Piratecat's Updated Story Hour! (update 4/03 and 4/06)

[Dinkeldog]

By the way, Malachite's ability to stare at the sun = very cool.

[Wolfspirit]

Stupid question, but about how long Eversink time were the Defenders away for?

Allthough it seems that maybe they should have came back a couple of Kodali's Retreat hours earlier. Who knows, they might have been able to have stopped the war between the gods before it started if they hadn't slept in.


Or they could have been executed for heresy. But that could have been fun too.

[KidCthulhu]

As I remember, we were gone about 10 hours.

Edit - it was 19 hours ~ PCat

[Sialia]

Need an interim Defenders fix? My new post is up on the Early Years thread--see link in my post above.

Apologies for the lack of details in the combat for which Dylrath was unconcious--I've been typing for three hours, it's past midnight, I'm beat, and it was an easy place to economize.

Hopefully one of the Defenders who particpated in the battle will add some comments--it was a helluva scene: last stands were made, inns were destroyed, treachery, valor, bloodshed, belching, bondage . . . .

[Piratecat]

“I. Am. WROTH.” Mara and Malachite merge into a huge burning pillar of golden fire, their souls whirled upwards on the outstretched wings of unspeakable joy. Everyone else must shield their eyes from the fiery form, blinded by the holy radiance that sears through their eyelids.

“You have intruded upon matters that did not concern you. You have shaken the echelons of My church, and caused Me to know of that which some would have hidden. Your interference has caused Me to look upon mortal affairs with My own eyes.

“You have done well.”

Bowing worshipfully, everyone slumps in relief as they understand that Aeos is not wroth at them.

“The Rotting Ones thought to steal my prayers from me. They thought to mislead the holy Servants of the Gods. Aided by their Mistress, they thought to deny Me what is rightfully Mine. For this they will pay.” There is crackling thunder as the sun suddenly flares.

The flaming figure of the God gestures, and a charred and crumbling shape appears on the ground in front of the kneeling heroes. “I have descended to the depths of Spira and destroyed the Thief who blinded Me. Now I ascend again to punish his Mistress, and fling Her from the throne She betrayed. With Me I shall take my true servant Aleax, whose soul may have been… sullied… by those who wished to twist him to their will. In heaven he shall be cleansed in the purifying furnaces of the sun, and some day he may return to you. ”

The flaming beacon of sunlight seems to reach even higher, stretching into the sky itself, piercing the clouds above their heads in a shaft of fiery gold. “Your task is beginning. You will act as My Hand and punish those who sought to betray your brethren. My blessing goes with you and with all those truly of my faith. You will be swift and sure, and you will carry My word to them, and they will fear for what their kind has done. ”

And just like that, the radiance disappears.

Clouds roll overhead and the sun slides from view, but the whole area where the Defenders stand is still bathed in bright sunlight. More thunder shudders the heavens, and a wind picks up, carrying the faint scent of something too precious to comprehend up and away from the small hut.

“Ummm….” says Nolin, for once speechless. He falls on to his knees next to the corpse. Crumbling, it is the charred remains of an ancient ghoul. It once wore rich robes, precious jewels, a rich regalia, an ornate scepter. Now it is little more than ash. Quickly, before it can further degenerate, Nolin begins to cast legend lore. Beside him, Mara and Malachite remain stunned in religious ecstasy, their weapons still flaming like the sun itself.

“Heavens preserve us!” wails the old woman inside the hut. “Who was that?”

Tao looks sheepishly at the smoking door. “It was Aeos. You know, the God. Say,” she says, putting her arm around the old woman’s shoulders, “have you ever been to a shrine before? You might want to prepare for a few visitors….”

Nolin feels his consciousness slip outwards, seeking at the threads of legend that the dead ghoul has touched or inspired. His mind catches something, and a bit of rhyming doggerel slips into his thoughts.

• From the dark, forged the scythe
  Made the spell of misplaced lies
  Killed the dawn and drew the pact
  They would grieve but for the fact
  He leaves a void, his body calls
  The mouth that’s doomed to swallow all
  Now in the night his children fight
  The steady blight of godly light.

The group considers it as they wind walk north-eastwards. Above them the sky still shakes from thunder, and beneath them the world responds. They see dead corpses rise from their graves, only to crumble as they touch sunlight. They see a sea serpent rise from the depths of the lake, schools of fish fleeing its hungry jaws as it squirms and thrashes within the waves. Most frighteningly, the sky periodically drops into utter night, the sun vanishing from the heavens for minutes at a time.

The second time the sun disappears and deep night falls, Velendo decides that the Godly battle is too important to neglect.

“God,” he says, as he lowers himself down onto his knees in prayer. “I don’t know if you’re paying attention down here, what with the war against Imbindarla going on up there, but I thought I’d help if I could. I can’t offer much, but you should take whatever I have. What you’re doing is more important than I’ll ever be.” He feels the life energy rush from him as he casts the miracle, and the sky thunders in reply. Seconds later the very air itself vibrates, and night disappears as the sun rekindles itself.

White-faced, Velendo slowly picks himself up off the ground, looking older than he usually does. “I hope that helped,” he says shakily. And the group continues towards Eversink.

By the time they reach the city, the thunder is coming less often, and the sun is still high in the sky despite the late hour. People are panicking in the narrow alleyways and the wide canals of the city, praying that the Gods do not destroy them for their wickedness, praying that they might be saved in the coming apocalypse. The Defenders note that the green-uniformed guards of the Sea Watch seem to have the rioting more or less in hand, and they slip into the packed temple and make for their private rooms. The heroes stop to reassure a few clerics, and finally sit heavily down in their familiar chairs. For them, it has been five months; for Eversink, it’s been less than 24 hours. Lady Sharala Clearwater is there waiting for them, accompanied by a pale stranger.

As Lady Brea and her baby slip away to find the foster family that the noblewoman had secretly prearranged, Tao looks at Malachite. “Aeos said that he was taking Saint Aleax back to heaven. I want to find out what that means.”

“I can do some sendings,” offers Velendo. “But what about….” And he nods at Malachite’s sword, Aleax.

“Let’s find out,” says Malachite grimly, and draws the blade. Its radiance flashes around the room, but the voice which issues from it isn’t the familiar one.

“My,” it says at it points towards Shara, “You’re quite a looker!”

To be continued....

[Plane Sailing]

Since nobody else has mentioned it yet, I will.

All credit to Velendo for (presumably) sacrificing some of his experience in casting a selfless miracle, offering up some of his self to aid the Wallbuilder in the battle.

I look forward to seeing further... details... appear

Cheers

[Piratecat]

Yeah, how about that? 5000 xp, slurped away, on the faith that it will help. Worse, he'll probably never find out how he helped. It was a beautiful moment.

Rashak Mani, normally worshippers of Aeos are deeply tanned. Mara and Malachite haven't seen the sun in their five months on the demiplane, and so everyone was white as a fish's belly. Their exposure to the God of the Sun fixed that, though.

Anyways, thank you for the kind words! I would have posted immediately upon the resolution of the dns problem, but I was looking for my exact notes on what Aeos said. Since I couldn't find them, I went with my memory, and I'm sure my players will correct me if I mis-wrote.

Oh, and everyone loves Malachite's sword now. Karthos is... a breath of fresh air compared to Aleax.

[Blackjack]

Originally posted by Piratecat
Bowing worshipfully, everyone slumps in relief as they understand that Aeos is not wroth at them.

Let me assure you that PCat is talking about both players and characters here!

Up until this point, you could have heard a pin drop in the room...

[Kid Charlemagne]

Originally posted by Piratecat

Quicklings visit on almost a daily basis, buzzing the room and then disappearing. From the few that will talk to them, the group learns that the dark fey seem to be waiting for something to happen, something to do with a child that they believe will eventually arrive in the Citadel.

Have the Defenders drawn any conclusions about this? I have a sneaking suspicion, myself, but I'd like to know if any theories have been batted about by the party...

[Sialia]

Hey, Tomtom, be a pal and buy up some cheap land around that site for me, willya? And look into making an offer on an inn or waystation about three quarters of a day's march down the main road.

Thanks!

[Blackjack]

Originally posted by Kid Charlemagne
Have the Defenders drawn any conclusions about this? I have a sneaking suspicion, myself, but I'd like to know if any theories have been batted about by the party...

We wondered if it was Brea's child, but a Commune said no. Beyond that, I don't think we have any solid theories.

[Sialia]

And we worried about whether it might be the missing heir to the throne of Gaunt, but we've since forgotten about that.

Hey, P'cat, when you get back--please clarify--in my old notes it was spelled "Gont," while in my more recent ones, it's "Gaunt." Which is correct?

The oddest thing about the Doxelfar is that they said that the kid they're waiting for smells like me.

In what way I'm not sure.

Since the Birdhouse Clan is minor nobility, it's possible that we share some royal blood smell. But it'd be pretty weak.

I probably smell more strongly of Oursk and the Academy Sorcere, which suggests our old pal Michael (you know, the genius twerp with the cute little purple dragon. He's generally pally with the Fae, and likely to be a target for Doxelfar, who hate the Good Folk.)

Meant to warn him when I got back, but that slipped my mind, too.

All right all right. I'll give him a nod about it. Jeez, guys, I was gonna. 'S probably nothing anyway. Could be somebody centuries off, the way time moves there.

[Sialia]

Originally posted by DocMoriartty
Is it just me or did the battle seem like it was taking really long. A single evil goddess of death sure lasted a while against what appeared to be a coalition of good gods.

Ok, I'm just guessing here--no more data available than the rest of the Board readers, but here's what I think.

Imbindarla has plenty of pals, or at least, allied Evil gods who also hate the Sun.

A few years back Toraz (ptuh) and a bunch of others tried to put out the sun forever with a comet (and, incidentally, they're still sore about us meddling in that one.) Toraz had a buncha allies in that little prank, who's names mercifully escape me at the moment.

So I'm guessing there's still a lotta Evil gods out there who'd jump at the chance to pigpile on Aeos, given the chance. They've been at this a while.

By my notes, since about May of 1996. Maybe the year before that.

[Bandeeto]

Ah, yes. But let us not forget...

"Aeos is a 'Greater' God!"
(Apologies to Calphas, a... "Lesser" God.)

Imbindarla, being a goddess of shadows and the dark, may be both fighting and hiding. Having messed with Aeos as badly as she did, it is almost a guarantee that she knew he would come after her if the ruse was discovered. One suspects she had a backup plan (she usually does.)

Further, she and the Brotherhood of Night were the primary driving forces behind the "Huge Comet to Blot Out the Sun" plot. When that failed and Celian (God of the Stars) returned, she must have gone with her alternative plan. Thus, the White Kingdom. The ghouls were already building in strength and striking at the Skavven Ratmen in the Underdark when the Defenders were setting out to stop the comet.

I must say, that's one hell of a feint.

[Mishihari Lord]

I think it'd be neat if Aeos lost the fight. The sun goes out and all the sudden things become a lot more challenging.

[Spider_Jerusalem]

[Spider crumples to the floor, having read everything about the Defenders available in the last two days - and finally finishes]

First of all, and It's been said many times before, it's great to see a high-level party of adventurers played and DM'd so well - keeping the characters down to earth (Well... figuratively speaking at least) and giving them problems that actually make you think.

But best of all, and I think this probably applies most DM's reading this out there, the images and stories recorded here give each and every one of us something to admire and learn from. Its helped me with the ripple effect, at least .

Only problem is, and I know a few others are also wallowing in my ignorance, that stories are referenced which I have no idea about - for example everyone shouts about this Comet Arc, and I can't find it anywhere. Anyone help out with a link for this or are they just lost tales?

I hate kissing a**, so I'll shut up now...

Apart from saying that the Miracle by Velendo was fantastic. Must have been wonderful having a player say that to you when you're DMing...

I'm really shutting up now.

[Spider shuts up]

[tsadkiel]

I'm actually faintly disappointed. I was kind of hoping for an onstage destruction of Ghouleax, and maybe a "Mwa ha ha" or two. Ah, well, good stuff nonetheless.

(And after shamelessly dropping Eversink into my Star Wars game (which has now ended; we never did get to the gondola race) I'm about to start a "long-dead legendary Paladin reappears and causes massive political and theological upheavel; things aren't quite what they seem" storyline in our Greyhawk game. Though I'm using a peasant girl who may or may not be the reincarnation of the long-dead hero, but is certainly capable of beating the crap out of numerous armed and highly skilled warriors using only a stick, rather than the undead thing.)

[Piratecat]

Everyone pauses for half a beat. Then, with perfect poise, Shara cants her head slightly to the side and gives the sword a startled look. “I beg your pardon?” she asks. Her tone sounds polite to anyone who isn’t familiar with the nuances of her speech.

“I said you’re quite a looker! I was serious, too. Your eyes are simply lovely, like sapphires in the sea.” It angles itself in Malachite’s hands and points itself towards Mara. “You as well! My goodness, you’d think I died and went to heaven.”

Shara smiles as Mara’s jaw drops. Agar cuts in, “Well, actually….”

The sword continues. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m well aware I’m a sword, and a damn good one, too. My name is Karthos, the Ghosthammer, Blessed of Aeos, Blade of Deliverance, Vessel of the Sun, blah blah blah. I’m trying to understand how I got here. Last I remember, I was deep underground with the paladin Sir Aleax and a bunch of his friends, trying to block the passage of a ridiculous amount of undead.”

This snaps everyone to attention. “You remember that?” asks Mara. “You remember the tunnels, and Saint Aleax, and your expedition?”

If they didn’t know better, they would swear that the sword actually snorts in derision. “Saint? You’re kidding, right? Aleax is a good man, and a dedicated paladin, but he’s no saint. He’s no me, either. Too rigid, too worried about protocol, not enough of a sense of humor, no ability to make impromptu decisions. I’ve told him so a dozen times myself.”

Malachite holds the long sword up to his face. “Indeed. He’s long dead, killed hundreds of years ago when he collapsed a cavern on himself to stop the ghouls. His soul entered the sword when that happened. Now he’s gone, and you are back.”

“Huh.” The sword seems to study Malachite. “I’m glad to hear it. I hope he’s at peace. Who are you?”

“I am Sir Malachite of the Emerald Chapel. I’m honored to wield you, if you’ll have me.”

The sword twitches over towards the beautiful Mara, jokingly lets out a loud sigh of regret, and illuminates Malachite’s face with glittering sunlight. “I was a Knight of the Emerald Chapel myself, once, or so they tell me. I don’t remember many details from that life. If I can serve Aeos through you, Sir Malachite, I am honored to do so.” Over the next few minutes Malachite discovers that Karthos is a slightly more powerful sword than Aleax was, and has a few unique abilities, such as the power to detect secret doors and the ability to leap into his hand from the sheath. Like Aleax before it, it retains a few paladin abilities, such as the power to detect evil, detect undead, and the ability to lay on hilt.

Shara interrupts, indicating the silent, gray-robed man at her side. “I’d like to introduce you to someone. This is Galthia. He’s a githzerai, and he says he’s here to join you.” She leans towards Nolin and mouths, “He checks out to divinations and questioning. I was fairly impressed.”

Velendo slumps in his chair and eyes the tall, gray-skinned man who stands stock still. Sharp eyes peer out from between the stranger’s chiseled cheekbones, and thin, almost bloodless lips remain in a serious expression. “Well Galthia, what do you want with us?”

The githzerai speaks stiffly in a quiet voice, with a bare minimum of body language. “I have been sent by my monastery to give you aid. They say you were instrumental in a recent endeavor of theirs, and they would like to return the favor. They understand that you need a scout. I’m a good one.”

“Ha!” says TomTom. “We have a scout, not that a second one would go amiss. Where are you from?”

“I was raised in monasteries within the endless Chaos of Limbo. There, a strong mind is essential in controlling your environment. I have some training in such things, and I am a versatile combatant either with or without weapons. As an Acolyte of the Fist, I choose to help you, and in fulfilling that want, you will find me useful.”

Out of habit, Nolin glances around to Palladio to see if the monk is telling the truth… but Palladio, of course, is hundreds of miles away on a mission of his own. Meanwhile, Velendo looks at the stranger suspiciously. “Well, Galthia, it seems a little suspicious to me that you would have been sent all this way to fulfill a debt we didn’t think existed in the first place. Are you sure that your whoever-they-are didn’t send you with some secret agenda?”

Galthia calmly meets his eyes. “I can not know my Masters’ minds. I am not sent to betray you, however, and I am pleased to help.”

“Huh.” Velendo rubs his chin and looks around at the other Defenders. Through a mindlink, they decide to treat him cautiously until he proves himself.

The group talks late into the night, even though it is not dark outside. Tomorrow is their court appearance in front of Eversink’s Council, and everyone is a bit nervous. Finally they go to bed, leaving Galthia locked in a sleeping room of his own. “I’m sorry, but we’re going to leave you locked here. Please ring if you need anything.”

“Of course.” Galthia doesn’t seem upset in the least. “It is larger than I am used to, and much more richly furnished. Will it offend you if I remove the mattress from the bed frame?”

“Err… no,” answers Velendo, and closes and locks the door on the solemn figure.

Before bed, two sendings go out. The first is from Mara to Whalter, the Basker cleric back at the Mother Church of Aeos who did the commune while Mara was in Corsai. Unfortunately, Mara isn't She's not used to sendings.

• "Dear Whalter. How are things? Aeos just visited. Much thunder. Is wroth with thief and mistress who deceived him. Thief dead. How's Aleax? Sincerely, Mara."

She hears back:

• "Thunder here too! Our God spoke! But not to everyone. Saint Aleax is missing - I hear he has been brought bodily back to heaven! Whalter."

Almost immediately thereafter, Malachite asks Tao to do a sending to the head of the Chaplars.

• "Aeos discovered ruse. He manifested, vengeful; took Commander Aleax. Destroyed divination block's creator; seeks latter's mistress (Imbindarla?) I'm at Corsai or Eversink's Calphasian temple. -Malachite"

Tao gets an immediate response.

• "Then it has worked! Not what I expected, but sunshine casts odd shadows. I'll begin repairing political damage, if I can. Pray for us."

And with that to think about, the heroes go to bed. The next morning is their meeting with Eversink's governing Council. They'd rather not be late.

To be continued….

[Piratecat]

Tsadkiel, sorry for not showing Saint Aleax's "ascendance" in person! You'll hear more of him before long, though. Mara is still curious as to the details, and she intends to find out.

Spider, welcome! Lordy, you're a stronger man than I am if you read this all at once. I'm half way done editing my oldest story hours, so I'll send them to Morrus to post as a Word doc before very long.

Here's the general plot of the "comet cycle." The Imbindarlans (led by the cult named the Brotherhood of Night) followed a prophecy that indicated if the stars were in the right conjunction, their spells could extinguish the sun. They devised a complicated plan to bring about such a conjunction the hard way. To do this, they started a war; their first major battle involved sending thousands of near-helpless peasants into battle against an overwhelming force of hardened mercenaries and professional soldiers. The Cult then harnessed their dying life force and used it (along with an ancient artifact of standing stones) to literally wrench a star out of the sky. They then animated the dead to really fight... and of course, the star would move to complete the conjunction. In case that ritual was somehow spoiled, they had aimed the star at the planet itself, so that it would crash into Spira and create dust and devastation the hard way. (This was before Deep Impact or Armageddon, dammit - honest!)

Thus, the Defenders of Daybreak followed some prophecies and headed off west. On the way, they met a blind elven seer who told them of the beginning of the world. They fought a squad of four Torazian Deathgranters, holy assassins whose place in their afterlife depended on their skill at murder. They swam through flooded dwarven tunnels, retrieved something known as the Damming Stone, and evaded peril and politics as they raced to stop the ritual and turn back the comet from atop an unclimbable desert mountain. It was quite an adventure, and the best thing I'd done to date. Sialia wasn't kidding when she said it was complex, though! We'll tell more about it, I think, although it might take a while.

Oh, and Wulf? Will your shameless pandering for both of your superb story hours, including the one where I got to actually play a NPC the other week, EVER stop? You self-promoting hussy! (Note: the word 'hussy' is being used very loosely here.) Next thing you'll know, you'll want people to buy that dwarf book from someplace like www.badaxegames.com - you know, that one I'm using in my own games!

- Piratecat

PS Ben? You can send me a check later.

[KidCthulhu]

So there was a question about whether we were afraid that Aeos was WROTH with us. The answer is yes and no. We were pretty sure we were and had done the right thing revealing the divination thingie, but still...

I think it was the divine equivalent of your mom using your middle name. You don't know what you've done, but you know it's serious. And you hold your breath and wait for the shoe to drop.