Adventurers Present: Darrak (Monk-11), Black Roze (Druid-5), Ziplepot Boom (Artificer-9), Nikz (Rogue-2/Fighter-7), Notloc Renexela (Cleric-10), Alvus Thorne (Rogue-7), Quinn (Rogue-4), Xavvan (Bard-4), Flynwick (Cleric-4), Brenna Cormirant (Druid-3/ Warlock-6) = Party of 10. At the Barren GateThe Knight Owls have been traveling by land for three days, dodging stalking creatures in the skies, and making haste toward the remains of a place Kincaid once called the Ferusian Wilds. In its place, surrounded by a deep chasm and a river of lava, a spike of rock now sits, like a nail driven into the center of the world. A few of the Owls have been here before, and quickly find the invisible bridge that crosses the dangerous chasm, leading them to a sturdy wooden door without a handle. Nikz and Roze remember this place well, and are keen to keep their distance from the door, until a drunken Darrak falls headfirst into it and is promptly electrocuted and knocked backward. While Nikz, Roze, and Boom attempt to decipher the door, Alvus' keen hearing and night goggles spot some scaly foes in the distance, making a beeline toward them. As Quinn opens fire on one, a third roars to their left; a broken-scaled green dragon, bones exposed, swoops out of the mist and lands on a protrusion from the rock face. With a roar, it spews poison and death upon the party as they scatter across the bridge, a few dodging instead back onto the other side. The Owls are quick, utilizing their magical artifacts and some ranged sneak attacks to fell two of the wyrmlings before they can reach the party, but the big green dracolich isn't going down easy, despite Notloc (the resident storm cleric) hammering it with snow and sleet and Brenna hurling charge after charge of magic missile into its body. Roze, grasping her charge's golden blade, The Conduit Key, she speaks to the elemental inside and it whispers to her in Primordial, "Home." At this point, the young druid's eyes fill with white smoke and she sees a large slit on the door, like a strange keyhole. Trusting the creature inside the sword, she hesitantly drives the blade into the slit within the door and feels it fit into a mechanism. She then turns the "key"...and a massive arch of lightning hurls out of the keyhole, wreaths around Darrak first (who is busy wall-running toward the dracolich), then slams into Notloc, traveling through him into Brenna, then Nikz, into Quinn, then snakes over to Flynwick (who falls unconscious from the impact), then arcs back into Xavvan and Alvus, finally whipping under the bridge to wreath around Boom and his mechanical spider, "Mr. Clanky." The spider tenses and is pulled rapidly toward Alvus, slamming him into Xavvan, who follows the trail back to Flynwick, who compresses into Quinn, then Nikz, Brenna, Notloc, and Darrak, forming an electric daisy-chain of heroes who, like a whip crack, are flung toward a panicked Roze and a disappearing door... The World of the KeptThe adventurers land in a pile, with Mr. Clanky's heavy metal form sitting on top, and Roze standing just off to the side. As members of the party attempt to heal each other in the mound, Roze feels a cold hand, one finger at a time, rest on her shoulder. She does not step away, and instead reaches up and pats the hand. A familiar, powerful voice, almost mechanical, greets the heroes, "Oh good. You are here." And the party turns to see the 12-foot tall form of Koda the Wise, a creature of seemingly interconnected plating and armor, his "helm" covering a mouth and bright, flickering eyes of amethyst. Alvus takes a moment to study the creature's mannerisms and make, and realizes him to be a warforged. Nikz, Roze, and Boom recognize Koda immediately from the Fardream, taking note of his long violet and gold cloak draped over his shoulders, greet him as he picks up each hero from the pile and rights them. Nikz steps forward and gives a small pouch of Songsteal (procured from Striga in Interludes) and hands it over to Koda, who takes it, checks it, then opens his chest plate and places it inside with other assorted pouches. "Anacrusis will be most pleased..." The party learns that the herb in question was once used to fight the Bardic Champions in the first age; it allows singers an augmented voice, but, given training, can allow some users to mimic the voices of others, especially those laced with magic; they used the herb, which must be smoked, to effectively counter-charm the Bards. Koda is also aware of the dragons outside, and presses the party to follow him through the obsidian doors behind him. As the doors open, the party is momentarily blinded by daylight and the sound of trickling water. Their eyes adjust and as they step through the threshold they see a brilliant courtyard that stretches many hundreds of feet in all directions. Three suns and a rogue moon orbit above them with a chorus of stars and blue skies. Rows of mismatched statues, ornate fountains, marble columns dot the landscape and the party takes notice of a set of four statues - a set of three identical brothers, and a finely dressed man with a turban (Wolfe Ward). As Koda makes his way through the center line of this space, urging the party to follow, they become distracted by a few sights. A strange human trying to balance a stack of 9 books as he moves toward a hole in the ground, while a dwarf with pink hair attempts to pry black platemail with gray spirals from his body, a warforged appears to be carving arrows out of steel blocks, while another trains a pack of dire wolves to hunt. The first of these, the party learns, is named Ben, and is bringing the stack of books (7 of which read The Encyclopedia of Alchemical Longevity) to a fire pit in the ground; when Brenna protests, Ben explains that the library is in the fire plane, then drops the stack into it (but not before Alvus swipes a book for himself, #4 in Longevity; and Roze grabs "Worshiping The Old Gods and What It Means To You." More antics ensue, and Nikz and Quinn make their way to the warforged carving arrows. Nikz asks if he can have one of the arrows, to which the topaz-eyed creature simply responds, "Why?" Nikz responds without hesitation. "...To protect Io and serve The Many." The warforged pauses, eyes flickering once more, then reaches behind into its stack of arrows and pulls one out, slamming it into the stone slab before it. One by one he does this, five times, in silence. "Five fingers," it says, "...Five fingers for the Broken Hand." When Quinn leans in and asks for one, the warforged sticks one in the ground in front of her, saying, "One for a new Hand." (+2 Masterwork arrows, Unbreakable). Quinn asks if there is anything else that this creature does, and it responds, "This...is this one's purpose. We have many soldiers. Sometimes when the Balance..." its eyes flicker rapidly, "...when the pendulum swings...it requires a push." It then quietly goes back to work and says nothing more. Koda eventually gathers them all in front of a large domed castle with seven glass and diamond spires. Nikz and Brenna take notice of translucent serpents moving around within each spire and Nikz feels a pang of recollection thinking of his new "pet" (Koriasaka, the special dragon), so he asks Koda about them. "The Omnic came here when their mother died..." Nikz: "I have a friend who is an Omnic." Koda: "Then keep it safe, until it is needed." Nikz: "Always." Koda steps up to a set of two 15-foot tall obsidian doors, then begins turning a set of five concentric clay wheels, each set to a specific runic symbol. When he finishes, dust settles beyond the door. "The seed you seek...this one knows of it. It has three trials, three locks, three gods that made them. You will face the Trial of the Sage, of the Champion, and of the Pendulum." And Koda the Wise opens the doors... Trial of the Sage The party is ushered into a pitch dark room; cold, empty, and soundless. Alvus uses his Goggles of the Night and notices small motes of stars floating far below and ahead of the group. Koda gives each of the group a nod of assurance and utters, "We shall hold here. ...The pendulum swings." And with one last nod, slow and reserved, Koda closes the doors.
Heavy latches and stones falling echo around them, as if the room itself were falling into place, then silence. A low, rumbling growl slakes through the room...and two motes of crackling lightning ignite in the distance ahead of them. The motes shift together, rising an immense height above. A deep, silky voice rumbles through the dark, impossibly big and everywhere at once. "Ah... Another has come..." The motes flash once more, this time reflecting off of something...metallic. Quickly, silently, they rush down to loom over all of them and they realize that they are not bolts, but eyes. Arching blue electricity begins to flow out from the eyes, bouncing around the room, until each meets and ignites a floating sconce. Blue fire illuminates the room and the party is standing upon a sea of stars, clouds, and planets, gently moving below them. The creature before them, a gigantic draconic serpent, moves its head back, never breaking its piercing gaze, and comes to rest on the far end of this...space. It sits, coiled, watching. "In that case... Enter, Sages, and the trial shall commence..." Notloc, undeterred, steps forward into the open space of clouds and stars. Out of the Aether before him, rises a massive stone slab, a set of marble steps leading up to it from the nothingness below. At the same time, he feels himself and his allies rise, as a sandstone column forms at their feet, propelling them up to eye level with the serpent. Looking out and down to the slab, they recognize a two-toned chess board. As they watch, eight figures appear in small cyclones of lightning onto select spaces upon the board. They are each different, and some are recognizable as old foes... "Light yields keen sight, dark hesitates the weapon's bite." Darrak steps onto a light square, while Alvus steps onto a dark square. Darrak is immediately illuminated and VERY easy to see. Shadows rise up and cling to Alvus' form, making him difficult to pinpoint. One by one, each hero moves onto a space (Boom realizes he must leave Mr. Clanky behind on the sandstone), until there is only Brenna and Nikz left. Nikz notices something inscribed along the board's edge; inlaid gold script, seemingly ornamentation, he now recognizes as elvish upside down. It reads: "The Student follows the rules. The Sage understands when to break them." He instead squeezes between two allies and finds purchase ahead of them, in a new space in the second row. With only one adventurer remaining on the sandstone, Mr. Clanky powers down, and Brenna feels something strange move up her neck: knowledge... The trial continues after a short break (and in part 2...)
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The following is a summary of a Vignette event through the Knight Owls Interludes Facebook group. Vignettes are short, interactive voluntary events held within the group where players can seek out new lore, run through skill challenges, and be a part of a mini-adventure. This Vignette took place from 11/25 - 12/3/17. Story-wise, its events transpire 3 days after the end of Whispers, and 3 days before the upcoming adventure, "Sheath", to be held on 12/9/17 (21+ group). Following a dire summons to gather at The Platinum Guard in Diskana, all current Knight Owls (and a few retired veterans) find themselves sucking down ale, trading stories, and coming to terms with the concept of an undead dragon god roaming somewhere beyond the Edge... The door is kicked inward by a clawed foot and a stout halfling marches in, demanding to see his brother. All eyes turn to the creature, recognizing him as Keddigan Slitspire, one of the Tenrook himself, and immediately turn their eyes to a shocked Kincaid. Kincaid and Keddigan reunite, but not before some gentle ribbing on the resurrected. Keddigan then turns serious, ordering all Owls into the cellar, stating "The time for secrets has passed." When all are assembled, Keddigan's voice changes. He reveals that he is much older than he seems, that he and his brother are demigods in service of Io, and have been for many years. He speaks of the fact that two of the Seven came to he and his brother and magically conscripted and inspired them to forge a weapon; over ten years later, they had no memory of what they had constructed, and no physical evidence of it, only a feeling. Fast-forward to the first rise of Narizguun, the Devourer of the Divine, and the fall of clerical bastion of Brimshire (and Kincaid's death); Keddigan and Kincaid surmise that Kincaid's death at the jaws of Narizguun "planted" a Seed within the dragon's son, Shorimkaz, later called The Sheathe of Chaos by Keddigan and his followers. In short, it seems, the weapon forged was a seed of power within Kincaid, his sole purpose to die in order to grow the weapon in the belly of something of extreme unwieldy power. The sword was intended to be drawn by Keddigan, upon Shorimkaz's death, in order to strike down Narizguun and purge him from existence. ...It seems that that was not how things went, and he was defeated at a great loss the traditional way; the face of Io was changed forever, and the fall of Narizguun marked the beginning of the Age of Ren (the third age). Now, in recent times, the Knight Owls have come across more and more of Narizguun's follows; transient knights and killers who have gouged out their own eyes for dreaded boons and unholy power. While investigating the edge of the Underdark, a group fought the upper torso of an ancient black/blue dracolich (later revealed to be Narizfal). After this came a particular mission involving a broken and defaced temple of Corellon (Elven; music, magic, crafting, and the arts), turned temple of Tharizdun (eternal darkness, decay, entropy, chaos). While there, they fought off a hybrid gold/green dragon and witnessed the rise of the now lich-god of Narizguun as it burned its way out of the cave system. And there, beneath the battlefield, the group came across the broken, desiccated corpse of Shorimkaz, a strange stone slab resting in his broken chest with a slit, like a stone sheath, at its center. Further investigation yields this image as an illusion, meaning that whatever was there has been taken and moved elsewhere. Shortly after the date on that report, Keddigan reveals that his connection to the seed changed somehow. The feeling had been adjusted; more "tingly." Not one to ignore a sign, he wonders if the Knight Owls collected could help him locate it. A few offer to attempt an energy scry on the seed, using Keddigan's blocked memories as a starting point... Nikz, Roze, and Boom reach out and touch the crown of Keddigan's head. Time stops, and the group is transported to a windswept sky high above the city of Exian in an Erena that is familiar, but...larger. They cannot think on this long, as a roaring black storm cloud looms over them, a draconic face protruding from its center as lightning poises to strike. Nikz fires an arrow into the cloud, momentarily dispersing its center, like the eye of a storm, and through the column, the group witnesses a ship flanking the cloud. The ship is wreathed in three rings of elemental energy (red, hot white, and a radiant orange), and begins unleashing balls of fire and lightning upon the cloud, seemingly fired from the rings. The assault is short-lived, however, as a barrage of lightning easily disables the craft, sending it careening down toward a rising cloud of darkness (some might say, a rising hand of smoke and embers) at top of molten pillar. As they watch it fall, the group is pulled toward that black smoke and flecks of embers, and find themselves standing on warmth volcanic rock, surrounded by a swirling wall of darkness and floating cinder. For a moment, they believe themselves alone, seeing only a knelt metallic statue in front of them. Soon, though, they see it rise, standing nearly 10 feet high, a long velvet cloak running down its back. It appears to be wiry, strong, heavily plated, with a v-shaped shield over its mouth. The armored creature's eyes whirr to life, casting amethyst light toward the group. It speaks, the voice emanating from its whole body, addresses the group. "A blind soothsayer, a broken hand, and a tinkertoy visit this one today. To come to this Fardream, you must be in seek of something. But ye travelers speak of things apart from this time. You must ask the right questions." Boom steps forward. "We have been told that the seed of our salvation has grown fruit. Do you know where we can find the power to fight the oncoming storm that threatens our family and home?" A moment passes, and the creature speaks again, answering without answering. "This Fardream is a memory. His memory. Of me. Of this terrace. To reach beyond it is to challenge the will of The Many. ...He was not worthy, and thus will not remember what lies beyond this one. Thus, the way is shut for here and now; this one cannot access it. But the time you come from, it may yet be opened..." Its eyes flicker rapidly on and off for a moment. "...and has been once already. To grant peace to four who longed for it." Nikz tries. "If we approach the Fardream in our time will it consume us like it did those four?" Its eyes flicker again and stare at Nikz. "This space is the Fardream. A memory, locked and still, buried deep in the Aether of time and spirit. ...You speak to his memory of this one, now, in the past... This one knows not of the future. This one only knows what this one" it points to Roze, "has witnessed." Roze looks up suddenly, anxious and meek. "If you hold my broken memories and knowledge of things I struggle to remember - will there be more to see in another's memory? Is the knowledge we need buried deeper? ...I cannot fail another family..." She grips the golden longsword, Kincaid's "conduit key," tighter in her hand. The creature holds up a metal hand. "This one can only see one's recent memory. To reach deeper would cause you pain..." The group hears clinking metal, like gears, and the creature becomes a little taller, regarding them all assembled. Nikz: "Why was he not worthy? What is the will of The Many?" “Too many died, they said, because of the hope it brought. He was not worthy. None have been worthy. So it was The Many, in their wisdom, who gifted it to us. I am the gatekeeper, the loremaster, the champion, and its guard. Here we covet the discarded, the forgotten, the seeking, and the Barren; until they are needed again." A moment passes. "He, the demigod, could not summon the blade from its sheath. He was not worthy. He failed the Trial laid out by The Many. ...This one has knowledge of all that came before, for this one was built for the job. They named this one Koda, the Wise. More answers lie in this Fardream. You must ask the right questions..." At this moment, the assembled party feels the embers press inward and a powerful pressure sets upon their bodies. They resist the coming exhaustion, but time is clearly limited in this space. The questions become more frequent, the members talking over each other. Roze struggles against the pressure, whispering to herself, "Who endures this pain, me or my king?" An echo on the wind and another rush of pressure answers the question for her, but Koda tilts his head to her and attempts to answer. "This one is the memory of the demigod; it is only you three who are...trespassing." Nikz asks in rapid succession: "Is The Many one of the Seven old gods? Did you call Kincaid's cursed men to the Raised Barrens? Are you there now?" Roze looks at her ally and attempts to redirect his thoughts: "We need to find another way to approach this. It's never the most obvious answer..." But Nikz seems set on his path. Boom: "How is one judged worthy? Where do we go to be tested?" Koda turns to each of them in turn, pausing between answers. "The Many called Wolfe Ward and the brothers to my citadel. We were ready to covet them; covet their need for peace and sending. We did not curse them, though. Only granted their dust. In the past, lord Ward and his fleet of wyvern riders were inspired to engage the storm of dragons. They left broken, and fled the conflict all together, unable to redeem themselves. ...The right questions are often obvious, once one forms the right words. ...You must enter where the Espers came to die, the fallen of the Ferusian Wilds. This one's home." The pressure surrounding continues to rise, driving Nikz to his knees. Koda continues. "To be judged is to face our forge of Trials. To test your mettle and mind, and be deemed worthy by the entities who forged each test. We have many trials, many items to seal away, until they are needed. ...This "seed." This one knows this Trial. It was forged by three of the Seven Wings. It will take much to pass, this one gathers." Nikz: "Why did you call me a 'broken hand'? Just being condescending?" "This one sees dichotomy lingering upon your soul. A Hand, at least one who pulls the will of The Many without question, is resolute in all things, and questions not. ...This one is uncertain if you were insulted. Questions are keys, too, and important to keep." Nikz: "...Thank you, Koda. I will keep that in mind. I hope to see you soon in the world of the real." The pressure kicks into the party, knocking the wind out of Nikz and exhausting Boom's form. Time runs short... Roze prepares her body, taking a knee next to Nikz, and addresses Koda. "Friend, is there anything I can say to remind those who have forgotten so we may search for answers in our realm?" ...But Koda just stares back at her. Either he won't answer or there isn't one to give. Nikz: "Are the Espers the cursed ones that carried the ring with Kincaid's soul in it? Who was Wolfe Ward?" "The Espers are the self-proclaimed descendants of the ancient elemental gods. They led a war from the beyond the Aether eons ago, in the first age, using ships powered by their raw energy. When they lost, their remnants came here, to the Barrens. ...Wolfe Ward came to us as a Revenant, hundreds of years old and eager for death. ...the Thousand Year Door is the gate that stops foolish travelers; only one key can open it, forged before my time by another Hand." Nikz persists, as the darkness presses inward, the space becoming smaller and smaller. "Where can this hand find the key to the Thousand Year Door?" "...by this one's calculations, one of your comrades is already in possession of it, but knows how it functions." A tingling current runs up Roze's spine, the sword thrumming with power. Before she can think on it, Boom interrupts with, "Where is the trial forge?" "...In the citadel." Roze struggles against the rising wind. "We need to return home! We need to regroup." She holds up the sword to Koda. "Is this the key we seek, does it hold the answers? Please, tell me how to help my king!" The howling wind begins to fill the group's ears. As the space grows tighter, some see Koda nod once. Boom: "How do we get called to the citadel? Where is it?" "The citadel lies in this one's city, I have already told you. ...For security, I know not what the key looks like nor its secrets, but that one there," he points to Roze, "resonates at the right frequency. One must find its forger to know its command word." Roze, suffering from the exhaustion from the experience, openly apologizes to her king to rising winds, then turns to Koda. "Thank you, friend." And with this, wills her exit from the Fardream. Instantly, her form dissolves into dust and smoke, joining the swirling winds around the group. Seeing this, Boom attempts to leave, to run; it does not take much, and he, too, dissolves, leaving Nikz alone in the vortex. A menacing roar spears though the rising sound; dread spreading across the ground. Nikz: "Well, Koda the Wise, it seems it is time for me to go. Is there anything I can bring you when we meet next? Something from the outside you would like?" Koda stands in silence for a few moments, thinking. "This one's protege, Anakrusis, is most curious of an herb called Songsteal. It once grew on the island of Ixtapex near the southern edge. ...Farewell, Broken Hand. This one hopes you never repair, for your own sake." Koda the Wise steps back a few paces into the smoke and embers, and Nikz feels the pressure fade. He blinks and finds himself drenched in sweat, kneeling next to a laughing Keddigan. His allies, Boom and Roze, sit near him wrapped in blankets and enjoying warm tea and potions. Keddigan claps him on the shoulder. "Welcome back, friend. Haven't done one of those in a thousand years or so. Well done. Well done, all of you." He stands up and looks to the rest of the room. "Now, let's unpack what the heck that was..." Vignette close. Owls Present: Brysar, Gosef, Xun Fu, Darrak, Eli, Beebir the Bard, Riswynn One cold and rainy evening in the Platinum Guard guildhall, the assembled Owls enjoy their dinner and drink as Striga regales them with tales of his old adventuring party. Suddenly, the door is knocked off its hinges as a flame-haired man in dusk weaved armor and a red coat enters the room and quickly moves to the table. As he enters, there is a loud thud behind him, shaking the entryway wall. A towering, clay-skinned goliath with jagged tattoos running down his arms ducks into the hall, followed by two half-elven twins. The goliath goes to the nearest tankard, while the twins find a table in the corner. The fire genasi seems familiar to the party, but many have been hitting their ale hard as of late, and have a hard time placing his face… He introduces himself as Helaku Kadeem, one of the high council of Nine in Orlandin. He also immediately implores the party’s aid in finding a missing ally. Keddigan Slitspire is missing. He has been for several days now - no one knows where he went off to, not even Pietra or Amos, but Helaku’s sources have picked up traces of the halfling gunslinger in the mechanical city of Brakfall to the north of Diskana (the home of the guildhall). The assembled Owls - Darrak, Brysar, Fu, Gosef, Eli, Beebir, and Riswynn (with faerie dragon Fareday) - agreed to help, after a night’s rest and recovery, of course. The party made the quick trip north to Brakfall with little more than an ominous sighting of a few scaled creatures flying parallel to them, toward Io’s Edge. Before they could react to this, Gosef’s attention was flung ahead of them to the sound of fireworks detonating above a dark metal city in the distance. The explosions continue as the party’s carriage crests the hill, but their attention is drawn instead to another carriage waiting at the heavy black iron door. They take note of a band of five gnomes, sitting close together, seemingly shivering, while a creature with black eyes and no mouth knocks on the door… It doesn’t take long for the party to realize that something is amiss, and just as they begin to take action, their new allies surprise the dark creature with a barrage of attacks. It is over in mere seconds, the fiend’s darkness splattered against the metal door. The gnomes are immensely grateful, their bonds broken and the carriage again under their control. The party learns that they were kidnapped and enslaved in Mooncrest to the east (Striga’s hometown). Eli offers them sanctuary in Diskana, and they happily head there. Meanwhile, Gosef gets a little too close to the sludge-like remains of the fiend, taking long spears of necrotic energy to his form; Striga pulls the needles out with Darrak’s help, then draws the dark energy into his red blade, coating his sheath with it (“saving it for a foe”). With the threat taken care of, the massive doors open and the group is granted passage to the strange half-mechanical city of Brakfall. Helaku and his allies pay the constructs of gold that greet the Owls no mind, stepping over them into the city and making a quick trip toward Helaku’s uncle’s home, but the Owls take an extra few moments for Darrak to notice the glint of a lens - someone watching them - high above in the rafters of the enclosed city. Keeping their guard up, the Owls catch up to the fire genasi. The assembled 12 adventurers are greeted by a hunched, blind, and scarred albino tiefling, leaning on a cane and staring past the group. He allows the large group to enter, whacking a few with his cane on the way through, and introduces himself as Raaz Dewynn-Kadeem, Helaku’s uncle and last known relative. Helaku and his group seem less like chatting, instead moving into a side office and shutting the door. This seems like normal behavior to Raaz, who instead insists on the Owls sharing some tea and biscuits with him. He opens up about some of Helaku’s views on those who follow divine paths. The Owls learn that Helaku used to be an acolyte in the service of Bahamut in Hammerfell (in the west region of Erena). Under the orders of Grand Cleric Stormfist, Helaku and those under him abandoned their posts protecting their homeland just as a band of brigands rode in and laid waste to the same village where his family lived. When Helaku returned, Stormfist said that some things were just “the will of Bahamut.” Helaku left the temple that day and never returned. As the evening progresses with more history of the world, Helaku and his group rejoin the Owls at the table. They seem to have a map depicting Io’s Edge, a massive waterfall that descends to darkness, to a place called the Aether. This is known as the edge of the known world, and if one ventures beyond this space, they do not return. On this map is a grand castle, named Tidespear Keep, as well as its long bridges, named the Brigandeer, that span along the edge of the Aether and meet the Grimscale Mountains on either side. Helaku, seemingly frustrated with a lack of leads, explains that the morning will yield a missive from one of his contacts - he hopes it will give them another lead. In the meantime, he grills the Owls assembled on their allegiance if faced with certain armageddon. Through some pointed discussion, the Owls show a united front against the darkness, but the experience is made uneasy when Helaku stresses, “And what if you lose?” Left to their own devices and turning in for the night, the majority of the party selects lodging in the cavernous third basement of Raaz's cottage, while Beebir goes looking for commiserating... What he finds is the large goliath, named Dreyfus Jawbreaker, muttering to himself outside his room. Beebir does his bard thing and convinces the big guy to come share some ale and biscuits with him in the central building of this underground cavern, chatting him up the whole time. Beebir learns a few interesting things while bonding with Dreyfus: 1) Helaku contacted him and the others only a few weeks ago, stating that soon "it would be time." 2) Helaku and company used to be an adventuring party many years ago, but then Helaku lost his family and moved to Orlandin, trying to get on the council there. 3) Dreyfus seems uncertain and scared of Helaku, referencing many times the information he isn't supposed to tell, something about a "master returning to him." Through all of this, Beebir finds himself liking this Dreyfus, and the feeling is mutual, but as the evening progresses, Dreyfus becomes much more intoxicated and uneasy. In a moment of panic, he tells Beebir to stay still...then knocks him out, stuffing him somewhere "safe." But an hour later, Darrak and Riswynn awaken to the sound of flapping parchment, each under their doors. When they approach, the blank paper whips under the door. With something clearly amiss, they begin waking those near them and investigating. Using her Circlet of the Apocalypse, Riswynn activates Truesight and sees that each floating parchment appears to have a mage hand manipulating it, attempting to draw their attention somewhere in the middle of the night. Xun Fu, the half-orc monk, senses something wrong in his own room. There is smoke emanating from under the door and the room is getting increasingly hot. Fu opens his door and sees a shocking sight. Inches from the threshold is a rising, rolling pile of magma. He watches as grows to 15 feet tall, nearly cresting the top of this cavern, a long serpent-like head of fire protruding from its body, and one massive slab of fire and rock arching backward for an attack... Fu's door and front wall explodes as the elemental punches through it, slamming him into the far wall. It doesn't take the party long to see the towering elemental in the distance, and the clear course of action becomes to get out of the underground as fast as possible. Striga and Riswynn jump to the offensive, drawing its attention and slamming it with a Moonbeam. Eli gathers his armor and tries his best to catch up to Darrak, who has sprinted the opposite direction. Darrak slams through Brysar's door, lets him know the danger, then proceeds to knock down his back wall with his Staff of Sundering. As the elemental raises its arms to crush Fu's room, the wall next to him is hacked to pieces and Striga instead pulls him back, signaling a retreat as the party realizes most of the cavern is now on fire... Beebir awakens in a cramped space, realizing quickly that he is in a burlap sack, surrounded by sandbags, not far from where he and Dreyfus were speaking. The goliath is nowhere to be found, but all of the doors of the cellar are open, as if someone left in a rush. Beebir wanders out into the main cavern, lazily observing the spreading fire, and instead makes his way back toward Dreyfus's room. There, he finds hundreds of papers strewn about and angry red lettering covering the walls. They read: "The faithful shall become the faithless, or be devoured." Gosef fires a Ray of Frost onto the massive elemental, slowing it down enough for the others to make some headway, but the magma is spreading exponentially. In less than a minute, they judge the entire cavern will be under lava. Striga and Brysar taunt the creature to give the others time to move, slinging words and lightning, but when it comes time to go, Brysar insists he stay behind. Displeased with this, Striga casts Charm Person on him and convinces him to move anyway, but not before Brysar unleashes a devastating cold attack that finally puts the elemental to rest, cooling and crumbling its giant form. As Striga and Brysar rejoin the rest of the party at Dreyfus's quarters, Darrak discovers a trapped ward of Istus and Bahamut in Helaku's room, barely dodging out of the way of a torrent of fire unleashed from the trap. Riswynn, however, may have found an alternative way out in the form of a small underground river that slopes down. Fu and Riswynn judge that the water leads logically to the Edge, but it's probably a better choice than burning to death. With no time to don his armor, Eli shoves it into Darrak's bag of holding, then activates his Ring of Enlargement. Riswynn shifts into a giant crocodile and tests the water, while Darrak hands rope to everyone, locking one end in Riswynn's jaws. While the party prepares for a swim, Beebir decides he has a better idea, and casts Dimension Door to propel himself up to the first floor... Beebir lands, shattering the Raaz's tea time table, and realizes he is surrounded by flowing lava and the entire upper level of the cottage is ablaze. Beginning to panic, he notices that the magma flows appear to be generating in a ring running the length of the ceiling. He casts Dispel Magic on one end, and the magma fall ceases just over the door...where he seeks the charred remains of a Raaz, one arm against the door in futility... As the remaining magma rolls toward him, Beebir hatches a plan, but is interrupted by a perturbed Striga fighting his way through fire and lava. "Our allies have left!" Beebir responds that he has a plan but Striga doesn't seem to care, again casting Charm Person. Beebir, now under magical influence, considers Striga's option the better one, leaping toward his ally. Beebir's jump falls a little short, however, as Striga wades through the lava to catch him, then casts his own Dimension Door... The rest of the party is currently riding the world's worst slip-n-slide as they swim and cascade at alarming speeds down the river flow, far and away from the burning city of Brakfall. They find a small respite as the river evens out under a canopy of fine, luminous crystals, before the walls explode and an embracing Beebir and Striga rocket toward them. Beebir lands on and clutches Eli's enlarged face, but Striga knocks Darrak off of his post, grabbing the rope instead, before the current picks up once more as the river flows down a steep drop of rogue rock protrusions. Riswynn in the lead, she manages to maneuver around most of the stones, only taking minimal damage. Darrak's swimming, though further behind, fares just as well. Soon the incline increases to the point of terminal velocity before arching rapidly the other direction and before the party can realize what is happening, they are airborne, rocketing out of the mouth of a small cave protruding from just off the coast. They are greeted by a warm sunrise and the reality of plummeting toward the sea. Riswynn thinks fast; she shifts back to her dwarves form, clutching the rope in her hands, then changes into a giant eagle, lifting the party (complete with whiplash) back into the sky. She uses her keen vision to spy out toward the Brigandeer bridge, where she counts four familiar forms running along its edge toward the keep. Darrak, despite everything, hatches a plan. Downing his Skybridger Brew, his body slows in descent, granting him time to don a cloak and use his grappling hook to find purchase on the bridge proper, some 50 feet behind the fleeing foes. He slams into the stone and begins climbing, clicking his Boots of Haste on the way... Sprinting along the stonework of the Brigandeer, Helaku and his group stop short (Dreyfus skids a few extra feet) as a half-orc monk, two sorcerers, and the enlarged form of a dragonborn paladin slam into the stone ahead of them. ...then Beebir the Bard plops down from the paladin's head as a giant eagle orbits the group. Helaku calls for peace, stating that they all know that the gods lie - let them leave in peace to join their master; the Owls are free to burn with the rest of the faithful. Instead, Beebir steps forward, pleading with Dreyfus. It seems to work...before Helaku reaches out and dominates the barbarian's mind, and Beebir watches as his new friend begins to sprout gray fur, a long snout, and a pair of vicious claws. As an axe-wielding werewolf glares at the party, a tense combat begins, and Brysar detonates a fireball in the middle of them. Helaku's friends are seasoned warriors. The twins, Cole and Falthea, unleash a barrage of despair and arrows upon the party, blocking the holy auras of the still unarmored Eli and slicing into the group. However, Riswynn acts on an idea, using her giant eagle form to grapple Cole and drag him near the bridge's edge; maybe she can throw him over the side, maybe even over the edge of Io itself! ...She comes close, before Dreyfus rips into her eagle form, forcing her down and back to her dwarven form, where the freed Cole takes advantage of his circumstance and cleaves into Riswynn; she falls. In the melee thick of it, Helaku forms a vicious bonded weapon and uses it to rip into Eli and others, literally tearing life force from them, and Eli smites him, the radiant divine energy is pulled into his form, healing him and summoning a fiery ward around the warlock. As Falthea readies another barrage of necrotic arrows, a hasted Darrak appears from behind and knocks her off the bridge. The party waits for the splash, but hears nothing; instead, Falthea's form swings back up, hurling a dagger past the monk's head. It sinks into the stone behind him and he watches her form turn to black smoke and follow the path of the blade, teleporting her back to safety. Whirling to face her, he takes two arrows to the chest and recognizes the strange jitter to her form - she, too, is hasted. Tension rising, Beebir rushes forward and casts thunder wave on the werewolf and Cole; the wave of energy flows over Dreyfus to little effect, but Cole is blasted off the bridge, crashing into the water below. With his heavy plate mail dragging him into the water, the Owls watch his form disappear over the edge... One down. Xun Fu tries with no effect to strike down the warlock as Striga slides into the melee, sending a Healing Word to Riswynn. As Riswynn rises, she summons four giant eagles, surrounding the battlefield with a sea of magnificent wings and talons. Seeing the opportunity, Eli Misty Steps around Helaku and charges the werewolf, attempting to flip him over the edge. The enlarged dragonborn slams into the werewolf, but it pushes back with immense strength, so Eli adjusts his tactics and instead grabs his foot and heaves upward. The werewolf flips and tumbles over the edge into the water... Helaku is angry, seeing his allies disappear and a horde of eagles rise, he casts Blight upon Riswynn, blasting her with devastating necrotic energy. She falls again, and the eagles fade away. Meanwhile, the werewolf climbs back up, heaving, angry, and soaking wet. Darrak rushes toward Falthea, as she sinks another two arrows into him, and tries to take the blink dagger from her, fails, then fails to land even a single punch as she grins down at him. Striga again uses his Healing Word to bring Riswynn back from the brink, then slices and slams into Helaku, decimating his ward. Unable to find a good angle in the mess of melee, Brysar instead slams the werewolf with 3 bolts of force from Magic Missile, earning an angry growl from it, and a yell of protest from Beebir. "No! Hit the mage!" Beebir the Bard hurls himself at Dreyfus, hanging on to him in a hug, then persuades, persuades, persuades. "These are bad people. We don't want to hurt you. THEY want to hurt you. They want everybody dead. Literally EVERYBODY. You can't follow these guys. We are your friends! I'm your friend! Maybe him (Brysar), not so much, but I can stop him. You just gotta' let me." (Persuasion 22 vs. 5) Dreyfus growls and raises a claw at the bard, then stops and considers, seemingly considering something (especially since his Domination has been broken). Beebir, seeing that he got through to him, announces to the rest of the party, "Leave my FRIEND alone." And Riswynn, conscious once more, responds with a weak, "Ka-kaw..." in acknowledgement. Falthea uses her dagger to teleport once more away from the dwarven monk, then fills him with three arrows. Seeing the monk drop to one knee, Helaku blasts him in the back with an eldritch spear. As Darrak falls, the warlock breathes in his dark one's blessing, another fiery ward forming around him. Seizing opportunity, Xin Fu unleashes a flurry of blows upon the warlock, knocking him senseless and forcing him to burn his first Boon of the Dragon to resist being stunned or knocked over. But Riswynn slams him in the back with a Disintegrate (Asset), forcing him to burn his second and final boon. Frustrated, a weakened Riswynn casts Moonbeam on the archer, barely scathing her. Eli begins to slice into Helaku with Irongrave's Flaming Cleavers, cutting him into an inch of his life. Now drenched in his own blood with murder in his eyes, Helaku raises a hand to Eli. "You know, in another time, we might have seen eye to eye, but for now... Kill." Eli feels something cold and dark take hold of his body and his eyes close, waiting for the end... Until he feels something heavy at his feet. The paladin opens his eyes to see the form of Striga, lifeless and smiling, laying at his feet. Helaku is shocked, along with the rest of the Owls, as they watched Striga move with alarming speed, grab Helaku's hand, and press it into his own body, taking the spell instead. Eli seethes, "Finish the warlock." Brysar unleashes a Lightning Bolt into Helaku, knocking down his ward once more. Gosef then steps forward, casting thunderwave across the warlock, driving him to one knee. Beebir feels Dreyfus tense, and again persuades him to stay where he is - which he does - then sends a Healing Word to Darrak, who tries his best to look dead. Falthea does not notice, instead moving away from the annoying Moonbeam above her, and sinking only a single arrow into Eli's back (thank you Bardic Inspiration!). Xin Fu again unleashes a stream of blows onto the warlock, stunning him and...striking him across the face once, with a swift strike to the other direction, the warlock's spine snaps, and his body crumples to the ground. (warlock dead) Beebir feels the last of a magical tether fall from Dreyfus's furry back, and the werewolf form drops, his friend now standing before him; it seems he does not know who Helaku is. The warlock down, Eli then leans down over Striga's broken form and casts Revivify... And for a moment, nothing happens. The spell's energy moves into his gaunt body, and silence follows. Then, from the back of his mind, Eli feels the surging draconic roar as the full power of Bahamut himself flows into Striga, life returning to his body and breath entering his lungs. "Welcome back, friend." Striga replies, "Is the warlock dead?" "He is." Striga leans back and sighs painfully, casting Shield of Faith on Eli. "Finish this. I can only keep so many promises in one day." Falthea, now recognizing the blatant turned tide, attempts to ready her bow, ducking out of the way of Brysar's Firebolt...right into the path of Gosef's critical Firebolt. Her upper torso is immolated, and the fight ends. Closure: Beebir recruits Dreyfus into the Knight Owls "Initiative." Looting commences. Riswynn finds the Ring of Vost...which resonates with her Orb of Vost, to form a crystalline gauntlet over her hand, which she can use once every 3 days to turn *something* into a solid gold object (she uses it to turn Helaku's body into a gold statue). The Owls hear the approach of about 20 guards in Violet and Silver armor, but ahead of them, clinking and scraping on the stone, is a sprinting Keddigan, who stops at the scene, surveys, then calls the guard back. He apologizes for his disappearance, but explains that it was necessary to help draw out the Owls traitor. They had their suspicions, but they needed to be sure. The Owls have done a great service in destroying this dark seed. Darrak asks if Keddigan has a brother; he furrows his brow and explains that he is dead. "Are you sure? Cuz' I'm pretty sure we brought him back with a sword, and a ring. He's back at our guild..." Without missing a beat, Keddigan nods and says "We should probably get back to your guildhall, then." As you all turn to leave, Keddigan stops and stares out beyond the edge. Everyone looks, too, as they see a small bead of a storm cloud on the edge of their vision, growing slowly larger. "It seems we have much to discuss. Let's get back." Session close at: 2:00am |
DM: Adam SummererKnight Owls Adventure Archive Archives
April 2019
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