An Introduction To Nimly Sparkleshine

Chapter 1 - Grahl's Gift

1st of Mirtul, 1492

The staff clicks along the river rocks that would be underwater during the rainy season, the gnome stepping carefully as he examines the gravel and larger rocks. Nimly Sparkleshine crouches to look closer at a minute glinting speck, and turns to look upstream, shading his eyes; the course of the waterway is hidden for now by the dense forest that obscures all but a few distant peaks. He stands up and writes three quick lines in a leather-bound journal, snaps it shut, and returns to the wide beaten path next to the Whispering Woods that eventually leads to the city of Everlund. The staff is taller than the gnome and is slender, with an intricately carved rat at the top and a succession of Earth and Nature runes running down the length of it.

As it so often is, his path was set by another, though he happily walks it. Nimly’s patron is a creature of Grumbar, and this creature has given him the task to survey the area and locate an appropriately rich cache of gemstones within the Whispering Woods. There is often a fee for such work, beyond the magic granted to him from his patron; his hip twitches and a stoutly stitched leather pouch rises and falls back against his leg, a comforting weight of gems of various types inside. He has known his patron, an earth elemental named Grahl, for nineteen years now. The elemental had offered him power while Nimly was in mortal danger, cut off from the mining party he had been with and being relentlessly pursued by a hook horror. The gifts from the elemental allowed Nimly to phase through solid rock, escaping deftly from the enraged beast. A long twisting path of choices and tragedy led the young gnome to the surface, where he has spent the last five years.

Nimly has traveled south from Silverymoon to search in the Whispering Woods, a region of forest west of the town of Everlund. He is somewhat familiar with the city, and he will gladly pay in gems for a bed and a meal at the Silver Stag Inn, where he plans to restock provisions and gather information on a likely place to start looking.

Alone next to the Whispering Woods, Nimly feels the insistent pull of his patron, urging him towards a mysterious mine hidden deep within the forest. The air crackles with arcane energy, and he knows the patron's desires should not be ignored.

He begins to make camp as the sun dips below the horizon, casting long shadows across the forest floor. As he makes preparations for a fire, he feels the familiar tug on his mind - a beckoning from his patron. Closing his eyes, he sees a vision unfold before him. 

Standing at the mouth of a dark and forbidding mine, he hears the voice of his patron, commanding and persuasive.

Grahl: "My faithful servant, heed my call. Within this mine lies a treasure of great value—gems of untold power. Go forth and claim them for me. Your reward shall be fitting—a mount, swift and fierce, to aid you in your endeavors. Waste no time, for the shadows grow long."

With the vision fading, Nimly is under no illusions on what Grahl wants.

For the slow count of ten, Nimly stares down the road towards Everlund. He sees a vision purely of his own imagination. The steam rising from a bowl of stew drifts past the sashaying hips of a red-haired barmaid and up towards the rough wooden beams of the ceiling. Delicious ale sits in a half drunk tankard. The notes of a lute are playing that song that he keeps hearing everywhere and … the vision fades and he rolls his eyes. Elementals don’t really understand creature comforts as a motivator or an excuse.

He gathers the tinder he had just laid, and he shoulders his pack.

Guided by the delicate manipulations of his patron, he sets out. The Whispering Woods are dense with ancient trees, their gnarled branches intertwining to form a natural cathedral overhead. Shafts of sunlight pierce the canopy, illuminating patches of the forest floor carpeted with moss and scattered with vibrant, otherworldly flowers. The air is thick with the scent of cedar and damp earth, and the distant calls of unseen creatures echo through the trees.

As Nimly navigates the tangled maze of vegetation, he catches a glimpse of something extraordinary. A majestic silver stag stands in a small clearing ahead, its coat shimmering with an ethereal light. The creature’s eyes meet his, and for a moment, time seems to stand still. The stag exudes a sense of ancient wisdom and untamed power, its presence both awe-inspiring and unsettling.

The silver stag bows its head slightly before darting off into the depths of the forest, disappearing as quickly as Nimly watches. He is left with a sense of wonder and a feeling that the journey holds even greater mysteries than he anticipated.

After several hours, he reaches his destination - a desolate clearing where the mine’s entrance lies hidden beneath a canopy of vines and moss, its maw dark and foreboding.

After consulting a compass and making notes in his book, Nimly stows both. He pulls his crossbow from the tie straps on his pack, cranks the bow back and loads a bolt, hanging it in easy reach on his belt. He tries to determine if there are any recent signs of humanoid traffic into this mine. He rolls an Insight check and gets a 15.

Nimly notices faint footprints in the dirt leading into the mine. The prints are relatively fresh, suggesting that someone or something humanoid has entered the mine recently. There are also a few broken branches and disturbed vegetation around the entrance, indicating recent movement.

Nimly enters the mine and is enveloped in comfortable darkness, save for the faint glow of luminescent fungi clinging to the damp walls. The air inside is cool and stale, carrying the faint scent of sulfur. His footsteps echo through the cavernous tunnels, each step stirring up small clouds of dust and dislodging loose stones. 

As he ventures deeper, he comes to a fork in the path. Two tunnels stretch out before him, one to the left and one to the right. Nimly rolls Investigation and gets a 9.

He picks up a rock the size of a medium potato, casts Light on it, and places it inside his belt pouch. He thinks real hard about which way to go, but nothing obvious occurs to him. He turns left and proceeds.

2nd of Mirtul, 1492

The left tunnel is narrow and winding, the walls closing in slightly as Nimly moves deeper. The warlock calls up an illusion using Silent Image, and a large rat appears and moves ahead, scouting the path and possibly triggering any hidden dangers. As they progress, Nimly keeps a watchful eye, the tension mounting with each step. The air grows cooler, and the tunnel begins to widen, opening into a larger cavern. From one step to the next, Nimly looks up and finds himself in a magnificent cavern. The walls are studded with glittering gems, their surfaces reflecting the faint light emanating from Nimly's pouch in a dazzling array of colors. The sight is breathtaking.

He takes out the illuminated rock and sets it at head height against the wall amidst some crystal. He looks around again, trying to assess any other things of note within the cavern and whether the tunnel he traveled through is the only entrance to the cavern. He rolls Investigation and gets a 21.

Nimly's sharp eyes discern a faint glimmer of light reflecting off a small crevice in the far corner of the cavern, obscured by clusters of gemstones. Moving closer, he discovers a narrow opening leading to a hidden passage, partially concealed by natural rock formations. He can tell by looking that beyond the entrance lies a network of tunnels. The potential of further exploration and potential discoveries lie further into the mine. He does not sense any danger in the gem cavern.

The enchanted rock sits amongst the gems and glows a warm comforting glow. It stands as a silent sentinel, serving as a reminder of Nimly's resourcefulness and ingenuity in the face of darkness.

Nimly takes two minimally worked spherical small gems from his pouch. He locates an outcropping of rock that, if removed, would cause the symmetry of the cavern to increase, casts Mold Earth on it and deposits it in the center of the cavern. With ten minutes of careful work, he creates a pedestal in two pieces, where the base is solidly attached to the cavern floor as if it grew over time, and a platter above it that sits on the pedestal with the statue of an earth elemental growing out of it. In the last moments of the ritual, he tosses the gems above the statue and speaks a phrase of welcome in Terran, wherein the gems snap into place where eyes would be and the platter begins to rotate slowly. The gems began to glitter with an inner light.

As the ritual reaches its climax, the air crackles with arcane energy, and the earth beneath Nimly’s feet trembles with anticipation. 

The pedestal and statue shake as Grahl takes form from them.

The elemental manifests in the material plane; their presence is both awe-inspiring and intimidating. 

Their form is rocky and rugged, weathered with jagged edges and fissures criss-crossing their surface like ancient runes carved into stone. Grahl’s eyes, glittering gems of fiery orange that burn with intensity, shine brightly in the lit up and sparkling cavern. 

As Grahl speaks, their voice resonates with the deep rumble of shifting earth. 

“Nimly, my faithful servant. You have summoned me. Have you found that which I seek?”

As the statue slowly turns, Nimly paces to the left to stay centered. In Terran, he croaks and clicks and swooshes his reply. “Grahl, your support and stability is legendary. Thank you for hearing my call. I wish to draw your attention to the contents of this cavern, full of crystals and gems of more than a dozen types.” He pops open his journal and hops over a large rock while continuing to pace. “I have recorded the location of this mine in relation to the Everlund road for any future locating needs. How may I further serve in regard to the disposition of these jewels?”

Grahl speaks, and the stone statue radiates contentment. “Well done, Nimly. Your loyalty and perseverance is duly noted. Now, stand back and observe.” 

As Nimly steps back, the ground within the cavern trembles. From the rocky floor, several smaller earth elementals emerge, their bodies formed from the very rock and soil of the mine. With single-minded purpose, they begin to collect the gems, cradling them within their stony hands. As the gems are collected, the elementals once again return to the floor and walls of the cavern, the gems disappearing with them. 

Grahl booms, “Take this creature as your mount. Let it serve you well, as you continue to serve me.” 

In a whirl of shadows, a massive giant rat materializes before Nimly, its fur dark and sleek, eyes gleaming with intelligence and loyalty. Their muscles ripple under their glossy coat, and they regard Nimly with a fierce, protective gaze. 

With this final command, Grahl prepares to depart from their earth elemental form. The cavern is bathed in a soft, ethereal light, casting shadows that dance and flicker across the rugged stone walls. With a slow and deliberate motion, Grahl begins to retract their essence, gradually shrinking and returning to the form of the statue that was deftly crafted by Nimly. 

With their departure, the cavern returns to its natural state, the quiet solitude broken only by the gentle drip of water echoing from distant stalactites. Nimly retrieves the glowing rock from the wall near a cluster of crystals.

Nimly opens his pack and takes out the last of his cheese. He peels back the rind and breaks it in half. He stows one half and holds out the other to the rat. “Hello, friend. May I offer you some cheese? I have business in Everlund and I hope you will join me. My name is Nimly Sparkleshine.”

The giant rat scurries over and gently takes the offered piece of cheese from Nimly, their whiskers twitching with delight. The rat gnaws on the cheese with gusto, the sound of their careful nibbles echoing softly through the cavern. 

The giant rat, now energized by the cheesy snack, scurries to Nimly’s side, ready for the next leg of their adventure. Nimly tentatively mounts the rat, the warm fur covering a muscled form that provides a surprisingly comfortable seat. With a gentle nudge, the rat begins to move, navigating the cavern with ease and agility. 

The cavern soon gives way to the open air as they emerge from the mine. Nimly takes a moment to orient himself, the familiar scent of the forest filing his lungs. He looks to the southeast, where the city of Everlund awaits. 

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