The context of life is subject to interpretation

The Halfling campaign
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Coan
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The context of life is subject to interpretation

Post by Coan »

Hello and welcome to the halfling walks game. This series began several years ago and has changed hands at least three times now. It has since passed on to me to continue it.

You'll probably pick up differences in play and focus (I am after all a different DM to Jason) however if you ever have some suggestions please feel free to PM me.

This thread takes off from 'A Halfling walks in the alleys' thread and follows Cole Deschain, past Kargat Agent and a man with a past.

In Cole's own words this is what has happened:

My group (consisting of Cole, Bronn, and RT) was sent to assassinate a Red Wizard in league with Aderre's forces by none other than Lord Soth. In return, we essntially got the honro of serving him, so far as I could tell- Bronn wanted some soldiers to command, I believe... Cole just wanted to get there, get the job done, and get back to Desilda.
RT was looking for a possible magical fix for here severed arm.

We'd run into a local mage, who gave us some aid, and we were scouring the sewers, looking for out target, when inertia set in with all its terrible force.
This shall follow Cole for the moment with extra characters returning soon.

So now I give you 'The context of life is subject to interpretation' or 'Sweet things taste better, right?'
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Post by Coan »

The tunnels wind about considerably, and the party is annoyed, but not terribly surpised, when they come across one of Cole's marks on the walls.

"Circles. Wonderful. Must've taken the wrong fork back a ways..."

RT glares at the wall before shrugging and turning to look at Cole. She raises one delicate eyebrow and cocks her head with a silent question before turning back to scrapping much off her belt and scabbard.
Cole was beginning to get angry, they had been travelling in the sewers for hours and his head was starting to hurt from the smell. Attacks, assassinations, it felt like old times -and now he remembered why he hated those days.

He had begun moving down another path when he heard the sound of a cough from behind -it was Jebbedo.


"Excuse me... but we seem to have lost one of our so ever great 'allies'"

Cole turned and swore, Bronn had indeed gone missing. It must have been a turn or two back. Going with RT and Jebbedo they retraced their steps but couldn't find him. Indeed it was while thinking on what to do next that Cole noticed something unsettling.

"Where are the marks we left?"

"What?" Jebbedo looked at him

"The marks I've been leaving. One should be here!" he moved over to a wall and pointed with his withered right hand at the barrier that seemed so old and without any indication it had been tampered with.

"What? We're lost? I didn't sign on for this."

"RT what do you make of this?.... RT?"

The panic was unsettling and the room began to spin slightly as no answer came. He took a moment to refocus his thoughts and leaned against the wall. His headache was getting worse and now RT seemed to have gotten lost.

Was he under attack?


"I say, are you alright?" Jebbedo's voice interupted
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Post by Cole Deschain »

The Darkonian lets out a rueful chuckle, running his good left hand through his hair, getting the sweat and filth-encrusted stuff out of his face momentarily.

"No, Jebeddo, no, I'm not. We've apparently lost track of not one, but two of our allies, we still haven't found that damn wizard, we've been wading through a sewer for the last few hours, and I've got a thrice-bedamned headache. Additionally, it seems that the marks I've been leaving aren't 'sticking,' so it's safe to say we're lost. You and I are quite, quite far from 'alright.'"

He pauses, and flicks some particularly groteque filth from the blade of Longtooth.

"And I'm starting the remember old habits that I'd rather keep locked up."

Paranoia being chief among them.
Go tell the Spartans, thou who passest by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.
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Post by Coan »

Jebbedo sighed and looked around once more.

"Did you hear something? I think it ... no it's this way." the guide shifted his footing and began moving towards another tunnel. "Come on."

Jebbedo's words echoed in Cole's pounding head for a moment as he rose to stand up once again.

"Wait" he yelled and moved to follow. Soon he was by Jebbedo's side and could definatley hear something. Like a slight rustling of feet against stone or shifting of sand. Then up ahead in the dark Cole thought he saw the flicker of something white, then it was gone.
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Post by Cole Deschain »

Cole quietly drew and loaded his flintlock, grateful that he still had some dry powder... his battle with the sewer monster had fouled most of it. Hopefully the gun itself would fire. He didn't want to think of what might happen if he resorted to his spells beneath a city of wizards. He tapped Jebeddo's shoulder with his withered right hand, and began whispering

"Whatever it is, it almost certainly knows we're here. Stick close, and watch your back."

The former Kargat resumed wading through the sewage, moving towards where he'd seen the white... whatever it was.

Just like old times. Damn it.
Go tell the Spartans, thou who passest by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.
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Post by Coan »

They moved forward, Cole with his pistol at hand and Jebeddo carefully following behind. In the distance the two could see another flicker of movement.

"There! Do you see it?" Jebeddo said and his voice echoed slightly. Cole would have told him to keep quiet but the white glimpse moved once more at responce to the noise.

There was nothing for it, he decided, an all out chase it would have to be and just as his head gave another throb as well. Speeding up Cole raised the pistol and gave a warning but still the thing did not stop and onwards they rushed.

Though he would not have noticed it had he been going slower when he paused to catch his breath and gain his bearings Cole thought the tiles of the sewer had changed. They were lighter now, cleaner infact. The smell seemed to have abated as well though he had been down here for so long it was hard to tell. But it smelled more... fresh?

At that moment the sound of a person up ahead brought him back to the present. The troubles seemed to be giving him a hard time concentrating on one thing. He had to focus.

It was a woman. He was sure of that now. She was dressed in a white gown, for a moment she turned to look behind her and Cole took a deep breath. There was no way. Just no way.

It was Laurel Meares.
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Post by Cole Deschain »

Cole stared at her for what seemed like an eternity, while Jebeddo sloshed up behind him.

His mind was in utter turmoil, and much of the sureness seemed to seep out of him.

She was dead.

He'd found her body, he'd seen what Brusilov and his friends had done to her.


"Laurel?"
Go tell the Spartans, thou who passest by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.
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Post by Coan »

The woman turned and Cole froze. There was no mistaking it, it was her. Her face seemed to be filled with sadness as he approached.

"Cole? I thought... what are you doing here?"

She reached out her slender hand to touch him and for a moment the former Kargat spy forgot about his right hand and raised it towards her. She paused for a moment but didn't seem to care. She accepted him for the man he was inside, as she always had done. Then just as Cole began to think his luck had changed and perhaps life had dealt him a real chance for happiness -it all fell apart. At that moment the space between them was suddenly seperated by a sliding door of iron falling down from above. Cole could hear Laurel's cries from the other side though they were so muffled he couldn't make them out.

He couldn't even hear Jebeddo and looking around saw no one -he was alone.
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Post by Cole Deschain »

Cole shook his head...

What in hell's name was going on?

Laurel was dead. Dead. But he had a feeling he wasn't in Hazlan anymore...

Had he died?

It could have happened, he supposed.

Somehow he doubted it.

For one thing, his head wouldn't hurt.

So he was just going insane.

Lovely.

He turned slowly, letting the light from the stone Gabriel had given him play over his surroundings, trying to see if he recognized anything about the stonework surrounding him...
Go tell the Spartans, thou who passest by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.
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Post by Coan »

As he moved down the tunnel exploring Cole began to get the feeling of being somewhere like this before, though he could not put his finger to it.

Not to far from where he had been seperated from Laurel he saw in the distance a light. Moving carefully forward he found a gas lamp hanging outside a wooden door. This did not make any sense for him. He was still in the sewer. At least he thought he was, his head was making it difficult to concentrate.

On the other side of the door he heard that rustling sound like sand. Examining the area for any obvious tricks he cast his gaze to around the door frame and to his surprise and dread found something else near the entrance. It was a small sign -as used to display names of residents. Though grimy and aged he gave it a slight cleaning. There printed clearly were the words,

'The Real Cole Deschain.
Titles: Great Deceiver, User of Women, Coward, Esquire'
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Post by Cole Deschain »

He examined the sign, and couldn;t help but chuckle... Speaking aloud, just in case whoever had done it could hear him (they obvioculy knew he was there), he said,

"You left off murderer, saboteur, spy, traitor, and fool."

Although there was some truth to it, wasn't there? Only a total fool could believe a man could erase all of his sins by "starting over."

Taking the sign, Cole stowed it into one of the many pockets of his already-filthy and threadbare cloak.
\r
Waste not want not.

Then he knocked on the door, rapping with the shrivelled knuckles of his right hand.
Go tell the Spartans, thou who passest by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.
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Post by Coan »

Without the forboding creak he was half expecting the door swung open. What he found on the other side was something remarkable. The tunnel opened up suddenly to a much larger chamber. It was twice the height of the other paths and almost 30 feet across. Above were several street openings and the light from outside shone down to light areas between the thick stone support pillars. Water ran just over the tiles as Cole ascended a group of stairs to the main level which resembled that of a stage.

Moving upwards Cole saw the growing figure of a man in black huddled and kneeling in the middle of the room. A stream of light shined onto him and dust and dirt caught the sun seeming to create a slight stary effect. The man was doing something that obviously was taking him a lot of concentration.
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Post by Cole Deschain »

Cole pondered his surroundings for a moment before clearing his throat.

"You live here?"

His left hand strays to the hilt of Longtooth, while he awkwardly flexes the tendons of his right.
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Post by Coan »

The figure shrugged slightly.

"Do you mind! I'm counting."

Cole froze. He recognized that voice, even if he were crazy he would know it.

The man stood, raising his impressive figure to full height. Then he turned and Cole was staring into the helmet. That terrible visor that had become the symbol of fear and loathing to so many. The great betrayer himself, a man that had become a legend and yet so much more.

It was Lord Soth.


"Ah the main character. At last. You have taken your time fool."
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Post by Cole Deschain »

Trying to retain his composure, the Darkonian doesn;t even bother with the shrug he'd been contemplating...

"I got distracted, m'lord. I would imagine critically so."

His hand slides away from his weapon hilt. Against this thing, the most he could do would be to die in seven seconds instead of five.

Damn.
Go tell the Spartans, thou who passest by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.
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