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.
The Futility of Interrogating Animata
The West exit led to a square room with a sunken circle in the center. The room was much smaller than the room we had come through. The circle was about a foot deep.
Carlagnios peered down into the circle. "Something is carved here," he called out.
Kale quickly joined him and examined the markings. "These look like magical runes. Some of these are used for teleportation. Some look like the rituals we used to summon animata. Curious."
"I wonder what this is for?" pondered Firinne.
"Well, let's find out," said Bran.
"Wait," Firinne interrupted. "Maybe we should -- "
Bran jumped into the circle and began to kick at the runes. Firinne rolled her eyes.
"Get out of there!" warned Kale. "It's dangerous! Will you stop that??!"
Bran looked sorely disappointed as he climbed back out of the circle.
Kale shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Clearly, this is getting us nowhere. Let's go back and investigate the North exit."
We went back to the circular room and peered through the North exit. There were stairs leading down to a lower chamber.
"Should we try the East exit first?"
The East exit led to a hub with doors to the North, East, and South.
"I say we go downstairs," announced Bran. He dashed to the North exit and headed down the stairs.
We scrambled to follow him. Kale muttered something about breadth first versus depth first and accompanied us.
At the bottom of the stairs was a large circular room, lined with doors. There were 100 doors.
Carlagnios approached one of the doors and tried to open it. The door didn't budge. Carlagnios growled impatiently.
Suddenly, an animata appeared beside him.
"Welcome, My Lord. What are you doing?" the animata asked.
Carlagnios was taken aback. "You can talk? Tell me -- what are these doors for?"
"They lead to the old prison, My Lord. That is where you -- and the rest of the 100 -- meet. Any of these doors will lead you there."
"Really?" said Carlagnios. "Why won't they open?"
"You need a quorum."
Carlagnios seemed puzzled by this. He turned to Kale. "Mage, what is a -- kwoh-ruhm?"
Kale sighed. "He means that we need 51 of the 100 in order to enter the old prison."
Carlagnios looked irritated and turned his attention back to the animata. "What else can you tell us. Can you tell us what Gamerat is? That thing that looks like an angel?"
"I do not know who Gamerat is."
"Well, then tell me what you do know. Tell me everything that you know." Carlagnios was snarling and smoke was billowing from his nostrils. "Tell me or I will kill you with this great, jagged axe!"
The animata did not seem to notice Carlagnios' rage. "If killing me will help, My Lord, I will be happy to be killed by you. I only live to serve."
"Stupid animata," muttered Carlagnios.
Garg had an idea. "Why don't you ask it if anyone else has been here?"
Carlagnios nodded. He decided to change his tactics and spoke in a polite voice. "Hello, Animata. How are you doing? Have you seen anyone else here?"
"I only appear for the 100. I have not seen them since the Centenarch moved."
"When did it move? And where did it move?"
"We moved it 10,000 years ago. It used to be in the world, and now it is here."
Carlagnios gave up. He was not going to get any useful information from this animata.
We bade farewell to it and made our way back up the stairs. The only unexplored area left to us was the East exit.
Carlagnios peered down into the circle. "Something is carved here," he called out.
Kale quickly joined him and examined the markings. "These look like magical runes. Some of these are used for teleportation. Some look like the rituals we used to summon animata. Curious."
"I wonder what this is for?" pondered Firinne.
"Well, let's find out," said Bran.
"Wait," Firinne interrupted. "Maybe we should -- "
Bran jumped into the circle and began to kick at the runes. Firinne rolled her eyes.
"Get out of there!" warned Kale. "It's dangerous! Will you stop that??!"
Bran looked sorely disappointed as he climbed back out of the circle.
Kale shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Clearly, this is getting us nowhere. Let's go back and investigate the North exit."
We went back to the circular room and peered through the North exit. There were stairs leading down to a lower chamber.
"Should we try the East exit first?"
The East exit led to a hub with doors to the North, East, and South.
"I say we go downstairs," announced Bran. He dashed to the North exit and headed down the stairs.
We scrambled to follow him. Kale muttered something about breadth first versus depth first and accompanied us.
At the bottom of the stairs was a large circular room, lined with doors. There were 100 doors.
Carlagnios approached one of the doors and tried to open it. The door didn't budge. Carlagnios growled impatiently.
Suddenly, an animata appeared beside him.
"Welcome, My Lord. What are you doing?" the animata asked.
Carlagnios was taken aback. "You can talk? Tell me -- what are these doors for?"
"They lead to the old prison, My Lord. That is where you -- and the rest of the 100 -- meet. Any of these doors will lead you there."
"Really?" said Carlagnios. "Why won't they open?"
"You need a quorum."
Carlagnios seemed puzzled by this. He turned to Kale. "Mage, what is a -- kwoh-ruhm?"
Kale sighed. "He means that we need 51 of the 100 in order to enter the old prison."
Carlagnios looked irritated and turned his attention back to the animata. "What else can you tell us. Can you tell us what Gamerat is? That thing that looks like an angel?"
"I do not know who Gamerat is."
"Well, then tell me what you do know. Tell me everything that you know." Carlagnios was snarling and smoke was billowing from his nostrils. "Tell me or I will kill you with this great, jagged axe!"
The animata did not seem to notice Carlagnios' rage. "If killing me will help, My Lord, I will be happy to be killed by you. I only live to serve."
"Stupid animata," muttered Carlagnios.
Garg had an idea. "Why don't you ask it if anyone else has been here?"
Carlagnios nodded. He decided to change his tactics and spoke in a polite voice. "Hello, Animata. How are you doing? Have you seen anyone else here?"
"I only appear for the 100. I have not seen them since the Centenarch moved."
"When did it move? And where did it move?"
"We moved it 10,000 years ago. It used to be in the world, and now it is here."
Carlagnios gave up. He was not going to get any useful information from this animata.
We bade farewell to it and made our way back up the stairs. The only unexplored area left to us was the East exit.
A History, Told in Pictures and Figures
The statue allowed us to pass, and we entered the narrow vestibule. We walked through a hallway that ended in two tall, brass doors. As we approached the doors, they swung open by themselves, as if the room on the other side were eagerly welcoming back Carlagnios, one of the 100.
Beyond the doors, we saw a broad, tall room. Light from a distance illuminated the room. Carlagnios casually strolled forward, without any sign of fear or caution.
The room seemed to be shaped like a rotunda. It was vastly tall and broad. Above us, in the distance, we could see 100 hovering orbs. Most of them glowed with an unearthly light. Oddly, 7 of them did not shine, and 3 of them were blinking.
"This looks like a civic building," declared Kale. "Note the murals along the walls and the statues in the center."
We approached the wall and examined the murals. There were 9 of them.
The first, "The Release of the 100," depicted a number of individuals being released from a jail.
The second, "The Age of Service," showed these individuals battling wraiths.
The third, "The Harrowing Ordeal," was a familiar scene. The tree that we had faced was shown killing a woman. Carlagnios gazed at the mural thoughtfully. If the memory had caused a shiver to run down his spine, his steely Dragonborn face did not reveal it.
The fourth, "The End of Service," illustrated these individuals slaughtering the Judges.
The fifth, "Life Everlasting," depicted an angelic figure bound to the ground. Something terrible was about to happen to the figure. I suppressed the urge to quickly shuffle over to the next mural.
"Is this Gamerat itself?" Kale wondered aloud. "It has power over life and death. Perhaps this is showing the time when the Lover of the Raven Queen imprisoned him, in order to harness his power." He turned to Bran and asked, "Is the angelic figure Gamerat?"
Bran shrugged. "How would I know that?"
Carlagnios snarled, "Don't be so sleazy, Bran. We know who you are. We know you follow the Raven Queen." Carlagnios huffed and impatiently moved on to examine the next mural.
The sixth, "The Seed of Contradiction," showed a man in peasant's clothing. He held a coin. In the mural, there were 5 "copies" of the man.
The seventh, "The Whale," was a drawing of the Cthona that we had seen in one of the Focus Houses so long ago.
The eighth, "The Torment of the Chained Man," was an illustration of a man being held underwater. Chains bound the man to the floor. Curiously, the man closely resembled someone we had met long ago. "Isn't that Brother John?" I asked. Kale scowled, as though this was no revelation to him. "Of course. He is the Assassin. The Chained Man. The 101."
The ninth, "The Patron," depicted a wise man, staring in the distance. This particular mural had been vandalized. Someone had scrawled the word "BETRAYAL" across the wise man's face. Beneath this word, someone had written a curse in Old Warrior. "He lies in his shit."
"That doesn't seem very good," remarked Firinne. Bran shrugged, looking somewhat bored. "Let's look at the statues," he suggested and scampered to the center of the room.
There were two large statues, perhaps 3 or 4 times larger than the people they depicted. To the left, a statue labelled "Gezu" stood. The figure was slumped, as though Gezu was falling down. He had a javelin piercing through his chest. One hand gripped the javelin. The other hand was outstretched.
"Gezu sacrificed himself to save the 100," Kale reminded us.
The status on the right was labelled "Ores." The statue depicted a man in a rough spun. He crouched, as though he were sneaking somewhere. In one hand, he held a dagger. In the other, he held a coin.
Kale noted, "This depicts the time when Ores stole the Seed of Contradiction from the Stone Men."
Carlagnios frowned. "All of this seems dimly familiar. It's as though I somehow know this."
"Well, you are one of the 100 now," Kale said, carefully resisting the urge to make a remark about the choice of the word "dimly."
There were three doors exits leading from this room: one to the West, one to the North, and one to the South.
"Shall we proceed West?" suggested Bran.
Beyond the doors, we saw a broad, tall room. Light from a distance illuminated the room. Carlagnios casually strolled forward, without any sign of fear or caution.
The room seemed to be shaped like a rotunda. It was vastly tall and broad. Above us, in the distance, we could see 100 hovering orbs. Most of them glowed with an unearthly light. Oddly, 7 of them did not shine, and 3 of them were blinking.
"This looks like a civic building," declared Kale. "Note the murals along the walls and the statues in the center."
We approached the wall and examined the murals. There were 9 of them.
The first, "The Release of the 100," depicted a number of individuals being released from a jail.
The second, "The Age of Service," showed these individuals battling wraiths.
The third, "The Harrowing Ordeal," was a familiar scene. The tree that we had faced was shown killing a woman. Carlagnios gazed at the mural thoughtfully. If the memory had caused a shiver to run down his spine, his steely Dragonborn face did not reveal it.
The fourth, "The End of Service," illustrated these individuals slaughtering the Judges.
The fifth, "Life Everlasting," depicted an angelic figure bound to the ground. Something terrible was about to happen to the figure. I suppressed the urge to quickly shuffle over to the next mural.
"Is this Gamerat itself?" Kale wondered aloud. "It has power over life and death. Perhaps this is showing the time when the Lover of the Raven Queen imprisoned him, in order to harness his power." He turned to Bran and asked, "Is the angelic figure Gamerat?"
Bran shrugged. "How would I know that?"
Carlagnios snarled, "Don't be so sleazy, Bran. We know who you are. We know you follow the Raven Queen." Carlagnios huffed and impatiently moved on to examine the next mural.
The sixth, "The Seed of Contradiction," showed a man in peasant's clothing. He held a coin. In the mural, there were 5 "copies" of the man.
The seventh, "The Whale," was a drawing of the Cthona that we had seen in one of the Focus Houses so long ago.
The eighth, "The Torment of the Chained Man," was an illustration of a man being held underwater. Chains bound the man to the floor. Curiously, the man closely resembled someone we had met long ago. "Isn't that Brother John?" I asked. Kale scowled, as though this was no revelation to him. "Of course. He is the Assassin. The Chained Man. The 101."
The ninth, "The Patron," depicted a wise man, staring in the distance. This particular mural had been vandalized. Someone had scrawled the word "BETRAYAL" across the wise man's face. Beneath this word, someone had written a curse in Old Warrior. "He lies in his shit."
"That doesn't seem very good," remarked Firinne. Bran shrugged, looking somewhat bored. "Let's look at the statues," he suggested and scampered to the center of the room.
There were two large statues, perhaps 3 or 4 times larger than the people they depicted. To the left, a statue labelled "Gezu" stood. The figure was slumped, as though Gezu was falling down. He had a javelin piercing through his chest. One hand gripped the javelin. The other hand was outstretched.
"Gezu sacrificed himself to save the 100," Kale reminded us.
The status on the right was labelled "Ores." The statue depicted a man in a rough spun. He crouched, as though he were sneaking somewhere. In one hand, he held a dagger. In the other, he held a coin.
Kale noted, "This depicts the time when Ores stole the Seed of Contradiction from the Stone Men."
Carlagnios frowned. "All of this seems dimly familiar. It's as though I somehow know this."
"Well, you are one of the 100 now," Kale said, carefully resisting the urge to make a remark about the choice of the word "dimly."
There were three doors exits leading from this room: one to the West, one to the North, and one to the South.
"Shall we proceed West?" suggested Bran.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Fear the Reaper
We continued down the path in silence, some of us holding our heads. Bran finally broke the silence.
"What was in that drink?" he asked, holding his head painfully. "I kept having these strange dreams. I was in a boat in a lake, and we were getting attacked by ghouls. And this nymph of the lake kept pushing us into the water."
The dream seemed awfully familiar. "I was in the boat in the dream as well. It seemed like Garg was controlling the nymph and the ghouls." Garg shrugged.
"I was a Bard," said Ryn. "I didn't know that I could sing."
"I was attacked by an old woman," said Kale. "I think we raided a caravan."
"I was in a tree in my dream," said Tiny. "This wood nymph kept summoning branches to attack us."
"And poison us," added Firinne. "I kept on getting poisoned until I was near death. Why am I always the one who is near death?"
"I was the one who died last time," noted Carlagnios as the trudged along the path.
"Oh, that's right," said Firinne. "What about your dream? Were you attacked by nymphs as well?"
Carlagnios frowned as he struggled to remember. "I was ... kicking a soft, white orb toward a net that was posted in the ground."
"OK..."
As we continued along the path, Tiny, our incredibly perceptive dwarf, could see a flicker of the other world that Carlagnios could also see.
We heard a high pitched humming sound. After a while, we felt as though we crossed over into the other world.
We entered a humid jungle. The light was dim, almost like twilight. There were no stars above us in the sky.
Carlagnios continued to lead us along the path. Occasionally, the space around the path would warp in strange ways. The light level was constant, never changing. And large beetles scurried along the ground below us.
"This is kind of creepy," noted Kale.
Suddenly, the surface of the swamp began to bubble and boil, and graves spewed up to the surface. From these graves arose three Spirit Devourers and a Reaper.
One of the Spirit Devourers engulfed Ryn, but Ryn was able to break free. Bran and Firinne struck down one of the Devourers. The creatures seemed particularly susceptible to Firinne's and Tiny's attacks -- perhaps because of the holy, radiant light that they used.
Two of the Devourers swallowed Garg and Firinne. Firinne was able to break free, but Garg was trapped. The Devourer began to consume Garg's soul and spewed chunks of his soul all over us.
Garg was able to break free, and Firinne struck down and killed the Reaper with a radiant blow.
Tiny kept us all alive, but one of the Devourers captured Tiny, rendered him unconscious, and threatened to kill him. Firinne smashed the Devourer and freed Tiny.
After we defeated the creatures, we discovered a cruel looking black rod in a old urn in a surfaced grave. Kale noted that it was a Vicious Rod.
There was no good place to rest, so we continued on. Eventually, we found a large, cylindrical building that rose from the swamp like a wide tower. The building was metal and had blackened windows. The building did not seem to fit the rest of the swamp.
There was a rough, long bridge that led to the front entrance to this building. The bridge was rickety and wooden. Strangely enough, the bridge seemed to have been built recently. We could smell the scent of fresh pine from the wood.
Bran led the way across the bridge, checking for traps as he moved. We reached the front door of the building, which had been torn off its hinges. There stood a statue, guarding the way.
The face of the statue suddenly came to life. "No one may pass -- save for the 100," it demanded.
Carlagnios replied, "I am one of the 100."
"Welcome, 100," the voice said, and the face froze back into stone.
"What was in that drink?" he asked, holding his head painfully. "I kept having these strange dreams. I was in a boat in a lake, and we were getting attacked by ghouls. And this nymph of the lake kept pushing us into the water."
The dream seemed awfully familiar. "I was in the boat in the dream as well. It seemed like Garg was controlling the nymph and the ghouls." Garg shrugged.
"I was a Bard," said Ryn. "I didn't know that I could sing."
"I was attacked by an old woman," said Kale. "I think we raided a caravan."
"I was in a tree in my dream," said Tiny. "This wood nymph kept summoning branches to attack us."
"And poison us," added Firinne. "I kept on getting poisoned until I was near death. Why am I always the one who is near death?"
"I was the one who died last time," noted Carlagnios as the trudged along the path.
"Oh, that's right," said Firinne. "What about your dream? Were you attacked by nymphs as well?"
Carlagnios frowned as he struggled to remember. "I was ... kicking a soft, white orb toward a net that was posted in the ground."
"OK..."
As we continued along the path, Tiny, our incredibly perceptive dwarf, could see a flicker of the other world that Carlagnios could also see.
We heard a high pitched humming sound. After a while, we felt as though we crossed over into the other world.
We entered a humid jungle. The light was dim, almost like twilight. There were no stars above us in the sky.
Carlagnios continued to lead us along the path. Occasionally, the space around the path would warp in strange ways. The light level was constant, never changing. And large beetles scurried along the ground below us.
"This is kind of creepy," noted Kale.
Suddenly, the surface of the swamp began to bubble and boil, and graves spewed up to the surface. From these graves arose three Spirit Devourers and a Reaper.
One of the Spirit Devourers engulfed Ryn, but Ryn was able to break free. Bran and Firinne struck down one of the Devourers. The creatures seemed particularly susceptible to Firinne's and Tiny's attacks -- perhaps because of the holy, radiant light that they used.
Two of the Devourers swallowed Garg and Firinne. Firinne was able to break free, but Garg was trapped. The Devourer began to consume Garg's soul and spewed chunks of his soul all over us.
Garg was able to break free, and Firinne struck down and killed the Reaper with a radiant blow.
Tiny kept us all alive, but one of the Devourers captured Tiny, rendered him unconscious, and threatened to kill him. Firinne smashed the Devourer and freed Tiny.
After we defeated the creatures, we discovered a cruel looking black rod in a old urn in a surfaced grave. Kale noted that it was a Vicious Rod.
There was no good place to rest, so we continued on. Eventually, we found a large, cylindrical building that rose from the swamp like a wide tower. The building was metal and had blackened windows. The building did not seem to fit the rest of the swamp.
There was a rough, long bridge that led to the front entrance to this building. The bridge was rickety and wooden. Strangely enough, the bridge seemed to have been built recently. We could smell the scent of fresh pine from the wood.
Bran led the way across the bridge, checking for traps as he moved. We reached the front door of the building, which had been torn off its hinges. There stood a statue, guarding the way.
The face of the statue suddenly came to life. "No one may pass -- save for the 100," it demanded.
Carlagnios replied, "I am one of the 100."
"Welcome, 100," the voice said, and the face froze back into stone.
Getting the Book on the Twisted Line
Bran shouted to the approaching party. "Hey! I mean, 'Halt!' Who goes there?"
"It's us!" they replied. "Who are you?"
We quickly discussed what we should do.
"Hey!" they ahouted. "Are you going to come out and parlay with us or what?"
"We have a wizard," warned Bran.
They approached us. They were a group of men, wearing broad brimmed hats. "You've stumbled into the wrong stretch of hell, friend," one of them said. "This isn't a place you're allowed to be."
Ryn noticed that one of them was making a symbol recognized by other members of the Book Club. Ryn smoothly stepped out of the shadows and made a gesture in response.
The leader of the party looked surprised. "OK, why didn't you say you were members of the Book Club?"
"Well, we're in a strange land, and we are not sure who to trust."
"That's fine," their leader replied. He introduced himself and his party. "I'm Nighthawk, them's Ace, Happy, and Fibs. We call him Fibs 'cause he lies. And by 'lies', I mean sits on his ass. The ugly fellow is Stitches; he's our Healer. And him what's riding drag is Chuck Wagon, our Feeder. Don't mind him; he's full as a tick."
He looked at us. "What are you doing here?"
"We're -- uh -- looking for morons to harvest," Kale quickly replied.
"So, how long have you been here?" asked Ryn.
"I was born and raised here," answered Nighthawk. "We control the Book around this area. When were you last here?"
"About ten year ago," replied Ryn, "when I was 12."
"Well, things here are run by a new guy here -- Caro. He seems to be doing a good job."
"KAY-row?" asked Carlagnios.
"What happened to his predecessor?" asked Ryn.
"Muse? I don't know. They don't tell me." Nighthawk shrugged. "I'm not Inner Sanctum."
"Well, I hope you don't mind if we pass through," said Ryn.
"Are you headed on the Twisted Line?" asked Nighthawk.
We looked at Carlagnios, who simply shrugged.
"Don't tell mean that you ain't got the Book on the Twisted Line," sneered Nighthawk.
"We could trade you a book for the Book on the Twisted Line," suggested Kale.
"Sure," replied Nighthawk. "Which one of you is the Finder? What do you have to offer?"
Tiny and Kale both raised their hands.
"That's a lot of finders," remarked Nighthawk.
"We could offer you a book on Sour Well or the Bonebreaker," said Kale.
Nighthawk considered the offer. "Well, this is a hot place. It's a good pokeout."
"So are these."
After some haggling, Kale was able to exchange the Book on Sour Well with the Book on the Twisted Line.
"Great," said Nighthawk. "What's say we camp here tonight and share the watches? We could have some drink and share some stories."
"Sounds good."
"OK," said Nighthawk and turned to one of his comrades. "Pass the bottle of Eau de Joy."
After much drinking, the night passed uneventfully, and in the morning, we went our separate ways.
"It's us!" they replied. "Who are you?"
We quickly discussed what we should do.
"Hey!" they ahouted. "Are you going to come out and parlay with us or what?"
"We have a wizard," warned Bran.
They approached us. They were a group of men, wearing broad brimmed hats. "You've stumbled into the wrong stretch of hell, friend," one of them said. "This isn't a place you're allowed to be."
Ryn noticed that one of them was making a symbol recognized by other members of the Book Club. Ryn smoothly stepped out of the shadows and made a gesture in response.
The leader of the party looked surprised. "OK, why didn't you say you were members of the Book Club?"
"Well, we're in a strange land, and we are not sure who to trust."
"That's fine," their leader replied. He introduced himself and his party. "I'm Nighthawk, them's Ace, Happy, and Fibs. We call him Fibs 'cause he lies. And by 'lies', I mean sits on his ass. The ugly fellow is Stitches; he's our Healer. And him what's riding drag is Chuck Wagon, our Feeder. Don't mind him; he's full as a tick."
He looked at us. "What are you doing here?"
"We're -- uh -- looking for morons to harvest," Kale quickly replied.
"So, how long have you been here?" asked Ryn.
"I was born and raised here," answered Nighthawk. "We control the Book around this area. When were you last here?"
"About ten year ago," replied Ryn, "when I was 12."
"Well, things here are run by a new guy here -- Caro. He seems to be doing a good job."
"KAY-row?" asked Carlagnios.
"What happened to his predecessor?" asked Ryn.
"Muse? I don't know. They don't tell me." Nighthawk shrugged. "I'm not Inner Sanctum."
"Well, I hope you don't mind if we pass through," said Ryn.
"Are you headed on the Twisted Line?" asked Nighthawk.
We looked at Carlagnios, who simply shrugged.
"Don't tell mean that you ain't got the Book on the Twisted Line," sneered Nighthawk.
"We could trade you a book for the Book on the Twisted Line," suggested Kale.
"Sure," replied Nighthawk. "Which one of you is the Finder? What do you have to offer?"
Tiny and Kale both raised their hands.
"That's a lot of finders," remarked Nighthawk.
"We could offer you a book on Sour Well or the Bonebreaker," said Kale.
Nighthawk considered the offer. "Well, this is a hot place. It's a good pokeout."
"So are these."
After some haggling, Kale was able to exchange the Book on Sour Well with the Book on the Twisted Line.
"Great," said Nighthawk. "What's say we camp here tonight and share the watches? We could have some drink and share some stories."
"Sounds good."
"OK," said Nighthawk and turned to one of his comrades. "Pass the bottle of Eau de Joy."
After much drinking, the night passed uneventfully, and in the morning, we went our separate ways.
The Path to the Centenarchy
Carlagnios knew how to get to the Centenarchy. "I can write down the ritual for you," he told Kale.
Kale replied, "Wait, you know how to write?" Carlagnios glared at him. "OK, OK," Kale stuttered, digging into his bag for a magic quill from the Old War. "Why don't you just explain it to me, and I can write it down.
Carlagnios proceeded to explain the details of the ritual. As he explained more, we began to realize that we could not perform the ritual immediately. First of all, Carlagnios was still far too weak to take part in the ritual. And then, we were lacking the components required for the ritual.
"Maybe we could we sell Carl to get the components needed?" suggested Tiny. Carlagnios growled back at him.
"Perhaps it's best if we head back to the Siege City, the city of the dwarves," said Kale.
We flew back to the city with our vulture drakes. As we approached, we could see the tops of the towers that protected Siege City. And the ballistae on top of the towers began to fire at us.
"Hey!" roared Carlagnios. It was fortunate that he was still weakened, or the testy Dragonborn fighter would have attacked the dwarves manning the towers.
Tiny wisely suggested that we land and that he should approach the towers. "Hello!" he called to the dwarves at the top of the towers.
"Who goes there?" one of the guards asked.
"We are looking for some components to complete a ritual. Could we find the components here?"
The guard shook his head. "I feel that you've come to the wrong place."
Tiny raised his hammer, Loom, into the air. "Do you see this hammer?"
The guard squinted for a moment and recoiled in surprise. "Are you the one who wields Loom? Why didn't you say so? Come in."
They took care of our Vulture Drakes and led us to Ionel Brownstone. "Yes, we can get you the components," answered Ionel. "We'll need to go back to the House of Mages."
We returned there, where we exchange 5 of our gems for the components needed for the ritual. "We would also like you to rest here tonight," suggested Ionel. "From what I understand, you had a difficult journey, and one of you had to be raised from the dead."
"I was, but I am not weak!" snarled Carlagnios before his drooping eyes sagged shut and fiery snores blew out from his nostrils.
"I've prepared quarters for you," said Ionel. "We will see you in the morning."
The next morning, Ionel and Pesker the Younger came to greet us.
"While you were gone, the council convened. The signs are right. We are ready for The Return when you are ready."
"The ... Return?" asked Tiny.
Ionel recited, "And Po said: 'When these eleven portents come, cast this hammer, Loom, from thy hand. Cast it into the moat of thy exile. The hammer shall return in hand of a mighty warrior. And he shall cast you from your exile and you will return to the rich hills of your birth. Heed his call.'”
He paused and looked over Tiny.
"We were ... thrown off by the 'mighty warrior' part ..." He paused to gesture at Tiny. "But," he sighed, "on the whole, this seems like it fits, and our auguries are not overwhelmingly negative." He shrugged.
"So," he continued, "how do we go back?"
"Well," said Tiny, "we could help with The Return, but we're on a quest somewhere else."
Ionel smiled. "No need to worry. We need to get our people ready for The Return." He handed Tiny a horn. "Just blow this when you are done with your quest and are ready to help us."
Kale noted that this was a Horn of the Highway, an arcane item.
Tiny eagerly took the horn and began to fiddle with it.
"Can I try it out? What happens when I blow? Can I try blowing softly? Would that be OK?"
Ionel shook his head. "You must not blow the horn until you are ready. Otherwise, you might call us too early." Tiny looked sorely disappointed.
"Now," Ionel continued, "we must make ourselves ready. We will have stout hearts of stone ..."
"Ah," interjected Tiny with a gleam of recognition in his eye. "Have you met the stone men before?"
"The ones we sent with Loom saw the stone men from a distance. Now you must go and complete your quest."
With that, we left the city. We left the Vulture Drakes behind us -- the ritual was a walking ritual, and we had no use for the Drakes.
Beneath the open sky, we began to perform the ritual. Kale and Garg assisted with the ritual. When it was done, we could see a path in another world -- a path that now appeared in our world.
Carlagnios told us to follow the path and led the way. He said it would take a day to get to the Centenarchy.
As we followed the path, we could feel the eyes of other creatures upon us -- creatures that we could not see. We could see the path in our own world, but we could not see anything else from the other world.
We finally reached the entry to a valley. Bran decided to try riding the Ebony Fly to the sky to see if we could see more of the area. But as he flew farther from Carlagnios, he felt as though he was not following the same path. He returned to the ground.
Then, somewhere in the distance, we heard a party approaching us.
Kale replied, "Wait, you know how to write?" Carlagnios glared at him. "OK, OK," Kale stuttered, digging into his bag for a magic quill from the Old War. "Why don't you just explain it to me, and I can write it down.
Carlagnios proceeded to explain the details of the ritual. As he explained more, we began to realize that we could not perform the ritual immediately. First of all, Carlagnios was still far too weak to take part in the ritual. And then, we were lacking the components required for the ritual.
"Maybe we could we sell Carl to get the components needed?" suggested Tiny. Carlagnios growled back at him.
"Perhaps it's best if we head back to the Siege City, the city of the dwarves," said Kale.
We flew back to the city with our vulture drakes. As we approached, we could see the tops of the towers that protected Siege City. And the ballistae on top of the towers began to fire at us.
"Hey!" roared Carlagnios. It was fortunate that he was still weakened, or the testy Dragonborn fighter would have attacked the dwarves manning the towers.
Tiny wisely suggested that we land and that he should approach the towers. "Hello!" he called to the dwarves at the top of the towers.
"Who goes there?" one of the guards asked.
"We are looking for some components to complete a ritual. Could we find the components here?"
The guard shook his head. "I feel that you've come to the wrong place."
Tiny raised his hammer, Loom, into the air. "Do you see this hammer?"
The guard squinted for a moment and recoiled in surprise. "Are you the one who wields Loom? Why didn't you say so? Come in."
They took care of our Vulture Drakes and led us to Ionel Brownstone. "Yes, we can get you the components," answered Ionel. "We'll need to go back to the House of Mages."
We returned there, where we exchange 5 of our gems for the components needed for the ritual. "We would also like you to rest here tonight," suggested Ionel. "From what I understand, you had a difficult journey, and one of you had to be raised from the dead."
"I was, but I am not weak!" snarled Carlagnios before his drooping eyes sagged shut and fiery snores blew out from his nostrils.
"I've prepared quarters for you," said Ionel. "We will see you in the morning."
The next morning, Ionel and Pesker the Younger came to greet us.
"While you were gone, the council convened. The signs are right. We are ready for The Return when you are ready."
"The ... Return?" asked Tiny.
Ionel recited, "And Po said: 'When these eleven portents come, cast this hammer, Loom, from thy hand. Cast it into the moat of thy exile. The hammer shall return in hand of a mighty warrior. And he shall cast you from your exile and you will return to the rich hills of your birth. Heed his call.'”
He paused and looked over Tiny.
"We were ... thrown off by the 'mighty warrior' part ..." He paused to gesture at Tiny. "But," he sighed, "on the whole, this seems like it fits, and our auguries are not overwhelmingly negative." He shrugged.
"So," he continued, "how do we go back?"
"Well," said Tiny, "we could help with The Return, but we're on a quest somewhere else."
Ionel smiled. "No need to worry. We need to get our people ready for The Return." He handed Tiny a horn. "Just blow this when you are done with your quest and are ready to help us."
Kale noted that this was a Horn of the Highway, an arcane item.
Tiny eagerly took the horn and began to fiddle with it.
"Can I try it out? What happens when I blow? Can I try blowing softly? Would that be OK?"
Ionel shook his head. "You must not blow the horn until you are ready. Otherwise, you might call us too early." Tiny looked sorely disappointed.
"Now," Ionel continued, "we must make ourselves ready. We will have stout hearts of stone ..."
"Ah," interjected Tiny with a gleam of recognition in his eye. "Have you met the stone men before?"
"The ones we sent with Loom saw the stone men from a distance. Now you must go and complete your quest."
With that, we left the city. We left the Vulture Drakes behind us -- the ritual was a walking ritual, and we had no use for the Drakes.
Beneath the open sky, we began to perform the ritual. Kale and Garg assisted with the ritual. When it was done, we could see a path in another world -- a path that now appeared in our world.
Carlagnios told us to follow the path and led the way. He said it would take a day to get to the Centenarchy.
As we followed the path, we could feel the eyes of other creatures upon us -- creatures that we could not see. We could see the path in our own world, but we could not see anything else from the other world.
We finally reached the entry to a valley. Bran decided to try riding the Ebony Fly to the sky to see if we could see more of the area. But as he flew farther from Carlagnios, he felt as though he was not following the same path. He returned to the ground.
Then, somewhere in the distance, we heard a party approaching us.
Friday, June 18, 2010
The Harrowing Ordeal
At dawn, the tree spoke again:
The tree grew to a gigantic size, and its bark twisted to form a horrifying face. It moved toward Carlagnios, sending splinters of wood through the air.
As it rose up, its roots burst through the surface of the ground, making it difficult for Carlagnios to move. One of its pods exploded, sending shrapnel at Carlagnios.
Carlagnios fought back, making a lunging strike at the tree and covering it with a breath of fire. Carlagnios' Jagged Great Axe was like a thicket of blades, cutting off three huge branches.
With each moment, Carlagnios struck at the tree with blow after blow, like a rain of steel on the limbs of the tree. The tree looked battered and half-beaten, but it still attacked Carlagnios.
Carlagnios could not continue to take damage from the tree, and he eventually fell unconscious. The tree smashed at Carlagnios continuously until no life was left in the Dragonborn's body.
Then, the tree spoke again:
And with that, the tree shrunk down and became a regular tree.
Kale and Tiny took the day to cast the ritual that raised Carlagnios from the dead. He was now alive but felt quite weak.
"Am I alive?"
"Yes," replied Kale. "We raised you. Might I remind you that the reagents for this ritual are quite expensive?"
Carlagnios sagged. "All I have is my part of the gold chain." He handed it to Kale, who proceeded to melt it down into ingots.
"Am I one of the 100? Am I immortal? Garg, punch me." Garg happily complied. "Owww! OK, try cutting me." Garg's blade drew Dragonborn blood. "Owwww! I don't understand. Shouldn't I be immortal?"
Carlagnios frowned quizzically. "And yet... This is strange. I feel something that I have never felt before... I feel like ... I know something!"
"What do you know?"
"I can sense that the other 99 are far away. And I know where the Centenarch is."
"Then lead us there," said Kale. "Lead us to the Centenarch."
Are you ready?
The challenge is unopposed.
Prepare to face the Harrowing Ordeal.
You must prove yourself in combat.
You must fight without the aid of others.
You must fight without the aid of potions that heal.
You must fight to the death.
If you do not follow these rules, you cannot become one of the One Hundred.
The tree grew to a gigantic size, and its bark twisted to form a horrifying face. It moved toward Carlagnios, sending splinters of wood through the air.
As it rose up, its roots burst through the surface of the ground, making it difficult for Carlagnios to move. One of its pods exploded, sending shrapnel at Carlagnios.
Carlagnios fought back, making a lunging strike at the tree and covering it with a breath of fire. Carlagnios' Jagged Great Axe was like a thicket of blades, cutting off three huge branches.
With each moment, Carlagnios struck at the tree with blow after blow, like a rain of steel on the limbs of the tree. The tree looked battered and half-beaten, but it still attacked Carlagnios.
Carlagnios could not continue to take damage from the tree, and he eventually fell unconscious. The tree smashed at Carlagnios continuously until no life was left in the Dragonborn's body.
Then, the tree spoke again:
He has given his life.
He need never fear death again.
He is now one of the One Hundred.
Your friend is a brave warrior.
You can now return him to life with pride.
And with that, the tree shrunk down and became a regular tree.
Kale and Tiny took the day to cast the ritual that raised Carlagnios from the dead. He was now alive but felt quite weak.
"Am I alive?"
"Yes," replied Kale. "We raised you. Might I remind you that the reagents for this ritual are quite expensive?"
Carlagnios sagged. "All I have is my part of the gold chain." He handed it to Kale, who proceeded to melt it down into ingots.
"Am I one of the 100? Am I immortal? Garg, punch me." Garg happily complied. "Owww! OK, try cutting me." Garg's blade drew Dragonborn blood. "Owwww! I don't understand. Shouldn't I be immortal?"
Carlagnios frowned quizzically. "And yet... This is strange. I feel something that I have never felt before... I feel like ... I know something!"
"What do you know?"
"I can sense that the other 99 are far away. And I know where the Centenarch is."
"Then lead us there," said Kale. "Lead us to the Centenarch."
Who Will Stand For Justice?
The dwarves left us at the base of the Bonebreaker. From there, we flew to the top. We pounded stakes into the ground and tied up our mounts here.
As we began to explore the summit, we noticed a rustling noise from the Bag. Suddenly, the Bag flew open, and the golden chain (from the mouth of dragon) came spinning out. It grabbed two of us and summoned four puppets of swirling stick and stone. The chain and its puppets lashed out at us.
As we battled, they stunned us and dazed us, keeping us off balance. But together, we were able to beat them back. Garg marked all of them to kept them from attacking some of us. Firinne smashed and badly damaged the puppets. Bran snuck behind and struck one of the puppets and kept the others from attacking him. Finally, the tide turned when Carlagnios destroyed one puppet with a lunging strike, and Kale split apart another puppet in a cloud of daggers.
After we defeated the gold chain, Kale carefully examined it. He was concerned that the chain might come back to life.
"I will melt this down into ingots."
"No, don't destroy it!" yelled Carlagnios. "It is worth something as a gold chain."
"But I want to make sure that it is dead and won't attack us again."
"Fine," snarled Carlagnios, tearing off a small section of the chain. "I'll take my part of it, and you can melt down the rest."
Kale cast a magical fire to melt down the gold chain into ingots. Carlagnios held the ends of his section of the chain to the fire. "Can you melt these two ends together?"
We searched the summit and eventually found the fossilized stump. Kale carefully poured out the drop of life from the vial, and, after it fell slowly (almost too slowly), it hit the stump. The drop sat there, beading on top of the stump. Slowly, the drop changed color from gray to brown.
Then, suddenly, a tree grew up out of the stump. It was a small sized tree -- scrawny but healthy. It was perhaps twelve feet tall. Kale caressed the tree, mentioning that it was a cute, tiny thing.
"OK, that's kind of creepy," Carlagnios remarked.
Kale then began to cast the Ritual of Challenge. Bran suggested that we all rest while Kale cast the Ritual, since we were exhausted from our battle with the chain and the puppets.
At dawn, Kale finished the Ritual, speaking the last words in old warrior: "And so we begin the Ritual of Becoming the One Hundred."
With that, the tree came to life and spoke:
Carlagnios woke up. "What's that noise?" he growled.
"I think we have a volunteer," Kale replied.
After some discussion, Carlagnios agreed to go through the Ritual. "I will do it," he answered the tree.
"Who do you challenge?" demanded the tree.
"The Owl?"
"I do not know that name."
Carlagnios searched through the book that explained the early Centenarchy. He was looking for a name. "Gezu?"
"Gezu is dead." replied the tree.
"Fine... then, Logrid," Carlagnios spat out. "That one's a bastard."
"Aza Logrid Paladus. The challenge has been sent. You must wait a day and a night for her to arrive."
"Will I fight her alone?" asked Carlagnios.
The tree stood in silence. Carlagnios continued to question the tree, but the tree did not respond.
Kale suggested that we lend our magical items to Carlagnios to help him with the battle. But even with the items, Carlagnios was unsure of his victory and began to have second thoughts.
Kale tried to calm him down. "Logrid swore not to attack us. So perhaps she will not be able to fight back."
"But we're putting her into a bad situation," observed Bran. "She doesn't deserve this."
"Maybe some practice rounds will help me to feel more confident about the battle," Carlagnios thought aloud. Kale agreed to help him practice. Carlagnios swung at Kale with furious blows, and Kale warded off the attacks with his magical shield.
Even if Carlagnios could defeat Logrid, he was still unsure what else he would face in the Harrowing Ordeal to come.
As we began to explore the summit, we noticed a rustling noise from the Bag. Suddenly, the Bag flew open, and the golden chain (from the mouth of dragon) came spinning out. It grabbed two of us and summoned four puppets of swirling stick and stone. The chain and its puppets lashed out at us.
As we battled, they stunned us and dazed us, keeping us off balance. But together, we were able to beat them back. Garg marked all of them to kept them from attacking some of us. Firinne smashed and badly damaged the puppets. Bran snuck behind and struck one of the puppets and kept the others from attacking him. Finally, the tide turned when Carlagnios destroyed one puppet with a lunging strike, and Kale split apart another puppet in a cloud of daggers.
After we defeated the gold chain, Kale carefully examined it. He was concerned that the chain might come back to life.
"I will melt this down into ingots."
"No, don't destroy it!" yelled Carlagnios. "It is worth something as a gold chain."
"But I want to make sure that it is dead and won't attack us again."
"Fine," snarled Carlagnios, tearing off a small section of the chain. "I'll take my part of it, and you can melt down the rest."
Kale cast a magical fire to melt down the gold chain into ingots. Carlagnios held the ends of his section of the chain to the fire. "Can you melt these two ends together?"
We searched the summit and eventually found the fossilized stump. Kale carefully poured out the drop of life from the vial, and, after it fell slowly (almost too slowly), it hit the stump. The drop sat there, beading on top of the stump. Slowly, the drop changed color from gray to brown.
Then, suddenly, a tree grew up out of the stump. It was a small sized tree -- scrawny but healthy. It was perhaps twelve feet tall. Kale caressed the tree, mentioning that it was a cute, tiny thing.
"OK, that's kind of creepy," Carlagnios remarked.
Kale then began to cast the Ritual of Challenge. Bran suggested that we all rest while Kale cast the Ritual, since we were exhausted from our battle with the chain and the puppets.
At dawn, Kale finished the Ritual, speaking the last words in old warrior: "And so we begin the Ritual of Becoming the One Hundred."
With that, the tree came to life and spoke:
"Since the time of the deep past,
the One Hundred have stood to defend our people and our way of life.
You have begun the Ritual.
Who will will stand to join the One Hundred?
Who will stand for justice?
Carlagnios woke up. "What's that noise?" he growled.
"I think we have a volunteer," Kale replied.
After some discussion, Carlagnios agreed to go through the Ritual. "I will do it," he answered the tree.
"Who do you challenge?" demanded the tree.
"The Owl?"
"I do not know that name."
Carlagnios searched through the book that explained the early Centenarchy. He was looking for a name. "Gezu?"
"Gezu is dead." replied the tree.
"Fine... then, Logrid," Carlagnios spat out. "That one's a bastard."
"Aza Logrid Paladus. The challenge has been sent. You must wait a day and a night for her to arrive."
"Will I fight her alone?" asked Carlagnios.
The tree stood in silence. Carlagnios continued to question the tree, but the tree did not respond.
Kale suggested that we lend our magical items to Carlagnios to help him with the battle. But even with the items, Carlagnios was unsure of his victory and began to have second thoughts.
Kale tried to calm him down. "Logrid swore not to attack us. So perhaps she will not be able to fight back."
"But we're putting her into a bad situation," observed Bran. "She doesn't deserve this."
"Maybe some practice rounds will help me to feel more confident about the battle," Carlagnios thought aloud. Kale agreed to help him practice. Carlagnios swung at Kale with furious blows, and Kale warded off the attacks with his magical shield.
Even if Carlagnios could defeat Logrid, he was still unsure what else he would face in the Harrowing Ordeal to come.
"This Is Life Itself"
After the battle, we found the lone dwarf on the ground. He was in bad shape.
Through cracked and bloodied lips, the dwarf spoke. "You are not known to me." He gazed at all of us and focused his attention on Tiny, our Dwarven Cleric. "Kill me now or kill me later. It is your choice, brother."
"We should make sure that Garg doesn't finish him off," suggested Carlagnios. Garg glared back at him.
Tiny looked back at the dwarf. "You have nothing to fear from us. I don't work for the Lord Chimera."
"I don't believe you," the dwarf replied.
"But I'm a dwarf! And we destroyed the teardrop in the sky and stole these mounts!"
The dwarf sighed. "The Chimera can turn anyone to his will."
Tiny thought for a moment. He asked, "Do you know who Po is?"
The dwarf nodded.
"Do you know what this is?" asked Tiny, holding up his warhammer.
"Is ... Is that Loom?"
Loom responded through Tiny's mouth, "Aye. The Same."
"Then... you must have met Berit." We did remember the dwarf who had given Loom to Tiny.
"Yes," Loom responded.
"She never made it back to us," the dwarf explained, "so we never knew if she was successful in her mission."
"Yes, we did meet her -- it must have been three months ago."
The dwarf quickly sat up. "You must come with me."
Tiny healed the dwarf's wounds while we searched the dragon's bodies. In the mouth of one of the dragons, we found a long and large gold chain. Kale carefully separated it from the dragon's mouth and put it into the Bag.
We found nothing else and joined Tiny and the dwarf again. The dwarf introduced himself as Pesker the Younger. He led us on our mounts across the sky. After a while, he motioned for us to stop and land.
"We cannot fly any further. Otherwise, we will be seen in the sky and attacked."
He led us the rest of the way on foot. We stopped at a keep with four stone towers. At the top of each tower was a giant ballista. As we approached, the ballistae swiveled to follow us.
"We can leave our mounts here. They will tend to them for us."
We entered the keep and followed a set of stairs down. We reached a point where the stairs were flooded, and we could go no further.
"Let us wait here."
As we waited, the water slowly receded (almost as if it were being drained out), and we were able to continue.
We were led through a damp passageway, and Pesker warned us, "Move along and do not touch anything that is wet. The liquid is a venom that we use to discourage intruders."
"Oh, neat!" said Tiny.
"Uh, we should keep Tiny from touching that," Ryn cautioned.
"Hey!" Carlagnios yelled at Tiny. "Don't touch that, Tiny!" he snarled, slapping Tiny's hand. Tiny pulled back his hand and looked sorely disappointed.
As we continued through the passageway, we noticed giant stones hanging above us. It seemed like the stones could be dropped to block the passageway and prevent further intrusion.
We finally reached another flooded area (which Pesker called "a water lock") and waited for the water to be drained out before we continued.
"Why is this area so well defended?" asked Ryn.
"We have help to do this. I'll show you."
We continued until we reached a towering steel wall with a picture of Moradin shaping dwarves.
The wall slowly moved to the side, opening up the way to a yawning room containing a large city. The floor was in tiers, leading downward. In the center of the city was a long and large set of leafy green vines.
"Welcome to the Siege City," declared Pesker. "Melora's gift provides us with food and shelter. She protects us with the venom behind us. And the plant keeps us all alive."
He led us to our quarters and told us to rest there, while he let the elders know of our arrival. "Bale here will take care of your needs," he said, motioning to a human next to him.
"Hello, I'll be your translator here in the city. I can translate between your Common tongue and Dwarven. I'll also keep the rooms clean. If you need anything, I can get it for you or tell you where to find it."
"Where did you learn your languages?" asked Firinne.
"I learned Dwarvish here, and I learned Common in school."
"When did you go to school?" asked Carlagnios. "Was it a special school?"
"Did you have to take the short bus to get there?" asked Garg.
Bale looked confused. "I can also help you around in the city." He pointed to a large, square building. "That is the Temple of Moradin." He pointed to the base of the plant in the middle of the city. "And that is the Shrine of Melora. It is open only to those who have been invited." He waved his hand across the city. "And the rest -- is the city. That's it."
"He's somewhat simple," Tiny whispered to us.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully.
The next day, we were met by an acolyte. He was dressed like a junior priest of Moradin. "I'm here to take you to the Temple of Moradin," he told Tiny. "Is it true that you carry Loom?" Tiny nodded and let Loom speak to the acolyte.
At the Temple of Moradin, we met a priest named Ionel Brownstone. He wore a bushy beard and had to push it aside whenever he spoke.
"You have come a great distance," he told us.
"Yes," Tiny replied. "We used a rope to get to this world."
Ionel raised his hand. "Before we speak, would you join us in a prayer to Moradin." He glanced at Carlagnios and his Jagged Great Axe. "Your new warriors look strong. Would they like to pray with us?"
"I will pray with you," said Carlagnios. "How do you pray to Moradin?"
"Let us kneel in prayer." He began to chant, and Carlagnios followed his words. "Moradin ... Patron of craft... Seeker of soul ..."
After the prayer, he gave Tiny a suit of magical Dwarven chain mail, and he gave Carlagnios a pair of gloves that he called "Dwarven throwers."
"The 100 are long gone from this world," Ionel noted.
"Yes," said Kale, "They're now in our world."
"I wonder," said Ionel, "did they go the same way that we did? We originally came from your world. Where are you headed?"
"We seek the Centenarch," replied Kale. "To get there, we need to find our way to the Bonebreaker."
"Ah, I have heard about that place. There is one who is a scholar and a powerful mage. He would know more about this. I can bring you to him."
He led us to a small house with a sign above the door. The sign was in Dwarven and read "House of the Magus."
We were met by a short, stocky dwarf carrying an axe and wearing chain mail. "I am Gyuna Brassfitter," he said. "I am a mage."
"I am Kale, a student of the Lycium Arcanum."
"Ah, I see that you are wearing leather armor," noted Gyuna, chuckling beneath his breath. "So many magicians are content to sit in the back of the battle. I, on the other hand, like to be in the thick of things."
He paused and gazed at Kale. "I sense... that you have an object of great power."
"Yes, we do," replied Kale, handing him the coin with the dove and chimera.
Gyuna examined the coin. "This coin is the seed of contradiction. This was used to grow the Cthona." He looked up at us. "Do you know why the worlds are separate? The contradiction holds the worlds apart.
"The stone men were the guardians of the contradiction," he continued. "The 100 brought the contradiction to this world in order to gain their powers."
He stopped at looked at each of us. "Which one of you has touched the seed of contradiction?"
"I did," replied Kale, "and Carlagnios and others. Why? Is it dangerous?"
"I don't know if it is. So, you need to find the Bonebreaker? I have visited it on three occasions. It is in a wild country that is very treacherous. As for the mountain itself, it is really more of a hill. Over time, the weather has worn it down."
"Yes, we need to go to the Bonebreaker to cast the Ritual of the Challenge," said Kale, showing Gyuna the ritual.
"These are dark magics that use the Cthona," noted Gyuna. "My dwarves can lead you to the Bonebreaker. But you will need to visit the Shrine of Melora first."
He led us to the shrine at the base of the plant in the center of the city. He introduced us to Callum Ironeye, a human priest.
"This place, and all within it, are holy to me and to everyone around us," said Callum. "Come, follow me."
He led us to a room inside the plant. The room was damp, and sap dripped from the ceiling. Tiny looked around in awe and whispered to us, "This is life... all around us."
"The nectar of this plant is possessed with natural energy," he said. He handed us three bottles of the nectar. "These will help you to heal your wounds and regenerate your bodies."
He went to the back of the room, lifted up a chest, opened it, and removed a bundle of cloth that wrapped a vial. He motioned to Firinne.
"Take this," he said.
"What is it?" she asked.
"This... is life itself." he answered. "Once in a while, the plant gives up a drop of life. If you drop this on a table, the table will sprout leaves and branches."
"Interesting," Kale remarked. "Could this be used to... grow a tree ship?"
Callum nodded. We looked at the vial more carefully and realized that it closely resembled the tree ship bottle that we used in the City of the Orc King.
"Take this to the Bonebreaker, and use the drop to resurrect the fossilized stump."
With that, we left for the Bonebreaker, continuing our quest for the Centenarch.
Through cracked and bloodied lips, the dwarf spoke. "You are not known to me." He gazed at all of us and focused his attention on Tiny, our Dwarven Cleric. "Kill me now or kill me later. It is your choice, brother."
"We should make sure that Garg doesn't finish him off," suggested Carlagnios. Garg glared back at him.
Tiny looked back at the dwarf. "You have nothing to fear from us. I don't work for the Lord Chimera."
"I don't believe you," the dwarf replied.
"But I'm a dwarf! And we destroyed the teardrop in the sky and stole these mounts!"
The dwarf sighed. "The Chimera can turn anyone to his will."
Tiny thought for a moment. He asked, "Do you know who Po is?"
The dwarf nodded.
"Do you know what this is?" asked Tiny, holding up his warhammer.
"Is ... Is that Loom?"
Loom responded through Tiny's mouth, "Aye. The Same."
"Then... you must have met Berit." We did remember the dwarf who had given Loom to Tiny.
"Yes," Loom responded.
"She never made it back to us," the dwarf explained, "so we never knew if she was successful in her mission."
"Yes, we did meet her -- it must have been three months ago."
The dwarf quickly sat up. "You must come with me."
Tiny healed the dwarf's wounds while we searched the dragon's bodies. In the mouth of one of the dragons, we found a long and large gold chain. Kale carefully separated it from the dragon's mouth and put it into the Bag.
We found nothing else and joined Tiny and the dwarf again. The dwarf introduced himself as Pesker the Younger. He led us on our mounts across the sky. After a while, he motioned for us to stop and land.
"We cannot fly any further. Otherwise, we will be seen in the sky and attacked."
He led us the rest of the way on foot. We stopped at a keep with four stone towers. At the top of each tower was a giant ballista. As we approached, the ballistae swiveled to follow us.
"We can leave our mounts here. They will tend to them for us."
We entered the keep and followed a set of stairs down. We reached a point where the stairs were flooded, and we could go no further.
"Let us wait here."
As we waited, the water slowly receded (almost as if it were being drained out), and we were able to continue.
We were led through a damp passageway, and Pesker warned us, "Move along and do not touch anything that is wet. The liquid is a venom that we use to discourage intruders."
"Oh, neat!" said Tiny.
"Uh, we should keep Tiny from touching that," Ryn cautioned.
"Hey!" Carlagnios yelled at Tiny. "Don't touch that, Tiny!" he snarled, slapping Tiny's hand. Tiny pulled back his hand and looked sorely disappointed.
As we continued through the passageway, we noticed giant stones hanging above us. It seemed like the stones could be dropped to block the passageway and prevent further intrusion.
We finally reached another flooded area (which Pesker called "a water lock") and waited for the water to be drained out before we continued.
"Why is this area so well defended?" asked Ryn.
"We have help to do this. I'll show you."
We continued until we reached a towering steel wall with a picture of Moradin shaping dwarves.
The wall slowly moved to the side, opening up the way to a yawning room containing a large city. The floor was in tiers, leading downward. In the center of the city was a long and large set of leafy green vines.
"Welcome to the Siege City," declared Pesker. "Melora's gift provides us with food and shelter. She protects us with the venom behind us. And the plant keeps us all alive."
He led us to our quarters and told us to rest there, while he let the elders know of our arrival. "Bale here will take care of your needs," he said, motioning to a human next to him.
"Hello, I'll be your translator here in the city. I can translate between your Common tongue and Dwarven. I'll also keep the rooms clean. If you need anything, I can get it for you or tell you where to find it."
"Where did you learn your languages?" asked Firinne.
"I learned Dwarvish here, and I learned Common in school."
"When did you go to school?" asked Carlagnios. "Was it a special school?"
"Did you have to take the short bus to get there?" asked Garg.
Bale looked confused. "I can also help you around in the city." He pointed to a large, square building. "That is the Temple of Moradin." He pointed to the base of the plant in the middle of the city. "And that is the Shrine of Melora. It is open only to those who have been invited." He waved his hand across the city. "And the rest -- is the city. That's it."
"He's somewhat simple," Tiny whispered to us.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully.
The next day, we were met by an acolyte. He was dressed like a junior priest of Moradin. "I'm here to take you to the Temple of Moradin," he told Tiny. "Is it true that you carry Loom?" Tiny nodded and let Loom speak to the acolyte.
At the Temple of Moradin, we met a priest named Ionel Brownstone. He wore a bushy beard and had to push it aside whenever he spoke.
"You have come a great distance," he told us.
"Yes," Tiny replied. "We used a rope to get to this world."
Ionel raised his hand. "Before we speak, would you join us in a prayer to Moradin." He glanced at Carlagnios and his Jagged Great Axe. "Your new warriors look strong. Would they like to pray with us?"
"I will pray with you," said Carlagnios. "How do you pray to Moradin?"
"Let us kneel in prayer." He began to chant, and Carlagnios followed his words. "Moradin ... Patron of craft... Seeker of soul ..."
After the prayer, he gave Tiny a suit of magical Dwarven chain mail, and he gave Carlagnios a pair of gloves that he called "Dwarven throwers."
"The 100 are long gone from this world," Ionel noted.
"Yes," said Kale, "They're now in our world."
"I wonder," said Ionel, "did they go the same way that we did? We originally came from your world. Where are you headed?"
"We seek the Centenarch," replied Kale. "To get there, we need to find our way to the Bonebreaker."
"Ah, I have heard about that place. There is one who is a scholar and a powerful mage. He would know more about this. I can bring you to him."
He led us to a small house with a sign above the door. The sign was in Dwarven and read "House of the Magus."
We were met by a short, stocky dwarf carrying an axe and wearing chain mail. "I am Gyuna Brassfitter," he said. "I am a mage."
"I am Kale, a student of the Lycium Arcanum."
"Ah, I see that you are wearing leather armor," noted Gyuna, chuckling beneath his breath. "So many magicians are content to sit in the back of the battle. I, on the other hand, like to be in the thick of things."
He paused and gazed at Kale. "I sense... that you have an object of great power."
"Yes, we do," replied Kale, handing him the coin with the dove and chimera.
Gyuna examined the coin. "This coin is the seed of contradiction. This was used to grow the Cthona." He looked up at us. "Do you know why the worlds are separate? The contradiction holds the worlds apart.
"The stone men were the guardians of the contradiction," he continued. "The 100 brought the contradiction to this world in order to gain their powers."
He stopped at looked at each of us. "Which one of you has touched the seed of contradiction?"
"I did," replied Kale, "and Carlagnios and others. Why? Is it dangerous?"
"I don't know if it is. So, you need to find the Bonebreaker? I have visited it on three occasions. It is in a wild country that is very treacherous. As for the mountain itself, it is really more of a hill. Over time, the weather has worn it down."
"Yes, we need to go to the Bonebreaker to cast the Ritual of the Challenge," said Kale, showing Gyuna the ritual.
"These are dark magics that use the Cthona," noted Gyuna. "My dwarves can lead you to the Bonebreaker. But you will need to visit the Shrine of Melora first."
He led us to the shrine at the base of the plant in the center of the city. He introduced us to Callum Ironeye, a human priest.
"This place, and all within it, are holy to me and to everyone around us," said Callum. "Come, follow me."
He led us to a room inside the plant. The room was damp, and sap dripped from the ceiling. Tiny looked around in awe and whispered to us, "This is life... all around us."
"The nectar of this plant is possessed with natural energy," he said. He handed us three bottles of the nectar. "These will help you to heal your wounds and regenerate your bodies."
He went to the back of the room, lifted up a chest, opened it, and removed a bundle of cloth that wrapped a vial. He motioned to Firinne.
"Take this," he said.
"What is it?" she asked.
"This... is life itself." he answered. "Once in a while, the plant gives up a drop of life. If you drop this on a table, the table will sprout leaves and branches."
"Interesting," Kale remarked. "Could this be used to... grow a tree ship?"
Callum nodded. We looked at the vial more carefully and realized that it closely resembled the tree ship bottle that we used in the City of the Orc King.
"Take this to the Bonebreaker, and use the drop to resurrect the fossilized stump."
With that, we left for the Bonebreaker, continuing our quest for the Centenarch.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Four Dragons and a Dwarf
Account of the Dwarf, Pesker the Young:
In the moment before I saw the travelers, the certainty of my death was absolute. There were four of the beasts around me, their hideous mouths curled upwards. Lying disarmed and bleeding, I knew they were merely toying with me. And then I saw a group of shapes in the sky.
They were vulture drakes, plummeting towards me, and I could swear I saw a dwarf perched atop the lead mount. Of course, hallucination is common in cases of battlefield shock. Surely these too were the chimera’s henchmen, come to claim me for some horrible interrogation.
The drakes touched down hard, and armored soldiers tumbled off, springing forward. An elf in the lead somehow fired an arrow before landing, the shaft glancing off the lead dragon. The four creatures twisted their heads, momentarily puzzled.
And then they charged. The soldiers drew their blades and shields and the two groups slammed into each other with a mighty crash. The chimeric dragons belched gouts of red flame onto the attackers, knocking some down. A man in the front bellowed “HOLD THE LINE!” as he pulled a companion back up. The attackers pressed back, blades whirling. In the back I saw a wizard hold aloft an orb, glowing with dark energy. Suddenly a sheet of black flame burst upwards from the earth. The four dragons screamed in pain, engulfed by the flames.
It was now difficult to see exactly what was happening. The dragons seemed to lunge forward, trying to push their way out of the flames. But each time, with ringing blows and shouting, the attackers pushed them back into the black fire. Lancing spells and arrows pierced back through the flames. Flashes of holy light silhouetted the dragons as they continued to fiercely attack.
A dragon retreated, trying to circle around the edge of the flames, even as some of the attackers circled the other way, flinging daggers and firing arrows. Finally, one of the terrible dragons crumpled backwards, collapsing into the black flames. Another followed, stumbling back as axes and swords rent its flesh. The final dragon took flight, fleeing as its companion fell.
And then the party approached me, the steaming corpses of the dragons smouldering behind them, their armor still smoking, fresh blood on their blades. Terrified, I believed that surely these were servants of the Chimera. Why would they attack the dragons? What could they want of me?
Account of Clarence, Servitor Animata:
Party is in flight. Party encounters four reptilian creatures of indeterminate origin and one humanoid of diminuitive stature. Party descends. Instruction given by Controller: “Stay in the back, Clarence!” A large fight commences. Some party members become unconscious. One dragon dies. Another dies. A third dies. A dragon flies away. The party is victorious.
Instruction given by Controller: “Clarence, help me lift this chain!”
In the moment before I saw the travelers, the certainty of my death was absolute. There were four of the beasts around me, their hideous mouths curled upwards. Lying disarmed and bleeding, I knew they were merely toying with me. And then I saw a group of shapes in the sky.
They were vulture drakes, plummeting towards me, and I could swear I saw a dwarf perched atop the lead mount. Of course, hallucination is common in cases of battlefield shock. Surely these too were the chimera’s henchmen, come to claim me for some horrible interrogation.
The drakes touched down hard, and armored soldiers tumbled off, springing forward. An elf in the lead somehow fired an arrow before landing, the shaft glancing off the lead dragon. The four creatures twisted their heads, momentarily puzzled.
And then they charged. The soldiers drew their blades and shields and the two groups slammed into each other with a mighty crash. The chimeric dragons belched gouts of red flame onto the attackers, knocking some down. A man in the front bellowed “HOLD THE LINE!” as he pulled a companion back up. The attackers pressed back, blades whirling. In the back I saw a wizard hold aloft an orb, glowing with dark energy. Suddenly a sheet of black flame burst upwards from the earth. The four dragons screamed in pain, engulfed by the flames.
It was now difficult to see exactly what was happening. The dragons seemed to lunge forward, trying to push their way out of the flames. But each time, with ringing blows and shouting, the attackers pushed them back into the black fire. Lancing spells and arrows pierced back through the flames. Flashes of holy light silhouetted the dragons as they continued to fiercely attack.
A dragon retreated, trying to circle around the edge of the flames, even as some of the attackers circled the other way, flinging daggers and firing arrows. Finally, one of the terrible dragons crumpled backwards, collapsing into the black flames. Another followed, stumbling back as axes and swords rent its flesh. The final dragon took flight, fleeing as its companion fell.
And then the party approached me, the steaming corpses of the dragons smouldering behind them, their armor still smoking, fresh blood on their blades. Terrified, I believed that surely these were servants of the Chimera. Why would they attack the dragons? What could they want of me?
Account of Clarence, Servitor Animata:
Party is in flight. Party encounters four reptilian creatures of indeterminate origin and one humanoid of diminuitive stature. Party descends. Instruction given by Controller: “Stay in the back, Clarence!” A large fight commences. Some party members become unconscious. One dragon dies. Another dies. A third dies. A dragon flies away. The party is victorious.
Instruction given by Controller: “Clarence, help me lift this chain!”
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Murderers in the Mist
As the platform descended, Firinne and Kale decided that it was time to act. Firinne knocked out the guard, and Kale grabbed the guard's signalling stone, which controlled the movement of the platform.
From our hiding place on the ground, we saw the struggle on the platform, and we moved quickly to take out the guards at the bottom of the tower.
When the platform finally reached the ground, we regrouped and hid the guards bodies. We moved back onto the platform, and Kale used the signalling stone to move the platform upwards.
As we reached the top and exited the platform, we heard rallying cries from the floors above us. There were four stairways (one in each corner of the room), and Kale surmised that the guards in the barracks had awoken and would come streaming down the stairs soon. He positioned Firinne and Carlagnios before two of the stairways and had the rest of us stand a good distance away from the other two stairways. We readied our bows, throwing axes, and slings so that we could deal with the guards before they reached us.
The first set of guards tried to storm down the stairs, led by their sergeant. Firinne held them off. Their glaives (polearms) lashed out at her, but many of their blows could not get through her powerful armor. Firinne quickly bloodied their sergeant.
A second set of guards took the second staircase and were met by Carlagnios, who kept them from entering the room. He knocked several of the guards out with a sweeping blow.
The third and fourth sets of guards came down the other two stairwells and ran toward us, one group led to another sergeant. Garg started to take out one group, while Bran bloodied the other sergeant. As the sergeant became bloodied, he called out to his men, who moved to surround Bran and strike at him.
Bran quickly shifted out of the way, and Carlagnios drew the guards to him and struck them down in a rain of steel. Kale summoned a cloud of stench that covered the sergeant and his guards.
Meanwhile, Tiny healed us and quickly killed the first sergeant with a lance of faith. In his dying breath, the sergeant called out to his men, who once again lashed out at us. Tiny healed us again, and we were able to kill the remaining sergeant and guards.
As we fought, the platform suddenly began to descend again. Someone else was coming up. We had to act quickly.
We made our way up the stairs, past the empty barracks, the glowing device, and the residential level, until we reached the Guildmaster's offices. As we entered the room, Tiny warned us that there were people in the room. He also detected a strange mist in the air.
From our left and right, we were attacked by barbarian women -- murderesses, who sought our lives. The mist suddenly congealed into the Guildmaster. Tiny and Kale were able to identify the Guildmaster as a vampire.
As we fought off the vampire and murderesses, Bran attempted to make his way to the storeroom that held the scrolls. Two of the murderesses pursued him and attacked before he got the chance to open the door.
Meanwhile, the murderesses struck us with sharp blades, leaving us bleeding and slowing us down. Firinne was able to kill the first murderess. Carlagnios drew the others to him and sliced through them with a thicket of blades, killing another. Bran drew out his wand of poison and shot another one, killing her. Kale summoned a gigantic, icy hand -- the hand of Bigby -- and kept the vampire at bay.
The murderesses attacked Firinne and knocked her unconscious, but Tiny quickly revived her. In time, we were finally able to destroy the rest of the murderesses.
The vampire, seeing that his comrades were defeated, turned into mist again and escaped from the room.
In the vampire's wardrobe, we found stylish attire, along with some gems and two potions of healing. He also had a magical suit of serpent skin leather armor, which Bran decided to wear. He handed me his magical Elven battle armor, which (after some adjustments by Tiny and Kale) I was able to us.
As Bran picked the lock on the storeroom, Tiny noticed someone entering the room behind us. It was the Drow Librarian.
"I saw the Guildmaster leaving in his misty form," he said. "It's a shame that you didn't kill it."
"Thank you for the information that you gave us," said Kale. "It served us well."
"You are welcome. May I recover my library books from the storeroom?"
"Only if you give us some of the rituals," Bran quickly replied.
The Librarian nodded. He went into the storeroom and, after some time, came out again with a bag full of books. He handed us a few scrolls, including the Ritual of Challenge. "Thank you for providing a distraction for me and my warriors. We will be disabling the Turnip soon. There are some Vulture Drakes downstairs. I suggest that you use them."
But we were not done with our work. Bran quickly picked the lock on the other room, where, earlier, Kale had detected an object of immense power. He found a coin in the room.
"Could this be the coin that the Lover of the Raven Queen used to become a god?" On one side of the coin was the image of a dove; on the other, the image of a chimera.
Suddenly, the Turnip began to shudder.
"I wouldn't tarry any longer," the Librarian said as he quickly left the room.
Kale and Bran grabbed a couple of artifacts from the room, and we ran down the stairs. In the chamber with the blue device, we saw that the Drow had used a leather strap to clamp something on to the device. Whatever this was, it had stopped the device from glowing.
We found the Vulture Drakes, mounted them, and flew out of the Turnip in a mad rush. As we flew away, we saw the Turnip tipping and falling on the tower below it, crushing the top levels of fine stores and restaurants. The tower shuddered under the weight of the Turnip and collapsed, sending shards of stone and glass throughout the city.
As we rode to the ground on our Vulture Drakes, we were awestruck, staring at the rubble that was once the tallest tower in the city.
Bran turned to Firinne. "Well, I hope you weren't planning to return those shoes."
She had a horrified look on her face. "Why does this always happen to us? Why do we always leave a wake of destruction behind us? Melora would not want us to do this."
Tiny nodded. "Moradin would also not approve."
Garg shrugged. "Eh. At least it gets us closer to our goal of getting to the Centenarch."
"We now have the Ritual of Challenge," agreed Kale. "We can become members of the 100, and we can reach the Centenarch."
From our hiding place on the ground, we saw the struggle on the platform, and we moved quickly to take out the guards at the bottom of the tower.
When the platform finally reached the ground, we regrouped and hid the guards bodies. We moved back onto the platform, and Kale used the signalling stone to move the platform upwards.
As we reached the top and exited the platform, we heard rallying cries from the floors above us. There were four stairways (one in each corner of the room), and Kale surmised that the guards in the barracks had awoken and would come streaming down the stairs soon. He positioned Firinne and Carlagnios before two of the stairways and had the rest of us stand a good distance away from the other two stairways. We readied our bows, throwing axes, and slings so that we could deal with the guards before they reached us.
The first set of guards tried to storm down the stairs, led by their sergeant. Firinne held them off. Their glaives (polearms) lashed out at her, but many of their blows could not get through her powerful armor. Firinne quickly bloodied their sergeant.
A second set of guards took the second staircase and were met by Carlagnios, who kept them from entering the room. He knocked several of the guards out with a sweeping blow.
The third and fourth sets of guards came down the other two stairwells and ran toward us, one group led to another sergeant. Garg started to take out one group, while Bran bloodied the other sergeant. As the sergeant became bloodied, he called out to his men, who moved to surround Bran and strike at him.
Bran quickly shifted out of the way, and Carlagnios drew the guards to him and struck them down in a rain of steel. Kale summoned a cloud of stench that covered the sergeant and his guards.
Meanwhile, Tiny healed us and quickly killed the first sergeant with a lance of faith. In his dying breath, the sergeant called out to his men, who once again lashed out at us. Tiny healed us again, and we were able to kill the remaining sergeant and guards.
As we fought, the platform suddenly began to descend again. Someone else was coming up. We had to act quickly.
We made our way up the stairs, past the empty barracks, the glowing device, and the residential level, until we reached the Guildmaster's offices. As we entered the room, Tiny warned us that there were people in the room. He also detected a strange mist in the air.
From our left and right, we were attacked by barbarian women -- murderesses, who sought our lives. The mist suddenly congealed into the Guildmaster. Tiny and Kale were able to identify the Guildmaster as a vampire.
As we fought off the vampire and murderesses, Bran attempted to make his way to the storeroom that held the scrolls. Two of the murderesses pursued him and attacked before he got the chance to open the door.
Meanwhile, the murderesses struck us with sharp blades, leaving us bleeding and slowing us down. Firinne was able to kill the first murderess. Carlagnios drew the others to him and sliced through them with a thicket of blades, killing another. Bran drew out his wand of poison and shot another one, killing her. Kale summoned a gigantic, icy hand -- the hand of Bigby -- and kept the vampire at bay.
The murderesses attacked Firinne and knocked her unconscious, but Tiny quickly revived her. In time, we were finally able to destroy the rest of the murderesses.
The vampire, seeing that his comrades were defeated, turned into mist again and escaped from the room.
In the vampire's wardrobe, we found stylish attire, along with some gems and two potions of healing. He also had a magical suit of serpent skin leather armor, which Bran decided to wear. He handed me his magical Elven battle armor, which (after some adjustments by Tiny and Kale) I was able to us.
As Bran picked the lock on the storeroom, Tiny noticed someone entering the room behind us. It was the Drow Librarian.
"I saw the Guildmaster leaving in his misty form," he said. "It's a shame that you didn't kill it."
"Thank you for the information that you gave us," said Kale. "It served us well."
"You are welcome. May I recover my library books from the storeroom?"
"Only if you give us some of the rituals," Bran quickly replied.
The Librarian nodded. He went into the storeroom and, after some time, came out again with a bag full of books. He handed us a few scrolls, including the Ritual of Challenge. "Thank you for providing a distraction for me and my warriors. We will be disabling the Turnip soon. There are some Vulture Drakes downstairs. I suggest that you use them."
But we were not done with our work. Bran quickly picked the lock on the other room, where, earlier, Kale had detected an object of immense power. He found a coin in the room.
"Could this be the coin that the Lover of the Raven Queen used to become a god?" On one side of the coin was the image of a dove; on the other, the image of a chimera.
Suddenly, the Turnip began to shudder.
"I wouldn't tarry any longer," the Librarian said as he quickly left the room.
Kale and Bran grabbed a couple of artifacts from the room, and we ran down the stairs. In the chamber with the blue device, we saw that the Drow had used a leather strap to clamp something on to the device. Whatever this was, it had stopped the device from glowing.
We found the Vulture Drakes, mounted them, and flew out of the Turnip in a mad rush. As we flew away, we saw the Turnip tipping and falling on the tower below it, crushing the top levels of fine stores and restaurants. The tower shuddered under the weight of the Turnip and collapsed, sending shards of stone and glass throughout the city.
As we rode to the ground on our Vulture Drakes, we were awestruck, staring at the rubble that was once the tallest tower in the city.
Bran turned to Firinne. "Well, I hope you weren't planning to return those shoes."
She had a horrified look on her face. "Why does this always happen to us? Why do we always leave a wake of destruction behind us? Melora would not want us to do this."
Tiny nodded. "Moradin would also not approve."
Garg shrugged. "Eh. At least it gets us closer to our goal of getting to the Centenarch."
"We now have the Ritual of Challenge," agreed Kale. "We can become members of the 100, and we can reach the Centenarch."
An Audience with the Guildmaster
We discussed what to do next and agreed that we should approach Putnam. Perhaps we could get him to grant us an audience with the Guildmaster.
Firinne, our diplomatic Half-Elven Paladin, suggested that she could pose as a wealthy buyer who was interested in rituals. She would banish her armor and dress up in fine clothing. She would also take Kale with her to answer questions about the rituals.
They made their way to the top of the tower. They passed by merchants selling expensive goods and restaurants offering fine foods before finally reaching Putnam's offices.
At the door, they were met by a few guards and mercenaries.
"What do you want?"
"We are requesting an audience with Putnam."
The guards quickly let Firinne and Kale through the door, where they found Putnam, the Half-Elf, closely examining an artifact through an eyeglass. When he was done, he put the artifact away and approached Firinne and Kale.
"What would you like to drink?" he asked them.
"Brandy, if you have it."
Putnam pour them generous portions of brandy.
"We have learned -- through some unnamed sources -- that you have acquired some rare artifacts from the library under Lordahl," said Firinne, sipping her brandy.
Putnam clucked. "You learned this from Dennig, I presume? From that loudmouth?"
"We were hoping to peruse the artifacts that you found. We would be interested in adding some of these to our collection."
"Ah, this is most unusual. Are you suggesting a trade?"
"Yes. Any negotiations should be done through my agent, the mage Kale."
"What do you have to offer?" asked Putnam. "I'm interested in artifacts from the Old War."
"We have some trinkets from older civilizations," replied Kale.
"Old trinkets?" asked Putnam.
"Yes. We have an Iron Snake that came from an ancient tomb."
Firinne nearly choked on her brandy. The Iron Snake was still wrapped around the neck of the Mad Mage, who was in the Temple of Melora in our world.
"Could I see this Iron Snake?"
"No, you can't" replied Kale, as Firinne coughed again. "It's -- in a very safe place."
Putnam sighed. "Well, is there anything of substance that you would show me?"
Kale reached into his bag and drew out the Scarab. "We have this artifact, which has some unusual properties."
Putnam examined the Scarab. "Well, this is something of substance. I will arrange a meeting with the Guildmaster. Where can I find you?"
"Thank you," Firinne said. She gave Putnam the location of our inn. "Would you also happen to know of a cobbler nearby? My boot has a hole, and I am looking to purchase some new boots."
"Try the merchants closer to the top," suggested Putnam. "Cream rises to the top. You'll find better quality there."
Firinne thanked him again, and she left with Kale. After some time shopping, they returned to the inn with a number of new pairs of shoes.
"Those are quite a few shoes," observed Bran.
"I'm planning on trying them out tomorrow," explained Firinne, "I'll return the ones I don't want. There were a few others that looked nice that I might get when I return these."
We turned in for the night, but then, after midnight, we were woken by a knock on the door. A group of mercenaries had come to visit us.
"The Guildmaster will see you now."
"Now?" asked Firinne. "It's the middle of the night."
"Yes. You and your agent -- the mage -- can come with us."
"We'll need our bodyguards," mentioned Firinne, pointing to the rest of our party.
"No. Just the two of you," insisted the mercenary.
Firinne and Kale left with the guards, while Bran stealthily led the rest of us after them. We followed the mercenaries, Firinne, and Kale back to the tallest tower, where they stopped near a wall. One of the mercenaries fiddled with a device in his hand, and a platform descended before them. The mercenary motioned them to follow him onto the platform. We watched as the mercenary, Firinne, and Kale ascended up through the sand storm.
The platform finally stopped, and Firinne and Kale found themselves in a room with four guards. The guards led them up the stairs, past the barracks (where other guards were sleeping). As they ascended up more levels, the Turnip grew wider.
In the next level, they found a pale, glowing device in the center of the room. The device was attached to the floor and the ceiling. Kale surmised that this device kept the Turnip afloat.
Around the edges of this level were stables where the Vulture Drakes were kept. The guard continued up to the next level, leading Firinne and Kale through residences.
Finally, the guard led them up to the top floor, where he said the Guildmaster lived. The room was lavishly decorated. On the left was an exquisite table, and on the right was a finely woven carpet. Before them was a chair where the Guildmaster sat. Putname stood next to him.
On the left and right were doors to rooms. Kale sensed that there was an arcane object of immense power in the room to the left.
"Thank you for coming," said Putnam. "We'd like to see the Iron Snake now."
Firinne, with her most diplomatic words, requested that they show her what they had first.
Putnam relented. "All right. What would you like to see?"
"Rituals," Kale suggested.
Putnam turned to the Guildmaster, who sat in his chair, pale and slouched. The Guildmaster's eyes kept shifting from side to side, as though he didn't trust anyone around him. He flicked a finger upward twice to signal agreement.
Putnam nodded in acknowledgement and turned back to Kale. "We have ordinary rituals -- Raise Dead, Scribe -- you need to be quite skilled to practice these. Are any of these of interest?"
"Do you have the Ritual of Finding?" asked Kale.
"You know, you could just kill a Finder to get that."
Firinne glared at Putnam. "Do we look like the sort of people who wold kill?"
Putnum shrugged. "I wouldn't presume anything of you."
"Well," Kale continued, "What about Rituals of Illusionism?"
Putnam went into the room on the right and brought out a few scrolls. "We have Combine Soul and some others here... But if you're looking for the rituals that were in the Library under the city, the Rituals of Illusionism would not be among them. The 100 would have kept these rituals for themselves."
"What about the Ritual of the 100? The Ritual of Challenge?" asked Kale.
Putnam once again went into the room and brought out a scroll. This scroll was in a case decorated with the symbol of the 100. Kale was able to verify that this was indeed the ritual we sought, but Putnam did not give him the time to memorize the scroll. Instead, Putnam put the scroll back to the room on the right.
"All right," said Putnam, returning from the storeroom. "Where is the Iron Snake?"
"We told you," answered Kale, "it's in a safe place, far away."
"We did not want to be caught with it in an unfamiliar place like this," explained Firinne. "Otherwise, it could be taken from us."
The Guildmaster's head sagged. He turned to look at Putnam. "They waste my time. Escort them out."
The guard brought Firinne and Kale back down the stairs to the platform, and they begun their descent back down to the bottom of the tower. The rituals that we sought were moving farther out of our reach as the platform descended, along with our hopes for finding the Centenarch.
Firinne, our diplomatic Half-Elven Paladin, suggested that she could pose as a wealthy buyer who was interested in rituals. She would banish her armor and dress up in fine clothing. She would also take Kale with her to answer questions about the rituals.
They made their way to the top of the tower. They passed by merchants selling expensive goods and restaurants offering fine foods before finally reaching Putnam's offices.
At the door, they were met by a few guards and mercenaries.
"What do you want?"
"We are requesting an audience with Putnam."
The guards quickly let Firinne and Kale through the door, where they found Putnam, the Half-Elf, closely examining an artifact through an eyeglass. When he was done, he put the artifact away and approached Firinne and Kale.
"What would you like to drink?" he asked them.
"Brandy, if you have it."
Putnam pour them generous portions of brandy.
"We have learned -- through some unnamed sources -- that you have acquired some rare artifacts from the library under Lordahl," said Firinne, sipping her brandy.
Putnam clucked. "You learned this from Dennig, I presume? From that loudmouth?"
"We were hoping to peruse the artifacts that you found. We would be interested in adding some of these to our collection."
"Ah, this is most unusual. Are you suggesting a trade?"
"Yes. Any negotiations should be done through my agent, the mage Kale."
"What do you have to offer?" asked Putnam. "I'm interested in artifacts from the Old War."
"We have some trinkets from older civilizations," replied Kale.
"Old trinkets?" asked Putnam.
"Yes. We have an Iron Snake that came from an ancient tomb."
Firinne nearly choked on her brandy. The Iron Snake was still wrapped around the neck of the Mad Mage, who was in the Temple of Melora in our world.
"Could I see this Iron Snake?"
"No, you can't" replied Kale, as Firinne coughed again. "It's -- in a very safe place."
Putnam sighed. "Well, is there anything of substance that you would show me?"
Kale reached into his bag and drew out the Scarab. "We have this artifact, which has some unusual properties."
Putnam examined the Scarab. "Well, this is something of substance. I will arrange a meeting with the Guildmaster. Where can I find you?"
"Thank you," Firinne said. She gave Putnam the location of our inn. "Would you also happen to know of a cobbler nearby? My boot has a hole, and I am looking to purchase some new boots."
"Try the merchants closer to the top," suggested Putnam. "Cream rises to the top. You'll find better quality there."
Firinne thanked him again, and she left with Kale. After some time shopping, they returned to the inn with a number of new pairs of shoes.
"Those are quite a few shoes," observed Bran.
"I'm planning on trying them out tomorrow," explained Firinne, "I'll return the ones I don't want. There were a few others that looked nice that I might get when I return these."
We turned in for the night, but then, after midnight, we were woken by a knock on the door. A group of mercenaries had come to visit us.
"The Guildmaster will see you now."
"Now?" asked Firinne. "It's the middle of the night."
"Yes. You and your agent -- the mage -- can come with us."
"We'll need our bodyguards," mentioned Firinne, pointing to the rest of our party.
"No. Just the two of you," insisted the mercenary.
Firinne and Kale left with the guards, while Bran stealthily led the rest of us after them. We followed the mercenaries, Firinne, and Kale back to the tallest tower, where they stopped near a wall. One of the mercenaries fiddled with a device in his hand, and a platform descended before them. The mercenary motioned them to follow him onto the platform. We watched as the mercenary, Firinne, and Kale ascended up through the sand storm.
The platform finally stopped, and Firinne and Kale found themselves in a room with four guards. The guards led them up the stairs, past the barracks (where other guards were sleeping). As they ascended up more levels, the Turnip grew wider.
In the next level, they found a pale, glowing device in the center of the room. The device was attached to the floor and the ceiling. Kale surmised that this device kept the Turnip afloat.
Around the edges of this level were stables where the Vulture Drakes were kept. The guard continued up to the next level, leading Firinne and Kale through residences.
Finally, the guard led them up to the top floor, where he said the Guildmaster lived. The room was lavishly decorated. On the left was an exquisite table, and on the right was a finely woven carpet. Before them was a chair where the Guildmaster sat. Putname stood next to him.
On the left and right were doors to rooms. Kale sensed that there was an arcane object of immense power in the room to the left.
"Thank you for coming," said Putnam. "We'd like to see the Iron Snake now."
Firinne, with her most diplomatic words, requested that they show her what they had first.
Putnam relented. "All right. What would you like to see?"
"Rituals," Kale suggested.
Putnam turned to the Guildmaster, who sat in his chair, pale and slouched. The Guildmaster's eyes kept shifting from side to side, as though he didn't trust anyone around him. He flicked a finger upward twice to signal agreement.
Putnam nodded in acknowledgement and turned back to Kale. "We have ordinary rituals -- Raise Dead, Scribe -- you need to be quite skilled to practice these. Are any of these of interest?"
"Do you have the Ritual of Finding?" asked Kale.
"You know, you could just kill a Finder to get that."
Firinne glared at Putnam. "Do we look like the sort of people who wold kill?"
Putnum shrugged. "I wouldn't presume anything of you."
"Well," Kale continued, "What about Rituals of Illusionism?"
Putnam went into the room on the right and brought out a few scrolls. "We have Combine Soul and some others here... But if you're looking for the rituals that were in the Library under the city, the Rituals of Illusionism would not be among them. The 100 would have kept these rituals for themselves."
"What about the Ritual of the 100? The Ritual of Challenge?" asked Kale.
Putnam once again went into the room and brought out a scroll. This scroll was in a case decorated with the symbol of the 100. Kale was able to verify that this was indeed the ritual we sought, but Putnam did not give him the time to memorize the scroll. Instead, Putnam put the scroll back to the room on the right.
"All right," said Putnam, returning from the storeroom. "Where is the Iron Snake?"
"We told you," answered Kale, "it's in a safe place, far away."
"We did not want to be caught with it in an unfamiliar place like this," explained Firinne. "Otherwise, it could be taken from us."
The Guildmaster's head sagged. He turned to look at Putnam. "They waste my time. Escort them out."
The guard brought Firinne and Kale back down the stairs to the platform, and they begun their descent back down to the bottom of the tower. The rituals that we sought were moving farther out of our reach as the platform descended, along with our hopes for finding the Centenarch.
Reflections on Life, Death, and the Raven Queen
After we rested for the night, we woke to the crowing of a rooster (an arthritic rooster, as Tiny was quick to point out.).
We met in the dining hall of the inn to eat breakfast and determine what to do next. Bran and I quickly grabbed some food, followed by Ryn, then Garg, then Carlagnios and Kale, and finally Firinne and Tiny.
Carlagnios seemed slightly more irritable than usual. When he and Kale happened to grab the same loaf of bread, Carlagnios growled angrily at Kale, and sparks of fire began to dance in the Dragonborn's throat. Kale quickly released the bread.
"Carlagnios, you shouldn't intimidate your allies," chided Firinne.
"Or use your dragon breath against us," added Bran.
"It's -- (cough, cough) -- it's much worse than that," gasped Kale, making a face and waving his hands to clear the air. "It's dragon morning breath."
Last night, at the bar, we had learned from Dennig that the Guildmaster held the rituals that we needed. The Guildmaster lived in the inverted teardrop suspended above the highest tower in the city. We needed to find some way to get up there.
"Maybe we could find some Vulture Drakes to ride up there," Firinne suggested.
"We could always find someone to ask," offered Tiny. "It's fun to meet new people!"
"I can ask Fasil," said Bran. "He might know of some followers of the Raven Queen who could help us."
We all agreed, finished breakfast, and headed to the Temple of the Raven Queen.
Fasil was in front, sweeping the temple grounds.
"You," snarled Carlagnios, "we want to see the Guildmaster."
"Forgive my impertinent friends," Bran quickly said. "We are seeking an audience with the Guildmaster. Would you happen to know how we could do this?"
Fasil pondered for a moment. "The Guildmaster is rarely seen outside the Turnip -- that's the inverted teardrop above the tallest tower in the city. The Guildmaster does have two agents in town who do his bidding.
"One of his agents, Putnam, is a half-elf. He serves as the Guildmaster's purchasing agent, buying artifacts that are found beneath the city. His offices are in the tony region (the upscale area) near the top of the tower.
"His other agent, Portage, is his slave master. Portage represents the Guildmaster in his dealings with the Slave Market.
"There is an an initiate of the Raven Queen named Scioto. He could tell you more about these agents. I can give you directions to his room."
Bran thanked Fasil, and we left the Temple. Kale suggested that we seek out Scioto first, since he might be able to give us more information.
We made our way to Scioto's residence. We knocked on the door, and a woman answered the door. She was the landlady of Scioto's building.
"What do you want?"
"We're looking for Scioto. Do you happen to know where he is?"
"He's out to lunch," she answered, pointing at the tavern next to the building.
In the tavern, there didn't seem to be anyone who looked like a follower of the Raven Queen. (Certainly, there was no one who had as dour a demeanor and dress as Fasil.)
We walked over to the barkeeper, who was cleaning glasses. Near him sat a tall human, who wore a long sword and a pair of wands that shot projectiles. The human wore a feathered hat and quite colorful clothes. The back of his hands were curiously covered with ash.
"Greetings," said Bran to the barkeeper. "We're looking for Scioto."
The tall human cheerily spoke up. "Well, hello! That's me! What would you like to talk to about?"
"Religious matters."
Scioto pondered for a bit and took off his hat. He adjusted the feather in his hat and asked, "What sort of religious matters?"
"Fasil sent us to see you," Bran said, cautiously glancing around the tavern. He spoke next in a low voice. "Say, could we go somewhere no private to discuss this?"
Scioto chuckled. "What need do I have of secrets?" he declared. "But if it's privacy that you seek, we could use the room for rent upstairs."
The barkeeper nodded, and Scioto led us up to the empty room. Once we were there, Bran began to explain his dream.
"In my dream, an aspect of Gamerat appeared in the form of a black bird with a broken neck. As it lay on the floor, it spoke to me and said, 'You need to die in the service of the Raven Queen.' It said that the Raven Queen had determined that the 100 (and the 101) have been walking the earth for too long -- that it was not appropriate for them to live forever."
Scioto nodded. "The 100 have denied death, which is an affront to our lady."
"There are other creatures that deny death," mentioned Bran. "Like Liches."
"Like the one above, who stays with the Guildmaster in the Turnip?" asked Scioto. "The one who acts like he's one of us? The undead are a perversion of life."
"As is the case with the Chimera," added Bran. "It seems as though the Raven Queen does not like the direction taken by her lover."
"We can never understand how the Raven Queen thinks," Scioto corrected him. "But it is true -- there are some who deny the priority of death. The Chimera is one of these.
"With the Chimera's study of Illusionism," continued Scioto, "he denies the priority of death. With his denial of soul, he denies the priority of death."
"There is something strange her in this city," observed Bran.
"There is something wrong," said Scioto. "The city is rotten up to the top. Look at the Guildmaster. Why does he buy slaves? And since that Lich came to town, the Guildmaster has been buying up all the slaves. There is some necromancy at work here."
"Perhaps it is related to that artifact -- the Shroud of the Raven Queen," offered Kale.
Scioto scoffed. "This is just symbolic. The cutting of her hair represents sacrifice. The weaving of her hair represents creation. The Shroud is merely a story that is used to pass along the lessons of humility."
"Is there a book that might explain more about these visions?" asked Bran.
"Have you ever read 'The Revelations of Galea'?" Scioto asked. "He was addicted to drugs, but as he came closer to death, he starting having visions of the Raven Queen. You might also want to read 'Reflections of Life and Death.'"
"Do you have a copy that I could read," asked Bran.
"Certainly." Scioto rummaged through his bag and pulled out a copy of 'The Revelations of Galea,' which he handed to Bran.
"Thank you," said Bran. "Also, do you know of any rituals of the Raven Queen that I should be performing?"
"Rituals are very private," replied Scioto. "For me, I take the ash from the fireplace and put it on the backs of my hands. It is a reminder of our mortality.
"Is there anything else that you wanted to discuss?"
"Yes," Bran answered, "We need to meet with the Guildmaster."
"You should."
"We were thinking of approaching his agents, Portage and Putnam," mentioned Kale. "Do you know anything about them?"
Scioto thought for a while. "Portage is a cruel, obese man with unsavory appetites. Putnam is more well mannered -- he keeps his word, like a gentleman.
"You know," he continued, "if you want to get to the Turnip, you'll need an invitation from the Guildmaster. Some visitors fly in with Vulture Drakes; others use an elevating platform in the tower. There is also an elevating platform from the roof of another tower."
"Have you seen the Guildmaster?" asked Bran.
"I've only seen him twice," replied Scioto, "and only late at night. I wish you luck."
With that, we left the room and went outside. Above us, the skies were getting very dark, as if it were night. The winds grew stronger. It reminded us of the dust storm that Caleb the Finder had led us through. And perhaps it was also an omen of the destruction to come.
We met in the dining hall of the inn to eat breakfast and determine what to do next. Bran and I quickly grabbed some food, followed by Ryn, then Garg, then Carlagnios and Kale, and finally Firinne and Tiny.
Carlagnios seemed slightly more irritable than usual. When he and Kale happened to grab the same loaf of bread, Carlagnios growled angrily at Kale, and sparks of fire began to dance in the Dragonborn's throat. Kale quickly released the bread.
"Carlagnios, you shouldn't intimidate your allies," chided Firinne.
"Or use your dragon breath against us," added Bran.
"It's -- (cough, cough) -- it's much worse than that," gasped Kale, making a face and waving his hands to clear the air. "It's dragon morning breath."
Last night, at the bar, we had learned from Dennig that the Guildmaster held the rituals that we needed. The Guildmaster lived in the inverted teardrop suspended above the highest tower in the city. We needed to find some way to get up there.
"Maybe we could find some Vulture Drakes to ride up there," Firinne suggested.
"We could always find someone to ask," offered Tiny. "It's fun to meet new people!"
"I can ask Fasil," said Bran. "He might know of some followers of the Raven Queen who could help us."
We all agreed, finished breakfast, and headed to the Temple of the Raven Queen.
Fasil was in front, sweeping the temple grounds.
"You," snarled Carlagnios, "we want to see the Guildmaster."
"Forgive my impertinent friends," Bran quickly said. "We are seeking an audience with the Guildmaster. Would you happen to know how we could do this?"
Fasil pondered for a moment. "The Guildmaster is rarely seen outside the Turnip -- that's the inverted teardrop above the tallest tower in the city. The Guildmaster does have two agents in town who do his bidding.
"One of his agents, Putnam, is a half-elf. He serves as the Guildmaster's purchasing agent, buying artifacts that are found beneath the city. His offices are in the tony region (the upscale area) near the top of the tower.
"His other agent, Portage, is his slave master. Portage represents the Guildmaster in his dealings with the Slave Market.
"There is an an initiate of the Raven Queen named Scioto. He could tell you more about these agents. I can give you directions to his room."
Bran thanked Fasil, and we left the Temple. Kale suggested that we seek out Scioto first, since he might be able to give us more information.
We made our way to Scioto's residence. We knocked on the door, and a woman answered the door. She was the landlady of Scioto's building.
"What do you want?"
"We're looking for Scioto. Do you happen to know where he is?"
"He's out to lunch," she answered, pointing at the tavern next to the building.
In the tavern, there didn't seem to be anyone who looked like a follower of the Raven Queen. (Certainly, there was no one who had as dour a demeanor and dress as Fasil.)
We walked over to the barkeeper, who was cleaning glasses. Near him sat a tall human, who wore a long sword and a pair of wands that shot projectiles. The human wore a feathered hat and quite colorful clothes. The back of his hands were curiously covered with ash.
"Greetings," said Bran to the barkeeper. "We're looking for Scioto."
The tall human cheerily spoke up. "Well, hello! That's me! What would you like to talk to about?"
"Religious matters."
Scioto pondered for a bit and took off his hat. He adjusted the feather in his hat and asked, "What sort of religious matters?"
"Fasil sent us to see you," Bran said, cautiously glancing around the tavern. He spoke next in a low voice. "Say, could we go somewhere no private to discuss this?"
Scioto chuckled. "What need do I have of secrets?" he declared. "But if it's privacy that you seek, we could use the room for rent upstairs."
The barkeeper nodded, and Scioto led us up to the empty room. Once we were there, Bran began to explain his dream.
"In my dream, an aspect of Gamerat appeared in the form of a black bird with a broken neck. As it lay on the floor, it spoke to me and said, 'You need to die in the service of the Raven Queen.' It said that the Raven Queen had determined that the 100 (and the 101) have been walking the earth for too long -- that it was not appropriate for them to live forever."
Scioto nodded. "The 100 have denied death, which is an affront to our lady."
"There are other creatures that deny death," mentioned Bran. "Like Liches."
"Like the one above, who stays with the Guildmaster in the Turnip?" asked Scioto. "The one who acts like he's one of us? The undead are a perversion of life."
"As is the case with the Chimera," added Bran. "It seems as though the Raven Queen does not like the direction taken by her lover."
"We can never understand how the Raven Queen thinks," Scioto corrected him. "But it is true -- there are some who deny the priority of death. The Chimera is one of these.
"With the Chimera's study of Illusionism," continued Scioto, "he denies the priority of death. With his denial of soul, he denies the priority of death."
"There is something strange her in this city," observed Bran.
"There is something wrong," said Scioto. "The city is rotten up to the top. Look at the Guildmaster. Why does he buy slaves? And since that Lich came to town, the Guildmaster has been buying up all the slaves. There is some necromancy at work here."
"Perhaps it is related to that artifact -- the Shroud of the Raven Queen," offered Kale.
Scioto scoffed. "This is just symbolic. The cutting of her hair represents sacrifice. The weaving of her hair represents creation. The Shroud is merely a story that is used to pass along the lessons of humility."
"Is there a book that might explain more about these visions?" asked Bran.
"Have you ever read 'The Revelations of Galea'?" Scioto asked. "He was addicted to drugs, but as he came closer to death, he starting having visions of the Raven Queen. You might also want to read 'Reflections of Life and Death.'"
"Do you have a copy that I could read," asked Bran.
"Certainly." Scioto rummaged through his bag and pulled out a copy of 'The Revelations of Galea,' which he handed to Bran.
"Thank you," said Bran. "Also, do you know of any rituals of the Raven Queen that I should be performing?"
"Rituals are very private," replied Scioto. "For me, I take the ash from the fireplace and put it on the backs of my hands. It is a reminder of our mortality.
"Is there anything else that you wanted to discuss?"
"Yes," Bran answered, "We need to meet with the Guildmaster."
"You should."
"We were thinking of approaching his agents, Portage and Putnam," mentioned Kale. "Do you know anything about them?"
Scioto thought for a while. "Portage is a cruel, obese man with unsavory appetites. Putnam is more well mannered -- he keeps his word, like a gentleman.
"You know," he continued, "if you want to get to the Turnip, you'll need an invitation from the Guildmaster. Some visitors fly in with Vulture Drakes; others use an elevating platform in the tower. There is also an elevating platform from the roof of another tower."
"Have you seen the Guildmaster?" asked Bran.
"I've only seen him twice," replied Scioto, "and only late at night. I wish you luck."
With that, we left the room and went outside. Above us, the skies were getting very dark, as if it were night. The winds grew stronger. It reminded us of the dust storm that Caleb the Finder had led us through. And perhaps it was also an omen of the destruction to come.
Friday, April 23, 2010
The Dragonborn Bard
"Do you know Dennig?" Kale asked Fasil, our guide.
Fasil shrugged. "I am not good with names and faces. In the end, neither matters. The patroness decides whether we live or die."
We retraced our steps back to the city of Lordahl on the surface. After a day, we found our way back to the cylindrical carriage. Once more, we paid our residuum to the statue of the woman with the outstretched hands, and the carriage delivered us back to the room with the mosaic of the man pouring out water from the gourd.
We went back up the stairs to the fountain, where we found the bull that we had left there, still eating the feed. We led the bull up to the room with the platform and tied it to the iron ring. We made our way up to the fork and to the upper room, waited until we heard the bull wail in fear, and scurried back up the passageway. As we passed, we almost forgot who we were.
We finally reached the surface and decided to part company with Fasil.
"My patroness has not seen fit to take you yet," remarked Fasil.
"Before we part ways, can we ask you something about the Raven Queen?" asked Kale. "Do you know one of her angelic servants named Gamerat?"
"The Raven Queen sends Gamerat on errands to help make things right. She gave him authority over life and death. The 100 were an aberration -- they were placed above death. That is not right -- the natural order should be preserved."
Bran nodded.
"If you plan to stay in the city," said Fasil, "perhaps you could volunteer to help us to maintain the Temple of the Raven Queen."
"I'd like to help with that," offered Bran.
"Thank you. Now that I know you, you may approach the High Guild and ask for me there."
"Maybe we could have a drink some time, as well?" asked Kale.
Fasil scowled. "Do not mock me, Mage."
We left to continue our search for the Ritual of Finding and the Challenge Ritual. Perhaps Provost Benjy could help us in our quest.
We found Benjy in class, so we waited outside and read the books to pass the time. After class was over, he walked outside to meet us.
"Was Pican able to help you?" he asked.
"Yes," replied Kale, "but we have some questions we'd like to ask."
"Maybe we could talk somewhere more private," suggested Benjy.
"We could bring some wine as well," offered Kale.
"Excellent! It's the full moon, and my stipend is not sufficient to cover such things."
Bran found a merchant that sold some decent wine, and we purchased the wine and met up with Benjy.
Kale handed the book on Pre-Centenarchy Law to Benjy. "What can you tell us about Illusionism?"
"Illusionism led the 100 to discover and contact the Chimera," explained Benjy. "The Pre-Centenarchy is from the time of the Judges. The Laws of the Judges would have prevented the coming of the Chimera."
Kale showed Benjy the "Illustrated Exploits of the Early Centenarchy."
"May I borrow this and have a scribe copy the notes from this?" asked Benjy.
Kale nodded. "Now, we need to find the Ritual of the Challenge. Do you know what that is?"
"It was used by the 100 to assert power over the army, I believe."
"If an explorer found some books and brought them back to sell them, where would they sell them?"
"Well, usually the Guildmaster gets the first choice of whatever is found. The Guildmaster buys the best of the artifacts recovered."
"Oh," Benjy continued, "I forgot to mention this. While you were gone, there was an eerie fellow who came asking for you. He was wrapped in cloth from head to foot. He called himself 'Baird'."
The lich. We had never found his phylactery, Kale explained earlier, which meant that he was not destroyed and could come back to life.
"Did you tell him that we were here?"
"No," Benjy quickly replied. "I didn't give anything away."
Tiny gave him a skeptical glance and whispered to us, "He might have been tight-lipped about our whereabouts, but Baird could still discern a lot from Benjy's mannerisms."
"Anyway," Benjy continued, "Baird left and flew back up to the teardrop. I wish he hadn't come by here. He had parked in the greens, and the vulture drakes shat all over the lawn. We had to get our first year students to clean up the mess."
"Who is allowed to go to the teardrop?"
"Usually the Chimerics. The teardrop is where our government is run from."
We thanked Benjy and left. Bran decided to go to the Temple of the Raven Queen and help Fasil with the cleaning. As they swept the temple floor, Bran asked Fasil if any of the Raven Queen's followers could help us in our quest.
"I do know people who know more than I," replied Fasil. "I can ask around. Give me a few days and I can introduce you to some of our followers."
Bran thanked Fasil and met us in the city. Ryn used his streetwise skills to find the bar where Dennig was at. In the bar, there were a dozen patrons, and a large man (perhaps 6' 7" in height) holding court. The man was quite drunk and had been paying for everyone's drinks. This had to be Dennig.
"And they went to the desert," Dennig sang, "and found a mystic river..." He turned to Carlagnios. "Sing with me!"
Carlagnios joined in. "I went upon the river, and drank a mighty drink..."
Dennig applauded. "We have a bard in here! Give him a silver piece!"
Carlagnios drank with him. They both continued to drink and sing until they were too drunk to stand.
"Why are we here again?" slurred Carlagnios. "I forget." He belched, and a small flash of fire lit up the bar.
"I need to piss," declared Dennig. "I'll be right back."
He stumbed to the bathroom, and we waited for his return. Time passed -- 5 minutes, 10 minutes -- until it became evident that Dennig was not returning.
We quickly made our way to the bathroom where we found Dennig on the floor. He had fallen over and was too drunk to pick himself up. Carlagnios helped him to his feet.
"Thank you," said Dennig. "What is your name, bard?"
"Carl...agnios."
"So," Kale interrupted. "We heard that you raided a library."
Dennig smiled. "I'm still living off that. It was a few weeks ago. It was great -- I had a buyer lined up and everything. It was the Guildmaster himself! I went up top to sell the books to him." He started to get sleepy.
I wondered whether we should tell the librarian where to find Dennig. Tiny pointed out that he was just a hard-drinking explorer with no moral quandries. In some ways, we were not all that different.
But it was clear that all paths led to the Guildmaster and that we needed to find our way up to the teardrop. That would have to wait, though -- we needed to sober up our drunken Dragonborn bard first.
Fasil shrugged. "I am not good with names and faces. In the end, neither matters. The patroness decides whether we live or die."
We retraced our steps back to the city of Lordahl on the surface. After a day, we found our way back to the cylindrical carriage. Once more, we paid our residuum to the statue of the woman with the outstretched hands, and the carriage delivered us back to the room with the mosaic of the man pouring out water from the gourd.
We went back up the stairs to the fountain, where we found the bull that we had left there, still eating the feed. We led the bull up to the room with the platform and tied it to the iron ring. We made our way up to the fork and to the upper room, waited until we heard the bull wail in fear, and scurried back up the passageway. As we passed, we almost forgot who we were.
We finally reached the surface and decided to part company with Fasil.
"My patroness has not seen fit to take you yet," remarked Fasil.
"Before we part ways, can we ask you something about the Raven Queen?" asked Kale. "Do you know one of her angelic servants named Gamerat?"
"The Raven Queen sends Gamerat on errands to help make things right. She gave him authority over life and death. The 100 were an aberration -- they were placed above death. That is not right -- the natural order should be preserved."
Bran nodded.
"If you plan to stay in the city," said Fasil, "perhaps you could volunteer to help us to maintain the Temple of the Raven Queen."
"I'd like to help with that," offered Bran.
"Thank you. Now that I know you, you may approach the High Guild and ask for me there."
"Maybe we could have a drink some time, as well?" asked Kale.
Fasil scowled. "Do not mock me, Mage."
We left to continue our search for the Ritual of Finding and the Challenge Ritual. Perhaps Provost Benjy could help us in our quest.
We found Benjy in class, so we waited outside and read the books to pass the time. After class was over, he walked outside to meet us.
"Was Pican able to help you?" he asked.
"Yes," replied Kale, "but we have some questions we'd like to ask."
"Maybe we could talk somewhere more private," suggested Benjy.
"We could bring some wine as well," offered Kale.
"Excellent! It's the full moon, and my stipend is not sufficient to cover such things."
Bran found a merchant that sold some decent wine, and we purchased the wine and met up with Benjy.
Kale handed the book on Pre-Centenarchy Law to Benjy. "What can you tell us about Illusionism?"
"Illusionism led the 100 to discover and contact the Chimera," explained Benjy. "The Pre-Centenarchy is from the time of the Judges. The Laws of the Judges would have prevented the coming of the Chimera."
Kale showed Benjy the "Illustrated Exploits of the Early Centenarchy."
"May I borrow this and have a scribe copy the notes from this?" asked Benjy.
Kale nodded. "Now, we need to find the Ritual of the Challenge. Do you know what that is?"
"It was used by the 100 to assert power over the army, I believe."
"If an explorer found some books and brought them back to sell them, where would they sell them?"
"Well, usually the Guildmaster gets the first choice of whatever is found. The Guildmaster buys the best of the artifacts recovered."
"Oh," Benjy continued, "I forgot to mention this. While you were gone, there was an eerie fellow who came asking for you. He was wrapped in cloth from head to foot. He called himself 'Baird'."
The lich. We had never found his phylactery, Kale explained earlier, which meant that he was not destroyed and could come back to life.
"Did you tell him that we were here?"
"No," Benjy quickly replied. "I didn't give anything away."
Tiny gave him a skeptical glance and whispered to us, "He might have been tight-lipped about our whereabouts, but Baird could still discern a lot from Benjy's mannerisms."
"Anyway," Benjy continued, "Baird left and flew back up to the teardrop. I wish he hadn't come by here. He had parked in the greens, and the vulture drakes shat all over the lawn. We had to get our first year students to clean up the mess."
"Who is allowed to go to the teardrop?"
"Usually the Chimerics. The teardrop is where our government is run from."
We thanked Benjy and left. Bran decided to go to the Temple of the Raven Queen and help Fasil with the cleaning. As they swept the temple floor, Bran asked Fasil if any of the Raven Queen's followers could help us in our quest.
"I do know people who know more than I," replied Fasil. "I can ask around. Give me a few days and I can introduce you to some of our followers."
Bran thanked Fasil and met us in the city. Ryn used his streetwise skills to find the bar where Dennig was at. In the bar, there were a dozen patrons, and a large man (perhaps 6' 7" in height) holding court. The man was quite drunk and had been paying for everyone's drinks. This had to be Dennig.
"And they went to the desert," Dennig sang, "and found a mystic river..." He turned to Carlagnios. "Sing with me!"
Carlagnios joined in. "I went upon the river, and drank a mighty drink..."
Dennig applauded. "We have a bard in here! Give him a silver piece!"
Carlagnios drank with him. They both continued to drink and sing until they were too drunk to stand.
"Why are we here again?" slurred Carlagnios. "I forget." He belched, and a small flash of fire lit up the bar.
"I need to piss," declared Dennig. "I'll be right back."
He stumbed to the bathroom, and we waited for his return. Time passed -- 5 minutes, 10 minutes -- until it became evident that Dennig was not returning.
We quickly made our way to the bathroom where we found Dennig on the floor. He had fallen over and was too drunk to pick himself up. Carlagnios helped him to his feet.
"Thank you," said Dennig. "What is your name, bard?"
"Carl...agnios."
"So," Kale interrupted. "We heard that you raided a library."
Dennig smiled. "I'm still living off that. It was a few weeks ago. It was great -- I had a buyer lined up and everything. It was the Guildmaster himself! I went up top to sell the books to him." He started to get sleepy.
I wondered whether we should tell the librarian where to find Dennig. Tiny pointed out that he was just a hard-drinking explorer with no moral quandries. In some ways, we were not all that different.
But it was clear that all paths led to the Guildmaster and that we needed to find our way up to the teardrop. That would have to wait, though -- we needed to sober up our drunken Dragonborn bard first.
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