended it against an entire army of goblins for three days."

"I think I know the tale, actually." Minstrel Brock smiles as he makes his way down from a ledge.

Knight Misty balks at a crude barricade blocking the way into the mine, manned by a gaggle of kobolds. "The kobolds have heavily fortified the pass, aware that it holds the key to their defense of the mine." Clemont explains. "With blood-curdling cries, a horde of kobolds charge at you!"

Some kobolds armed with daggers charge to meet the group, but Minstrel Brock is unfazed. Rou iitsa ron selga vichii...

While the resulting wave of water washes away the brunt of the barricade, it also makes the dirt path a muddy slog for the kobolds. "Good thinking..." Wizard Ash grins as he fires an arrow at a kobold with its dagger drawn.

Knight Misty then fires an Ice Blade at the muddy ground, making it even harder for the kobolds to approach the group. Wizard Ash then picks off the kobolds closest to the group.

"Demolish weapons with fury!" Valkyrie Bonnie cries as she slashes at a kobold, making it drop its dagger. Wizard Ash then dispatches the unarmed kobold.

"Precious light, be our armor to protect us!" Priest Serena commands, making an orange aura form around everyone.

"Augh!" Valkyrie Bonnie jumps to avoid a kobold's dagger, but still gains a few scratches from tree branches on the muddy ground.

"There's too many of them!" Wizard Ash cries as another kobold dagger spurs him to find a higher point to shoot from.

Minstrel Brock snaps to summon his lute, then starts his Fight Song, strengthening Priest Serena's protect spell and also boosting the group's offensive capabilities.

"Thanks!" Wizard Ash smiles as he fires another arrow at a kobold trying to reach his ledge.

"Yipe!" Knight Misty scrambles to get away from a kobold, but she slips and falls on her own ice. Wizard Ash, meanwhile, knocks back another kobold trying to reach him as Knight Misty shakily gets up.

She sees a silver flash out of the corner of her eye, just in time for a kobold to slash her left arm. Thank Arceus that wasn't my sword arm... she grumbles as she rubs her wound all the while.

Minstrel Brock singing and the drone of his lute gives her new resolve to get up. We haven't come this far to give up over a paper cut... she thinks as she brushes her armor off.

Angered, she fires a Wind Blade, conjuring a tornado in the pass that roars towards what remains of the barricade....

"The pass is littered with kobold corpses, which the resident Mandibuzzes will surely enjoy." Clemont grins as Brock's last chord fades away, "The bleak mountain pass is no place to rest, so you follow the single path leading up the mountain towards the mine."

"i wonder what is in there..." Bonnie muses as she gets her character sheet and adventure info in order.

"I'm sure there's something good in there." Misty assures her as she watches Brock tune his guitar down to drop D tuning to make it easier for him to play the Fight Song.

---------

In the fantasy world, the group enters the mine and discovers a band of kobolds playing a dice game, while two Pignites in mail look on. "The entrance to the mine is guarded by a group of kobolds enjoying a game of dice." Clemont narrates via voiceover. "They are impossible to surprise, due to the presence of several armored Pignites, which are aggressive and territorial guards."

As if on cue, a Pignite charges at the group, but Valkyrie Bonnie strikes first. "Armor won't help the heart stay sharp!"

"Precious light, be our armor to protect us!" Priest Serena commands as Valkyrie Bonnie's attack strips some of the mail off the Pignite.

Knight Misty then fires an Aqua Blade at the exposed Pignite, making it cry angrily.

The main problem here is not the kobolds, but their Pignites! Priest Serena muses before charging a Haste spell. "Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!"

"Hey Brock, please sing--our attacks are doing virtually nothing against these squealing lardballs!" Knight Misty nearly screams over the Pignite's squeals.

Minstrel Brock nods, snaps to summon his lute, then starts performing the Fight Song. "Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!" Priest Serena calls as she heals a variety of scratches on Wizard Ash, sustained while taking a tumble off a ledge while eluding the angry kobolds.

"Take that, pork chop!" Valkyrie Bonnie cries as she slashes the Pignite, Minstrel Brock's fight song allowing Mailbreaker to strip off even more of the Pignite's mail.

"Now we know why your Legendary weapon is called Mailbreaker!" Wizard Ash smiles as he fires an arrow at an exposed section of Pignite skin.

He does not, however, see the other Pignite charging at him, and narrowly misses being run into the wall. "Nice Resolve save." the real Misty comments as Wizard Ash shakily gets up.

"Eep!" Priest Serena gasps as a kobold tries to slash her, but she whacks it on the head with her staff, buying her time to run over and assess Wizard Ash's wounds.

"That's one way to kill a kobold." Wizard Ash weakly smiles as Priest Serena arrives.

"Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!" Priest Serena heals Wizard Ash's wounds, then replies "You'd be surprised how much damage a humble staff can do when applied to someone's head."

Knight Misty, meanwhile, throws off another kobold before running to help Valkyrie Bonnie deal with the Pignites. She dispatches the exposed one with an Aqua Blade, then turns her attention to the second one harassing Wizard Ash.

"Armor won't help the heart stay sharp!" Valkyrie Bonnie moves in to attack, her slash exposing a patch of skin.

She has to run for her life when the Pignite charges at her, but rolls out of the way into Wizard Ash's arms. "Aim for the patch I exposed on its back!" she suggests as she brushes off her armor.

"Need help?" Knight Misty asks as she dispatches the last kobold with an Ice Blade.

"Nah--we've got this." Wizard Ash replies as Valkyrie Bonnie rends some more Pignite mail.

"Fire when ready." Valkyrie Bonnie smiles, pleased at the massive hole in the Pignite's mail she has made.

Wizard Ash nods, readies the deciding shot, and fires...

"With the guards and their porcine pets slain, you may now enter the mine and start salvaging what you can in earnest." Clemont reads the aftermath of the battle.

Misty smiles at Bonnie. "You picked a great Legendary Weapon--Mailbreaker definitely works as advertised."

"Well, even a legend needs a little help on occasion." Bonnie grins, acknowledging Brock, who is experimenting with a riff as Clemont prepares the last section.

---------

We join the group in the mine in the fantasy world. "The mine is a series of small and interwoven tunnels." Clemont explains via voiceover. "The tunnels are dark and cramped and these conditions favor the diminutive kobolds."

Knight Misty jumps to attention when she sees a horde of kobolds charging to meet them. "Naturally, this is where they choose to attack in force! Kobolds are greedier than goblins, or even dwarves, and so will not give up their riches without a fight!"

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Minstrel Brock sings, the stream of fire his chord created knocking a few kobolds backwards. Valkyrie Bonnie tries to engage one, but gets a scratch on her arm to show for it. Knight Misty fires a Fire Blade down into the tunnel, dispatching two kobolds already wounded from Minstrel Brock's spellsong.

"Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!" Priest Serena commands, healing Valkyrie Bonnie.

"Thanks!" Valkyrie Bonnie smiles as she engages another kobold.

Priest Serena notices the many gleaming daggers in what little light there is. "Precious light, be our armor to protect us!"

"Let me know if you need a bigger boost and I'll summon my lute again." Minstrel Brock grins before playing a D chord, knocking away an approaching kobold.

"Not at the moment, thanks." Knight Misty replies as she fires an Ice Blade at the ground, making the remaining kobolds slip around the narrow corridor

"Physical attack and defense is nice, but you also need a song to boost magical attack and defense." Wizard Ash notes as he looks around for any place to fire an arrow or a spell from.

He sees a flash of a dagger and rolls out of the way. "Nice evade..." Minstrel Brock replies before singing Furiya, shuru shamato..., turning some of the stalactites overhead into icicles, which come crashing down onto some kobolds.

"Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!" Priest Serena commands, speeding up the group even more. The kobolds try to attack, but the group is too fast for them.

"How bout it? Wash them all away or boost?" Minstrel Brock asks as he knocks away another kobold with a C chord.

"Where's the fun in that?" Wizard Ash replies as he fires an arrow.

"Besides, there's only two kobolds left." Valkyrie Bonnie agrees as she dispatches a kobold.

Minstrel Brock nods, then plays another D chord, skewering one of the remaining kobolds with icicles. Valkyrie Bonnie chases the other kobold, just as Knight Misty dispatches the one Minstrel Brock froze...

"The kobolds could do little against your superior force of arms and you are free to search the mines." Clemont reads the aftermath of the battle. "The rumors were unfounded as this place has long since been stripped of mineral riches. You do, however, find a chest in a corner that was taken during a raid on a local village, but it only contains some common items and 100 gold pieces per person. Suspicious that he isn't telling you the truth, you interrogate the kobold leader. He reveals the location of a further mine to the northwest."

"All that work for nothing?" Misty sighs.

"There's still another part of the storyline." Clemont assures Misty as he shows her the adventure book "The White Star".

 

[LightningTopaz]

Once everyone is settled in at the table again, Clemont reads the introduction to the adventure. "While interrogating the kobold chief, you learn that the kobolds have acquired the White Star, a large diamond of great value said to have magical power. Worried about what these powers could do in kobold hands, you rush back to the mine to reclaim the gem before it is too late!"

In the fantasy world, the party discovers a band of kobolds dancing in a mine glittering with gems in the walls as a priest eggs them on. "The Gleaming Caverns are an ancient mine, deserted more than a century ago." Clemont explains via voiceover. "Recently, a wandering tribe of kobolds chanced upon them. Inside they discovered a giant diamond, the White Star. This has created a wave of religious fervor amongst the creatures, as they are convinced it contains the soul of a kobold demigod."

About then, the priest notices the party and barks an order in the kobold tongue to attack. "As you approach the entrance to the mines, kobold avengers, led by a priest, attack from the flanks in an attempt to surround you!"

"Take care of the priest first!" Wizard Ash instructs over the noise.

Minstrel Brock nods. Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul...

The kobolds scream in panic as they dash to avoid the fiery wave from the harp strings. But the priest is unfazed. "Filthy blood of revenge, inject!"

The party scrambles to avoid the poisonous spray from the priest's staff. "That was close..." Knight Misty heaves a sigh of relief, ever aware of the poisonous puddles now dotting the cave floor.

Wizard Ash, meanwhile, picks off a kobold trying to climb on the ledge serving as his vantage point. 'There's too many of them on the ground, and more are arriving faster than we can pick them off!" he sighs in frustration.

After putting his harp away, Minstrel Brock snaps to summon his lute, and starts the Fight Song. Wizard Ash smiles. "That's a good idea--if Mr. Kobold Priest can rally more allies, Brock can rally us!"

With that, he charges a large fireball. "Out of the ground, raze all greenery with flame! Fira!"

The large fireball goes flying, making the seemingly never ending wave of kobolds a little easier to manage. "Silent light, shield from evil!" Priest Serena commands, making a pink aura appear around the group.

"Back, get back!" Knight Misty pleads as she fires an ice Blade into he horde, freezing an entire row of kobolds.

The kobold priest, meanwhile, charges a black orb of evil magic. "Time, rest and give your kindness to the worthy!"

Knight Misty jumps to avoid the Slow spell, making it explode on the ledge the boys are on. "Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!" Priest Serena commands, speeding up the group's movement, but not the song Minstrel Brock is performing.

"Yipe!" Valkyrie Bonnie yelps as a kobold slashes at her. Brushing off her small scratch on her non-sword arm, she runs to intercept a kobold.

"Lose conscious, wash away into the silent sea..." the kobold priest commands. At this, Minstrel Brock's voice quiets as he slumps down on the ledge to sleep, but still playing the melody of the Fight Song!

Priest Serena hurries to the dozing Minstrel Brock. "Heavenly wind, carry Brock to the fountain of power! Purge!"

Minstrel Brock yawns, then resumes singing the Fight Song without missing a beat. Before the kobold priest can try another spell, Knight Misty fires a Lightning Blade, killing him and making the kobold horde flee in terror...

"As you step over the bodies of the kobolds you have slain, you note that they all have a white diamond insignia sewn into their leather cuirasses." Clemont reads the aftermath of the battle.

"A clue!" Bonnie smiles as her brother turns to the next section of encounters.

---------

In the fantasy world, the group makes their way down into a mineshaft. "A claustrophobic, narrow shaft descends into the mine." Clemont narrates via voiceover.

Just then, kobold howls get the group's attention. "The kobolds start attacking you in waves, taking advantage of their size and the environment to wear you down with sheer numbers."

"Out of the ground, raze all greenery with flame! Fira!" Wizard Ash commands, sending a large fireball into the rapidly forming horde of kobolds.

"Sing it, Brock..." Knight Misty grins as she engages a kobold.

Minstrel Brock nods, snaps to summon his lute, and starts the Fight Song, his voice and the lute resonating off the glittering cave walls. Knight Misty jumps to avoid a kobold dagger, then dispatches her attacker with a Fire Blade.

Wizard Ash next tries a different strategy. "Gentle winds, gather before me and transform into blades of air! Aero!"

"Great idea!" Knight Misty smiles as the Aero spell plows through the left side of the room, then fires a Wind Blade to do the same to the right side of the room.

"YIPE!!!" Wizard Ash tries to dodge a kobold, but gets nicked in the shoulder. He still manages to nock an arrow and pick off his assailant.

"Hi-yah!" Valkyrie Bonnie creates an Ice Blade, freezing an entire row of kobolds. Wizard Ash fires at a kobold trying to reach him and Minstrel Brock, narrowly missing being slashed again.

"You think the Swanna Song would get rid of this whole horde?" Knight Misty asks, annoyed at the constant stream of kobolds.

"It could, but suppose the dungeon master has something up ahead that requires it?" Minstrel Brock reminds her before resuming his song.

A kobold trying to attack him stops his song abruptly. After evading the attack, he strums his lute and sings Furiya, shuru shamato...

The icicles crashing down finally gives Priest Serena some room to tend to Wizard Ash. "Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy! Cure!"

"Thanks." Wizard Ash smiles as the blue glow heals his wound.

"I was surrounded by kobolds, otherwise I would've come sooner." Priest Serena explains. "They just keep coming, and coming!"

"I know, right?" Wizard Ash smiles as Minstrel Brock resumes his song.

"Precious light, be our armor to protect us!" Priest Serena commands, creating the green aura of protection as the group continues fighting off the horde...

"The Gleaming Caverns is an accurate description, as the walls of the mine are studded with thousands of semi precious stones." Clemont reads the aftermath of the battle. "This creates an eerie effect, as any light source is reflected back at the seer by what appears to be a thousand glowing eyes."

"That actually sounds kinda cool." Ash smiles.

Clemont just calculates everyone's experience. "With all these kobolds, you have hit level 7, but this next wave of adventures may take you to level 8 in a short time."

"I hope Dad finds his adventures--I'd like to fight the bad guy he made." Bonnie muses.

Ash just leads off the skill reports. "Aldaron learns Blizzara." he begins before announcing "Drifting breeze, come down with fury! Blizzara!"

"Meri learns Flame Blade." Misty reports. "In other words, Fire Blade level 2." she explains to Bonnie.

"Larkin learns a Mystic Melody." Brock reports as he re-tunes his guitar back to standard tuning and experiments with a familiar flamenco-like melody in A minor. "So I can boost you guys' magic power too."

"Ramina learns Cura." Serena reports. "Life's refreshing breeze, heal from the sky! Cura!"

"Sanja learns Aqua Blade." Bonnie reports as her brother sets up for the final set of encounters.

---------

In the fantasy world, Wizard Ash balks at the large room the party has just walked into. "Wow..."

"At the bottom of the shaft lies a great excavated cavern 120 feet long by 90 feet wide." Clemont explains via voiceover. "It is a crude and incomplete construction, except for a platform built from fine marble at the far end of the room."

The camera pans up to reveal a kobold in priest's robes on the platform. "The kobold zealot Pokkin resides here with his closest allies. Pokkin is a newly ordained Priest of the White Star Cult and is eager to please his demigod... by spilling your blood!"

"Not on my watch, he won't!" Knight Misty challenges as she prepares for battle.

Pokkin, meanwhile, seems to know why the party has come. "Spell break, turn into an avenging light!" he commands, making a lime aura surround him.

"So much for the Mystic Melody..." Valkyrie Bonnie notes as she engages a kobold.

"Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!" Priest Serena commands, speeding up the group as they too engage the horde.

Minstrel Brock just grins as he snaps to summon his lute. After tuning it, he begins the Fight Song, boosting the group's attack and defense against the horde.

Valkyrie Bonnie yelps as a kobold attacks her, but manages to throw it off of her, knocking down three more kobolds. "Precious light, be our armor to protect us!" Priest Serena commands, making the protective aura appear before running to heal Valkyrie Bonnie.

Knight Misty, meanwhile, files a Wind Blade into the horde, making the horde scatter as a whirlwind blows down some incomplete construction. "Time, rest and give your kindness to the worthy!" Pokkin calls over the wind, slowing down the group back to normal.

This doesn't faze Valkyrie Bonnie. "Back! Get back!" she snaps as she shoves another kobold out of the way.

"Missed me!" Wizard Ash taunts as he jumps out of the way of a kobold dagger. He then charges a large icicle. "Drifting breeze, come down with fury! Blizzara!"

Minstrel Brock stops his song as the huge icicle flies across the large cave, freezing a good portion of the horde. "How bout it?"

"We'll be here fighting kobolds for all eternity at this rate...." Knight Misty grumbles. "So go ahead, unleash the Swanna Song."

Minstrel Brock nods. Gatrandis favel, secret, edena...

Priest Serena motions for the group to follow her back to the entrance as Minstrel Brock continues Emusto ronzen fine el balaziis...
Katoradis favel siicletu edena... At this line, he begins charging a huge lightning bolt of many colors in his hands.
Emusto koron zen fine, si.... The horde tries to flee as the rainbow thunderbolts go flying...

"Cheap and worthless gems litter the granite platform." Clemont reads the aftermath. "Buried beneath a pile in the southwest corner lies the White Star itself. The White Star! You are awed at its beauty and cry that it shines like silver in a firelight, like water in the sun, like snow under the stars, like rain upon the moon!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, just tell us what loot we got." Misty sighs, annoyed at Clemont's poetic descriptions.

Clemont sweatdrops. "Don't blame me, that's what the book says."

He turns his attention to the loot table. "You get a bagful of gems filled with the jewel of your choice and 200 gold pieces."

Serena smiles as Clemont clears the table and prepares the next adventure. "I will say I like your strategy of using the Swanna Song as a finisher."

"It's a big help to go out with a bang, so if a boss fight appears to be taking forever, I use it." Brock explains as Clemont sets up "Beneath the Frozen Earth"

 

[LightningTopaz]

"High in the Crystal Mountains, trog wizards plot to bring terror on the towns in the valley." Clemont reads the introduction to the next adventure. "You vow to travel down into their frozen caves to put a stop to their plan before innocent lives are lost."

In the fantasy world, the party arrives in a mountain village. "The mountains are a remote and foreboding place, unfit for human habitation." Clemont narrates via voiceover as the townsfolk come out to meet the party. "Villagers in the foothills greet the news of your arrival with astonishment. Some seek to discourage you, insisting that stories of the troglodyte king are no more than old wives' tales."

The scene swirls to the group arriving in a desolate canyon. "You push on and after many long and cold days of exploration, you come across the Frozen Canyon. Here, in an otherwise unremarkable stretch of desolation, you are surrounded and ambushed by a trog scouting party."

Knight Misty spots the roaring trogs approaching, but Priest Serena notices their sharp spears. "Precious light, be our armor to protect us!"

As the green protective aura surrounds the group, Minstrel Brock summons his lute and starts the Fight Song, strengthening the group even more. Wizard Ash takes the first shot, wounding one trog in the leg. Another trog heaves a spear at Wizard Ash, but he jumps out of the way, embedding the spear in a rock.

Minstrel Brock notices the shaky bridge the trogs are on, and begins singing the Fight Song with great gusto, in hopes of using the bridge's natural frequency to defeat the trolls. While the bridge wobbles in response to the singing minstrel, it does not appear to give way at first.

Valkyrie Bonnie realizes what Minstrel Brock wants to do. "Keep singing--maybe if you sing the song long enough, the bridge will break."

"This is exactly why soldiers break step over a bridge." Knight Misty smiles. "If the soldiers' feet match the bridge's natural frequency, it will eventually break." Minstrel Brock nods in agreement, singing all the while.

On the bridge, the trogs scramble to stay on the shaking bridge, and a few heave their spears in panic, but they all land well above the party's heads. "Everyone okay?" Priest Serena asks after the flurry of spears.

Affirmative answers waft in her direction. Just then, Valkyrie Bonnie sees the rickety old bridge begin to crack. "It's working! Brock's voice matches the bridge's natural frequency, so it should break and take all the trogs with it!"

"I'm still wondering how we're going to get across once the bridge breaks..." Wizard Ash isn't so sure.

Knight Misty points out a more sturdier bridge on a second route leading into the canyon. "There's another route, so we're not going to be stranded out here." Sure enough, the bridge finally crumbles some moments later--Minstrel Brock's song being the last thing the trogs hear as they tumble to their doom...

"The dead trogs are curious creatures, prehistoric in appearance and certainly something other than human in form." Clemont reads the aftermath of the battle. "Their sack of treasure proves they at least covet trinkets and useful tools."

"How did you get the idea to break the bridge using your voice?" Misty asks.

"A combination of a good Intelligence check, and a little knowledge of Kanto history." Brock replies. "Remember hearing about the Cerulean Narrows collapse in history class when you were little?"

The lightbulb goes off in Misty's head when she remembers the lecture in question. "Oh yeah...the reason why it collapsed was because the wind matched the bridge's natural frequency."

"So I thought, what if my character's voice was strong enough to induce the same thing?" Brock smiles, pleased.

Clemont is equally pleased. "That is very clever, actually." he grins as he prepares the next set of encounters.

---------

In the fantasy world, Wizard Ash shivers as the icy wind whips his cloak. "A blizzard chills you to the bone, making progress slow and dangerous as you traverse a glacier field." Clemont narrates via voiceover. "You come to a frozen bridge, the solitary crossing guarded by more trogs. They are accompanied by a trog wizard, ready to assault you from afar with crude yet effective magical attacks."

"This bridge is stone, so i don't think singing it to the point of collapse will work this time." Knight Misty tells Minstrel Brock as they rush to engage the trogs.

"HAH!" Valkyrie Bonnie delivers the first blow to the first trog across the bridge.

"Get to the wizard and use Magic Break on it!" Wizard Ash suggests as Valkyrie Bonnie and the trog battle.

Minstrel Brock snaps to summon his lute, starting the now familiar Fight Song as a trog heaves its spear at Priest Serena, nicking her shoulder before clattering to the icy ground.

"Curses from all directions!" Valkyrie Bonnie calls as she slashes the lone trog wizard, making him howl in pain.

Knight Misty fires a Flame Blade, knocking two trogs backwards. One is immediately impaled by an arrow from Wizard Ash, and the other klonked on the head by Priest Serena.

After whispering an incantation to heal herself, she runs to help Valkyrie Bonnie as a trog jabs her with its spear. "Life's refreshing breeze, heal from the sky! Cura!"

"Thanks!" Valkyrie Bonnie smiles as she counters her opponent.

On a ledge, Wizard Ash fires an arrow at the trog wizard, who is still on the bridge. The whoosh of a spear gets his attention, and he jumps out of the way before firing another shot.

"Curses from all directions!" Valkyrie Bonnie calls as she slashes the trog wizard again.

The howl of the trog wizard gets Minstrel Brock's attention. Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul...

The trogs scatter as Minstrel Brock's chord takes shape into a firey star-shaped wave. Valkyrie Bonnie dispatches one as Minstrel Brock resumes the Fight Song, evading the spear of another as she attempts to get at the trog wizard.

"Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!" Priest Serena commands, speeding the group up. The spell also speeds up the Fight Song, yet Minstrel Brock doesn't trip over the mystical words or stumble over a chord.

The trog wizard, meanwhile, has other ideas. "Mindless, spiritless, hear the immutable beat..."

"Watch out!" Knight Misty gasps as thunderbolts rain from the trog wizard's fingers. Wizard Ash pushes Valkyrie Bonnie out of the way, and Minstrel Brock rolls into an alcove, his instrument miraculously unharmed.

"That was close..." Priest Serena heaves a sigh of relief as she joins Minstrel Brock in the alcove.

"Now...where was I before I was so rudely interrupted?" Minstrel Brock asks as he peeks out from the alcove and notices the trog wizard is the only one still standing.

A smile forms on his face as he strums an expectant chord. Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul...

"Good thinking, Brock..." Priest Serena heaves a relieved sigh as a series of fire beams streak from the lute towards the trog wizard...

"The icy wind whips across the escarpment, freezing limbs, chilling bones and sapping your morale as you rummage through the belongings of the dead guards." Clemont narrates the aftermath of the battle. "While you don't find anything of note, you do find that the blizzard is intensifying. You must hurry or risk never returning from this mountain."

"Can we fight on the beach next?" Misty sighs.

"I think there's another part to this storyline." Ash explains as Clemont sets up for the final set of encounters.

---------

In the fantasy world, Wizard Ash shivers as he leads the party into a large cave. "As the blizzard intensifies, you are forced to seek shelter." Clemont narrates via voiceover. "A small cave offers some respite from the life-threatening conditions."

The scene pans out to reveal a group of six trog wizards in the cave. "Unfortunately, some others also had the same idea." Clemont intones. "There are several trog wizards here, unwilling to share their good fortune with interloping adventurers!"

"Silent light, shield from evil!" Priest Serena commands, making the pale pink aura appear. Knight Misty then fires an Aqua Blade to put out the wizards' campfire--but the cave is still lit and warmed by a variety of torches on the walls and in the corners.

Wizard Ash scrambles onto a ledge, aims for a torch in the center of the room, and fires. As the trog wizard he hit howls in pain from the flaming arrow, he calls "Okay, Maestro--unleash the Mystic Melody!"

Minstrel Brock nods, and starts a flamenco-like melody on his harp, over which he sings in the mystic tongue. The song boosts Priest Serena's Shell spell and the party's magical attack, but Valkyrie Bonnie has other ideas--why not exploit the wizards' lousy physical defense?

"Curses from all directions!" she calls as she slashes another trog wizard.

"Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!" Priest Serena calls, speeding the group up as the trog wizards hurl their own spells at the party, to no avail.

"Conjurors seek truth in silence!" one trog wizard calls, but his Silence spell ends up putting out a torch in a corner.

"Actually, I think YOU need to be the one silenced." Minstrel Brock grins, playing a long and flowing melody Knight Misty recognizes as Silent Song. Sure enough, the trog wizard tries to counter, but can hardly conjure a single spark.

"Hi-ya!" Valkyrie Bonnie dispatches the helpless trog wizard some moments later.

"You silenced all of them!" Knight Misty smiles as she watches the remaining trog wizards try and fail to cast a spell.

"Can wizards learn elemental arrow spells like the magic knight and the valkyrie can learn elemental blades?" the real Ash asks as his wizard self fires another shot through a torch, killing a second trog wizard.

"Yes, but not until you gain a bow with the Elemental trait." Clemont explains. "Tar Caitha is the best known and most sought after bow with this trait, but some epic bows have it as well."

"Bright light, shine down on bloody impurity! Holy!" Priest Serena calls, dispatching another trog wizard in a flash of light...

"You must take shelter here until the blizzard subsides, before calling off the search and returning to town." Clemont reads the aftermath of the battle. "If there was something here, it is long gone. But a coven of trog wizards is a remarkable and strange thing. The corners of the room conceal items hoarded by these malign brutes--most of them spell books and skill scrolls--presumably picked from the corpses of unfortunate travelers."

He grins as he calculates the group's experience. "All these kills have taken you to level 8--so your adventure reward doubles as your skill choice."

"Aldaron learns Thundara." Ash reports before announcing the incantation. "Swirling bolts, gather and strike with power! Thundara!"

"Meri learns Frost Blade." Misty reports.

"Larkin learns the Song of the Wind." Brock reports before singing Karuto, iichiida shou...

"Ramina finds a summoning scroll, and uses it to make a contract with the titan of the land, Groudon." Serena reports before she too announces the incantation. "Bear down with earth energy! Groudon!"

"Sanja learns Leaf Blade." Bonnie reports.

"Please say we're fighting somewhere warm next..." Misty groans.

"Sorry--we still have another part to this storyline." Clemont replies as he sets up the adventure "The Throne of Tedar"...

 

[LightningTopaz]

Everyone listens as Clemont reads the introduction to "The Throne of Tedar". "As you brave the mountains a second time, you receive a telepathic message from the wizard Silvanus Ashmourne, who tells you his Fletchling and Beautifly spies have found where the troll king, Tedar, is hiding. You tell Silvanus you will brave the frozen caves and attempt to end the troll king's reign forever!"

In the fantasy world, we join the party in their base camp in another mountain range, where a fierce blizzard swirls around them. "There is a reason why these lands were deserted generations ago--they are a miserable and inhospitable place, covered for much of the year by ice and snow." Clemont explains via voiceover as Wizard Ash throws a red fur cloak around him, while Priest Serena bundles Valkyrie Bonnie in reinforced fur. "You outfit yourself with the requisite supplies to handle the conditions and head off."

When we catch up to the party some minutes later, Knight Misty balks when she spots a party of trog guards patrolling a pass. "Through the snow, you observe many wandering parties of trog guards scouring the island in search of unwanted intruders." Clemont continues. "Suddenly, one such group approaches you, intent on defending its territory."

Sure enough some trogs charge at the group, but one is easily dispatched thanks to a well timed arrow from Wizard Ash. "Thank you, crit check!" the real Ash comments as his wizard self retreats to a rock covered by an alcove--a somewhat warm place to shoot from.

Minstrel Brock snaps, summoning his lute. The trogs, meanwhile, cover their ears in pain as the Fight Song echoes through the pass, the mountains naturally amplifying Minstrel Brock's voice and instrument to be heard over the howling wind and swirling snow.

One trog heaves a spear at Valkyrie Bonnie, but she rolls out of the way, making the spear embed itself in a rock. "Share lives with all things in nature! Leaf Blade!"

"Didn't know Leaf and Leaf Blade share incantations..." the real Misty comments as a green beam and leaves fly from Valkyrie Bonnie's blade, knocking her opponent backwards.

"There are some spells that do share incantations." Clemont replies as Wizard Ash jumps to avoid another trog's club. After recovering his balance, he charges a large thunderbolt in his hands. "Swirling bolts, gather and strike with power! Thundara!"

The trogs scramble out of the way as the thunderbolts rain down on them. Knight Misty stumbles after nearly being knocked to the ground by a club, and Priest Serena narrowly escapes another trog's dagger. Once sure she and Knight Misty are safe, she heals them both. "Life's refreshing breeze, heal from the sky! Cura!"

"Thanks.." Knight Misty smiles as the club dents in her armor disappear. She weakly gets up as Valkyrie Bonnie slashes another trog.

A trog tries to interrupt Minstrel Brock's song, but he stops long enough to sing Karuto, iichiida shou.. warping himself to another spot on the mountain he can safely perform from. He then resumes the Fight Song with great gusto, as if telling his opponent "Missed me!"

"Cool, Brock can teleport now!" the real Bonnie comments as Knight Misty fends off a trog with Flame Blade.

"That is a valid effect of the Song of the Wind, although he can't go very far yet, as he just learned the skill." Clemont explains. "As Brock continues to level, he can go farther and farther with it." Wizard Ash dispatching another trog emphasizes his point.

Knight Misty grimaces as she fires a Flame Blade at a trog. "You don't suppose you can yodel or something to create an avalanche, or something?" she asks Minstrel Brock.

"That's a different kind of yodeling than what I do, but here goes..." Minstrel Brock replies.

After clearing his throat and blowing an Eb on a pitch pipe (which is out of place in the fantasy world), he proceeds to perform a fifth lower rendition of the yodel from the classic Ol' Psyduck short "How to Ski", making the trogs scatter as the snow comes rumbling down the mountain...

"You inspect the dead trogs and find clues that they are organized to an extent not normally associated with these feral creatures." Clemont reads, trying oh so hard not to laugh at just how uncannily well Brock can yodel, as well as the ridiculousness of Misty's suggestion. "They carry crude backpacks with supplies, as well as bearing iron weapons like spears, dagger, and spiked clubs. This would suggest that there may be some truth to the rumors of a troglodyte king."

"i didn't know you could yodel mountain style!" Ash gasps as Meyer arrives with lunch for the group.

"Well, confession time--the "How to Ski" yodel is the only mountain style yodel I can actually do, thanks to watching the cartoon in question a million times." Brock explains. "So I'm gonna stick to cowboy yodels if I have to do it again." With that, he takes a bite out of the sandwich Meyer made for him.

Inspired, Serena brings up MyTube on her Pokenav and locates the short in question. "Why don't we watch that cartoon together while we eat?" she suggests as she props the Pokenav to where everyone, including Clemont, can see.

---------

In the fantasy world, Knight Misty discovers a deserted guard post as the party ventures inside a cave. "Beyond the cave you discover deserted guard posts, fires and other signs of life." Clemont narrates via voiceover. You must delve further into these icy caves to discover what kind of twisted society the trogs have formed down below."

Suddenly, some trog roars startle Knight Misty. "Get ready!" she calls as she fires a Flame Blade into the ground as a warning to the trogs.

Minstrel Brock evades a trog spear as he takes shelter in an alcove. Once sure no trogs are following him, he snaps to summon his lute, and begins the Fight Song. Knight Misty slays his pursuer some moments later, her spellblade strengthened by his song.

Priest Serena ducks to evade a trog dagger, but whacks the trog with her staff. "Take that, you bully!"

However, a second trog sees Priest Serena whack its comrade, and tries to slash her with a dagger. Priest Serena, meanwhile, has other ideas. "Pika pika! Round and round you go!" Her attacker becomes a Pikachu in a flash of yellow, and darts away.

Minstrel Brock is suddenly jarred from his performance by a trog spear embedding itself in the wall. He grimaces, then strums a D chord. Karuto, iichiida shou...

He warps away seconds before his pursuer can barge in the grotto,where he resumes his song with renewed gusto, bemused in the trogs fruitlessly looking for him.

"That's one way to evade trogs..." Wizard Ash notes at he fires at one chasing Valkyrie Bonnie.

"Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!" Priest Serena commands, speeding up Valkyrie Bonnie and making her pursuer crash into the wall.

"Missed me!" Valkyrie Bonnie taunts, sticking out her tongue at the dazed trog.

Priest Serena grimaces as she holds off another trog, then gets an idea. "Queen of flames, bear down upon the enemy! Moltres!"

The trogs come to screeching halt, then turn tail and run when they see Moltres in the room. Moltres just fires a Flamethrower at the fleeing trogs, killing two of them.

Wizard Ash absorbs some of Moltres' flames into his next arrow, and easily dispatches a trog. "I can't wait for my solo quest and getting elemental arrows..." the real Ash comments as Wizard Ash nocks his next shot.

A lute strum gets his attention. Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul...

"That's one way to kill a lot of trogs at once!" Valkyrie Bonnie smiles as flaming stars come flying from the lute strings, making the trogs scatter as the scene swirls....

"Although the frosty environment makes the stink of the trog bodies somewhat easier to bear, it is nonetheless a stomach-turning exercise to search their foul human-skin backpacks for loot." Clemont narrates as he pushes his empty plate away from the dungeon master's screen.

"Ew..." Bonnie grimaces as Meyer arrives to collect the plates.

"Aside from 200 gold pieces per person, there is little else of value in this accursed place." Clemont sighs. "You hurry onward, eager to complete this expedition before you are overcome by the cold."

"Good idea..." Misty agrees as she writes in her updated gold total.

---------

"With persistence and luck you eventually fight your way through the trog defenses to a vaulted chamber." Clemont narrates via voiceover as the party arrives in a large room with a vaulted ceiling, surprising a few trogs. "Within is the troglodyte king, Tedar the Bloodhunter, flanked by his bodyguard." The camera pans over to a trog in a crudely fashioned robe with a flimsy scepter. "Tedar issues a guttural challenge in his own language as you prepare yourselves to put a timely end to his reign!"

At this, Tedar barks something in the trollish tongue as his two guards ready their spears. "Of course--I accept your challenge!" Wizard Ash grins, firing an arrow at one of the guards.

The other trog guard heaves his spear, but it grazes Knight Misty instead. "Missed your target?" she smiles as she fires a Flame Blade in retaliation.

"Demolish weapons with fury!" Valkyrie Bonnie calls, slashing the second trog and breaking his spear before he can throw it again.

Knight Misty fires a Frost Blade at the floor, making the first trog slip and fall as she retreats to a safe place to asses her wound.

"Life's refreshing breeze, heal from the sky! Cura!" Priest Serena calls, healing Knight Misty's wound.

"Thanks." Knight Misty smiles before finding Minstrel Brock in the chaos. "Sing it, Brock."

Minstrel Brock nods, snaps to summon his lute, and begins the Fight Song, making some trogs arriving for reinforcements cover their ears at the song they believe is awful.

"Great, reinforcements..." Knight Misty grumbles as she dispatches one of the initial trogs with a Flame Blade.

"Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!" Priest Serena commands, speeding the group up. Knight Misty freezes a trog with a Frost Blade, and Valkyrie Bonnie engages another as she speeds by.

Minstrel Brock is jarred from his song by the whistle of a spear. After locating his assailant in a corner, he sings Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... engulfing the trug in flaming stars.

"Nice shot!" Valyrie Bonnie grins as she dispatches her own opponent.

"Now to deal with Tedar..." Wizard Ash agrees as he aims a shot at the trog king.

Tedar tries to protest, but Valkyrie Bonnie is unfazed. "You asked us to beat your best warriors, and beat them we did!"

"Your reign of terror has gone on long enough!" Priest Serena agrees. "Now hear the song of your holy judgement!"

Gatrandis favel, secret, edena... Minstrel Brock begins. Emusto ronzen fine el balaziis...

Tedar's frantic pleas go unheeded as a red aura forms around Minstrel Brock. Katoradis favel siicletu edena...
Emusto koron zen fine, si...

Tedar's last scream resounds through the cave as fire with an ethereal glow goes flying from Minstrel Brock's aura...

"With a guttural howl, Tedar falls to the floor and is consumed by the arcane fire the Swanna Song created." Clemont smiles as he reads the aftermath of the battle. "You liberate his treasure hoard--one appropriate piece of rare armor per person--and prepare to leave this place. The people of Iridon can rest easier in the knowledge that these flesh eating horrors will no longer hunt them in the snow capped mountains, or make meals of unwary travelers."

Ash leads off the item reports. "Aldaron finds some Silent Bracers--monsters will never know what hit them!" he grins.

"Meri finds a Sapphire Hat." Misty reports. "The sapphires on the band glitter in the firelight."

"Larkin finds some +2 Andante Garb." Brock reports. "He can't help but admire himself in the mirror-like ice crystals."

"Ramina finds a +2 Blessed Robe." Serena reports. "This special robe has a spell of protection woven inside."

"Sanja finds some Ethereal Mail." Bonnie reports. "It is so white, you don't even know it's there."

After clearing off "The Throne of Tedar", Clemont addresses Misty. "Ready for your solo quest?"

"Let's do this!" Misty grins as Clemont sets up "The Forest of Souls"...

 

[LightningTopaz]

s the others look on, Clemont reads the intro of the adventure to Misty. "A legendary spellblade is said to be buried deep within Verda Forest. But there are also rumors of terrible things within the mystical glades...."

In the fantasy world, we join Knight Misty as she walks through a forest. "After many days of traveling, you arrive at the borders of the ancient and mysterious Verda Forest." Clemont narrates via voiceover. "You make your way inside, eager to explore this holy place, and learn why it is nicknamed the Forest of Souls."

Suddenly, Knight Misty is ambushed by three small treants. "To your shock, you are immediately approached by cocky young sentient Maple Treants, who attack you with gusto!"

He then tells Misty "Defeat or escape the treants in 5 minutes." At this, a clock set for five minutes appears in the top left corner of the screen, and begins ticking away.

One treant tries to lash Misty with a branch, but she rolls out of the way and counters with an Frost Blade, freezing it in place. A second treant sprays some toxic acid, but Misty deflects the acid with a Flame Blade, making the treant run around in pain and terror as its body ignites.

Now...where's the last treant? Knight Misty wonders as she catches her breath by a small stream, aware that she has 3 minutes and 28 seconds remaining.

She looks around and notices all the trees in the area look normal--until she spots a smaller tree with beady red eyes watching from a rock. The rustling as it approaches spurs Misty to look around, but suddenly finds herself wrapped in vines, sending her falling to the ground.

"I got you now..." the little treant grins as it drags Knight Misty closer and closer.

"Not for long!" Knight Misty grabs her spellblade and cuts herself free. "If you wanted me to come with you, you could've asked nicely."

She aims a Flame Blade at the treant, but the red beam ricochets off some rocks before exploding in the sky like a massive firework. The treant then lunges at Knight Misty, but Knight Misty counters with a Lightning Blade, paralyzing it and making it writhe in pain.

"You're lucky I only paralyzed you." she tells the frightened treant. "Will you promise to protect the forest, and never harm another being again?"

The treant frantically nods yes as its paralysis wears off. Once it can move again, it flees, leaving Knight Misty with just a little more than a minute to spare.

With the treants gone, Knight Misty sheathes her weapon and continues deeper into the forest as the scene swirls....

"You walk into the heart of the forest and you soon become lost in the impenetrable gloom within its leafy arbor." Clemont narrates. "You are utterly disoriented, unsure of direction and time and afraid of the things that move in the shadows of the trees. The only way you can go is forward."

"Okay, then I'll keep going forward." Misty smiles as she watches Clemont set up the next part of the adventure.

"Nice fighting, there..." Brock smiles, playing a soft chord on his guitar for effect.

"Those saplings were cake..." Misty grins. "If all the encounters are this easy, I'll have Swiftwing in no time!"

"I wouldn't be so sure..." Ash cautions as he sees Clemont add a few larger treant figurines to his scene.

---------

In the fantasy world, Knight Misty emerges into a clearing in the forest. "After hours of wondering in the dark, you come across a clearing, 110 feet long by 80 feet wide." Clemont narrates via voiceover.

"You didn't just pull that number out of a hat, did you?" the real Ash asks as Knight Misty sits down on a rock to rest.

"No--the book gave this exact measurement." Clemont replies before finding his place in the book. "The denizens of the forest attack you here, deploying several more powerful Beech Saplings to support the Maple Treants you encountered earlier." Sure enough, more smaller treants arrive with some larger treants that could almost pass themselves off as real trees.

"Called your big brothers, eh?" Knight Misty smiles as she draws her spellblade.

A counter displaying three appears on the screen. "Kiil the Beech Saplings, but not the Maple Treants." Clemont instructs.

Knight Misty runs over to the Maple Treants. "You guys may want to leave, it'll get hairy in a minute..."

She does not, however, expect a Maple Treant to tackle her, sending her spellblade flying. Luckily it lands in the grass by where Knight Misty is lying. "Okay, so reasoning with them won't work..." she muses as she gets up, brushes herself off, and retrieves her spellblade.

An idea occurs to her. Maybe if I killed the Beech Saplings like I am supposed to, the Maple Treants will flee!

She fires a Wind Blade at the Beech Saplings, creating a tornado that picks up a Beech Sapling and carries it high into the air. After a few tense moments, the Beech Sapling comes crashing back down to the ground, lifeless from the long drop downward.

The Maple Treants flee in panic, but another Beech Sapling tries to use Razor Leaf on Knight Misty. She skillfully cuts through every one of the sharp leaves before lunging to try and cut her opponent. However, the Beech Sapling's trunk is strong enough to withstand even an Epic spellblade, so all Knight Misty can produce is a large hole in its trunk. Inspired, Knight Misty fires a Flame Blade into the hole, igniting the Beech Sapling from the inside.

She next spots the last Beech Sapling trying to flee, and fires a Frost Blade onto a patch of grass. This makes the Beech Sapling slip and fall on the icy grass, allowing Knight Misty to cut in in half, making her counter reach zero and turn green, indicating she has met her objective.

After assessing her wounds, Knight Misty opens her bag and takes out a red potion. "Thankfully I bought a few of these before setting out on this quest!"

She proceeds to drink down the whole bottle. "Mm...Cheri." she grins as she stashes the empty bottle in a pocket she has reserved for trash and junk.

Just then, a variety of sparkling lights appear in the clearing. Intrigued, Knight Misty retrieves her gear and follows them into the forest...

"Through the darkness you can see what appears to be lights deep inside the forest." Clemont narrates the aftermath of the battle. "You follow them, but this leads to a long and frustrating search, with the tantalizing lights seemingly always just beyond your reach."

"Are those will-o-wisps?" Ash wonders as Clemont sets up for the finale of Misty's quest.

"Or something worse?" Brock adds, a note of fear in his voice.

"Whatever they are, they'll get their just desserts." Misty assures the boys as Clemont hands her a shop list so she can restock any items she needs before her quest's finale.

---------

In the fantasy world, Knight Misty follows the will-o-wisps into a large clearing filled with trees. "You arrive at a place that must be close to the heart of the forest, a sacred place for both the Pokemon and the earth spirits that live here." Clemont narrates as some Beech Treants spot Knight Misty and approach her. "Vast Beech Treants protect this holy vale. On top of this, will-o-wisps weave a mesmerizing pattern between the trees."

"Wow..." Knight Misty smiles as she watches the will-o-wisps dance.

"You marvel at the source of the fleeting lights you have been following, seconds before they begin assaulting you with powerful sparks." Clemont continues as the will-o-wisps start doing this to Knight Misty, making her dive out of the way and draw her blade. "Your wonder turns to fury--you must destroy them before they destroy you!"

He then gives Misty her objective. "Defeat all the creatures here in ten minutes." A timer appears and begins ticking away as Knight Misty scrambles out of the way of the will-o-wisps.

"Let me show you why this is called a spellblade." Knight Misty challenges the will-o-wisps, firing a volley of Aqua Blades to put them out.

She studies the two Beech Treants. "One of me, 8:50 on the clock, and two of them..."

As Knight Misty is pondering her strategy, she sees a vine in the distance, and dives out of the way as the Beech Treant tries to lash her. She fires a Flame Blade, but the red blade ricochets off a rock, making a red firework explode in the sky.

The Beech Treant manages to grab Knight Misty's shoulders, but the orange haired girl is surprisingly strong as she shoves away the tree monster. When the massive tree-creature tries again to grab her in its spindly arms, Knight Misty is prepared with her blade, making a long gash in the treant's trunk.

Once satisfied that the gash is large enough, Knight Misty fires a Flame Blade into the hole, making the Beech Treant burst into flames.

"Finally got a good Intelligence check..." the real Misty comments as the time dips below five minutes.

"Come on, Misty!" the real Brock cheers as the last Beech Treant approaches Knight Misty, growling all the while.

"You can do it!" the real Ash agrees.

"Okay, let's try a different strategy with this big guy..." Knight Misty muses as she gets up to engage her foe. She first fires a Frost Blade at her foe, freezing its roots in place. Angered, the helpless treant tries to lash at Knight Misty, but she rolls out of the way of one, and deflects the other with her blade.

"Nice footwork..." the real Serena comments as Knight Misty attempts to sneak around to the Beech Treants back in an attempt to catch it off guard. However, the treant senses something behind it and catches Knight Misty about to attack! Knight Misty gasps in surprise, and fires a Flame Blade, making the Flame Blade ignite the treant like she was planning to do!

As the treant's lifeless body smolders, Knight Misty brushes herself off and examines the clearing for spoils....

"Other adventurers have been here long before, and the bones of some of the less fortunate lie in this glade." Clemont narrates as the others' applause dies down. "Picking through their remains you find the mighty spellblade Swiftwing, a Legendary spellblade of considerable worth, and worthy of a brave magic knight like you!"

"Well done, Misty!" Serena smiles as Misty writes in Swiftwing on her character sheet.

"I have to commend you for turning that failed advantage check to your advantage." Brock agrees.

"Aw, it was nothing." Misty smiles as her friends return to the table for the next adventure....

 

[LightningTopaz]

Once everyone is back at the table, Clemont reads the introduction to a new adventure. "Rumors say the evil Lord Stafford keeps a magically hidden stash of treasure somewhere in one of his many estates. To find it, you must ask the living Compass of Xorr, which is kept in the library of Lord Stafford's Summerhall estate."

The scene swirls into the fantasy world, where we see the party marveling at a large wine cellar. "The Summerhall area is renowned for its fine drink." Clemont explains. "Lord Stafford’s estate has a brewery and he keeps prodigious quantities of stock in the cellars that run for miles under the grounds around the manor. These cellars are patrolled by innocent servants, Mightyenas, and men-at-arms, all on the lookout for thieves."

One of the servants approaches Priest Serena. "Help us, lady of Arceus! Lord Stafford beats us for no reason, gives us no part of his momentous feasts, and abuses us for no reason at all! I want to get out of here!"

"Me too!" another servant says as a third nods in agreement.

"Have no fear--I'll take you three somewhere safe while my companions deal with the guards." Priest Serena assures the servants, just as some guards with Mightyenas arrive in the cellar.

"You go on and take the servants to safety--we've got this." Wizard Ash assures Serena as he nocks an arrow and fires at one of the Mightyenas. While his target whines in pain, the other Mightyena lunges at Valkyrie Bonnie, making her scramble onto a barrel for safety.

Inspired, Wizard Ash climbs on another barrel and aims at the back of another guard. When a yelp of pain confirms a hit, he hurries away before the other guards can find him.

The Mightyenas, meanwhile, spot Wizard Ash and try to scratch him, but their claws end up impacting a familiar green shield. "Precious light, be our armor to protect us!"

"Perfect timing, Serena." Wizard Ash grins as Priest Serena returns to the battle.

"Armor won't help the heart stay sharp!" Valkyrie Bonnie calls as she lunges at a guard, leaving a huge hole in his armor.

She does not expect one of the guard Mightyenas to pounce on her, making her slip off the barrel. She manages to regain her footing, but has a few scrapes and bruises to show for it.

"Life's refreshing breeze, heal from the sky! Cura!" Priest Serena hurries over to tend to Valkyrie Bonnie's wounds.

"Thanks!" Valkyrie Bonnie grins before lunging at the vulnerable guard, making him fall backwards. She jumps to avoid the other guard's spear, than lunges at his armor. "Armor won't help the heart stay sharp!"

The air conditioner kicking on in the real world manifests as a C note drone in the fantasy world, spurring Minstrel Brock to sing a slow and beautiful melody in the mystic tongue over the drone, healing the wounds of those that are wounded, and boosting the defense of those that are not. The guards, panicked that Minstrel Brock is summoning something powerful, flee in terror....

"With the estate’s defenses breached, you may now climb up into the main house itself." Clemont reads when Brock finishes his performance. "With clever use of rope and climbing spurs, you quickly ascend into the main house, emerging from the cellars directly into the kitchens."

"I can't wait to see what His Lordship has stuffed in there!" Ash smiles. Misty just rolls her eyes--Ash's favorite part in a movie or a game, if it didn't involve a flute or whistle, usually involved food.

Clemont chuckles at Ash's excitement. "Taking the angelic path and saving the servants has taken you to level 9."

"Aldaron learns Watera." Ash reports before announcing the incantation. "Heavenly mists, pour forth! Watera!"

"Meri learns Spark Blade." Misty reports.

"Larkin was performing a Resonating Melody." Brock explains, revealing what he sang before to the group. "It heals when Ramina is away, and boosts the defense of those with full HP."

"Ramina learns Dispel." Serena reports before announcing the incantation. "Illusions, lies to heaven!"

"Sanja learns Wind Blade." Bonnie reports as her brother sets up the next part of the adventure.

---------

n the fantasy world, Wizard Ash gasps in awe as the party emerges in the kitchen. "Lord Stafford is renowned for his love of food and his kitchen reflects this." Clemont explains, as Wizard Ash gets star eyes over the magnificent table covered in meat, vegetables, bread, cheese, baked goods, and candies. "It is overflowing with stores of fine game, fruit pies, and rich red wines from the south."

Just as Wizard Ash starts toward the table, some terrified servants and growling Mightyenas snap him back to reality. "You may wish to partake in this fare, though this would be unwise given the proximity of guards and Mightyenas." Clemont reminds him as the rest of the party catches up.

"I'll take the servants to safety while you deal with the guards!" Priest Serena offers as she leads the two panicked servants out.

Knight Misty takes the first shot, paralyzing a guard with Spark Blade. Panicked, the other guard tries to jab her with his spear, only to be blocked by a priest's staff as Priest Serena shoves him away.

About then, the other guard comes to and tries to jab both the magic knight and the priestess, but ends up nicking Valkyrie Bonnie as she tries to lure away one of the Mightyenas. An arrow makes her pursuer stumble, allowing Valkyrie Bonnie to climb on a wine barrel close to Wizard Ash's vantage point. "When I said we were having a food fight, this wasn't the kind of food fight I had in mind..." Wizard Ash sighs as he nocks another shot.

"Precious light, be our armor to protect us!" Priest Serena commands, making the green glow of protection form around the group.

Valkyrie Bonnie weaves around the first guard's frantic jabs, then jumps off the barrel, leaving a large hole in his armor. "Armor won't help the heart stay sharp!"

Knight Misty next fires a Frost Blade at the Mightyena snarling at her, allowing her to reunite with the party at the other end of the room. "Dance on the wind! Wind Blade!" Valkyrie Bonnie calls, firing a light green sword beam that creates a huge tornado.

One Mightyena weaves around the tornado, knocking Knight Misty to the ground. But before it can bit her neck, it is slain by a well placed arrow. "Nice shot..." Knight Misty grins at Wizard Ash as she gets up.

"I'm trying not to use my magic in here--wouldn't want any of this food to go waste." Wizard Ash grins. Knight Misty just sighs. Typical Ash--even in fantasyland he'll be thinking about food in the heat of battle!

Valkyrie Bonnie jumps as a Mightyena swipes at her. "Dance on the wind! Wind Blade!"

"Life's refreshing breeze, heal from the sky! Cura!" Priest Serena heals Knight Misty as the guards scramble out of the way of the second tornado.

Minstrel Brock grins, takes out his whistle from a pocket, and starts playing a jig, making the guards dance along as they attempt to dodge the tornado. But the longer Minstrel Brock plays, the longer the guards and the Mightyenas dance, the closer they get to it, until they are caught in the raging wind on the tiny flute's last note...

"Thank you..." Brock acknowledges his applause before pocketing the whistle.

"Nice playing!" Clemont raves before reading the aftermath of the battle. "All exits from the kitchen are predictably locked. Lord Stafford’s greed lends him vigilance. Undaunted, you use your dungeon-honed skills to probe the walls, and you discover an old secret door that leads to the library."

"Now there's some food for your brain..." Misty smiles.

"Hey!" Ash is not pleased at Misty's jab as everyone laughs.

---------

In the fantasy world, the party gasps in awe as they emerge into a huge library. "Creeping through the secret passageway, you swing aside a false shelf and step into a richly appointed library." Clemont narrates.

Just before Valkyrie Bonnie can peruse the bookshelves, she is startled by a mercenary standing guard at one of the doors. "Your path is blocked by a fierce mercenary on guard duty, accompanied by his slavering Mightyenas!"

Valkyrie Bonnie's gasp alerts the mercenary, who runs and jumps at her, but Valkyrie Bonnie dives out of the way, getting a long cut on her shoulder to show for it.

Minstrel Brock calmly summons his lute, and begins singing the Fight Song as Priest Serena hurries to help Valkyrie Bonnie. "Life's refreshing breeze, heal from the sky! Cura!"

One Mightyena lunges at Wizard Ash, but he fires an arrow, knocking his foe backwards. "Probably not a good idea to use your magic in here, either." Knight Misty notes.

"Yeah...wouldn't want to destroy a piece of history or a priceless discovery." Wizard Ash replies before he notices one of the Mightyenas lunging for Knight Misty. "Look out!"

Knight Misty rolls out of the way and counters with a Spark Blade. The mercenary attempts to attack Valkyrie Bonnie, but she clambers onto a chair. "Missed me!"

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Minstrel Brock sings, the chord from his lute engulfing the Mightyenas in flames.

"Augh!" Knight Misty cries as the remaining Mightyena scratches her on her non-sword arm. "The sooner we can get to a Swanna Song, the better!"

"You think that would be a bit overkill for a common mercenary?" Minstrel Brock wonders.

"He's clearly wounding all of us before many of us can attack, so you just may have to sing it." Priest Serena cautions as Knight Misty continues grappling with the Mightyena.

"Well, let me sing something for Fido over here..." With that, Minstrel Brock plays an F chord, engulfing the other Mightyena in light.

"That's one way to slay a Dark Pokemon..." Knight Misty smiles as she inspects her wounds.

"Life's refreshing breeze, heal from the sky! Cura!" Priest Serena commands, healing Knight Misty.

"Armor won't help the heart stay sharp!" Valkyrie Bonnie leaps onto the mercenary, Mailbreaker creating a huge hole in his armor. "That should teach you not to hurt little girls!" she grins.

"Especially little warrior girls." Priest Serena agrees before charging some holy energy in her staff. "Layer upon layer make your mark now...Haste!"

Try as the mercenary might, he frantically tries to slash Minstrel Brock, but ends up tumbling to the floor and Minstrel Brock speeds off.

"Okay, Brock...sing!" Wizard Ash grins as the mercenary tries to get up.

Gatrandis favel, secret, edena... Minstrel Brock begins.
Emusto ronzen fine el balaziis...
Katoradis favel siicletu edena... At this, icy crystals begin forming in Minstrel Brock's hands.
Emusto koron zen fine, si... The ice goes flying as the last note resounds through the room, leaving behind a frozen statue as the sparkles and blue light fade...

"Wiping your blades, you set to work overturning the library." Clemont reads as Brock switches from his guitar to his harp. "Lord Stafford has hidden a safe behind a set of large and tedious tomes detailing obscure agricultural practices. You use magical means to break into the safe."

"Out of the ground, raze all greenery with flame! Fira!" Ash commands in character."

"Inside lie several prized items--one appropriate skill scroll or spellbook per person--a letter addressed to the lord’s son, and the Compass of Xorr itself!" Clemont announces.

"Aldaron learns Leafra..." Ash announces before calling the incantation. "Share lives with all things in nature! Leafra!"

"Meri learns Wave Blade." Misty reports.

"Larkin learns a Bright Flourish." Brock reports, playing a soft D chord on the harp for effect.

"Ramina finds a summoning scroll for Gyarados." Serena reports. "Sea fang, attack with water's power! Gyarados!"

"Sanja learns Flame Blade." Bonnie reports as Clemont sets up the second part of the storyline...

 

[LightningTopaz]

Meyer arrives in the room as the group prepares for their next adventure. "I found my stash of adventures, and with it, the adventure 'Meyarvin the Magnificent'" he reports.

"Um, our characters are level 9 now..." Ash interjects.

Meyer thinks a moment. "The adventure should give a group of level 9 characters a challenge..."

"I'll run it after we conclude this storyline and Serena's solo quest, okay, Dad?" Clemont assures his father before turning his attention to "Lord Stafford's Treasure". "Using the Compass of Xorr, you locate Lord Stafford's main estate, guarded by a retinue of armed guards and armored Mightyenas. You know the lord has acquired his wealth from less than savory means, so you must liberate these treasures and return them to their rightful owners...."

In the fantasy world, the party walks into a large room, but balk when they see armed guards and a familiar orangey golem. "Lord Stafford’s mansion on the eastern sea coast is his personal retreat. His staff are now on high alert after your raid on his Summerhall estate." Clemont explains via voiceover, "Reinforcements have been summoned, the least of which is an illegal bronze golem installed in the entryway. It seems to recognize you as it stomps murderously across the carpet!"

"Not again..." Valkyrie Bonnie groans as the golem approaches.

"We're a lot more powerful now, so this oversized vacuum cleaner should be cake." Knight Misty assures Valkyrie Bonnie.

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Minstrel Brock sings as he plays a fiery Bright Flourish, burning a large hole in the golem. Angered, the golem tries to punch Knight Misty, but she jumps away, creating a huge hole in the wall.

"Physical fighters, help me deal with the guards!" Wizard Ash calls as he fires at a guard. "Magic users, take down the golem!"

"Got it!" Knight Misty then fires a Spark Blade into the hole Minstrel Brock created, paralyzing it.

"Yipe!" Priest Serena narrowly avoids being smashed by the golem's punch. She whispers an incantation to heal herself as she watches Wizard Ash fire at a guard.

"Armor won't help the heart stay sharp!" Valkyrie Bonnie delivers a hard slash to the other guard, creating a large hole in his armor.

"Watch out!" Priest Serena calls as the golem aims a punch at Valkyrie Bonnie. Valkyrie Bonnie dives under a table, but still gets various scrapes and scratches from shrapnel.

"I could use some help!" Knight Misty calls as the golem approaches her.

Wizard Ash nods, and charges a ball of lightning. "Swirling bolts, gather and strike with power! Thundara!"

"It worked!" Valkyrie Bonnie smiles as the thunderbolts steak at the golem, rendering it unusable.

"I didn't even have to sing the Swanna Song this time." Minstrel Brock grins before playing another Bright Flourish, knocking the guards backwards.

Once sure the guards are out cold, Priest Serena heals Valkyrie Bonnie before telling Minstrel Brock "Save the Swanna Song for the man of the house."....

"Brushing loose rivets and bits of cogs from your armor, you are faced with dozens of corridors leading in different directions." Clemont reads as Meyer looks on. "The map indicates that the treasury lies beyond the chapel, which is to the north."

"I wonder if the resident priest is an innocent..." Ash muses as Clemont sets up for the next set of encounters.

"If he is, I wouldn't mind an innocent fighting with us instead of having to rescue them." Misty suggests. "That would make a nice twist."

Inspired, Clemont checks the rule book. "Let me see if guest characters are even possible."

---------

"Okay...I've checked the rulebook, and it is in fact, possible to have an innocent fight with you." Clemont reports. "However, they will only stay with you for one set of encounters."

"Fair enough..." Ash smiles as the scene swirls...

In the fantasy world, the party looks around in awe at the dirty and dusty condition the chapel they have arrived in is. "The Stafford family chapel is a musty and neglected place." Clemont explains via voiceover. "The present Lord Stafford worships the secular gods of wine, women, and song, and disdains the chapel and its tedious sermons."

Just then, the party gasps as some guards and a mercenary rush in the room. "The guards intercept you here, but you find a willing ally in the form of Father Gilyen, the priest in residence."

An older man with graying black hair in purple, white, blue, and gold priest's robes steps before the group. "Hold! This is a holy place, not a battleground!" he warns the guards and the mercenary

"Who are you?" Wizard Ash asks.

"And why do you want to help us?" Minstrel Brock adds.

"I am Father Gilyen, of the St. Vanille monastery." the man explains. "I know of Eleni, your mistress." he tells Priest Serena. "When she refused to serve Stafford, his men dragged me here in her place."

"You mean, he forced you to come here?" Knight Misty gasps.

Father Gilyen nods. "I have had enough of serving this worldly wretch as a master, and would be more than happy to help you all pass Arceus' judgement upon him!"

"With pleasure!" Knight Misty fires a Frost Blade, freezing the floor and tripping up the mercenary. An arrow from Wizard Ash bounces off a guard's shield moments later.

A guard then charges at Priest Serena, but Father Gilyen deflects the attack with his rod, then shoves the guard backwards, seconds before Valkyrie Bonnie dives out of the way of the mercenary's dagger. Father Gilyen whacks the mercenary with his rod, then notices Minstrel Brock. "Surely you know a hymn of power, minstrel?"

"Sure...hope this works!" With that, Minstrel Brock starts a familiar melody:

Fou ki ra hyear presia reen...
Was zweie ra na stel zuieg manaf
Ma zweie ra irs manaf chyet oz omnis...

"Is that a song from 'Ar Tonelico'?" Bonnie asks from the real world via voiceover.

"It is!" the real Misty gasps as Father Gilyen grapples with a guard.

En na cyurio re chyet
Was touwaka gaya presia, Minstrel Brock continues.

Accrroad ieeya nn num gagis knawa na lequera walasye...
Was quel gagis presia accrroad ieeya whou wearequewie fogabe...

"Armor won't help the heart stay sharp!" Valkyrie Bonnie lunges to attack a guard, creating a large gash in their armor.

Fou ki ra hyear presia reen...
Was zweie ra na stel zuieg manaf
Ma zweie ra irs manaf chyet oz omnis... Minstrel Brock continues, his voice a hypnotic drone against the ethereal A minor melody he is playing on his harp. Valkyrie Bonnie leaps over the mercenary before delivering a slash to his legs.

"Precious light, be our armor to protect us!" Priest Serena calls over Minstrel Brock's song, creating the familiar green aura. Knight Misty paralyzes the mercenary with a Spark Blade, allowing Father Gilyen to knock him out with his rod.

With the mercenary defeated, Knight Misty runs to help Valkyrie Bonnie with the guards, just as Valkyrie Bonnie evades a spear.

Fou ki ra hyear presia reen...
Was zweie ra na stel zuieg manaf
Ma zweie ra irs manaf chyet oz omnis... Minstrel Brock continues.

Fou ki ra hyear presia reen...
Was zweie ra na stel zuieg manaf
Ma zweie ra irs manaf chyet oz omnis...

Omnis...

Omnis....

Omnis...

As the last "omnis" resounds through the room, Valkyrie Bonnie and Knight Misty combine Flame Blades to engulf the two guards in flames...

"After cleaning up what you can of the carnage, Father Gilyen prays for Arceus' forgiveness for desecrating this holy place and for mercy on the fallen." Clemont reads the aftermath. "He gives you a magic whistle as thanks for freeing him from service to Stafford, and wishes you luck on your quest."

"Aldaron gratefully accepts the magic whistle, and stashes it in a pocket for safekeeping." Ash reports, producing a familiar silver whistle with a green mouthpiece standing in for the magical instrument.

"We can add Hymmnos to the list of languages Brock knows..." Misty grins.

"Confession time: that was actually a MyTube video tuned down to my range thanks to TuneNav's Karaoke function." Brock smiles as he shows the group his PokeNav, which displays the video in TuneNav's Karaoke mode.

"Didn't think you'd be geeky enough to learn a fictional language..." Serena grins, making everyone laugh.

---------

"Finally, you come face to face with the infamous Lord Stafford." Clemont narrates via voiceover as the party bursts into the treasury foyer, surprising a frail looking man in noble clothing holding a long cane. "He jealously defends his treasury with a mercenary and several large guard Arcanines. He grips an evil looking cane in his liver-spotted hands and with a trembling voice commands the minions to attack!"

"Don't just stand there, crush them!" the man commands, a note of fear in his voice.

As the man flees, Wizard Ash spots him and charges a massive ball of thunderbolts. "Swirling bolts, gather and strike with power! Thundara!"

The blast of thunderbolts incapacitates the man, not killing him but knocking him unconscious. "This should do it until we can get him somewhere to answer for his crimes." Knight Misty smiles as she and Valkyrie Bonnie tie Lord Stafford up in thick ropes.

Once sure the lord isn't getting out, Knight Misty fires a Wave Blade at a charging Arcanine, making it howl in pain. Another Aqua Blade from Valkyrie Bonnie lands seconds later.

"Precious light, be our armor to protect us!" Priest Serena calls, creating the green aura of protection around the group.

Rou iitsa ron selga vichii... Minstrel Brock sings, summoning a large tsunami that soaks the mercenary and washes away one of the two Arcanines.

"That's one way to get rid of an Arcanine!" Valkyrie Bonnie smiles as she engages the mercenary. Knight Misty, meanwhile, fires a Wave Blade at the remaining Arcanine.

Karuto, iichiida shou.... Minstrel Brock sings again, summoning a tornado that picks up and drops the other Arcanine, as well as speeding the group up. Valkyrie Bonnie speeds in and leaves several slashes with all the speed and grace of a ninja.

"Sea fang, attack with water's power! Gyarados!" Priest Serena commands, the energy from her staff forming a puddle of water near the Arcanine. A Gyarados surfaces some moments later before ramming into the Arcanine with Aqua Jet, sending the Arcanine flying across the room.

"Yipe!" Wizard Ash gasps as he narrowly avoids the mercenary's dagger. "A little help, here?" he asks.

Minstrel Brock nods. Gatrandis favel, secret, edena...

The mercenary and the remaining Arcanine gasp as Minstrel Brock continues Emusto ronzen fine el balaziis...
Katoradis favel siicletu edena... At this a sparkling rainbow aura begins to form in Minstrel Brock's hands and Priest Serena warps the unconscious Lord Stafford to safety.
Emusto koron zen fine, si... At this, the sparkling aura goes flying, engulfing the room in rainbow light...

"At last, you have found Stafford’s treasure!" Clemont smiles. "Here in the treasury lies a mountain of gems and precious metals. There’s more than enough here to keep you and possibly your descendants from ever worrying about food or money again!"

He adds "You all receive a 3000 piece share of the spoils, and donate the rest to the poor."

"That, and the greedy lord faces justice for his crimes." Serena adds as Ash gets up to lead Bonnie to the bathroom.

"Of course..." Clemont smiles as he sets up Serena's solo quest...