# When Luck Runs Out



## Wik (Jul 27, 2007)

INTRO:  So, this is my first attempt at a story hour.  It's mostly something to do to kill a bit of time, and to get back into writing (I have a creative writing class in two months, after all!).  And, since our group keeps logs for every session, I think it should be easy enough to do.

Our group (which includes Erywin from the boards as our GM, and good ol' Blargney the Second) has already run through a few modules at the start of this story hour;  I just figured this would be a good place to start.

In terms of spoilers, we're running through Fallen Angel (from DUNGEON magazine), Chimes of Midnight (if that's what it's called), and Eyes of the Lich Queen.  And yeah, it's EBERRON.

Also, we have a few house rules that change how some of the classes behave - namely, more skill points, and all skills are class skills.  Which worked out great for us so far.

The characters:

*Marlowe D'Lyrandar:* Half-Elven Wu Jen ("Elementalist").  A child of a dragonmark family that didn't develop a dragonmark.  He has resentment towards Lyrandar (and all dragonmarks) and has spent much of his youth as a travelling gambler.

This is, by the way, the PC of yours truly.  May the dice gods favour him.

*Jacob D'Lyrandar:* Half-Elven Dragon Shaman.  A dragonmarked member of House Lyrandar, and Marlowe's cousin.  Adventurous, and probably the least impulsive in the group.  The de facto leader of the party.  Jacob is loyal to his dynasty, and dreams of commanding his own airship one day.

*"Blue"* Goliath Psychic Warrior.  Your typical, highly competitive goliath that has an astounding ability to deal damage in a fight.  Blue also has the worst luck in the party, and it often makes him a very bitter man.


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## Wik (Jul 27, 2007)

"So, that's Sharn." It was a simple statement, but the Goliath was unable to keep the wonder out of his voice.

"Yes.  Sharn." Jacob d'Lyrandar answered.

The Goliath had been sitting at the bow of the ship, a Lyrandar airship that had been named the _Airslicer_, for the past several hours.  He had been hoping to catch a glimpse of the fabled city of Towers, and as the _Slicer_ approached, he was not disappointed.

Tall towers that seemed to touch the very crowds - dozens of them.  Even at this distance, hundreds of tiny craft seemed to flit from tower to tower like bees moving between flowers.  

"It really takes your breath away, doesn't it?" Jacob asked.

"Yes.  Are all cities like that?" The Goliath, named "Blue" by his companions due to his rock-like skin that was a cross between blue and gray, asked.  

Jacob just laughed.  "I wish."

Another man came up from behind.  He worse a long, flowing jacket that reached his knees, and obviously hadn't shaved in several days.  "It's a nice place, Blue.  They call it the 'city of towers'... I call it 'the city of fools'.  It's an easy place if you're looking to take someone's money."

Jacob just coughed, and rolled his eyes.  "Are we going to have to deal with the local law when we get here, Marlowe?"

Marlowe grunted.  "Not likely.  Although a few of the watch sergeants owe me some money..."

Jacob shook his head.  "Right.  The 'city of fools'."

"You got it."

***

They had spent three days in Sharn when all hell broke loose.

They were at the bazaar, lit by torches and glowing lanterns, doing their best to make their way through revelers of every type.  A local celebration was in way, making the bazaar even more diverse and jammed than usual.  Several times, it took them ten minutes to cross one hundred feet of space, as they fought their way through minstrels, travelers, salesmen, guardsmen, children, and partygoers.  Even pickpockets, as Marlowe had discovered shortly after a night of successful gambling.

"What are we looking for, Jacob?" Blue asked, following shortly behind the leader of their little party.  Jacob d'Lyrandar, while the shortest of the three, had a sense of self that gave him size beyond his five and a half feet.  His long black hair was braided to stay out of his face.  He wore an open-cut shirt, to show off the simple Lyrandar dragonmark that stood out plainly on his chest. 

"Talismans, Blue.  Falling Talismans."

"Falling...?" 

Marlowe shouted to be heard over the crowd, while glaring at anyone he suspected of being a thief. "Falling Talismans.  There are a lot of towers, here, Blue.  And it's a long way to the ground.  They slow you down so you don't break every bone when you hit said ground."

"Why would we be falling off towers...?"

"Just ask our fearless leader." Marlowe spat out.

"That was an accident.  I didn't mean to push you out of the airship... I was trying to-"

"Right.  You were trying to save me.  You were trying to leave me alone with those orcs, to buy some escape time for yourself."

"You don't seriously believe that."

"Like hell I don't."

"Then why are you still here?" Jacob growled, turning to face Marlowe.

"Keep your friends close, and keep your enemies-" Marlowe began, and then stopped when he saw Jacob's face go limp.

"Jacob?"

***

_I have an offer for you and your companions, Jacob D'Lyrandar.  My name is Kaelys Tela, and I can be found in Upper Tavick's Landing.  I trust I shall see you soon._

The words echoed inside Jacob's mind.  For a moment, the world around him faded into shadow, and all sounds became muted.  He felt as if he were somehow connected to a mind, a distant mind...

...and then the moment was broken.  Both the lumpy-skinned Goliath (more than seven feet tall) and the rough-faced Marlowe were nervously checking in on Jacob.

"I'm fine." Jacob mumbled.  

"Are you sure...?" Blue asked.

"Marlowe," Jacob said.  "Is it usual for a man to be hearing voices?"

"Do you need to ask?" 

"What would you do, if I said I just heard someone's voice, offering employment."

Marlowe thought for a moment.  "Well, there are a few sanitoriums in Sharn.  I'd find the cheapest one and dump you in it.  Keep at least one Lyrandar off the streets."

Jacob just ignored Marlowe. "She was a woman.  Sounded pretty, too." 

"Well, that's a relief.  Was it a sending spell?"

"Maybe.  You're the expert on the arcane, remember?"

Marlowe scowled and was about to say something, when a loud crash sounded from the next block.  "What the hell...?" he began.

***


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## Wik (Jul 27, 2007)

They ran into a crowded city street, choked with revelers that were already screaming.  Each scream bounced off the shop-lined walls, echoing inside the enclosed avenue.  Marlowe, Jacob, and Blue found themselves fighting to stay stationary against a crowd doing it's best to retreat from the scene as quickly as possible.  

It wasn't hard to see why.

Three large wooden wagons had been overturned or broken open, and dozens of goblins and hobgoblins wearing the garb of Medani prisoners were overpowering surprised and outnumber guards.  Most of the goblins had already armed themselves; a  few were beginning to chase after terrified citizens.

In the middle of the street, a massive two-headed giant, carrying the axel of one of the wagons in one hand, and holding a light post in the other.  It wore the prisoner's uniform, stained with sweat and other bodily fluids.  The creature raised it's arms into the air, and let loose a deafening howl that drowned out all other noise.

"This isn't good..." Marlowe mumbled.  "Is this our fight?" 

"We have to help them!" Jacob shouted out.  

A single Medani guard, holding a longsword and a shield, was doing his best to evade the clubs wielded by the two-headed giant.

"Hey!" Jacob cried out.  "Do you need a hand?"

"Yes, yes, please-!" he cried out, before the giant's club crashed into his chest.  The guard flew twenty feet, before crashing through the windows of a nearby shop.

"Great." Marlowe muttered.  He quickly ducked into a nearby alcove, and then, with a whispered word from the arcane language, winked out of sight.

Jacob and Blue rushed past the crowd, and stood at a crossroads.

Seeing a group of goblins terrorizing citizens, Jacob pointed his hand and called forth forked lightning.  The blue energy arcked towards the goblins, and one of the little beasts yelped in pain and dropped the dagger it was holding.  The group faced Jacob, anger in their eyes, and charged.

Blue found himself with a red-skinned hobgoblin blocking his path.  They began maneuvering, Blue easily parrying the hobgoblin's attacks.  "Where's Marlowe?" he asked through grit teeth.

"I'm around!" he heard, from somewhere behind him.  A moment later, Blue heard Marlowe's voice casting another spell, and felt the elementalist's hand on his shoulder.  Blue's muscles bulged and tightened on his blade.

The already strong goliath became even stronger, and was able to push back the surprised hobgoblin in front of him.  With a few skillfull blows, he knocked the hobgoblin's sword aside, and drove his own blade into flesh.  His opponent down, Blue spun around to face a second hobgoblin, and drove his blade in deep.

Jacob found himself surrounded by goblins and hobgoblins, and it was all he could do to dodge their blows with the darkwood shield that he carried.  Slowly, he was able to drive them back, and more than once his morningstar bit into goblin flesh.  But more often, the goblins' would strike his armour - each time rewarded with a zap of electrical energy that surrounded Jacob and his allies.

"This hurt!  What magic is this?" one of the goblins shrieked after being struck by a bolt of electricity.

"One of my many talents." Jacob grinned as he brought his mace down upon the goblin's skull.

The giant, busy knocking the fallen wagons out of the way, approached Blue, who had finished the hobgoblins and goblins around him.  He then brought down his clubs in a flurry of activity.

Blue was able to dodge most of the swings, barely diving out of the way or deflecting each swing with his blade.  However, one club caught him in the side, and knocked the wind out of the goliath.  He was barely able to catch his breath before he had to jump out of the way of another club attack that came down from directly overhead;  when the club hit the cobblstones, it cracked loudly and broke many stones free from the mortar.

A wolf made of stone appeared behind the giant, and started harrassing it with a few awkward bites.  The giant turned one of it's heads, watched the stone wolf, and then looked upon the Goliath once more.  

"Is that the best you can do, Marlowe?" Blue asked nervously, busily dodging club attacks while being pushed backwards.  

"I'm doing the best I can, alright?"

Jacob pulled back, fighting his way to Blue's side.  With all the goblins that now choked the streets, Marlowe's single summoned wolf did not seem like much help.  "Maybe you could, I don't know, try harder?" Jacob asked.

"Consider it done, fearless leader." Even over the shouts and screaming, nothing could mistake the sarcasm in Marlowe's voice.

The two-headed monster seemed divided over which target to face, with each head focusing on a different opponent.  Jacob was barely able to raise his shield in time, and when it was struck by the lamp post, he felt as if his arm was going to break.  

When he turned to look at Blue, he saw that the Goliath had not been quick enough, and had been knocked unconscious by the a club that connected.

"Healing Aura!" Jacob announced, and removed the nimbus of electricity that had surrounded he and his friends.  Already, many of Blue's bruises and wounds began to heal.

A bolt of brilliant purple energy shot out from behind Jacob, and impacted the giant in the chest.  At the same time, Marlowe blinked back into sight, his jacket flowing in an invisible wind.  He held in his hands a slender black wand, still pulsating with purple energy.

"So glad you could come." Jacob growled as the hobgoblins and goblins began to surround him.

Jacob was able to bash at the Giant's arm with his club several times, as the creature tried to fight past Jacob.  Marlowe, meanwhile, kept firing off bolts of energy, before he began chanting in a basslike tone.

_Time for the heavy stuff,_ Jacob thought to himself, and, timing himself with Marlowe's chants, threw himself to the side while shooting off another bolt of energy that arched between the bodies of several goblins and hobgoblins.  

Those that weren't killed instantly in Jacob's blast turned and ran.  The giant took a step forward, seeing that Marlowe was now an open target.  

It stopped a moment later when a stone materialized in thin air directly above it, and struck it in the face.  Several stones began raining down on the giant, which dropped both clubs and covered it's heads with it's hands.

"Now!" Marlowe shrieked.

Jacob ran forward and leaped, bringing his morning star down upon the chest of the giant.  The attack pierced the creature's thick skin, and a geyser of blood sprayed Jacob in the face.  Still surrounded by a hail of stone, the giant lowered it's hand for a moment to push Jacob off, and in that moment, the skull of the right head was crushed by summoned rock.

The two-headed monstrosity groaned, and fell to the ground with an immense thud that shook the foundations of the bazaar.  

The few remaining goblins fled in terror.

Holding his wand in one hand, Marlowe walked up towards Jacob and Blue - now beginning to wake up.

"You both look pretty hurt.  And yet, I'm fine." Marlowe said, a smug smile on his face.  "Who taught _you_ how to fight, anyway?"

Both Jacob and Blue fixed Marlowe with iron glares.


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