Rohane's Odyssey

      Forth young Rohane ventured, armed with just his father's sword,

      a taste for some adventure and his mother's faithful words

      Near to Trestin Village, out on the surrounding plains

      the local Lupes attacked and he began to gain some strength

      Toward the mine young Rohane walked, as he began to see

      there was trouble brewing in the land, and he might hold the key

      The miner foreman vanquished and the dark gone from that place,

      White River now was just ahead and he picked up the pace

      The Blumaroo arrived in town to find the bridge was up

      so he went to find the wizard to see if he could be of help

      Atop a tower on an island through a cave across the plains

      he tracked down Zombom, fought him, and prevailed once again

      In town he met an eager wizard, Mipsy was her name

      and together they decided they would go adventuring

      To the south they wandered through the forests and the hills

      'till they reached the town of Lakeside in the Eye of Meridell

      The hermit in the forest told of rumors from the east

      that the king's advisor Ramtor was a nasty evil beast

      With stolen power he had cast a truly evil spell

      that filled the land with monsters, and he locked the king in jail

      And so to save the king they should go east, the hermit said,

      through a city in the desert filled with legions of undead

      Through the Trackless Wastes they travelled to the city Phorofor,

      spoke the passcode to gain entrance, fought the grundo, found the orb

      The teleporter placed them in a tower on a hill

      so they fought their way past Seaside heading south to the castle

      They found the guards enchanted, and a Bruce upon the throne

      so he drew his sword, she raised her wand, and they took Ramtor on

      The advisor was a coward in his heart, it must be said

      for when he began to weaken he just cast a spell and fled

      Not satisfied until they saw the king returned to power

      the warrior and the mage, they traced him westward to his tower

      Backed into a corner there he made his final stand

      as the Acara and the Blumaroo brought peace back to the land

      No sooner was the king freed from his dungeon cell, however,

      than they were sent to winter for another tough endeavor

      The Chias in the town could not provide much information

      for their wordstone was required to allow communication

      The wizard and the warrior, therefore, set off to the east

      and in the Leximp's cave they found and slew the thieving beast

      Once back in Obscuro, the elder could be understood

      and she said their troubles came when the Snowager disappeared

      So they headed up the mountain, and they reached the Eastern Pass

      where they came upon a local inn and stopped to have a rest

      "Captain!" cried the archer as they stepped inside the door

      and the party gained Talinia and also something more

      For she knew the local troubles were not quite as they appeared

      they were in a simulation which was acting rather weird

      So the warrior and the archer and the wizard forged ahead

      'till their path was blocked by Kolvars and they had to leave him dead

      Happy Valley now behind them and the Lost Caves forward still

      they spent the night with some adventurers stranded on the hill

      The monsters in the caves were rather strong from this point on

      but the Eyrie found a nicer bow, the mage a better wand

      The party reached the Snowager and then he shared his tale

      of the magic avalanche he tried to shift to no avail

      Held hostage by a shaggy beast from whom he must be saved

      he told them of another way to exit from his cave

      So 'round the mountaintop they crept till Scuzzy was in sight

      Then the warrior, wizard, archer, and the beast began to fight

      When Scuzzy was defeated then the Snowager was freed

      He thanked the captain and the wizard and the Eyrie for their deed

      Then quickly dropping pretence, he explained the situation

      they'd have to save the ship's computer in another simulation

      To the desert from the mountaintop, they found themselves transported

      in the midst of the worst sandstorm that had ever been recorded

      The princess asked if they could fetch an ancient talisman

      with the ability to locate the Medallion of Wind

      So in the Temple of the Sky they fought their way upstairs

      to face the monster Siliclast and claim his prize as theirs

      Back to Sakhmet they returned, the talisman in hand

      and the scholar said they'd next be heading north across the sand

      The ruined temple had an undead pharaoh for a guard

      and yet he was no match for spells and arrows and a sword

      Back to Sakhmet once again Talinia and Rohane

      and Mipsy trekked, with half of the Medallion of Wind

      The scholar had been studying and was not shocked to see

      the medallion was broken and their piece was one of three

      He sent them past the temple to the village of Waset

      where they heard upon arrival that the locals were upset

      Their daughter had been kidnapped by a group of undead fiends

      and trapped in the old palace in the Valley of Kings

      As the party planned to go defeat the Revenant

      they met the cleric Velm inside the innkeeper's tent

      The Techo learned to use the book of spells that he had found

      and the group went after Lifira, returning safe and sound

      In her tent in Waset she then set a spell in place

      which let her warn the captain about troubles out in space

      His ship was set on autopilot heading for a star

      plus its systems had a virus waging all-out cyber war

      The medallion's a program which could clear the data lines

      but they'd have to find it quickly, they were running out of time

      Out at the oasis an old hermit they should find

      and tell him alpha-three-seven-tango-echo-nine

      Though the sandstorm worsened somewhat they did not lose heart

      and the hermit helped them locate the medallion's next part

      Then they travelled east and south to ancient Akhten-Ka

      where a nomad warrior swore a living ghost was what he saw

      The Blumaroo and Techo found a better staff and sword

      then the party challenged Coltzan's Ghost and earned their third reward

      Defeat released him from the spell that held his mind enthralled

      and he let them have the fragment that a barrel near him held

      They put all three together and it formed a map for them

      marking the location of the missing magic gem

      To Sakhmet they returned and grabbed the gem along the way

      and the scholar sent them west as they began their last foray

      The Pyramid of Zakharukh is where the four were bound

      to place upon an altar the Medallion they'd found

      Through the giant maze inside they made their way upstairs

      only to be greeted by the pharaoh's evil glares

      Anubits stood on guard before the altar, they could see,

      but they'd have to stand their ground and fight, they could not safely flee

      The pharaoh was outmatched and soon defeated, to his rage

      by the warrior and the archer and the healer and the mage

      The simulation ended and the captain checked his screen

      where the medic and the pilot and commander could be seen

      The Snowager reported that the data lines were clear

      and the pilot said the star was now uncomfortably near

      Locked in separate rooms they could not turn their ship around

      perhaps within the Haunted Woods more answers could be found

      The town of Shadow Gulch, they found, was looking much too bright

      A week ago the sun stayed up and now there was no night

      Count von Roo, the locals said, might have a tale to tell

      for at the time the sun came up they'd seen him casting spells

      South, then east they travelled on the twisting winding road

      that connected Shadow Gulch with Count von Roo's abode

      Once inside it was quite clear the Count could use some help

      so they exploded Meuka and then cleaned the puddles up

      Defeating Meuka broke the spell that held von Roo in sway

      and then the Count explained he had not caused the endless day

      Spider Grundo, Balthazar, and Nox were in cahoots

      and his attempted counterspell had been of little use

      Nearest was the Cave of Dark Things, Spider Grundo's lair

      von Roo thought they might learn some more by questioning him there

      The Spider Grundo sadly was bespelled when they arrived

      but his defeat in battle brought some sense back to his eyes

      Of the spell cast in the night he had no memory,

      but he pointed out the grove where Balthazar should be

      Immediately they could see that something was not right

      for Balthazar was praising plants and faeries with delight

      The Brain Tree bade them use the ancient word, Zhadramekel

      to make the faeries fight so they could win and break the spell

      Balthazar knew not how they had trapped him with their power

      But Hubrid Nox lived just ahead, ensconced within his tower

      Perhaps the evil mastermind would have some things to say

      if they should stop and question him as they went on their way

      Nox attacked like all the others, as they came in view

      but battle broke his spell so he could tell them what he knew

      The witch called Edna cast the spell the others had forgot

      And she was due some vengeance for the mischief she had wrought

      The party crossed the Goo Bog then, to knock upon her door

      but they found their route was blocked by the Esophagor

      "You should not have come here," he exclaimed, "prepare to die!"

      The warrior drew his sword, the archer shot her arrows high

      The cleric brought his shield up to ward off errant spells

      and the mage returned them easily until the beast was felled

      On Edna's doorstep they inquired as to her intent

      and why she caused the rising sun to become permanent

      She admitted to an error, she had meant to keep it down

      in a bid to slow the virus while they turned the ship around

      Yet it was spreading faster and their time was running short

      then the pilot cried aloud that she had found a data port

      She reached the ship's computer but could not regain control

      though another simulation had became available

      The crew was most determined now to gain the upper hand

      And so the four began their journey into Faerieland

      At the Northern Watchtower the captain of the guard

      said Faerie City was cut off and they had had no word

      But clearly there was something wrong, for rebels filled the land

      and she would be quite grateful if they chose to lend a hand

      Gleaming in the golden sun, the Bridge of Mist was pretty

      It marked the route that they should take to reach the Faerie City

      So south they made their way along the twisted cloudroad path

      until the Fallen Angel chose to blast them with her wrath

      Undeterred the four held strong and claimed a victory

      as that evil being burned and fell into the sea

      A faerie there explained the Bridge of Mist had been destroyed

      but they could use the underclouds to reach the other side

      They came upon the ruined city Cumulonimbus

      and found the exit guarded by a giant Devilpuss

      It cackled as it zoomed at them, in quite a manic state

      until they brought it crashing down to meet its sorry fate

      Then up ahead the town of Cirrus came within their sight

      so they stocked up on potions and then went back out to fight

      The Faerie City's citizens were taking lots of grief

      from a creature they knew only as the Faerie Thief

      She had used a spell to close and lock the palace doors

      and then had gone to hide up on the inn's second floor

      They found her and attacked before she'd had a chance to rest

      so she dove out the window and then flew off to the west

      The party followed grimly and located her once more

      but this time she escaped the battle through an old trap door

      It's said the third time is the charm, and so it proved to be

      for once she stood her ground she was defeated easily

      The palace doors now opened and the party entered there

      to find there was no simple route to reach a flight of stairs

      And so they wound their way through every room and corridor

      and even through a garden that had sprouted from the floor

      Until they finally found a way to reach the second level

      where they learned the tower key was guarded by pant devils

      They were in the northern towers, at the very top

      and both of them exploded with a satisfying "POP"

      Vitrini took the two halves of the silver key and then

      put them back together with a deft twist of her hands

      She said to free Fyora from the wards placed on her power

      they'd have to fight Terask, the dragon, in the eastern tower

      For he alone possessed the golden key they would require

      to open up the door into the castle's final tower

      The dragon king approached with hatred burning in his eyes

      furious his minions hadn't cut them down to size

      With a snarl he attacked, his face a mask of rage

      and bounced right off the damage shield thrown up by the mage

      Our heroes moved as one, coordinating their attack

      and Terask, the dragon king, was slowly driven back

      'Till out of desperation he set off one final spell

      and then an arrow struck him and the giant dragon fell

      The faeries' queen, however, had not simply been released

      by taking down the tyrant in the tower to the east

      So golden key in hand they climbed the other tower's stairs

      and found a bigger, meaner version of him over there

      He had sprouted extra arms and grown to twice his size

      and orbs of deathly energy now glowed within his eyes

      With a shriek he lunged at them with terrifying speed

      and Velm put up a shield that he knew the group would need

      Mipsy cast a spell to keep their party moving fast

      and Rohane quickly ducked as Terask launched a magic blast

      Then Talinia showered him with arrows from her bow

      and Rohane used his Father's Sword to strike the final blow

      Fyora said the faeries could rebuild their ravaged land

      but Rohane should prepare his ship to face the task at hand

      With that the simulation ended and the crew was freed

      to hurry to the bridge for the controls that they would need

      to plot a flight path they could use to turn around and run

      before the tiny ship and crew were roasted in the sun

      With the shield nearly empty and the star almost too near

      the pilot brought the engines up and threw the ship in gear

      The crew let out a cheer when they were safely heading out

      but the captain wondered how the situation came about

      He ordered them to scan for other ships out in the night

      and reconstruct the data records of their recent plight

      So they could identify the one who tried to meddle

      'cause Rohane figured when they met he had a score to settle

      To this day the fate of crew and captain is not known

      but mark my words, they'll have a tale to tell when they reach home!

      The End.