Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Carnifex's SH - Updated July 24th, Light and Questions
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Carnifex" data-source="post: 1446908" data-attributes="member: 227"><p>Ask, and you shall recieve... <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Sebastion felt himself jump a little as the spark danced out, touching briefly on Cazamir. A quick, flicked glance left and right assured him that his nervousness hadn't been noticed as other attention was rivetted on the figure rising from the sepulchral container.</p><p></p><p></p><p>As was his own... There was something harmonious about the figure, an almost mathemetical grace and precision that reminded him - to an extent - of his pistols, and the strange, bulky, black-armoured figure he'd seen in the vision he'd received from his sword.</p><p></p><p></p><p>At the same time, though, there was something unsettling about the way the still vaguely human figure at the heart of it no longer appeared human. Perhaps it was the eyes - for it was certainly the green-tinted lenses that seemed to draw Sebastion's attention - but he appeared to have lost something to the machine in order to do whatever it was he had done.</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>"Welcome"</strong> it said, bluntly, and Sebastion wasn't sure he felt welcome at all.</p><p></p><p></p><p>"I'll keep an eye on the door...." he muttered, in case anyone cared to listen, and turned his back on the whole arrangement, unable to block out the assortment of mechanical noises that accompanied their host. </p><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">* * *</p><p></p><p></p><p>For Melisande, the itchy mattress of doubt was flung aside as the lich came to life. </p><p></p><p></p><p>She stared in slackjawed amazement. There were books about this, but she never dreamed it could be real. That a wizard could preserve his spirit eternally through arcane machinations was hard enough to swallow--but with actual machinery! </p><p></p><p></p><p>"How did--how could it--" she began, stopping abruptly at a mental wail from Pierre. The toad was right. There was no time for all the questions. </p><p></p><p></p><p>"Thank you. Um, how soon do you expect the demon? Because some of us are injured and I gather you expect us to help defend the tower from it. Not that we mind, of course--anything to foil evil cults of Hashrukk is right up our alley! But if there isn't much time we'd better deploy our resources first and talk later." </p><p></p><p></p><p>She thought this sounded very professional, up until the moment she realized Gaethras would be adding that to what he suspected and what she had told him and coming up with an headachingly unbalanced equation. Well, it was too late to try to clear any of that up now anyway. She gave him a sheepish shrug and turned back to the gently whirring lich, clasping her hands in eager anticipation. </p><p></p><p></p><p>As far as Ebri was concerned, the thing was an abomination. Fortunately, the shadow-stuff that covered her did not show the contempt and disgust she felt; she did not have to hide it. She took up a position carefully behind Gaethras, in view of the mage and Melisande. </p><p></p><p></p><p>No doubt the Immarian priestess she had been supposed to be would be eagerly filling her travel-log right now; she was spared that pretense as well for the moment. <em>A curiosity, another expression of the world's abundant life and diversity... a new type of person/creature/object...</em> That would be the traveler's viewpoint. Were any of them left, anyone from her family and clan would be cowering in terror at the moment, prostrate on the floor. <em>Or more likely, preparing to worship it as a god, and wondering why the ancestors never mentioned this one-- </em> But she, Ebri-- the one of the many personalities that was most truly herself-- felt only loathing. It was vile, a perversion of life and all of its potential. It was a dismissal of the philosophical outlook that humanity contained the intrinsic matter and the wherewithal to improve itself; a denial of the eternal spirit in favor of a body that was artificially furthered by machines... it would mire a person down into the grip of worldly illusion, rather than free them --- <em>Why not just shackle oneself to a cart and push it off a cliff?</em> Ebri wondered. </p><p></p><p></p><p><em>Surely the Prophet ordained that I should be in this form to serve him; had we been better suited in another form, we would be in that form-- it would be folly and an insult to waste the gifts we were given, tossing them on a trash pile and choosing something else... </em></p><p></p><p></p><p>But as its creature had said, the 'Master' had knowledge of the Tower and its functions-- which meant that he might possibly have knowledge of the Umbrals, if they were the shadow people that Gaethras believed she represented... </p><p></p><p></p><p>She could not help but feel curious, intensely curious, about the People of the Shadow. Yet anything she said now would compromise the fragile illusion that held Gaethras in check-- and they would need his talents if a demon was moving towards them... </p><p></p><p></p><p>"We will defend this Tower, of course, 'Master', and certainly we will work against the deluded followers of Hashrukk-- yet we might do the task better if all of us understood the nature of this place and your... accomplishment... somewhat better. " she suggested.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Behind her, the druidess Meg’anna could not manage to do anything but stare up at the monstrosity with wide eyes. What had see gotten herself into? This was supposed to be a fact finding mission about a disappearing gnoll, and it had turned into a demon and machinery fight-fest. Wringing her hands around the warm haft of her spear, Meg'anna spat on the floor of the room, showing her obvious distaste for the machine-man-thing. She knew, though, that this thing was beyond her meagre powers. Even the combined effort of her friends could not bring this thing to its knees. She would simply have to wait. Perhaps the manipulators would foul up and irritate the creation, allowing it to rend them limb from limb. A slight smile crept onto Meg's face with that thought....</p><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"> * * *</p><p></p><p></p><p>While much of the assembly, even Johanne and Gaethras, seemed struck dumb at the sight of the steamwork lich, the steel framework shifted to address the questions that Ebri and Melisande put to it.</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>"I suppose I cannot expect you to have all the pertinent information."</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>"This tower was constructed by the beings known as Umbrals prior to the Dawn War - its purpose seems to have been that of a sentry tower, a fortified structure garrisoned with warriors and possessing of a magical node within it - a node of unparalleled size in anything built by human hands. The entire building is structured such that it channels the node."</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>"The source of power is concentrated in the lower, subterranean levels of the tower; from where the umbramantic energies are channeled upwards. The Umbrals could have used the node to tap into shadow magics, using it as a defence, a source of power for spellcasting, or even a weapon. It also served as... an emitter. Which is what the Hashrukkites wish to use it for."</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>"You have already met the tower's mother-spirit. She has only a fragmentary memory of past events, since when I arrived the tower had already suffered considerable damage and wear from the centuries and some past battle. Thus even she and I do not know the full secrets of the tower, and her access to parts of the tower has degraded; not all of the crystalline matrices are still accessible to her spirit, especially in the lower levels where the Hashrukkites have started to... corrupt the structure. From what we have gathered they plan to make use of the tower's function as an emitter, by harnessing it and routing it through a subject. They are present in the subterranean levels, a number of cultists, twisted beasts and minor fiends; certainly, a priest of their vile faith is leading them. But they have also received into their number of late a devil."</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>The lich's voice sounded hollow, metallic, with little modulation to the tone. Its glimmering eye-lenses swept across the assembly.</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>"The devil is of a nature that during my long lifetime as a wizard, I had never heard tell of. The lower levels of the tower are filled now with dry breezes and choking miasmas periodically sweeping through the passages - the effect of the presence of the devil, which seems to... twist the nature of purest Air. It corrupts and perverts the noblest and swiftest of the four elements in its vicinity; I have come to the conclusion that given more time, for it only arrived here recently, escorted by a strong contingent of Hashrukkite cultists who came to join their brethren already here, the devil would affect the entire valley around the tower with its corruption."</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>"The cultists plan to route the flow of the magical emitter through the corrupter of Air. My calculations would indicate that, if this works - and if I do not have a full understanding of Umbral arcane machinery the cultists certainly don't - it will magnify the devils aura. It will blanket a considerably larger area, the exact deliniations of which I cannot be sure, since I have never seen the emission machinery in operation."</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>The lich strode over to one of the nearby tables at the side of the room, pistons hissing, where it scooped up a threadbare but impressively crafted cloak of faded purple and red, sweeping the garb up and throwing it over its shoulders, pinning it in place with a brooch of copper, the object sheened with verdigris.</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>"Better. It has been a considerable period that I have languished here; my studies required further time than my body was willing to give, and the logical solution was thus to construct myself a superior form. Unfortunately I did not perfect the process sufficiently, hence my requirement for bioelectric energy. I was worried that, should the Carthagian expeditionary force have penetrated the sanctum, my sarcophagus would have been destroyed before I could complete the circuit ritual." Gaethras's features had become unreadable, the Manipulator reverting to a neutral expression.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>"The Hashrukkites will plan to put the node into operation relatively soon. They have been preparing for the arrival of the devil for some time now, but have yet to finish their work in the subterranean levels entirely." </strong></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><em>Next Time: More Revealed, Questions & Answers, and Preparations for Descent...</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Carnifex, post: 1446908, member: 227"] Ask, and you shall recieve... :D Sebastion felt himself jump a little as the spark danced out, touching briefly on Cazamir. A quick, flicked glance left and right assured him that his nervousness hadn't been noticed as other attention was rivetted on the figure rising from the sepulchral container. As was his own... There was something harmonious about the figure, an almost mathemetical grace and precision that reminded him - to an extent - of his pistols, and the strange, bulky, black-armoured figure he'd seen in the vision he'd received from his sword. At the same time, though, there was something unsettling about the way the still vaguely human figure at the heart of it no longer appeared human. Perhaps it was the eyes - for it was certainly the green-tinted lenses that seemed to draw Sebastion's attention - but he appeared to have lost something to the machine in order to do whatever it was he had done. [b]"Welcome"[/b] it said, bluntly, and Sebastion wasn't sure he felt welcome at all. "I'll keep an eye on the door...." he muttered, in case anyone cared to listen, and turned his back on the whole arrangement, unable to block out the assortment of mechanical noises that accompanied their host. [center]* * *[/center] For Melisande, the itchy mattress of doubt was flung aside as the lich came to life. She stared in slackjawed amazement. There were books about this, but she never dreamed it could be real. That a wizard could preserve his spirit eternally through arcane machinations was hard enough to swallow--but with actual machinery! "How did--how could it--" she began, stopping abruptly at a mental wail from Pierre. The toad was right. There was no time for all the questions. "Thank you. Um, how soon do you expect the demon? Because some of us are injured and I gather you expect us to help defend the tower from it. Not that we mind, of course--anything to foil evil cults of Hashrukk is right up our alley! But if there isn't much time we'd better deploy our resources first and talk later." She thought this sounded very professional, up until the moment she realized Gaethras would be adding that to what he suspected and what she had told him and coming up with an headachingly unbalanced equation. Well, it was too late to try to clear any of that up now anyway. She gave him a sheepish shrug and turned back to the gently whirring lich, clasping her hands in eager anticipation. As far as Ebri was concerned, the thing was an abomination. Fortunately, the shadow-stuff that covered her did not show the contempt and disgust she felt; she did not have to hide it. She took up a position carefully behind Gaethras, in view of the mage and Melisande. No doubt the Immarian priestess she had been supposed to be would be eagerly filling her travel-log right now; she was spared that pretense as well for the moment. [i]A curiosity, another expression of the world's abundant life and diversity... a new type of person/creature/object...[/i] That would be the traveler's viewpoint. Were any of them left, anyone from her family and clan would be cowering in terror at the moment, prostrate on the floor. [i]Or more likely, preparing to worship it as a god, and wondering why the ancestors never mentioned this one-- [/i] But she, Ebri-- the one of the many personalities that was most truly herself-- felt only loathing. It was vile, a perversion of life and all of its potential. It was a dismissal of the philosophical outlook that humanity contained the intrinsic matter and the wherewithal to improve itself; a denial of the eternal spirit in favor of a body that was artificially furthered by machines... it would mire a person down into the grip of worldly illusion, rather than free them --- [i]Why not just shackle oneself to a cart and push it off a cliff?[/i] Ebri wondered. [i]Surely the Prophet ordained that I should be in this form to serve him; had we been better suited in another form, we would be in that form-- it would be folly and an insult to waste the gifts we were given, tossing them on a trash pile and choosing something else... [/i] But as its creature had said, the 'Master' had knowledge of the Tower and its functions-- which meant that he might possibly have knowledge of the Umbrals, if they were the shadow people that Gaethras believed she represented... She could not help but feel curious, intensely curious, about the People of the Shadow. Yet anything she said now would compromise the fragile illusion that held Gaethras in check-- and they would need his talents if a demon was moving towards them... "We will defend this Tower, of course, 'Master', and certainly we will work against the deluded followers of Hashrukk-- yet we might do the task better if all of us understood the nature of this place and your... accomplishment... somewhat better. " she suggested. Behind her, the druidess Meg’anna could not manage to do anything but stare up at the monstrosity with wide eyes. What had see gotten herself into? This was supposed to be a fact finding mission about a disappearing gnoll, and it had turned into a demon and machinery fight-fest. Wringing her hands around the warm haft of her spear, Meg'anna spat on the floor of the room, showing her obvious distaste for the machine-man-thing. She knew, though, that this thing was beyond her meagre powers. Even the combined effort of her friends could not bring this thing to its knees. She would simply have to wait. Perhaps the manipulators would foul up and irritate the creation, allowing it to rend them limb from limb. A slight smile crept onto Meg's face with that thought.... [center] * * *[/center] While much of the assembly, even Johanne and Gaethras, seemed struck dumb at the sight of the steamwork lich, the steel framework shifted to address the questions that Ebri and Melisande put to it. [b]"I suppose I cannot expect you to have all the pertinent information." "This tower was constructed by the beings known as Umbrals prior to the Dawn War - its purpose seems to have been that of a sentry tower, a fortified structure garrisoned with warriors and possessing of a magical node within it - a node of unparalleled size in anything built by human hands. The entire building is structured such that it channels the node." "The source of power is concentrated in the lower, subterranean levels of the tower; from where the umbramantic energies are channeled upwards. The Umbrals could have used the node to tap into shadow magics, using it as a defence, a source of power for spellcasting, or even a weapon. It also served as... an emitter. Which is what the Hashrukkites wish to use it for." "You have already met the tower's mother-spirit. She has only a fragmentary memory of past events, since when I arrived the tower had already suffered considerable damage and wear from the centuries and some past battle. Thus even she and I do not know the full secrets of the tower, and her access to parts of the tower has degraded; not all of the crystalline matrices are still accessible to her spirit, especially in the lower levels where the Hashrukkites have started to... corrupt the structure. From what we have gathered they plan to make use of the tower's function as an emitter, by harnessing it and routing it through a subject. They are present in the subterranean levels, a number of cultists, twisted beasts and minor fiends; certainly, a priest of their vile faith is leading them. But they have also received into their number of late a devil."[/b] The lich's voice sounded hollow, metallic, with little modulation to the tone. Its glimmering eye-lenses swept across the assembly. [b]"The devil is of a nature that during my long lifetime as a wizard, I had never heard tell of. The lower levels of the tower are filled now with dry breezes and choking miasmas periodically sweeping through the passages - the effect of the presence of the devil, which seems to... twist the nature of purest Air. It corrupts and perverts the noblest and swiftest of the four elements in its vicinity; I have come to the conclusion that given more time, for it only arrived here recently, escorted by a strong contingent of Hashrukkite cultists who came to join their brethren already here, the devil would affect the entire valley around the tower with its corruption." "The cultists plan to route the flow of the magical emitter through the corrupter of Air. My calculations would indicate that, if this works - and if I do not have a full understanding of Umbral arcane machinery the cultists certainly don't - it will magnify the devils aura. It will blanket a considerably larger area, the exact deliniations of which I cannot be sure, since I have never seen the emission machinery in operation."[/b] The lich strode over to one of the nearby tables at the side of the room, pistons hissing, where it scooped up a threadbare but impressively crafted cloak of faded purple and red, sweeping the garb up and throwing it over its shoulders, pinning it in place with a brooch of copper, the object sheened with verdigris. [b]"Better. It has been a considerable period that I have languished here; my studies required further time than my body was willing to give, and the logical solution was thus to construct myself a superior form. Unfortunately I did not perfect the process sufficiently, hence my requirement for bioelectric energy. I was worried that, should the Carthagian expeditionary force have penetrated the sanctum, my sarcophagus would have been destroyed before I could complete the circuit ritual." Gaethras's features had become unreadable, the Manipulator reverting to a neutral expression. "The Hashrukkites will plan to put the node into operation relatively soon. They have been preparing for the arrival of the devil for some time now, but have yet to finish their work in the subterranean levels entirely." [/b] [i]Next Time: More Revealed, Questions & Answers, and Preparations for Descent...[/i] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Carnifex's SH - Updated July 24th, Light and Questions
Top