The Chronicles of Kulgar Hakonson

RETURN TO GREYHAWK AN EYE FOR AN EYE THE MIRROR THE SPARK LONG LIVE THE KING HOUNDS & HORSES THE CHAOS TO END ORDER THE KING IS DEAD CHAPTER 11: KING FOR A DAY Kulgar Tharrison Circh Nollin Frances

Return to Greyhawk [Monday 25 June 1990] [p361-363]

09-19 Jan 06: [Jan 10: Kul's 24th birthday.]  Kulgar and Tharrison travel south-east through the Bluff Hills.

20 Jan 06: Kul and Thar arrive at Nevond Nevnend in the Duchy of Tenh.  They stay at the Ferryman Inn.  They plan to take a barge southward along several rivers and then across the Nyr Dyv to Greyhawk.

21-22 Jan 06: Kul and Thar rest.  The barge arrives during this time.

23 Jan-02 Mar 06:  Kul and Thar ride the barge to Greyhawk.  Total moneys spent on journey to Greyhawk: over 500 gp!

03 Mar 06:  Kul and Thar arrive in Greyhawk.  They find Circh in her office at her warehouse.  Her textile business has been successful, but she is having trouble expanding her smuggling operation because of a man named Kyle.  Circh explains that Kyle spends his time smuggling goods in and out of Greyhawk and extorting money from unguilded businesses (like Circh's).  He employs a much feared mage named Olk.  Circh asks Kul and Thar to make their presence here known to Kyle.  She is hoping that Kul's reputation will intimidate Kyle into backing off.

    Thar and Kul go to Kyle's warehouse and boldly march in, demanding to speak with Kyle.  They are told that Kyle is not available, but are then lead to Olk's small office.  Olk is sitting behind a table writing something.  There is a full-length mirror here and a curtain hanging behind his desk.  Strangely enough, the mirror actually gives no reflection, but instead depicts a peaceful forest scene in some mysterious location (much like a window).
    Thar introduces himself and Kulgar and demands to see Kyle.  Olk insists that Kyle is not in the building.  Thar and Kul ask the wizard many questions.  He seems annoyed, but he does not attempt to make them leave.  When asked of Kyle's whereabouts he claims not to know.
    Thar insists on waiting right here for Kyle to return.  Olk draws some symbols on a piece of parchment and then loud voices are heard from the warehouse outside the office door.  It sounds to Kul and Thar like fighting.  They refuse to be distracted, though, and remain in Olk's office.  Eventually, the noises quiet down again.
    Kul and Thar don't quite know what to make of all this... Kul touches the surface of Olk's mirror, thinking that it may be some kind of magical portal.  The surface is solid, though.  The mirror seems to be an enchanted window to another place.
    Olk writes on another piece of parchment and lets it fall to the floor in front of his desk.  Kul tenses up, expecting the worst, but nothing appears to happen.  Eventually, Thar and Kul grow bored of the endless waiting and finally leave.  They return immediately to Circh's office to report their findings.

An Eye for an Eye [Friday 09 November 1990] [p363-365]

03 Mar 06 cont: Kul and Thar agree to hang out in Greyhawk for a while to keep an eye on Circh and her situation.  Circh offers to let them stay at her place.

04 Mar 06: Morning: Kul and Thar trade an earring (worth 100 gp) for 47 gp and a ruby (50 gp).  Kul buys a dull-colored broadsword for 800 gp with some of Thar's gems.  He names the sword Uthael.
    Thar and Kul walk down to the wharves.  Thar speaks in code to a nargison ferryman.  He gives the ferryman a message to pass on to his superiors: "Tharrison is not dead."

05-06 Mar 06: Kul and Thar hang around with Circh.

07 Mar 06: Kyle requests a meeting with Circh at his headquarters.  She brings along Kul and Thar and they meet with Kyle in his private office.
    Kyle makes Circh an offer.  Circh can become part of his "family" for 25% of her take.  Circh thinks it's ridiculous!  She talks big, suggesting that Kyle should pay her protection money!  Kyle thinks that's absurd, of course, and points out that Circh's organization is not big enough to threaten him.  He boasts that his organization has connections in high places (meaning the government?).  The party leaves, though they've failed to resolve anything with Kyle.
    Kul, Thar and Circh talk in private outside.  Thar remembers master brewer Kappa-tar.  He suggests that Circh make a connection with the brewer and the party heads off to visit him.

    Kul and Thar greet Kappa-tar and make some small talk, introducing Circh.  Kappa-tar and Circh seem to get along fine.  Circh asks him if he can set her up with someone in the government.  Kappa-tar suggests Grahab, in the treasury department.  The party leaves Kappa-tar's brewery and makes their way to the tower of Greyhawk to visit Grahab.  Circh explains to Grahab that a mercantyler named Kyleis trying to extort tax money from her.  Grahab takes note of the complaint, but suggests that she direct it to the militia.  The party leaves the tower and finally returns to Circh's home.

08 Mar 06 Early Morning: City guards suddenly burst into Circh's office and seize Circh!  The sheriff, Nocreth announces that she is being arrested on the grounds of tax evasion!  Circh curses and struggles as they drag her outside.  Kul and Thar can only stand and watch.  Circh's right hand man, Miyan, is also arrested and Kul and Thar are ordered to leave.  They discover that Kul's pals, Frances [(now being played as an NPC)] and Nollin, apparently both work for Circh now.  Kul and Thar decide to find them and inform them of Circh's arrest.

    Kul and Thar soon find Nollin gambling at his favorite tavern.  He immediately takes them to a private room in the back to talk.  Kul explains Circh's predicament and the three men discuss a plan.  Kul wants to break into Kyle's office and write a message on the wall in blood!  The message would tell Kyle to have Circh freed or else.  They will need Nollin to help them break into Kyle's office.  Nollin is worried because of the mage, Olk, but Kul convinces him to go along with the plan.

Late that night: Kul, Thar and Nollin go to Kyle's warehouse.  They easily find the window to his office and Nollin proceeds to work open the shutters.  There are no guards in sight.  It all seems too easy...
    Nollin is soon successful and the shutters open easily, but as they swing open a magic mouth appears on them and begins to scream loudly!  The racket causes other magic mouths to appear on the shutters and doors; all screaming!  Like a bolt of lightning, Nollin is off and running up the street.  Kul and Thar hastily follow and the mission is aborted.

    Once they are well away from Kyle's warehouse they stop to discuss their next move.  Kul suggests kidnapping one of Kyle's men; sort of an eye for an eye.  If they can kidnap Kyle's second in command [Nithil], then they can hold him hostage demanding that Kyle have Circh released.  Then, when Circh is released, they can trade hostages.  Nollin thinks it's a good idea.  They get a rope to tie up their victim and a gag to keep him quiet.
    Nollin recruits Frances and the party proceeds to Nithil's house.  Nollin gains entry through a window, and all four enter.  They soon find the bedroom and Fran quietly enters while Thar, Kul and Nollin wait in the hallway.  Fran uses a rag treated with some chemical to knock Nithil out.  They then tie him up and gag him.  Kul carries him over his shoulder as they leave with their hostage.
    Once outside, the party splits up: Kul and Thar get their horses and ride out of town with the unconscious Nithil.  They intend to set up a campsite south of Greyhawk so that Kyle cannot find their hostage.

The Mirror [Friday 30 November 1990] [p365-369]

09 Mar 06: Tharrison guards the hostage, Nithil, while Kulgar goes into Greyhawk to take care of business.  He buys some food and then finds a street urchin to deliver their message to Kyle.  The message: "We have Nithil and will release him when Circh has been freed and all charges against her dropped."

10 Mar 06: Kul and Thar guard their hostage at their campsite.

11 Mar 06: Kul goes back into the city again to find out from Frances if Circh has been freed yet.  Fran hasn't heard anything, though.  He suggests that Kul contact some of Circh's prospective allies.  In particular, a woman named Cixa and an oriental brothel owner named Ashito.  Cixa is a spice merchant who also apparently deals in contraband.  Kul decides to visit her shop first.
 
 

    Kulgar arrives at Cixa's spice shop and is shown into her private chamber.  Cixa is seated on several pillows thrown onto the floor.  A fortune-teller, Lirece, is seated at a table.  Kul introduces himself and describes Circh's plan of establishing an alliance of mercantylers in opposition to Kyle's organization.  Cixa eyes Kul carefully, studying him.  She is intrigued.  She likes the idea and knows of other mercantylers that may be interested.  Kul tells her of their problem: Circh is in prison, falsely accused of tax evasion.  He asks if Cixa has any governmental contacts that may be able to help them, but she doesn't.  During these discussions Cixa turns to Lirece a few times to get card readings.  She tells Kul that she considers the alliance a risky venture, but does indeed agree to join if it becomes big enough.  Well, enough business!  Kul speaks with Lirece in baklunish.  He learns that she is from Sarova, a kingdom south of Grithainia.  Lirece offers to read Kul's fortune from her cards.
 

Fire The King (inverted) Man & The Fool Earth (inverted) Crossed Daggers The Chariot The Sun (inverted) Water

Kulgar's Fortune: Lirece first places onto the table a card picturing a man.  She then indicates for Kul to draw a card from her stack.  Kul draws The Fool. Lirece laughs at Kul's indignant response to drawing this card.  "The Fool represents one who is not in control of his actions," she explains.  [GM's note: Of course, The Fool also represents one who disregards sound advice, but Lirece was being kind by not mentioning this aspect of the card.]  Lirece then places The Fool on top of The Man and proceeds to draw several cards in succession, pausing only to interpret the meaning and place each one in its position. Fire: vitality, strength, power.  Lirece places this card above The Man, representing Kul. Crossed Daggers: conflict.  Lirece places this below The Man, representing the current happenings. The King (inverted): relinquishment of responsibility.  Lirece places this to the left of The Man, representing the recent past. Earth (inverted): trouble ahead.  Lirece places this to the right of The Man, representing the immediate future. She then draws three more cards and lays them out in a row below the others.  These represent Kul's future: The Chariot: a long journey or a long amount of time The Sun (inverted): many unexpected or not obvious turns Water: harmony

    Kul finally leaves Cixa's spice shop and proceeds to visit Ashito.  He meets with Ashito and describes the alliance idea.  Ashito is interested and agrees to tell others about the plan.  Apparently he feels that the merchants that Kyle bullies around will be only too happy to snub him for a new alliance.

    Kul leaves Ashito and walks to Kyle's warehouse.  He boldly marches in as various workers stare at him.  He finds that Kyle's office is locked, so he decides to visit the old mage, Olk instead.
    Kul questions Olk about Kyle's whereabouts, but Olk claims that he does not keep track of Kyle's comings and goings.  He suggests that Kul visit a man named Koskin.  Kul continues to ask more questions and Olk becomes extremely annoyed.  The old wizard confronts Kul in front of the desk and tells Kul to leave or he will throw him out!  Kul refuses to be intimidated by this old man and stands fast with his arms folded on his chest.
    Olk goes back behind his desk and Kul finally decides that it's time to go (on his own terms, of course!).  As the barbarian turns to walk towards the door, Olk slams something on the desk in disgust and an object flies off of the desk striking his strange mirror!  The mirror shifts slightly on its hinges and the tranquil scene of a waterfall is changed to that of a giant archway under construction.  Kul watches as Olk uses the knobs on the mirror's frame to pan across the scene.
    Looking into the mirror, Kul and Olk see a horrible sight.  There are many hobgoblins killing and raping people and the bones of their victims are being boiled clean and then sorted.  The bones are then used to construct a massive archway.  Scaffolding surrounds the entire archway to facilitate it's construction.  A large humanoid statue stands under the arch and what appears to be a dragon's skull is held aloft by the scaffolding under the crest of the archway.  Two Disciples of Desolation are overseeing the construction.

    Kul notices that Olk seems just as surprised as himself to find this scene in the mirror.  Both stand and stare for a while when, suddenly, one of the Disciples [Beosele] turns and stares directly into the mirror as if he knows someone is watching!  Moving quickly, Olk strikes the mirror's frame and sends the view spinning wildly out of control.  The spinning mirror finally stops, resting on a peaceful scene.

    Kul finally leaves Olk's office to find Koskin.  He confronts Koskin who tells him that it was not Kyle's doing to have Circh arrested.  Koskin further informs Kul that Grahab is a corrupt official and is already under the suspicion of his superiors.  Grahab probably felt threatened by Circh and had her arrested because he thought she knew to much.  Koskin suggests that Nithil should be freed unharmed and in good faith.
    Koskin almost seems too friendly and Kul doesn't trust him.  Kul insists on a trade of Nithil for Circh.  Koskin says that they can attempt to have Circh freed, but Nithil must be returned first.  Kul decides to discuss all of this with Thar.  He leaves Koskin and returns to the campsite outside of the city.

The Spark [Monday 03 December 1990] [p370-372]

11 Mar 06 cont: Kul tells Thar about his morning in Greyhawk (including the scene in Olk's mirror).  They decide to bring Nithil to Frances and hide him somewhere in the city.
    Kul enters Greyhawk and speaks with Fran.  Fran knows of a good place to hide Nithil.
    Kul then visits some seedy taverns on the west side of the city to entertain himself.  He meets a familiar bartender who knows him by name.  The bartender informs Kul that a hooded man with a scar over his eye [Daariaak Redskull] came looking for Kul.  The man had a ten year old boy [Ariff] with him.  The boy was carrying all of the man's equipment and provisions.

Night: Thar brings Nithil into the city and finds Fran.  They take him to a scummy part of the south-end where he is bound and gagged in a little shack.  Two of Circh's thugs are left to guard him.
    Kul and Thar relax at the Leatherboot Tavern.  Nollin meets them and informs Kul that a man has been asking for him in all of the taverns.  Kul wants to meet this mysterious stranger, he tells Nollin to spread the word that he'll be at the Leatherboot every night at midnight.

12 Mar 06: Kul and Thar decide that they must talk to Grahab about Circh's arrest.  They first visit their old friend,  Kappa-tar the brewmaster.  Kappa-tar succeeds in getting them into the castle and they talk to Grahab.  Grahab denies having issued any orders to arrest Circh.  Furthermore, he researches her tax records and finds them to be clean!  He immediately writes a release order for Kul and Thar to present to Sheriff Nocreth.
    Kul and Thar go directly to the sheriff's office.  Sheriff Nocreth is not here, so they present the release order to Hulatious, the captain of the guard.  Hulatious reads the scroll and tells them that Circh's case is still under investigation.  He keeps the scroll and dismisses Kul and Thar.  As the two friends are being escorted out, they see Hulatious tossing the scroll into the nearby fireplace!

    Kul and Thar return to Grahab's office.  Grahab is kind enough to write another release order for them.  He suggests that they present this one directly to sheriff Nocreth at his court in two days.  Grahab does let them know that he is doing them a great favor and that he may need a return favor someday...
    Thar pays Circh's weekly rent.

Night: Hang out at the Leatherboot Tavern.  Kul watches for the mysterious stranger who has been asking for him, but he never appears.

13 Mar 06: Kul and Thar ask at many taverns about the stranger and his squire.  They learn that the man speaks with a wild-coast accent, but this is all the info that they are able to gain.

Night at the Leatherboot: Kul and Thar meet two nargison guards: Fernolis and Chyss.  These two young guards have heard of Captain Tharrison and carry a copy of the tunician fighting manual with them!  Very good!  Fernolis and Chyss carry news from the Southern Seas:  Tunicians are fighting to gain control of the Tilva Strait near Sulward!

14 Mar 06: Kul and Thar attend the sheriff's court gathering.  They present Circh's release orders and Sheriff Nocreth eyes them knowingly.  After some legal mumbo-jumbo he states that Circh will be freed.  Good!  They then leave the court.
    Thar buys a spear on their way back to the Leatherboot Tavern.  That night the bartender asks Kul why he and his friend always stay until midnight.  Kul replies by asking if the bartender knows anything about the stranger and his squire.  The bartender does remember a man asking for Kulgar, but he doesn't realize that he is actually speaking to Kulgar himself.  When Kul realizes this, he asks the bartender what he knows of the man called "Kulgar".  The bartender replies that Kulgar is an assassin and recently hit an honest slave auction [p336-337]!  Kul gets mad (mostly for show and to intimidate the man) and grabs him.  He tells the bartender that he is Kulgar and then knocks over some chairs as he storms out of the tavern.

15 Mar 06: Kul and Thar remain at Circh's place waiting, but Circh still hasn't been released.  Check on Nithil.

16 Mar 06: Nollin finds Kul and Thar at Circh's place.  He informs them that Koskin wants to speak with Kul.  Koskin made Nollin take him around to some taverns looking for Kul and he seemed angry.  Kul tells Nollin to pass along a message: Kul will meet Koskin after dusk at the Inn of the Fleeing Fox.
    Kul and Thar go to Fleeing Fox and meet with Koskin.  Koskin is disappointed that Kul did not go through Kyle's organization for help in freeing Circh.  He wants Nithil returned.  Kul says that Circh still hasn't been released and Nithil will remain in captivity until Circh is free.  End of meeting.

17 Mar 06 Morning: Still no sign of Circh.  Thar and Kul ask Nollin how long it usually takes to free a prisoner after he/she has been proven innocent. Nollin replies that it should take only one day at the most.  Thar and Kul go to the castle and speak with councilor Winson (maybe Kyle is behind the delay).  The councilor tells them that he will check on Circh's status.
    Kul and Thar return to find Circh at her home!  She is very shook up from spending a week locked up in a dungeon.  She has just finished changing into clean clothes.  They fill her in on the details of the last week.
    Kul leaves to go free Nithil.  It begins to snow.  Kul frees him, but Nithil is grinning as he walks away.  He is looking at Kul as though it is the last time they will see each other alive.
    Kul returns to Circh's place.  Circh wants to go to her warehouse and check things out.  Kul and Thar accompany her.
    The snow is still falling as they approach Circh's warehouse.  As she opens the door a sheet of paper tears!  A spark is suddenly ignited and it races along the floor towards the center of the room where a familiar type of rune is drawn on the floor.  The rune resembles those that Kul and Thar saw in Olk's office!  Thar dashes into the warehouse in an attempt to prevent the spark from reaching its target.  Kul senses something horrible and quickly throws Circh down to the ground covering her with his body.  A huge explosion takes place!

Long Live the King [Monday 10 December 1990] [p373-376]

17 Mar 06 cont: The snow continues to fall gently in Greyhawk as Circh's warehouse is engulfed in flames!  Thar manages to escape from the burning building unharmed, but Circh seems to be in shock.  Kul and Thar lead her away from the scene.  They leave Circh with Fran and head off to prepare their revenge upon Kyle and Olk.  War has been declared!  They purchase a large maul and a large battle axe and march boldly towards Kyle's warehouse.
    When they are only a block away from the warehouse they hear whistling and notice that Kyle's men are watching them from the rooftops.  Kul and Thar are half way up a side street, approaching the warehouse when a mob of Kyle's henchmen come charging around the corner ahead of them.  They stand fast and prepare for the battle as more of Kyle's men also close in from behind, cutting off any escape.  Thar hurls his maul at the first attackers and then quickly whips Asterlain from his belt.  Kul takes a few mighty swings with the battle axe, but soon they are heavily surrounded and the thugs press up against the barbarian in close combat making the huge axe too awkward to wield.  Kul drops the axe and unsheathes his new and untested broadsword, Uthael.
    Thar, meanwhile, turns to face the other thugs who are attacking from the rear.  He puts his back to Kulgar's and they easily fall into their familiar back to back fighting style.  The thugs are not quite sure what to make of Thar's nargison whip and he takes full advantage of their ignorance.
    The battle goes well for Thar and Kul as they cut and knock down Kyle's men by the twos and threes [their attackers are actually inexperienced zero level thugs, so Kul and Thar get multiple attacks against them]!  The rooftop thugs throw some rocks down at the barbarian and half-elf.  Kul and Thar can see Nithil directing the attack from a safe position.
    After the first wave of thugs begins to thin out, Nithil orders the bigger, badder thieves in to attack.  Kul takes a few hard knocks from the newcomers and begins to get angry.  He and Thar continue to kill men left and right and the pile of bodies around them grows deeper and deeper until, finally, the thieves' morale is broken and they begin to flee.  [Kul and Thar killed over 60 of them!]
    As the thieves turn and flee, Kul sees his chance and charges at Nithil!  Nithil sees the crazed barbarian coming and tries to flee, but he is too late!  Kul swings Uthael and Nithil tries to counter, but the blow catches him hard and knocks him into a wall.  Nithil manages to attack Kul, but he misses.  Thar arrives and also attacks Nithil, but the thief manages to avoid the nargison whip.  Kul is feeling rather mean (perhaps remembering the stupid grin upon Nithil's face when he was released from his captivity) and strikes unexpectedly at Nithil's legs, hacking one off at the knee!  The barbarian is through wasting time with these small time thugs, he is eager to move along and find Kyle and Olk, so instead of administering the coup de grace, he leaves Nithil to bleed to death in the street!

    Thar and Kul retrieve their maul and battle axe and proceed to Kyle's warehouse.  The front doors are wide open... much too obvious, so the two friends form another plan.  They go around to Olk's window and attempt to smash in the shutters with the maul and axe.  However, they find that their blows only bounce harmlessly off of the shutters!  They try repeatedly, alternating their blows, but with no better results.
    Suddenly, four men wielding weapons round the corner, interrupting Kul and Thar's efforts to gain entry.  They are older men who appear to be experienced mercenaries.  One is armed with a spear, another with an axe, and two with swords.  Kul and Thar drop the battle-axe and maul and prepare for battle by drawing Uthael and Asterlain.
    The spearman and one of the swordsmen double up on Thar while the axeman and the other swordsman team up on Kul.  Kul does well at first, but Thar has a hard time hitting his opponents, especially the elusive spearman!
    Kul shows some impressive swordsmanship as he takes down the axeman, but Thar's luck turns bad as he strikes himself in the face with his own whip [critical miss]!  The half-elf goes down [4 hp left] and the spearman closes in on him!  Kul sees Thar's situation and attempts to attack the spearman.  He misses, but succeeds in putting himself between Thar and his opponent.
    Kul then goes to work on the remaining men and manages to cut down one of the swordsmen.  Meanwhile, Thar, who is still on the ground, is able to help out by tripping up the spearman with Asterlain a couple of times.  Each time the spearman goes down, Kul tries to strike him, but Kul's luck is beginning to run out now also, as he accidentally slips and falls down stunned [critical miss]!
    Kul is on his belly right next to Thar and the remaining swordsman means to take advantage of the barbarian's prone position.  He positions himself over Kul and prepares to stab the barbarian, but Thar suddenly summons his wrist dagger, Ieia, to his hand and stabs upwards at the man, sending him reeling backwards!
    Both the spearman and the swordsman regroup a short distance away, giving Thar the moment he needs to dig into his bag of holding.  He quickly draws out the Pheonix Staff and gives it the verbal defense command, Flarmo.  Thar and Kul are suddenly both enveloped in a shield of flame.  The warriors don't know what to make of it.  The spearman remarks that Kyle didn't mention this to them.  He now wants out.  But the swordsman seems intent on finishing his job.
    Kul regains his senses and does not like what he sees.  He and Thar are completely surrounded by magical flames!  Being the superstitious barbarian that he is, he quickly decides that he would rather face his opponents with only a sword in hand instead of surrounded by sorcery.  He grabs Uthael and swiftly moves away from Thar and out of the flames just as the swordsman decides to charge at them.  Kul launches his own charge and the battle continues with Kul eventually defeating the warrior.  The flaming staff is just too much for the cowardly spearman to face (plus he is now outnumbered), so he turns and flees.

    Kul and Thar also decide to retreat.  They are disappointed at not being able to exact their revenge upon Kyle and Olk, but they also know their limitations and are very badly injured.  They flee back the way they came in an attempt to put Kyle's warehouse far behind them.  But as they run up the street, they can see two figures emerging from the front of the warehouse.  It is the mysterious stranger and his young squire... Daariaak Redskull and Ariff!
    Daariaak Redskull carries a bow and the boy carries a silver flask.  Daariaak pauses to dip an arrow into the flask.  As he removes the missile it sizzles and smokes.  He quickly fires the acid-arrow at Kul and Thar just as they duck around a convenient corner.  The missile flies past leaving a trail of vapor and strikes a wall.  The acid quickly eats a hole in the wall!  Kul and Thar run faster!  They emerge onto another street and continue to flee.  They know that they are in no condition to face this mercenary.  Daariaak emerges onto the street behind them and quickly fires another acid-arrow.  Fortunately he misses again.  Kul and Thar continue to flee and somehow manage to escape from Kyle's hired assassin.

    Suddenly, though, they see mounted city guards ahead!  They have just enough time to duck down another alleyway without being spotted.  From their hiding spot they see captain Hulatious ride by with several guards, all heading towards the scene of the battle.  Kul and Thar wait for them all to pass by and then continue onwards.  They need to find a place close by to rest and hide... Looking at their surroundings they realize that Cixa's spice shop is close by!
    Kul and Thar run into Cixa's shop and ask for help.  The woman here is shocked and frightened by their bloodied appearance and screams out loud.  Cixa and Lirece both enter to investigate and Kul asks her for help.  He and Thar are taken upstairs to Cixa's meeting room where their armor is carefully removed.  Finally they are able to lay down and rest.
    Kul briefly explains that they were injured while fighting Kyle's men; Lirece seems to already know this, though. She cradles Thar's head on her lap as he passes out.  Cixa is somewhat taken aback by the severity of their wounds and after more than a half an hour they are finally completely bandaged.  Cixa has applied healing herbs to their wounds and has also given them some extra ointment to take with them when they leave.
    Kul stands.  He senses that Cixa is somewhat annoyed at all of this and thanks her for all of her help.  He explains that they should leave before they bring any trouble to her from the city guards or Kyle himself.  Cixa replies that it would be foolish for them to leave now as the city guards are on every street searching for them.  They would most assuredly be caught!  Kul cannot argue with her logic and agrees to stay.  They are taken into Lirece's room to rest and sleep.

Hounds and Horses [Friday 14 December 1990] [p377-380]

17 Mar 06 cont: Early Afternoon: It is still snowing in the city of Greyhawk as Cixa wakes Kul and Thar.  She warns them that the city guards are outside conducting a house to house search for them.  Kul and Thar climb onto Cixa's snow-covered roof to hide, but they immediately notice that there are guards searching the roof-tops also.  Kul falls as they climb down again.  They leave Cixa's shop and sneak through alleyways towards the center of the city.  Apparently the guards are moving inward along the streets of northern Greyhawk using a net-like search system.  They are checking all of the buildings in a circular area that seems to encompass Kyle's range of influence.  In this manner they hope to tighten the net around Kul and Thar.  The two friends must find a way to sneak though the net.  They continue to head towards the center of the city and manage to reach the perimeter of the net by taking alleyways and shortcuts.
    As Kul and Thar pass through an alleyway they hear mounted guards riding by on the connecting street ahead.  There is no place to hide here, so they drop to the ground with the hope that the falling snow coupled with the inch already on the ground will obscure their presence from the guards.  The guards ride by, but one stops.  Kul and Thar can see the lone guard looking around for a minute, but he apparently doesn't see them and soon continues on.
    The barbarian and half-elf get up and carefully advance to check out the street ahead.  From a distance they examine the guard's procedure of checking buildings.  The guards first knock at the front door and then enter, using force if necessary.  As the building's interior is being searched, some guards remain outside and check the side alleyways.  Guards on the rooftops also look down into the alleyways.  Kul and Thar find a pile of old crates and garbage in the alleyway and hide themselves within it.
    As they hide in the pile of refuse, they hear the voices of two approaching guards.  The guards suddenly stop nearby when they discover freshly formed impressions of two bodies in the snow on the ground along with fresh footprints leading to and fro!  Kul and Thar realize that they have left footprints in the fresh snow leading straight to their hiding spot!  Fortunately, the guards turn around and run off in the opposite direction, perhaps to alert their superiors.  It is just the break that Kul and Thar need!  They leave their hiding spot, attempting to move quickly, but with caution, heading deeper into the alleyway.  Suddenly, they hear guard's voices from around the next corner.  Kul and Thar stop to listen.  Two guards are casually searching the alleyway.  They pause to test two sets of shutters and then move on after apparently finding the windows to be securely locked.  Kul and Thar wait and then move down to the area.  Looking around a corner onto a main street, they see that there are guards checking the house across the way.
    Kul and Thar decide to try waiting right where they are.  Since they know that two guards have already checked this area they hope that it will be safe.  Suddenly, though, they are surprised by a guard leaping overhead from one roof to another!  They haven't been spotted yet and quickly decide that they must find cover.  Kul uses his knife to open the shutters on one of the nearby windows and they climb into a dark room, closing the shutters tight behind them.  They find themselves in a room with crates of iron rations and barrels of pickles.  They decide to block the windows with crates in case any guards try to force their way in.  They can hear approaching guards outside in the alleyway discussing the footprints in the snow.  The guards know that they are close.  Kul and Thar succeed in blocking one window with the crates, but are forced to hide from view as a guard peeks through the shutters of the second window.  The guard apparently cannot see them hiding in the darkened room and Kul and Thar are very relieved when he eventually moves on to search elsewhere.  Kul is about to steal some food for the road, when they suddenly hear someone approaching the door to the room.  It is the merchant that apparently owns all of the supplies.  He is talking to a patron about pickles.  Kul and Thar hide behind the crates as the merchant enters and takes a pickle from a barrel.  He is halfway out through the door when he notices that the crates have been rearranged.  The merchant leaves perplexed and Kul and Thar make a hasty exit through the window.  They discover that all of the guards have now passed through the area and that they are now outside of the net!  They flee towards the center of the city.

    Kul and Thar go directly to Fran's house, but find that no-one is there.  They then check at Circh's house and are very surprised to discover that she has completely moved out!  All of her valuables and private possessions are gone!  Finally, they search for Nollin, but cannot find him either.  They notice mounted mercenaries riding around the center of the city.  These are not city guards, but seem to be slaver mercenaries searching for them.  [It seems that the slavers still remember Kul's attack on their auction only several months earlier (18 Aug 06 [p336]) and are still seeking revenge.]
    Thar and Kul decide that they must leave Greyhawk immediately and let things cool down a bit.  They go directly to the south gate, but discover that there are guards there checking everyone coming and going very closely.  They are also searching all wagons and carts.  Finally, the two friends go to a nearby tavern to rest, eat and think.

    As they sit in the tavern, Kul comes up with an idea.  He suggests that they sneak out through Greyhawk's sewer tunnels.  He and Thar quietly discuss the idea, but they soon become aware that the tavernkeeper has overheard their conversation.  They leave the tavern, but as they walk up the street they see the tavernkeeper exit behind them and hurry off towards the south gate!  It's obvious that he's going to alert the guards!  Kul chases the man, but he suddenly begins to yell for help, so Thar reluctantly plugs him with an arrow, killing the poor man in his tracks.
    The secret of their escape plan is now safe, so Kul and Thar quickly leave the scene and go shopping for the equipment necessary for their escape through the sewers.  They purchase fresh, warm clothing (to change into after their sewer experience), blankets, wax (to seal scroll cases and keep maps and scrolls dry), a crowbar, a hammer and chisel, a grappeling hook and some hemp rope.  They also retrieve and sell their horses and purchase fur cloaks.  Their plan is to travel to Dyvers once they are outside of the sewers and the city.

Night: Kul and Thar lift a sewer grate on a street and drop into the dark hole unobserved.  Thar discovers for the first time that Ieia can glow in the dark.  He uses the dagger to guide their way through the dark tunnels.  They follow a tunnel until they finally emerge into a lit area.  They discover that there are homeless people actually living down here and pay a little girl [Lostiel] to show them where the sewer opens to the outside world.  The girl leads them through the tunnels to their destination.  There are bars here at the sewer opening, so they use their newly purchased crowbar to bend the bars just enough to be able to slip through.
    Kul and Thar are now outside of Greyhawk!  They plan to travel to Dyvers where they can hopefully recover in peace and have their armor repaired.  First though, they must find a way to cross the Selintan River.  They quietly approach the ferry house and dock.  A large ferry-barge sits unguarded at the dock.  There are also, conveniently, two horses here.  Both horses have military brands on their flanks.

The Chaos to End Order [Monday 07 January 1991] [p380-383]

17 Mar 06 Night cont: Kul and Thar steal the two horses and the ferry, but it takes them an hour and a half to navigate across the Selintan River as the strong currents continue to pull them downstream.  They finally beach the ferry on the opposite riverbank and Thar secures it.  They then mount up and ride north-west searching for the road to Dyvers.  [After locating the road] they finally stop to rest.

18 Mar 06: Kul and Thar continue to ride westward on the road towards Dyvers until they hear horses approaching from behind.  They quickly move off of the road to hide as a twelve man mounted patrol from Greyhawk rides by towards Dyvers.
    Once the patrol passes, Kul and Thar return to the road and continue on.  Soon, they again detect horses approaching - this time from ahead!  It is the same patrol returning.  This time the guards see Kul and Thar and order them to halt, but the barbarian and half-elf are already off of the road and ignore the request.  They gallop off through the woods into a hilly area leaving the guards behind.  The patrol is forced to split up in their search and only two men succeed in following Kul and Thar.  Soon, one falls far behind and Thar purposely lets the other catch up to him while Kul attempts to circle around and come up from behind.  Thar manages to kill the patrolman using only Ieia and he and Kul succeed in escaping without further detection.

19-23 Mar 06: Kul and Thar continue to ride westward on the road towards Dyvers.

24 Mar 06:  Kul and Thar arrive at Dyvers, but are surprised to discover that the east gate of the city is surrounded by refugees from the north.  Apparently, war with the armies of Iuz in the kingdoms to the north of Dyvers has driven all of these folk here to seek refuge.  However, now the city has become overcrowded and the incoming refugees are being forced to camp outside of the walls.  Kul and Thar approach to find that the village outside of the east gate is already overcrowded with poor folk.  They also discover that the guards at the gate are checking everyone seeking entry and are only admitting those who have some real business in the city.
    [Kul and Thar know a bad situation when they see one, and since they are still wounded from the battle in Greyhawk and don't want to push their luck, they decide to backtrack along the road.]  They leave the road and travel north to the shore of the Nyr-Dyv.  Here they find a good semi-secluded spot to set up camp.  Since they will need to recover here for a while, they begin building a small hut to live in.

25+26 Mar 06: Kul and Thar rest and live off of fish caught from Nyr-Dyv.  The hut is completed.

27-30 Mar 06: Kul and Thar rest, heal, fish and live off the land.

01-03 Apr 06: Kul and Thar rest, heal, fish and live off the land.

04 Apr 06: Kul and Thar's wounds are now completely healed.  They give the hut to a poor, homeless family and leave for Greyhawk [to complete their revenge on Kyle.]

05-09 Apr 06: Kul and Thar continue to ride east towards Greyhawk.  They hunt for food along the way.

10 Apr 06: Kul and Thar arrive at the west bank of the Selintan River.  [They move downstream from the ferry dock and fashion a small raft of their own.]  They then tie their bags and equipment on top of the raft and swim across the river towing it along behind them.

11 Apr 06: Kul and Thar carefully approach Greyhawk.  After successfully hiding from a passing mounted patrol, they find the sewer entrance, but discover that it has been boarded up.  They pull the boards off and enter.  They soon find the little girl again and this time learn that her name is Lostiel.  Thar pays her to guide them through the sewer tunnels to the north quarter of the city.  Thar and Kul plan to return later and follow this route straight into the heart of Kyle's territory, thereby surprising him!  They then pay Lostiel to guide them to the south quarter where it is safer for them to exit the sewers.
    Once back on the streets of Greyhawk, Kul and Thar begin their search for Circh, Fran and Nollin.  They check at Fran's house, but again no-one is there.  They search throughout the city, but are unable to find any of their friends!  However, they do find Circh's righthand man, Miyan, working for another clothing merchant.  Miyan thinks that Circh and Fran skipped town.  He describes Kyle's efforts to rebuild (after eighty of his men were slaughtered!).  Kyle has managed to hire many new faces and is collecting even more money from the businesses he "protects".  Kul and Thar take their leave and briefly discuss where they should sleep.  They need a safe place to rest and plan; one that is out of Kyle's range of influence.  Thar suggests they go to the Perith Estate.  Yes, Thar's father owns a house right here where Kul and Thar can stay for free!
    Kul and Thar arrive at the Perith Estate and learn that Thar's aging father is here.  Mr. Perith is actually quite ill (due to his advanced age) and is bedridden.  Thar's brother, Siserhel, is also here.  Thar stops in to visit with his father.  Mr. Perith's last request of Wilton: make peace with his estranged mother.  Thar talks briefly with Siserhel and then joins Kul in the kitchen.  They send their armor out to be repaired.  Thar wants his fortune read by Lirece, so he sends for her and Cixa, inviting them to dinner at the Perith house.  [His wording in the message is polite and formal and he doesn't mention that it is from Kulgar and Tharrison.]

Evening:Cixa and Lirece arrive by carriage and are very surprised to see Kul and Thar! [Though Cixa knows of the Periths, she obviously didn't know that Thar was related to them.]  They all eat a fine meal and afterwards discuss the situation with Kyle.  Cixa wants to know who helped Kul and Thar in the battle with Kyle's men.  Kul and Thar explain rather nonchalantly that they fought alone.  Cixa cannot believe it, but Lirece knows that they speak the truth.  Finally, when all the discussion is done, Lirece prepares to read Thar's fortune as she did with Kul exactly a month earlier on 11 Mar 06.

    After drawing and placing the final card, Lirece suddenly appears to be very frightened and worried.  She rises and leaves the room abruptly (leaving all of the cards lying untouched upon the table) without even explaining the meanings of the last three cards!  Cixa follows her out and Kul and Thar sit bewildered for a few minutes.  The two women eventually return and begin gathering up the cards.  Lirece is obviously shaken up and Cixa explains that they must leave now.  Thar calmly sends for a carriage to take them home and he and Kul escort them outside.
    As the two women climb into the carriage, Cixa looks at Lirece.  "You've never left a reading unfinished before."
    Lirece then looks directly at Thar and says, "You are the chaos to end order."  The carriage then carries them away.

The King is Dead [Monday 14 January 1991] [p384-388]

11 Apr 06 cont: Latest news of the war with Iuz: Crockport and Grabford in Furyondy have fallen to the terrible armies of Iuz. Littleberg and Willip have been evacuated. Chendl is under siege.  The Great Kingdom of Aerdy wants to march through Almor to aid in the war, but Almor does not trust them.  Once Aerdy's troops are in Almor, it may be difficult to get them to leave in peace.

12 Apr 06: Kul and Thar rest at the Perith Estate, waiting for their armor to return.

13 Apr 06 Early Afternoon: Kul and Thar's repaired armor returns.  They visit a jeweler's shop where Kul trades in a ruby for 40 gp.  Since warmer weather is on the way, Kul buys a light cloak with a hood and leaves his white, fur cloak at the Perith house.

Night: Kul and Thar follow the sewer tunnels to the north quarter of the city.  After emerging from the sewers and locating Kyle's warehouse they climb onto a roof across the street to wait for morning.

14 Apr 06 Morning: Kul and Thar see men arriving for work at Kyle's place.  A ship loaded with merchandise also arrives and docks at the pier behind the warehouse.  Then, the moment they've been waiting for... Kyle himself arrives by boat.
    Kul and Thar climb down from the roof and walk through the open front doors of the warehouse.  No-one attempts to prevent them from entering.  Indeed, no-one even seems to recognize them!  So, they walk straight through the warehouse to the back door leading out to the pier.  Kyle is out here, dealing with the new merchandise that has just arrived.  Kul and Thar walk straight towards him, but he spots them approaching and orders his thugs to attack!
    Kul and Thar are suddenly swarmed by thugs and cut off from Kyle.  The battle begins well for Kul and Thar.  Since these thugs apparently weren't expecting them, they aren't as prepared as the previous ones on 17 Mar 06 and there aren't as many of them either.  Kyle, however, is moving around the battle scene and heads for the warehouse.  Kul tries to follow him, but is surrounded by thugs and cannot disengage from his opponents.  The thugs are becoming demoralized, though, as more and more of their comrades fall to the ground, dead or wounded.  Finally, as Kul picks up a chain and begins swinging it recklessly over his head, they decide they've had enough and flee.
    Kul and Thar attempt to follow Kyle as he flees into the warehouse, but he orders the doors locked up behind him and they find themselves cut off from their prey.  They quickly run around to the front of the building to find that the front doors are still wide open.  They can hear Kyle's voice inside ordering the doors shut.  As the doors close, Kul throws himself in the way and he and Thar manage to squeeze through.  Amazingly, the thugs locking the doors don't even realize who Kul and Thar are until Kyle points them out!  The battle then begins anew!

    Kul and Thar slaughter more of Kyle's rogues with Asterlain and Uthael until the thugs finally flee again.  This time, Kyle has retreated into a maze of crates and before Kul and Thar can chase after him, they are confronted by two of his hired mercenaries: the spearman (whom they encountered on 17 Mar 06, during their last assault) and his newest companion, a fellow wielding a mace.
    Thar engages with the spearman, while Kul engages with the man wielding the mace.  Kul is soon able to defeat his opponent, but before he can search for Kyle, another makes his presence known: Daariaak Redskull!
    Daariaak Redskull's squire, Ariff, is also present, carrying Daariaak's silver flask of acid.  Daariaak dips an arrow into the acid and then fires the sizzling missile at Kul, who quickly ducks behind a wall of crates for cover.  Kul grabs the lid from a crate and, using it as a shield, he charges down the aisle between the rows of crates.  Daariaak appears ahead of Kul and swiftly pegs Kul with an acid-arrow before retreating out of sight again.
    Thar continues fighting with the spearman, but the spearman manages to disarm the nargison guard!  Thar appears to be defenseless without his nargison whip, but he then surprises the spearman by summoning Ieia to his hand and deflecting an attack!
    Kul emerges from the row of crates to find that Daariaak's bow has broken (from the excessive use of the acid) and that the mercenary now wields an acid-sword!  Kul ducks back behind the crates again.  [He is guessing that if he can elude Daariaak for a while, the acid will eat away at the sword, weakening the weapon.]  Daariaak attempts to circle around and Kul tries to counter by pushing crates onto him, but the ploy fails as Daariaak suddenly turns about and circles back around in the opposite direction.  Kul also circles around through the maze of crates, but now he is searching for the boy, Ariff.  Kul's strategy is to grab the silver flask from the boy and hurl its contents at Daariaak.  He is unable to locate the boy, though.
    Instead, he hears Daariaak calling to him.  The mercenary calls him a coward and challenges Kul to show himself.  [Kul is rather annoyed at being labeled a coward (especially when it is Daariaak who needs acid to defeat his enemies!)] and finally emerges from the maze of crates to face the mercenary.
    Kul engages with Daariaak, [but it is clear that the barbarian is outmatched by the mercenary especially considering that Kul has already suffered several wounds from fighting Kyle's thugs while Daariaak is still uninjured.]  Kul is only able to strike Daariaak once, while Daariaak lands three successive blows on Kul!  The mercenary's sword finally breaks just as he overcomes the barbarian.  Kyle, who has been watching from a safe distance, screams for Daariaak to kill Kul!
    During all of this, Thar manages to recover Asterlain and finally defeats the spearman just in time to see Kul crumble to the floor, defeated.  The half-elf charges forward to meet Daariaak.  Daariaak orders a new sword from Ariff.  The squire hands Daariaak the weapon, but he has unwittingly left the flask of acid somewhere out of reach.  Daariaak decides that he won't need it.  He meets Thar in combat and this time it is Daariaak who finds himself to be outmatched!  He finally orders Ariff to find the flask of acid.  Ariff brings the flask and Daariaak manages to quickly apply the acid during the battle.
    Kyle watches as the battle continues on.  Thar manages to disarm Daariaak with Asterlain and the mercenary responds by again calling for a new sword.  But Ariff has no more swords for his master, and instead hands Daariaak a dagger.  Daariaak defends with the dagger, but Thar finally defeats him as Kyle watches on in disbelief!

    Thar finally turns to Kyle, who begins to desperately back away from the half-elf.  Kyle then produces a scroll with two of Olk's runes drawn upon it.  This scroll, he explains, is his last safeguard.  He never expected to actually have to use it, but now he must!  He explains that the runes upon the parchment mean death.  Thar is not intimidated.  He intends to knock the scroll from Kyle's grasp, but before he is able to, Kyle tears the scroll activating its mysterious powers.
    An image of Olk's face suddenly appears overhead.  Olk addresses Kyle, blaming him for involving the mage with a Slayer [(meaning Kulgar, of course)].  Olk says that he has now finished any service owed to Kyle and has already departed.  However, he explains that there is still one more task that needs completion... Kyle's death!  Yes, the "death scroll" given to Kyle by Olk refers not to the death of his enemies, but to Kyle's death!
    Kyle becomes frantic [(a madness caused by Olk's "death scroll", perhaps?)] and claims that he is "King of Greyhawk".  He manages to grab Daariaak's acid-sword and attacks Thar with it.  Thar defends himself and easily kills Kyle, ending his brief reign as king.
    As he dies, Kyle repeats, "I am King... I am King..."

    Meanwhile, during all of this, Kul lays on the floor, dying.  A valkyrie, seen only to Kul, has landed and dismounted from her winged steed.  She holds her outstretched hand towards the northlander.  Kul is in awe and reaches towards her, but she suddenly fades and Kul begins to regain consciousness.
    Thar has treated Kuls' wounds with some of Cixa's healing ointment.  Kul wakes, but is very weak.  He is a mess and his chainmail armor is ruined beyond repair.
    Thar opens the back doors of the warehouse and finds the sailors from the ship working hard preparing to leave.  He orders them to clean up the mess by tossing all of the dead thugs into the Selintan River.  The sailors are in awe of Thar after witnessing his and Kul's killing spree and quickly do as they are told.  Thar sees Ariff climbing over a nearby fence to escape.  He lets the boy go.

    Thar returns to the warehouse and collects money and items from their defeated foes:

    Kyle: 23 gp, a silver ring with a jade stone and keys to the office and warehouse
    Daariaak: 22 gp, 11 sp and 15 pp
    the spearman: 23 gp and the spear
    the maceman: 27 gp

    The sailors dispose of all the bodies and then quickly leave.  Thar and Kul depart through the front doors.  Thar locks up the warehouse from the outside using Kyle's keys and they head directly to Cixa's nearby spice shop.
   Cixa and Lirece are very surprised to see Kul and Thar and are especially surprised to learn that Kyle and Daariaak Redskull are dead!  Cixa announces that she will set up a meeting of merchants to form the new alliance.  Thar tells her that he would also like to attend this meeting.  Thar then sends for a carriage to take him and Kul home to the Perith Estate.  [Kul has achieved 7th level.]

Revised: 27 Mar 03 Unpublished work © 1990-2001 fraz