Evening, Ulanra 8th - Evening, Ulanra 9th
(Summary by Chris)
With Relic torn limb from limb and the Quakeheart lost, the group found themselves in a difficult predicament. Kaylan remained among the missing. Selja had fled, her wherabouts similarly unknown. The Kindred ruled the city, flocking about in their maniacal celebrations, kicking around the bits and pieces that remained of Relic.
Thamior remained unconscious, knocked out by Relic to prevent him from searching desperately for Kaylan. Portia and Diana hid with the unconscious Thamior in a small niche in the floor shown to them by Patrick and Lindsay Henry, two children not part of the Kindred. Thamior eventually came around and talked with a third child Percival Wright who begged Thamior to find his missing brother Bremen.
Meanwhile Diana began hatching a plan for how they could defeat the Kindred. Diana asked Portia to build one of her bombs. Diana’s plan involved getting to the Mills, using Thamior as a lure to draw the Kindred into one of the mills in which Portia’s bomb would be hidden, then detonating it after Thamior had escaped. The three of them could then mop up whichever Kindred remained.
They had to wait many excruciating hours for the sun to come up and the Kindred to disperse before they could move to the Mills. Finally Portia, Diana and Thamior were able to make their break for it, bringing the three children with them and collecting whatever parts of Relic they could find.
On the way a shadowy figure dumped a sack in the street near their location. Thamior wished to continue on but Portia and Diana wanted to investigate the sack. It turned out to hold Kaylan, nude, covered in slime, unconscious and apparently raped. Her clothes were left in a pile near her. Thamior was naturally distraught, and they brought the unconscious Kaylan to the Mills.
There more horrors awaited! Selja was found in a similar state as Kaylan, nude, covered in slime, unconscious and apparently raped. Some children hiding in the rafters claimed a demon had done the deed. Soon the demon in question, Jeda, deformed, angry, looking part like a spider, returned, taunting the group. Thamior and Portia looked intent on running out into the night after her, Kaylan only just began to revive and Selja remained unconscious. With her careful plan beginning to come undone, Diana made a passionate plea to the group not to let emotion get the better of them. The day to punish Jeda for her crimes would come, but for now, Diana implored, they had to remain focused on defeating the Kindred. Diana’s argument held sway and they plan was put into force.
Thamior managed to sneak into the fields where the Kindred were worshipping their “diety” Raggomuffyn. He managed to strike their leader, Nel, and snatch Bremen, running back to the Mills with the Kindred in hot pursuit. He lead the Kindred into the center mill, where Portia’s bomb awaited. Jeda confronted him here, but Thamior teleported away. Portia detonated the bomb and Diana, Kaylan and Selja rained magic down on those that remained.
Diana’s plan worked! Only Nel, leader of the Kindred remained unaccounted for. Jeda managed to escape somehow, taking Quakeheart with her. Meanwhile, Relic’s dragonfly began the long process of reassembling him. Thamior worked to console Kaylan and Diana relaxed in the afterglow of a day that turned out a lot more positively than it had started.
Much still awaited the group…Nel and Raggamoffyn, as well as Jeda. But for the moment, momentum was on their side…
Experience: 566 each (18,973 total)
Rousing Speech, 400
Successful Plan, 400
Battle of the Mills, 2,200
Reuniting Brothers, 400
Magic: Percival's Ring (unidentified)
Money: 2400 gp off various Kindred, mostly Lawpounder (400 gp each)
Loot: none
NPCs:
Percival Wright, noble boy of twelve from Edmark who was stolen away to this land; lost his brother in the confusion of the attack; begged Thamior to help him find his brother; has a new look on elves since Thamior saved his brother, and rewarded the feladrin his magic ring
Bremen Wright, a Nors toddler of noble blood and Percival's younger brother; was to be taken into the fields for Raggamoffyn, but Thamior saved him; called Thamior father and allows him to treat him as such; reunited with his big brother
Wordgiver Nel, a blond girl with a crutch, no older than ten, who made a deal with Raggamoffyn to steal away all the grown ups in her Saspish village and there around; once an abused, crippled daughter who was worked like a slave; the only one who speaks with Raggamoffyn, hence the title, and delivers his word to the masses; on shaky terms with Lawpounder
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Session 46: Suffer the Children
Morning, Ulanra 8th - Evening, Ulanra 8th
An Eerie Land
Morning proved the same weak sunset as the previous day, all this cursed land could muster.
House of Clues
Puzzling It
Takeshi's Haunting Memory
Strawbed
Wild Ride
The Lonely Road
Snatched
Darling Little Chapel
Patrick and Lindsay
Kindred
Into Hiding
Limb from Limb
Relic stepped out into the open, appearing as a weathered swordsman, to confront the hundred raucous children that poured from the fields. Once sighted, there was a rush of gasps. Grown Up was spoken like a curse between their gritted teeth and the youngest of the bunch unleashed a hail of stones and sticks, while the older in the bunch ran to the houses and the barns. Relic was dinged a bit, but nothing he hadn't suffered before, and fired a few warning shots. His bid to tame this ornery bunch was further complicated when those same older children, which perhaps had been fleeing, returned with sickles, scythes, hammers, hoes and shovels. They charged as a second wave, this time unleashed a terrible barrage which nearly brought the machine man to his knees. A leader emerged then, an ugly seventeen year old with blunt features and black, beady eyes. He lifted wool shears and charged. Relic tried to blast him, but in the confusion of little, groping hands and a rain of blows, he missed. The boy lifted those shears and plunged them into the robot's neck, severing the unseen chords which powered his positron brain. His last cry was more of an electronic noise and he fell silent.
The others watched horrified from their hiding places as the children piled onto Relic, bits and pieces of him flying in the air and being floated on the crowd. Relic was torn asunder, and the leader lifted Quakeheart, blazing orange, into the air victoriously. He took the top half of the robot's head and wedged it on his head as a new helm, then lead a cheering Kindred to the carriage and horses. Climbing onto the roof, he was paraded around town.
Lingering by the fields with a dozen or so mean-looking teenagers was a little girl with blond hair and brilliant eyes, leaning heavily on a crutch, observing.
Selja left Colta in the care of the boy hiding out in the mills and ran to the fields, her mind set on a vengeful blaze. In the schoolhouse, Diana clamped her fist over her mouth to keep from screaming, Portia right beside her, Thamior still unconscious, and Patrick and Lindsay tugging her gently out of sight.
Experience: 567 xp each (18,407 total)
A House of Clues skill challenge, 800
Lonely Road skill challenge, 1200
Survivors of Darling (4 x 400), 1600
Magic: n/a
Money: n/a
Loot: 4 horses: young bay mare named Colta, mature bay mare, piebald stallion, dun stallion, 1 4-person carriage, 1 cat (magic?) named Shilo, 1 pig (magic?)
New NPCs:
Shilo, fat house cat; Diana suspects he's magical because of a wink and a smile he gave her
Pig (unnamed); Relic's new pet, found sleeping in a child's bed; Suspected might be a transformed farmer, though no one detected any enchantments on it
Colta, young bay riding mare; Selja's new best friend found locked in the stables and slightly starved
Patrick Henry, a boy of seven who hides in the schoolhouse in Darling, a place the Kindred are loathe to visit, and forages when they're out on their Fieldmeets; parents were snatched by Raggamoffyn; helps the group escape the Kindred (mostly)
Lindsay Henry, a girl of fourteen who hides in the schoolhouse in Darling and forages with her little brother Patrick; a frantic and motherly figure, she's always concerned with her brother's safety; begrudgingly helps the group back to their hideout, though refuses to house any animals for the telling noises they make
Oscar Mercy, a boy of twelve who hides in the old mills outside of Darling; one of the "Darlings", children who don't belong to the Kindred
The Kindred (organization), field-worshiping children based out of Darling with a hatred for Grown Ups and affliliate with Raggamoffyn
Lawpounder Malvern, ugly teenage leader of the older kids who pummeled and dismembers Relic; wielded wool shears; now possesses Quakeheart
Raggamoffyn (mentioned), strange being in the fields who snatches folks; praised by the Kindred and celebrated in Fieldmeets
New Monsters: Black Witnesses (crows)
New Quest: Little Darlings
Uncover the mystery behind the empty farmlands
An Eerie Land
Morning proved the same weak sunset as the previous day, all this cursed land could muster.
House of Clues
Puzzling It
Takeshi's Haunting Memory
Strawbed
Wild Ride
The Lonely Road
Snatched
Darling Little Chapel
Patrick and Lindsay
Kindred
Into Hiding
Limb from Limb
Relic stepped out into the open, appearing as a weathered swordsman, to confront the hundred raucous children that poured from the fields. Once sighted, there was a rush of gasps. Grown Up was spoken like a curse between their gritted teeth and the youngest of the bunch unleashed a hail of stones and sticks, while the older in the bunch ran to the houses and the barns. Relic was dinged a bit, but nothing he hadn't suffered before, and fired a few warning shots. His bid to tame this ornery bunch was further complicated when those same older children, which perhaps had been fleeing, returned with sickles, scythes, hammers, hoes and shovels. They charged as a second wave, this time unleashed a terrible barrage which nearly brought the machine man to his knees. A leader emerged then, an ugly seventeen year old with blunt features and black, beady eyes. He lifted wool shears and charged. Relic tried to blast him, but in the confusion of little, groping hands and a rain of blows, he missed. The boy lifted those shears and plunged them into the robot's neck, severing the unseen chords which powered his positron brain. His last cry was more of an electronic noise and he fell silent.
The others watched horrified from their hiding places as the children piled onto Relic, bits and pieces of him flying in the air and being floated on the crowd. Relic was torn asunder, and the leader lifted Quakeheart, blazing orange, into the air victoriously. He took the top half of the robot's head and wedged it on his head as a new helm, then lead a cheering Kindred to the carriage and horses. Climbing onto the roof, he was paraded around town.
Lingering by the fields with a dozen or so mean-looking teenagers was a little girl with blond hair and brilliant eyes, leaning heavily on a crutch, observing.
Selja left Colta in the care of the boy hiding out in the mills and ran to the fields, her mind set on a vengeful blaze. In the schoolhouse, Diana clamped her fist over her mouth to keep from screaming, Portia right beside her, Thamior still unconscious, and Patrick and Lindsay tugging her gently out of sight.
Experience: 567 xp each (18,407 total)
A House of Clues skill challenge, 800
Lonely Road skill challenge, 1200
Survivors of Darling (4 x 400), 1600
Magic: n/a
Money: n/a
Loot: 4 horses: young bay mare named Colta, mature bay mare, piebald stallion, dun stallion, 1 4-person carriage, 1 cat (magic?) named Shilo, 1 pig (magic?)
New NPCs:
Shilo, fat house cat; Diana suspects he's magical because of a wink and a smile he gave her
Pig (unnamed); Relic's new pet, found sleeping in a child's bed; Suspected might be a transformed farmer, though no one detected any enchantments on it
Colta, young bay riding mare; Selja's new best friend found locked in the stables and slightly starved
Patrick Henry, a boy of seven who hides in the schoolhouse in Darling, a place the Kindred are loathe to visit, and forages when they're out on their Fieldmeets; parents were snatched by Raggamoffyn; helps the group escape the Kindred (mostly)
Lindsay Henry, a girl of fourteen who hides in the schoolhouse in Darling and forages with her little brother Patrick; a frantic and motherly figure, she's always concerned with her brother's safety; begrudgingly helps the group back to their hideout, though refuses to house any animals for the telling noises they make
Oscar Mercy, a boy of twelve who hides in the old mills outside of Darling; one of the "Darlings", children who don't belong to the Kindred
The Kindred (organization), field-worshiping children based out of Darling with a hatred for Grown Ups and affliliate with Raggamoffyn
Lawpounder Malvern, ugly teenage leader of the older kids who pummeled and dismembers Relic; wielded wool shears; now possesses Quakeheart
Raggamoffyn (mentioned), strange being in the fields who snatches folks; praised by the Kindred and celebrated in Fieldmeets
New Monsters: Black Witnesses (crows)
New Quest: Little Darlings
Uncover the mystery behind the empty farmlands
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Session 45: Outrunning the Night
Evening, Ulanra 7th
Last Night
The week proceeding The Watchman's Ease debacle found the group separate but strong, each of them indulging in some personal rest and relaxation away from the other guardians (in most cases).
Selja slept every night with Filias at the Academy, making great friends with cadets Sweefel and Horatio, and causing all sorts of hi jinks to help lift the spirits of the mourning school. Relic spend his time at Spellforge, making all the finer repairs to his systems quick road work would not allow, and often talking with his friend Grimkey on matters ranging from technology to religion. Portia secluded herself in her room at the inn, the sounds of clanking metal whirring gears and more than a few explosions marking her slow discovery of the Tomes' power. Diana was almost always with Captain Blackwing, pampered and loved like she'd never been before. Kaylan managed to find a portrait of High King Gloriandel in the wreckage of a museum, supernaturally beautiful, glowing, in white armor fringed with lion manes. She spent a good deal of time at the hospitals across the city, working her miracles for the betterment of the sick and infirm, while Thamior volunteered on the cleanup crews and helped rebuild some fallen-down neighborhoods. The two shared in sweet, sweet love in between their charity. All was good in the universe.
On the eighth night, the sky was devoid of stars and a cold wind blew through the city. The group could sense their time growing short, and each of them had a poignant final moment with a connection to Spelltower. Filias and Selja shared their last night crying and cuddling, and the bird boy gifted the boggart with a beautiful darkwood wand in the likeness of a stream of blue jays. Grimkey surprised Relic with his own little tinkering based off the designed he'd observed off the warforged, a neck installment that increased the machine man's defenses and removed the loud and telling hum of his systems. Diana dined with Christopher, who confessed his undying love, and gifted her with a magic golden dagger in the style of a curved flame. Kaylan sat for hours over tea with Elewoon, laughing and swapping stories, and the cleric was gifted with golden lion's mane cloak fit for elven nobility. Elewoon reminded Kaylan that she was a lioness and that she should never, ever change. Portia was visited by the innkeeper Acantha, sent by a shy and busy Fread with a gift that once belonged to his grandfather, six-fingered gloves. Acantha couldn't thank Portia enough for talking with Fread and helping him understand it was good to be different. And Thamior perhaps had the strangest visit of all when Lord Loradan knocked on his door, speaking of many things (including Kaylan) and outfitting the swordmage with a magical cloak to enhance his teleportation abilities.
At the End of Time
Some unseen clock struck midnight and one by one the group faded into a black, endless plane. Kriznob, too, who began shouting for anyone. Who bumped into who bumped into who, spread over nearly a half mile, until the group, half glum with the loss of their special ones, half on edge over what might be next, guessed where exactly they were. Relic threw out the notion they were at the end of time, as he looked around at black infinity.
His guess was correct, and commended by the dry, raspy voices of the same two Anubians. They emerged from the darkness in all their eerie glory, revealing in this point in time manipulation of the stream was easiest. Portia squeezed her eyes shut in fear of them, but when she opened them again one was pressing up against her, elongated hand open and waiting. She returned the pyramid, prompting a conversation.
The time stream was healed. The Anubians implied Creation is in constant peril and that untold groups much like themselves from all different worlds and all different times fought their battles to preserve it. This would not be the last time the group would fight to preserve existence, of that they assured, though when some questioned too deep into their futures, the aliens refrained from revealing anything else. Some of those questions hung heavily, like the fate of those in the past, or the ability to change their fate as Lords of Chaos.
The Anubians did mention that the Guardians would be called during the reclaiming of the Tesseract and that they must heed it, no matter what. It sounded as if the Anubians would eventually deal with the green elder who'd used them, imprisoned them and sought the death of Sev.
With that proclaimed, they would return the group to their own time, but at a place of their own choosing. A debate kicked up on where to go, everywhere from Etheria and Saspien, to the home of the boggarts, but eventually decided upon the location of the siblings. Nine other Anubians materialized from the dark, surrounding the group, and they began to strobe, flickering in and out of reality until they vanished entirely.
The Bad Place
They appeared suddenly in an unknown realm, what some even questioned was the Wild at all. A vast farmland in the throws of autumn stretched before them, looking empty and untended, with crops rotting on the vine and not a soul in sight. Animals roamed wild and houses were left open. The sun was huge and orange, swollen even, but could barely muster the orange of sunset.
It took a few moments before Kriznob realized where they were and could only muster, "We have to keep moving," before hurrying on down the road. The group followed, passing eerie scarecrows and dozens of red-eyed crows.
Portia asked Hoppers if he knew where they were. He changed into his boggart form and jogged alongside her, looking strong enough to do so. He confirmed they were in the Wild, but a place where the planar boundaries grew thin and other places influenced the nature of the realm.
After little more than an hour moving through the desolate farmland, the group noticed the night catching up to them, casting everything in a cold darkness. Kriznob was terrified and hastened, waiting for no one and getting well ahead of everyone else. Most were able to keep pace, Hoppers even turning into a horse for Portia's sake, but inevitably the night caught up to Thamior and Kaylan.
Dark One
A cold, clawing wind marked the manifestation of a twelve-foot tall figure of darkness and shadow, garbed in black wind, baring an elaborate staff and possessing a malformed, obscured head. The night and a veritable cyclone followed with him. Kaylan and Portia recognized the entity immediately: The Dark One.
The Dark One demanded the Hearts, even managed to revert them into their humanoid forms. Tiberius again became the spoiled little schoolboy, while two new manifestations revealed themselves. Dibs transformed into naught more than a human toddler, who clung terrified to Selja, but most surprising was the Quakeheart as it leaped from Relic's chest and became a fiery, orange orcish woman. The machine man dropped, seemingly lifeless. Thamior moved to protect his friends, but even his most masterful stroke couldn't break the howling winds which guarded this black entity. He wondered suddenly if they were encountering Chrysaor, but the Dark One did not entertain any sort of dialogue, only demanded the Hearts, assuring a praying Kaylan than Ezariel could not save them this time.
Hoppers' Sacrifice
Portia and Hoppers were well up the road, watching a screaming Kriznob run off into the sunset, before turning back to see the appearance of the Dark One. Hoppers offered to take Portia away, but she couldn't abandon her friends and her sister. She begged her Heart to flee where the Dark One couldn't find him, while she tried to deal with the being. Hoppers reluctantly let her down and rode off, while the rogue went right up to the frightening windlord and offered him a deal in return for their lives. She swore she knew where another Heart was that he could have, a Heart that may have been hidden from him.
Dark One grabbed the boggart by the throat and lifted her level with his malignant visage. She quickly felt the life sapping out of her, but managed the gaul to demand the creature's word. The Dark One demanded the location of the hidden heart, or else he would peel the information from her very mind. Her dealing proved distraction enough for the most unlikely of rescues...
Hoppers came charging back down the road, a host of errant farm animals turned stampede behind him, even as the group leaped out of the way in a dumbfounded awe. Only at the last moment did the Dark One recognize the attack, throwing Portia aside in time for Hoppers to transform into a triceratops and plow him over. A stream of cows, goats, sheep, chickens, horses and pigs crashed into the pillar of evil, affording the group enough time to collect themselves and flee. The Hearts reverted back into gems and together they ran, the night and sounds of dying animals behind them.
Licking Wounds
The party ran for as long as their legs would function, well into the unnatural night, and managed to lose the Dark One. Holed up in some side ditch, away from the road and the murmuring fields, they licked their wounds and mourned their losses.
During camp, Selja and Thamior investigated the revelation Dibs was without a doubt a Heart, eventually uncovering a connection to Carceri, the prison plane, where all manner of ancient evil was condemned for all eternity after the God War. Diana described Carceri as another Hell, a desolate wasteland, but Selja was certain Dibs was good and could never be tied to such a terrible place. Given how she came into Dibs, perhaps he was some sort of warden of Carceri, perhaps all treants were wardens. Dibs could be a rootling baby treant (supported by his humanoid toddler form), but special for being entwined with a Heart. Dibs also proved able to change the color of his gem, though the larger implications could only be guessed at.
Relic also managed to meet the rage within, namely Quakeheart, who manifested a second time berating and verbally attacking the group. Thamior urged Relic to retake control and, thanks to his meditation studies during his week in Spelltower, was eventually able to silence the critical, cruel artifact which powered him. Still, an unsettling air rested over the group after all that had transpired.
Thamior quietly asked for the rusted katana once Relic regained his composure, allowing the feladrin a chance to finally look it over after weeks of meaning to. As soon as he touched the hilt, the weapon sprung to life, shaking away the rust of centuries and elongating to a brilliant, new sword that crackled with lightning and stirred a cold gale. He recognized it instantly as Ten-Thousand Winters, one of the four Blades of Legacy, made by the feladrin goddess Vaness herself so that the feladrin and their bushido code would endure for all time. Specifically, this sword was a dragon slayer, the bane of all Kultuss' progeny.
Fearing what Vilthanos might do with such a weapon, he threw it away, but it sprung back to his side and materialized a blue dragon scale sheath and belt. Despite any effort, he'd earned the loyalty of the artifact sword, for better or worse... but how could things get any worse (see next summary hehe).
Experience: 400 xp each (17,840 total)
Magic: Essence of the Scout (Relic), Cloak of Translocation (Thamior), Cloak of the Lion's Mane (Kaylan), Blue Jay Sharpshooter's Wand (Selja), Elemental Twist Dagger (Diana), Six-Fingered Gloves of Misguiding (Portia), Ten-Thousand Winters (Thamior)
Money: -300 gp (Diana)
Loot: Blue Dress with Sequins (Diana)
Last Night
The week proceeding The Watchman's Ease debacle found the group separate but strong, each of them indulging in some personal rest and relaxation away from the other guardians (in most cases).
Selja slept every night with Filias at the Academy, making great friends with cadets Sweefel and Horatio, and causing all sorts of hi jinks to help lift the spirits of the mourning school. Relic spend his time at Spellforge, making all the finer repairs to his systems quick road work would not allow, and often talking with his friend Grimkey on matters ranging from technology to religion. Portia secluded herself in her room at the inn, the sounds of clanking metal whirring gears and more than a few explosions marking her slow discovery of the Tomes' power. Diana was almost always with Captain Blackwing, pampered and loved like she'd never been before. Kaylan managed to find a portrait of High King Gloriandel in the wreckage of a museum, supernaturally beautiful, glowing, in white armor fringed with lion manes. She spent a good deal of time at the hospitals across the city, working her miracles for the betterment of the sick and infirm, while Thamior volunteered on the cleanup crews and helped rebuild some fallen-down neighborhoods. The two shared in sweet, sweet love in between their charity. All was good in the universe.
On the eighth night, the sky was devoid of stars and a cold wind blew through the city. The group could sense their time growing short, and each of them had a poignant final moment with a connection to Spelltower. Filias and Selja shared their last night crying and cuddling, and the bird boy gifted the boggart with a beautiful darkwood wand in the likeness of a stream of blue jays. Grimkey surprised Relic with his own little tinkering based off the designed he'd observed off the warforged, a neck installment that increased the machine man's defenses and removed the loud and telling hum of his systems. Diana dined with Christopher, who confessed his undying love, and gifted her with a magic golden dagger in the style of a curved flame. Kaylan sat for hours over tea with Elewoon, laughing and swapping stories, and the cleric was gifted with golden lion's mane cloak fit for elven nobility. Elewoon reminded Kaylan that she was a lioness and that she should never, ever change. Portia was visited by the innkeeper Acantha, sent by a shy and busy Fread with a gift that once belonged to his grandfather, six-fingered gloves. Acantha couldn't thank Portia enough for talking with Fread and helping him understand it was good to be different. And Thamior perhaps had the strangest visit of all when Lord Loradan knocked on his door, speaking of many things (including Kaylan) and outfitting the swordmage with a magical cloak to enhance his teleportation abilities.
At the End of Time
Some unseen clock struck midnight and one by one the group faded into a black, endless plane. Kriznob, too, who began shouting for anyone. Who bumped into who bumped into who, spread over nearly a half mile, until the group, half glum with the loss of their special ones, half on edge over what might be next, guessed where exactly they were. Relic threw out the notion they were at the end of time, as he looked around at black infinity.
His guess was correct, and commended by the dry, raspy voices of the same two Anubians. They emerged from the darkness in all their eerie glory, revealing in this point in time manipulation of the stream was easiest. Portia squeezed her eyes shut in fear of them, but when she opened them again one was pressing up against her, elongated hand open and waiting. She returned the pyramid, prompting a conversation.
The time stream was healed. The Anubians implied Creation is in constant peril and that untold groups much like themselves from all different worlds and all different times fought their battles to preserve it. This would not be the last time the group would fight to preserve existence, of that they assured, though when some questioned too deep into their futures, the aliens refrained from revealing anything else. Some of those questions hung heavily, like the fate of those in the past, or the ability to change their fate as Lords of Chaos.
The Anubians did mention that the Guardians would be called during the reclaiming of the Tesseract and that they must heed it, no matter what. It sounded as if the Anubians would eventually deal with the green elder who'd used them, imprisoned them and sought the death of Sev.
With that proclaimed, they would return the group to their own time, but at a place of their own choosing. A debate kicked up on where to go, everywhere from Etheria and Saspien, to the home of the boggarts, but eventually decided upon the location of the siblings. Nine other Anubians materialized from the dark, surrounding the group, and they began to strobe, flickering in and out of reality until they vanished entirely.
The Bad Place
They appeared suddenly in an unknown realm, what some even questioned was the Wild at all. A vast farmland in the throws of autumn stretched before them, looking empty and untended, with crops rotting on the vine and not a soul in sight. Animals roamed wild and houses were left open. The sun was huge and orange, swollen even, but could barely muster the orange of sunset.
It took a few moments before Kriznob realized where they were and could only muster, "We have to keep moving," before hurrying on down the road. The group followed, passing eerie scarecrows and dozens of red-eyed crows.
Portia asked Hoppers if he knew where they were. He changed into his boggart form and jogged alongside her, looking strong enough to do so. He confirmed they were in the Wild, but a place where the planar boundaries grew thin and other places influenced the nature of the realm.
After little more than an hour moving through the desolate farmland, the group noticed the night catching up to them, casting everything in a cold darkness. Kriznob was terrified and hastened, waiting for no one and getting well ahead of everyone else. Most were able to keep pace, Hoppers even turning into a horse for Portia's sake, but inevitably the night caught up to Thamior and Kaylan.
Dark One
A cold, clawing wind marked the manifestation of a twelve-foot tall figure of darkness and shadow, garbed in black wind, baring an elaborate staff and possessing a malformed, obscured head. The night and a veritable cyclone followed with him. Kaylan and Portia recognized the entity immediately: The Dark One.
The Dark One demanded the Hearts, even managed to revert them into their humanoid forms. Tiberius again became the spoiled little schoolboy, while two new manifestations revealed themselves. Dibs transformed into naught more than a human toddler, who clung terrified to Selja, but most surprising was the Quakeheart as it leaped from Relic's chest and became a fiery, orange orcish woman. The machine man dropped, seemingly lifeless. Thamior moved to protect his friends, but even his most masterful stroke couldn't break the howling winds which guarded this black entity. He wondered suddenly if they were encountering Chrysaor, but the Dark One did not entertain any sort of dialogue, only demanded the Hearts, assuring a praying Kaylan than Ezariel could not save them this time.
Hoppers' Sacrifice
Portia and Hoppers were well up the road, watching a screaming Kriznob run off into the sunset, before turning back to see the appearance of the Dark One. Hoppers offered to take Portia away, but she couldn't abandon her friends and her sister. She begged her Heart to flee where the Dark One couldn't find him, while she tried to deal with the being. Hoppers reluctantly let her down and rode off, while the rogue went right up to the frightening windlord and offered him a deal in return for their lives. She swore she knew where another Heart was that he could have, a Heart that may have been hidden from him.
Dark One grabbed the boggart by the throat and lifted her level with his malignant visage. She quickly felt the life sapping out of her, but managed the gaul to demand the creature's word. The Dark One demanded the location of the hidden heart, or else he would peel the information from her very mind. Her dealing proved distraction enough for the most unlikely of rescues...
Hoppers came charging back down the road, a host of errant farm animals turned stampede behind him, even as the group leaped out of the way in a dumbfounded awe. Only at the last moment did the Dark One recognize the attack, throwing Portia aside in time for Hoppers to transform into a triceratops and plow him over. A stream of cows, goats, sheep, chickens, horses and pigs crashed into the pillar of evil, affording the group enough time to collect themselves and flee. The Hearts reverted back into gems and together they ran, the night and sounds of dying animals behind them.
Licking Wounds
The party ran for as long as their legs would function, well into the unnatural night, and managed to lose the Dark One. Holed up in some side ditch, away from the road and the murmuring fields, they licked their wounds and mourned their losses.
During camp, Selja and Thamior investigated the revelation Dibs was without a doubt a Heart, eventually uncovering a connection to Carceri, the prison plane, where all manner of ancient evil was condemned for all eternity after the God War. Diana described Carceri as another Hell, a desolate wasteland, but Selja was certain Dibs was good and could never be tied to such a terrible place. Given how she came into Dibs, perhaps he was some sort of warden of Carceri, perhaps all treants were wardens. Dibs could be a rootling baby treant (supported by his humanoid toddler form), but special for being entwined with a Heart. Dibs also proved able to change the color of his gem, though the larger implications could only be guessed at.
Relic also managed to meet the rage within, namely Quakeheart, who manifested a second time berating and verbally attacking the group. Thamior urged Relic to retake control and, thanks to his meditation studies during his week in Spelltower, was eventually able to silence the critical, cruel artifact which powered him. Still, an unsettling air rested over the group after all that had transpired.
Thamior quietly asked for the rusted katana once Relic regained his composure, allowing the feladrin a chance to finally look it over after weeks of meaning to. As soon as he touched the hilt, the weapon sprung to life, shaking away the rust of centuries and elongating to a brilliant, new sword that crackled with lightning and stirred a cold gale. He recognized it instantly as Ten-Thousand Winters, one of the four Blades of Legacy, made by the feladrin goddess Vaness herself so that the feladrin and their bushido code would endure for all time. Specifically, this sword was a dragon slayer, the bane of all Kultuss' progeny.
Fearing what Vilthanos might do with such a weapon, he threw it away, but it sprung back to his side and materialized a blue dragon scale sheath and belt. Despite any effort, he'd earned the loyalty of the artifact sword, for better or worse... but how could things get any worse (see next summary hehe).
Experience: 400 xp each (17,840 total)
Magic: Essence of the Scout (Relic), Cloak of Translocation (Thamior), Cloak of the Lion's Mane (Kaylan), Blue Jay Sharpshooter's Wand (Selja), Elemental Twist Dagger (Diana), Six-Fingered Gloves of Misguiding (Portia), Ten-Thousand Winters (Thamior)
Money: -300 gp (Diana)
Loot: Blue Dress with Sequins (Diana)
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