The "Inn" Group
300 AE - 315 AE
The “Inn” Group wasn’t always the “Inn” group. Before they built The Inn, they were simply a group of local heroes near the city of Crestall, on the continent of Pallethas, on the world of Thallen. Known for the doing of good deeds and helping those in need, this band of four men was contacted by a powerful mage known as Eltonair. The elderly human wizard spoke of a neighboring country which had recently changed its politics dramatically, to the point of doing evil to both the people of the nation, and to the planet, itself. Somehow coming under the control of an unknown emperor, wizards of ill repute were being given positions of power throughout the government of this neighboring nation, and rumors of slavery and the suppression, even degradation of women were being heard regularly. Eltonair offered to support the group of heroes, if they would help to discover the truth behind these rumors.
This small task turned into the entire basis behind our heroes. After a reconnaissance mission into the country, they found the very land had been transformed into huge rings of cliffs. Wizards had been given authority over all people, and the nation had been renamed The Confederation of Magica, or more simply, the Com. Slavery, racism, chauvinism and bigotry were rampant, and the wizards of the Com were all guilty of many heinous crimes. The group reported to Eltonair what they had found, and then immediately volunteered to help stop this growing evil.
Eltonair knew that the small group of well intentioned heroes, even with his backing, would not be able to take on such a threat, so he sent them in search of new allies. Leaders of nations and wizards who would not condone what was happening in The Com. The companions traveled for years, building up support and resistance against the powerful wizards of the Com. They routinely destroyed caravans delivering illegal goods and even slaves heading there. They set up resistance cells inside the Com itself. The even went so far as to occasionally eliminate wizards in power. Along the way they made contact with many powerful allies. The most noteworthy of these was Lanseril Lightmantle, who offered his not insignificant powers of divination and transmutation. During the struggles he created Lanseril’s Crystal, a crystal ball allowing speech and teleportation of objects. Through his invention resistance cells were kept supplied, as well as the tracking of illegal caravans to Com territories.
During their formation of an underground resistance of the Com, the group decided they needed a base of operation. This base had to not only be a base to operate from, but had to be a safe house for fleeing slaves, as well as a place for resistances to be staged from. The group decided that the best base for these requirements would be to build an inn. The other benefit of building an in would be that it would provide income, as well as being a source to both start and to receive rumors. They asked many of their allies for patronage to help build an inn, and received many large donations to begin such an endeavor, the largest being over a million gold from the sorceress protector of Kerel, Brianna Brightstar.
And so the inn was founded. Lacking a name, they simply called it the inn, but its popularity became greater and greater and eventually it was known as The Inn. Geo and Kazim took it upon themselves to continue to work the resistance cells, while Bolgar and Gavalain looked to the day to day affairs of The Inn. During their off time, this was when Geo and Kazim created the GeoKaz sweetness, and it also began the entrepreneurism of Lanseril Lightmantle, as he began supplying The Inn with the necessities.
The years continued, The Inn became more and more prosperous, and the founders of The Inn became more and more wealthy. They paid their debts to those who sponsored the creation of The Inn, and they continued working against the Com.
But the Com was not an organization to just sit by and have itself be preyed upon; they actively searched out this underground resistance, trying to find out who was sabotaging its trade and who was attacking its nobility. Over the years they found the head of the resistance, those who were known as the Inn Founders. That was when the assassination attempts began. Luckily, the prestige and wealth had not diminished the heroes aim to do good and stop The Com, and so they had not let their guard down against such attempts. As a matter of fact, they had known it was just a matter of time until they were located, and they had been waiting for such attacks. When the first assassination was tried, the heroes quickly destroyed the would be assailant. The had positioned Sir Gavalain as bouncer, and few had realized he was actually a paladin, capable of detecting those who devoted themselves to acts of evil. He had detected the assassin immediately, and they simply waited until he acted. But now that their secret was out, it was time for the heroes to take a more straightforward action. They called upon their allies and launched a direct assault upon the rulers and nobility of The Com. While their allies attacked the most notable wizard dukes, the heroes went and attacked the secret lair of the leader of the Com themselves.
But they had not anticipated that their enemy had expected such action, and had laid traps for them. They were forced to battle many of the Com’s wizards just to get to the High Mage, and when they got there, they did not expect what they saw. The undead skull of a Lich was glaring at them from behind his frozen orbs. They battle was brutal and short, the magic of the Lich quickly overwhelming the already wounded and tired heroes. It seemed all was lost. Bolgar was frozen by the lich’s deadly touch and Kazim was barely able to focus his eyes after receiving a vicious head wound. On top of that his spells were exhausted; he simply had nothing else to throw at the undead being. Geo was also covered in wounds, and as a monk, every time he got close enough to damage the Lich, he took injuries as well. It was obvious that he would not be conscious much longer. Only Sir Gavalain still stood straight, battling against this powerful evil. But even with the support of his god shining around him, the oppressive evil of the lich was driving him back, and it was only a matter of time before he too fell to its evil power.
All seemed lost, and then movement came from the back of the room. Geo had recovered from his most recent wound enough for one last desperate attack. He flung all of his considerable strength once again at the lich. The lich moved to intercept, but it had misunderstood what Geo’s target was. As the lich moved to slip out of the way of Geo’s attack, Geo redirected his body and snagged the staff held in the hands of the lich. It wasn’t expected, and the lich lost control of his powerful magic staff. He lost control of it just long enough for Geo, with a solemn look in his eye, to snap the staff over the head of the evil undead wizard.
Those who study the magic arts know well what happened the next instant. When such a powerful staff is willingly broken by its wielder, it gives of a concussive blast, followed by an interplanar rift. It is better known as a Retributive Strike. The blast quickly engulfed and destroyed both Geo and the Lich, and the companions were just as rapidly snatched by the opening rift, flung to the far reaches of the outer planes.
It took days for Eltonair and others to find out what had happened, and recover the heroes from their journeys through the fabrics of existence, but none would ever be able to recover the courageous and self sacrificing Geo Gioni. But with his death, Geo had destroyed the power behind the Com, and had saved his companions and countless others.
Over the following years another evil power rose up in Pallethas to take the place of The Com, and though Bolgar and Sir Gavalain had become elderly men, Kazim Diamondfist was still youthfull due to his elven heritage. He left The Inn to join up with other powerful wizards, and so his story continues.
Bolgar and Gavalain retired from their adventuring ways and continued to run the Inn until they passed away, happily. Lanseril and Eltonair joined with Kazim to help keep the world safe from malevolent magics and evil doers. Lanseril continued with his crystal though, and today it is one of the most well distributed magical items, and his adventurers supplying business has made him one of the richest people in the Thallenian System.
Be sure to order your Lanseril’s Crystal™ today.