{"id":172,"date":"2019-03-14T11:59:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-14T11:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/141.148.246.190\/index.php\/single-post\/the-giants-gamble-pt-10\/"},"modified":"2022-04-22T07:41:06","modified_gmt":"2022-04-22T07:41:06","slug":"the-giants-gamble-pt-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.alexisveenendaal.com\/index.php\/2019\/03\/14\/the-giants-gamble-pt-10\/","title":{"rendered":"The Giant’s Gamble Pt. 10"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Chapter 10: The Clerics of Cloakshadow<\/span><\/h3>\n
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The School of Illusion was large but well hidden, a testament to the cloak and dagger insignia of the Trickster God: Baravar Cloakshadow. Not many students were chosen to attend the school, and even fewer were wont to seek it out. Roon sought it, not out of desperation, as most others would have, but out of a combined sense of boredom and curiosity. He did not display any inclinations towards magic. Nor was he the type to fight for a cause. Well, that wasn\u2019t true. He had a cause: to be a trickster. That\u2019s all there was. He didn\u2019t need vengeance on any fay natured creature, he wasn\u2019t looking to save a damsel or duke. He didn\u2019t even care about governments or empires or their laws, so long as he wasn\u2019t caught breaking any. Jail was more of an annoyance than anything, but he still wanted to avoid it if he could. He was young and new to travelling, and while he knew a few games and tricks from his brothers, he could always do with a few more. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cArden, wait up!\u201d Roon called, racing down the stone steps and grabbing the wall with one hand to pull himself into a sharp turn. He leapt over the last two steps, gasping for air and looking down the long hallway in front of him. The corridor was empty. \u201cDamnit,\u201d he swore, and just as he started to run, a hand darted out of a doorway and pulled him inside, slamming it closed behind them.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Arden threw him against the wall and put a warning finger to his mouth. Heart pounding, Roon pushed his ear next to the door to listen. Sure enough, a few moments later there were loud, clacking footsteps of someone descending the stairs.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThey can\u2019t have gone far, whoever they are,\u201d Cleric Sorin\u2019s voice echoed clearly down the hall. \u201cCheck every room. And send someone upstairs to clean up that mess before Cleric Dewar arrives!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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There were some mutters and the flapping of wings. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cC\u2019mon,\u201d Arden said, nudging Roon and quietly making his way through the dark classroom.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Roon followed in the dim light as they skirted around empty tables and dusty shelves. Arden pointed to a portion of the stone wall that, on second glance, looked to be out of place.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWhat is it?\u201d Roon hissed.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Arden smiled and winked, then flourished his hands in a wave and shot a piercing light at the stone, which shimmered and disappeared. \u201cYou should really get to know your illusion magic better,\u201d he lectured Roon, not for the first time.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Roon rolled his eyes and got down on his knees to crawl through. The space was barely large enough for Arden, who was a halfling and four feet in stature, to fit through. Just as the door opened, Arden shot up both hands and the illusion of the wall reappeared. Globules of light were sent into the room, followed by Cleric Sorin in his long, wispy gray robes<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWon\u2019t he know we\u2019re here?\u201d Roon whispered.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The old man looked around the room with glaring eyes, grumbling, then retreated, the globules of light bobbing behind him. The door clicked shut.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Arden shook his head. \u201cTrust me, Roondock, I\u2019ve been here since I was only a foot tall, and I\u2019ve only scraped the surface of all the trickery in this place. There\u2019s no way that old man has figured it out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Roon smiled wanly, \u201cyou\u2019re such a know-it-all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cAnd you\u2019re so little,\u201d Arden said, patting Roon patronizingly on the head with a grin.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m only a year younger than you,\u201d Roon grumbled.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI meant your height, little gnome,\u201d he teased.<\/span><\/p>\n

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They were both in their late teens. Roon had left Evermeet only six months ago to join the Clerics of Cloakshadow. Arden had grown up in the old castle.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s kind of cramped in here,\u201d Arden said finally.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWhere does the tunnel lead?\u201d Roon asked, pointing his chin into the darkness.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cSomewhere with rats, probably,\u201d Arden sighed, then stuck his big foot up and wiggled his toes in Roon\u2019s face.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Roon smacked his foot away. \u201cGet those hairy, smelly halfling feet off me! How did you do it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cDo what?\u201d Arden shrugged, leaning against the stone and putting his arms behind his head as if he were lounging on the world\u2019s comfiest chair.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cSee the illusion magic when even Cleric Sorin missed it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The halfling boy thought for a moment, then shot Roon another wicked grin. \u201cI can\u2019t give away all my secrets. Especially not to you, rookie.\u201d Then, he sighed again and said, \u201cgive it time, Roon. You have the gift, I could sense it on you as soon as you got here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m impatient,\u201d Roon said back.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cImpatient\u2019s better than impotent.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cOr important.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with being important?\u201d Arden asked, sitting up.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cImportant people can\u2019t hide in shadows,\u201d Roon said seriously, scratching a nail into the stone beneath him, thinking again about his brothers in Evermeet.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Arden reached out a hand and placed it on Roon\u2019s. He looked up at him.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI think it\u2019s safe to go now,\u201d Roon said quickly, and Arden pulled his hand away, nodding, then turned and crawled out of the illusory wall, Roon following. Arden grabbed his elbow and helped him to his feet, and their eyes met again. \u201cWill you teach me all your tricks?\u201d Roon asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe ones that are teachable,\u201d Arden smiled, then folded his arms, \u201cthough it would help if you paid attention in class.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Roon wrinkled his nose. \u201cI never did like taking notes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Arden reached into his pocket and took out a deck of cards. \u201cC\u2019mon, let\u2019s go upstairs. I can teach you the best part of trickery.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cCards?\u201d Roon asked, raising an eyebrow.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The halfling flashed him a smile. \u201cGambling.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t have any money,\u201d Roon said.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cLiar,\u201d Arden said back playfully. \u201cYou know, Roon,\u201d he said, suddenly serious in the dim light of the empty classroom, \u201cyou\u2019re probably the best friend I\u2019ve ever made in this place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cSo are you,\u201d Roon said honestly, \u201ceven if you do insist on making terrible puns all the time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Arden grinned. \u201cIt\u2019s my best quality.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cOne of many,\u201d Roon laughed, and the halfling turned to lead him out of the door, then stopped and turned again.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI hope you stick around.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cOf course I will,\u201d Roon said, \u201clike you said, I have a lot to learn. Besides\u2026 I have nowhere else to go.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Arden nodded appreciatively and pulled the door open, quickly checking the hallway to see that it was clear.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Roon felt a strange warmth in the hand Arden had touched as he followed his friend out, his fingers tingling.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/main><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chapter 10 of the adventures of a strange party of people as their journey takes them across Faerun, following the story from Dungeons & Dragons, the Storm King’s Thunder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[18,19,17,14,15,16,23,20],"series":[],"class_list":["post-172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-giants-gamble-dungeons-and-dragons-series","tag-campaign","tag-cult-of-the-dragon","tag-dnd","tag-dungeons-and-dragons","tag-fantasy","tag-series","tag-the-giants-gamble","tag-wizards-of-the-coast"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/blog.alexisveenendaal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Giant_s-Gamble-Blog-Photos10.png","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/blog.alexisveenendaal.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"amazon":{"key":"amazon","url":"https:\/\/music.amazon.ca\/podcasts\/09c34bbc-b359-49af-a286-31830ed5634c\/short-stories","label":"Amazon","class":"amazon","icon":"amazon.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/short-stories\/id1621456328","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_play":{"key":"google_play","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGV4aXN2ZWVuZW5kYWFsLmNvbS9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Qvc2hvcnQtc3Rvcmllcw","label":"Google Play","class":"google_play","icon":"google-play.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGV4aXN2ZWVuZW5kYWFsLmNvbS9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Qvc2hvcnQtc3Rvcmllcw","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0lcQCRs52MfYlKs35lVX4K","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"itunes":{"key":"itunes","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/short-stories\/id1621456328","label":"iTunes","class":"itunes","icon":"itunes.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/blog.alexisveenendaal.com\/feed\/podcast\/default-podcast","embedCode":"

The Giant’s Gamble Pt. 10<\/a><\/blockquote>