The Hole Uncovered: Elementals Attack Vol. I-II

Al'Kabor had been spending his time researching in the Qeynos area. Though he preferred the superior research facilities and libraries of Erudin, he found the locals in the Qeynos area more then eager to assist him with trivial errands for a trifling handful of coins. Indeed, labor was cheap and the people generally hard working and honest in this law abiding town.

One such errand runner, a half elf, had just returned carrying a vial full of a certain rare and difficult to obtain ink he was sent to fetch. He flipped the half elf a gold piece and said, "You are dismissed". The errand boy looked at the coin, smiled and then left Al'Kabor's flat happily.

The ink was needed for a scroll he was nearly finished scribing. He had run out of the rare and precious ink just before he had completed his work on the scroll. He very carefully uncorked the bottle and set it upon the fine table of marble. Gently unrolling the precious scroll, he smoothed it lovingly out on the cool surface of the stone table. He dipped the quill, made from an enormous griffon feather, into the ink. He put the pen to the parchment and began to once again scribe the ancient runic symbols onto the parchment with slow and deliberate care.

It started lightly, almost imperceptibly. He first thought that perhaps a mob of angry people were stomping up the stairs to his flat. But suddenly, everything was shaking violently. Books began to fall from their shelves, fine glassware fell to the ground and smashed. Gripping the heavy marble table to keep his balance, Al'Kabor watched in horror as the very bottle of very expensive and difficult to acquire ink rocked back and forth, rolled on its side for a moment and then tipped over. Frozen in shock, he watched as the ink spread out over the scroll.

He slammed his fist onto the table as the realization dawned upon him, "Five days of work and components worth a mountain of platinum pieces, ruined by yet another one of these damned earthquakes!" He grabbed the ruined scroll he had been laboring upon for nearly a week, crumpled it up in his hand and tossed it out his window.

In crumpling the scroll, he had inadvertantly covered his hands with the ink. Another earthquake hit, this one more violent then the last. Stumbling a bit, he caught himself on his coat rack in the corner of his study. The ink on his hands smeared onto the robe that hung upon the rack. Throwing his hands into the air he shouted, "I've had enough!" He wiped his hands clean on the old robe and threw it out the window too. Putting his best robe over his shoulders, he stomped downstairs out of his flat and into the streets of Qeynos.

Tramping through the streets, he shouted, "How can anyone get any work done around here with all these earthquakes? This is completely unacceptable!" All around him, people were running and shouts of alarm filled the streets. Walking toward the gates of the city, he was oblivious to the broken glass on the ground and cracks in the fine stone masonry, all evidence of the quake's severity.

Enraged, he grabbed a wood elf by the lapels as he tried to run past and yelled in his face, "You! Elf! What is causing these earthquakes? Hmm?" The elf looked back at him in fear and said nothing. "Oh why do I bother talking to one of your kind!" Releasing him, the elf ran away.

Stepping through the city gates, he turned and inquired indignantly to the heavily armored Paladin next to him, "How am I supposed to think when every five minutes I have the full contents of my library on the floor, woman?" The Paladin gave him a sideways look, apparently offended, snorted to herself and then walked back into the city shaking her head.

"Bah," he said making a dismissive gesture behind the woman as she left. He began walking down the path out of the city. The stones that made up the path were uneven, some raised up higher then others, no doubt due to the earthquake. "They should get someone to fix this," Al'Kabor muttered to himself.

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Suddenly, Al'Kabor found his feet had sunk into the ground a good foot or so and he was unable to walk. Surrounding him on four sides were small creatures that appeared to be made of earth itself. They grabbed at his robes and began pummeling him with their fists of rock and dirt.

Without even thinking, blinded by the sheer audacity of these creatures to even dare assault the might Al'Kabor and dirty his best robe, he bagun to summon forth the magical energy to unleash his wrath upon these creatures. The small elementals, standing no taller then the shortest halflin, were each blasted to bits by the sheer power of the energy released in all directions by the mighty wizard. Clods of dirt and pebbles flying through the air were the only evidence that the creatures were even there a moment before.

"Why are these elementals all over the place?" He pulled his feet free from the ground and walked over to a cleric of Rodcet Nife who was tending to another victim of the elemental attack who faired far worse then the wizard. "You! Cleric! Did these elementals rise from the ground or did somebody summon all of these?"

The cleric finished bandaging the wounded traveler and said hurriedly, "Sir, I have no idea. Excuse me, many are hurt or in peril from this attack. I must take my leave."

Al'Kabor shouted to no one in particular, "Bah! I'd gather more information from a wall then I would from you people!" He continued to walk up the stone path. Here and there earth elementals were assaulting folks outside the city in the hills of Qeynos. The Jagged Pine Treefolk from Surefall Glade were on full alert. The rangers and druids that called the glade home were doing their best to stem the tide of the elemental invasion.

Wandering the hills, Al'Kabor walked about blasting any elemental he came across to kingdom come. He did this not in defense of the hills nor for any sort of loyalty to the fine city of Qeynos but more in retaliation for his days of lost work and as therapy for the general feeling of rage and displeasure he was experiencing. Today was not a good day at all and it was about to get much worse.


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Source: Ingame book