TABLETOP TALES! PRESENTS
STORY-BOOK CAMPAIGN:THE LIZARD OF LOLZ Pt. 1 The LOST LIBRARY
I love Dungeons and Dragons. I have been playing, more or less, once a
week for over two years and I don't ever plan to stop playing. Most of
the times I've played Dungeons and Dragons, I have been the Dungeon
Master. For those who don't know, a Dungeon Master is the guy who is in
charge of telling the story, determining what monsters and characters
the other players come across and, in essence, is the god of the world
the players explore. As an author, it gives me a chance to flex my
creative muscles.Yet, while Dungeons and Dragons can breed a lot of original ideas, it doesn't hurt to fall back on familiar ideas, tropes and characters inspired by works of fantasy. This adventure in particular that I'm about to talk about borrows elements from Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Wizard of OZ.
I don't remember the names of the characters in this campaign so we'll have to just make do with naming them after the people who played them. First, the leader of the group, Justin, a gnome artificer (basically, an engineer with magic), with a rather serious disposition. Then, there was the very feline personality of Dulin the shifter druid (basically, he was a witch with cat like features). And last but not least, there was Chris, a halfling rogue, a clumsy but very lucky character who always found himself in trouble. The three companions were looking for work when they found a flier posted on a bulletin board at the local mercenaries guild asking for heroes for an important quest. The flier led them to a little bookstore.
The inside of the bookstore was bigger on the inside and crowded with piles upon piles of books. Each of the characters had a different reaction; Justin's eyes were drawn to the spines of books of forgotten lore, Dulin was trying to find the store owner, and Chris was trying to find something worth stealing. That's when they were interrupted by a high-pitched cough, and peaking out at them from behind a desk was an ancient gnome. He introduced himself as the owner of the store, Lod, and after he saw the flier he explained what he needed of the heroes. He had moved to the desert city of Kiero after years of searching the desert for the Lost Library, a library filled with every book ever written and ever scroll ever scribed. He grew too old for the quest, and has all the books he could ever read, but has finally found a map on the back of an old drawing of the library.
He whistled, and his adopted son, an eight-foot tall goliath named Del, brings the map. Lod begged for them to go to the library and find him a precious artifact; a Key of Talor. He needed the Key to be able to read a collection of books from another dimension that he had collected over his life. After our heroes saw how much it meant to the old man, and smelling the potential treasure at this lost library, they agreed to find him the Key. Thus our heroes began their quest. After a couple of weeks wandering through the desert, they found the spot on the map. Except, something was wrong.
The entire library was buried under the sand except for a single tower spire (unlike the picture above, it had no entrance). At first the heroes were forlorn but Justin discovered a strange inscription on the side written in Draconic, simply "Add Water". He poured his canteen onto the writing and the tower began to tremble. Before their very eyes, a door opened on the tower, and they scaled the inside of the tower down , down into the dark. At the bottom, they lit a torch and were confronted by, standing in the center of the infinite library, the formidable shape of a dragon
The golden dragon explained that he was the Keeper of the Lost Library, Durel the Amber Dragon. Durel also explained that he was not merely the Keeper of the Lost Library but a New God, immortal and all-knowing, his dominion was over history, knowledge, and treasures. He welcomed then and asked that they each offer something to the library. Justin offered him one of his books, Dulin offered him a song, and Chris offered him a special lockpick. Satisfied with these offerings, Durel awarded them with magical items and made them his disciples. Upon hearing about Lod, he not only offered them a Key of Talor (which he had an ever-filled chest of) but also a flying carpet to give them a ride back to the old gnome. Grateful for his generosity, they took the carpet ride home and told the gnome about Durel. Hearing of the incredible dragon and the Lost Library he took the flying carpet back to the Libary, leaving Del the bookstore, and giving our heroes a gracious goodbye.
It was then that Del, the goliath, offered them the opportunity to see Lod's old collection of extra-dimensional books. With a massive heave, he lifted a book the side of a door onto the desk, and put the key into a slot on the cover. The book was covered in glittering scales of red rubies and written in green emeralds was the title, "The Lizard of LOLZ." Del warned them to be careful, but Chris reached forward and opened the cover. He was sucked into the book with a flash of green light.
TO BE CONTINUED...
