Part 17: Chapter 18

(Lame but good mood music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIvy...feature=related)



Driven by his manner of death, Muldoon put his skills as a hunter to use in becoming the greatest dog catcher the world had ever seen.



Grumbles used the loot he made in his limited time adventuring to build the first kindergarten for orcs and orc-kin. The age limit was thirty-seven.



Elias Brandy returns to his father's distillery outside of town for about a month to recuperate from his experiences. Oddly enough, he meets his future wife in a drinking contest similar to the one his parents held the night of their marriage. She's a half-elf, though, so now everyone is more than a little scared about what will happen if they reproduce.



Torquemada journeyed out of Skara Brae in order to find the perfect balance of angle and speed to throw the perfect punch. No one has heard from him since.



Helga gave up on adventuring shortly after the liberation of Skara Brae. Now she operates a successful female dwarf beard-trimming shoppe.



Trig joined in Skara Brae politics, forming the first liberal party in Skara Brae's history. IRONY!



Content that somebody managed to get the job done, Zed goes back into retirement. Sometimes he and Brut get drunk together. It's about 50/50 whether they fight each other or partner up and split the spoils of a good brawl.



Brut gave up on being a monk and now spends the majority of his time getting drunk, instigating barroom brawls, and stealing money from people he beats up with outdated monk moves.



Klock VonClock becomes a city gaoler. He tends to keep the possessions that are taken from criminals, but honestly, who's going to cross him about it?



Jango becomes a cage fighter in Skara Brae's underworld arena battles. Within years, all of the other contestants are unable to reproduce.



Garin Halfbottle sometimes replaces Jango in cage matches at the last minute. He claims it's a joke the two of them have going since they look exactly the same. It keeps contestants wondering what part of their anatomy will be annihilated and throws them off guard.



Boltfist opens up his own school of training for those who prefer to mix brains and brawn. It's reasonably successful, but Boltfist keeps beating up his own students before they can surpass him in skill and then kicking them out into the world.



Piplerouge Papilopolis, the snooty paladin, learns humility in the face of death and becomes somewhat more amiable with others. He is now moderately successful as Jango's coach in the underworld arena battles after he charges 10,000 gold to heal every "debilitating injury" his partner inflicts. Obviously, the healing never works, but who's going to confront him about it?



The good doctor studies hard and eventually gets his medical license back! But then he loses it again when attempting to cure a score of plague patients with surgical decapitation. After all, how else can the "Exploding Head" fever be cured if you can't isolate the problem?!



Pip became something of a superhero in Skara Brae. Through a series of coincidentally heroic actions involving crooks stealing purses and bags of shiny gold from innocent victims, Pip dives on the criminals from above and apprehends them in attempting to take the loot for himself. Fortunately, he usually gets enough of a reward to be complacent with returning the majority of the loot. He is now called "The Mysterious Magpie" and has nests throughout the city.



Not surprisingly, after his resurrection Sir Runsa Lott ran away. Bravely ran away, away.



Leif becomes the champion of Kesh, god of vengeance. Fortunately, he's more diplomatic and reasonable than most avatars of pure vengeance, so his temple gains enough respect in Skara Brae to be an accepted part of the pantheon. His priests heal for free, but only if a contract is signed by the patient to carry out an act of great vengeance to those who wronged them. Usually this is no problem.



After being freed from his petrification, Skarn goes on a bender that lasts a solid year. Yes, he actually remains inebriated for a full 365 days by practically living in the wine cellar. Fortunately, there's no longer a monster problem underground, as Skarn becomes an even deadlier fighter during this time since he simply attacks anything remotely dangerous without a second thought. And so, the drunken hero remains yet another figure of popularity in Skara Brae.



Costello becomes the most famous bard in Skara Brae through the legendary confrontation with Mangar. He publishes a six-volume series about the adventure, and only marginally inflates his own actions. He still sings in random taverns through the city, and is something of a pop idol.



Frikka meets up with Costello soon after her resurrection, and together they account for the majority of "The Bard's Tale" storyline after a brief meeting with Battlepope. Now they're partners, with Frikka handling most of the practical matters of their fame. Although she's actually got slightly more talent as a bard than Costello, his fame and physical skills is a good balance to their team. Once in a while they go out to oversee adventurers who have not yet "made it" in the world... Who knows, you may be seeing these two again!



Battlepope, after taking a commission from Costello and Frikka to tell his side of the story, joins the Skara Brae military. He becomes a captain, though he still sings like a loon when battle starts. Oddly, this shakes the morale of the enemy and makes his victories stack up nicely.



Flamesack holes up in Mangar's tower after the evil wizard's death, and begins to systematically annihilate all the monsters inside. Now he owns the tower, and his neurotic laughter can occasionally be heard by citizens on a windy day.



Kymas Turan became a third partner in the magic academy started by Warren Angelus and Kylearan. He is one of the best minds currently teaching there, and remains a respected figure in Skara Brae.

And so the epic of Skara Brae draws to a close
with a league of heroes that everyone knows
Forged in blood, and tempered by war
They are become heroes, heroes forevermore.

I think I got everyone; let me know if I missed a character and I'll edit it in here.

But yes, this officially ends The Bard's Tale: Tales of the Unknown. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Until next time!