FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Pathfinding: An Adult Choose Your Own Adventure

Forty-first Entry

By Gideon Kalve Jarvis

Vote Tallies

1) Shall we keep these characters with the party?

Jonna yes/no - 22/0

Maji yes/no - 17/5

Belthin yes/no - 11/11 (flipped a coin - heads she comes, tails she goes...and...tails, she goes with the Valkyries)

2) Calanon and Durion go with the Valkyries?

Yes - 21

No - 1

3) Who goes with the Valkyries? (5 votes needed to send a character along)

None - 3

Padmini - 0

Lysha - 6

Hanaro - 3

Shara - 4

Urta - 3

4) Should anyone return to the Blue Feather Camp? (Note - voting for "everyone" requires 10 votes instead of 5, because we already voted on the matter)

Everyone - 9

Padmini - 4

Ryg - 2

Lesage - 2

Rael - 2

Imogen - 2

Wisselfleur - 2

Everyone except Rufus, Urtan, Urta, Adel, Rael, Cassidy, Hanaro, and Jonna - 2

One-eye - 3

Skaeth - 2

Kyte - 1

Additional Votes

* Skaeth is up to something - 7

* Spark becoming a size queen/interested in Horse - 5

* Introduce a centaur filly - 2

* Shara gangbanged (suggestions for circumstances pending) - 2

* Lesage's gradual sexual corruption - 4

* Tame Belthin - 3

* Share Calanon and Durion with the Valyries (will take place at the Valkyrie city) - 9

* Challenge Jutta to a contest of strength, and the loser submits to the winner - 1

* Get the Valkyries to join the Blue Feather camp (may tie with the vote above) - 1

* Give Kyte to the Valkyries for taming - 1

* Hold Belthin's tower (Maji will stay there, as well as a Valkyrie contingent) - 1

* Rufus bottoms to Windtooth (his father, the Blue Feather alpha male) - 1

* More F/F scenes - 1

* Bring back Goro, the panda heavy - 1

* More smooth-skinned males - 1

Vote Options in Progress:

* Wisselfleur and Imogen seduced by Rufus (Adel included)

* Kyte's submission, and more Kyte screentime - 19

* Urta/Rael/Adel/Rufus scene; family dynamics in action - 8

* The Steampunk Trio start work on sex toys...and use them on Spark! - 6

* Shara and Padmini learning flesh magic and non-lethal skills (sex quite likely) - 10

* Rufus/Urtan scene, where they finally go at it - 11

Author Notes

The party has now acquired sufficient loot to be able to field a mid-sized mercenary company, paying for their provisions as well as their hiring fee, for several months, so long as the mercenaries provide their own gear. Alternatively, Rufus could settle down with pretty much whoever he wanted (within reason on numbers, of course) for the rest of his life, leading a comfortable lifestyle without needing to do any additional work. If he did work of even moderate payment, his offspring could live a similar lifestyle. This wealth is still in the form of goods, for the most part, though. We have enough cash on hand now, though, to be able to afford at least one of just about anything, so long as we aim for bargains.

The party also gains 10 magic items from Belthin's tower, the number based on the number of posts that passed between our last encounter (with the giants), and the present post. These magic items are drawn from a variety of sources, including various books for Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and also for Warhammer Fantasy Adventures, mixed together more-or-less randomly.

I'll post a full listing of party members and their present status in my next entry, since this one has a listing of magic items held by current party members. That took a bit to compile.

Pathfinding Forty-first Entry

The treasure hunting, sadly, eventually spent itself, and Kyte settled down onto a loveseat in Belthin's vault, looking more than a little disappointed. Sure, there had been some sources of absolutely vast wealth around the place, but most of them were the sort that wasn't especially portable, like the library or the various statues and tapestries and other knick-knacks that cluttered up the entire tower. Still, Belthin had been a lover of fine jewelry, and that, at least, had sated some of Kyte's natural dragonlust, as had the vault she'd discovered after quite a lot of poking and prying and the recruitment of Cassidy and Shara to work their talents, mundane and magical, on the hidden lock, and Skaeth'sand Padmini's immense strength (since only two people could reach the door's handle at a time, and those two were the strongest in the party) to haul it open. Most of Belthin's wealth wasn't found in the paltry coins in the vault, of course, since she was the sort who loved the finer things in life, besides needing to fund an army of raving barbarians, but what was there was still more than enough for any single person to retire in comfort for life. Well...after they smashed the stone golem that was guarding the place, that is, but with the three gnolls, Skaeth, Cassidy, Padmini, and Shara all there, as well as Kyte's own knowledge of how to harm magical constructs, the fight's conclusion was foregone, even if it did mean a workout for them all.

It was in the aftermath of this workout that the mini-party made their camp, all the treasures they could carry now gathered into one place as they settled down to count their spoils and tally up its worth, and Kyte got to rest her poor aching back, which was sore from hauling around a heavy bag of loot up and down the stairs of the tower (after the bags of holding were filled). Belthin's cellars also had good food and good drink, and Skaeth and One-Eye were more than happy to haul those up to the vault, which was pleasantly furnished, the various couches, sofas, and even cots obviously intended for the use of the ones Belthin put into the vault to manage her wealth so that she could focus on other matters. Within minutes, Skaeth had set up a small brazier, taken from the sorceress' laboratory, and soon after the vault room started to fill with the scent of cooking food. It turned out, to the surprise of many, that Skaeth was actually a decent cook, having learned the skill during his time as a mercenary, even to the extent of knowing how to make vegetables palatable to people besides Cassidy and Padmini.

"There's something I've been wondering about," Skaeth said as he stirred the savory stew already starting to bubble on the brazier, glancing at Urtan and Urta as the she-gnoll sat on one side of the room, One-Eye crouched on the floor next to her chair, while the square-shouldered, spotty male paced near the propped-open door of the vault, obviously seriously considering leaving and finding his alpha, not liking to be separated from Rufus for long. "What's you two's history? You're brother and sister, that much I know, but not much else. It's pretty obvious there's something that went on, and I'd like to know." The hulking minotaur shrugged, his free hand casually reaching out to catch hold of Kyte's tail, using it to reel the lightly-resisting green dragoness over to him, then gently but very firmly pressing her down until Kyte was seated on the minotaur's thickly-muscled thigh. This was a rather intimate thing to do, because Skaeth, like all the party in the vault, had stripped out of most of their adventuring gear, all the better to get comfortable for some deserved rest, and he was wearing only a loin-binding about his nethers, while Kyte was wearing a leather halter and simple knee-length loincloth. From the way Skaeth positioned the dragoness on his thigh, the front and rear flaps of that loincloth were spread to either side of his muscular leg, which naturally meant that Kyte's naked green flesh must be pressing directly against the minotaur's body.

"Urtan's not the kind to talk much," Urta said with a shrug, watching with amused interest as Skaeth worked his free hand up into the leather halter Kyte was wearing, making the she-reptile squirm and whimper softly as he groped her moderate-sized breasts, his movements occasionally exposing a flash of perky green nipples. "Makes sense, I guess, since he got his throat cut when we were cubs." Urta's expression was wry yet affectionate as she recalled the past. "Stupid male was trying to stick up for me against some older females. One of them pulled a knife and cut him, then we both laid into the group and beat them senseless, before Urtan passed out, and I had to bandage him up. Guess that's just how we've always been: sticking up for each other, fighting the other's battles. We even lost our virginity to each other." Urtan said this last without shame, in fact with a bit of pride, incest taboos not being so strong among gnolls, but Urtan's ears visibly darkened, while Padmini and Cassidy and Shara had blushing expressions partway between shock and aroused embarrassment at such an open admission of sexual relations between brother and sister. "Urtan can talk, by the way," Urta added, leaning one arm on One-eye's head, making the other gnoll scowl grumpily as his leader took liberties, but not say anything in protest, knowing Urta could kick his spotty butt if she wanted. "He just can't talk very loud, and it hurts him to talk too long, so he usually doesn't.

"Sticking by each other in a pack of gnolls is the smartest thing you can do," Urta continued, making One-eye look less disgruntled when she started to rub him behind the ears, apparently something he liked, judging from his expression. "Growing up gnoll, it's really important to know who you can trust, and who you can't, because there's always this dominance thing going on. Everybody wants to be boss, because the boss gets to work the least, and everybody has to do what the boss says. So there's constant jockeying and bluffs and occasional fights going on pretty much all the time whenever a gnoll pack's not hunting or fighting somebody else. With me'n Urtan together, though, nobody ever messed with us, so it made good sense that we both rose hard and fast in the biting order."

Then Urta scowled at her brother, who returned the look with a slight, fatalistic shrug of his own.

"We were pretty much unstoppable, too, and I even made boss of our pack myself, until dummy here decided he didn't like our new employer." She rolled her eyes. "I figured working for the Warlord'd be a hot deal, lots of booty for everybody. A lot better'n trying to carve out a living in the wilderness, that was for sure, with only the occasional elf or human to serve the pack. No gnoll likes to do her own work, that's for sure, and the pack was getting restless. Urtan, though, he's the exception: he thought hunting and gathering, and even not keeping slaves, and doing stuff on our own, made us better, stronger. He thought we'd get soft working for the Warlord, and worse yet, we'd get betrayed, and so he up and left. Well, after we'd had words, that is," Urta added, rubbing a scar just barely visible through the fur of her belly, while Urtan absentmindedly rubbed a similar scar on his chest. "Don't know why I didn't push the issue then, really. Guess I was still sweet on my brother, not to take our little talk to more serious levels, and just let him go."

It was pretty obvious to the rest of the listeners, looking at the size and depth of the scars of both siblings, that their "little talk" had to be something seriously brutal. Still, Urta seemed to think it wasn't a big deal (Urtan's expression being unreadable), and knowing gnolls, her opinion was probably about right for her race. For gnolls, the two must have shown remarkable restraint not to have torn off each other's limbs during their fraternal fracas.

"So, yeah," sighed Urta, leaning back, putting her feet up on a footstool she'd swiped from elsewhere in the tower. "Turns out my brother was right after all: the Warlord used us as the first wave of arrow shields against some elves, and when most of us died, we got dropped from the lineup without even a thank you. I was trying to catch some important diplomats to the elves and maybe get my much-reduced tribe back into the Warlord's good graces, when I discovered Urtan was one of the prisoners we'd taken. It kinda made me pause a bit, deciding what to do, and that's when Rufus came along, just as I was making up my mind. Guess the rest of my pack's probably wondering where I went by this point, but then, there weren't that many of 'em left anyway, just a couple dozen where we'd once been hundreds strong. Shouldn't be too hard to take over again, though: just kick the butts of whoever's set themselves up as boss while I was away, kill the ones that aren't smart enough to take the hint, and get 'em all mobilized."

"Planning on getting them into the war again?" Skaeth asked, smirking as he made Kyte's yellowish underbelly start to turn quite pinkish as he caressed his way down her belly, toward the dragoness' barely-covered loins. "If so, on which side?"

"Rrr," growled Urta in thought, before looking at her brother, her expression slowly softening. "Rufus has always played straight with me and mine. Guess, if I've gotta choose, I'll choose his side. It's the one with the best chance of sharing whatever booty gets taken, after all." Urta's expression was sour as she remembered her stint with the Warlord's army. "Already proved the other side isn't keen on sharing out the spoils when it can avoid it."

Hearing this, Urtan gave his sister a small, almost unnoticed smile, before he turned and quietly slipped from the room. Urta noticed his departure, though most of the others didn't. Her expression was a little wistful for a few moments, before she turned her attention back to more pressing matters.

"What I need right now," growled the alpha she-gnoll, is something to stuff me up, and something to stuff." She pointed at the stew. "That smells ready to me, and that'll do for stuffing me...well, for now. And that," she pointed at Kyte, the green dragoness' eyes widening slightly in surprise and a little alarm, "will do pretty good for me to stuff." She gave Skaeth a wink, though. "I don't mind sharing," she added. Skaeth chuckled.

"Stew'll be ready in a few more minutes," he insisted. "We're not all scavengers around here, after all. As for Kyte here," Kyte shivered as Skaeth's free hand, the one not stirring the stew, caressed her inner thigh, "well, I guess that depends on what she's got to say on the matter; I'm not that keen on raping a current teammate, unless I've got a good reason...or some serious pent-up lust."

So there it was then, the big choice. Kyte's mind raced as she realized what was being asked of her. The offer was out there, now, to try out her new body and see what it felt like to have sex as a female. Of course, Kyte knew from an outsider's perspective that females could experience lengths and depths of sex that a male couldn't even begin to imagine. At the same time, being a female usually meant a certain degree of yielding, of taking something large and stiff inside of her body, which meant a great deal of possibility for pain if it wasn't done right. It was a leap of faith and trust, and the thought of it frightened Kyte more than a little. Then again, it was also a chance to find out how much she could trust her new party, and perhaps earn more of their trust in turn. Most importantly, Rufus wasn't there, and that meant Kyte could let herself go without worrying about losing a part of herself to the surprisingly charismatic wolf, a part she would never be able to regain.

"Yeah," the dragoness said finally. "Yeah, I'd like to try it out. Just...go slow, okay?" Kyte smirked wryly. "It's my first time in this body, after all."

*

From the sidelines, Jonna watched with stoic reserve as the two elfboys, Calanon and Durion, stood in the midst of the Valkyries Rufus' party had saved from the dungeons of Belthin. The pair were blushing deeply as the tall, muscular, scantily-clad warrior women all around them gently caressed the two pubescent boys' elfsmooth bodies and cheeks, but seemed not at all bothered by their new status. They'd been Belthin's slaves for years, after all, and compared to her service, service to these Amazon women seemed like it would be quite pleasant indeed.

Her eyes then shifted over to Rufus as he conversed with Jutta, the Valkyrie leader and Jonna's friend, the one who had called her from her life of questing to assist the Valkyries in driving off their barbarian enemies, Adel standing by Rufus' side and assisting him with her more calm words, while Hanaro stood on his other side, stoically watching and listening like a good retainer should. Rufus seemed like a decent enough person, for a wolf, and hadn't tried to keep the elfboys from choosing their own path when they'd agreed to Jutta's offer for them to join the Valkyrie community. He hadn't objected, either, when Lysha decided to set her spear in the midst of the Valkyrie women, declaring her intention to join them and make a name for herself among true warriors, though his expression at Lysha's words indicated he wasn't especially happy about the implication that he might not be a "true warrior," whatever that meant. Now there only remained one more matter to decide before the Valkyries went their way (at least for the time being, for there had been some minor talk about possibly sending warriors back to hold the tower as a point of defense): Belthin. The dark-haired sorceress looked positively terrified as she stood on the end of a leash wrapped around her neck, attached to one of the magic nullifying collars she'd often used herself in her dungeons, listening to her final fate being discussed.

"I guess my tribe could use some decent breeding stock," Rufus said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin as he looked over at Belthin speculatively. "Even with the way I know you Amazons feel about your fellow women, I don't think you'd object much to seeing someone like this reduced to suckling wolf cubs on her teats, with another litter swelling her baby basket. I'd guess our shamans might even have magic that could give her more than one pair."

Belthin gave a short cry as Rufus meditatively reached over and very casually tore down the front of her dark robe, baring the sorceress' beautiful body to her slender waist. Despite herself, Jonna couldn't help but admire the wicked woman's fine, full breasts, her flawless olive-tinted skin, her dark nipples that looked so very mouth-watering...it was no wonder Belthin had power to sway others' minds without even using magic, looking like she did.

"Don't you dare!" Belthin declared defiantly as Rufus pulled her inward on her leash, before gripping her waist with one powerful hand. He ignored the sorceress' outburst, however, as his other hand cupped one breast, lifting it, offering it to Jutta. The tall, proudly-muscled warrior woman smiled at the offer.

"You show honor in sharing your spoils," the blonde Amazon said, before she closed her mouth on Belthin's bared nipple, soon joined by Rufus suckling on the other, the luscious sounds of their oral abuse soon filling the area, along with Belthin's cries of pleasured protest. These cries started as angry demands, but soon those became strained, and then turned to more polite requests. That didn't last long, though, as Adel, getting into the spirit of things, seized the remainder of Belthin's robes and tore them down, laying the sorceress' smooth-waxed body completely bare. She was just starting to beg when Adel began to eagerly eat her out, turning what had started as elegant pleas into desperate shrieks, which only grew in volume as Rufus and Jutta roughly shoved Belthin to her knees.

"I imagine you'd like her more than me, though," said Rufus, panting as he held out the end of Belthin's leash and her canopic jar in the same hand, offering them to Jutta. "After all, you've got history with this wench."

"No, don't send me with the Valkyries!" Belthin begged, dropping to all-fours, lowering her forehead to the ground at Rufus' feet, her shapely bottom thrust upward. "I'll serve you well, master, I promise. I'll do anything you could want! Just please, not with-mmph!"

Jutta silenced Belthin then with a scrap from the sorceress' own tattered robes, shoved roughly into her mouth, then bound it in place with another longer strip of dress. With a cruel smile, she pulled Belthin back to her feet, and then shoved her roughly before her into the midst of the angry-faced Amazons.

"We won't forget what you've done for us, Rufus," said Jutta, looking back at Rufus, who was exerting all his will not to admire her toned, tanned flanks, left almost completely bare save for a bit of fur and metal, and instead keep his eyes on hers. "When you come to our great city, we will welcome you and whoever you may bring with you, and gladly."

Jonna, though, didn't wait to hear the rest of the goodbyes and other pleasantries of the meeting between Rufus and Jutta and their attendant forces. The tall, black-furred minotauress had gone through a lot that day, and what she felt she needed most of all right then, was a nice, relaxing bath. She'd heard tell that Belthin had a bathing room somewhere on the second floor from overhearing something Shara the foxtaur girl had said before she trotted off with Cassidy to find the other treasure hunters in the tower, and decided it couldn't hurt to take a peek around herself.

Loosening the straps on her badly damaged plate armor, shaking her head as she looked at the sorry state of her gear, her sword and shield long the way of all the world after being shattered by Belthin's magic and barbarian weapons, Jonna ascended the stairs, letting her nose guide her. It didn't let her down, for in mere minutes, she scented water, and felt its humidity as she approached one of the second floor doors and quietly pushed it open.

Closing the door with the same stealth that she'd used to open it, Jonna sighed to herself as she undid the rest of straps holding her armor on, and began to set them, piece by piece, onto a nearby bench. The room was so steamy, she couldn't see much, but the water she could see looked very inviting, and Jonna started to hasten disrobing, not caring so much about the noise she might make as she dropped her breastplate to the floor. At least, that's what she tried to do. Instead of hitting the floor with the expected clang, however, the heavy bit of metal paused in the air, held there by a long tentacle made of flowing water. Jonna's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to cry out, but a moment later a gentle hand covered her lips.

"Please don't make noise," whispered a gentle-yet-sensual voice in Jonna's ear. "You might frighten them."

For a moment, Jonna was about to start taking offensive action against whoever it was holding a hand over her mouth. Then, however, the steam-fog blew aside, just enough for the tall, muscular she-minotaur to see who it was that the voice meant. There, in one of the shallower pools, were three adorable teenage girls, wearing nothing more than their birthday suits. One of the girls was a dapple grey hippogryph girl, who just gave off a strong tomboy vibe, her body toned and tight, her breasts nearly nonexistent nubs with broad grayish-pink nipples that Jonna had to admit looked deliciously suckable. Next to where the hippogryph girl was kneeling in the water, was the most precious-looking wolfen pup that Jonna had ever seen, her fur a soft golden color, except for her creamy underbelly. The happy-looking little cutie had precious, perky breasts and a darling little tushie under her fluffy tail, and Jonna wasn't sure if she wanted to cuddle or make love to the sweet little darling more. The last of the girls, though, was heart-stoppingly beautiful. It was a unicorn filly, her body the very essence of pubescent perfection, her figure slender and willowy, her breasts like flowers seeking the sun, the nipples like droplets of molten silver, her snowy fur giving off a pearlescent light as she sat on the edge of the pool, looking down at the puppygirl with slight trepidation. The puppygirl was kneeling in the pool, the tempting fold of her upper natal cleft visible above the waterline, as was that of the more petite hippogryph girl as they knelt in the water before the unicorn, their tails occasionally flicking back and forth, giving glimpses of the fullness of their precious bottoms.

Briefly glancing to her side, Jonna could see that the other woman in the bath with her, and now her fellow voyeur, was an orca who seemed to be made out of living, animate water. An elemental! When the elemental saw that Jonna wasn't going to startle the trio in the bath right then, she released the she-minotaur, then summoned up several more tentacles of water from around the room, quietly peeling off the rest of Jonna's armor, piece by piece. At first, Jonna tensed slightly at the touch of the other female, but then she relaxed as it became obvious the elemental orca wasn't hostile. Probably summoned as one of Belthin's servants, with the specialized duty of tending to the baths and the needs of those who came there. Letting her beautifully-sculpted, muscular body be laid bare, the whorls and swirls of white runic paint clearly visible on her black fur, Jonna continued to watch the scene before her right along with the orca whose name she didn't even know yet, both of them keeping perfectly quiet so as not to disturb the sweet innocence of the girls' gentle loveplay.

Path Choices

Keeping things simple for the time being. For both of the following options, the following persons are available to take items, along with a listing of what the character in question already has (if anything):

* Rufus - Blade of Severed Souls (taken from Kaia the elven paladin, aside from standard magical enhancement, the sword does massive damage to the true servants of evil, such as evil Outsiders, clerics of dark gods, utterly repugnant demonologists, and similarly tainted creatures); glowing sphere (taken from Praxis, held Lesage, about the size of a large marble, allows the user to imprison a single Outsider at a time, and then to command the last Outsider to be contained inside the sphere with perfect obedience within the limits of the Outsider's alignment; presently contains an imprisoned succubus imp); bearded handaxe (mundane, Rufus' offhand weapon, good for tripping foes); chain shirt

* Urtan - Bolliban (winged magic spear taken from giants, swift in attack and flies especially far); magic wooden shield (no name, taken from the giants, magically hardened and enchanted to block blows more easily)

* Urta - Spear and shield (Mundane)

* One-eye - Spear and shield (Mundane)

* Adel - Longsword (a masterwork weapon, but not named or magical); breastplate and greaves

* Cassidy - Stingbow (taken from Lysha, a lemonwood bow enchanted to add additional accuracy and range to any arrows fired from the bow)

* Ryg - Greenwood staff (healing staff taken from Zane the redheaded cleric girl, now used as a walking stick, that can be recharged by letting it soak in soil and sunlight; can cure injuries, poison, and disease; for especially grievous injuries, or when its power has been spent, the staff can also allow the wielder to transfer life essence from the wielder into the injured, though this can kill the wielder)

* Rael - spear (a masterwork weapon, a gift from her grandfather, Windtooth, not named yet)

* Hanaro - Scarlet Snow (ancestral blade that grows more powerful the more honorable its wielder; presently Hanaro's loyalty to Rufus allows her to cleave through most objects, including most armor, though her prior rejecting of Kaia as her leader has diminished its power from perfection; this will recover in time so long as Hanaro stays loyal); masterwork samurai armor

* Padmini - White Jade Bracers (magical bracers that create an invisible protective barrier around the wearer that works like armor)

* Wisselfleur - wooden spear (carved by Rufus as a gift)

* Imogen - long dagger (given as a gift by Rufus)

* Kyte - Twin short swords (balanced to be used together, but otherwise unremarkable)

* Shara - Wooden staff (channels magic and basic self-defense, otherwise unremarkable)

* Skaeth - Crute (a heavy, two-bladed axe requiring two hands to use for anyone smaller than Skaeth, made of meteoric iron, allowing it to cleave through almost anything, also enchanted to be more accurate than a weapon of its heft would indicate); Brawler (heavy bronze shield with a demonic minotaur's face on the front, enchanted to be surprisingly light for its size, and empowered with a wild bull's spirit, letting it be used to make powerful blows)

* Lesage - Nothing

* Jonna - damaged plate armor (her weapon and shield were broken during her capture, while her armor was badly damaged, but is still serviceable and can be repaired back to masterwork status)

* Unassigned magic items

-magic rope (extends to any length needed, unties and ties on command, but is otherwise inanimate)

-chameleon mask (simple wooden mask taken from Mask, Praxis' raccoon henchman, that allows its wearer to don an illusory disguise with the mask of anything the wearer can imagine, within the limits of the wearer's size and humanoid shape)

-three crowns of Morpheus (simple silver circlets that allow the creation of realistic dream-states, useful for recreation, training, or breaking down the will of the wearer)

1) Make suggestions for magic items or other gear that the party should acquire when they reach the Valkyrie city, and who should get the gear. Any suggestion that gets over three votes, and is within reason (as decided by me) for cost, will be purchased once the party reaches the city. Only one vote of this sort is allowed per person, though (if more than one vote for an item is listed, only the first will be used). Feel free to use your imaginations.

2) Who should get the gear the party found in and around Belthin's tower? Bare majorities will carry the day with this vote, and only one vote is allowed per person. Also recommend gear trades, if you think someone should get something below, but that person already has a magic item in the "slot" proposed. The following 10 items are available:

1 - Charm of Learning - A one-use item; whoever meditates on this small necklace for an hour will become greatly, and permanently, advanced in one chosen skill. This skill can be melee combat, ranged combat, defensive magic, healing magic, offensive magic, or any one other skill (such as tracking or stealth) proposed by a voter. After its use, the charm sizzles into useless slag.

2 - Turner - A mighty metal heater shield made of shining steel, which is nearly invulnerable; it is enchanted to grant its bearer with protection like a suit of armor on all sides so long as it is held, besides its use in deflecting blows as a magically-reinforced shield.

3 - Soulstone - This smoky quartz sphere is about the size of a human man's fist. If used immediately after the death of someone, it can be used to capture the soul of that person within. While there are other uses for the soulstone (such as stopping Outsiders from escaping back to their home planes on the destruction of their Prime Material bodies), the most common use is to hold a fallen comrade's spirit, making it possible to restore it to the dead one's body with sufficient healing magic. This happens automatically to the one with the soulstone on their person. The soulstone can only hold one soul at a time.

4 - Boots of Striding and Springing - A pair of fine dwarf-made boots that enhance the ground speed of the wearer, and also allows the wearer to make incredible jumps, even while standing still.

5 - Blunt Blade - A cold iron sword, ideally suited for striking creatures of faerie and demons and similar supernatural creatures. Also enchanted to make it more accurate.

6 - Blade Brand - A short, thick metal seal with a rune of potent magic on one end, designed to be heated and then stamped onto a single weapon. The item on which the blade brand is placed then becomes magical, gaining additional accuracy and penetration. It is common to name items branded with one of these runes (please feel free to recommend a name for the weapon along with voting who gets it).

7 - Maulgrim - A heavy one-handed mace with a grotesque monstrous head; the wielder enters a state of barely-controlled rage while wielding this weapon (it was found on the body of a slain barbarian chieftain), which allows the wielder to deal immense damage with each blow, but also slightly reduces the accuracy of each blow. This state of rage also allows the wielder to sometimes completely ignore blows that would otherwise have been fatal.

8 - Spellstone - A heavy dark green stone, roughly spherical, that pulses with magical energy. The user, if a spellcaster, can draw on the stone for additional magical energy, or to counterspell other spells. Non-spellcasters can use the spellstone's counterspell ability, but cannot use any other magical ability.

9 - Furs of Northern Might - This thick sable fur cloak (used by Belthin as a fashion statement among the barbarians) provides protection to its wearer like a chain shirt, and also grants the wearer the ability to inspire the self and others nearby with courage and conviction in battle, negating supernatural fear effects.

10 - Gutsplitter - A weapon Belthin was making for one of the barbarian leaders who pleased her, Gutsplitter is a well-forged mithril axe enchanted to grant immense strength to its wielder, as well as having the properties of silver (being made of mithril), letting it harm shapechangers, devils, and other creatures.