#the danish one actually says 'once a thief'

[sigurism]

Once a Thief posters

[testingcheats0n]

Chapter 5

Okayyyyyy??

We got ourselves a myth chapter? It's just myths for worldbuilding and/or just a dream~? Earth, moon, sun. Pretty standart creation myth ig Oceans, seas, lakes rivers... please don't tell me that they'll list every single rock and bush that Gea- I uh I mean mother earth- has ever farted out. Author-nim-noona-san-sama I beg 😫 Tolkien during the Valaquenta would never.

Oho wait- incest in my creation myth? More likely than I thought.

"U-UwU what are you doing step-Uranus?"

"Hahaha! I'll show you why they call me that!"

Bruh. Bruuuh~ they snubbed my boy Prometheus?! -100 points author-nim my entire blog is named after that chad, you can't rip off the greeks and get rid of big chief the fire stealer.

"WhY dID yOU mAKe TheSE?!"Fuck you fuck you fuck you we were Prometheus' pride and joy fuck you he defied god for us he would never create us for a dick-measuring competition. Fuck you. He's better than all of you put together. Fuck the Gea rip-off and fuck Uranus.

"She gave them fire to make them warm :v" Fuck off.

"They were ungrateful." Double fuck off. This mother earth creature sounds like an abusive parent.

Ah haha...

/nm...

:)

Ah so even the "new" gods are some version of the greek myths :/ hm.

Magus should go eat dirt and die actually. "The rest of the civilized world- aka my kingdom- has changed the name of the country, so the country should accept it."

Magus can go wank himself over his superiority in private thanks 🙄 I'm sure there's an old tome somewhere in his office just waiting for it.

Magus: don't get offended, but your mother was a stupid uneducated peasant- that is also a filthy dirty immigrant- and I know better than her, so you should be ashamed of ever mentioning her filthy uneducated lies. But no offence :)

I want him to get mauled by a bear :D

"Haha your mother is dead, isn't that embarassing?" Cake eater, like danish in a donut shop. Do people like him? Does he have fans or anything? What a piece of crap. I officially hate him.

Anyway. Gen's full name is Eugenides, that's cool af.

By the way. The fact that olives for brains went for the offensive, by attacking Gen's mother, his lineage and using his grief against him and trying to humiliate him for having a dead mother (all ad hominems for a simple myth) proves that Gen and his mother are right. Magus is just a pussy with an ego the size of his dick. X X S!

"Eugenides was the god of thieves- we're all named after him." Now that's cool. So it's like a title of a sort, apart from the "King's Thief" one. That's interesting af. Gen told me a piece of worldbuilding in a single sentence that grabbed my attention faster than olives for brains' entire monologue could.

Imagine being so empty that your biggest accomplishment in a week is making fun of a kid's dead mother. Imagine. Mf was strutting the next day, wtf is actually wrong with him?

I hope he gets brained by a stray rock. Wouldn't that be a shame.

Magus' poor planing vs Gen's inexistent thieving skills

FIGHT!

Magus won...

Old fart wouldn't know manipulation if it hit him.

Ambiades once again proves me right. He's smart, and he's using magus for his knowledge. Speaking about successful manipulation 🙄

Okay so. It's not necessary for an heir to be good at arms. But. It's useful and the skill in battle demands respect and better control. So Sophos should at least try to learn both academics and fighting. He actually kinda reminds me of Samwell Tarly from asoiaf. He's kinda gentle and only wants to learn. His father has other plans.

Then we have this magus, Sophos, Ambiades trio. Ambiades is better at academics, but is obviously there not to learn (and if he does it's more political things) while Sophos is just there to learn period. It should be the other way around tbh... If I were Ambiades I would be striving for a position as a magus at court since his title isn't that impressive- possibly even working on substituting olives for brains if the king has a son, but if I were Sophos I would be squeezing magus' knowledge on politics and the king for all it's worth. It's like learning from experience AND spying for info.

Thieving IS hereditary. That's fascinating! I hope his mother was called Eugenia, it would be awesome.

Sophos: so your father didn't go for milk and didn't come back? Wow your mother is not a slut and you're not a bastard? :o

You gotta love this.

Gen has an older brother who is a soldier, and another who is a watchmaker- he's also called Stenides. Hmmm...

Well, Gen is probably a momma's boy.

Oh he also has sisters. They're... housewifes... sure. The fantastic sexism was sparse so author-nim had to compensate somehow ig.

I just hope to god they're also thieves or something like that.

Alright. This is impressive, I can imagine the terrain perfectly with only a description from the text. Very few books can do that especially with fantasy, and I feel like more writers should strive for writing like such. That said, I would kill for a map just to see that weird ass river that is everywhere.

Attolia >>> Sulnas (Sunas? Solnas? I'm sorry commenter who told me the correct spelling) got it

Okay. I'm sorry but I have to confess I got spoiled when I checked Ambiades' wiki. I kinda sorta know he's not who he says he is. It's obvious with the way he knows so much about Attolia and doesn't care about other places' flora/ecosystem. It's as if he knows it from experience and not from a desire to learn.

Awww Sophos looks up to Ambiades that's adorable.

Wtf mother earth is a dick lmao. She's still mad that humans aren't paying attention to her, so childish. Whatever, the myth was beautiful even if it made 0 sense at the end.

[sublimegentlemanalpaca]

A Current list of Eldritchicians those developed and under developed.

I will list the Currently thought up Eldritchicians. This might be repetitive but ah well. Will have their name, what Eldritch topics they’re familiar with, any particular interesting bits about them like if they’re part of a Splinter group or what have you. Hope you find this interesting, and if you have any questions be they important or otherwise...please ask away! Please? Alyss Violet Eldridge: First Eldritchician. The Arch Overseer, Founder and leader of the FoE. Adopted daughter of Alvis Vadim Eldritch. Raised by Alvis and the rest of his Fellows. Has learned a little of everything from the each Eldritch Fellow (even Alastor) Skilled in the Rapier, Carnwennanian Dagger, excellent persuader and diplomat (when necessary). Always has a book on her person. Has an Awoken Shadow. Is Dark skinned with unnaturally white hair. Wears three Rings. Her Overseer and Arch Overseer Rings on her left (An Iron Ring set with Amethyst and a Silver Ring set with Lapis Lazuli), and a Ring gifted to her by the Eldritch Fellows which is visibly made of Orichalcum with a brilliant blood red stone of some sort (a very philosophical sort). Immediate superior to all Eldritchicians. Will occasionally not wear her Overseer Rings and go about business as a simple Eldritchician, usually teaming up with Tomomi and Charles Williams. Overseer Secundus Sinbad Al-Amin. A Cartographer and Blacksmith from Damascus. Knows how to make Damascus Steel. Has learned from Alvis(Wisdom) Albus(Ghosts and Sea Creatures) , Algimantas (Items and Objects and Allan (Demons and things considered Demons and such). Vice Chancellor of the Academy for Eldritchicians. An avid Cartographer of Strange and unusual Locales. A friend to Alvis. Wears two rings. One is his Overseer Ring, the other is a Agate Ring which to my knowledge is a custom of Muslim men. If this is incorrect, please correct me. Overseer Morgan Maddox. A Scottish (or Welsh? I’m not sure yet) Warrior. Friend of Alyss. Heads the Saint Alyss Academy for Eldritchicians. Skilled in Spear, and Carnwennanian Dagger. The Overseer who ...oversees the paperwork for the occasional necessary extermination and such? Monster hunting and the like. Learned under the Legendary Scàthach before meeting Alyss and the Eldritch Fellows. As an Eldritchician Studied under Alvis, Algimantas, Albus, and Alaire. Her Spear is made by Albus from The bone of a Sea Monster, Silver, Cold Iron, Meteoric Iron, And Orichalcum. Has a Prosthetic Arm of Magic Silver made by Algimantas. Wears her Overseer Ring on her left hand. Overseer Runa. A Norse Elf who along with her sister Huld followed Alvis around for a month or two certain that he was Odin. When the two realized Alvis was in fact not Odin they stuck around all the same. Runa joined the founding Eldritchicians while Huld helps in managing the Archives alongside Sophocles. Runa is basically the Bard (or Skald I suppose) of the Overseers. Has studied under Alvis, Algimantas, Albus, Alaire (for storytelling). Wears her Overseer Ring on his left hand. Overseer Cosmin The Solomonar: as the Title suggests, Cosmin is a (former?) Solomonar. A Wizard (?) From Romanian Folklore (Mythology?). Controls the Weather and rides a Dragon. Runs the Grey School, modeled after his own Education as a Solomonar at the Scholomance. Already knew a whole lot but has studied with Alvis, Algimantas, Albus, Alaire, and studied with Algernon even. Wears his Overseer Ring Overseer Archimedes: A Mothman. Tall black winged thing . Best friend to Alaire. In charge of the Fellows In Grey, a Splinter group in the Fellowship that deals with Cryptids, Aliens, and so on. Does not wear his Overseer Ring nor any of his pins. He leaves all the stuff which denotes him as an Eldritchician with Alaire. Alaire being the only Eldritch Fellow to actually kinda sorta join the FoE. Sophocles of Alexandria: Head Archivist for the Fellowship. He is not really an Overseer....he is imprisoned in the Archives for having tried stealing a book from Alvis...this did not end well for Sophocles place of Employment, The Library of Alexandria (books were sparred, rest was destroyed). Can not leave the Archives. Medusa: Former Priestess of Athena, Gorgon. Studied Alvis’ Wisdom, Algimantas’ stuff (who she hates), Alpheas, and with Albus. In a Trio with Ismene and Prioska. Studied shapeshifters and transformation with Alphaes (spelling?). In a relationship with Ismene. Her serpent locks are Golden. Ismene: Former Priestess of Athena. Also a Former Statue. Still has some Statue characteristics. Studied with Alvis, Algimantas, and Albus. In a relationship with Medusa. Prioska Lakatos: A Vampire from Hungary. Skilled in Clockwork. Has a Coat she stole from Albus. Calls Albus Alucard. Studied under Albus, Alvis, Algimantas, and Alaire. On a Trio with Ismene and Medusa. Also a part of Alyss’ Intelligentsia (keeping track of other secret Societies and Spy things). Loves teasing Quincey. Quincey Johnathan Jack Harker: Eldest son of Johnathan and Mina Harker. Vampire Hunter. Studied with Albus (Ghosts and stuff), Algimantas, Alvis. Duel wields Bowie Knives (one belonging to his Namesake, the other made of Adamant by Albus). Is Bi...not always the brightest...Can see Ghosts. On a Trio with Horatio and Runa. Might be in a relationship with Huld? Lucius Abraham Arthur Harker: Second Harker Son and Younger brother to Quincey. Is not an Eldritchician. He is a ghost though and is haunting his Brother (‘To keep an eye on my dummy of a Brother so he doesn’t get himself killed). Will regularly set up Hauntings so as to set up his brother with Eligible Bachelors and Bachelorettes and so on. Huld: Norse elf who followed Alvis for months thinking he was Odin with her sister Runa. Might be in a relationship with Quincey? Learned from Alaire, Albus, Algimantus, as well Alewar (Eldritch Horrors In a Extra Planetary Or Lovecraftian sense), and Alwin (Fae and Elves). In a relationship with Quincey? Leader of her Trio? Horatio aka ‘Doctor Faustus’: A Danish Man recognized for dressing in all black. Wields a Rapier. Known as Doctor Faustus since he’s studied Demons with Allan and he studied at Wittenberg. Studied with Alaire and has an Awoken Shadow. It is named but he always says it so quietly, only Horatio and Alaire know the name. Quincey has been able to catch that the name of Horatio’s Shadow starts with an H...followed by an A. Horatio has put all his Eldritch studies into Shadows, Demons and Ghosts. It is rumored he gave his Soul over to Allan V Eldritch. Wields a Carnwennanian Dagger Or a Bespoked Bodkin. Leaving his own Shadow...Lighter for lack of a better phrase . In a Trio with Quincey and Huld. Aeschylus Adams: A Werewolf Ranger, and one of Alyss’ Intelligentsia. Think of a mix of Aragorn and Halt O’Carrick. Excellent Thief and Pick pocket. Studied with Alaire (Cryptids, Shadows, and Folklore), Albus, and Algimantas. Studied Druid craft and stuff with Alfr. In a Trio with Midas Little and Murdann. Dr. Mercury Little: one of Four Little Brothers (three of whom are a part of the FoE), differentiated From his brothers by his Seemingly unnatural Silver hair. Studied Angels and Alchemy with Aldread, Albus, Alvis, and Alaire. Murdann Eldritch: A Finwife From Orkney. First Wife of Albus Viggo Eldritch. Joined after having been with Albus for some years. Knows what Albus has to teach, learned from Alvis, and Alfr. An exceptional Healer. Regularly has Weaving Contests with Ismene and Medusa. In a Trio with Dr Little and Aeschylus. Open relationship with Albus. Dr. Hermes Little: Same as Doctor Mercury Little. Only he has white Hair. Eldest of the Little ‘Brothers’. Studied all the same stuff. In a Trio with Charles Williams and Clarissa Williams. Charles Williams: Once an Editor now an Eldritchician. Tried repeatedly to join the FoE and finally managed it after trying forever. Studied Alchemy and Angels with Aldread, Magical Items with Algimantas (specifically Relics), Ghosts with Albus, and a bunch of others (Alvis, Alwin, and Algernon). The Left hand of the Arch Overseer. Go to diplomat between other Secret Societies. One of Alyss’ Intelligentsia( occasionally answers to the Codename Walsingham). Also, I should mention he’s an ESPer....Telepathy, Telekinesis, and Pyrokinesis for fun ;) . Clarissa Williams: Alternate Charles Williams. ESPER, Can see Ghosts Naturally. Intelligentsia member (Code Name Francis). Dr. Midas Little: same as the other Doctor Littles except that his hair is Golden. In a Trio with Tomomi and Dr. Leeds. Tomomi.: a Kitsune, friend to Alyss since she (Alyss) was young. Expert on Yokai and things. Studied with Alaire, Alvis, Albus, Algimantus and Alpheas (because shapeshifting). Just decided to be the guardian of Alvis’ Bookshop when they were in Japan one time. In a Trio with Dr. Midas Little and Dr. Leeds. when not going on solo missions for Alyss. A part of Alyss’ Intelligentsia (Code Name Dee, because she wasn’t fond of Kit Marlowe as a Codename). Doctor Mary Leeds: 12th Child of the Leeds family and the immediate Elder sibling and Caretaker to John Daniel Leeds...aka...the Jersey Devil. A Medicinal Doctor. Studied with Albus, Alvis, Algimantas, and Alaire. Stood up for her baby Brother when he killed one of the Night Crawlers working for Archimedes. She keeps track of Her Brother to make sure he doesn’t cause trouble (otherwise Archimedes and Alaire will need to deal with him). Learned medicine from the Black Doctor Ghost. One of the Fellows In Grey. Developed the spray they use to wipe memories and things. Mr Erland Ranswell: A Grey Alien in a Grey Suit. One of Archimedes’ Fellows In Grey. A Linguist and Cartographer. Has endeavored to learn the Whooping language of the Fresno Nightcrawlers Employed by Archimedes and Alaire. In a Trio ‘officially’ but not really with Dr. Livesey and Dr. Mercury Little. Dr. Yorick Roger Livesey: Once a Ship’s Surgeon now an animate Skeleton (rather than a Ghost like most who stay at Albus’ Lighthouses). Dressed in Piratey clothes and wears one of Albus’ old Coats when not doing Surgery or what have you. Has studied with Albus, Alaire, and Alvis. As well as Algernon. Can not speak and communicates In two ways. Either sign language or a horrible creaking noise that has an echo of bone saws. The first is interpreted by a Talking Raven Named Apollo Teach, the second by a Talking Snake Named Asclepius Hands. Asclepius’ Voice is supposed to serve as an auditory Balm after hearing Yorick Speak. Dr. Livesey gets along with Murdann and Prioska. He works closely with Albus ( being his First mate in a way?). Teaches medicine at Sinbad’s College for Eldritchicians. When out and about he will wear gloves and a mask to hide the whole...being a Skeleton thing. Dr. Mercury Little: Same as the other Little’s his hair is Silver and he looks younger than Hermes Little. Miss Calista Flatwood: Archimedes Second in command for running the Fellows In Grey. Is the Flatwoods Monster.... Mister Ray Green: A little green Alien. Astro Cartographer. Teleportation technology? I don’t know. Just thought to have a little green man. One of the Fellows In Grey. Let’s see am I forgetting anyone...ah right. Rosemary: A Fairy, once Royal Retainer to King Alberich (who is now Alwin) V Eldritch. Corrupter of Words. A Member of Alyss’ Intelligentsia, Rosemary keeps his eye on the the goings ons of The Fae Courts since his Master has had to abdicate. Is ultimately Loyal to Alwin, but works for Alyss under Alwin’s orders. The expert on Fae among the Eldritchicians. The Nightcrawler Corp: A bunch of Fresno Nightcrawlers that act as Scouts and Recon and things. They are Archimedes’ Eyes and ears for all the goings ons of Cryptids and whatever else they’re asked to look into. They answer to Archimedes only or those who relay things from Archimedes. They communicate in a series of Whoops and Kicking. Only Archimedes and Alaire are fluent in their language. The Hide Behind Network/ Erebus Hyde: A Hide Behind was stalking Alaire once...only to get caught by Aldjoy (Alaire’s living Shadow). Alaire befriended the Creature, and gave it the Name Erebus Hyde. The Hide Behind Network is all Hide Behinds being in a sort of Hive Mind (A Hide Mind?) they are many....They are not Shadows as Alaire originally thought. But they are something...something Old...perhaps only younger then the Eldritch Fellows themselves. Certain Eldritchicians (Dr. Leeds, Horatio, Overseer Morgan and others) know when a Hidebehind is behind them, and they will be sure to make people who they’re giving messages to know they’re there. They all answer to the name Erebus Hyde...all address Alaire as Friend, (and Address all the other Fellows by that title)...others they’ll address by their relation to Alaire. Okay..I think that’s everyone! And in Trios to! Be sure to ask any questions about any of these Fellows you might have. Stuff subject to change. Make of this what you will. Al, the Chronographing Cottager and Prince of Naming

[dailybestiary]

Patch Has Issues: Dungeon #2

Issue: Dungeon #2

Date: November/December 1986 (Pretty sure my Christmas haul that year was full of dope toys from The Transformers movie/show.)

The Cover:

(Use of cover for review purposes only and should not be taken as a challenge to status. Credit and copyright remain with their respective holders.)

Ah, Clyde Caldwell. He, Larry Elmore, Jeff Easley, and last issue’s Keith Parkinson were the mainstays of TSR’s amazing stable of artists. I have a soft spot for Caldwell. He did the covers for the D&D Gazetteer series, which means his work emblazoned some of my absolute favorite books from my middle school years. (At the time I had the whole series except the two island books, GAZ 4 & GAZ 9 (which I’ve since collected), plus the Dawn of the Emperors box set. My favorites, for the record, were GAZ 3, 5, 10, and 13. I...may like elves...a little too much.) And even as I sit here, other covers demand to be named. The very first Dragonlance adventure, the iconic Dragons of Despair? The Finder’s Stone trilogy? The first Ravenloft box? Dragon #147? Yep, he did those covers too. He was amazing.

But hoo-boy, we also have to talk about the not-amazing parts. Once Caldwell settled on a way of doing things, that’s how he did them. Points for consistency, but man, he had tropes. Even his tropes had tropes. He had a way of painting dragon’s wings. He had a way of painting swords and boots. He had a way of painting jewelry, and belts and coins—ovals upon ovals upon ovals.

And his way of painting women was with as few clothes as possible. Everything I said about Parkinson last entry? Yeah, that goes double for Caldwell. He never paints pants when a thong will do. His take on the reserved and regal Goldmoon—thighs as long as a dwarf and bronzed buttcheeks exposed—reportedly left Margaret Weis in tears. Magic-users (God, I hate that term) famously couldn’t use armor in D&D and AD&D, but Caldwell’s sorceresses pretty much stick to gauze just to be safe. And the Finder’s Stone trilogy I mentioned above? Yeah, the authors of Azure Bonds took one look at Caldwell’s cover art and literally had to come up with in-text reasons why the heroine Alias—one of the most surly woman sellswords in existence—would wear armor with a Caldwell boob hole.

Don’t get me wrong, I love cheesecake as much as the next dude. (Actually that’s not true; I came up in the grunge ’90s—our version of cheesecake was an Olympia brunette in three layers of thrift store sweaters reading Sandman while eating a cheesecake. Hell, that’s still my jam.) But context matters. The sorceress from “White Magic,” Dragon #147’s cover, may barely be wearing a negligee, but she’s also in the seat of her power and probably magically warded to the hilt—she can wear whatever she damn wants; it’s her tower. So no complaints there. But this cover’s pirate queen Porky Piggin’ it seems like an unwise choice. (The friction burns alone from clambering around the rigging…)

It’s clear from reading The Art of the Dragonlance Saga that TSR was trying to turn the ship around when it came to portrayals of women in fantasy, however slowly. And in Caldwell’s defense and to his credit, he definitely delivered women with agency—in nearly every image, they are nearly always doing something active and essential. They just tend to be doing it half-dressed.

Which is all a way of saying I dig this cover—the explosion, the churning sea (even if it does more look like snow drifts than waves), the sailors all running to the rail to look—but yeah, that pirate captain needs to put on some damn pants.

The Adventures: Before we get started, I have to note that though we’re only an issue in, already the magazine feels more noticeably like the work of editor Roger Moore. This is 100% a guess, but it really feels to me like Dungeon #1 was made of adventures that the Dragon office already had laying around, whereas Dungeon #2 was composed of adventures that Roger Moore and the new Dungeon team had more of a hand in sifting through. (He also has an assistant editor this time in Robin Jenkins, which had to have helped.) Even the cartography looks better. Again, I have zero confirmation of this, but the feeling is strong.

“The Titan’s Dream” by W. Todo Todorsky, AD&D, Levels 5–9

PCs visiting an oracle accidentally walk right into a titan’s dream and must solve some conundrums to escape. What an awesome concept this is! (Spoilers for “Best Concept” section below.) It’s a shame I don’t like this more.

First of all, dreamworld adventures are really hard to do well. And for them to work, there usually need to be real stakes—and not just “If you die in the dream, you die in real life!”—and/or a real connection to the PCs in your campaign. The latter, especially, is really hard to pull off in a published adventure; typically it’s only achieved through tactics that critics deride as railroading. (For instance, @wesschneider’s excellent In Search of Sanity does a great job of connecting the characters to their dream adventures...but it does that by a) forging the connection at 1st level, and b) pretty strongly dictating how the adventure begins and how the characters are affiliated. It works, but that’s high-wire-act adventure writing.)

Being a magazine adventure, “The Titan’s Dream” doesn’t have that luxury—it’s got to be for a general audience and work for most campaigns. That unfortunately means the default “Why” of the adventure—a lord with a child, a wedding, and an alliance at stake hires the PCs to chat with a wise titan—is little more than that: a default.

On top of that...I cannot get excited about anything Greek mythology-related. To me, just the fact I’m seeing it is a red flag.

Look, Greek mythology is why I got into this hobby. Hell, it’s why I got into fiction, period. (For some reason I somehow decided I had no use for fiction books targeted to my age, with the exception of Beverly Cleary. Then in 4th(?) grade, I got a copy of Alice Low’s Greek Gods and Heroes, and the rest is history.) But Greek mythology is often the only mythology anyone knows. When people think polytheism, that’s where most people’s minds go. Which is why, if you ever played D&D in the ’80s, I pretty much guarantee your first deity was from that pantheon. (In my first game, my first-level cleric pretty much met Ares and got bitch-slapped by him, because that’s what 4th-grade DMs do.)

So to me, putting Greek deities or titans in your adventure is the equivalent of putting dudes riding sandworms into your desert adventures—you can do it, but you better blow me away, because that is ground so well trod it’s mud. And this one doesn’t do the job.

The format is three dreams, each with five scenes. Parties will move randomly—a mechanic meant to represent dream logic (or lack thereof)—through these scenes, until all the scenes from one dream have been resolved. This is actually kind of fascinating, and I wonder how it would play at the table—I have a feeling observant players will dig it, but others may find the mechanism’s charm wears off quickly, especially if they have difficulty solving the scenes or get frustrated with the achronicity of events. I also like that every scene has a number of possible resolutions, so the PCs aren’t locked into achieving a single specific objective like they were stuck in a computer game.

But...I can’t shake the feeling of weak planning and execution (or even laziness?) that stayed with me throughout the adventure. Like, okay, the first adventure is a cyclops encounter out of the Odyssey. Cool! But then...why does the Titan follow it up with pseudo-Norse/Arthurian encounter? Did the Odyssey not hold the author’s attention? (Nor the Iliad, the Aeneid, or Metamorphosis? Really?) And then why is the third dream “drawn from the realm of pure fairy tale”? Like, were you out of pantheons? Horus didn’t return your calls? Or be more specific—why not German fairy tales, or Danish, or French Court, or Elizabethan? It feels like a class project where one group was on point, one group got the assignment a little wrong, and one didn’t even try.

Again, it’s not even that this adventure is bad—I honestly can’t tell if it is or not; I’m sure a lot of its success is determined at the table. And I could totally see throwing this at a party if I was out of inspiration that week or we needed a low-stakes breather before our next big arc. But the instant I think about it for more than a second, it all falls apart for me.

Have any of you tried this one? Let me know what you thought. And for a similar exploration into dream logic/fairy tale scenarios, I recommend Crystal Frasier’s The Harrowing for Pathfinder.

“In The Dwarven King’s Court” by Willie Walsh, AD&D, Levels 3–5

Willie Walsh is a name we’re going to see a lot more in issues to come—he’s a legendarily prolific Dungeon contributor, delivering quality, typically low-level, and often light-hearted or humorous adventurers issue after issue after issue. His first entry is a mystery with a time limit: A dwarf king is supposed to make a gift of a ceremonial sword to seal a treaty, but the sword has vanished. Brought to the king’s court courtesy of a dream, adventurers must find the sword and the surprising identity of the culprit before the rival power’s delegation arrives.

At first I was going to ding this adventure for its “What, even more dreams this issue?” hook...but here’s the thing with Walsh—never judge his modules until you reach the final page. Nearly every time I’m tempted to dismiss one of his sillier or more random adventure elements, it turns out that it makes sense and works just fine. In this case, the cause of the dream is haunt connected to the mystery, and I feel dumb for being all judgy.

So anyway, the PCs are given leave to search for the stolen object and the thief, but of course it turns out there is a whole lot of light-fingeredness going around. As Bryce (see below) puts it, “It’s like a Poirot mystery: everyone has something to hide.” This castle has as much upstairs-downstairs drama as any British farce, with nearly every NPC having either a fun personality and/or a fun secret (and with the major players illustrated by some equally fun portraits) that should make them memorable friends and foils for PCs to interact with. Not to mention the actual culprit is definitely a twist that will be hard explaining to the king...

GMs should be ready to adjust on the fly, though—a) it’s a lot of characters to juggle, and b) since the PCs are 3rd–5th level, the right spells or some lucky secret door searches could prematurely end the adventure as written. You may want to have some last-minute showdowns, betrayals, or other political intrigue outlined and in your back pocket if what’s on the page resolves too quickly.

Overall though, I’m a big fan of this adventure, and look forward to the rest of Walsh’s output. Also, given the dwarven focus and the geography of the land, this adventure could be a very nice sequel to last issue’s “Assault on Eddistone Point.”

“Caermor” by Nigel D. Findley, AD&D, Levels 2–4

Look at this author’s list of writing credits! Findley was amazingly prolific, and his work was pretty high-quality across the board, as far as I know. I particularly loved the original Draconomicon, one of the first and only 2e AD&D books I ever bought as a kid. I also loved his “Ecology of the Gibbering Mouther” from the excellent Dragon #160, and some of his Spelljammer supplements are currently sitting upstairs in my to-read pile, recently purchased but as yet shamefully untouched.

Now look at his age at the time of his death. Life is not always fair or kind.

(Speaking of unkind, man is the bio in this issue unfortunate in retrospect: “[H]e write for DRAGON® Magazine, enjoys windsurfing, plays in a jazz band, and manages a computer software company in the little time he has left.” As Archer would say, “Phrasing!”)

Anyway, this adventure is simple: An otherworldly force has been murdering the locals. The locals have pinned the blame on a handsome bard from out of town, and their own prejudices and general obstinacy are sure to get in the way of the investigation—that is, if the true culprits, some devil-worshipping culprits and and an abishai devil, don’t get in the way first.

All in all, this is a tight, well-written adventure, so I don’t have much to say about it, other than that if you like the idea of sending your party to help out some young lovers and save some faux-Scots/Yorkshiremen too stubborn to save themselves (and maybe slip in a valuable lesson about prejudice and xenophobia as well), this is the adventure for you.

One thing that does jump out to a contemporary reader, though, is the comically overpowered nature of the baddie pulling the strings in this adventure: Baalphegor, Princess of Hell (emphasis mine). Overpowered, you-won’t-really-fight-this-NPC happens with a lot of low-level adventures, when the writers want a story more epic than characters at the table can handle or are trying to plot the seeds for future evils. But still, any princess of Hell would already be a bit much...but an 18-Hit Dice, “supra-genius”, the Princess of Hell? Like, what the f—er, I mean, Hell?

If you use the adventure as written, the only way to have Baalphegor’s presence make sense is to eventually reveal that the area is an epicenter of some major badness. (Maybe that explains the lost nation of evil dwarves in the adventure background.) For a good model on how to seed early adventures in this matter, Dungeon’s Age of Worms Adventure Path and Pathfinder Adventure Path’s Rise of the Runelords AP, both from Paizo, are exemplars of small-town disturbances that eventually have world-shaking implications.

It’s also fascinating in retrospect to note Ed Greenwood’s massive impact in the hobby. Any article that appears in Dragon has the sheen of being at least semi-official, but it’s clear that Greenwood’s content was a cut above even that. In this case, an NPC from a three-year-old article of his is not just treated as canon, but also supplies the mastermind behind the adventure! It’s no surprise that in the following year his home campaign, the Forgotten Realms, would soon become AD&D’s newest and then its default setting.

Two final thoughts: 1) There’s some fascinating anti-dwarf prejudice in this article. Nearly every mention of dwarves paints them as exceptionally greedy and/or villains. And 2) how did one even begin to balance adventures in those days? This adventure is for “4–8 characters of 2nd–4th level.” There are a lot of difference at the extreme ends of those power scales…

“The Keep at Koralgesh,” by Robert Giacomozzi & Jonathan Simmons, D&D, Levels 1–3

One of the problems of BECMI D&D being known as “basic D&D” is that writers often assumed the players to be basic (that is, younger/new) as well. Which probably accounts for some of the early suggestions to the DM we get at the beginning of this adventure—like some pretty patronizing advice along the lines of not immediately announcing to PCs what the pluses are on their magical swords.

Fortunately, after that the article settles down and gives us Dungeon’s first real D&D adventure. In fact, not just real, but massive: 20 full pages of content—nearly half the issue! It’s a fully fledged dungeon crawl that has the PCs taking advantage of the summer solstice to open a shrine door that will lead them inside a long-ruined keep said to hold great treasure.

Now, I imagine in the coming installments it’s going to seem to many of you like I’m grading D&D adventures on a curve, because of my love for the system and the Known World/Mystara. That’s a fair accusation, but a better way to consider it is that I’m reviewing D&D adventures for what they are—adventures from a separate system, with a more limited rules system and palette of options than AD&D. You don’t go to a performance of Balinese shadow puppetry and compare it against Andrew Lloyd Webber; you look at it for what it achieves in its own medium. Since they appear side-by-side in the same magazine, comparison is going to be inevitable, but that’s with the understanding that AD&D was the kid coloring with the 64-crayon box of Crayola, while D&D was getting by with just eight.

On its own terms then, “The Keep of Korgalesh” is a decent, if not superlative, success. I love that it’s practically module-length and that we get three complete levels—a far cry from the previous issue’s side-trek-at-best, “The Elven Home.” We also get two new monsters, which absolutely fills my inner BECMI D&D player with glee. And I like that what starts as a dungeon crawl/fetch quest evolves into a “kill the big bad thing” and “find out what really happened to this city.”

There are issues, though. If the whole city was destroyed, getting to see some of it besides the keep would have been nice. Some of the ecology for the dungeon inhabitants is questionable. There pretty much wasn’t a single pool or fountain in this era of D&D adventure design that wasn’t magical, and this adventure was no exception. One of the new monster’s names makes no sense except that “tyranna” and “abyss” are cool words (I mean, I guess you could read that as “tyrant of the depths,” but still…) And there are painfully obvious borrowings from other works, especially Tolkien—a door that only opens at solstice, a lake monster, an orc with a split personality that is clearly a Gollum homage, etc.

What this adventure really needs is stakes—just something to give it a bit more oomph beyond the dungeon crawl. (Finding a blacksmith’s lost hammer is the hook offered in the adventure but it’s pretty flimsy.) Perhaps the PCs are some of Kor’s last worshippers, and clearing out the dangers here and resanctifying his temple is one of their first steps toward returning him to prominence. Maybe the PCs’ grandparents were involved in the city’s demise and restoring Koralgesh will restore the families’ honor. Or you could keep it simple and have a band of pirates or a rival adventuring group also trying to clean out the keep, turning it into a race (with the tyrannabyss causing the scales of fate to wobble at appropriately cinematic moments).

So the final analysis is this is a decent dungeon crawl upon which you can build a good adventure. The real reward of this module isn’t treasure; it’s finding out just what happened to Koralgesh. But for that to matter, it needs to tie into the PCs’ pasts, futures, or both.

BONUS CONTENT FOR KNOWN WORLD/MYSTARA NERDS: Kor is almost certainly a local name for the sun god Ixion. The chaotic deity Tram is probably a local version of Alphaks, though Atzanteotl is another strong candidate, especially since deceit was key to the pirates’ success. Koralgesh could be located somewhere on the Isle of Dawn, the northern coast of Davania, or an Ierendi/Minrothad Isle that those nations haven’t made it a priority to rebuild.

Best Read: “Caermor.” Nigel D. Findley was a pro.

Best Adventure I Could Actually Run with Minimal Prep: “The Keep at Koralgesh,” as a well-written, straight-ahead dungeon crawl. Every other adventure here relies on a pretty strong handle of very mobile NPCs and their motivations, or a Titan’s dream mechanics.

Best Concept: “The Titan’s Dream,” as noted above. It’s a great idea very worth exploring, even if I wasn’t about the execution we got in this case.

Best Monster: This was actually a monster-light issue. Despite some awesome art for the tyrannabyss, I have to go with the epadrazzil, a scaly ape from a two-dimensional plane of existence that has to be summoned via a painting. All of those details are just so wonderfully and weirdly specific it has to win. (Extra points for anyone who noticed the thoul—a classic D&D monster (though it did make its way into AD&D’s Mystara setting) born from a typo.)

Best NPC: Since this is a role-playing-heavy issue, there are a bunch of contenders, and the final verdict will go to whoever your party sparks to at the table. Obviously King Baradon the Wise should get the nod for [spoiler-y reasons], but I also really like the opportunity the executioner Tarfa offers, thanks to his incriminating goblet and how it might bring the PCs to the attention of a far-off assassin’s guild at just the right level.

Best Map: All together the maps from “The Keep at Koralgesh” form an extremely appealing whole. But for best single map I have to go for the palace of Mount Diadem—that is a bangin’ dwarven demesne.

Best Thing Worth Stealing: Jim Holloway’s illustrations of dwarves. Good dwarf, gnome, and halfling art is hard to find, and even the good stuff often leans stereotypical. While Holloway’s art is often humorous—I have a feeling he and Roger Moore jibed really well, though that’s totally a guess based purely on what assignments he got handed—his dwarves, especially in this issue, are fresh, specific, and unique. You could identify them by their silhouettes alone—always the sign of good character art. If you need an image of a dwarf NPC to show the players, “In the Dwarven King’s Court” is a great first stop.

Worst Aged: Female thong pirates on magazine covers. Also using the actual names of actual mental illnesses in game materials.

What Bryce Thinks: “This seems to be a stronger issue than #1, although half of the adventures are … unusual.”

Bryce actually almost likes “The Titan’s Dream,” confirming my loathing of it. He in turn loathes “In the Court of the Dwarven King.” Like me, though, he is pro-”Caermor” and sees potential in “The Keep at Koralgesh.” (Also credit where it’s due: I might have missed the condescension at the start if he hadn’t called it out.)

So, Is It Worth It?: If you’re a Clyde Caldwell fan, this issue might be worth searching out in print. So much of Caldwell’s work from this era was dictated by product needs, cropped and boxed up in ads, or shrunk down to fit on a paperback cover. So to get this cover in full magazine size, with only the masthead tucked up top to get in the way—that could be well worth a few bucks to you.

Also, if you’re BECMI/Rules Cyclopedia-era D&D fan (or know someone who is), again, this one might be worth having in print. “The Keep at Koralgesh” is a legit, proper BECMI D&D adventure, spanning 20 whole pages and with two new monsters to boot. I would have practically have cried if someone had given 7th-grade me this.

Beyond that you can probably just rely on the PDF. But both “Caermor” and “In the Dwarven King’s Court” have strong bones worth putting some modern muscle and skin on.

Random Thoughts:

The Caldwell cover painting was also used for the Blackmoor module DA4 The Duchy of Ten. PS: I’m not trying to tell you what to do or anything, but if you do happen to run across a physical copy of The Duchy of Ten or and of the DA modules, holla at ya boy over here.

Since this is our second issue, we now have a “Letters” column. Turns out Dungeon had been announced in Dragon #111 with a really detailed set of writer’s guidelines; most of the correspondence is questions re: those. In the process of answering, we get some surprisingly frank talk about payment. The $900 for a cover seemed low until I converted it to 2018 dollars, and ~$2,000 does seem right to my ignorant eye. I then made the mistake of converting my current salary to 1986 dollars and felt a lot worse about myself and what I’ve achieved.

Apologies this took so long to post. I had the issue read by early October and most of this review written with the next week or two after...but then I got involved in dealing with a 4.5 week hospitalization and aftermath...and then a second still-ongoing hospitalization...and even though I only had about four paragraphs left I just couldn’t find time to put a bow on it.

Notable Ads: The gold Immortals Rules box for D&D. (I also still don’t have that one yet, and Christmas is coming. Just saying, guys, if you happen to find one in your attic.) ;-) Also an ad for subscribing to Dungeon itself, starring “my war dinosaur, Boo-Boo.” No, really.

Over in Dragon: Beneath a glorious cover, Roger Moore is the new editor of Dragon #115, three authors (including Vince Garcia, who I like a lot) share credit on a massive six articles about fantasy thieves, a famous article proposing that clerics get the weapons of their deity (people were still talking about it in the “Forum” column when I was buying my first issues two years later), and a look at harps from the Forgotten Realms (notable because behind the scenes Ed Greenwood’s home setting was being developed for the AD&D game for launch in 1987.) A photographic cover and a 3-D sailing ship are served up in Dragon #116, along with maritime adventures, more Ed Greenwood (rogue stones), and articles for ELFQUEST, Marvel Super Heroes (Crossfire’s gang), and FASA’s Dr. Who game (looking at all six(!) doctors). (Incidentally, I had an Irish babysitter around this time who first mentioned Dr. Who to me—I wish I’d explored more but I was too young to understand what I’d been offered.)

PS: Yes, I’ve heard about the upcoming Tumblr ban. It is a terrible idea that will affect way too many of my readers. It shouldn’t affect me much (and I have all my monster entries backed up at the original site), but I will keep you posted as I learn more, particularly if I find you, my readers, packing up and going elsewhere.

[forgotten-or-unknown-truestories]

Shocking unknown or forgotten crimes

Dr. Hazzard:

Linda Hazzard, a quack doctor, who promoted fasting as a cure all treatment. She set up a sanitarium in Olalla, Washington were people from all over came to cure and purify themselves.

Over forty patients died from starvation, but Linda always attributed their deaths to undisclosed or undiagnosed illness.

After the death of a wealthy British woman, Claire Williamson, Linda was convicted of manslaughter. It was also discovered unknown to Claire and many other patients that Linda had been stealing money from them. After being released from jail, she went right back to promoting her fasting cure all. Ironically, Linda Hazzard died in 1938, by trying to cure herself with the fasting treatment.

Woodchipper murder:

One of the most shocking murders in Connecticut  history. Helle Crafts, a beautiful and loving Danish woman, and mother of three, was murdered by her husband, pilot Richard Crafts. After murdering his wife, he disposed of her body by dismembering it into pieces with a chainsaw, then putting the pieces through a woodchipper.

The case was the first murder in Connecticut  history to be solved without a body. It was also inspiration for The Coen Brother's movie Fargo.

Defeo family murder:

The Amityville Horror, is one of the most well known haunted house stories. The Lutz family claimed they had to leave the home, after living there only 28 days.

The Defeo family consist of: Ronald Defeo Sr and their children Ronald Jr., Dawn, Allison, Marc, and John Matthew.

All were killed by the oldest child Ron Jr. The most confusing part of the crime was all the victims were face down in the pillow with no signs of struggle, and neighbors never heard gun shots.

The murder of this family has been turned into Hollywood entertainment, and sadly the Defeo family is ignored. It is so sad that the Lutz, several books, and several movies on the case or inspired by the case, is known more than the actual people who experienced the real Amityville horror.

The Barnes Mystery:

Julia Martha Thomas, a retired school teacher and widow, was known for being a very difficult and harsh employer. Julia met Kate after putting out an add for a new house servant. Julia had no clue about Kate's background.

Kate was an alcoholic, thief, and con artist. Once Kate moved into Julia's house, it is said that the positive relationship between the two women, ended quickly.

Julia feared Kate because of her temper that only got worse the more she drank. Julia finally had enough and asked Kate to leave. Kate finally snapped and pushed Julia down the stairs, than killed her by strangling her.

Kate disposed of the body, in a very gruesome method. She dismembered Julia's body and boiled the fat. The rest of Julia's remains she dumped in the river and buried the skull under a stable by the bar she went to often where it was found in 2010. Kate was found guilty, was hanged and buried in an unmarked grave.

It was discovered she had given Julia's boiled body fat to neighbors and street children, claiming it was homemade pig lard.

Die with it in you, Frankie:

Frankie Silver, was an eighteen year old young mother, who was hanged for the murder and dismemberment, of her husband Charles Silver. It is still unknown what was the motive, but there are a view theories.  

Some believe she killed out of jealously and others say Charles was abusive and Frankie killed him to protect herself and their baby.

The most baffling theory, and the theory most people agree with is that Frankie wasn't the killer.

When Frankie was found guilty, she was sentenced to death by hanging.  At her hanging, she was asked if she had any last words.

As she went to speak, her father Isiah yelled "Die with it in you, Frankie.''

She did. Instead she began to sing a ballad she wrote during her time in prison.

Here is a link to the lyrics.

Ouija board murder:

Nancy was struggling to come to terms with the death of her husband. After buying a Ouija board, Nancy started asking questions to see if this was really husband they were speaking to.

After a few questions, Lila began writing down what the board was saying. She told Nancy that Charlie was saying someone had killed him. Nancy once again used the board to find out the name of the killer.

Lila wrote down the word "Clothilde'' and told Nancy were this woman lived and her description.

Clothilde Marchand, was the wife of Henri Marchand a sculptor. Nancy managed into get inside of her home, and killed her with a hammer. Clothilde's son found his mother's body after getting home from school. He quickly went to tell his father.

Henri was sure that Lila was the killer and police began to question her. Lila quickly told the police Nancy was the killer. When questioned by police Nancy freely admitted to the crime.

When the police asked her to sign a written statement, she told them she couldn't because she had never learned to read or write. The police asked her if that was the case how did she know what the Ouija board said. Nancy stated Lila had wrote the words down and told her what they said.

Lila took advantage of her best friends heartbreak and illiteracy to kill an innocent woman, because her lover refused to leave his wife for her.

[ecofinisher]

Chapter 1 out of 2

Rollan sat on top of his horse strolling along the village through the road spotting a couple of older villagers moving around from places to obtain needed things for their daily lives. On the way, two men passed by the guard and waved at the raven-haired man. “Good day, gentleman" Greeted the Spaniard, followed by his horse puffing making the rider chuckle.

“Your sad they didn't have any apples with them, am I right?” Asked Rollan making the horse neigh. “Next time you might get something, if not I take us a few for our break, what do you say?”

The stallion nodded followed by a puffing, then came along the way over a child, which was being escorted by an adult woman and Rollan stopped curious to see what's going on.

“Good morning, Miss Langö” Greeted Rollan. “Is everything alright?”

“I'm bringing Lyudmila home. He wasn't feeling good at the school,” Commented the woman, then watched the girl place his hand on the horse's face to caress it. “She got very nauseous after the break and now she's coming home,”

“That's the best thing to do then,” Responded Rollan looking at the girl, that was patting the service horse. “Do you like Valiente?” Asked Rollan making the girl nod. “He's a very brave horse,”

“You've got him from the Danish farmer behind the castle, right?”

“No, actually he was a gift from King Esteban of Spain. According to him, Valiente's parents were good breeding choices between two horses from another kingdom. I don't remember the ones, but I remember the one King to be Danish and the horses chosen to mate were called Sitrone and Keke”

“I think I've heard from the Queen. She was supposed to meet King Harald, but after those two disasters with the Mirrorlands it didn't happen for a long time,”

“Exactly,” Commented Rollan, then saw the girl beginning to cough hard making Rollan feel worried about the girl. “Shall I offer you two a ride to a healer? She doesn't seem quite well,”

“It's alright. My sister is in the near and she's got the carriage to carry us three. You've got your own duty to perform,” Rejected Miss Langö kindly. “Thanks for the offer,"

“Bye Valiente,” Said the girl making Rollan smile and pat his stallion as well. “Hey, que tal? Shall we go visit the food store or head to the next checkpoint?” Questioned Rollan, then heard loud ringing bells and widened his eyes.

“A robbery,” Commented Rollan looking at his horse, then pushed on the leash and Valiente ran off with the man on his back, so they would go around the village to look for the noise of the bells and saw four masked thieves charging a carriage with bags filled with money and a fifth person stood down aiming at the entrance of the bank to prevent anyone to follow them.

“Stop in the name of King Harald!” Ordered Rollan, then the man aimed at Rollan, then took a shot and Valiente jumped aside to both would miss the shoot. The thief jumped at the cart, then ordered the rider of the vehicle to drive off and Rollan began to follow the carriage, short while later another rider appeared who wore the same uniform as Rollan but had a shorter rank.

“I'm right here!” Announced the second guard following the carriage across the village.

On the other side of the village inside a coffee shop stood Gerda emptying hot water from a pan into four cups and brought it on a tableau out of the shop to a group of adults, which were there sitting and listening to one guest of another table telling a story.

“There you go, guys. Have you decided what sort of cake you want?” Asked the blonde woman, making them nod.

“I'll list it down. Only three of us are interested right now. Norbert would love to have lemon cake, I'd like apple pie and Hans would like to have Cheesecake if there is,”

“Our baker Adrian’ is working on one. It might just take 10-15 minutes longer,” ‘

“I still take it. It's our day off though,” Commented Hans making Gerda nod.

“Yeah, I hope you four enjoy our time here at the shop,” Commented Gerda making the group nod, then she walked to the next table to pick up a few cups that were left back by the last visitors, then Gerda heard a gunshot and shrieked about it.

One of the guests that sat there was a guard as well and got up from the chair and dropped several coins on the table while on the ground a shepherd mixed breed got up, waiting for the guard to pick up the leash and before leaving the shop the guard noticed from the end a carriage coming, where the gang was and he ordered all to get down.

“Heads down!” Shouted the man seeing all guests hide along with Gerda, which watched all guests look at the exit waiting for the thieves to pass by.

The carriage just passed by and the guard released the dog, which began to race behind the vehicle and the man jumped at the next carriage, that belonged to the guards of the kingdom.

Gerda climbed above the terrace of the coffee shop to transform herself into her dragon form and took up in the air to pursue the thieves from above, then recognized coming from the second road from behind the coffee her husband Rollan come along with his horse and another member of the guard.

“Oh Rollan is at the work” Commented Gerda, then sank down to stay closer to the carriage, that was pursuing the bandits. “Bullet, watch out!” Yelled Gerda, then watched the dog slow down and move from the sides, so the thief wouldn't injure the dog.

“Bullet, bite,” Ordered one of the guards and the dog ran fast to the carriage of the thieves and switched the side again to avoid another bullet, then jumped at the leashes that were attached to the horses to cause chaos between the riders and the animals.

Bullet barked strictly at the two riders, which lied on the ground, then from behind arrived the carriage with two other guards, which took out their guns to aim at the two men in the back of the cart.

Bullet bites one of the men on the arm, afterward, the second thief hit the dog with the edge of his gun on the head causing it to yelp, then the second thief got up and ran in the direction of the forest, where Rollan showed up with his horse aiming his gun at the criminal.

” Hands up!” Ordered Rollan, then the thief gazed back spotting Gerda's wizard form on top of the cart glaring at the thief that remained back on the car, fearing the heroine.

Rollan slowly made his way to the man, then packed him on his arms, moving his hand to the thief's gun to remove the weapon he held. Rollan made it, then pointed it at the villain, which slowly took his arms up.

In the meantime, Gerda got down of bag pile and led the criminal back to the cart of the guards and observed from a few meters behind two guards watching the criminals enter one by one, after being handcuffed with a pair of cuffs. Rollan and his colleague were taking a look at the horses of the outlaws, then walked past the back of the police carriage to one of the guards.

“That went pretty fast. Thank you, Red Dragon,” Thanked a guard giving the dragon his hand to shake.

“One of the horse's legs seems to be sprained,” Commented Rollan. “One of us has to accompany it to the vet afterward,”

“You can go if you're okay with it. I'll take the group,” Mentioned the guard, that accompanied Rollan during the pursuit. Rollan looked at Gerda and smiled glad about her help, then gave out his hand, which she took and held. “Gracias Amor” Thanked the Spaniard quiet.

The last thief threw himself against the guard with the handcuffs, then removed the gun from the belt and is embraced the thief to take the gun away from the man. Rollan placed his hand on Gerda's shoulder to guide her aside from the zone and took out his gun approaching the trio.

“Take it down!” Ordered the husband of the wizard and the other guard returned to interrupt. Someone triggered the gun's mechanism to let out a bullet, which targeted Rollan on the side of his body, causing him to groan in pain.

“Rollan!” Shouted Gerda approaching the husband and the fourth guard had taken over the criminal to remove his weapon, then watched him getting handcuffed before getting thrown into the cart.

“Arthur, Merlin, one officer down,” Warned the redhead, then watched Red Dragon embrace the injured Spaniard to analyze the injury.

“You're bleeding! Hold on, we're going to get you out of here,” Warned Gerda, then the guard, that accompanied Rollan tapped the heroine on the shoulder to get her attention.

“If you're alright with this, could you bring Rollan into a hospital and see if they can take care of him? You're much faster than us,”

“I will without any doubt,” Commented Gerda, then took Rollan up on her arms and blew at his face to pull the hair bangs away. “If you can please talk to me. Anything, just try to stay awake” Begged the heroine seeing Rollan jerking with his shoulders feeling intense pain and Gerda gently clawed with her one hand behind Rollan's back. “Tell me something about the kids”

“Roscoe loves snail houses a lot,” Commented Rolllan making Gerda smile seeing he was able to talk. "He collects them often at our walks..."

“Yes! He's crazy about them,” Confessed the brunette woman beginning to flap with her wings up to take a look at the surroundings.

“Helena is very smart and creative. She made you once a small bookshelf out of wood with your dad, remember?” Questioned Rollan making his wife nod.

“Si, my love,” Responded Gerda gazing into the eyes of the husband, which was awake and Gerda tapped on Rollan’s cheek with one claw perking him up more. “Tell me about what they've done yesterday,” Gerda added, then made her way above the village carrying Rollan to a healer.