[bsftcs]

Homecoming

Being the epilogue of Stackman’s Adventures

In which we finally hear what happens between Kerielle and the assassin and in which we learn that the barbarian had a hidden business talent which went quite a bit beyond what would stem from the merchant trait.

One bright summer morning the six brave adventurers broke up from Brimloch Roon, and followed by a mob of waving and cheering townspeople they started their journey back to Valeia. They had travelled far and seen many things, and they were in no real hurry to get back, so they took their time – not making use of their portals. Indeed it took the six adventurers four months to reach Valeia. During the course of that time they visited old friends and acquaintances and made preparations for their new jobs.

One rainy night they reached the gates of Valeia. As one final tribute to Stackman they petrified and stacked a group of worgurs thus climbing over the city walls. Rumour had preceded their coming, and the town was brightly lit, and they were greeted by a large congregation led by Sir Elgar. As they had feasted in both Brimloch Roon and Ishad N’ha on their way home, so too were they the centre of celebration in their home town. The celebration lasted for many days before the adventurers were finally able to return to every day life which would forever be different from what it had once been.

Thus ended the fabulous journey of Stackman’s party. Where it began so did it end. The party members split up, and although they would still meet from time to time their long and adventurous journey as a party was irrevocably at an end.

The tale of the valkyrie:

The valkyrie would take her new job as spiritual minister and member of the Gael Serran cabinet very seriously. From her home in Valeia she would constantly seek to improve the quality of the spiritual work of the region. Together with Harespia she formed a partnership lending her assistance to the cloven-footed clairvoyant. This was a huge succes. Now the fortune teller was finally able to actually connect with the dead and tell accurate and true stories. People would congregate from all over the Gael Serran asking Harespia for advice, and thus the income for the nymph colony around Nymph Lake would rise tremendously, and eventually the nymphs would quit stealing. This affected the whole area for the better, and although the assassin would claim it had been his work as overseer of the lands which had produced that outcome, the ones who knew about the valkyrie’s work were not late to attribute that to her.

She also teamed up with Rethpian to clear the rest of the crypt asylum of its remaining inhabitants. It was then made into a tourist attraction attracting thousands each year who would come from far away to see Scabban’s laboratory and to meet the famous Rumphy.

As spiritual minister the valkyrie took a keen interest in the possibilities for other adventurers. She would be the key figure in the passing of a legislation improving the gifts given when donating to a temple. She also worked hard for the gagging of Sabastio. But the crown of her hard work for social reforms was definitely the leprechaun dwelling act, according to which leprechauns no longer had to lose their home whenever it was discovered. On the other hand the Gael Serran League of Leprechauns promised to make an extra effort to persuade their members to be less obnoxious and irritating.

The tale of the barbarian:

As chief of the Gael Serran guard the barbarian would use all his ingenuity soon proving he was the right man for the job. He knew that controlling the raw materials would be key when building up an efficient guard. He persuaded Freyedies into starting the Stout Mining Company Inc. with the affiliate branch called the Stout Light Metal Company Inc. The board of directors in this company consisted of Freyedies, the barbarian himself and Radek’s adventurer Tia whose business skills proved unsurpassed. With the dragon ore in the barbarian’s hands a new generation of armour and swords was produced. The Serran Guard was stationed in the rebuilt Shurugeon Castle, ready if a new Cet should emerge.

The barbarian also proved quite an inventor. He designed many of the new armour and weapon types as well as he designed an oomphaz suit and tuxedo for Tia to wear on official occasions. They later went into serial production ready to be scattered around the Gael Serran in chests for new adventurers to find.

The tale of the assassin:

Being the overseer of the lands of Valeia the assassin now had the opportuniy to loiter around Nymph Lake and the windmill in particular. This he did very often in the hopes of catching a glimpse of Kerielle, the look of whom would make his heart pound.

He did, however, take his job quite seriously, and he did visit other parts of the land. For example he would be the guest of honour at the annual Ukabu Festival at the Toad Village.

Finally, after enough beating about the bush, he finally got to talk to Kerielle about his feelings, and when it turned out they were mutual he went on to become the next miller of the lands of Valeia.

Many years later in the Valeia probate court accusations were brought forward that the assassin was the main reason for their breaking up since he was never home. He, on the other hand, would claim that he was in fact home but most the times forgot to decloak. And who said invisibility was a good thing?

The tale of the warlock:

As the Gael Serran head librarian the warlock would travel to every corner of the land collecting literature. She collected Scabban’s dissertations from his laboratory as well as she retrieved G’ezzered Ra’s gigantic library. She received Erathsmedor’s permission to copy his books, and she organized an expedition to Oakenmir’s grove to record his recollections of the past. Her greatest achivement was, however, the retrieval of the Collasium library.

With this material in hand she would write the Chronicle of the Gael Serran summing up all knowledge of the land. She would also train new wizards in her spare time. They would usually congregate in the library – eager readers as they were – and invent new spells with the help of Scabban’s books.

The tale of the zenmaster:

The zenmaster started a martial arts school in Valeia where he would train the next generation of warriors to take over the Mavin legacy. In the summer he would take his pupils on excursions to Skull Castle where he would teach them how to fight spectres with kung fu. He would eventually undergo therapy for his crab gerontophilia.

The tale of the bard:

The bard would go on to establish the first Gael Serran Music Conservatoire in Valeia. There he would educate a brand new batch of musicians who would revolutionize the world of music inventing new genres. One they all had in common, though: Their music was a tribute to Stackman. In fact more or less a whole generation of Gael Serran citizens would be named after Stackman.

Being an excellent businessman the barbarian had realized the potential of good publicity. Therefore the Stout Light Metal Company Inc. would invest large sums in the most promising new innovative bands that were to emerge from the conservatoire. In exchange for sponsorship the deal was that the bands should promote the dragon ore products by naming their music thereafter. Thus the ”Light Metal” genre was born – producing songs as the quiet ballad ” Stackway to Heaven”.

Another talent from the conservatoire was Pelvis. He was the first Gael Serraner to combine singing with dancing acts during which he would move his hip so exstatically that that was how he earned the nickname ”Pelvis”. He would later go on to make the number one hit ”All Stacked Up”.

But the greatest of them all was, of course, the great composer Sergei Stackmaninov whose beautiful symphonies were played throughout the whole Gael Serran almost blending with the world itself as background for a new generation of adventurers ready to lift the legacy of Stackman’s adventurers.