Heroes of Yesteryear: part IV

Heironymous came to Tandis a fledgling magic user with singed eyebrows from failed experiments with unstable concoctions. He rose to become the most powerful magician yet to reside on the demesne of lord Fillip. 

As an adventurer his interest in alchemy and herbalism continued and he began to show a talent for linguistics. In his early delves, he encountered the ancient runes of the Red Kings and eventually mastered the dialect. 

It was in the tombs of the second deep that Heironymous claimed the dagger of Vorkulis after making a pact with Vorkulis himself, an eternal sentinel in the darkness. The dagger (coveted by Morcarat herself) was later devoured by an insectoid horror that fed on iron, but I digress

Heironymous and the rest were eventually acquainted with Brieberus the green wizard of the Verdenleaf and many times visited him in his woodland tower. It was he who told them of Vortigen, the wizard of the swamp of skulls, Voritgen who commands a legion of black talon orcs and wields power beyond any other mortal sorcerer. Brieberus and Voritgen had long been foes but dared not face each other lest they both be destroyed in an otherworldly display of spellfire. So they waged their wars through other means - wars slow and terrible fought by others on their behalf over long years. But make no mistake reader, this struggle was no trifle. Its outcome would decide if the darkness or the light was to rule over all of Arimur and beyond.

Once while exploring the dungeons beneath Tandis, Heironymous and his band found themselves in a location between worlds. You see reader, keepers of the golden passing do sometimes dwell in dark places and admit the worthy into the Room of Seven Doors and the Old Pheonix Inn beyond, but that is another matter.

Heironymous had shown great skill in conjuring illusions. Once when his band encountered a great host of Balmorgun orcs in the Demon Hand Wastes, he drove them all off by conjuring a red dragon spouting great plumes of fire. Oh, how the orcs went screaming for their holes that night!

In another episode, Heironymous treated with the goblin king in the pits and mines dug deep within a cave leading into the dungeon. He tricked this foul sovereign and managed to obtain a lute stolen from a silver dragon who lived nearby. The dragon, who preferred the form of a comely youth, rewarded the group for their guile, much to the chagrin of his wives. You see, it was the jewelry of one of these nymphs that became the prize given to the heroes by this dragon. 

Heironymous wears a golden ring of warding and wields the dreadful wand of paralysis. He has claimed several powerful grimoires from vanquished magic users, yet he has proven his wits and cunning to be as effective as his mighty spells.