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The ogre roars as Felix’s blade slips past a rib, and attempts to retaliate, but the ogre is so slow, Felix is easily able to duck underneath.
Ogre: -11
Felix feels a surge of victory at his devastating first blow, but he also tries to treat the battle with respect, both for honor's sake, and so he doesn't get his head clubbed off.
Felix scores another smaller hit, which compels the ogre to retaliate, this time giving Felix a serious drubbing.
Felix scores another hit, and the ogre staggers forward, falling to the ground.
Felix groans in pain as he falls to his knees seconds after the ogre falls. The first thing he does is to dig out a healing potion and drink it.
Feeling much better, he remembers his training and loots the ogre's body. After that, he starts to explore the cave that the ogre was guarding.
The ogre has nothing on his person except a crude iron key. However, once Felix starts to explore the cave, he quickly finds an equally crude wooden chest that fits the key, and snicking it open, he finds 50 gold coins and a healing potion.
Felix sees that the cave actually goes quite far back, though it’s dark once he passes the entrance. Taking a moment to light his lantern, he is able to safely descend the sloped floor, though after going no more than fifty feet in, he hears a sound from up ahead, and large movement just beyond the range of his lantern light.
Felix happily and hurriedly empties the chest's contents into his own... um, contents.
Venturing further into the cave, he pauses when he hears the noise. If the noise is a repetitive noise that seems like it was already going on before Felix arrived, he'll move forward to investigate. If it was a sudden noise that happened once and then stopped, Felix will call out, "Hello?"
Accompanied by a metal clanking sound, a low growl emanates from further into the cave. Felix steps forward another step, and the shape of an enormous brown bear appears. The creature rears up on its haunches and bares its fangs. Felix notices two things about the dire bear: a thick silvery chain leads from a manacle around its leg to a thick pillar of rock to the side, and the bear’s sides are gaunt and thin. Hunger seems to have driven the poor beast half-mad.
From behind the bear, Felix sees a faint green glow coming from some chamber further in…beyond the bear.
Felix tries to assess if he can get around the bear or if the passage is too narrow for that.
Passage is definitely too narrow. He’s going to need some means of pacifying the bear.
"Aw, poor guy. I'll be back."
Not seeing a way to free the bear without getting mauled himself, Felix heads back to town. He'll stop by the healer's hut, first.
Felix is able to make his way back to town, and the healer is at her hut.
"Hi, Amelia!"
Felix explains his goal of creating the potion he was tasked with creating by Nerissel. He is off to the waterfall to get the flying water next, but he wants to leave the ingredients that he's collected thus far in her care, in case something should happen to him.
Assuming that Amelia has no further business with him, Felix spends the night in town, and then heads to the lake along the southern wall of the valley the next morning.
”Oh, it’s so nice that you’re helping the dryad,” she says. ”She does keep the forest healthy. That’s how you make a dispel potion, is it? I’ll get started with what you’ve brought me.”
By early afternoon, Felix arrives at the waterfall. He gets mighty wet and chilled to the bone, but he’s able to collect a flask of water right from the falls themselves.
Back to Amelia!
Amelia welcomes you back. Taking the flask, she makes an arcane gesture over it, then says, ”Flying water. How clever! I’ll get started on that dispel potion of yours. Please return tomorrow.”
"Thank you, Amelia! Now, I just need to figure out who drinks it to dispel the curse!"
Felix heads to the Adventurer's Guild, and catches Wolfgang up on what he's been up to: The giant, the giant hunt, the dryad, the potion, the goblin lair, . He asks the grizzled adventurer for any advice what to tackle next.
”Actually, Felix, though I can’t be certain, I don’t think this is a potion to drink, but rather to be poured over or thrown on your target. I’ll know more when I’ve had a chance to examine the completed potion.”
At the guildhall, Wolfgang listens to Felix’s tale. ”You’ve been up to quite a bit, young man. Good on you for befriending that giant. We certainly don’t have enough food here for all those giants. It’s too bad they don’t have their own Erana’s Peace, isn’t it? Then they’d be able to stay fed until their regular food sources recovered.”
”Actually, Felix, though I can’t be certain, I don’t think this is a potion to drink, but rather to be poured over or thrown on your target. I’ll know more when I’ve had a chance to examine the completed potion.”
"Oh!
Um, oh."
At the guildhall, Wolfgang listens to Felix’s tale. ”You’ve been up to quite a bit, young man. Good on you for befriending that giant. We certainly don’t have enough food here for all those giants. It’s too bad they don’t have their own Erana’s Peace, isn’t it? Then they’d be able to stay fed until their regular food sources recovered.”
"Boy, Wolfgang, if you knew how to arrange that, you'd be a hero!"
”Ha! If I knew how to do that, I’d be Erana! Still, it’s a shame the fruit from that tree can’t leave the meadow, or you could bring the giant a few pits to plant in his own orchards. Still, maybe there’s someway to…what’s the word…reproduce the tree? I’d talk to an arborist…that’s someone who knows how to tend fruit trees.”
"Yeah, that would solve a lot of problems for them, for sure. I can ask the Dryad about that if I see her again. Thanks for listening, Wolfgang!"
Not having anything specific to do until the potion is created, Felix heads back up the patch towards the valley entrance to see what the avalanche he caused at the valley entrance looks like.
Actually, it’s pretty much evening by this point. Just turning in at the inn?
Yes, please.
If the potion is ready in the morning, Felix will go talk to Amelia. If it's not, he'll check out his avalanche. Unless something else interesting is planned.
His potion is ready. In fact, he has two waiting for him. Amelia confirms that these are more magical bombs than traditional potions, though she believes pouring the liquid over someone or something which has a spell cast upon it would also break the spell. She cautions Felix that the potion will only work on someone enchanted by a spell: an enchantment maintained by a magical item will not be broken this way, nor will it do anything for someone who simply has magic cast at them.
Felix listens to the healer carefully, his disappointment for not having the key to break the curse already tempered from the night before. Pocketing the potions, he thanks Amelia and leaves.
He stands outside her hut and thinks about his next move, the morning sun silhouetting his face. It looks very dramatic.
With a nod, he decides. He needs more information, so he turns to the northeast, and sets off to find the wizard Erasmus.
Beams of sunlight break through the tree tops as Felix heads in a northeasterly direction, paving the forest floor in streaks of yellow as he heads off to see the wizard. It’s rough trekking in this direction, and is late afternoon before he hits the eastern wall, and begins following it north.
Arriving in the northeast corner of the valley, Felix suddenly breaks through the forest to find himself at the base of an enormous mountain, towering above any other in the vicinity. A smooth stone path winds it’s way up the mountain, where a bizarre purple mansion sits just below the summit. That’s going to be some climb but he doesn’t see any other way up, so heads for the path.
The moment he sets foot on the path itself, a large wooden sign suddenly appears. It reads: Willkomen auf Zauerburg. The sign vanishes as soon as he reads it. Taking one more step, another sign appears which reads: Trespassers will be toad. No more signs appear.
After an hour of climbing, Felix is only a little winded, being in such fabulous shape. He notices a humanoid creature carved into the rock and pauses to catch his breath and look at the carving. Reaching out one hand to touch it, the carving suddenly springs to life: it is then readily apparent that this is some sort of rock creature, and though it may startle the adventurer, it makes no move to threaten him.
”He who would the wizard see, first must answer questions three. Answer right and answer true, the wizard’s counsel is your due. Answer wrong or answer lie, then quickly you will go bye-bye. What is your name?”
Felix's first instinct is to say hello and ask what sort of creature this rock creature is talking to. Actually, this is his second instinct. His first instinct is to exclaim, "Holy moly!" in surprise.
But! He doesn't want either instinct to be misconstrued for his answer to the question, so he just smiles and says, "Felix Riffin."
The stone creature nods, then vanishes.
Felix looks around rather confused, but head on up the path after a moment.
Another third of the way up the mountain, Felix rounds a bend in the oath to find the stone creature perched on a ledge.
”Why did you come to Spielberg Valley?”
Felix pauses to consider his words before replying, "In response to Spielburg's request for a Hero, I have come to try to be that hero, and to seek adventure!"
The stone creature nods, then vanishes once more.
Continuing up the path, the air gets quite cold, both due to altitude, and also due to the vanishing sun, for though he got a lot more daylight up here than down in the valley, night eventually falls. The moon is bright enough, however, to reveal the eccentric mansion Felix had seen below. The stone creature sits on a perch above the main entrance.
”For your final question: what is the mean airspeed of an unladen swallow?”
Felix tilts his head in confusion.
"What do you mean? An African or European swallow?"
The stone creature also tilts his head. ”I’m not sure.
Have to think about that one. In the meantime, go on in. Head straight up the stairs to the top of the tower. DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING!”
The front door opens, allowing Felix access to the wizard’s house. This wizard must be one eccentric guy. An enormous portrait, so lifelike as to appear three dimensional, shows a tall, thin, elderly man wearing a purple robe with a tall, pointy hat, with moons and stars embroidered over the whole thing. An oversized stuffed rat wearing a blue pointy hat sits on a table on the middle of the foyer next to a strange wooden contraption in the shape of a dinosaur that repeatedly bends over until it’s beak touches a dish of water, then it sits up. An enormous dragon head adorns the east wall over a doorway which leads into a dining room, where the mid-morning sun angles in through the easterly windows, while the late-afternoon sun angles in the west windows to illuminate a cozy library to Felix’s left. Directly ahead is a staircase leading up (and past the portrait). Scattered on various tables and shelves is an eclectic collection of Knick-knacks and arcane paraphernalia. A crown of gold with enormous rubies lies carelessly next to a cracked wand, next to a dog-eared book titled “Journeys in Shapier”, next to…needless to say, the collection is exhausting.
Felix does his best not to think about the different directions of sunbeams. Recognizing the classic trope of someone being told not to touch anything, and then that someone touches something, and then something bad happens to that someone, Felix keeps his hands at his sides as he walks past the wizard's collection of artifacts and up the stairs to the top of the tower. (But he does whistle appreciatively at the 3D painting as he walks by.)
Felix could swear that the painting briefly winks at him, but on a second look, he’s sure he just imagined it. And having moved on up the stairs, Felix doesn’t see the man in the portrait cast a spell and vanish in a puff of smoke, nor the rat doing likewise.
Arriving at the top, Felix comes out on the top of the tower. The walls and ceiling are all a massive dome of some sort of clear material, allowing a phenomenal view of the valley and surrounding mountains in climate-controlled comfort. A large circular table dominates the centre of the room, with three heavy, ornate chairs, one of which is occupied by the human weapon of the portrait below, and on another sits the be-hatted rat Felix saw downstairs. A large puppet theatre, its curtain closed, stands nearby to one side, and a tea cart stands to the other.
The old man, with his long moustache and wispy white beard paired with matching purple hat and robe, looks at the same time ridiculous and dangerous. Felix gets the impression this is not a man to be trifled with.
”Welcome, young adventurer. Please have a seat. Can I get you some tea?”
"Oh! Hello! Yes, please and thank you."
Felix takes a seat and assumes he and the wizard are officially in a guest-and-host scenario, so he minds his Ps and Qs until he is specifically asked why he's come.
The tea is an eclectic mix of mint, strawberries, and rose petals, with a faint hint of root beer. Everything floats around the room: the wizard seems to do almost nothing.
"I am Erasmus. This is Fenrus."
"Erasmus is my familiar," the rat says in a cheeky voice.
Slightly irritated, Erasmus says, "I say, don't you have that backwards?"
"Familiar is my Erasmus? Yes, I have found Erasmus to be overly familiar."
"At any rate, what do we call you, young man, and what can I do for you this evening?"
Felix takes a sip of tea, and does his best to keep a straight face as he considers the... interesting flavor. He longs for a quaff of ale from an establishment that:
a) serves ale,
b) is not frequented by people that will most likely want to stab him.
He looks back and forth at Erasmus and Fenrus during their exchange, keeping a polite smile on his face while they banter.
"My name is Felix Riffin. I've talked with a few people in Spielburg Valley in my adventures who have mentioned what a powerful wizard you are, and they've said that you are likely the most knowledgeable source for information regarding how to undo the curse that's been placed on the area."
Felix also explains his interactions with Nerissel and what Amelia Appleberry has told him about his two dispelling potions.
Erasmus suddenly looks quite pleased with himself.
”Powerful wizard, they said? Why, that’s nice of them.”
”Sure they didn’t just mean powerful whizzer?” Fenrus asks with a chuckle.
”As for the curse, yes I can tell you exactly how to break it, or at least, how the counter-curse goes. See, when a curse is cast, the counter-curse soon becomes revealed to those in the know, that almost sound like prophecy. Baba Yaga’s curse on the baron is a fine example of creative cursing: devastating and powerful to him and his family, and the counter curse will be equally as bad for the curser. The counter-curse for this curse goes: Come a hero from the east, free the man from in the beast, bring the child from out the band, drive the curser from the land. So, you see, in addition to all those other things, he who would break the curse must drive Baba Yaga from the valley, which does not reflect very well on her.”
”Nothing reflects well on that ogress. She has a face that would break all but a magic mirror,” Fenrus comments.
”Oh, a magic mirror, that reminds me I really must track down that reflection mirror. I can’t remember where I put it. If you encounter a magical hand mirror in your travels, could you please return it here? It has a dragon on the handle.”
”Um, I thought it was the magic flagon that had a dragon, and the mirror had a leer.”
”Oh that’s right. The magic mirror has a strange face on it.”
”Kind of reminds me about the one in the master bedroom.”
Erasmus looks puzzled. ”That isn’t a magic mirror.”
”I know, but it has a strange face that pops in it: haven’t you looked in it recently?”
Erasmus’ eyes narrow. ”At any rate, if you find a mirror with a strange face around the glass, you’ll know that it’s a magic mirror that reflects spells.”
"I'll keep an eye out for that mirror; it sounds pretty useful."
Felix pauses and thinks for a long moment before looking up and asking, "Do counter-curses always rhyme?"
”Well, if the curse rhymes, it stands to reason the counter-curse would also rhyme. As for the dryad, I haven’t met her before but I knew she was out there somewhere to the southwest. Baba Yaga has her hut somewhere to the northwest. I would not recommend you try paying her a visit yet. She can be bargained with, for the right price. She specializes in shape-changing magic, and obviously, curses. I myself engage in a broader field of study than those narrow-minded specialists.”
”After all, you wouldn’t want to lose your amateur standing.”
”I prefer to think of myself as a dilettante.”
”Does that mean you tease pickles?”
Felix shakes his head and whispers, "Woooooow," at the arcane mysteries of magic.
After a moment of reflection, he asks if there's anything apparent in the valley that he should be using a dispelling potion on. Felix had assumed that Nerrisel intended it to be used against the curse, but the potions he has do not rhyme.
Erasmus shakes his head. ”If the dryad knows something I don’t, she probably won’t tell you. The fey love their riddles and for humans to figure them out themselves. All I would say to you is that if she feels this dispelling potion is important, its use will become clear at the right time.”
"Erasmus, sir, you've been very helpful. Thank you.
"You know, some of the people in the town seem almost afraid of you! But you seem like a pretty decent guy!"
Felix takes his leave and heads back to town.
Heading back to town is easier that he thought. As soon as he declares his intention to leave, Erasmus says, ”It’s been a pleasure chatting with you, too. Come again any time you have questions.”
Once Felix has stood up, Erasmus incants a single word and snaps his fingers. A ring of smoke appears around Felix’s feet, then shoots upward to cover him completely. Felix feels himself become insubstantial like smoke himself, then pulled apart into smoke. The smoke blocks his view of the wizard’s lounge, and when it clears, he’s standing in the common room of the Katta’s Tail Inn.
"Woooooooow!"
Felix looks around in wonder at the place he's ben in plenty of times. If he sees Shameen, Shema, or Abdullah, he'll wave awkwardly and then ask what's on the menu for dinner.
If nothing happens in the evening, while he sleeps, or the next morning, he gets up to explore more of the valley. After breakfast, he heads out the gate and starts heading back up the main road to see the effects of the avalanche he caused.
Heinrich and Hilde greet Felix as they pass each other in the gate, the orchard tender pulling a large cart of cellar-wizened apples behind him.
Felix makes his way to the avalanche with no trouble. It’s quite clear that only spring rains and a warm sun are going to clear that pass, none of which will be coming to the narrow mountain pass anytime soon.
Felix looks both north and south from his spot on the road, looking for an interesting part of the valley that he hasn't explored yet. What does he see?