Throckmorton

[TLDunn213]

Notes.

Right now I'm just sort of sketching out the main character and related points.

So if you want the story without spoilers skip down to chapter 1.

 

 

Throckmorton was born in the town of Demi. The half-elf son of a half-elf mother. Which means that his father is likely also a half-elf. Although he could be anywhere from 1/4 to 3/4 Elf and still have a son who would count as 1/2.

Now as to Who exactly his father is...

Well, given that his mother is a Tavern Winch; that's a bit of an open question.

After all Demi is a Half-elf city. Not to say that there aren't a fair number of Humans, Full Blood Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Halflings, and so on living there. With nearly half again that many just passing through. 

Which is hardly surprising given that Demi is one of the three biggest port cities on the Eastern coast of Estria.

The other two, just for the record are:

WayMeet to the South. The largest Elf run city in the region that allows other races inside its walls in large numbers.

And Ha' Ven to the North. Home to the Adventures Guild. A  city with enough racial/species diversity that you Are a Minority, no matter what race you belong to.

There are slightly more humans than any other single race but they still only make up 20 to 25 percent of the total population.

But enough about the world. We're here to talk about young Throckmorton and his early years.

Being the son of a Tavern Winch naturally lead to the learning of the skills associated with the Rogue's trade. And when given a chance by some of the local Bards he discovered that he had rather a bit of talent for that craft as well.

Which lead to his attracting the notice of the Dragon SilverFrost who just happened to have stopped in( in human form) for a drink. 

SilverFrost was impressed by young Throckmorton's talent and gave him a letter of introduction to the Bards Collage at the Adventures Guild in Ha'Ven along with a bit of traveling money.

At the Guild young Throckmorton excelled at both music, and Rogue craft. Well, once he was able to find the Rogue's section of the Guild. Being able to find it is, after all, one of the requirements for admittance.

Over time he became an Adventurer, joined a party, and after a number of rather routine missions aboveground, he set out on a mission to the Underdark.

And that is where our story begins.

And as his memory is rather fogged over at first...

Well I had planned on just starting in the Morphosis chamber 

So if you want to be as befuddled as our hero skip to chapter one 

If you don't think it will matter if you know the high points of his backstory;

Well if you're reading this you probably already read the rest of this section anyway.

 

 

Some points to consider.

Throkmorton is a Rogue and a Bard.

So what level in each ?

I'm thinking 2nd or 3rd for each, making him a 4th to 6th level character overall. 

So, what spells would he have as a 3rd level Bard ?

And can he use any of them after becoming a Kull ?

Would he gain psi powers? 

Just brainstorming here. But if you have any thoughts on any of this feel free to share.

Detail about Thuliens, particularly the Illith phase: They do not talk. Telepathic communication definitely. But no spoken communication. The lungs just don't connect to the mouth. 

Normal Illith having inate psi powers would have no reason to bother with Arcane magic. But someone who was an Arcane spellcaster before becoming a Kull...  That is a very interesting question. 

After thinking about it I believe that the spells they already know would gradually change over to equivalent psi powers/abilities. 

Singing is something that I believe could be done telepathically. So with some practice a Bard in this condition would be able to regain their abilities.

Now preforming publicly as a Kull is something that would be very location dependent obviously.

Due to prior knowledge of Arcane magic the advantages/limitations of the Magus class, or at least an equivalent Psi-Magus type class would apply. Slower progress in terms of learning new Powers/Abilities but more powerful/lower costs due to understanding how to manipulate both Order and Chaos. 

Now someone who was an Eldritch spell caster would probably not be able to convert those spells into Psi equivalents. Taking the Silent Spell feat would probably allow them to use that form of the Eldritch spell. 

This is of course just speculation, as there aren't enough cases of Eldritch spellcasters becoming Kulls for any reliable information on the subject to be available.

Edited June 29, 2025 by TLDunn213

[TLDunn213]

Chapter One. 

The pain faded.

He lay there for a time savoring its absence. 

Once he was reasonably sure that it wasn't going to return any time soon he dared to open his eyes.

No pain. That was good. But there wasn't much to see either. Blank stone ceiling in a dimly lit room. 

He sat up. Still no pain. And not much of an improvement on the view. 

Small, dim room, carved out of stone with a shallow pool of water beside him and some sort of table and cupboard arrangement against the wall; and a door. 

That was it.

No source of light. Yet he could see, dimly to be sure, But how ?

No windows. Nothing giving off light. And things were clearly no brighter near the door.

The room should be pitch black, yet he could see well enough. This was not something he could do before.

Before? The word echoed loudly in his mind. Fragments of memory flooded his mind and faded away before he could grasp them. 

Memories that felt right mixed with ones that could not possibly belong.

He tried to reach for them, any of them, even the  "wrong" ones. 

It was like trying to grasp fog.

He kept trying anyway.

And finally he was able to grab one.

Just a fragment of time. Walking down some dimly lit hallway. Torch held high, for better light. Then Pain. And darkness. 

So, he'd been ambushed, knocked out, captured. And brought here? 

Where was here? Who? Why?

The fog in his mind swirled and churned.

And then he knew. 

Thulians.

His blood ran cold at the thought.

He was clever and now that he was thinking in abstract ideas and not trying for personal memories knowledge was flowing much more quickly and freely in his mind. Which was good; except he did not like the answers he was getting.

Why Thulians took people. The fact that he could now see in the dark. His clouded memories. Not good.

But the fact that he saw it as bad. Didn't just accept it as how things should be...

Maybe there was hope.

Dreading what he would find but needing to know. He closed his eyes and started exploring his body by touch.

It took only moments for his exploration to confirm what he had expected to find. 

Bald head and face tentacles.

Yep, he was a Kull. An Illith to look at but with his original mind mostly intact and a few bits of information that he had not known before.

The most important bits were what would happen to him if his kull nature were discovered.

Death.

And the fact that the morphosis chamber was on the edge of the compound.

For practical reasons. 

And that it would be a few hours yet before anyone would be by to check on how things were going.

On the table were his belongings and in the cupboard was a set of robes. And his regular clothes.

After some thought about the matter he put on the robes and packed as much of his other possessions as would fit into his pack while still being able to hide it under the robes. 

His knifes he could strap in their usual places. His sword had to be hung on his back in a way that mostly hid it under the robes.

There was no way to draw it like that. But stealth not sword work was his only real chance of escaping.

 

Edited June 15, 2025 by TLDunn213

[TLDunn213]

Fortunately it was a rest period so there wasn't anyone around for Throkmorton to avoid. Also fortunately, his job was overseer for a new fungus farm located rather close to the Morphoses Chambers with his assigned quarters being next to the entrance of the tunnel that lead to the cavern containing the farm itself. And as a final bit of good fortune, there was a smallish tunnel at the far end of the farm leading to the greater Underdark that had not been sealed up yet.

Throkmorton struggled to contain his elation. A mental shout of joy could be every bit as disastrous as mental screams of panic. 

Amazingly he encountered no one on his trip. Only spotting a couple of Sporanids at the far end of the farm as he passed through the cavern, and they seemed to take no notice of him.

Upon reaching the greater Underdark Throkmorton found it rather easy to contain his elation as he realized that he had no idea where he was or which way to go. As the Illith memories did not include anything beyond what was needed for the job it was to do. Which did not include going beyond the Compound. 

Then he remembered the map he'd been making before his capture. If the Thulien Compound wasn't too far from where he'd been captured then maybe he could get his bearings and use the map to find his way.

The small tunnel from the fungus farm ended at a larger tunnel giving him two choices. One, actually; as he managed to orient his mental map of the Compound and realized that going right would lead to the main entrance. So, left should lead in the direction he needed to go.

If his fellow adventurers had escaped and were still down here, would he be able to convince them that he was who he was before they killed him? 

A rather important question that.

"Oh, well. One disaster at a time." He thought as he headed off down the tunnel.

 

 

Edited January 28 by TLDunn213

[Snypiuer]

I like the story so far. One thing I might point out is that, if a reader hasn't read all your previous definitions, descriptions, etc., they may find it hard to follow. But having read them, I can't wait for more!

[TLDunn213]

After rereading what I have so far, I have to agree that some sort of glossary would need to be included for those not already familiar with the Shard Scape. 

Although people who know about mindflayers from D&D would probably pickup on the basic thread.

Added a few things to the notes section at the top for those interested in technical details and such.

************************************

After about half an hour of walking Throkmorton came to a disused sentry post. It was far enough from the main entrance that he could stop, rest, and plan his next move. A map on the wall of the main room was somewhat useful in this respect. While not perfectly connecting with his original map,  the tunnel leading to a grove of Chaos fungus was the most likely route by which the Thuliens could have brought him to their Compound. It was also the only path that didn't show any other sentry posts. 

With a path chosen and minimal chance of encountering any Thuliens, Throkmorton decided that it was time to change his look to something more likely to cause his fellow adventurers to pause before striking. To that end the robes were packed away and his regular clothes doned. Sword at the hip, where it could now be drawn. Daggers in all their usual places. Harp...he paused holding it. Looking at his now three fingered hands with long, almost claw like nails. Only one way to find out he decided positioning the harp and moving his nails in a plucking/strumming motion.

The harp responded with soft notes, that after a few rather minor adjustments could be called music. Not his best, but the effort needed to adapt to his new hands would not be nearly as great as he had feared. 

He played on for a little while trusting the furniture in the room to contain the sound. As his mind wandered he felt a gentle yet insistent tugging at his mind. 

He paused his playing and concentrated on this new sensation. 

Yeriko ?   Yeriko !

It was her. The others were alive. And Yeriko was using her morning meditation to send out a meal signal for him to follow. 

He focused on the map he'd copied from the wall. Yes. The path through the grove of Chaos fungus did lead in the right general direction. He slung his harp over his shoulder, picked up his other gear, and with map in hand set off at a brisk walk.

Edited June 29, 2025 by TLDunn213

[Snypiuer]

Good thing you, basically, already have a glossary with all your previous posts. Pare them down a bit and I believe you're good to go!

As to your Kull/magic/psi conundrum, I'd need to read up on that. Are you just going off of D&D, or are other magic systems an option, e.g., Ars Magica, Arcanum (Atlantean Trilogy), GURPS, etc.?

[TLDunn213]

I'm mostly using D&D 3.0 with whatever Shard Scape specific mods I've already posted.

As to a glossary; I've been meaning to try making a list of all the stuff I've got so far with just a line or two summary mostly as a way of remembering what I need to search for if I want to find the full thing.

I might even try setting it up with links and such. Assuming I can find the time energy and motivation to do something that big. Maybe once I'm finialy able to retire in another 6 years or so 🤔 

[TLDunn213]

Throkmorton was busy thinking as he walked. On the one hand Yeriko's mental beacon was very useful to him and finding a way to let her know that would make finding his fellow adventurers much easier. On the other hand how many other creatures of the Underdark could hear that beacon?

Maybe not that many. After all she was mentally calling out to him specifically.

So, how to let her know without broadcasting his own location to whatever might be able to hear him ?

Thuliens were telepathic. Did that mean he was now ? One way to find out.

He stopped walking, took a quick look around, and closed his eyes. Concentrating on reflecting her signal back to her. Not only would this let her know he was hearing it, it would also give her a direction to focus on. Further reducing the chance of anyone else noticing.

After a moment he felt a flash of surprise along the beacon. Then Yeriko's face appeared in his mental view. "Throk ? Is that you ?" She asked.

"Sort of. " He said wondering if she was seeing him as he was now or as he remembered being.

"A bit of both." She said, "So you're a Kull now. That explains how we're talking." 

"Didn't know if I could. But when I felt your call I had to try." 

An image of a map appeared in his mind. It was the one he'd been drawing before his capture, with a few more chambers added. "Are you on this?" She ask.

"I'm on this." He replied projecting the map from the sentry post wall. Adding a dot for his location. "I think this leads to this." He went on adding arrows at the ends of the tunnels he hopped connected the two maps.

"We'll start heading that way." She said, "I'll try to keep a link for us to follow. But if we run into trouble I'll probably have to drop it."

"Unerstood. If we lose contact I'll keep going until I need to check my direction and try to reestablish it then."

The link faded and he opened his eyes. 

Yes. His friends were in the same direction as the grove of Chaos fungus he'd been heading for. 

So with renewed hope adding a spring to his steps Throckmorton hurried off down the corridor. 

[TLDunn213]

He reached the cavern containing the grove without encountering anything more interesting than a few oddly colored outcropings of of rock along the way. The cavern was far larger than he was expecting. The map from the sentry post only noted that a grove of Chaos fungus was there and didn't bother extending beyond that. Understandable given that the Thuliens would have little reason to go there or expect anything to come from there. At least without making rather a lot of noise. 

Given the size of the cavern there was a good chance that his friends would be reaching the other side of it about now.

Throkmorton checked his surroundings and then closed his eyes. Reaching out along the link to Yeriko. The fact that she had been able to maintain it was a good omen for how things were going on her end.

Contact came almost immediately.

An updated image of the two maps appeared before his mind's eye. "I think we're at the far side of the Chaos fungus cavern" Yeriko said.

"I think you're right. Now how do I get to where you are without disturbing these things?"

"Very carefully." She replied. "There  seems to be a path around the edge of the Grove. If it continues all the way..."

"Worth a try. If this isn't just a wild patch, but something that the Sporanids are tending to..." 

"As long as you stay on the path and don't disturb the fungus, they should have no reason to bother you."

"One way to find out." He said opening his eyes and starting off down the path.

The Fungus people worked for the Thuliens in the Compound of their own free will. But how loyal they were beyond that; or even how friendly they might be in their own territory... These were things that the Thuliens didn't seem to think about much.

For that matter, why did the Sporanids work for the Thuliens ? They didn't seem to be enslaved but they were also not employed. At least his Thulien memories didn't contain anything about paying them or keeping them under control. The Sporanids just worked for the Thuliens and no one bothered questioning it.

Throkmorton's musings were interpreted at this point as he came around a bend in the path and found himself face to face with a group of five medium sized Sporanids coming from the other direction.

[TLDunn213]

*"Be not alarmed."* a voice said in his mind.

Throkmorton wasn't sure which of them had spoken, but assumed it was the one in the middle, and focused his attention on that one

*"OK ?"* he said/thought. Waiting to see what the fungusmen would do next.

*"Your friends have reached the far side of this cavern. We have told them to wait for you there. Before you go to them, we offer you a trade. You have coins ? Yes ?"* 

Each sentence seemed to be a slightly different voice leaving Throkmorton totally confused as to Who was actually talking. Not that it mattered much. The important part was that they seemed willing to let him go after making some trade. 

*"Some. What are you offering, and how much do you want?"* he asked 

*"5 Gold. For one basket of Brain fungus, For when the Hunger comes; One bag of Spawn, for growing your own later; and one Memory Crystal, with instructions on how to grow your own Brian fungus."* They said, showing him each item as they named it. 

Throkmorton felt a hunger stirring at the sight of the Brian fungus. 5 Gold would leave him with only a few Silver and Copper pieces. But for his freedom and some useful supplies he'd have paid a Platinum if he had too. 

With the deal made Throkmorton looked into the basket and allowed his Thulien nature to rise. As the Hunger filled his mind his tentacles reached out and wrapped around one of the small brain fungi pulling it quickly to his mouth. Psi-energy flowed through his mind which he directed through his body fueling and restoring it. 

He returned to normal awareness unsure how much time had passed. No long,  he decided; as the fungusmen were still there watching him.

*"Much better and safer to meet your friends well sated than still hungry from your transformation."*

They said *"If you don't over exert yourself, that should keep you feed for about a week."*

"Good to know." he said counting the fungi in the basket. Twelve. Twelve weeks of food. So probably about eight weeks to get back to normal or find a place to start growing his own Brian fungus. 

*"Stay on the path that follows the wall of the Cavern and you will reach your friends in an hour or so."*  The fungusmen said walking past him.

Throkmorton hung the handle of the basket over his arm and set off down the path. Once he was out of sight of the Sporanids he stopped and closed his eyes, concentrating on reestablishing his mental link to Yeriko. 

Her face appeared in his mind almost instantly. A quick mental exchange and it was agreed that they would wait for him where they were. And with that decision made Throkmorton set off at a brisk walk.

 

Edited January 30 by TLDunn213

[TLDunn213]

After about twenty minutes of walking Throkmorton is far enough around the cavern to see Yeriko and the others. Namely Kain, Hawk, and Targon. 

"Woah." Hawk said, "Yeriko told us what happened. But, it's one thing to hear about it and something else to see it first hand."

"I know." Throk said, "I haven't looked in a mirror yet. I can feel my face, so I know what I'll see. But I'm not exactly in a hurry to actually see myself looking like this." 

"At least you are still you in your mind." Yeriko says, "The rest can be dealt with one way or another."

"Shopping trip ?" Kain ask indicating the basket.

"Snacks for later." Throk said lifting the cover of the basket.

Kain and Yeriko peer inside.

"Snacks?... Oh; yeah. right." Kain says as realization of the realities of Throkmorton's condition  click into place in his mind. 

The look of confusion then understanding travels quickly around the group.

"How long?" Yeriko ask.

"About a week each. Three weeks worth. But I'll probably need to find a place to start growing more after about eight." Throk says.

Yeriko nods. "It will be time enough. One way or another."

"You will want to wear this when we are in most towns." Kain says handing him a hooded cloak. "Shadow Shroud, Deeper Darkness spell woven into the fabric. Popular with vampires and such, but useful for anyone who doesn't want their face seen." He explains.

Throkmorton puts the cloak on and pulls the hood up then lowers it again. "Nice. But it blocks out too much light for use down here. Should be fine aboveground during the day. Where's the rest of the group?"

"Most of them are meeting up with Grendel in Aracniki to escort the Princess to her new hive." Targon says. "It's going to take some time for me to get used to you looking like that." He adds.

"We might not have to." Hawk says thoughtfully. "Melkior might be busy hunting down Tomes with Victor and Seline. But I do have a way for us to go see Anne and Johnathan."

"Who ?" Yeriko ask confused.

"Appleblack ?!" Throk exclaims " How do you happen to know them?"

Yeriko still looks confused.

"Jonathan Appleblack and his wife Anne Grayhall, of Grayhall Academy and the Umbrial Archives." Throkmorton explains.

 

Edited January 30 by TLDunn213

[TLDunn213]

"Did a job for Jonathan awhile back. Can't talk about it. Discretion was of the upmost importance."

"Wait. You did a job for the Supreme Shadow?" Kain says 

"No. I did a job for Jonathan. It was a private matter between him and someone else with a Title and it was very important that it remained between the two of them and not their respective Realms. Which is way more than I should be saying about it." Hawk said.

"Fine. Fine. Keep your secrets. I was just surprised. Not your usual crowd." Kain says 

"I think that was rather the point." Throkmorton observed dryly.

"Anyway, they gave me this little trinket as part of my pay." Hawk says, pulling a couple of items from his backpack. "This is a shadow lantern; fairly common, and quiet useful in my line of work. But it's this little trinket that makes it extra special." He continues attaching a lens of smokey quartz to the front of the lantern. "Now it projects a Portal to the Demiplane of Shadows onto a wall, and boom; instant exit from awkward situations. Or a way to get to Grayhall Academy without having to take a long sea voyage. Bit of a hike through the Plane of Shadows but nothing's perfect." Hawk lights the Shadow Lantern and points it at a nearby wall.

"And they gave me one of those magic compass that point to where you're wanting to go." 

"Anything for measuring the distance?" Yeriko asked.

"No." Hawk admitted "But distance isn't exactly a fixed thing in the Shadow Realms anyway." 

"True." Yeriko admits before stepping through the Portal. The rest of the party follow her lead with Hawk coming last to close the Portal behind them.

Off to the left in the distance they can see the glow of protective spells around the Thulien outpost. Thankfully the Compass shows their path is headed away from it.

"It's unfortunate that you are the only one who's been there before." Throk says as they set off.

"How so ?" Targon ask puzzled.

"Distance isn't a fixed thing here." Kain says "The more of us focusing on where we're going the shorter the trip."

"Even so, it should only take us a couple of days" Yeriko says calmly 

 

 

Edited January 28 by TLDunn213

[TLDunn213]

Time isn't easily measured in a place of continual twilight, but after a few hours of steady walking the silhouette of a large city comes into view. 

" Grayhall Academy and the Umbrial Archives" Hawk announced. "We should probably find a place to make camp and rest. It will probably take most of a day to get there from here."

Throkmorton looks at the city in the distance. "It must be huge, if we can see it this well in this light at that distance." 

"Almost Three square miles." Hawk confirms looking around. "That should do." He adds pointing to an outcrop of stone with thorny bushes growing along the top.

Yeriko walks over to the bushes examining them closely "How can they grow here with so little light?"

"Good question." Hawk says clearing away debris from their campsite. "I never got around to asking last time I was here. Might be worth looking into this time, seeing as this is a research mission."

Yeriko nods putting a few twigs from the bush in her pouch before looking around for possible firewood options.

"A fire will be visible for a long way out here." Targon says pulling cooking equipment from his pack.

"Most of the natives can see heat. So we're all shining like beacons anyway." Hawk says spreading out his bedrole "a fire will just make it a bit easier for us to see them. Assuming anything bothers to come by for a look."

"I'll take a prowl around the perimeter and first watch." Kain says shifting into his panther form and vanishing almost instantly in the dim light.

"Not much to watch for out here." Hawk observers "Still, better safe than sorry I suppose."

By the time Kain returned Targon had a fire going and stew simmering in a pot above it.

Throkmorton notices that he isn't smelling the cooking odors himself he is aware of the reactions happening in the minds of the others as a sort of background awareness. He is also both relieved and slightly disappointed that the food awakens no hunger in him.

"The fire and cooking smells carry quite a distance." Kain said taking a seat by the fire. "Thankfully there doesn't seem to be anyone or anything out there to notice." 

"The city watch can probably see the glow of our fire, but I doubt they will bother sending anyone this far to investigate." Yeriko said helping herself to a bowl of stew.

The others nodded filling their bowls in turn. Throkmorton sipped some water as they ate,  so as to feel a bit more like a part of the meal. 

After they were done eating and cleaning up, Kain resumed his panther form for his turn at watch.

Throkmorton needing only a short meditation to be fully rested decides to share the watch with him.

*"can he hear me thinking?"* Kain wonders.

*"Only if I'm making an effort to hear them."* Throkmorton says, *"wasn't trying to hear you specifically just now. Just listening for anything that might be out there."*

*"Interesting. Being able to talk to you in cat form could be useful in some situations."* Kain says thoughtfully.

*"Keeping the Psi Abilities would be a nice bonus."* Throk says 

*"What if you can't be changed back?" Kain ask

*"There's always Wishs and such."*

*"True. But those are not easy to get."*

*"So, what will I do, how will I deal with it, if I'm stuck this way for a long time?"* Throkmorton said. *"Been trying not to think about it really. But, you are right. It is a possibility. And I should have some sort of plan in mind, just in case."*

*"you don't have to have a full plan just yet. But keeping an eye out for places where you could set up a little greenhouse for your fungi  would be a good start."* Kain said 

Throkmorton nods slowly then goes back to listening with him mind for any stray thoughts in the environment around them. He can feel the dreaming minds of his companions and wonders if he could spy on their dreams if he wanted to, then decides against trying. Maybe ask Yeriko later if she'd be willing to let him try.

The "night" passed uneventfuly.  And Kain and Throk took a brief meditation break while everyone else had breakfast.

 

 

Edited January 30 by TLDunn213

[TLDunn213]

Rested and refreshed the party set off for the Umbrial Archives. The trip was uneventful, inspite of taking most of the "day".

Upon reaching the gates of the city they are greeted by a pair of Latralo guards floating in the air just outside the gates.

"Halt. State your names and reason for visiting." One of the guards says settling to the ground in front of them. 

"Hawkeye Ravenhair. We are here to consult with the Supreme Shadow concerning a matter of research. I believe this key and accompanying letter will suffice to bypass the usual bureaucratic process for entry." He said with a bow a flourish as he presented the key and letter. 

The first guard handed the key to her companion while unfolding the letter. She scanned it quickly while her companion examined the key.

The guards exchanged a look and a nod. "Everything appears to be in order." The first said handing back the key and letter. "However, as your letter of introduction doesn't say anything about guests, we will accompany you to the reception chambers." 

"Unnecessary; but if you wish, I will make no complaint about an honor guard escort." Hawk said putting the key and letter away.

The first Latralo takes the lead while the other brings up the rear.

 

Edited February 2 by TLDunn213