Tanelorn Epics: The Stone of Tanelorn
-by Baron von Redd

The birds sung their sweet songs, the insects chattered away in the underbrush, and in the hazy distance could be heard the gentle singing of a hobbit absorbed in nothing but his simple work in the field. In the land of Gemrelois, peace reigned. Nothing disturbed this sanctuary of peace and rest. The area was named after a stone in the area, a great massive stone, which was named after the name of the founding family of the area, which was named after the king of a once great land under the sea, which was named after an ancient powerful winged creature with two heads, and so on... The stone was covered with many strange pockmarks, and had a strange glazed look as if it had once been heated to the point of melting but had somehow not cracked or melted entirely.

Within one of the hillside houses in the outskirts of the market lived a simple hobbit who was known by the name of Hoopyfrood. It was a silly name, really. But Hoopyfrood himself was far from serious. When there was no work to be done you could find him down at the alehouse or simply laying in a haystack, looking up at the sky, writing a book, or reading adventures of daring men and dragons. He was not an idle hobbit, but one who knew the good of the simple life and it's simple pleasures. An apprentice to his uncle, Robby Boffshobbins, he was learning the art and power of writing, an ancient science and art that had more power than anyone knew but him and his uncle, a secret that they guarded well for fear of misuse of it's power. His uncle had discovered the secret in a cave near the land of Gemrelois, but had only time to gather up the ancient scrolls he found before a gentle tremor from the depths of the cavern brought the whole cave supports down behind him, as he ran from the cave.

One bright sunny day, Hoopyfrood was reading one of his books when suddenly the ground next to him began to shake. Nearby, the Great Stone of Gemrelois began to shake violently, and dust began swirling around it. Suddenly, with a violent wrenching sound, as if all land and sky had been taken and compressed into a space smaller than a soup pot and then expanded again, the rock was thrown skyward, disappearing into the clouds above. Hoopyfrood jumped from the haystack and ran for his life, but only got as far as the next haystack, which he landed in with a big cloud of dust and hay. Spitting out hay, he heard the voice of a young man nearby.

"Hello? Anyone here?" asked the young man. He sighed heavily, and then caught sight of Hoopyfrood, emerging from the haystack, looking more like a scarecrow than anything else. His bushy red hair was covered in hay and he was covered head to toe with the vegetation. Spitting out another ball of hay, Hoopyfrood just stood there, riveted to the spot by the sight of the young man in front of him. He was clothed in a rich red cloak, trimmed at the ends to match the fringe on his leather boots, and he wore a small leather cap with strange insignias on it.

"I need your help," said the young man again. "My name is Elorfin. Elorfin Duskwalker. I am from the land of Tanelorn. There is a book we need. It is in a dangerous place. Will you join me? I will tell you the rest on the way there. Please follow me..."
With a nod and a backwards hop, the young man disappeared. Hoopyfrood looked down and noticed a round metal disc that vibrated and shimmered with the image of the young man looking back at him and smiling. He stepped closer to take a better look and felt himself rising into the air at so great a speed, it made him dizzy, and suddenly he did not know where, who, or what he was, and it all mixed together in a mixture of the sounds of laughter and crying and praying and singing, and..."

Nearby, birds took flight as the figure of a young hobbit shimmered and then vanished. A gentle whistling began to fill the air until the leaves of the trees fairly vibrated from the noise. A flaming stone fell from the clouds, falling neatly atop the metal disc, hovering for a moment, and then, a metal disc on the underside of the stone locked into the metal disc on the ground. The stone shimmered from the heat of it's journey...

In the land of Gemrelois, all was still again...

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The sun shone brightly above the verdant tree canopies of Darkwood Forest. The whistling of arrows in flight mixed with the sounds of the forest insects at work, as a few forest paladins practiced at a remote camp in the forest. A hot pot of delicious rabbit stew simmered on the fire in the center of camp. A few hobbits stood around drinking and smoking their pipes, a few singing some merry songs for the resting archers.

Suddenly, the air above the fire began to quiver violently. Dirt and rocks were hurled upwards as something under the soil began to force it's way upward. A large boulder with many craters and fissures in it began to rise out of the round, hovering, then suddenly rocketing skyward with a whooshing sound. The frightened archers stood back, expecting some sort of devilish creature to come forth from the depths. With arrows and bows ready, they took aim at the center of the pit. A strange metal disc shimmered and vibrated. In shock, one of the paladins let loose his fingers and his arrow shot towards the disc. The arrow splintered into a myriad of pieces and dust filled the air. When the dust cleared, two forms stood in front of them. One of them was their beloved Elorfin Duskwalker, warrior of Tanelorn. The other was a strange looking hobbit covered in hay.

"Elorfin! It is good to see you again! We have news for you. The book has been found. We will speak more of this matter later, " said one of the archers.

"There is an urgent matter that requires your help. We need you to go back to Gemrelois and find a certain Baron von Redd. He is a knight from the land of Zarathustra. It is an island country many miles out in the sea, to the west of Thais. It has always been said that the gods cannot touch Tanelorn. It is rumored that this is because of the Tanzanite stone that has always been kept in Tanelorn, 14 levels under the streets, in a secret vault. Now many are afraid that the gods will learn of this, and will come and devastate Tanelorn while it is vulnerable."

Elorfin stood and took in the news. His face did not show his shock or emotion that he felt at these bad tidings. Hoopyfrood put up his hand as if to say something, but the archer continued.

"By means of our spies, we have learned that the stone is being kept in a stone building surrounded by cyclops and guarded by grass that does not permit any visitors to enter it's walls. We are hoping that the Baron can find a way to enter, since he knows the history of that area, and since he also knew the builder of that ancient building. Perhaps he can tell us the secret of entrance."

Hoopyfrood now spoke up. "I know of this Baron von Redd that you speak. He is a friend of mine. I am sure that if you tell him of the problem, he will gladly help you retrieve the stone you need. If the situation is as dire as you say, we must go at once. There is no time to lose!"

Elorfin nodded, and spoke to the archers again.

"Stand back. The large boulder will return to it's place when we are gone. Please speak to no one of this place. No one must know of this portal to the worlds. You are under oath not to divulge its secrets."

With another nod, he stepped into the disc, shimmered, and was gone. Hoopyfrood nodded a friendly nod, and disappeared as well. The archers, curious, stepped forward and looked into the disc. They saw Elorfin, gesturing at them frantically to get back.

A gentle whistling began to fill the air until the dust and the ale barrels vibrated from the sound. A flaming stone fell from the clouds, falling neatly atop the metal disc, sending out a shock wave that threw the archers back to the ground, and then, a metal disc on the underside of the stone locked into the metal disc on the ground. The stone shimmered from the heat of it's journey, and as the dirt and rocks fell like rain from the sky around the boulder, it hissed and popped.

As the last of the dirt fell in front of the amazed paladins, they watched in astonishment as their pot of stew slowly floated down from the sky, falling right where it had stood before. One of them took the ladle and tasted the stew, immediately proclaiming it as the best stew by far that he had ever tasted...he appeared to be having trouble with a bone, however, but upon pitting it out discovered it to be a gold coin, of which the bottom of the pot was lined.

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Those in the city of Dreniten watched in amazement as a flaming stone shot up into the air, disappearing from sight, before falling again in the same way. Immediately afterward a rainbow appeared in the sky and slowly floated down into Darkwood Forest...

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Baron von Redd sat in his castle, singing a merry song with his hobbit friends, and dancing the wyvern jig on the hard cobblestone floor. Ale barrels filled the room, and the smell of fragrant pipe smoke wafted through the windows and doors to the outside, where the peasants were dancing and feasting as well.

"Shade, you've outdone yourself this time. Tell me, who is your cook at the Restaurant of Amera? I will gladly pay you up to half of my kingdom just to have him cook for me instead!"

"Never! He is our only cook. What would a restaurant be without a cook, I ask you? A fine thing that would be! Would you ruin my restaurant to satisfy your fancy for his cooking?"

"Nay, I would never do that. Keep your cook, but if only he could come once in a while to cook a meal here, then it would be truly..."

His words dropped off as he beheld Hoopyfrood enter, with hay still in his hair, bringing a young man forward with him.

"Baron, this is Elorfin, Elorfin Duskwalker. He has something very important to tell you!"

Elorfin told his tale of sadness, of how the gods would soon destroy Tanelorn as they discovered its vulnerability. It could only be stopped when the Tanzanite stone was recovered and placed back in the center of Tanelorn, to ward off all meddling by the gods.

Baron von Redd took in all this news, and his face reddened when he heard about where it was rumored to be kept.

"I knew there was something fishy going on there! I've seen the lights on in that place for some nights, but at first I thought it was the moonlight playing tricks on my eyes. Now I know something evil is at work here.

"Shade, to arms! We ride at once for Femor Hills. Ready the boats, men! Prepare the horses!"

All was silent at Femor Hills when Baron von Redd and his army of cavalier horsemen arrived at the castle named after the hills. It was known as the Tower of Femor, but it was in actuality a small castle. Its rocks were impregnable to any weapon, and repelled any attack by ladders.

The secret of the tower was indeed well hidden. It had only been discovered by a few travelers by coincidence, but they had failed to find the way out again, and had died inside the tower. Thus, its secret had been kept well hidden for many many years.

"Shade, run to the desert. In the dungeon there you will find a switch, a few levels down, next to the volcanic area. Do you know of it?"

"Yes, but what am I to do?"

"As soon as you arrive there, throw the lever once. Wait for 7 minutes, then throw the switch again. That should get us enough time to enter, subdue whoever has stolen the stone, and exit the castle before we are discovered."

Shade got on his horse and rode off into the horizon, the moonlight glinting off of the shoes of his horse as he galloped away to the South.

Baron and his men silently made their way to the edge of the castle, and slipped down a hole they found by the wall. With a few swift hits they subdued the evil creatures left to guard the cellar of the castle from any intruders. They waited. Suddenly they heard a grinding noise, and noticed that a stairway had opened before them. Silently, Baron and his men climbed the stairs into the castle. The place seemed deserted. They climbed silently to each next level, until they were at the next level to the top.

There, in the center of the room, on the table, on a pedestal, was the Tanzanite Stone. Hoopyfrood reached out to touch it, but Baron restrained his hand, as a flaming sword appeared out of nowhere and swung in a circular motion around the stone. He reached over and grabbed a bucket of water that was standing by, and doused the sword in one quick motion. The sword, deprived of it's flame, turned out to be only a metal torch with sharp edges. With a swift motion, one of his warriors, a druid named Vlad, grabbed a nearby chair and threw it at the sword. It apparently had only been suspended from the ceiling by some sort of manually operated machine from above.

As Hoopyfrood reached out and gathered the stone up in the folds of his garment, all the doors and windows shut and locked. A voice filled the air...

"How dare you disturb the sanctuary of the evil one! This is not to be tolerated. I am Hagor, curse of the Femor Hills. You have tress passed where you do not belong. Prepare to die!"

"You have stolen what is not rightfully yours. You have endangered a people whose lives depend on this object. You will not resist us. You will fail at any attempt..."

Baron motioned his men to stand against the walls while he continued taunting the evil Hagor. Suddenly, the ceiling dropped, and an evil looking half-slime, half-cyclop beast dropped to the floor in front of him. The air filled with poison and blood as Baron's men ran forward and charged the beast. It was a massive battle, slime and poison flying through the air, mingled with the dust of the decades the building had laid in disuse. Hagor realized that this would not be an easy battle, but he persevered. Men flew against the walls when they encountered his slimy grasp, only to get up again and charge the target again and again. Vlad caught sight of the metal torch and had an idea. Filling it with oil again, he lit it with his volcanic rod, and threw it with all his might at the beast.

Hagor saw the torch coming, but was unable to do more than turn his back and jump as it flew through the air toward him. With a howl of pain, he felt it sink into his rear as he jumped from the floor. The smell of burnt slime and flesh filled the air, as Hagor danced around the room, knocking warriors to the floor as they tried to escape his mad dance. With a mad howl of pain, he jumped up to the next floor of the castle and leapt from the roof. The howl continued, then culminated in a deep thud, followed by the neighing of horses.

"Run! We must make the exit now!"

Baron and his mighty force ran through all the stairs and levels again in a dash to get to the exit again, Baron carrying his three slightly wounded men on his back, and pushing his men in front of him to make haste. Baron slid the three wounded men through the opening, and prepared to exit, asking if everyone had made it out.

"Vlad is missing!" yelled one of the knights. With a grumble of irritation, Baron climbed all the steps again, 4 at a time, to find Vlad staring deep into the Tanzanite Stone. As he looked up at Baron, he had a disturbed look on his face. He drew his rod and struck Baron with it, again and again. Wounded, Baron made one last effort to grab the stone from Vlad's hand and succeeded, hiding it in his cloak. The crazed look disappeared from Vlad's eyes, and he dropped the rod in shock.

The sound of a grinding noise filled the air below, as the opening closed below.

"No! We are trapped!" yelled Vlad.

"No, we're not trapped," said Baron. "You remember that grass, right? The instant it's cut, and someone stands there, it grows again? If you fall on the grass, it will cushion your fall as it grows to replace what was damaged."

With a wink, Baron jumped from the window and landed with a soft crackle on the grass, which instantly grew back to cushion his fall. Vlad jumped and almost landed on top of Baron in his hurry to leave the castle.
Shade appeared on his worn out horse from the South, yelling something about a banshee. Behind him appeared a wild banshee, chasing Shade with all it's might. Baron and his men immediately came to the rescue, and in a few minutes the feared banshee was dead. Apparently Hagor had enlisted the help of a Banshee to finish off anyone who had trespassed on the area, but it was no match for Baron and Shade and their men.

"I will run to the boat and start for the land of Tanelorn. There is no time to waste! We must reach Tanelorn before morning!"

As the sun rose, a frenzied mob of warriors raced into the city of Tanelorn, carrying a tightly bundled packet to the center of the city. Elorfin opened a city sewer grate and motioned for them to enter. With grimaces, they all dropped below and dropped the 14 levels to the secret vault. Above them, the ground began to shake. The walls of the vault began to tremble. Screams could be heard from overhead.

Elorfin ripped the packing away from the stone, and gently placed it on the pedestal, where it matched the lines on the stone perfectly. Immediately, the ground ceased to shake, and the walls stopped trembling.

As they climbed to the surface again, they heard voices and yelling. Popping through the sewer grate, they were astonished to see the damage that the gods had attempted in just a few seconds of time. Some houses been blown apart, others turned completely inside out. The occupants had not been harmed, but it would take time to rebuild the houses.

As Baron, Vlad, and Shade viewed the destruction, they let out a sigh of relief that it had not been worse. The gods had tried to touch Tanelorn, but they had been defeated. They had tried to take away the peace of the land but had been unable. With all their plans focused on Tanelorn, they had not noticed Baron and his men arriving with the stone, and had been powerless to change what had happened. In disgust, they moved away from the area, and took up influencing evil people in other lands.

Baron was about to leave to go back to Zarathustra, but the citizens of the city persuaded him to stay and help protect their city if anything such as this was to occur again. He consented, as did Shade, and Vlad, and together they now fight the enemies of peace who attempt to threaten Tanelorn.

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TO BE CONTINUED