A Rose In The Wind: A Saga of the Halmae -- Updated June 19, 2014

Announcement!

About 6 months ago, Fajitas and WisdomLikeSilence informed us that there would be a new member joining our little gaming circle. Now, we can announce that there is a Very Good Reason why we don't have an update to post this week:

Please join us in welcoming Fajitas' and WisdomLikeSilence's daughter (henceforth known as "FajitasLikeSilence" ... or possibly "WisdomLikeFajitas") into the world!

Ah, it's the beginning of a new adventure (the best kind even). Welcome to the new gamer. When my children we're born I had already bought them their first set of dice, which they both use on a fairly regular basis.

Congratulations to the new mom and dad, hope you find parenthood as much fun (in all things) as I do with my children. (This is the first, yes?)

Congratulations! I cherish the pictures of my kids playing with a giant plush D20, or chewing on an oversized D20. I also recommend The Quests of Samantha the Red (http://www.enworld.org/forum/story-hour/106634-quests-samantha-red-pictures-included-updated-8-5-a.html) for lovely kid-gaming fun.

If I may speak on behalf of the new parents, thanks for the good wishes! As I understand it, WisdomLikeFajitas assisted in editing this next update by napping helpfully in her dad's arms while he looked it over.

8x03

The zombie fight was over, and Tavi was tired. He hesitated to admit that to himself – and not for all the gold in Pol Aego was he admitting it to Phoebe – but it was true.

His exhaustion nonetheless seemed insignificant as he watched Kormick flop onto one of the chapel's pews, lie back, and close his eyes beneath a mask of blood and bruises. That's just about how I felt after fighting Lurx, thought Tavi – and an image of Savina's face as she healed him came unbidden into his mind. He smiled inwardly and marveled at the power of her healing abilities: less than an hour ago, he was nearly dead. Now, he was tired.

He caught Savina’s eye. She was observing as Thurran, Nyoko, and Mena tried to soothe Jalissi, the dwarven women they'd just rescued from the zombies. Jalissi wouldn't speak – not even to Thurran. Mena settled for gripping the woman's hand briefly and telling her calmly, "Throughout history, dwarves have survived. You can survive. You are in good company." She asked for no response, and Jalissi didn't give one … except that her eyes met Mena's briefly.

"There's no healing I can give Jalissi for this," murmured Savina, stepping up beside Tavi. "I think – I think she just needs time."

"I hope she gets time, but she can't have it here," said Tavi. "We have to keep moving."

"I don't understand what she's doing here," continued Savina. "Why would Alirrian priestesses – even undead ones – do that to her?"

"I don't think they did. I think the derro put her there to distract the zomb – I mean, the priestesses – from Lurx's tunneling project down the hall. Kartan was probably the first distraction they left here. After he died, they brought in Jalissi."

"That's terrible," whispered Savina. Savina looked tired too, he noticed. Of course she did. For Tavi, this was new, but years of Mena’s training had prepared him. He couldn’t even imagine what Savina must be going through.

Phoebe swooped down in front of Tavi's face. Hey, Tavi, you should put your arm around Savina or something! Make a move! That would cheer her up!

Tavi shook his head.

Well, it'd cheer me up.

Twiggy had gone back down the hall to fetch Rose and the rest of the dwarves, and now she led them all into the room. Sertani and Corani hurried to their sister-wife. As Corani ministered to Jalissi, Thurran tugged on Sertani's hand.

"That one over there was amazing!" he told her, pointing to the Justicar, who was still sprawled on a pew.

Sertani blinked. "Truly?" Tavi grinned at the skepticism in her voice.

Dragged toward Kormick by her son, Sertani stood over the Justicar and asked, in Common, "You were brave?"

"Merely functional," grunted Kormick, eyes still closed.

Thurran tugged his mother's hand yet again and said, in Dwarven, "Tell him how amazing he was!"

"The Lord Rockminder wishes to express his considered admiration for your valiant actions."

Kormick's eyes slitted open and took in the glowing hero-worship on the face of the seven-year-old. Then he turned his head to look at Tavi: "Sorry, Tavi. The little one's on my team now." He noticed Savina. "I don't suppose my much-admired self could get some healing over here?" he muttered, closing his eyes again.

Tavi expected Savina to be stricken to the core by the Justicar's rudeness. Maybe she was. But she merely walked to Kormick's side and put her hand on his forehead. "I – I had to rest a little," she explained softly.

Kormick sighed in relief as her healing powers took effect.

"I know, I know," he said, his eyes still closed. "You are very kind. In Dar Und, we – well. Perhaps I am the slightest little bit out of practice with kindness. You understand?"

There's something you don't see every day, Pheebs, Tavi thought. Kormick just apologized for something. Sort of.

Just because it's unusual doesn't make it exciting.

Look, go dive-bomb Whisper or something.

Okay! The hummingbird took off across the room, then swooped back, then vanished into the hall, and then was back. Where’s Whisper?

"So," said Kormick, sitting up and gesturing at the fountain. "Is it too much to hope that we've arrived at the famous spring?"

"I don't think that's it," said Savina.

"Because, for the record, I am very much hoping that we've arrived at the famous spring and now we can all relax and sleep for twenty years."

Savina walked over, put her hand into the water, and shook her head. "This water doesn't feel holy to me."

"But this place is obviously an Alirrian chapel," said Rose. "It must be the monastery from my mother's stories."

"The Honored Mother in Lord's Edge mentioned a monastery that he and the other Inquisitors attacked," said Savina, "but I thought it was in the city of Cauldron."

"There are hot baths in Cauldron," murmured Nyoko, more to herself than anyone else. Acorn suddenly popped his head up out of Twiggy’s dress and looked with starving intensity at Nyoko. Twiggy stroked his head reassuringly as she joined in the conversation.

"The monks retreated to Cauldron after an earlier attack, I think," said Twiggy. "But I'm pretty sure Dona Giovanna said they used to live closer to the spring. Do you remember, Rose?"

"You've got it right. Mother spoke about an old monastery about five or six days away from the spring."

"If this is it, then I bet there's a path from here," Twiggy concluded triumphantly. "We're close!"

"Five or six days is not 'close,'" said Kormick. "Not in the Ketkath."

Whisper glided in through the doorway and swept silently to Rose's shoulder. Phoebe immediately launched an attack on the pseudodragon.

Phoebe!

You told me to!

True enough. Carry on.

Hey! Phoebe chirped in outrage as Rose swatted her away and rolled her eyes at Tavi. Tavi shrugged with pretend innocence.

"Whisper has news if you'll condescend to let him tell me about it, brother Octavian," Rose announced with faux-haughtiness.

Tavi gave her an exaggerated bow. "At your service."

Rose parodied a quick curtsy, but then the twinkle went out of her eye as Whisper silently spoke to her. "Whisper says that one derro sneaked away at the end of the fight with Lurx," she explained. "He went into that tunnel we saw branching off to one side, halfway down the crevice. Whisper followed him for some time, but it's a very long tunnel."

"He's almost certainly gone to seek reinforcements," spoke up Nyoko. "That tunnel leads back to the main derro warren."

"This isn't the main one?" demanded Mena.

Nyoko shook her head, and Mena groaned in annoyance. "They brought me here through that tunnel," Nyoko continued. "It's six miles long. It took us about five hours to traverse it – we can assume that the derro reinforcements will make better speed than chained slaves. To be safe, in fact, we should assume that a renewed force of derro will arrive here in about eight hours."

Silence fell. An exhausted silence. They weren't done yet.

Mena sighed. "Then our goal is simple. We must leave this hateful place far behind us before then, which I suspect we're all eager to do anyway. Let's keep moving."

"Dame Mena has it right," agreed Kormick. "Slave, that unobtrusive little door in the back wall requires your attention."

Tavi looked around for Arden. She was standing near the hallway, not paying attention.

"Slave," said Kormick. "The door."

She looked up, startled, and then flashed an apologetic smile. "Yes, Justicar," she said, and crossed the room.

There was a click as Arden opened the small door. They all stayed silent as she put an eye to the crack in the door, then opened it a little wider. Suddenly she withdrew her head and gingerly, using both hands, closed the door. She turned around, looking paler than usual.

"Please you, it's a hallway," she said softly. "And it's lined with corpses. Four high on each side, on shelves cut into the stone. The corpses look like – " She looked at the dead zombies. "They look like them. And some of the shelves are empty."

"Soooo," said Kormick. "We would not want to enter that hallway and, let us say, wake anyone else up."

Arden nodded fervently.

Tavi looked at the group. They were all looking at each other, every face saying in its own way what Kormick had said aloud.

Rose seemed to hold her breath as she looked down, concern showing clearly on her face.

"Then," said Tavi, "let's see where the tunnel outside the entrance to this room ends up."

8x04

Happy holidays! This being the season of Kettenek, may all your celebrations be moderate, sober, cool-headed, and just.




Nyoko joined the group – more accurately, the crowd – as they walked out of the Alirrian chapel and turned right, in the opposite direction from the room where Lurx's body now lay. She had no problem leaving Lurx behind, of course, but she was a bit bemused by the composition of her rescue party: heathens and children. That said, they weren't incompetent. They'd dealt with Lurx; they'd dealt with the zombies; and now, as the Honored Justicar and the servant Arden took the lead, she was pleased to see that they could even move silently and with a modicum of grace when they really, really tried. Just maybe I will be having a hot bath in Cauldron before too many days pass, after all.

The situation brightened a little more as they investigated a small side room decorated with an intricate green and blue mosaic on the floor. The artwork on the walls was not as fine as some of her Adept brethren might produce, but Nyoko found it pleasing, nonetheless, with its old-fashioned depictions of trees, birds, fish, and water. What mostly caught her eye, however, was a wall of weaponry: several quarterstaffs, a rusted scythe, and a couple bows and quivers of arrows. Nyoko inspected both bows carefully and chose the one less rotted by time: its string un-frayed, its limbs sound. Although she would not, of course, make an absolute statement about a technically uncertain future, the powerful feel of the bow in her hand made her very confident that a hot bath in Cauldron was, in fact, an eminently reasonable hope.

The Justicar watched her string and unstring the bow, testing it. "What is it, exactly, that you do?" he asked.

"I am an Adept."

"Adept at what?"

"Many things." Nyoko loaded all the arrows into one quiver and slung it across her back. "Those of my order are meant to be seen – and to see. If you wish to hear a song, I shall perform it. If you require an impartial witness to events, my memory shall provide it."

"So are you a tavern entertainer or a court reporter?"

"You speak of amateurs, Honored Justicar," answered Nyoko. "I am an Adept. Among other things, it means that when I get home to Cauldron, I will give a full and accurate report of my abduction and liberation to the proper authorities."

"You're a fan of Sovereign authority, then. Do you support those Inquisitors?"

"Adepts are above the Circle from the Inquisitors."

"I… have no idea what that means. Are you saying you outrank them?"

"You might put it that way – crudely. Why do you ask?"

"We met some Inquisitors in Lord's Edge. They gave us a charming welcome. So charming, in fact, that sometimes as I drift off to sleep I think of them warmly. In the sense of lighting them on fire."

Nyoko quickly decided that the Justicar was exaggerating rather than making a confession of intent to commit mass murder. Nonetheless, she slid these heathens a few notches up her mental scale of strangeness. Externally, thanks to years of training and practice, she held back all reaction except a startled blink, and she answered diplomatically, "Lord's Edge is more conservative than most of the Sovereignty. Their frequent contact with outsiders makes them defensive, and they have held onto many of the old ways despite the Affirmation. Personally, I prefer the more enlightened atmosphere of Cauldron."

"So you outrank Inquisitors, and Lord's Edge isn't your favorite place, either. I hope you're an influential young lady."

"Certainly, Honored Justicar, though my influence is due to the sacred office that I and my fellow Adepts hold, not to my personal reputation. As a Justicar, I'm sure you feel the same way."

"Um, occasionally," he answered. "Although, in Dar Und, joining the crew of the Great Boss of Justice is not widely regarded as, let us say, the strongest possible career move. Yet."

"Forgive me, I am not entirely familiar with heathen idiom. The Great Boss of – ?"

"Excuse me," interrupted the young nobleman, Tavi, as his apparently tame hummingbird thrummed by his ear. "We really should keep our voices down."

They walked out of the room and on down the corridor. Ahead came an echoing plink … plash of water dripping, slowly and steadily. The hallway soon opened up into a round domed chamber where droplets slid off stalactites into a still pool beneath.

"Please tell me this is it," said the Justicar.

"I don't think so," said the Alirrian girl, Savina, "but maybe…." Nyoko had gathered from their conversation that these heathens were searching for a particular spring, but she wasn't sure why. She watched Savina step forward, kneel down, and place her hand in the water. Her trained eye observed that the girl's body suddenly relaxed, as if all her worries vanished at once: her tense shoulders lowered and she sighed out a long breath.

Savina raised her dripping hand and touched a finger to her forehead and her lips, murmuring a prayer to the godling Alirria. Then she turned to them, smiling. "I don't think it's the spring, but it's wonderful," she said. "Come and see."

First one person, then the next, knelt or crouched around the water and touched it. Nyoko watched as each in turn relaxed. The Justicar stuck his hand into the pool, frowning, and then laughed, looking at his dripping palm with astonishment. "That," he said, "is better than the ale at Günter's Cry of Agony." Arden hesitated, waiting for the others to have their turn, and then she slipped to the water's edge and touched it hesitantly. Nyoko saw the bruise on her face vanish, just as if a healer had treated it.

Curious to try for herself, Nyoko dipped a finger into the water. It felt like normal water, but strength and vitality coursed through her as the last of her injuries, Lurx- and zombie-inflicted, vanished. It was healing water, clearly. "Thanks be to Kettenek," she said.

"But, Lady Nyoko – I mean, Nyoko-san – this is an Alirrian place," said Savina.

"All things belong to Kettenek," Nyoko replied tranquilly, but the girl looked so confused that she added, "Of course, your worship of the godlings is permitted."

"That's big of you," muttered the Justicar.

Savina gave her a troubled look but turned away, studying the items on the shelves around the chamber's shadowy perimeter. Suddenly she gasped. "Oh, my goddess."

"What?" asked Tavi.

She turned around, holding a small glass vial of liquid that she'd taken off a shelf. "This," she breathed. "This is very holy."

"Holy, as in 'holy spring' holy?" asked Twiggy.

"I – I think so. It must be water from there. This is wonderful. It feels – it feels almost alive."

"Bring it with us," declared Mena. "It may prove useful."

Savina carefully tucked the vial into her bodice.

"Onward," declared Tavi.

"Already?" asked Savina. "I feel like I could stay here forever."

"Between the derro and the zombies, this place isn't going to stay peaceful for long," said Mena. "Let's move."

The corridor resumed on the far side of the domed room. They went on.

###

The hallway they were following ended at another corridor running perpendicular to it. Arden, who was in the lead, realized that she recognized it: it was the crypt-hall, lined with the Alirrian corpses. To the right it must curve back to the chapel where they'd fought the zombies. To the left was unknown, so of course the group sent her to explore it alone. It was prudent, Arden allowed. Until they knew where the hallway went, it wasn't worth the risk to bring their large party, including the children, through it. It was all too likely that someone would accidentally knock a brittle finger off a corpse.

So here she was again. Alone. In a dark corridor lit only faintly by patches of green moss. Bodies in decaying green robes slept on either side of her. Lady Alirria, she prayed, forgive my intrusion. Braced for a lizard's teeth or a zombie's hiss or a hurtling piece of crockery, she crept forward.

Arden passed more and more bodies until the walls curved away on either side, the ceiling rose, and she stepped into a large, dim chamber. She paused by the doorway. Faintly, at the edge of her hearing, some rustle or whisper seemed to echo and re-echo, though she had made no sound. Bodies lined this room, too, and columns marched across it. An ornate symbol of Alirria was set into the floor, spanning the room. There was a door in the far wall.

And glimmering down onto the Alirrian symbol from somewhere just beyond that door was…

… sunlight.

8x05

The sunlight coming through the door at the other end of the hall was pink-gold and rippling: the light of earliest dawn flickering amid forest leaves. Arden took one involuntary step forward and her hand came up to grasp a column. She gripped the stone so hard that her fingers hurt. She wanted to run – she wanted nothing more than to run across the room and into that light – but some cynical instinct held her back. It's too easy, the instinct muttered. And when an escape looks too easy – that's when you're about to get caught..

She took a deep breath, her hand still on the column, and studied the room. Something about that symbol on the floor … it wasn't like the holy symbol in an average temple. It was oddly placed, the design slightly off in ways she couldn't pinpoint, and … it simply wasn't right. She couldn't figure out more than that, but an Alirrian could – the Blessed Daughter would have the knowledge to understand it.

For now, Arden understood that she wasn't going to be running across that room anytime soon. She smiled ruefully. Whether a blind-drunk overseer or one of the Gods Themselves was holding the key to your chains, escape was never, ever easy. She drank in one last sight of the sunlight, turned, and walked back down the corridor to report what she'd found.

Her news initiated a debate. The Blessed Daughter was curious to see the symbol, Lady Chelesta wanted to know what was outside, and Mena, though she didn't say anything, clearly felt as strongly as Arden that the sooner she was out of these tunnels, the happier she'd be. But when Signor Octavian pointed out that their task wasn't finished, Mena nodded understanding even before Ordren, the young dwarven man, made the point explicit: "We still haven't found Mirtal."

"He was your cook, right?" reasoned Tavi. "And we've been told there's a kitchen on the lower levels … which we could probably reach through that one door we never explored at the original entrance."

"It'll be a long trek back through this place," said Kormick. "That being said, we've killed everything between here and there."

"We must rescue Mirtal," declared Mena. "But it would be prudent to check this exit that Arden has found first, so we'll know whether it's worth coming all the way back in this direction after finding him."

"Remember that we don't have much time," said Nyoko.

With that, Arden led Signor Octavian, the Blessed Daughter, the Justicar, and Lady Chelesta down the hall to the entryway.

The sunlight was already stronger.

Arden stood aside and listened as the others conferred about the symbol. Once Tavi and Twiggy added their arcane expertise to the Blessed Daughter's divine assessment, they concluded that the symbol was a trap meant to stop non-Alirrians.

"Then I – I suppose only I can cross it," said the Blessed Daughter, and set off without hesitation toward the symbol.

"Um – " began Tavi, but Kormick shrugged at him, and they let her go. Arden found herself proud of this latest display of Savina's growing courage and had to suppress a laugh at such unexpected sentimentality: What's wrong with me? I'm her slave, not her mother. Gods, I need sleep.

Savina paused for an instant as she reached the Alirrian symbol. Then she put one delicate toe on the symbol and looked around cautiously. Next she took one full step forward and froze, looking up as sharply as a spooked cat. Arden looked around. None of the bodies had stirred.

"Did you hear something?" Savina asked.

"Nothing," called Tavi.

"I thought I heard – or maybe it was just a feeling – like something here is sad. And … angry."

Arden scanned all the corpses again, her hand on her sword. Everything was still.

"I think you're good," Tavi said.

"All right," said Savina. She walked on across the symbol. They all let out their breath as she reached the other side uneventfully. She peeked out the doorway.

"There's a stairway that goes up and out," she called. "I'll be fine! Back in a minute!"

"You have three!" called Kormick.

Savina vanished up the stairs. And they waited.

###

Savina had to squint as she approached the final doorway: the dawn light wasn't bright, but after her hours in the derro warren, it overwhelmed her eyes. She hesitated a moment, then emerged, blinking, into the open air just as the first slice of true sunlight blazed across the horizon and shot through the trees around her.

"Alirria, Mother, Lady of Dawn," she whispered. "Thank you."

Knowing that she didn't have time for longer prayers, she looked around. She was standing on a terrace cut into the side of a mountain. Charred and fallen timbers of several buildings surrounded her.

An overgrown trail took off from one side of the terrace, leading down off the rock and plunging into the trees.

At the end of the terrace stood a stake bearing a symbol of Kettenek and the image of a sharp, commanding hand, palm outward toward the world. Savina was sure it was a warning from the Inquisitors who must have burned this monastery and killed the Alirrian monks inside: it meant, "Keep out. Unholy ground." She frowned angrily. She would agree with the Inquisitors that a terrible sacrilege had occurred here … but the Inquisitors had committed it against her Alirrian sisters, not the other way around.

After studying her surroundings once more, Savina reluctantly turned her back on Alirria's light and made her way down the stairway into the perpetual night beneath. She emerged into the entry hall and waved at the anxious group of Tavi, Twiggy, Kormick, and Arden on the other side of the dangerous symbol.

"I'm back!" she called.

She hesitated before setting foot on the symbol, both to let her eyes re-adjust to the dimness and because she knew that this trip was more risky: the trap was obviously meant to keep the uninvited from coming in, not from going out – who would build such a thing otherwise? – and this time she was coming in. She took a deep breath and stepped onto the symbol. As when she'd crossed it before, she heard murmurings and felt strange emotions deep within her: whispers of sorrow and fury. But she kept walking, and soon she was across. None of the others seemed to have heard anything.

"What'd you see?" asked Twiggy.

"Sunrise," Savina announced, and then described the rest.

"I bet that path is the trail to the spring," said Twiggy. "That's the way we have to go."

"Yes," agreed Tavi, "assuming we can find a way for the rest of us to cross that symbol. If we can't, we'll have to go out the way we came in."

"Then we'll be lost," said Savina. "I didn't recognize anything just now. I'd never find this place again if we went out the other door."

"We've probably cut through a ridge of mountains by traveling through the tunnels," reasoned Kormick. "Finding this place by traveling overland could take days."

"So we have to go back to the original entrance, get Mirtal – and our mule – and then come back here and find a way past this symbol," said Twiggy. "And we don't have much time."

"We have to solve the problem of this symbol first," decided Tavi. "If we can't get past it, there's no point in coming back this way after we find Mirtal."

"I have an idea," Kormick announced. "Young lady, order your slave to walk over the symbol and spring the trap. All we have to do is sit back and watch her die horribly, and then we can cross. An elegant and cheap solution, yes?"

Arden raised an eyebrow at him, humor twinkling unmistakably in her eye.

"No offense," Kormick told her.

"Never, Justicar."

"There's another problem," said Twiggy. "If we destroy this trap, we'll be leaving this place undefended. Anyone could come in and make trouble. And by 'anyone,' I mean Inquisitors."

Twiggy's suggestion concerned Savina, but as she thought it over, she changed her mind. "That sign outside looked old," she said. "I don't think anyone's likely to come here anymore. And Alirria will watch after everything."

"I could mention that Alirria didn't lift a finger to stop the brigades of derro who were desecrating her sacred temple with complete impunity, but I won't," said Kormick, and this time he shot a wry look straight at Arden. And Arden smiled back. Savina knew they were sharing amusement at her expense, as if she were a little child, and she didn't approve. Not one bit. She stood straighter.

"Alirria will defend this place if the need is truly great, Justicar Kormick. The derro were scared of the chapel and wanted to avoid it. That's why they were trying to tunnel around it, don't you see? But there is something wrong here. Alirria is the goddess of healing and peace, and I – I feel that there are spirits here, bound to that symbol, who are trapped in a state of anger and vengeance. We have to summon them and give them release, and then we can all leave safely."

Her heart was pounding as she finished her speech. There was silence for a moment – respectful silence. Then Tavi nodded and said, "It'll be up to you to pray. But I can help."

"So can I," agreed Twiggy. “I have read about the operation of necromancy and binding spells, and I’m sure Tavi and I can piece something together to help unravel this.”

"I can leave," said Kormick quietly. "We've already learned that these undead Alirrians are not my biggest fans, so while you summon their vengeful souls, I'll go back and tell everyone what's going on. The wild screaming you hear will be Dame Mena cutting off my ear for letting you try this. Just tune it out as best you can."

"Blessed Daughter, can I be of help?" asked Arden, eyes lowered.

"No, Arden."

"Then … may I please go with the Justicar?" Arden didn't merely seem respectful. She seemed apprehensive at the thought of her mistress calling upon powerful magical forces.

"You may," Savina said. Arden bowed her head obediently and retreated with Kormick.

As Tavi and Twiggy turned to her expectantly, Savina felt frightened. She'd spoken out like an adult, but she hadn't necessarily expected that everyone would immediately accept her leadership. She hadn't even come of age yet. Surely another, more experienced priestess from home would do this better… and what if she was wrong altogether? What if Kormick and Arden had been right to laugh at her childishness?

She took an unsteady breath. My birthday is very soon – I'm almost an adult. And there are Alirrian spirits here who need my help … I'm sure of it. She was a di Infusino and a Blessed Daughter of the Goddess. She would not shirk her duty.

After a brief conference about how best to combine their powers, Savina knelt down near the edge of the symbol and bowed her head. She felt Tavi's hand on her shoulder, steadying her, and, from behind her, she heard Twiggy chanting softly.

"In the name of our holy Mother Alirria …" Savina began.

The foreign emotions she had felt earlier as she crossed the symbol rose up again and swirled into her mind. Voices, murmuring words she couldn't quite make out, blended with the melodic drone of Twiggy's chant.

"Please," prayed Savina. "I would speak with you, my sisters."

The air above the symbol shimmered. Savina felt herself sway and almost fall. Tavi's firm hand held her up.

The shimmering coalesced into the form of a woman. It was an Alirrian high priestess. And on her face were the emotions that Savina had felt all along: pain, sorrow, and profound anger.

Hmm, why do I feel like there should a commercial break right after that?

Did the players know this wasn't going to start a fight? 'Cause "let's summon up a pack of angry, vengeful spirits" sure sounds like a recipe for a fight, and the party just split up.

PS: Happy New Year!

coyote6 said:

Did the players know this wasn't going to start a fight? 'Cause "let's summon up a pack of angry, vengeful spirits" sure sounds like a recipe for a fight, and the party just split up.

Click to expand...

As I recall, Savina, Tavi, and Twiggy's general consensus (based on religion and arcana checks) was that if they succeeded at laying the spirits to rest, there shouldn't be a fight. If they failed, sure, all those other corpses might wake up, zombie-style, and they'd be in trouble. (In other words, the summoning of the spirits was a skill challenge, and we were able to make a pretty good guess that those were the success/failure conditions.) I don't remember if we explicitly talked about splitting the party, or if the idea was that Savina, Tavi, and Twiggy could retreat to the rest of us if the zombies awoke... or what. I do remember that Arden was eager to be elsewhere.

P.S.: Yes, happy new year, everyone!

Ilex said:

In other words, the summoning of the spirits was a skill challenge, and we were able to make a pretty good guess that those were the success/failure conditions.

Click to expand...

There's a couple of good DMing lessons to be found in this story. According to my notes, there *was* gonna be a fight the minute any non-Alirrian (anyone other than Savina, that is) tried to cross the seal. For reasons I can't explain (with this party, it should have been obvious), I didn't really think about what to do if they *didn't* want to fight the Alirrians who, after all, didn't really deserve to be slain (again). So the skill challenge was a pretty ad hoc thing from my side.

That said, it was exactly what the PCs wanted to do, it made perfect sense in character and in-game, and it actually worked really well to give them a chance to escape this horrible, horrible, 5-straight session with NO EXTENDED REST dungeon without another fight.

Seriously, the party as a whole was down to about 4 healing surges at this point. And that's *after* burning through all the extras I'd scattered through the place for them.