The World of Telvar

When he arrived in Teft, he visited the Phaulkonian Temple where he learned the craft of the Faith in earnest. It was there that all of his friends and comrades of many years and many ceremonies led him to the idea of going to the Agency to acquire a couple of henchman for his wanderings. Because Star was a cleric who could not use simple melee weapons (only those that soared through the air were allowed by his code of beliefs), it seemed logical to seek out someone to be his guard and friend for the journeys ahead. And so, Star went to the Agency to seek a qualified and gifted individual, knowledgeable in the ways of melee weapons and defense.

Though the Agency advertised on his behalf that he sought a melee weapon capable guard, many responded who did not fit the description. However, since Star was not the exclusionary type, he decided (in a fit of whimsy, which is more or less his continual state of being) to interview all of the candidates. There were fourteen in total, including several warrior and spell casting classes. Some were of so little note as to have been nearly instantly forgotten, others were intriguing enough to warrant a second or third look. Still others smelled of enigma and curious happenstance. Included herein are a few highlights.

* One candidate, a female halfling warrior, could not abide Star looking her over as she entered the room, and became disgusted with answering questions. When Star became irritated at fending off her questions and refused to play along, she stormed out of the office and building and never looked back.

* A female druid sought to be Star's advisor and companion, helping to steer him in the direction of important and appropriate adventures. She was unbelievably gorgeous and personable, and seemed quite capable, but following the trend of a lot of these potential henchmen, seemed to want to make Star HER henchman...

* One young mage saw the potential advantages of an alliance that might gain him vast magical resources. He kept hinting at what connections to the Powerful and Wondrous Mage known as Eli might gain him, and by extention, Star, in adventuring possibilities.

* One candidate was a strong, tough-looking, handsome, and agile, druid from the local area. This druid had heard of Star's travels and adventures extensively and seemed quite experienced. He came with two important "features." The first was epilepsy or a similar condition that every few moments would remove him from reality, and cause his world to turn upside-down in a fit of confusion (the latter revealed by, ahem, magical scanning techniques, and yes, Star is aware of their completely illegal usage in this setting). The second feature was his Plan for World Dominion. This special discourse, developed over many years, was kept protected in a foil-lined bag, which he refused to reveal the contents of until Star had signed him on. When Star made some comments about He Who Would Prefer Not to Say, mostly in reference to how reticent he was about the plans, the druid became paranoid, crinkling the foil bag up tightly around the book, and stiffly requesting that Star refrain from any further magical scanning of his plans. Though Star had done nothing of the sort, he agreed to refrain in the future.

* A middle-aged female wizard turned out to actually be a warrior who gave up her former profession to study magic, in Latt. Though she was quite broke, and had gained no useful spells from her master, she stated (and the Agency verified) that she was the smartest person ever to walk through the door of the Agency. She was pathologically fair and even-minded, clearly set to gain greatness, seeking a sponsor, and again, like the others, more or less wanted Star as HER henchman. She had no desire to follow goals for advancing Good, just to gain glory.

* One warrior candidate was extremely circumspect in manner and never provided any information about himself. When questioned, it appeared he could fight with a whole manner of melee and missile weapons. Of course, he wasn't proficient in any of them.

* Two Rangers made the list. The first was extremely quiet but seemed capable, no outstanding features. The second was affable, fun to talk to, seemed quite taken with the opportunity to work with Star. However, he was not a melee weapon person. As he put it, "Long composite bow is my life." He further suggested that with the two of them together, they could just "kill it or zap it before it got close enough to matter [that we didn't have melee weapons.]" Furthermore, he knew he'd be competing with the other Ranger candidate, and pointed out that even though he wasn't a Phaulkonian, like the other Ranger, he respected Star's beliefs. At this, Star was first made aware that the other Ranger was a Phaulkonian, and decided to take another look at him...

* A Paladin of Kor made an unexpected and unconventional appearance on the candidate list. Clearly the Paladin, named Wingate, had wondrous physical abilities, but he also was a likeable fellow with (sigh of relief) clearly discernable attraction for quests on behalf of Good. Better still, the Korian appreciation for advancing all Good religions was refreshing, and relates very well to Star's understanding of Phaulkonian beliefs as well. Wingate has a couple of "features" himself. The first was his almost complete lack of equipment. He possessed a sword and his warhorse, and the patched up clothes on his back. As it happened, this was due to the second of his features, his history. Wingate had been a Paladin henchman or follower of a more powerful adventurer, who was a part of a SMART expedition (Society of Master Adventurers for the Recovery of Treasure, for those not in the loop). This particular SMART adventure traveled to an ancient crypt in the western Hadarna mountains (south of the Indicara, in the Greate Olde Woode). There, Wingate served as a backdoor guard while the the main group investigated the crypt. There, the entire expedition was destroyed battling an ancient evil. And our hapless friend Wingate got himself Cursed during the escape, when it became obvious that he could not affect the evil force. He made his way westward, away from the crypt, occasionally taking refuge at the homes of friends along the way. Every 30 days, a blackened and decrepit-looking winged beast would make an appearance and try to kill him. He had survived many attempts on his life, but had run out of friends willing to shield him. Additionally, Wingate had some horrible scars, most notably a fearsome-looking black splotch on the back of his head and neck. He had come to Star both because of his reputation as a Good adventurer and also because he thought Star might cure him of the Curse. Wingate had had a _Remove Curse_ cast on him to no effect, and had run out of options. But he didn't want Star's pity either. He hoped Star would
take him as a henchman if he thought it the wisest and most prudent course; of course, even if not, he would appreciate the removal of the Curse.

* Another hapless but hopelessly fun character to enter the room was Zippo, a dwarven warrior. Zippo was quite good with his melee weapons, but was not known for either intelligence or wisdom. When questioned on other interests or skills, Star discovered that Zippo... raised ornamental birds and parrots! Though he didn't have any strong religious opinions himself, he thought that Star was likely as a Phaulkonian to love exotic birds as much as he did. Of course, Star enquired why he hadn't looked into becoming a Phaulkonian over his lifetime thus far. The dwarf thought that that sounded like a good idea, but conceded that he didn't have much knowledge in philosophy or religion. He thought that if he was Star's henchman, he would definitely become Phaulkonian, as long as Star could help him with complex theology and those 'deep thoughts.'

* After Star questioned the Phaulkonian Ranger again, it became clear that he was quite a superior henchman candidate. He didn't appear too noticeable at first glance, but he was once one of the strongest men in the Ranger Brotherhood. Though he was quiet, he had gained commendations from the Brotherhood for good service over 11 years and was quiet skilled melee wise. He had assumed that everyone who had applied for the position must be Phaulkonian, else he would have told Star about it. His skills were numerous and varied, and he had the ability to learn even more. And though he was quiet, he was likeable.

In the end, Star decided to take both Zippo and the Phaulkonian Ranger (whose name eludes me at the moment). He strongly considered the fighter-mage woman, the other mage, and the Paladin of Kor, but finally decided against the first two because they weren't Good, and the Paladin because he wouldn't enjoy sneaky adventuring methods (which are Star's stock-in-trade). However, he paid the new Sage in Teft to research Wingate's curse. He discovered that the Paladin had had a Curse in the form of the powerful spell which summons a "Darkenbeast." Though the Sage, in Star's opinion, seemed like a closed-mouth, unhelpful, dolt, he told Star that the spell affected local herd animals. Though Star suggested that the Paladin's warhorse might in fact be the recipient of the Curse, the Sage thought this unlikely. When the Sage could provide no better explanation, Star left, exasperated. He told his plan to Wingate, and the Paladin agreed.

Star _Removed Curse_ on Wingate's horse, and stood with him on the night of the 30th day, when the Darkenbeast would return if the removal had not been successful. When the night came and went, the Curse removed, Star bought Wingate some new arms and armor for his adventuring ahead, and told him that he might enjoy adventuring together in the future. Then, Star outfitted his own new henchman and planned his next step...

Kyle/Star