Now that we were back down to one Carlagnios, we followed the damp passage to a circular stone chamber of tremendous size. There were eight alcoves, and the chamber looked like a mold for a giant gear. This was the heart of the Centenarch.
The floor was covered with writing. In the center of the room was a painted, magical swirl. There were symbols everywhere -- religious symbology, arcane symbology, old war numerals.
Kale examined the arcane writing on the walls, and Tiny examined the religious symbols. They concluded that these were part of the ritual that the 100 used to escape from this world. Some of the writing was the same as we found in the journal. Apparently, many of the notes in the journal was written as the authors attempted to determine how to get out of this world. (The authors were the mathematicians living under the north pole, where they had learned how to travel between dimensions.)
Then, we all heard the voice of The Keeper. "Finally! You made it. It feels like it has been weeks! Now go straight across the chamber. You'll find the passage to get you there."
As we started across, Carlagnios suddenly cried out, "The coin!" The coin in his hand began to shimmer and glow with an aura. Out of the coin rose Baird, the Lich who had been following us for weeks. He summoned a spider demon and ran across the chamber to one of the alcoves.
"He's chanting!" exclaimed Ryn. "He's unleashing more evil into the world!"
"No, wait," corrected Kale, "he's not casting a spell. He's speaking to someone -- or some thing."
Tiny quickly called upon the Gods to prevent the spider demon from making any violent attacks against us. But although it could not hurt us, it managed to put Firinne, Ryn, and Kale to sleep. Tiny also blinded the Lich, preventing him from seeing us.
Kale, Ryn, and Firinne managed to wake out of the magical sleep, and Kale summoned a cloud of stench to block the spider demon from our path.
Carlagnios managed to strike a critical blow to destroy the spider demon, and Firinne (with her blessed weapon and a majestic halo) delivered a fatal blow to stop the Lich.
As the Lich lay dying, he uttered his final words: "Do you think that the Seed of Contradiction is something that you stumble upon?" He paused. "A guest who comes too early is as troublesome as a guest who comes too late." He crumbled into dust and died.
The Keeper called us to the side of the chamber to a passageway. Tiny entered the passage and brought back a chest and a jar.
"Should I smash the jar," asked Tiny.
Kale inspected the jar. "This seems to be the focus of The Keeper's existence. It's like a magical battery."
"You are welcome to the contents of the chest," announced The Keeper. We looked inside and found a large amount of gold.
"Great!" exclaimed Carlagnios. "I can buy a Hippogriff now!"
The Keeper continue, "Will you pull the stopper from the jar if I tell you what you want to know?"
"Did the coin serve as the Phylactery of the Lich?" asked Kale. "Where is the coin?" he asked Carlagnios, but the coin had vanished and Carlagnios shrugged. "Hmm," muttered Kale, "that must have been it."
Kale turned back toward The Keeper. "How do you take away the immortality of the 100?"
"I saw them try to do this once," replied The Keeper. "They tried to take away the immortality of the 101, but they failed."
"Each of the 100 is kept alive by an aspect of Gamerat," he continued. "The aspect does not do so willingly. It is compelled to -- it is bound by a demon.
"The Blindness -- this demon -- struck a bargain with the 100. The 100 now have both the angelic and demonic aspects of Gamerat. The 100 tried to release The Blindness of the 101."
As The Keeper spoke, we saw flashes of the ritual in our minds. We saw them trying to dispel the demon. They pulled out ashes and smeared the ashes on the face of the 101.
"They need to use the ashes of Gezu, for it was Gezu who bound the demon.
"But even with the demon released, the aspect of Gamerat chose to keep the 101 alive -- perhaps as an ally.
"So... to kill the 100, you need the ashes of Gezu, and you need to cast the ritual to release the Blindness. You must do this individually for each of them.
"After Gezu and his followers were cremated, their ashes were buried in the crypt beneath you."
The Keeper paused. At last, we knew how to defeat the 100.
"Now," The Keeper said, "you must honor your part of the bargain and release my essence. End my existence."
For some reason, we all turned to Garg with expectant eyes. He shrugged, lifted up the jar, and pulled out the stopper. Magical energy began to leak out of the jar.
"Oh, and by the way," The Keeper mentioned, "I've been keeping the Centenarch together. The void will begin creeping in now that I am dying."
"Great," muttered Kale. "He could have told us before we pulled the stopper out."
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Dragonborn, Dragonborn (Measuring the Marigolds)
We went to the North door and walked down the stairs to the circular chamber with the 100 doors. Kale paused to examine the Mantle of Ores again. He explained to us that it protects the wearer -- like (as he put it) "an Amulet of Resolution". Once a day, the wearer could choose his fate.
Kale then turned to Carlagnios. "OK, you can start flipping the coin again. If you need help focusing, I can help."
Carlagnios flipped the coin and said, "Heads!" Nothing happened.
Kale looked painfully annoyed. "You want to visualize both futures."
"Oh," said Carlagnios, "I should think about seeing both heads and tails?"
Kale gave him a sour look and nodded.
Carlagnios flipped the coin again, this time visualizing two of him -- one that saw heads, and one that saw tails. As Carlagnios moved, he became two Carlagnios' that walked apart from each other. Each one held a coin.
"OK," said Kale, "now flip the coin 5 more times."
Both Carlagnios' started to poke at each other and point.
"Will you stop that and flip the coin again?" barked Kale.
Carlagnios continued to flip the coin and divide into more and more Carlagnios'. As he continued, he began to feel like his hold on life was more tenuous. And the copies of Carlagnios began to argue about who should flip the coin.
"Mage!" shouted Carlagnios over the din of growling and muttering Dragonborn. "Make sure that they all flip the coin!"
Irritated, Kale kicked one of the copies of Carlagnios, which promptly fell unconscious. "All right. Flip!" ordered Kale. "Flip again!" He continued until we had enough copies of Carlagnios.
"Now," Kale ordered,"one of you ask the Animata to open the door."
One of the copies of Carlagnios asked the Animata, and the Animata replied, "You can proceed." The doors opened, and we all ran through one of the entrances.
We found ourselves in a damp passage, lined with rusted cells. The construction work was old. We began to follow the passage but were interrupted by a number of growling noises.
"I want meat!" declared one of the copies of Carlagnios.
"Great," muttered Kale. "How do we get back to one Carlagnios?"
"Maybe have him flip the coin and choose heads?" suggested Tiny.
The copies of Carlagnios gathered and began to push their copies of the coins together. As the coins began to combine, so did the copies of Carlagnios. Eventually, they all merged back together, although one copy refused to join the others initially. It took some time to convince the copy to merge with the others.
"How do you feel?" asked Tiny.
"I have strange memories from each of the copies," replied Carlagnios. "But I am glad to be the one true Carlagnios again."
Kale then turned to Carlagnios. "OK, you can start flipping the coin again. If you need help focusing, I can help."
Carlagnios flipped the coin and said, "Heads!" Nothing happened.
Kale looked painfully annoyed. "You want to visualize both futures."
"Oh," said Carlagnios, "I should think about seeing both heads and tails?"
Kale gave him a sour look and nodded.
Carlagnios flipped the coin again, this time visualizing two of him -- one that saw heads, and one that saw tails. As Carlagnios moved, he became two Carlagnios' that walked apart from each other. Each one held a coin.
"OK," said Kale, "now flip the coin 5 more times."
Both Carlagnios' started to poke at each other and point.
"Will you stop that and flip the coin again?" barked Kale.
Carlagnios continued to flip the coin and divide into more and more Carlagnios'. As he continued, he began to feel like his hold on life was more tenuous. And the copies of Carlagnios began to argue about who should flip the coin.
"Mage!" shouted Carlagnios over the din of growling and muttering Dragonborn. "Make sure that they all flip the coin!"
Irritated, Kale kicked one of the copies of Carlagnios, which promptly fell unconscious. "All right. Flip!" ordered Kale. "Flip again!" He continued until we had enough copies of Carlagnios.
"Now," Kale ordered,"one of you ask the Animata to open the door."
One of the copies of Carlagnios asked the Animata, and the Animata replied, "You can proceed." The doors opened, and we all ran through one of the entrances.
We found ourselves in a damp passage, lined with rusted cells. The construction work was old. We began to follow the passage but were interrupted by a number of growling noises.
"I want meat!" declared one of the copies of Carlagnios.
"Great," muttered Kale. "How do we get back to one Carlagnios?"
"Maybe have him flip the coin and choose heads?" suggested Tiny.
The copies of Carlagnios gathered and began to push their copies of the coins together. As the coins began to combine, so did the copies of Carlagnios. Eventually, they all merged back together, although one copy refused to join the others initially. It took some time to convince the copy to merge with the others.
"How do you feel?" asked Tiny.
"I have strange memories from each of the copies," replied Carlagnios. "But I am glad to be the one true Carlagnios again."
A Vision Too Horrifying For Words
After a long, awkward pause, Ryn asked The Keeper, "Every minute that you stay in this world is torture, isn't it?"
"I've learned to be patient," replied The Keeper.
"You know, sometimes a good puzzle can help to pass the time," remarked Carlagnios.
The Keeper ignored him and continued, "But what you see here is just a window to my soul. If you make it to the chamber beneath the old prison, you will find my essence. You must destroy it there."
"But we'd need a quorum of the 100 to enter the old prison," Kale pointed out. "And --" He stopped and gave an odd look toward the Seed of Contradiction. "Does the quorum need to be comprised of the different members of the 100? Or can the quorum consist of the same member?"
"It sounds like you have an idea," said The Keeper.
Ryn laughed. "Right. What's the worst that could happen?"
In our minds, we must have all imagined a quorum of copies of Carlagnios, running around, picking fights, gobbling down all the food, burning down buildings with his fiery breath, and being generally very grumpy. At least, that's what it seemed like everyone was thinking, since all of our jaws had dropped and we all had looks of absolute terror on our faces.
Kale shook his head to clear his mind of the horrifying images. "Wait. So what is the Mantle for?"
"The Mantle keeps the Stone Men from seeing you," The Keeper explained.
"So do we need 50 of him? 75?" asked Kale.
"Ohhhh!" interjected Carlagnios. "You're going to make copies of me? What if you make hundreds of copies of me? Will the 100 be referred to as the 100s of 100s?"
The Keeper sighed. "There are only ever 100."
"What do the Stone Men do?" asked Ryn. "Why do we need to hide from them?"
"The Stone Men maintain the barrier between worlds," Kale explained. "The question is -- what holds the worlds together?"
"Love?" suggested Carlagnios.
Kale glared at him. "No."
"Well, how would you know?" demanded Carlagnios.
"Because I'm a mage, OK?" Kale replied, grinding his teeth. "Contradiction keeps the worlds apart. Keeper, why have the Stone Men demanded tribute from us in the past?"
The Keeper replied, "They favor you."
"Favor?" shouted Carlagnios angrily. "I lost my --"
Kale waved his hand to silence the Dragonborn. "How did Ores use the Seed of Contradiction? This ... coin?"
"In times past," The Keeper replied, "Ores would flip the coin. It's pretty obvious how you would use this."
"Well," Kale explained, "the last time that I guessed about how old war technology worked, I ended up locked in a magicless state."
"Ah," said The Keeper. "Would this have been an iron snake?"
Kale shot The Keeper an irritated look. "So," Kale said, quickly changing the subject, "who flips the coin?"
"It all depends," replied The Keeper. "If you want more than one Dwarf, have the Dwarf flip the coin. If you want more than one of the 100, have the Dragonborn flip the coin."
He continued, "The Dragonborn will see a premonition. There are two possible futures: one where the coin lands heads up, and one where the coin lands tails up. With great effort, he can envision both possible futures."
Carlagnios snatched the Seed of Contradiction from Kale and flipped it. Nothing happened.
Carlagnios struck his hand against his forehead. "I felt compelled to choose tails!" he explained.
"Would you stop that?" ordered Kale. "Let's go down to the circular chamber with the 100 doors first."
"I've learned to be patient," replied The Keeper.
"You know, sometimes a good puzzle can help to pass the time," remarked Carlagnios.
The Keeper ignored him and continued, "But what you see here is just a window to my soul. If you make it to the chamber beneath the old prison, you will find my essence. You must destroy it there."
"But we'd need a quorum of the 100 to enter the old prison," Kale pointed out. "And --" He stopped and gave an odd look toward the Seed of Contradiction. "Does the quorum need to be comprised of the different members of the 100? Or can the quorum consist of the same member?"
"It sounds like you have an idea," said The Keeper.
Ryn laughed. "Right. What's the worst that could happen?"
In our minds, we must have all imagined a quorum of copies of Carlagnios, running around, picking fights, gobbling down all the food, burning down buildings with his fiery breath, and being generally very grumpy. At least, that's what it seemed like everyone was thinking, since all of our jaws had dropped and we all had looks of absolute terror on our faces.
Kale shook his head to clear his mind of the horrifying images. "Wait. So what is the Mantle for?"
"The Mantle keeps the Stone Men from seeing you," The Keeper explained.
"So do we need 50 of him? 75?" asked Kale.
"Ohhhh!" interjected Carlagnios. "You're going to make copies of me? What if you make hundreds of copies of me? Will the 100 be referred to as the 100s of 100s?"
The Keeper sighed. "There are only ever 100."
"What do the Stone Men do?" asked Ryn. "Why do we need to hide from them?"
"The Stone Men maintain the barrier between worlds," Kale explained. "The question is -- what holds the worlds together?"
"Love?" suggested Carlagnios.
Kale glared at him. "No."
"Well, how would you know?" demanded Carlagnios.
"Because I'm a mage, OK?" Kale replied, grinding his teeth. "Contradiction keeps the worlds apart. Keeper, why have the Stone Men demanded tribute from us in the past?"
The Keeper replied, "They favor you."
"Favor?" shouted Carlagnios angrily. "I lost my --"
Kale waved his hand to silence the Dragonborn. "How did Ores use the Seed of Contradiction? This ... coin?"
"In times past," The Keeper replied, "Ores would flip the coin. It's pretty obvious how you would use this."
"Well," Kale explained, "the last time that I guessed about how old war technology worked, I ended up locked in a magicless state."
"Ah," said The Keeper. "Would this have been an iron snake?"
Kale shot The Keeper an irritated look. "So," Kale said, quickly changing the subject, "who flips the coin?"
"It all depends," replied The Keeper. "If you want more than one Dwarf, have the Dwarf flip the coin. If you want more than one of the 100, have the Dragonborn flip the coin."
He continued, "The Dragonborn will see a premonition. There are two possible futures: one where the coin lands heads up, and one where the coin lands tails up. With great effort, he can envision both possible futures."
Carlagnios snatched the Seed of Contradiction from Kale and flipped it. Nothing happened.
Carlagnios struck his hand against his forehead. "I felt compelled to choose tails!" he explained.
"Would you stop that?" ordered Kale. "Let's go down to the circular chamber with the 100 doors first."
Crocodiles! And the Intentions of the 100
We now had the Mantle of Ores and the Seed of Contradiction. But as we stood in the Ores' chamber, we heard a loud crashing noise from the front of the cottage. A number of large crocodiles broke down the door and smashed their way through the house.
Kale quickly used the Exodus Knife to cut a hole in what he called "extradimensional space". We quickly hopped in and watched as the crocodiles destroyed the cottage. Apparently, the creatures could not see us or reach us, but we could see them. Kale explained that this was expected.
Carlagnios glared at Ryn. "Why did you have to complain that we would get attacked by crocodiles?"
"I didn't know!" Ryn replied. "It just seemed as improbable as having a Kraken attack us in a room."
Carlagnios huffed. "At least we didn't get attacked by a squid --"
"Don't," interrupted Kale, "just don't."
After half an hour, the crocodiles departed. At that point, Ryn noticed that the Mantle of Ores kept fading out and fading back in. "Let me take a look at that," requested Kale.
Kale spent some time examining the mantle but could not determine what was happening. Ryn and Tiny also looked at it, but neither could explain the odd behavior.
We decided to leave the extradimensional space. The area surrounding the cottage was covered with crocodile tracks. "I could tell you where they came from, if we wanted to follow them," offered Tiny.
"No," replied Kale, "we should go back to The Keeper to get the instructions on how to use the Mantle and the Seed."
We returned to the portal, which transported us back to the room with the sunken circle. From there, we made our way back to the East door and met The Keeper.
"Are you ready to agree to my offer?" The Keeper asked.
"How exactly will this work?" Kale asked. "Some of the members of our party are ... hesitant ... to take your life."
"When you release my magical essence under the prison, I won't die right away. It just starts the process."
"OK," relied Ryn, "It's no skin off our nose." He turned to Tiny and whispered, "Is it possible that The Keeper is lying?"
Tiny frowned. "It would be very hard to tell."
Kale turned to The Keeper and asked, "What exactly happened between the 100 and the Lover of the Raven Queen?"
The Keeper let out a long sigh. "The Lover promised the 100 that they would live forever -- that they would be Gods upon this earth. And they were ... for a while."
"The Lover had tricked them," continued The Keeper, "and set about destroying life in this world. He blotted out the skies. He killed living things."
"Wait, so what do the 100 hope to do?" interrupted Kale.
"Escape, of course."
"Well, they certainly achieved that," quipped Ryn. "They escaped to our world."
"This world is a lost cause," The Keeper explained. "The 100 needed to find a place to hide from the Lover."
"Um, they're not exactly being inconspicuous," Ryn pointed out. "They're conquering territories back home, starting wars, ..."
"Being inconspicuous doesn't matter," noted The Keeper. "If the Lover is in your world, he will see the 100 no matter what they do."
"So you say," replied Ryn, "but we have no reason to trust you."
Kale quickly used the Exodus Knife to cut a hole in what he called "extradimensional space". We quickly hopped in and watched as the crocodiles destroyed the cottage. Apparently, the creatures could not see us or reach us, but we could see them. Kale explained that this was expected.
Carlagnios glared at Ryn. "Why did you have to complain that we would get attacked by crocodiles?"
"I didn't know!" Ryn replied. "It just seemed as improbable as having a Kraken attack us in a room."
Carlagnios huffed. "At least we didn't get attacked by a squid --"
"Don't," interrupted Kale, "just don't."
After half an hour, the crocodiles departed. At that point, Ryn noticed that the Mantle of Ores kept fading out and fading back in. "Let me take a look at that," requested Kale.
Kale spent some time examining the mantle but could not determine what was happening. Ryn and Tiny also looked at it, but neither could explain the odd behavior.
We decided to leave the extradimensional space. The area surrounding the cottage was covered with crocodile tracks. "I could tell you where they came from, if we wanted to follow them," offered Tiny.
"No," replied Kale, "we should go back to The Keeper to get the instructions on how to use the Mantle and the Seed."
We returned to the portal, which transported us back to the room with the sunken circle. From there, we made our way back to the East door and met The Keeper.
"Are you ready to agree to my offer?" The Keeper asked.
"How exactly will this work?" Kale asked. "Some of the members of our party are ... hesitant ... to take your life."
"When you release my magical essence under the prison, I won't die right away. It just starts the process."
"OK," relied Ryn, "It's no skin off our nose." He turned to Tiny and whispered, "Is it possible that The Keeper is lying?"
Tiny frowned. "It would be very hard to tell."
Kale turned to The Keeper and asked, "What exactly happened between the 100 and the Lover of the Raven Queen?"
The Keeper let out a long sigh. "The Lover promised the 100 that they would live forever -- that they would be Gods upon this earth. And they were ... for a while."
"The Lover had tricked them," continued The Keeper, "and set about destroying life in this world. He blotted out the skies. He killed living things."
"Wait, so what do the 100 hope to do?" interrupted Kale.
"Escape, of course."
"Well, they certainly achieved that," quipped Ryn. "They escaped to our world."
"This world is a lost cause," The Keeper explained. "The 100 needed to find a place to hide from the Lover."
"Um, they're not exactly being inconspicuous," Ryn pointed out. "They're conquering territories back home, starting wars, ..."
"Being inconspicuous doesn't matter," noted The Keeper. "If the Lover is in your world, he will see the 100 no matter what they do."
"So you say," replied Ryn, "but we have no reason to trust you."
Friday, September 24, 2010
The Mantle of Ores
"Warriors!" snarled Carlagnios "Attention! Stand all in a line!"
The sworn warrior quickly lined up.
"Step forward!"
They all took a step forward.
"Step back!"
They all took a step backward.
"At ease."
The warrior relaxed their stances.
"What next?" asked Tiny. "Tell them to put their left foot in and their left foot out?"
"Sir!" shouted one of the warriors. "We have waited a long time for your return. Have you come back to fight the Chimera?"
"Who is the Kai-meh-rah?" asked Carlagnios.
Kale let out a long sigh and explained the Chimera to Carlagnios.
"Right," muttered Carlagnios and turned back to the warriors. "Do you need food or water?"
"No, sir. We can take care of those ourselves."
"Are you ready to fight the Chimera?"
"No, sir. We cannot leave here."
Carlagnios growled impatiently. Kale whispered to him, "Tell them we are here for the weapon."
"We have come to retrieve the weapon," announced Carlagnios.
One of the warriors produced a knife and handed it to Carlagnios. "This is the weapon -- the knife of Ores."
Kale examined the knife. "This is an Exodus Knife. You use it to trace the outline of a door, and you can open a door to another place."
The warrior continued. "This was Ores' knife. He left instructions. You are to take this to Ores' chamber, move the dresser, and use the knife of the wall behind the dresser."
"Good," grunted Carlagnios. "We shall go there now. What about you?"
"The enchantment keeps us here. We are bound to stay here forever."
"That doesn't seem like a life worth living," noted Kale. "You know, if you want, we could just kill you."
"Yeah," agreed Garg, "I have no problem with that."
Tiny and Firinne paled.
"That won't be necessary," snarled Carlagnios. He turned to the warriors. "We will see you in the future."
And with that, we left and made our way back to the room with the sunken circle.
When we entered the circle, the animata appeared. "Would you like to go to your chamber?"
"No," replied Carlagnios. "We would like to go to Ores' chamber."
The animata paused. "That is an unusual request, sir."
"We have the knife of Ores, and we need to get something from his chamber."
"Oh," said the animata, "why didn't you say so in the first place?"
And in a flash of light, we found ourselves in the chamber of Ores. The room was filled with indoor plants. There was a path through the plants. Bran carefully checked for traps and found none.
An animata appeared in the distance. It carried a light bucked and headed toward us.
"You there," called Carlagnios, "where is the dresser of Ores?"
The animata ignored him and continued on.
"We need to figure out how to get there," said Garg. "Can you determine the right path?" he asked me.
Unfortunately, my sense for nature was terribly off at this point in time. Fortunately, Kale was able to find the path to a small cottage.
"We should be on our guard," noted Tiny.
"Oh, right," said Ryn. "We were attacked by a Kraken in a room. Perhaps in this cottage, we'll be attacked by a giant squid. Or crocodiles."
We entered the cottage and found an animata setting the table with food. The animata had also started a fire in the fireplace.
We discovered a sword hanging nearby. Kale examined the sword and declared that it was a magical sword with the ability to cause different types of damage -- a Dynamic Longsword. "Who wants the sword?"
"Why should we take the sword?" growled Carlagnios. "It is not ours. Let's ask the animata who the sword belongs to."
The animata did not respond.
The dresser was full of old, disintegrated clothing. We moved it out of the way to reveal the wall behind it.
Kale took the Exodus Knife and carved the outline of a door on the wall. He opened the door, and the Mantle of Ores was hanging there before us.
"So this is the Mantle," said Kale. "The Mantle that hid Ores from the Stone Men, so that he could steal the Seed of Contradiction."
We now had the Mantle and the Seed. All that we needed were the instructions.
The sworn warrior quickly lined up.
"Step forward!"
They all took a step forward.
"Step back!"
They all took a step backward.
"At ease."
The warrior relaxed their stances.
"What next?" asked Tiny. "Tell them to put their left foot in and their left foot out?"
"Sir!" shouted one of the warriors. "We have waited a long time for your return. Have you come back to fight the Chimera?"
"Who is the Kai-meh-rah?" asked Carlagnios.
Kale let out a long sigh and explained the Chimera to Carlagnios.
"Right," muttered Carlagnios and turned back to the warriors. "Do you need food or water?"
"No, sir. We can take care of those ourselves."
"Are you ready to fight the Chimera?"
"No, sir. We cannot leave here."
Carlagnios growled impatiently. Kale whispered to him, "Tell them we are here for the weapon."
"We have come to retrieve the weapon," announced Carlagnios.
One of the warriors produced a knife and handed it to Carlagnios. "This is the weapon -- the knife of Ores."
Kale examined the knife. "This is an Exodus Knife. You use it to trace the outline of a door, and you can open a door to another place."
The warrior continued. "This was Ores' knife. He left instructions. You are to take this to Ores' chamber, move the dresser, and use the knife of the wall behind the dresser."
"Good," grunted Carlagnios. "We shall go there now. What about you?"
"The enchantment keeps us here. We are bound to stay here forever."
"That doesn't seem like a life worth living," noted Kale. "You know, if you want, we could just kill you."
"Yeah," agreed Garg, "I have no problem with that."
Tiny and Firinne paled.
"That won't be necessary," snarled Carlagnios. He turned to the warriors. "We will see you in the future."
And with that, we left and made our way back to the room with the sunken circle.
When we entered the circle, the animata appeared. "Would you like to go to your chamber?"
"No," replied Carlagnios. "We would like to go to Ores' chamber."
The animata paused. "That is an unusual request, sir."
"We have the knife of Ores, and we need to get something from his chamber."
"Oh," said the animata, "why didn't you say so in the first place?"
And in a flash of light, we found ourselves in the chamber of Ores. The room was filled with indoor plants. There was a path through the plants. Bran carefully checked for traps and found none.
An animata appeared in the distance. It carried a light bucked and headed toward us.
"You there," called Carlagnios, "where is the dresser of Ores?"
The animata ignored him and continued on.
"We need to figure out how to get there," said Garg. "Can you determine the right path?" he asked me.
Unfortunately, my sense for nature was terribly off at this point in time. Fortunately, Kale was able to find the path to a small cottage.
"We should be on our guard," noted Tiny.
"Oh, right," said Ryn. "We were attacked by a Kraken in a room. Perhaps in this cottage, we'll be attacked by a giant squid. Or crocodiles."
We entered the cottage and found an animata setting the table with food. The animata had also started a fire in the fireplace.
We discovered a sword hanging nearby. Kale examined the sword and declared that it was a magical sword with the ability to cause different types of damage -- a Dynamic Longsword. "Who wants the sword?"
"Why should we take the sword?" growled Carlagnios. "It is not ours. Let's ask the animata who the sword belongs to."
The animata did not respond.
The dresser was full of old, disintegrated clothing. We moved it out of the way to reveal the wall behind it.
Kale took the Exodus Knife and carved the outline of a door on the wall. He opened the door, and the Mantle of Ores was hanging there before us.
"So this is the Mantle," said Kale. "The Mantle that hid Ores from the Stone Men, so that he could steal the Seed of Contradiction."
We now had the Mantle and the Seed. All that we needed were the instructions.
The Kraken
After we woke, Bran suggested that Carlagnios ask the animata for some food for breakfast. Carlagnios stepped into the circle, summoned the animata, and asked for food.
"I am sorry, sir. There is no food."
Carlagnios growled. (There is nothing more frightening than a Dragonborn who is woken early in the morning and who has not had his breakfast.) "Fine! Just take us back then."
We stepped into the circle and, with a flash of light, we found ourselves back in the Centenarch. We made our way back to the East exit. Kale tried the Amulet of Opening on the East door.
The door opened to a dusty room. In the room, a cracked, crystal orb sat in a metal vise. Kale approached the orb and, with a few gestures, activated the device.
We were all overcome by a feeling of unease, as though we were surrounded by insanity.
"Who is there?" demanded a voice. We all felt too ill to respond. But Carlagnios eventually did.
"I am one of the 100," Carlagnios declared. "Who are you?"
"I am the Keeper. I am the most powerful of the animata. I am charged with the care of the Centenarch."
"Oh," said Carlagnios. "So how's the Centenarch these days?"
"Quite boring. Each year that passes is like 1000 years to me."
Carlagnios seemed to be getting bored with the small talk. "So is this the Armory?" he demanded.
"No, the Armory is next door."
"Is that why you're here? To watch over the Armory?"
"My essence is kept below, beneath the old prison," the Keeper replied.
"Ask it about the Ritual of Immortality," suggested Kale.
"Keeper," said Carlagnios, "do you know about the Ritual of Immortality? When was it cast? How was it cast? And how can it be undone?"
"I saw it attempted once before," the Keeper replied. It paused before offering, "I will trade what I know, if, in exchange, you would end my suffering. Destroy my essence beneath the old prison."
Carlagnios agreed and showed it the Seed of Contradiction. "Do you know how to use this?"
"Look at what you found," said the Keeper with a note of surprise in its voice. "I only know what the patron told us. To use that, you will need to find Ores' mantle."
Ryn, Garg, and Kale surmised that we could use the sunken circle to visit Ores' room to look for the mantle. But first, we needed to get into the Armory.
"Thank you, Keeper," said Carlagnios. "Don't go anywhere."
The Keeper let out a long sigh. "No, I suppose I couldn't anyway."
With that, we left the room and used the Amulet of Opening on the door to the South. The door opened to a hall that broadened into a wider corridor. There were pillars along either side of the corridor. The design of the room seemed familiar -- almost like something we had seen in Focus House 17 long ago.
Lined up on both sides were circular spheres. There were 30 of them. Eight of them snapped open, revealing warriors armed with bows. Four more of them snapped open, and dead bodies fell out.
In the middle of the room, something was bubbling from the floor. It began to coalesce, until a giant Kraken emerged.
"A Kraken? Here? On land?" asked Ryn, looking puzzled.
The warriors shot at us, while the Kraken grabbed us and tried to crush us. Kale cast a spell to force the Kraken back, breaking its hold on us. We were assailed by powerful blasts of force, but Kale managed to cast a protective spell to keep the blasts from harming us.
Even with the most powerful blows from Firinne and Carlagnios and the most deadly strikes from Bran and Ryn, the warriors did not fall. Instead, more of the spheres snapped open to reveal more warriors. Garg healed our wounds, but the warriors and Kraken kept up their attacks. It seemed like we were facing an insurmountable enemy.
Kale stared at the warriors and a glint of recognition flashed in his eyes. "Carlagnios!" he shouted. "Command them!"
"What?" Carlagnios growled back.
"Tell them to stop!"
Carlagnios put down his jagged axe and called out to the warriors. "Here me, Carlagnios of the 100! Stop your attacks!"
And they stopped. But only for a moment. As they lifted their weapons again, Kale shouted, "Command them to attack the Kraken!"
Carlagnios nodded and barked out the order. "Warriors! I command you to attack the Kraken!"
With those words, the warriors turned their weapons and fired at the Kraken. The Kraken was no match for the combined assault from the warriors and the rest of our party. Before long, the Kraken had lost and sunk into the floor.
"Couldn't you have done that sooner?" asked Garg.
"How was I to know that they would listen to me?" Carlagnios snarled back.
"It's a good thing that they did," said Firinne. "I just hope they don't harbor any ill feelings toward us after we damaged them."
The sworn warriors surrounded Carlagnios and awaited his next order.
"I am sorry, sir. There is no food."
Carlagnios growled. (There is nothing more frightening than a Dragonborn who is woken early in the morning and who has not had his breakfast.) "Fine! Just take us back then."
We stepped into the circle and, with a flash of light, we found ourselves back in the Centenarch. We made our way back to the East exit. Kale tried the Amulet of Opening on the East door.
The door opened to a dusty room. In the room, a cracked, crystal orb sat in a metal vise. Kale approached the orb and, with a few gestures, activated the device.
We were all overcome by a feeling of unease, as though we were surrounded by insanity.
"Who is there?" demanded a voice. We all felt too ill to respond. But Carlagnios eventually did.
"I am one of the 100," Carlagnios declared. "Who are you?"
"I am the Keeper. I am the most powerful of the animata. I am charged with the care of the Centenarch."
"Oh," said Carlagnios. "So how's the Centenarch these days?"
"Quite boring. Each year that passes is like 1000 years to me."
Carlagnios seemed to be getting bored with the small talk. "So is this the Armory?" he demanded.
"No, the Armory is next door."
"Is that why you're here? To watch over the Armory?"
"My essence is kept below, beneath the old prison," the Keeper replied.
"Ask it about the Ritual of Immortality," suggested Kale.
"Keeper," said Carlagnios, "do you know about the Ritual of Immortality? When was it cast? How was it cast? And how can it be undone?"
"I saw it attempted once before," the Keeper replied. It paused before offering, "I will trade what I know, if, in exchange, you would end my suffering. Destroy my essence beneath the old prison."
Carlagnios agreed and showed it the Seed of Contradiction. "Do you know how to use this?"
"Look at what you found," said the Keeper with a note of surprise in its voice. "I only know what the patron told us. To use that, you will need to find Ores' mantle."
Ryn, Garg, and Kale surmised that we could use the sunken circle to visit Ores' room to look for the mantle. But first, we needed to get into the Armory.
"Thank you, Keeper," said Carlagnios. "Don't go anywhere."
The Keeper let out a long sigh. "No, I suppose I couldn't anyway."
With that, we left the room and used the Amulet of Opening on the door to the South. The door opened to a hall that broadened into a wider corridor. There were pillars along either side of the corridor. The design of the room seemed familiar -- almost like something we had seen in Focus House 17 long ago.
Lined up on both sides were circular spheres. There were 30 of them. Eight of them snapped open, revealing warriors armed with bows. Four more of them snapped open, and dead bodies fell out.
In the middle of the room, something was bubbling from the floor. It began to coalesce, until a giant Kraken emerged.
"A Kraken? Here? On land?" asked Ryn, looking puzzled.
The warriors shot at us, while the Kraken grabbed us and tried to crush us. Kale cast a spell to force the Kraken back, breaking its hold on us. We were assailed by powerful blasts of force, but Kale managed to cast a protective spell to keep the blasts from harming us.
Even with the most powerful blows from Firinne and Carlagnios and the most deadly strikes from Bran and Ryn, the warriors did not fall. Instead, more of the spheres snapped open to reveal more warriors. Garg healed our wounds, but the warriors and Kraken kept up their attacks. It seemed like we were facing an insurmountable enemy.
Kale stared at the warriors and a glint of recognition flashed in his eyes. "Carlagnios!" he shouted. "Command them!"
"What?" Carlagnios growled back.
"Tell them to stop!"
Carlagnios put down his jagged axe and called out to the warriors. "Here me, Carlagnios of the 100! Stop your attacks!"
And they stopped. But only for a moment. As they lifted their weapons again, Kale shouted, "Command them to attack the Kraken!"
Carlagnios nodded and barked out the order. "Warriors! I command you to attack the Kraken!"
With those words, the warriors turned their weapons and fired at the Kraken. The Kraken was no match for the combined assault from the warriors and the rest of our party. Before long, the Kraken had lost and sunk into the floor.
"Couldn't you have done that sooner?" asked Garg.
"How was I to know that they would listen to me?" Carlagnios snarled back.
"It's a good thing that they did," said Firinne. "I just hope they don't harbor any ill feelings toward us after we damaged them."
The sworn warriors surrounded Carlagnios and awaited his next order.
"Before I Leave This World"
We made our way to the East exit and stood in the hub.
"Let's try the North door," Bran suggested.
Carlagnios tried to open the door, but it would not budge.
Kale sighed. "To one side, Dragonborn. Let me examine this door."
He looked it over carefully for several moments. "There is a magical force that holds the door closed," he declared. "The key to the door is an amulet."
"I have an amulet," said Firinne, approaching Kale. She handed him the Quartermaster's Amulet that she had received long ago. "Will this work?"
"Well," replied Kale, "it's not the same amulet. But there are some faults in the enchantment, so perhaps I can make this amulet open the door. Stand back now, and see what a powerful Mage can do."
He spent several minutes fiddling with the amulet and the door. Nothing happened.
"Do you need help?" asked Ryn.
"I can help as well," offered Garg.
Together, Kale, Ryn, and Garg tinkered with the amulet and the door for several more minutes. But the door still remained shut.
Tiny rolled his eyes. "OK, guys, it's not hard." Tiny effortlessly unlocked the door with the amulet and went inside.
As we followed him in, Kale explained, "Well, I can usually break these types of enchantments... It must have been some bad luck that made this fail."
"Uh huh," said Carlagnios, seeming unconvinced.
The door led to the Hall of Records. The room was filled with scrolls and books. Most of the parchments had crumbled to dust.
Of the scrolls and books that had survived, we found:
It had been a while since we had rested, so we decided to go back to the room with the sunken circle to rest.
Kale thought that it would be a good precaution to disable the runes. He had the scarab that we had used to disable arcane devices before. But there was no place to attach the scarab in the sunken circle.
In the end, we decided to sleep around the circle. Ryn stood guard while we slept.
After only an hour, animata suddenly appeared in the room and began to attack us. We scrambled into the sunken circle, and the animata stopped attacking.
"Why did you attack us?" Carlagnios demanded.
The animata replied, "I know you as Logrid. How are you named?"
"Named? I am Carlagnios. Who are you? And why do you attack us?"
"I only exist to serve. You and the 100 use this circle to transport yourselves to your rooms."
"Well," Carlagnios started. He thought for a moment. "Can you use this circle to take us to my room?"
"Please step inside the circle. Keep away from the edges."
We followed its instructions and, in a flash of light, we found ourselves in what appeared to be Logrid's bedroom. It was an irregularly shaped room. There was a cloakroom with hooks, a chest, a bed, and a writing desk. Beyond the desk was a large window. From that window, we could see that the room overlooked a forest. The forest was shrouded by dark fog. There was also a sunken circle in the room -- a circle that seemed to have the same arcane runes.
As we moved closer to examine the chest, Tiny stopped us. "There is a trap. We will spring it if we open the chest."
"That's no problem," declared Bran. "I'll disarm the trap."
He took out his tools, fiddled with the lock, and deftly ... triggered the trap. With a puff of gas, Bran was knocked unconscious.
"We really don't seem to be having very much luck today," observed Firinne.
"Speak for yourself," quipped Tiny.
In the chest, we found a locket with a picture of Brother John. Kale carefully examined the locket. "This appears to be an amulet of opening."
The chest also contained a letter. Kale took several minutes looking over the letter before shrugging. "I can't understand it. It is written in a script that is not familiar to me."
Carlagnios scoffed. "Give me that letter. I'll read it."
Kale fought to keep from laughing out loud. "Really? Carlagnios, can you even read?"
"I can read this," Carlagnios answered. "It is from Logrid. It is her final message before she left this world for ours."
"Hmmm, perhaps it is written in a script that only the 100 can read," surmised Ryn.
Carlagnios continued, "'Before I leave this world, I shall take the tree and kill it. I will prevent others from becoming the 100. We are to be exiled from our world. I leave behind this key to the armory. The armory contains a powerful weapon.'"
"Key?" I asked.
"The locket," suggested Kale. "This must be the key to open one of the other doors."
Bored with the discussion, Carlagnios tossed away the letter and moved to examine the sunken circle. As he stepped inside, an animata appeared before him.
"Greetings, My Lord," it said. "I live to serve."
Carlagnios snarled, "That's nice. I hate you. Goodbye." He stepped back out of the circle, and the animata disappeared.
We decided to rest here in Logrid's room for the night. We fell asleep to the sounds of rustling wings as bats flew past the window outside. Tomorrow, we would continue our exploration of the Centenarch.
"Let's try the North door," Bran suggested.
Carlagnios tried to open the door, but it would not budge.
Kale sighed. "To one side, Dragonborn. Let me examine this door."
He looked it over carefully for several moments. "There is a magical force that holds the door closed," he declared. "The key to the door is an amulet."
"I have an amulet," said Firinne, approaching Kale. She handed him the Quartermaster's Amulet that she had received long ago. "Will this work?"
"Well," replied Kale, "it's not the same amulet. But there are some faults in the enchantment, so perhaps I can make this amulet open the door. Stand back now, and see what a powerful Mage can do."
He spent several minutes fiddling with the amulet and the door. Nothing happened.
"Do you need help?" asked Ryn.
"I can help as well," offered Garg.
Together, Kale, Ryn, and Garg tinkered with the amulet and the door for several more minutes. But the door still remained shut.
Tiny rolled his eyes. "OK, guys, it's not hard." Tiny effortlessly unlocked the door with the amulet and went inside.
As we followed him in, Kale explained, "Well, I can usually break these types of enchantments... It must have been some bad luck that made this fail."
"Uh huh," said Carlagnios, seeming unconvinced.
The door led to the Hall of Records. The room was filled with scrolls and books. Most of the parchments had crumbled to dust.
Of the scrolls and books that had survived, we found:
- a scroll that captured the account of the bribery of Shabriri
Ores had negotiated with Shabriri and convinced him to do a job. - the proceedings of the Council of the Centenarch
This included a debate on moving the Centenarch from the world to here — 99 voted for this, and 1 was opposed
- notes about the Assassin (Brother John)
This included a field report when Brother John was captured and tortured. Under duress, he revealed that he was the Assassin, but he was sworn not to reveal his name.He was in the Centenarchy, spying on the 100, when the Ritual of Immortality was cast. This explained why he became immortal and why he was known as the 101.
- a ritual of simple finding
- an account of how they caught the Whale
Ores used the Seed of Contradiction and wore the Mantle. When this happened, he multiplied. (He was able to keep his copies from going into other worlds.) He was a powerful warlock, so once there were enough copies of him, he could reach the Whale.
It had been a while since we had rested, so we decided to go back to the room with the sunken circle to rest.
Kale thought that it would be a good precaution to disable the runes. He had the scarab that we had used to disable arcane devices before. But there was no place to attach the scarab in the sunken circle.
In the end, we decided to sleep around the circle. Ryn stood guard while we slept.
After only an hour, animata suddenly appeared in the room and began to attack us. We scrambled into the sunken circle, and the animata stopped attacking.
"Why did you attack us?" Carlagnios demanded.
The animata replied, "I know you as Logrid. How are you named?"
"Named? I am Carlagnios. Who are you? And why do you attack us?"
"I only exist to serve. You and the 100 use this circle to transport yourselves to your rooms."
"Well," Carlagnios started. He thought for a moment. "Can you use this circle to take us to my room?"
"Please step inside the circle. Keep away from the edges."
We followed its instructions and, in a flash of light, we found ourselves in what appeared to be Logrid's bedroom. It was an irregularly shaped room. There was a cloakroom with hooks, a chest, a bed, and a writing desk. Beyond the desk was a large window. From that window, we could see that the room overlooked a forest. The forest was shrouded by dark fog. There was also a sunken circle in the room -- a circle that seemed to have the same arcane runes.
As we moved closer to examine the chest, Tiny stopped us. "There is a trap. We will spring it if we open the chest."
"That's no problem," declared Bran. "I'll disarm the trap."
He took out his tools, fiddled with the lock, and deftly ... triggered the trap. With a puff of gas, Bran was knocked unconscious.
"We really don't seem to be having very much luck today," observed Firinne.
"Speak for yourself," quipped Tiny.
In the chest, we found a locket with a picture of Brother John. Kale carefully examined the locket. "This appears to be an amulet of opening."
The chest also contained a letter. Kale took several minutes looking over the letter before shrugging. "I can't understand it. It is written in a script that is not familiar to me."
Carlagnios scoffed. "Give me that letter. I'll read it."
Kale fought to keep from laughing out loud. "Really? Carlagnios, can you even read?"
"I can read this," Carlagnios answered. "It is from Logrid. It is her final message before she left this world for ours."
"Hmmm, perhaps it is written in a script that only the 100 can read," surmised Ryn.
Carlagnios continued, "'Before I leave this world, I shall take the tree and kill it. I will prevent others from becoming the 100. We are to be exiled from our world. I leave behind this key to the armory. The armory contains a powerful weapon.'"
"Key?" I asked.
"The locket," suggested Kale. "This must be the key to open one of the other doors."
Bored with the discussion, Carlagnios tossed away the letter and moved to examine the sunken circle. As he stepped inside, an animata appeared before him.
"Greetings, My Lord," it said. "I live to serve."
Carlagnios snarled, "That's nice. I hate you. Goodbye." He stepped back out of the circle, and the animata disappeared.
We decided to rest here in Logrid's room for the night. We fell asleep to the sounds of rustling wings as bats flew past the window outside. Tomorrow, we would continue our exploration of the Centenarch.
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