FIRE AND ICE
By Danny A., Ryan C. and Alex N.

RED= Danny's Contribution
BLUE=Ryan's Contribution
GREEN= Alex's Contribution (He started late)

"CHAPTER 1"
Lord Garok entered the building, not knowing the danger he presented to the rest of the party. He took two steps in and tripped over a wire. As he fell down he heard a click and the whistle of arrows just over his head. Garok rolled over to see if any of the party was in the doorway but fortunately Sir Ryan of Scott and Victor the Mighty had found the trap before Garok did and dodged out of the way. Garok breathed a sigh of relief and crawled to where the arrow had shattered. He picked up the remains and to his surprise he found that it had strange runes on it. He also noted that it had a trace of blood on it. "Guess we showed that trap what for," Victor stated boldly. "You do realize that you were the only one who was hit by it," said Sir Ryan. Looking down Victor the Mighty realized that the arrow had grazed him and had drawn a line of blood across his right arm. Lord Garok was a little disturbed by this news. "Lets hope it's not poisoned ... or cursed," Garok said pointing to the runes. "Well, we'll just have to keep an eye on it. Let’s go." The party gathered their dropped equipment and started down the corridor.... The building was almost completely destroyed by the fires and Earthshatters. All that remained was a burnt out husk of a building. However, they were able to find a stone staircase that led down into a pitch-black darkness. The stairs were over run by slime mold (the non-fighting variety) and it was extremely slow going, them not wanting to fall and all. At the bottom of the staircase, Victor pulled out one of the torches from his terribly overweight pack and lit it with his flint and striker. Victor ALWAYS tried to carry everybody's gear when they went on missions. Garok thought it was silly, but he let Victor amuse himself. Victor DID have a knack for knowing where everything was in the pack. With the torch lit, they proceeded to explore what looked like an old wine cellar. However, there was not a drop of wine in the whole room. The room was also devastated by the Earthshatters so the east and north wall were about to collapse. Ryan thanked the Gods that the Shatters had ended about 2 years ago and had not returned. Yet. The wine cellar had also been looted of everything. Even the very racks that the wine had once laid on for many years were used as firewood a long time ago. They continued looking around and then found what they were looking for. The Southern wall had a hole carved in it, further weakening the structure from which the building stood upon. The hole was tall enough for a small human man to walk through standing upright and it was wide enough to allow 2 thin people to walk side by side, closely. Unfortunately, none of the party was small or thin, especially Victor. "This is where we start getting paid" Said Garok. Never doing anything without making sure it would benefit him or the party, Garok had gained status as a sort of financial leader. He would barter with a merchant for half an hour or more before agreeing on a price. Some people would call him stingy, but Garok preferred the word "resourceful". "This is the caves, I know it"Garok exclaimed. The memories flooded back.... The screams of innocent people, as they got carried off into the dark. Garok had followed the sounds to this very place, calling his mom’s name....... "Let’s go then!" "You okay their Garok?"Ryan asked. Garok focused on what he was doing right now and started walking into the carved out tunnel of the caves. But he could still hear the sounds of his mom screaming.
As they trotted along the dark labyrinth of the goblin caves, Garok thought about the first time he had run across a cursed item. He was deep in the woods of Aragoth, finishing his training as a Paladin of the Flaming Fist. He had to meditate for three days in complete solitude. But fate threw him an irregularity. It just so happened that the grove of WitherOaks that he had taken shelter in was also occupied by a young shaman. Garok heard the man moaning behind some bushes. He was badly wounded and beckoned Garok to come closer. The shaman told Garok a rogue in the woods had attacked him while he was transporting precious cargo. Among the things in the stolen sack were: an ivory figurine belonging to his order, some incense, prayer beads, some emeralds, and a Noh Mask. The shaman warned him that the Noh Mask was a flesh-eating mask that could not be removed once worn, save by an elder shaman or priest. The mask slowly consumed its wearer until they were leathery skin and bone. The mask had been used as a torture device to punish corrupt shamans. Unfortunately, the shaman died before he could say more. Even though he didn't know where the shaman's temple was, Garok decided he would rather have these treasures found by a lucky traveler than to stay in the thief's possession. Fate seemed to grant Garok his wish, for he met the thief the next day. The thief was angry with himself for ever trying on that mask. Not only could he not take it off, but he also had felt terrible pains ever since. The thief was looking for someone to take his anger out on when he spotted Garok. Garok had heard the thief approaching partly because he was listening for the thief and partly because the thief's stealth was impaired by his grunts of pain. Garok possessed no weapons since they were not required for meditation, but he still had his armor. He believed, probably rightly so, that a rogue was no match for a Paladin of the Flaming Fist, even a Paladin-in-training. The thief crept up on Garok expecting to surprise his victim. It was the thief; however, who was surprised when a mailed fist slammed into his face. Had it not been for the mask acting like armor, the thief would have been rendered unconscious. Even so, he was sprawled out on the ground and dazed. Garok believed his enemy was out cold and he was the surprised one this time when the thief lunged at him with a dagger. Suddenly, a convulsion racked through the thief's body as the mask thinned him more. This ruined the thief's attack. The dagger aimed at Garok's neck went low and deflected harmlessly off Garok's chain mail. A few solid punches and a well-executed uppercut put the weakening thief down permanently. He had spent a day and a half striking the mask before it finally broke into splinters. Now he would have to start the meditation all over Garok shook his head. His memories reminded him of how much progress he had made since then. Better equipped than then, he looked at his trusty bastard Sword whom he named Rosanne, after his one true love. Him and Rosanne (the sword had been through adventures untold. And she (the sword again) remained as sharp as the day she was forged. But Garok had actually never seen Rosanne forged because he had found her during the great Wizard Duel of Misty Tower. This was also where Garok met his greatest ally and friend, Sir Ryan of Scott. Garok was sent by the leader of his order, the Great Amadar, to go investigate rumors of magic abuse in the Genralla Mountains. He was also sent with orders to try and bring peace to two rival towns at the foot of the mountains. After joining a caravan heading to the United Kingdoms ( which is just a bit north of the Genralla mountains) Garok....... began to notice the air was a bit chilly. With autumn in full effect, the cold winds of the coming winter blew through the lands when one least expected. Garok considered using his burning hands ability (a skill he had learned in his training as a Paladin) to light a small fire in a nearby pot. He quickly disregarded that idea. He didn't want to risk setting fire to the caravan and he could use it only a few times before he exhausted his ability to use it and had to recover. He wanted to have it ready if needed. Besides, he had found some oil and flint. He gazed out at the rolling landscape. Red, gold, and orange leaves blanketed the forest floor. The Genralla Mountains lay in plain sight to the South, less than two days travel away. Garok sighed when he thought of the task before him. The towns of Raven Oak and Malincor had coexisted for decades. But a recent discovery of a silver mine had spoiled the tranquility. A group from Raven Oak had discovered the silver, but the cave was in the territory of Malincor. The two towns unable to decide who had rights to the mines had been bitter enemies since. It wasn't until the other towns of the United Kingdoms called for the assistance of the Paladin's of the Flaming Fist that anything was done. It was then that Garok noticed a sole figure moving through the woods and knowing that the roads were always full of bandits and thieves, Garok quickly snuffed out the meager fire he had started and crept behind a wagon laden with animal pelts. Garok crouched down and peered at the looming shape coming out of the woods. It was a big man, at least 6 1/2 feet tall. He was very bulky and very muscular, but he did not carry himself as a dangerous person. In fact, the giant actually had kind of a tune in his step. As the large man got closer, Garok looked to see if the man was armed, but when the giant faced away Garok saw that instead of a sword strapped across the man's back, like most people of the Kingdoms did, he had a lute strapped on! Garok's mouth dropped to the floor, he had never seen such a huge Bard in his life. Garok now realized that the man wasn't a threat to him so he called out, "Hello." Suddenly, the bard spun around and ran off into the woods and Garok chased him. The two were at full sprint and the bard was gracefully navigating the forest and a Garok who decided that he did not need any light to see with, clumsily went through the woods until he fell into a stream. While in the stream he saw... water dripping from the ceiling? Garok looked around anxiously. Sure enough there was cold water dripping down from parts of the ceiling in this cave. Then he realized that a metallic hand was clamped around his left arm. "Garok, pay attention." Sir Ryan said sternly. "You nearly tripped over another trap. They're really not that well hidden. You're usually more careful than that." "Sorry. I guess the memory potion I took earlier hasn't worn off yet. One moment I'm here and the next I'm lost in my past." Garok replied. "Well the wizard we hired to make it told us it could hinder us more than help us" "I know but at least I was able to remember where the Goblin Caves were located. I couldn't have known it would be this strong." "True but I still think we should stop and rest for a while. At least until the potion wears off." Looking around Garok couldn't help but agree. Almost anything he looked at brought back a flood of memories. Looking towards Sir Ryan he was reminded of the trials they had faced together. The warrior who hailed from the city of Portoga, a settlement in the frozen tundra that lies within the ring shaped Genralla Mountain range. The town thrived in a large canyon between two mountains because of a natural wonder known as the Hot Springs Eternal. He was versed in close combat and even knew some magic. His true strength, however, lay in his superior defensive ability. His prized possession was the unusual suit of armor he wore everywhere. It bore some resemblance to plate mail, but only covered his arms and torso. The armor that he seemed to spend forever polishing every morning was sky blue with gold and silver lining and had a cape trailing behind. Garok always thought it odd that his friend wore no helmet or metallic leg armor, even though Sir Ryan claimed it was for mobility. And Victor, well he was Victor. The Bard he had met in the woods those many years before. Although he couldn't tell in the dark Victor had not actually been gracefully dodging between trees, he had actually been ungracefully running through the trees. Although he was by far the strongest of the group he slept for ungodly amounts of time. Which reminded Garok, perhaps he should get some rest. After a short discussion with the rest of the party they found what they thought was a decent enough place to sleep. Garok spread out his bedroll, laid down, and closed his eyes. Sir Ryan volunteered to take the first watch. Both Garok and Victor had sustained injuries from the various traps that had been laid out by the goblins. So as a result, they fell asleep before their heads hit their packs. Only Victor took it literally. Ryan heard dull "crack" and then a groan. Poor Victor! Ryan thus amused himself by watching the rats chase the spiders, the spiders chase the gnats and the gnats chase the rats. Quite a symbiotic relationship. Not wanting to attract any unwelcome visitors, the party had agreed on not using torches while in the caves. Instead, they used the large clumps of naturally iridescent moss and fungi to see their way around large obstacles. However, when the moss was scant, Ryan used a modified version of the "light" spell that enables the caster to endow a rock or other inanimate object with a luminance bright enough to see by. Sir Ryan was tossing his fist sized stone up in the air, trying to see how high he could throw it with out it hitting the ceiling. Unfortunately, the flying rock startled several bats which in turn startled Ryan. Ryan missed catching the stone and it richotaid off of a stalagmite, bounced off a couple of boulders and then by the sound of it, landed in a big pile of bat guano. Thus the light was extinguished. Ryan fell into complete darkness, cursed his luck most proficiently and then got up to search for the enchanted stone. He picked up his walking stave and used it to feel his way around obstacles. He felt his way around the large stalagmites that jutted from the ground like the teeth of a Remorhaz. Remorhaz are very large insect-like carnivores that are native to the Genralla Tundra. Ryan had never actually seen one alive but he had seen the bleached white skeleton and skull of one on display at the town center of Portoga. Ryan was still making his way around the stalagmites, when he stepped in something very soft. "Judging by the smell, must be the guano" though Ryan. He got on his knees, stuck his hand in and started feeling for his rock. Luckily, Ryan's hearing is good enough to accurately guess where the stone had landed cause he found it after only a short minute of searching in the muck. He pulled out the rock and was immediately rewarded with the soft, pulsating glow that seemed to emanate from the center of the rock. Ryan stood up and then froze. He felt the sharp biting cold of a drawn blade at his neck. He also felt the hot breath of someone whisper in his ear. "Did you miss me?"came the strained voice of someone trying not to laugh. Ryan slowly turned around and relaxed...slightly. It was Weird Al.