shilsen
Adventurer
“Rakshasas,” repeats Nameless, as if pronouncing a particularly foul expletive. “That explains a lot. No wonder they had unusual resistance to magic and to weapons.”
“And these rakshasas have the Key?” says Gurr’khan worriedly.
“Yes,” says Nameless. “It’s somewhere in that direction.” He points towards the northeast.
“But you have no idea of the distance.”
“No, unfortunately we don’t. Just the direc….” Then Nameless stops. “I’ve got an idea. It may take me a long while. Try to reincarnate Saala. I’ll be back.”
With that, he hurries out. Gurr’khan watches him go with a puzzled look. “What is he up to?”
“No idea,” says Korm. “But we should see to Saala.”
“Yes.” Gurr’khan turns to the corpse, near which Thlie now quietly sits, staring at it and rocking softly on the spot. He reaches into a pouch and pulls out a small object. “I do not have a reincarnate prepared, but with this I can…”
“Me!” says Luna quickly, “Let me do it!” The other Angels chuckle, knowing how long she’s been waiting for a chance to try the spell.
Gurr’khan looks surprised, but hands the object over. “You will be able to replace a spell you have ready, but need to use up prepared energy for another spell of the same valence or higher. Meditate on it while holding the idol.”
Luna takes the object, a small hardwood carving of a pot-bellied orc with both arms stretched above his head, and settles down against a wall to meditate. Fifteen minutes later, she is ready.
Luna and Gurr’khan lay out Saala’s corpse as neatly as possible and then arrange the ingredients in a foot long, roughly humanoid, shape beside it. Then, for the next ten minutes, Luna chants over it. Once she is done, she steps away.
“What happened?” asks Six. “Did it not work?”
“Wait.”
As the Angels watch, the ingredients slowly begin to swell and expand, while simultaneously merging together into a single whole. Over the course of the next hour, it first takes on the shape of a humanoid form, a little over five feet in length. Then it begins to develop what seems to be skin over its surface. At the same time, Saala’s corpse begins to shrink and decay, rapidly shrinking into an unrecognizable mass.
At the end of the hour, what was a pile of spell ingredients is now a naked, apparently dead, young human woman. And then she gasps, opens her eyes, seems to choke momentarily and sits up. As the same moment, the tiny pile that is all that’s left of Saala’s corpse dissolves into nothing.
Gurr’khan rushes forward, followed closely by the others. The woman looks at them, then down at herself, and then feels her face. “Oh! Damn!”
“Yes,” says Gurr’khan. “Those attackers killed you. We reincarnated…”
“Me!”
“Fine! Luna reincarnated you!”
“The attackers!” says the new Saala, standing quickly. “Did you stop them? Where are they?”
“They got away. With the Key.”
“Damn!”
Korm comments, “You might want to put on some clothes.”
“Huh? Oh, yes.” Saala accepts a blanket and wraps it around herself. Noticing Thlie, who has been staring at her with evident relief but not coming closer, she walks over and embraces her friend. Then she sits down and says, “Tell me everything that happened.”
The Angels relate everything. Saala, understandably, is first surprised and then gloomily accepting of the information that they were rakshasas. “That explains many things. Thlie and I were in the middle of a discussion when they appeared near us and attacked. I blasted them with a couple of spells, but failed to affect the one spellcaster, and the other wounded me badly. I shouted to Thlie to flee and created a rejuvenation cocoon to buy time. Seconds later, the spellcaster dispelled it, and the last thing I saw was the warrior slashing into me. Until you brought me back.”
She looks at Luna, says, “Thank you,” a little absent-mindedly, and then down at herself again. Saala feels her own, now unfamiliar, face and says, “This will take getting used to. And I’ll have to tell a lot of people.” She concentrates and her features shift and turn back into that of her original body. “That’s better.”
Turning back to the others, she asks, “And you have no idea where they went?”
“Well,” says Six, pointing in the direction that all the Angels can feel the Key’s existence, “We know it’s somewhere over there, but we can’t say how far away.”
“Seven hundred miles,” says Nameless, having returned unnoticed a moment earlier.
“What? How do you know?”
A little wearily, but smugly, Nameless says, “That’s what I was doing, flying back and forth for the last two hours. I triangulated its position based on how the direction varied with my movement. It’s about five hundred miles north and almost the same direction to the east, so just about seven hundred to the northeast. Give or take ten.”
“That’s … impressive.” Saala turns to Gurr’khan. “That would put it in the western Reaches, right?”
“Yes.”
Saala considers for a bit and then says, “If you do not mind, I’d like to speak to Thlie and Gurr’khan for a while. This situation has obviously changed drastically, and I need to decide what to do next.”
The Angels agree and give them some time. After about half an hour, the three rejoin them and Saala says, “We have discussed the situation and I think you should go after them right now. The spellcaster clearly used a significant amount of magic in the battle, and if he had more dangerous magic, I'm sure he’d have used it against you. All of you, especially in combination, have many more resources left. And they presumably don’t know that you have some lingering directional link to the Key. I don’t want to take the risk of them placing the Key in some sort of extradimensional storage and losing the link, especially since I don’t know how long it will last.”
She looks at Gurr’khan, who nods, and continues, “Since Nameless has some idea of the general distance, Gurr’khan can transport you all as close to it as possible. And then, hopefully, you can track them down using the link.”
Saala takes a deep breath and looks around at the Angels one by one. It is clear that she’s very concerned, but holding her emotions under control. “I know I’m asking for a lot from you, but consider what this can mean for Khorvaire. Will you do this? I will repay you as I can.”
Nameless says simply, “I will do what I must to keep the Shard safe. If you can get us within striking distance of them, I will go after them even if it is on my own,” the expression in his eyes making it clear that he’s really looking forward to another meeting with the rakshasas.
Gurr’khan mutters, just loud enough to be heard, "Crazy summoner of tentacled monstrosities 1 - paladin 0."
Saala’s lips twitch at the comment, but then she looks at Nameless and says seriously, “Thank you. You have my gratitude.” She looks at the rest of you. “Will you help too?”
Korm and Six both agree, while Luna mutters something about the ‘bloody cursed shard’ and then grudgingly agrees to help.
Gareth, having given Gurr’khan a dirty look, unsheathes Kizmet. “You,” he says to Thlie, “Said this sword was made to fight fiends. Rakshasas are close enough for me.” As he speaks, the paladin feels a thrill of anticipation from the sword. “Can you get us right to them?” he asks Gurr’khan.
The elderly orc shakes his head. “The best that we can do is show up in the general area. I’ll transport us to a tree 700 miles away, in the direction you indicate, and when we emerge, we can pick up the direction again ... I mean you people can ... and then try to find it. Also, I cannot transport all of you right now. A little shrinking has to happen. Can you do that, Nameless?”
When Nameless says that he does not have such a spell ready, Gurr’khan digs out the same carving he gave Luna, and explains how to use it.
While Nameless is preparing, Saala says to Gurr’khan, “I hope this situation will end today, but if it takes longer, leave them to pursue and return tomorrow to tell me what has occurred. I will wait here for 24 hrs but will then head south to Zarash’ak to check on other resources.
Once Nameless is ready, she addresses the group. “Thank you again. Is there any other way I can help before you leave?”
Nameless considers for a moment and then says, “My primary concern is our difficulty getting through the resistance to damage and to magic of the rakshasas. We need some way to deal with it. Also, I’m a little puzzled by the spellcaster’s ability to use magic that would normally be clerical in nature.”
Saala replies, “I have never fought a rakshasa myself – well, not till today – but I have heard that some of them have the ability to cast spells that arcanists, which is what rakshasa spellcasters invariably are, normally cannot.”
”It seems,” she adds a little gloomily, “That this one can do so. In theory, that is because much of magic was discovered or invented by their predecessors and the dragons ages ago, so they can craft it as the more mortal races cannot. As you know, certain dragons can use clerical magic too, though they transform it into arcane versions that other races cannot use.”
As Nameless nods, Saala continues, “Unfortunately, we have no weapons here that would help against rakshasas, but I can help with the resistance to magic.” She digs around in her backpack and produces a scroll. “This is a spell that was brought to us by the dragons. It will help you penetrate the resistance to magic of a single creature per casting. Since it was crafted by dragons, it actually works better for arcanists than for druids or clerics, but Korm and Luna will be able to use it too.”*
Nameless quickly skims the scroll. “This will help.”
Gurr’khan says, “All right. Now let us leave.” He points toward the exit from the lair. “Let us get outside and find a suitable tree.”
* Introduction of Assay Resistance into the game. I made it a Clr5 spell and Drd5 too.
“And these rakshasas have the Key?” says Gurr’khan worriedly.
“Yes,” says Nameless. “It’s somewhere in that direction.” He points towards the northeast.
“But you have no idea of the distance.”
“No, unfortunately we don’t. Just the direc….” Then Nameless stops. “I’ve got an idea. It may take me a long while. Try to reincarnate Saala. I’ll be back.”
With that, he hurries out. Gurr’khan watches him go with a puzzled look. “What is he up to?”
“No idea,” says Korm. “But we should see to Saala.”
“Yes.” Gurr’khan turns to the corpse, near which Thlie now quietly sits, staring at it and rocking softly on the spot. He reaches into a pouch and pulls out a small object. “I do not have a reincarnate prepared, but with this I can…”
“Me!” says Luna quickly, “Let me do it!” The other Angels chuckle, knowing how long she’s been waiting for a chance to try the spell.
Gurr’khan looks surprised, but hands the object over. “You will be able to replace a spell you have ready, but need to use up prepared energy for another spell of the same valence or higher. Meditate on it while holding the idol.”
Luna takes the object, a small hardwood carving of a pot-bellied orc with both arms stretched above his head, and settles down against a wall to meditate. Fifteen minutes later, she is ready.
Luna and Gurr’khan lay out Saala’s corpse as neatly as possible and then arrange the ingredients in a foot long, roughly humanoid, shape beside it. Then, for the next ten minutes, Luna chants over it. Once she is done, she steps away.
“What happened?” asks Six. “Did it not work?”
“Wait.”
As the Angels watch, the ingredients slowly begin to swell and expand, while simultaneously merging together into a single whole. Over the course of the next hour, it first takes on the shape of a humanoid form, a little over five feet in length. Then it begins to develop what seems to be skin over its surface. At the same time, Saala’s corpse begins to shrink and decay, rapidly shrinking into an unrecognizable mass.
At the end of the hour, what was a pile of spell ingredients is now a naked, apparently dead, young human woman. And then she gasps, opens her eyes, seems to choke momentarily and sits up. As the same moment, the tiny pile that is all that’s left of Saala’s corpse dissolves into nothing.
Gurr’khan rushes forward, followed closely by the others. The woman looks at them, then down at herself, and then feels her face. “Oh! Damn!”
“Yes,” says Gurr’khan. “Those attackers killed you. We reincarnated…”
“Me!”
“Fine! Luna reincarnated you!”
“The attackers!” says the new Saala, standing quickly. “Did you stop them? Where are they?”
“They got away. With the Key.”
“Damn!”
Korm comments, “You might want to put on some clothes.”
“Huh? Oh, yes.” Saala accepts a blanket and wraps it around herself. Noticing Thlie, who has been staring at her with evident relief but not coming closer, she walks over and embraces her friend. Then she sits down and says, “Tell me everything that happened.”
The Angels relate everything. Saala, understandably, is first surprised and then gloomily accepting of the information that they were rakshasas. “That explains many things. Thlie and I were in the middle of a discussion when they appeared near us and attacked. I blasted them with a couple of spells, but failed to affect the one spellcaster, and the other wounded me badly. I shouted to Thlie to flee and created a rejuvenation cocoon to buy time. Seconds later, the spellcaster dispelled it, and the last thing I saw was the warrior slashing into me. Until you brought me back.”
She looks at Luna, says, “Thank you,” a little absent-mindedly, and then down at herself again. Saala feels her own, now unfamiliar, face and says, “This will take getting used to. And I’ll have to tell a lot of people.” She concentrates and her features shift and turn back into that of her original body. “That’s better.”
Turning back to the others, she asks, “And you have no idea where they went?”
“Well,” says Six, pointing in the direction that all the Angels can feel the Key’s existence, “We know it’s somewhere over there, but we can’t say how far away.”
“Seven hundred miles,” says Nameless, having returned unnoticed a moment earlier.
“What? How do you know?”
A little wearily, but smugly, Nameless says, “That’s what I was doing, flying back and forth for the last two hours. I triangulated its position based on how the direction varied with my movement. It’s about five hundred miles north and almost the same direction to the east, so just about seven hundred to the northeast. Give or take ten.”
“That’s … impressive.” Saala turns to Gurr’khan. “That would put it in the western Reaches, right?”
“Yes.”
Saala considers for a bit and then says, “If you do not mind, I’d like to speak to Thlie and Gurr’khan for a while. This situation has obviously changed drastically, and I need to decide what to do next.”
The Angels agree and give them some time. After about half an hour, the three rejoin them and Saala says, “We have discussed the situation and I think you should go after them right now. The spellcaster clearly used a significant amount of magic in the battle, and if he had more dangerous magic, I'm sure he’d have used it against you. All of you, especially in combination, have many more resources left. And they presumably don’t know that you have some lingering directional link to the Key. I don’t want to take the risk of them placing the Key in some sort of extradimensional storage and losing the link, especially since I don’t know how long it will last.”
She looks at Gurr’khan, who nods, and continues, “Since Nameless has some idea of the general distance, Gurr’khan can transport you all as close to it as possible. And then, hopefully, you can track them down using the link.”
Saala takes a deep breath and looks around at the Angels one by one. It is clear that she’s very concerned, but holding her emotions under control. “I know I’m asking for a lot from you, but consider what this can mean for Khorvaire. Will you do this? I will repay you as I can.”
Nameless says simply, “I will do what I must to keep the Shard safe. If you can get us within striking distance of them, I will go after them even if it is on my own,” the expression in his eyes making it clear that he’s really looking forward to another meeting with the rakshasas.
Gurr’khan mutters, just loud enough to be heard, "Crazy summoner of tentacled monstrosities 1 - paladin 0."
Saala’s lips twitch at the comment, but then she looks at Nameless and says seriously, “Thank you. You have my gratitude.” She looks at the rest of you. “Will you help too?”
Korm and Six both agree, while Luna mutters something about the ‘bloody cursed shard’ and then grudgingly agrees to help.
Gareth, having given Gurr’khan a dirty look, unsheathes Kizmet. “You,” he says to Thlie, “Said this sword was made to fight fiends. Rakshasas are close enough for me.” As he speaks, the paladin feels a thrill of anticipation from the sword. “Can you get us right to them?” he asks Gurr’khan.
The elderly orc shakes his head. “The best that we can do is show up in the general area. I’ll transport us to a tree 700 miles away, in the direction you indicate, and when we emerge, we can pick up the direction again ... I mean you people can ... and then try to find it. Also, I cannot transport all of you right now. A little shrinking has to happen. Can you do that, Nameless?”
When Nameless says that he does not have such a spell ready, Gurr’khan digs out the same carving he gave Luna, and explains how to use it.
While Nameless is preparing, Saala says to Gurr’khan, “I hope this situation will end today, but if it takes longer, leave them to pursue and return tomorrow to tell me what has occurred. I will wait here for 24 hrs but will then head south to Zarash’ak to check on other resources.
Once Nameless is ready, she addresses the group. “Thank you again. Is there any other way I can help before you leave?”
Nameless considers for a moment and then says, “My primary concern is our difficulty getting through the resistance to damage and to magic of the rakshasas. We need some way to deal with it. Also, I’m a little puzzled by the spellcaster’s ability to use magic that would normally be clerical in nature.”
Saala replies, “I have never fought a rakshasa myself – well, not till today – but I have heard that some of them have the ability to cast spells that arcanists, which is what rakshasa spellcasters invariably are, normally cannot.”
”It seems,” she adds a little gloomily, “That this one can do so. In theory, that is because much of magic was discovered or invented by their predecessors and the dragons ages ago, so they can craft it as the more mortal races cannot. As you know, certain dragons can use clerical magic too, though they transform it into arcane versions that other races cannot use.”
As Nameless nods, Saala continues, “Unfortunately, we have no weapons here that would help against rakshasas, but I can help with the resistance to magic.” She digs around in her backpack and produces a scroll. “This is a spell that was brought to us by the dragons. It will help you penetrate the resistance to magic of a single creature per casting. Since it was crafted by dragons, it actually works better for arcanists than for druids or clerics, but Korm and Luna will be able to use it too.”*
Nameless quickly skims the scroll. “This will help.”
Gurr’khan says, “All right. Now let us leave.” He points toward the exit from the lair. “Let us get outside and find a suitable tree.”
* Introduction of Assay Resistance into the game. I made it a Clr5 spell and Drd5 too.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
