The City of Might

Campaign: Entwining Flames

Chapter 8 / EX1-1

The City of Might

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Summary

Ranzal regales the group with tales of a past visit to Valkaheim, a city where anyone can rise to new heights. According to him, ambitious young people compete with strangers and friends alike to climb the proffered ladder of success.

Dialogue

Graaargh! Whoa, crap! My axe! Hey, old man! You fallin' asleep there?! Bwa ha ha! This old man don't even need a weapon—not when I got my FISTS! Graargh! My right fist is The Hammer and my left is The Anvil—and yer gonna meet 'em both! Now let's get this punch party started! Are you NUTS?! Use a weapon, dude! Yeah, probably better let my trusty axe have some fun. Hraaaagh! ...I've seen a lot of crazy things in my time, Ranzal, but that was flat-out INSANE. How the heck did you get so ripped? Bwaaa ha ha! A mercenary who can't fight hand-to-hand ain't worth the coin what ya pay 'em with. Only two things ya need in this world: A will to live and a hot meal. I think I'm too soft and delicate to live that kind of brutal existence. Is there a way for me to get stronger that doesn't involve so much...that? Well yeah, I know another way. Ain't sure it's EASIER, but... Lemme tell ya about a little somethin' I learned when I visited a certain city back in the day... Ranzal story time? Yesssss! That city...was Valkaheim. So here's the thing about the folks what live there...

Valkaheim

Haaah! (The hell's goin' on?! This guy's scrawny, but his attacks are ridiculously strong! I thought I'd finish this thing with a couple'a blows, but now I'm fightin' for my damn life!) Ya got some serious skills, kid! Who taught ya to swing a sword? I don't have time for lessons! ...Haaah! But so long as I fight every day, I'll eventually become a knight! Don't be daft! Only fancy nobles and the like can enter the knighthood! No matter how hard a street punk like you works, they ain't never gonna— Maybe that's the deal where you come from, but it's not the way of Valkaheim! That's why I'm gonna take you down; I ain't losin' out on my dream now! (Damn, look at his eyes... I don't think he's been magicked, but he's clearly gone off his rocker! The hell happened to make this guy so damn intense?!) ...I decided to leave town after that fight, but on my way out, I happened to hear the local lord givin' a speech. That's when I suddenly realized why the kid had been fightin' so desperately. Hear me, people of Valkaheim! I bestow upon you a dream! A dream for all, regardless of rank or position of birth! If you temper yourselves and train hard, you WILL become someone! Cultivate your skill in the art of war! Grow the seeds of your wisdom! Come to understand strategy and do not content yourselves with tranquility! Battle your friends until one of you lies bloody and beaten, then forge new friendships with those who survive! Should you succeed, you will be promoted to any station you choose. But should you fail to become a person of measure, you will have only death to comfort you. This is the one law of Valkaheim, and the dream I bestow upon you as her prince! Holy smokes. That guy's serious business! Oh, you don't know the half of it. That day, I learned that nothin' makes a person stronger than a dream. That's why I had such a hard time with the crazy street punk what attacked me. His dream gave him the mad strength of a dozen fiends. Man, I always thought of dreams as something...you know, happy? Heh. There's all kinds'a dreams out there. Some of 'em smell all rosy and nice... But the other kind—the ones what make me a little jealous—light a white-hot fire that makes a person willin' to lay absolutely everything on the line. A city where that kinda dream is all ya get sounds like hell on earth to me. But the folks who live there don't think so. They chase it with everything they got, and it makes 'em stronger than anything.