Adventures in Firenze
This week in… “THE ADVENTURES OF BRANDON - WORLD TRAVELER!”... Brandon nearly gets turned to stone by a piece of artwork, infiltrates the Royal Palace of the Florentine Republic and ALSO gets flicked off by none other than Galileo himself… from BEYOND the grave!
The sun had just crested over the ancient city of lore. Our heroes awoke with excitement… pondering and planning the day’s adventure. There had been hints and clues that had been gathered the day before of a most curious place… an ancient vault known only to those worthy of its wonders. Spoken only in whispers in the most raucous and most unsavory taverns… the Uffizi. It is said that in the vault lies wonders beyond imagination. Our party leaves their temporary headquarters and steps into the chill of the morning… embarking on a day that will be long remembered.
Winding through the city that was founded over 900 years ago… they find the portal to… the Uffizi… and step through. Instantly they are surrounded by a horde of magnificent treasure that would only be… COULD only be gathered by that most rare a creature… a Dragon of the highest order. Our trio of heroes step lightly and marvel at the frescos that adorn the walls showing a different time that has since been lost.
What is this magic?
Deeper and deeper they dive into this Vault of Wonders. Outstanding artwork that has survived centuries and yet still captures the imagination and elicits wonder.
A goddess… here?
But HOLD… what is this? While turning a corner our group stumbles upon a Guardian of this ancient place! Shall they try to stealth past it? Has it seen them? Will they perish in a most gruesome manner? Thankfully the Beast eyes them… yet strangely lets them pass. Our Trio quickly rounds the corner and plunges deeper into this museum of antiquities.
DON’T BOAR ME!
Along the way they pass portraits of Great Ones that seem like people they know… yet they can’t quite put their finger on it. Down the rabbit hole they continue.
They know that they are nearing the end of this place and step lively for… true…. there are wonders in this place but they do know that horrors lurk as well. Marveling at the last glimpses of this place out of time… they glimpse a MONSTROSITY so terrifying that it makes the hair stand on end of even our most hardy adventurers.
Don’t Stare Directly Into It!!!
Barely prying their eyes away from the Medusa… our party finds the exit and leaves at great haste. The bounty of riches and wonders seen almost seems to exhaust our heroes... but the time was well spent.
As our group exits the forbidden vault… and are immediately thrust back into the cacophony of a city awakened. Vendors plying their wares and travelers from around the world mingle this way and that. Curiosity is a most interesting thing and one thing our Trio of Heroes has in common… is that. Which leads them to a nondescript building that seems to give off that most elusive of feelings… the unknown! After paying a few gold coins, they enter what seems to be a mad scientist’s laboratory. Whoever lived here was most certainly a tinker of some great stature. As they peruse the building they come across a most fascinating invention… an Armillary Sphere likes the which they’ve never seen before.
Our group continues upward into the winding and ongoing exhibits of such scientific value… that perhaps some lost knowledge is still held within. But wait… a whisper of accusation? Our group looks for the source and are mystified. Surely… this building is empty. But what could have said that? They continue on and quickly find that which had spoken. A powerful message that still holds its statement from close to 374 years in the past. The message is blatant and I will not utter it here.
Our group jumps out the window at the terrifying site and into the Arno River.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYIIIII!!!
Shaken… yet not defeated... our group quickly dries off and is OFF to the next challenge! They must infiltrate the SEAT of the Florentine Empire. The Palazzo Vecchio.
Built over 700 years ago… this place was a fortress. Would it be difficult to scale to the top and get the lay of the city?
Actually… it would be super easy… barely an inconvenience. Distract some guards. “What's that over there?!” Completely easy for our veteran adventurers. A final jaunt up some stairs…
These doors should’ve probably been shut…
And our group is greeted with a most beautiful sight of the city.
Mission Accomplished. The group high-fives each other. A day of adventuring like no other. Celebration is in order! To the Alehouse! After repelling down the tower… our heroes reach their last stop on this epic day. Archea Brewing. A most curious name… but since they have a fine selection of crafted brews… all will be forgiven.
After much celebrating and commiserating about the wonders of the day. Our group heads back to their inn past the ancient city walls. Exhausted yet delighted.
Tales will be told of this day… and so they have been.
