Of Stargates, Swamp Grass, and Christmas Customs

It's been a month since I've posted anything new.

December is a pretty busy month for Christian pastors like me, and there hasn't been much time for posting about Heroscape.  After Christmas, though, I have a little bit more down time and am using some of it to update my blog.

Yesterday, we had some people over to play Heroscape on another version of the Pit of Doom board that I posted about last time.  This board, however, was a dungeon board rather than snow and ice.

When I build the board the first time, I couldn't escape the feeling that the platform I'd build in the center of the board needed something on it.  I tried a couple of differnt things, but ultimately, I decided to put one of my Stargate custom terrain pieces in the center of the dungeon.  That was perfect.  It was just what the board needed.  It also gave me an idea for how to structure our game.

The Stargate, along with its DHD (Dial Home Device) is seen in this picture:

I orginally got the idea for the Stargate from a blog on heroscapers.com (Gate).  When I went back recently, the images were no longer visible in the blog.  The author describes making a gate like this from extra Order Markers by cutting off the bases and gluing the pieces together.  As a Stargate fan, I thought it was a great idea, so I ordered some more extra Order Markers and made a couple of gates.

With a gate at the center of the board, I decided to add another board to which the gate would connect.  It was a swamp board filled with lots of rich stuff (read Treasure Glyphs and such).  It looked like this (with a green gate):

The blade grass are some of my custom terrain pieces, too.  To make them, I took some aquarium blade grass (2 parts yellow-tipped, and 1 part red-tipped) and cut the individual blades off their base.  Then I drilled small holes along the edges of swamp tiles (3 holes along an edge) in various patterns.  Finally, I stuck the grass pieces through the holes and hot glued them underneath the swamp water tiles. Then you have swamp water with blade grasses.

In order to win the game, most players had to travel from the dungeon board (via the gate) to the swamp board to retrieve a Treasure Glyph and then return through the gate back to their starting location on the dungeon board.

The rules for gate operation were as follows:

1) Only an unengaged figure adjacent to the DHD can activate the gate.
2) When the gate is activated, any figure on one of the four spaces in front of either gate is destroyed.
3) Once activated, the gate remains upon through the end of the round.
4) Gate travel can only go one way, moving from the gate that was activated to the other.

When stepping through an active gate, a figure's movement is interrupted at the event horizon.  Movement ends on the space in front of the gate and then continues on the space in front of the other gate.  You can move through up to your maximum move number.

The trouble we ran into (which will require further future work on the rules for gate travel), was if an opponent's figure stood on the space in front of the receiving gate, according to Heroscape rules, without phantom or ghost walk or some kind of flying, the figure on the sending gate couldn't (legally) walk through.  I also had to deal with my son putting one of his figures on the space in front of the sending gate, blocking my ability to get through it to the other side.  GRRRRRRR!!!!

Anyway, we tried out a lot of new custom figures, too, including this one:

This figure was made for a friend to give to her son for Christmas.  I couldn't post anything about it until after Christmas, of course, because I didn't want to give it away.  It's a custom revision of a Heroclix Crimson Dynamo:

The figure was repainted and Major Q10's weapons were added to him.

Here is Major X79 in action just behind the base of the gate:

He performed really well in the game, and Anthony (who I made it for) really likes him.  That's all I can really hope for.  It was fun to make more figures for other people.

I made his brother, Damiano, a custom figure, for Christmas too: Damian the Red.

Damian the Red was made by cutting Sonlen's dragon off of Sonlen, repainting it red, and gluing it to the back of a Bonded Fire Summoner (D&D: War of the Dragon Queen, 10/60).  Damiano didn't draft it for this game, however.  He went with knights instead.

Anyway, we had a great time and a good game.

We used Quest Cards for the first time in this game, too (I'll post about the Quest Cards later).  It went pretty well, and definitely changed the nature of game play.

If you look closely, you may see some Alien Warrior Drones in the picture above (and in the first picture of the gate).  Fun, fun, fun!!!

Taylor, home from Basic, even got to play with us, which was very cool.  We also got to introduce Woody to the game for the first time.  I'm hopeful he'll become one of our regular players (we have so few adult regular players).

On another, more important subject: Joy to the world! Christ, the Savior, is born!

Merry Christmas, everyone, and happy heroscaping!

Cryonnakis and the Pit of Doom

I usually try to get a game over the Thanksgiving weekend, and this weekend we had some of our Scaper friends over to play.  I designed a kind of an arena board called the "Pit of Doom" for up to six players that has sand, lava, grass, snow, water, and swamp versions.  We decided to build the snow board for Friday afternoon.

Here's a picture of the acutal board from near the end of the game:

As you can see from the picture, the trees plotted on the VirtualScape image aren't really the trees from the Road to the Forgotten Forest, but frosted pine trees that are readily available at this time of year from Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Lowe's, K-Mart, or any place that sells those Department 54 and other miniature houses.  I saw a pack at Lowe's today (Carole Town 21-Piece Trees) for something like $12.99.  For that, you get the 21 trees (seen below). 

I don't usually use the two largest ones, but the other ones are perfectly suitable for Heroscape use.  I have two sets of these that I use.

It was a great game that lasted about 7 hours (including drafting and a short supper break).

Here's a picture of the final shot as Agent Uniqua shot down the last Sentinel of Jandar and our final two players:






















Though it was a difficult game for him (my boys learned a lesson about how life and gaming intersect...which may be the subject of an upcoming blog entry), Benjamin won the day with his army of agents.  Congratulations, Ben!!

One of the most significant aspects of this particular game for me though, was that this game was the debut game for one of my favorite custom creations...Cryonnakis!

As I said in one of my previous entries, I like dragons a lot.  When I found the Dungeons & Dragons gargantuan white dragon for a good price from Auggie's Games, I couldn't resist getting it.  There aren't too many boards on which a Gargantuan dragon like Cryonnakis can play, but Friday's board was designed with that possiblity in mind, and Charles drafted him.

Cryonnakis was quite intimidating.  The fear was that in drafting such a large and powerful dragon, it would become a very large target, but as it turned out, when Charles drafted him, it brought a chorus of, "Truce!" from several of our younger players.

When making custom figures for Heroscape from D&D figures, I try to translate the figure's special D&D powers to the Heroscape custom as best I can (and, yes, he fits on a two-space base). 

Here's the card for Cryonnakis:

Here's some of the things I learned in watching him being played:

(1) A 10-space Ice Breath line is pretty powerful, especially when it affects figures adjacent to those in the line of attack.  Charles used this power against Ezra army of Romans and Greeks.  He significantly wounded Marcus Decimus Gallus and Parmenio and destroyed a couple of Sacred Band (who were in the line of attack) and destroyed 3 more Sacred Band and 2 Roman Legionnaires (who were adjacent to them) all in a single attack.  Whoa!!!

(2) I think most of Cyronnakis' stat values are good.  I'm not sure about his point value, though.  He may be pointed too highly.  We wanted to make Cryonnakis the most highly pointed figure (more than the Hulk), but I'm not sure, even with his high life value and great strength, that he is worth 380 points (see (3) below), though J.P. said he think he could be worth it in the hands of the right player.

(3) When the game started Ezra had a bunch of Legionnaires and Sacred Band squads and we all thought he was crazy for taking some many squad figures, but as it turned out, Cryonnakis is extremely vulnerable to large squads.  His Gargantuan power allows him to be swarmed with squads, all of whom get a disengement shot at him if he should try to fly away.  There is the possibility of Cryonnakis being engaged with up to 22 figures simultaneously.  Whoa!!!

This presumes that a bunch of squad figures could reach him which, in our game, they did, and Ezra's Sacred Band finished off Cryonnakis on the turn after Cryonnakis' devestating Ice Breath Special Attack on his forces.

All that is to say that Cryonnakis can get trapped pretty easily making me question whether he's worth the 380 points.  We'll play him again and see what how valuable he is in another player's hand before I decide on his points.

It was fun to watch him in the game, though.  Another great adventure in Heroscape!

Heroscape: Atlantis

Just a short entry this week.

A few weeks ago I was inspired to start designing a board resembling Atlantis from Stargate: Atlantis. 

I started desiging it in VirtualScape, but I couldn't make it work out exactly like I wanted, so I had to go to the game table and start building.  After I got it worked out, I finished it off in the computer, and here's the final result:

There are six starting zones on the edges (6 landing platforms) of the city, there are three sets of buildings in the central part of the city, and, of course, there is the central control tower.  You may notice the several Glyphs of Erland (Summoning) scattered around the board.  These glyphs mark the transporters which can move figures around to other parts of the city.  All the upper platforms in the central part of the city can only be accessed by transporter.

I may not use all Glyphs of Erland (as I don't think I actually have 10 of them.  It could be any glyph, really, or any 10 glyphs power-side down.

Here are some pics of the actual board:

Hold the city of the ancients against all invaders, or take the city from all other contenders!!

Dragon's Lair

So a couple of days ago, while searching for something else, I ran across a quote that I really liked.  As far as I have found it's not attributable to anyone in particular, but I liked it so much that I created a poster with it and hung it up in the garage by the game table.  Here's the poster:

I've always loved dragons, so consequently, dragons are some of my favorite Heroscape figures. Not Braxas, though.  I hate that dragon!  Whenever I'm playing against her, she always kills me in a big way.  Last time it was Parker decimating my heroes with her acid breath.  I hate that dragon!  I hate her! 

Braxas notwithstanding though, I do like the dragons.  They are some of my favorite figures to customize for Heroscape.  So, inspired by my new dragon poster hanging in our "game room", I thought this week I'd post a couple of my custom dragons for you.

The first is one that got some play in our 3rd Annual Halloween Heroscape Event.  His name is Rotscale.  He's one of the more unusaul dragons in my collection because he's an undead dragon.

Rotscale was created by a simple modification of the Marro figure Su-Bak-Na.  I cut the Marro Su-Bak-Na off and painted any remnants white.  Simple, huh? 

Rotscale has been play tested a few times and has proven to be an effective figure.  I particularly like his Flesh-Rotting Infection.  It'll kill your opponent off, but if you're not careful, your opponent's figure might kill you off before you die.  I use whatever kind of markers we have that aren't being used at the time (usually Morsbane's brown negation markers or the black round markers).  Rotscale is a perfect dragon to add a little more firepower to an undead/zombie/skeleton kind of game...or any game, really. 

                                                                                    

The second dragon I'd like to present is the dragon overlord Khellendros.

Khellendros is one of my more recent custom dragons.  With the cessation of producation of Heroscape, I found a huge, gaping, blue hole in the chromatic dragon category, so I decided to rectify the situation by repainting an extra Charos I had sitting around.  Charos doesn't get a lot of play in my house, so I didn't really need the extra one.

Khellendros takes the fledgling lightning breath of the Blue Wyrmling and extends it to an adult-sized special power.  I started Khellndros prior to the release of the Blue Wyrmlings and had developed a more complicated lightning breath power, but after the release of the wyrmlings, I felt compelled to keep Khellendros' power in conformity with theirs.  Khellendros isn't too complicated (or creative, for that matter) of a figure, but he fills a void in my dragon collection.

                                                                                   

One of the other ways I've added to my collection is through a pair of squads of smaller dragons.

I remember in the movie Reign of Fire, there was one big dragon and a bunch of smaller ones.  All the dragons (prior to the wyrmlings) were so huge, and I wanted to try and develop some smaller dragons to be able to use in conjunction with the huge ones. 

These Dragon Warriors are modified versions of Bakugan figures (horns cut off and painted metallic copper with light green).  I only have 2 squads of them because they stopped making the Bakugan figures I used and I couldn't find any more to modify.

With their Double Team Special Attack, they can pack a pretty good punch from range, and their Air Superiority makes them particularly dangerous against Kyrie and other dragons.

                                                                                   

The last dragon I'll post today is actually one of the first custom dragons I made.  I've made several custom variations by repainting Mimring, and this one is probably my favorite.  It's Glaurung.

True, Glaurung (of Silmarilion fame) wasn't strictly a flying dragon, but what's a little creative license among friends.  Glaurung's Golden Glare 10 has hypnotized many a Hero on the field of battle.  With a slightly better than 50/50 shot, it's a pretty safe bet you'll get the chane to use it more than once.  Oh, the power of temporary mind control (Thank you, Dr. Doom).

                                                                                   

I have lots more custom dragons in my Battle Chest...more repaints of Mimring, other dragon figures I've found in the Dungeons & Dragons line, as well as a few others.  I like the dragons.  J.P. suggested one day that we create a dragon-morphing glyph, and so the Glyph of Morgoth was born.

Oddly enough, J.P. always seems to find it and turn some minisule, low-pointed squad figure into a great, big dragon.  He also always seems to give lots of trouble to Taylor right afterwards (hence the creation of Sir Taylor from my first blog entry).

I hope you enjoy my dragons as much as I enjoy them.

The Deathly Hallows: Game Day

My third annual Halloween Heroscape Event went great! We had a few last minute cancellations, but it all worked out fine in the end. We still had a 10-player, 2 team game going on. It was great!
It started with my wife, Michelle, making some great snacks. As there was a significant Zombie theme to this year's game, we decided to make some Finger Sandwiches as snacks for the game.

 Don't they look delicious?

You take bread slices, cut the crusts off, then spread peanut butter or cream cheese on them. Then you roll them up, take a fork or something to put creases in where the knuckles should be. Put a dab of peanut butter or cream cheese (whichever you're using) on the end to attach to almond slice for the fingernail. Then, to top it off, you dip the other end in strawberry jelly giving the Finger Sandwich as nice, bloody, severed look. Top that off with some bloody punch (orange juice, gingerale, and some kind of frozen cranberry juice ice cubes with cherries in them with a red glaze around the rim of the cup), and you've got the makings of a good Halloween snack.

One of the players also brought a veggie tray, complete with a puking pumpkin that spewed out veggie dip onto the plate.  Yumm...

The game began with a fair amount of chaos, but what do you expect when you have ten people from an 8-year-old boy to a recently retired woman, playing 5, one-on-one Heroscape games simultaneously in close quarters around a 4'x8' table.  It was a beautifully chaotic start!

As the Mortal army, led by Solomon Rayne sought out the Deathly Hallow, they released many unpleasant and formidable enemies.  Jason, for instance, after revealing a glyph, unleashed the great undead Valkrill bone dragon Rotscale on his small band of Eladrin and Eltahale.

In the end, Solomon Rayne, his brother Alastor, and all the Warriors of Annwyn were killed, but a brave Tandros Kreel, with the help of a single, fully experienced, Tagawa Samurai, who had come to Rayne's aid too late, discovered the Deathly Hallow.  Faced with Sorrowsworn the Kyrie Warrior and the Shadowfell Overlord, Nerull, Kreel, too, was killed before he could escape the graveyard. 

His companion Samurai, however, was able to overcome the two Heroes of the Shadowfell, and clear the path for another Hero, Erioliende (a new custom Eladrin darkmage, and one of my personal favorites), after fending off a horde of Zombies of Morindan with high ground and her superior melee fighting skills, to retreive the Hallow and escape the graveyard of Grim's Hollow alive (though she was half dead with a life of 6 on her army card and 3 wound markers) along with another teammate's Morgrimm Forgehammer (who was also half dead) - the only two figures to survive the battle.

Despite heavy losses, the Mortal army managed to achieve their objective, removing the Deathly Hallow from the graveyard and thwarting the Shadowfell's attempts to open a doorway to the mortal realm through it. 

Congratulations to all on a game, well-played, and another successful Halloween Heroscape event!!

The Deathly Hallows: Grim's Hollow

Blogger's Note: Here's the fourth and final episode of "The Deathly Hallows".  See you all tomorrow as we finish the story out on the battlefield.  Enjoy.

        “It’s kind of fitting when you think about it,” said Alastor.

        “What is?” Solomon replied as he pulled the laces of the gauntlet on his left arm tight.

        The two brothers were a short distance ahead of the column, marching up the narrow, winding trail.  Though the sun had risen nearly two hours prior, all was dark there.  In addition to the shadow of the mountain and the canopy of trees, there was an unnatural darkness sifting through the woods.  The trees on either side of the path were old and gnarled.  Their branches were crooked and dark.

        A thin, pale blue fog crept slowly down the mountain through the old forest.

        “You’re little hunting party, I mean,” Alastor explained.  “Humans, elves, dwarves…   It took an alliance of all three races to defeat the Shadowfell a thousand years ago, and here we are trying to do it all over again.” 

        “Never really thought about it, I guess,” said Solomon.

        “Even got a wizard or two, but…”   Alastor glanced backward.

        “But what?” Solomon replied as he began pulling the laces on his other gauntlet.

        “Dragons, Solomon?”

        “They could be useful.  Dragons are powerful creatures, even the forces of the Shadowfell fear the might of dragons.  Besides they’re just wyrmlings, and that dragonborn paladin says he can keep them under control.”

        “Still, I think we’d be better off leaving them behind.”

        Solomon stopped walking as he finished tying up the laces of his gauntlet.  Alastor stopped, too.

        “Let’s be clear about something, Alastor,” Solomon said.  “All the way up here you’ve been pestering me about my plan, about the people I’ve brought with me.  Enough.”

        “You may be my older brother, and I may not be able to stop you from coming up here with me, but this is my task.  This is my hunting party,” he said pointing back at the column following them, who by this time had also stopped, and were listening to Solomon.

         “I am in charge here, and I say who goes where and who does what.  And if I say that the dragons will be useful, then they will be.  And if I say that the wizards come, then they come, understand?”

        Alastor said nothing.

        “This isn’t my first dance with the forces of the Shadowfell, Alastor, and I’ve done it all without your help.  I know what I’m doing.”

        Solomon turned and started walking up the path again.  Alastor stood silently, watching Solomon walk away.  The rest of the hunting party began walking again, too, passing Alastor.  Some kept their heads down or looking forward as they passed him.  Others smirked at him as they passed.

        When the warriors of Annwyn, near the rear of the column, got close to him, Alastor said, “Yes, sir,” and joined back in the column with them.

        After awhile, the trees began to thin, and a large open space appeared before them.  As he entered the clearing, Solomon held up his hand indicating to the party to stop at the entrance to the clearing.  They stopped as Solomon stepped slowly and carefully, scanning the tree line around him, carefully studying the broken, vine covered walls that erupted from the ground in several places, then staring at the far side of the clearing at a rock wall that rose nearly forty feet above the level of the clearing.  The thin, pale blue fog, seemed to be coming from a small crack in the rock face that extended all the way to the top of the cliff.

        “What’s he doing?” one of the warriors of Annwyn asked Alastor.

        “He’s checking the clearing for traps,” Alastor replied.

        “What kind of traps?”

        “You don’t want to know.”

        “Oh,” said the warrior.

        After a few more moments, Solomon turned around and headed back to the group.  When he returned, he gathered the group around him, and whispered, “Okay.  You’re about to enter the ruins of an old village.  We call it Grim’s Hollow, because it belongs to the dead, now, and the dead keep it.  If you don’t want to join them, watch your step, and keep your eyes open.”

        “The cemetery’s on the far side, through that crack in the rock.  That’s where we’re headed.”

        “Stay close,” he said, then turned his back to them and started moving slowly back into the clearing, his axe held at the ready in one hand and his crossbow in the other.

        The ground of the clearing was uneven and rocky as the group walked slowly over the ruins of stone houses, overgrown with grasses and vines.  Several times, Solomon stopped the group and studied the ground ahead of them.  Occasionally, he would lead them to the left or to the right rather than proceeding straight toward to the crack in the rock.

        When the group had finally reached the far side of the clearing and stood at the narrow crack in the high rock face, Solomon stood alone at the center of the narrow passage up to the cemetery.  Alastor walked up and stood beside him as the others watched and waited.

        After a few moments, Solomon said quietly, “We’re trapped.”

        “What do you mean?” Alastor whispered back.

        “I mean those ruins are full of undead.  Even avoiding the worst places, we should have been attacked when we crossed.”  He paused for a moment then finished, “They let us in.”

        Alastor looked back toward the clearing.  “Trapped,” he said.

        “Yes,” Solomon replied.  “Time is short.  Our only hope is to find the Deathly Hallow.  The Shadowfell may have found a way to use its power, but it’s a terrible omen to the undead, and they fear it.”

        “It may be possible to escape,” Solomon turned to look at his brother, “but only with the Hallow.  If we don’t find it…and soon…we’ll all die here.”  Solomon and Alastor turned back to look at the anxious group of Hallow hunters assembled behind them.

        “Then let’s find it, and get off this God-forsaken mountain together,” Alastor slapped Solomon on the shoulder, “Brother, sir.” 

        Alastor smiled at him.

        Solomon smiled back.

To be continued on the battlefield...



Blogger's Note: Here is a picture of the old cemetery at Grim's Hollow board that we'll be playing on tomorrow.  There are five burial areas in the cemetery.  The Deathly Hallow willbe found in one of them.  Happy hunting!

The Deathly Hallows: Homecoming

Blogger's Note: Here's episode three of "The Deathly Hallows".  Log on next Friday for a final bonus episode just prior to Saturday's game.

       Solomon Rayne stood outside the door of a cottage.

        Outside the cottage, twilight was lingering.  Clouds covered the darkening sky, leaving only a pale, bluish gray light filtering down on the village of Annwyn, and even the pale light was beginning to fail.  Though his cloak was thick and warm, the evening breeze was cool on Solomon’s face. 

        Inside the cottage, candlelight flickered.  The sounds of conversation spilled out of the nearby window.  He stood quietly at the door, listening to the voices for some time.

        “What are we doing here?” a voice whispered from behind Solomon.

        “I’m waiting,” Solomon replied.

        “Waiting for what?”

        “For the right moment,” Solomon’s voice trailed off.  “Take the others down the street to the inn, and settle in for the night.  Get some rest.  We’ll stay in the village, at least for tonight.”

        “But the wizard said…”

        “Quiet!” Solomon’s whisper interrupted her.  He listened carefully toward the window.  The voices from inside the cottage continued conversing.  Convinced that no one inside had detected their presence, he turned back to his companion. 

        “Now, listen carefully because I’m only going to say this once.  I don’t work for anyone.  Least of all, a wizard…understand?”

        His companion nodded her head, a mix of hurt and anger in her eyes, which were fixed on Rayne.

        “If you lot want to march right on up to that cemetery and just start digging around because the wizard told you to, that’s fine with me.  I told you before, I work alone.  I don’t like having you lot following me around.  So if you’d like to take that lot up there right now…at night…without knowing where to look for the Deathly Hallow or anything about the thousand deadly things you might be facing in that graveyard…you go right ahead.  Not having to look after all of you anymore would sure take a load off my back.”

        “If you’re so eager to die for that bloody wizard, you go on ahead.   Now, I’m going to spend the night in the village, get some rest, and get some information before I go up hunting around that cursed cemetery.   If you want me with you when you get there, then I suggest you and the rest of your adventurer pals get over to that inn, get some rooms, and get some sleep.”

        Solomon’s companion bowed slightly, her eyes still fixed on Rayne, then backed slowly away into the muddy street.  She turned around and motioned to a group of others to follow her.  She didn’t look back.  Solomon watched them walk down the street toward the inn at the far end.

        “I see your way with women hasn’t improved any,” said a rough voice from just inside the now open door of the cottage.

        Solomon spun around to see a large red-haired, rugged man standing in the doorway.  He was strong, confident, and shrewd, yet there was kindness in his eyes. 

        After a few moments, Solomon said, “Alastor.”

        “Solomon,” Alastor replied.  “It’s been a long time.  What are you doing here?  Who are all those…people…with you?”  Alastor motioned toward the group now making its way toward the inn.

        Solomon looked after the group.  “Travelling companions, nothing more,” he said.

        “I thought you always worked alone.”

        “I do,” Solomon replied, quickly turning back to face Alastor.

        “Fine.  What are you doing here, Solomon?”

        “May I come in?” Solomon asked.

        Alastor stood in the doorway, his large frame nearly filling the opening.  He looked carefully at Solomon, studying him, but said nothing.  The voices of a woman and small children could still be heard spilling out into the street from the nearby window and now, open door.

        “Please, Alastor,” Solomon asked quietly.  “I’m here because of the Deathly Hallow.”

        A brief flicker of understanding and suspicion crossed Alastor’s face.  His eyes darted up and down the deserted street.  Then he stepped back from the doorway and motioned Solomon inside.  Solomon bowed slightly, and stepped inside the cottage.  Alastor closed the door behind him.

        It was a simple cottage, but warm.  Alastor directed Solomon toward a room on his right.  A fire crackled in the hearth and large animal skin covered most of the stone floor.  Several wooden toys littered the corner of the room.  Alastor motioned for Solomon to sit in a nearby chair.

        “Are you hungry?” asked Alastor.

        “Yes,” Solomon replied.

        Alastor left the room again.  After a few moments, he returned with a plate of food and a mug of mead.  He handed them to Solomon, who thanked him, and then sat down in a chair opposite him.  Alastor allowed Solomon to finish a few bites of food and a drink before he spoke again.

        “So…what about the Hallow?”

        Solomon took another gulp of mead, and then replied, “The Shadowfell is rising again, Alastor.”

        “I’m aware of that, Solomon.  I live here…remember?  But what has that got to do with the Hallow?”

        “The Hallow is fueling their rise, Alastor.  They’re using the power of the Hallow buried in our graveyard to open a doorway for their armies into our world.”

        Alastor stood up and began pacing, thinking hard, and Solomon took advantage of the moment to take another bite of food.   After a few moments, Alastor asked aloud the question he’d been running over in his mind.  “How…   How can they do that?” 

        “I don’t know,” Solomon replied.  “The lords of the Shadowfell must have found some way to tap into the Hallow’s power from their world.”

        “I don’t know, Solomon.  I can’t see how…”

        “It doesn’t matter how, Alastor.  It’s happening.   It’s not a coincidence that the Shadowfell’s rise is beginning here at Annwyn.  It’s happening here because the Hallow is here.”

        There were a few more moments of silence while Alastor considered Solomon’s words.

        “What’s your plan, then?” Alastor asked.

        “I need to find the Hallow and remove it from the graveyard.”

        “Ha!” Alastor chuckled.  “That Deathly Hallow has been hidden in that graveyard for a thousand years, and for all that time, I, and father before me, and his father before him through generations,

have ensured that it has remained hidden…dissuading seekers, denying rumors, and worse, when necessary… and now you…you are just going to walk in and take it, is that it?  Is that your plan?”

        “Something like that, yes,” Solomon replied slightly irritated.

        “That’s a great plan, Solomon, really,” Alastor said sarcastically.  “And all you’re little friends, what part do they play in your plan?”

        “The more people I have searching, the faster I can find the Hallow, and remove it.  I can hold my own, but I’m no fool, Alastor.  The lords of the Shadowfell will be protecting the Hallow well.  The sooner I can get out of that old graveyard with the Hallow, the better.”

        “All these years we’ve been protecting the Hallow from being discovered by countless seekers, wizards, zealots, and all, and now you expect me to let you just waltz in and take it away…revealing it to the world?”

        “It’s not like that, Alastor.  These people already know the Hallow is here.”

        “Have you told them it is?”

        “No, of course not.”

        “Then they only suspect, Solomon, like so many others before them.  They don’t really know, but if you go digging around in that graveyard, and you find it, then, Solomon, then they’ll know.  Then the world will know.  Then all hell will break loose, Solomon!”

        “Hell is already breaking loose, Alastor, because the Hallow is here!”

        The two men stared at each other for a few moments, each breathing heavily, faces stern and fixed.

        “Alastor, the Hallow can’t remain here anymore.  It’s too dangerous.  I have to take it away from here before it’s too late.”

        “And then what, Solomon?  What happens to the Hallow once you’ve removed it from the graveyard?”

        “I’ll hide it again.”

        “Where?”

        “I don’t know where.  Somewhere far from here…somewhere the lords of the Shadowfell can’t find it.”

        “What about the wizard I heard you talking about to that woman outside?  Will you give it to him to hide, Solomon?” Alastor asked with a hint of accusation in his voice.

         “Wizards can’t be trusted,” Solomon replied defiantly.  “I haven’t forgotten, Alastor.  I have no intention of giving the Hallow to him.”

        Alastor studied Solomon carefully again, looking for any sign of deception or bewitchment, but he could find none.  Finally, resigned, he said, “Very well.  “We’ll go in the morning.  The Shadowfell’s reach has grown greater than you know.  The veil of shadow has fallen over the entire mountain already.  It’s always dark there, now, except for the unnatural, blue glow, so it doesn’t really matter when we go, but I’d feel much better just knowing that it was daylight.”

        “What do you mean, ‘we’ll go,’?”

        “I mean you and I, Solomon, and I think I can get a few others from the village to help.  Men I can trust,” Alastor explained.

        “Absolutely not, Alastor.  This is my fight.  It’s my calling…”

        “And it’s my home, Solomon…my family that will be the first to fall under the veil of shadow…my family that will suffer the torment of the lords of the Shadowfell…if you should fail.  Isn’t that right?  Well that makes it my fight and my calling, too.”

        “No, Alastor.  I work…”

        “You work alone, I know,” Alastor interrupted, “and I know why, but if you think that I would let you come in here after all these years and then go up there to that cursed graveyard and remove that Hallow from its hiding place all alone, then you really have been gone too long.”

        “Alastor…” Solomon began, but Alastor cut him off.

        “You might as well accept it, Solomon,” Alastor moved over and slapped his hand onto Solomon’s back.  “Since when does a younger brother get to tell his elder brother what he can and cannot do, huh?”  Alastor smiled at him.

        “Alastor, I didn’t come here to get you involved in this.  I just wanted to see you.  Your family…”

        “Solomon, I’m already involved.  I’ve been involved since the day I was born.  It’s our family’s curse…the knowledge and guardianship of the Deathly Hallow.  I’ve been involved since father entrusted me with the great family secret.  I may not have embraced that calling in the same way that you have, Solomon, but I’m already involved.”

        “Besides, I’m doing this for my family.  If we succeed…if we find the Hallow…if we remove it from this place, not only will we save my family and Annwyn, but I’ll never have to burden my own sons with the knowledge of and responsibility for the Hallow.  They will never have to carry that weight.  I can’t think of a better gift to give them, can you?”

        Solomon said nothing.

        “Come on,” Alastor beckoned, “I want to introduce my sons to their Uncle Solomon.”  The two of them left the room.

To be continued...

Blogger's Note: Here are play testing cards for Alastor Rayne and the Warriors of Annwyn.  You may notice that they bear striking similarities to existing Heroscape figures and cards.

   

Blogger's Note: Log on next week for the final bonus episode...