Sword & Sorcery: The Adventures of Rodan & Uhland

Sword & Sorcery: The Adventures of Rodan & Uhland is a book recovered from the body of Uhland Greyrider.

## Description

Falling somewhere between a ledger of adventures and a diary filled with tales no doubt slightly modified for sake of poetic and dramatic effect, Sword & Sorcery: The Adventures of Rodan & Uhland serves as an account of the pair's adventures and efforts, eventually leading up to their demise at Vottyrmoor.

## Research

### Completed by Arnica

*The following accounts are in each and every way the truth, and claims of exaggeration are simply done by those that seek to discredit others for their own short-comings.*

#### *127WD, Ardor-Amberlight - Water Fox Woods*

*"The bounty on Tanfiz Whistletrick naturally caught our eye. Of course, Rodan and I could have retired many years ago, but where is the joy of life with adventure, without victory, without the sense of accomplishment of helping others - particularly if doing so continues to pay the bills?! The sum attracted others too, though few proved to be as experienced in the field as us two, but the Academy wanted to send a clear message to individuals that stole from them - especially shipments of their miracle mixture, Iviniuum, for which they are most famed."*

*"We tracked the cunning gnomish mage to a series of dens, seemingly pre-prepared for said heist, within the depths of Water Fox Woods. Though his wards and talent for Abjuration magic would have perhaps caught out other individuals, he was indeed no match for Rodan and I, and with captive bound in Dimensional Shackles - courtesy of another pair of austere competitors for the prize, their get-up complete with white robes and orderly insignia, we returned. The Academy declined to compensate us fully for our time however, on account of not fulfilling the contracts full terms. We certainly didn't see the Iviniuum when we tracked him down, so we just assumed he'd used it all. Hardly us at fault - and so, never again with the Academy, I say!"*

#### *127WD, Glede-Amberlight - Uldingweld*

*"It is one thing to build a fortress in the forest to protect your home and turn away those that contest your rule over it. It is another thing entirely to turn the forest into the fortress, animating the branches and roots to harass and harangue any and all that come your way. But still, the Hill Giant - disturbing having developed some aptitude for druidic magics - thought it was delightfully entertaining. The people that relied on the Barrow Beck for their livelihood did not however, not did the firbolg communities also residing in the forest now walking by its own volition."*

*"Ever-capable, it was my companion Rodan that came up with the solution, dispelling the magic utilised to enliven the woodland at a rate greater than the casting competency of the giant, leaving him alone and vulnerable to a well-placed flourish, sweep and strike from Woe's Ballad."*

#### *128WD, Pinnul-Greencrown - The Northwestern Stretches of the Hoarfrost Expanse*

*"All the layers of fur, wool and hide in the world does naught to hold back a breeze that wishes to chill you to your core, let it be known. Bitter and cruel, it seemed that the months of Whiterose would never have their end, but as Rodan and I spied the passage of deer, goats and other migratory species, as well as the birthing calls of seals and walruses closer to the shore, it seemed that perhaps that time had truly come."*

*"And not a moment too soon! The hunt for the Frost Salamander had been an arduous one, dotted with pitfalls figurative and literal - as I discovered when a narrow but deep crevasse opened beneath my feet suddenly some month or so again and found myself saved only by Rodan's unparalleled command over the arcane. The creatures had been swarming in hither unseen numbers from somewhere in the waste, but with only a few scouting missions to go off on an expanse of white, it was no doubt of questionable viability. Nonetheless, the Lord of Howell Town paid well for our time, fearing they would become the apex creatures of the frozen wastes in the niche left unclaimed following the purge of dozens, if not hundreds of white dragons at his command. Nonetheless, however heavy the pouch may be offered, Rodan informed me yesterday that by no accounts are we to accept further contracts - even as alluring as determining their source may be - until at least the Highreign warmth has passed over these frigid plains."*

#### *128WD, Vluk-Amberlight - The Laayo Wilds*

*"After enjoying several months of respite in the city of Viridell - with time spent likewise at the leisure of the Radiant Triumvirate in their abode in Verdlicay on the isle of Great Perianth, we agreed it was time to sent out once more to see where adventure would take us - and whom would be placed on our path to liberate and save. Those folk came in the form of the villagers of Ronru, who had been ensorcelled into servitude and fealty to a so-called Angel of Gathering Light, who bid them to gather up ancient relics from the jungles to bring to them for blessing."*

*"In reality, this angel was instead a gauth, a beholderkin with a ravenous taste for magic auras, feasting upon them as one might a kingly banquet. After managing to break the enchantment, the gauth attempted to flee - but found itself sundered, the villagers saved. It seemed rude to not enjoy their hospitality, even if our beings had already been well-rested in the city."*

#### *129WD, Otealt-Greencrown - Greater Greensong*

*"Having passed through the Timberlands promptly, Rodan and I found ourselves in familiar lands once more - that of Rodan's home, the radiant Kingdom of Atralran, though were met with woe of the ongoing efforts of the Silvertowers against the blight of the Ashenvale. Our moment to shine came when we stayed overnight in a village - treated as heroes, of course, with many a taste of the fine Atral wines of the lands - when a troll materialised from the gloom, seeking to feast on kids, of goatkind and humanoid alike, in the night."*

*"This was no ordinary troll however, for in place of fetid green flash, it wreathed itself in an incorporeal undead haze, born of a giantkin so bold, or brash, that it had be recreated anew in spirit form. Though it could leap through walls in a moment, shattering them with its immense strength the next, it proved naught to the pair of us, and so the supping of wine and hearty bowls filled with Firepot Stew returned to the eve's activities soon enough."*

#### *129WD, Jas-Greencrown - Remnant Hills*

*"There is a joy in the wonders of the Great Conduit, and even in spite of the price - and the Platinum Suite that is soon to be finished for us by a thankful patron of our previous actions, it is our preferred way to travel. However, from time to time, Rodan and I prefer to walk the way of the commonfolk, to stand alongside them in their hardships, to be there to defend them when it most critical. Naturally, our wits and weapons were readied at the reports of a band of devils roaming loose amongst the hills on the eastern edge of the Heartsword Pass, but in truth, we needn't have bothered."*

*Curiously, the devils were not in the area to prey upon us, it seemed, for instead their quarry was a secretive cult that operated out of some old burial tome in the region, or rather, as we later discovered, two separate cults - both laden with conventional infernal embellishments. The Lord of Nessus certainly lacks not for foes, while the other seemed more putting an end to something lingering from a century prior. So definitive was the devils' desecration that I think not even the most capable investigator could identify one charred body from the other, the cinders still burning impossibly bright and hot. The treasures left behind amongst the bodies will be popular amongst the collectors of the continent though, I'm sure."*

#### *129WD, Loghelt-Highreign - Rydoon*

*"The streets of Drakestower and the Docktome Downs erupt in activity with the coming of Apprentice Day, where artisans and skilled workers of all kinds throw open their doors, showing the nuance of their talents to each and every passing folk in the hope to inspire others to take up said talents. Although many consider it sacred, an unofficial second holiday for Ilemer or Gaityas, it was discovered by us that others had instead being using the day as an opportunity - not for betterment, but for theft."*

*"After cleverly planting a set of tools with which Rodan was familiar on display outside a forge, it was a simple matter of using Locate Object to follow their thief back to their hideout, trailed all the way by members of the Evzos. The band of pickpockets and vagabonds had not any fight in them when they burst in, quilted cloaks billowing with the summer breeze! Ha!"*

#### *130WD, Jas-Highreign - River Talcor*

*"Never underestimate the value of a stuffed olive - particularly if it is stuffed with garlic. Of course, as any capable and experienced adventurer knows, the myth that vampires are warded by the presence of allium is a falsehood, no doubt propagated by some herbalist or farmer to lift a few coppers from their superstitious neighbours, but nonetheless, Rodan found great use in the small jar of spiced olives he'd acquired in Mossholde in months prior when he found himself reaching for the container when an enthralled goliath tried to carry him off to his master's den come nightfall. With but a few gestures, the jar had been catapulted into the thrall's temple, prompting him to crumble unceremoniously into an uneven heap, and while we spent the best part of the next few weeks searching for his Master Niklaus, we found naught but the trails of a vampire, not a vampire themselves."*

#### *130WD, Tarra-Whiterose*

*"When is a lantern light not a welcome sight on a cold day? When it is inhabited by the spirits of the dead, and capable of sparking off great discharges of energy. The Feast of the Lanterns in Freyrock near Ashenwatch Reboubt was disrupted as such, when Will-o'-Wisps rose from the lights of the festival to attack the local populace, wicked, chaotic and angry in their undead state. While Atral investigations placed the blame on the proximity of the Ashenvale once more, Rodan and I instead suspect the involvement of a Night Hag that we had previously crossed paths with, still jilted by our efforts to free the tormented souls contained within her collection of Soul Bags."*

*"Next time we come across Eula Charcrackle, I'll be sure to break her fingers first, lest she Plane Shift away from us again."*

#### *131WD, Pinnul-Greencrown - The Greater Cicatrix*

*"We had noted for several days that the large game of the area seemed absent, and so grew suspicious that a predatory force lingered in the area. After all, it was the lair of the Indigo Prince we sought, buried somewhere between the sands, and so it did not seem unusual to assume that another apex foe had seized the lands with their demise. We met many folks on the way, a hunting band of Thri-Kreen from the buried city of Darajan, a group of druids on the trail a colleague of theirs trapped in bestial form and a band of gnolls that proved less hospitable than the former two."*

*"But of treasure, we found naught. There were ruins to uncover, for certain, as well as echoes of the Realms that once ruled the lands, but no gold, nor silver, and so we found ourselves bound further east, having heard at Khonoldhur of raiders targeting the Great Conduit."*

#### *131WD, Loghelt-Amberlight - The Eastern Ironfangs*

*"Now, I don't want to assume that it was the Highstriders that beat us to it, but it almost certainly was. Those posers have been trying to get back at us ever since the incident at Lansow Tower. I'm sure that snake Yelzumin has been spying on us, and had learned we were planning on going incognito on the Rail to catch the raiders in the act - and then copied our exact plan. The small blessing was that it turned out it wasn't another gauth, even if the rumours that they were targeting individuals carrying magic items proved to be true. Nonetheless, the trip into the mountains was not worthless, for we now find ourselves on the trail of a much more noteworthy - and lucrative target."*

#### *132WD, Halla-Greencrown- Halmbrae Hills*

*"After months of searching, Vurtollo proved to be quite the conversationalist, although as we suspected from the start the spawn of Verkrent was simply doing so to tactfully manoeuvre us into a trap set to arcanely pin us in place so they could feast freely on us one by one. Fortunately, Rodan had recalled lessons learned of their more ancient parent's ploys during his studies, and subtly dispelled the magic before it could spring - and even if our attempts to play along and pretend to be stunned in place did not work out quite as hoped, we still gained an element of surprise unexpected by the young'un - one that would eventually prove to its folly."*

*"Vurtollo had blackmailed a grove of dryads into their service too, and they proved of further aid when the battle seemed to be turning. Sensing that the dragon would no longer have the strength to destroy their home trees, they turned on it with a threatened maleficence, but of course it was Woe's Ballad that took the final swing. Despite its age, its hoard was considerable, admirable almost. We'll no doubt swing by the Myriad Market once matters in the Ironfangs are resolved."*

#### *132WD, Glede-Amberlight - The North Jaw of the Ironfangs*

*"We were bound for Khonoldhur when the news broke - and seeing as we were but a few days away, it seemed prudent to head to this village of Vottyrmoor. We dispatched a few orc raiders without too much difficulty the night before last, and suspect that they may be trailing us. Ha, let them try, we'll be in the village soon enough."*