Tales of the Legacy - Concluded

[Delemental]

Crystal ended up acting as the party’s scout. They passed through another corridor that led past another large chamber, this one filled with bedding and the personal belongings of the giants, but nothing of interest. Moving on, they began to see a dull reddish glow ahead. They moved forward quietly when Crystal signaled it was safe to proceed.

They came to the entrance of a very large chamber, roughly circular. The center of the chamber was dominated by a large open pool of magma, churning and boiling just a few inches below the floor. On the far side of the pool, a short, thick bridge of stone spanned the magma pool, leading to a small island in the middle. The island was dominated by a large spike of stone, jutting toward the ceiling and seemingly oblivious to the proximity of so much melted rock around it. The stalagmite sparkled and glimmered slightly, like a rough gemstone reflecting light. On the far side of the chamber, two tunnels cut into the rock – one straight across from them, the other just to the right.

“Crystal says that there are fire elementals in the magma,” Tolly whispered as they approached.

“That’s it!” Kyle said, almost too loudly. He pointed at the lone stalagmite. “The spike is an Earth Node. It’s weaker than the Fire Node below, maybe only a first tier Node… but that explains the taint I saw.” Kyle studied the chamber for a while. “I’ve never even heard of two Nodes being so close to each other.”

“Can we sneak past the elementals?” Lanara asked.

“I will make the attempt, sir, if you wish,” Crystal said.

Tolly nodded, and Crystal slipped off, crouching into the shadows cast by the fiery magma. She returned to the party about a minute later.

“They are somewhat on guard, sir,” Crystal reported. “I do not believe they were able to spot me, but one did appear to hear my passage and look in my direction.”

“Tolly,” Kyle asked, “do you still have a stone shape spell?”

“Yes, why?”

“Could you cover up the magma pit?”

Tolly scratched at his beard, his earth-infused flesh making a sound like sandstone rubbing together. “Possibly, but it would be a thin cover at best, no more than a few inches. It might just annoy them.”

“Well, we could try and go through the chamber to the other side,” Kyle suggested. “It’s possible the elementals are just here because of the Node and have nothing to do with the giants, and won’t really care if we’re here. It’s more likely they’ll come after us. If the elementals start climbing up after us, then you can seal it off. It won’t stop them, but might slow them enough for us to get by without facing them.”

“You may have something there,” Tolly agreed. “I’ll go first and see how they react.” Tolly moved forward, trying to be as quiet as he could. But it was not quiet enough, as Tolly saw one of the elementals begin to turn his way.

“Ardara’s Teeth,” Tolly swore, and cast his spell. The open magma pit was immediately sealed off with a sheet of rock, but within moments the stone began to glow a dull red.

“Quickly, then,” Tolly urged.

The party dashed quickly across the chamber. As they neared the tunnel to the right, they began to hear the sounds of rock breaking apart and splashing into the magma. Everyone turned and ran down the waiting tunnel.

Just inside, they came upon a large room, where two huge wooden tables sat. On the far side was a raised platform, which appeared to be functioning as a makeshift altar. The scorpion totem of Shesh* was displayed prominently on the platform. Two stone giants stood in this room, turning toward the sudden disturbance. Both wore the same mithral full plate that the others had been sporting.

“Oh, crap,” said Lanara.

“I’d rather play with these two that with those elementals,” Arrie grunted. She quickly ran forward toward the first giant, drawing on her psionic abilities to boost her foot speed. Ducking under the table for cover, she got ready to lash out with her chain. In response, however, the giant brought his greatclub down on top of the table, smashing it to splinters and crushing Arrie’s shoulder. Lanara quickly cast a spell at the giant, which managed to penetrate his resolve. The giant collapsed in loud guffaws of laughter.**

Across the room, Kyle attempted to use telekinesis to thrust the other table into the second giant, but it bounced off his legs ineffectually. Arrie and Crystal moved forward to deal with the giant, while Autumn hung back to deal with the laughing giant before he could recover. Tolly threw up a protective spell on the group even as the giant cast a spell of his own, and a solid curtain of blackness sprang up in the room, separating the party from the giant.

“We’ve got a priest!” Tolly called out.

“I’ve got it,” Lanara shouted back, as she pulled out one of her magical instruments and strummed a quick chord, and the wall wavered and faded away. Arrie, who hadn’t waited for the dispelling, had already dove through and was now seen exchanging blows with the giant priest. Crystal moved forward to help, and Kyle tried to disintegrate the priest, but he avoided the worst of it, only losing a few layers of skin. The wizard glanced at his spell component pouch, wondering if his materials had gone bad.

As Autumn continued to hack at the incapacitated giant, having difficulty lining up a good shot because it was rolling around guffawing, the others focused on the standing giant. Lanara tried to affect him with the same hideous laughter spell, but the giant resisted. The giant threw up another spell of darkness that wrapped him in a protective layer of shadow, but Tolly dispelled that as well. It was quickly becoming a battle of attrition.

Kyle readied another spell, but then felt a sudden rush of heat behind him, and ducked just as one of the two enormous fire elementals from the magma pool swung at flaming limb at him. He quickly whirled and spat out a banishment, sending one of the elementals back to Karakor. Tolly, seeing the wizard in distress, ran up to help, swinging at the second elemental with his maul as Kyle blasted it with electricity. Tolly was slightly singed by the elemental before dispatching it.

Meanwhile, the giant in the other room, who was getting brutalized by the tag-team work of Arrie and Crystal, suddenly threw down his greatclub and threw up his arms in a gesture of surrender. He shouted out something in his own tongue, which none of the party spoke, but then switched to Elven.

“Enough. Please, spare us. Give me a chance to explain.”

Lanara glared up at the giant. “Then start explaining, because your friend here can’t. And can you call off the elementals?” Autumn, who had barely heard the giant call for surrender over the laughing form in front of her, shouldered her axe, though she was ready to swing again in case this was some sort of trick.

“I cannot control the elementals,” the priest of Shesh said. “They belong to Tezar.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Kyle, as he and Tolly strolled into the room.

“Who’s Tezar?” Lanara asked.

“He is not of our clan. He came to us with great power, and forced us to do his bidding.”

“What kind of great power?”

“He has powerful magic,” replied the giant.

“Well, would it be possible at this point for you to persuade the rest of your clan to leave peacefully and let us deal with Tezar?”

“Besides the females, we two are all that remains of our clan.”

“Oh,” said Lanara. “I see.”

“Allow me to gather our women and leave safely,” said the priest, “and we will not interfere with your battle with Tezar. He lives in his laboratory down the corridor to the right as you enter the Node chamber from here. He will not leave peacefully – he has been using the Nodes for some arcane purpose.”

“Would you be willing to help us evict him?” Lanara asked.

“At this time, I must see to the safety of the remains of my clan. We no longer have the strength to hold this mine against the dwarves or the elves.”

“Would go be willing to offer your services to the Emperor of Tlaxan?” said Lanara suddenly. “They are currently involved in a war, and could use the talents of those such as yourself. You would not be hunted, and would be able to provide for your clan more easily. Perhaps the Emperor would even have you return here to this mine if you wished it, as you are no doubt skilled at finding ore.”

“If this Emperor is willing to discuss the matter with us, then we would consider it.”

“For now, though, we just need to get you out of here.”

The giant nodded. “We will wait just outside the mine with our women and young. If you emerge victorious, then we will go with you to the elven Emperor to hear what he has to say. If you do not, then we will leave and decide our own fate.”

“This is acceptable,” Lanara said.

By this time the other giant had shaken off the effects of the hideous laughter spell, and stood up. The two giants spoke briefly to each other. While they spoke, Tolly sent out a burst of positive energy that healed everyone’s wounds, including the two giants. Shortly after, the two giants walked out of the chamber, heading for the mine exit.

The party followed shortly behind the giants. They immediately saw a whirling column of blades just outside the room, some of them still smoking slightly from where they had carved into the last elemental.

“Just going to leave that there, Tolly?” Arrie asked.

“Actually, yes. There’s enough space between the barrier and the mine wall for us to slip by easily, but a giant would have difficulty. If we need to withdraw, it could aid our escape.”

“Well, why don’t we find out what’s down that way?” Kyle asked. He cast a spell, and several eyeballs materialized out of thin air. They went flying off down the corridor that the Sheshian priest had indicated. The eyeballs came back a surprisingly short time later.

“Damn,” Kyle said. “There’s some sort of heavy black curtain across the hallway, about twenty feet in. For some reason, the eyes can’t move past it.”

Trying another tactic, Kyle cast a greater invisibility spell on Crystal, and they sent her ahead to scout. She returned a short while later to confirm the presence of the curtain, and that there were no traps nearby. However, Lanara returned from her own foray, reporting that she had approached the curtain while invisible, but that the invisibility had ended when she touched the fabric. She also noted that the noise of the boiling magma behind her had lessened considerably when she was close to the curtain.

“Could be some sort of anti-magic curtain,” Kyle speculated, “or it dampens energy in general.”

“You know, all this guessing takes time,” Arrie said, “giving him more time to get ready. I’ll go in now and find out,”

“I would be more comfortable if you were behind me and Tolly, Arrie,” Autumn said. “If something happens to you, you can’t come back.”

“I’m not planning on dying today,” Arrie said with a grin.

“Yes, but what you plan and what actually happens are two different things.”

“That’s true, but I can influence that a bit.” Arrie poured psionic energy into her body, charging it with power, and then dove through the curtain.

“Okay, then,” Tolly said, “Autumn, you’re with me. Crystal, stay back and make sure nothing comes behind us. Let’s go.”

* * *​

Tezar bent over the crude desk in his cramped quarters, writing down notes from his latest experiment. He was getting closer to success – he could feel it. Already he’d successfully transformed the silver from this mine into mithral, and his slaves had worked a great quantity of it into armor. Now he was close to being able to tap into the power of the dual Nodes to affect an even greater transformation – silver into adamantium. Once he held that secret, he would be able to supply armies with the nearly indestructible metal – which armies depended on who could pay the most.

His concentration was disturbed as the heavy velvet curtain stirred a bit, and the noise from the magma pits penetrated into the stillness. Tezar snarled. Probably one of the stone giant young, not minding and playing with the curtain that blocked out all exterior noises or other distractions. He had warned the women to keep their young under control – now he would throw the offending child to the elementals to make sure they understood the consequences.

He looked up from his writing to see a single figure dash through the curtain. It was about the size of a stone giant child, but this child wore armor and was spinning a bladed chain around her body. She was lithe, and had a woman’s shape despite her size. This was no child, but an adult human female. Tezar felt a curious mix of anger and amusement. The stone giants had been more useless than he’d expected, but at the same time, this female had probably expected nothing more than a stone giant chieftain. She likely had never heard of his own race of eldritch giants, and within moments she would be unable to spread her knowledge beyond this room.

“Oh, invaders, then!” he bellowed, and as he rose he picked up two items; his bastard sword, and the staff he had taken from the dwarven wizard who had been here when he and his slaves had arrived. It looked little more than a wand in his massive hand, but that did not diminish its power, especially since he was attuned to the Fire Node outside.

The lithe female with the chain was soon joined by two others, who pulled aside his curtain as they ran in. Both were wearing full plate armor, much like the type his slaves now wore. The pair were a male and a female, another human and some sort of planetouched. The male bore a maul and his armor was engraved with the trappings of the earth goddess Ardara; the female carried a greataxe and bore the sigils of Bail. Behind them, in the corridor, Tezar could see others; a human male with a staff and robes, obviously casting a spell, and another planetouched female with pink hair wearing gleaming mail that covered remarkably little of her flesh.

The heavily armored female with the axe charged in, and Tezar casually swiped at her with his blade, slicing through the metal to the flesh underneath. In return the axe swung and bit into his calf, a blow that would have decapitated someone her own size but was only a minor annoyance to him. Looking at his opponents, he could see several potent enchantments on them. With a flick of a finger, he called up his innate mastery of magic and dispelled several of them at once.

As the little armored men swarmed around him like vermin, Tezar laughed and swept his blade through their ranks. He only connected with the Ardaran, but it was a telling blow that sent him reeling, blood flowing freely from a wound in his shoulder. Then the weapons of the other bit into his flesh, and began to be more than a bit annoying. The stubborn earth priest got back to his feet and slammed his maul into Tezar’s knee, causing it to buckle. He decided it was time to move out of the small room into the one beyond, where he would be able to rain death upon these interlopers at his leisure. He called up his innate talents again, this time to transport himself into the Node chamber.

Nothing happened.

He looked around to see the remnants of a greenish ray shot at him by the human mage, which had enveloped him and blocked dimensional travel. With a snarl, Tezar threw out another dispelling, stripping more protective spells off of his enemies, but failing to remove the dimensional anchor. He slashed at the swarming humans with his blade again, connecting with the Ardaran again and nearly cutting him in half. The priest was forced to withdraw to heal, but the two females were relentless. The pink haired planetouched cast a few ineffective spells at him, while the mage conjured a blade of force that floated over to join the other weapons currently assailing the lower half of his body. Tezar glanced at the floor, and realized that a great deal of the blood on the floor was his own. Still unable to dimension door away, the eldritch giant decided that he would have to withdraw the old fashioned way.

Tezar plowed through the mob of humanoids, feeling their weapons slashing and pounding at his legs as he ran out into the Node chamber. Gesturing with his staff, a sheet of flame engulfed the entire chamber and the corridor beyond, separating him from his enemies. The wizard was singed, as was a sixth opponent, yet another planetouched wearing lighter armor emblazoned with the bear symbol of Ardara’s church.

As the giant prepared to dispel the anchor spell, he felt a sharp pain in his groin as the pink-haired one struck him with a beam of sonic energy. The agony left him unable to respond as the woman with the chain leapt through the flame walls, ignoring her own burns as she lashed out with her chain.

It was the last thing Tezar ever saw.

* * *​

“Remarkable,” Tolly said, perusing some of the eldritch giant’s notes. “I never would have though such a transformation of metals to be possible.”

“Yet another reason to get this mine back in the Alliance’s hands quickly,” said Kyle.

The Legacy emerged onto the surface again, after a long walk up the mine. Autumn’s portable hole was filled with the accumulated wealth of the giants and their master, as well as Tezar’s severed head to show the remaining stone giants that they were safe to leave. It was sunset by the time they came out into the fresh mountain air, and long shadows streaked the rocky ground. Sitting near the entrance to the mine were the remnants of the stone giant clan, consisting of the two priests of Shesh, about a half-dozen giant women, and four giant children of varying sizes and ages.

“It’s done,” Lanara said to the priest, gesturing to Autumn as she opened her dimensional storage device and pulled out the head for them to see. The giant nodded.

“I will take my clan north to the lands of the elves, and hear what they can offer us in exchange for our help with their war.”

Lanara handed the giant a roll of parchment. “Take this,” she said. “Show it to the Emperor’s soldiers. It will tell them that you mean them no harm, and your purpose in traveling through Tlaxan.”

“I thank you for freeing us, humans,” said the priest. “We will leave you now. Your bird is waiting for you.”

“Bird?” Lanara asked, as the giant clan rumbled away. “What bird?”

“That bird,” Arrie said, pointing to a silver raven sitting on a rock outcropping nearby. She walked over and opened the compartment on the device’s chest, pulling out a folded piece of parchment. “It’s from Herion,” she announced, glancing at the wax seal on the parchment before breaking it open. Reading it over, she frowned.

“What’s it say?” Autumn asked.

“‘Greetings, friends and allies,’” Arrie read aloud. “‘If this message has found you, then you have no doubt succeeded in the mission which my brother, Emperor Haxtha, has sent you upon. Upon the wings of that victory for the Alliance, I must now task you with another mission. Near to the mine where your group now stands lies the domain of Lord Morladim, a potent vampire prince and cousin to Our Imperial family, who claims independence from any nation on Affon. The Alliance would like to recruit him to our cause, as we believe that he and his charges would be most efficient at leading night raids upon our Tauric enemies. However, convincing an undead being who has existed for more than two millennia to rouse themselves to any action is a task beyond the abilities of most. Thus, I call upon you. Journey to the domain of Lord Morladim, and convince him to join our cause. Yours, Prince Herion.’” Arrie looked at the other pages, which included a map of the area, and a listing of what terms the Alliance was willing to offer to Lord Morladim.

“Fantastic,” Lanara sighed. “Off to chat with the undead. At least he’s not a lich, and might actually be pleasant to look at.”

“If I remember my history lessons,” Autumn said, “Lord Morladim was a powerful sorcerer when he was alive.”

“Wow, let’s see here – cousin to the Imperial family, sorcery, and necromancy. It’s Sauroth all over again,” Kyle said. He glanced over at Arrie. “Lovely family you’ve married into.”

Lanara looked at Tolly. “Try not to die this time, okay?”

“I think that I can handle a vampire,” Tolly replied, his gauntleted hand tightening around his holy symbol.

“Nobody is going to ‘handle’ Lord Morladim,” Arrie said, “except for Lanara. And please, for the love of… don’t make what I just said sound dirty.”

“Too late,” the cansin grinned.

“And let’s not forget that we still don’t have Osborn back, or even know where he is,” Kyle said. “I can try to scry him in the morning, maybe even try a few divinations about this Lord Morladim to see if we can learn anything of value.”

“Yeah, I’m not even sure what I would offer a 2000 year old vampire,” Lanara said, looking over the list of terms that Arrie had handed her. “I doubt he’d have much interest in most of the traditional enticements.”

“Let’s camp here for the night,” Tolly said. “It’s safe, and the mine will give us shelter. We can set out in the morning.”

The party began making preparations for camp, hoping for a few hours good sleep before they faced what lay ahead.

------------------------------------

* Shesh is the NE god of greed, acquisition, and misers

** our gaming group, in various incarnations under various DMs, has had more luck with that damn 2nd level spell than anyone has a right.

 

[Sinewgrab]

** our gaming group, in various incarnations under various DMs, has had more luck with that damn 2nd level spell than anyone has a right.

This is one of the truest statements I have seen from you yet. Remember when I even got it to work on a Mind Flayer? And it almost never works on us--I think that is because we are too cool to be affected.

 

[Delemental]

This is one of the truest statements I have seen from you yet. Remember when I even got it to work on a Mind Flayer? And it almost never works on us--I think that is because we are too cool to be affected.

No, it is because we have forgotten how to laugh...

 

[Delemental]

Metamorphosis

For this week's update, I bring you one of a couple of pieces of fiction written by various people. Apparently we had all this pent-up creativity during our game hiatus.

This piece, "Metamorphosis" was written by yours truly. When I posted Kyle's stats a while back, I mentioned that our DM had allowed some significant character revisions after the hiatus. This story is my account of Kyle's changes. The next story I'll post, which was written by Sinewgrab (Tolly's player), is along the same lines, his account of how Tolly was changed.

--------------------------

Autumn pulled the tent flap aside and stepped inside, eager to get out of the cold mountain air. She blinked at the bright light inside, much brighter than the twilight sky she’d just come from. Kyle was sitting on their bedroll, with one of his light globes floating in the air over his shoulder. A large book sat on his lap. The book was a familiar sight to her, as she’d seen her husband reading from it almost daily before they had been separated by the war. But unlike other times, when he was eagerly turning pages in Jovol’s Codex to learn its secrets, this time he was just staring at the pages, his brow furrowed. On the far side of their tent, she saw a pile of the magical treasures that they had taken from the giants in the silver mine, items that Kyle had said he would examine tonight to determine what they did. The pile looked untouched.

“Help me with my armor?” she asked.

Kyle didn’t look up, but waved his hands in the air. An unseen servant appeared, and she felt it move close and start to pull at the straps holding her plate armor. Autumn was about to snap at Kyle, but then paused. Normally he was eager to help her get into and out of her armor (more so the latter); this almost dismissive behavior was inexplicably odd.

Autumn finished shedding her armor, arranging it carefully next to their bed so that in the event of a night attack she could pull on a few crucial pieces before joining battle. She then pulled off the heavy padding underneath, though she waited until the unseen servant popped out of existence before shedding the rest of her garments; she knew that the servant was nothing but a magical construct with no true will or perception, but she still felt uncomfortable undressing in front of one.

The aasimar slid into the bedding next to Kyle, glad that the cooling mountain air had not yet penetrated inside the tent. Normally it wouldn’t have been an issue, as Autumn would have left her smallclothes and padding on in case there was an ambush. But right now her mind was not on battle readiness. After all, they’d only been together for two days after being separated during the early stages of the Tauric invasion, and most of that spent traveling or fighting giants.

“Kyle, can you scratch my back?” For the past two weeks, she’d had an annoying, nearly constant itch between her shoulder blades that hadn’t responded to any of the ointments her valet had bought for her.

One of Kyle’s hands rose into the air, and he started to mutter something.

“If you summon a mage hand, I will break your fingers.”

The muttering stopped, and Kyle reached over and began scratching down her spine. At first, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the temporary relief. But after a while she grew dissatisfied. Kyle’s efforts were effective, but half-hearted at best, and she grew acutely aware that his hand had not wandered from its duty in the slightest, something that was usually a persistent problem with her husband. Briefly, Autumn began to contemplate what Lanara would do in a situation like this, until she realized that the bard had probably never faced the problem of having a man ignore her while she was sitting naked next to them.

Autumn decided that her usual direct approach was the best. “Kyle, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he grunted. He withdrew his hand.

“‘Nothing’?” she echoed. “You sound like a petulant child. Out with it, or you sleep outside tonight.”

“Fine. I’ve just spent the last half-hour having my dreams and ambitions crushed, that’s all.”

She laughed; the statement was so dramatic that at first she thought it was another one of Kyle’s poorly executed jokes. But she stopped when he didn’t react in kind.

There was a long, pregnant silence in the tent. She was about to make another comment, when two things happened that stopped her cold. She saw his eyes well up with tears – not tears of pain, or guilt, or embarrassment, but of a deeper sadness, the tears of lost hope. But what truly shocked her was when Kyle slammed the metallic covers of the Codex shut, and then hurled the tome out of the tent with a shout of rage. She saw the book slam into a nearby rock through the tent flap, and then her view was obscured as Kyle stormed out of the tent himself, heading off into the night.

Autumn sat there for a moment, stunned. She had an urge to run after him, but realized that she was still unclothed. As she began to fumble for her smallclothes, a head poked into the tent. The sentinel yelped and clutched a blanket up in front of herself.

“Everything okay, sis?” Arrie asked. “What’s going on here? Do I need to go hurt someone?”

“No!” she shouted, aware that she was shaking a little. She was replaying the image of Kyle throwing Jovol’s Codex out of the tent. The book on planar metaphysics was priceless, and irreplaceable, and according to her husband was the key to his ambitions. Autumn looked at Arrie, who was waiting for more of an explanation.

“It’s fine, Arrie,” Autumn said hurriedly. “I mean, it isn’t, but… just let him go, okay? He’ll come back.”

“Okay,” Arrie said, sounding unconvinced. She ducked out for a moment, and then came back into the tent, holding the Codex. “You want to hold on to this for him? I know Kyle’s been reading this a lot, I doubt he really wants it to stay outside all night. I assume it’s important or something.”

Arrie, you have no idea. “Yes, please, put it over there.” She pointed into the corner of the tent. When Arrie set the Codex down, Autumn saw with relief that it looked none the worse for wear. She tossed a blanket over it; no sense letting the book be the first thing Kyle saw when he came back.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Arrie asked.

“I will be. Go back to your watch.”

“Okay, but if you need to talk…”

“I know where to find you,” Autumn finished for her. “But right now I’m feeling a little… exposed, so could you close the tent flap? And come get me for the next watch – don’t try and take a double watch for my sake.”

“Yeah, like I’d really miss out on my beauty sleep for your sake,” Arrie teased. They both knew that if Autumn hadn’t said anything, Arrie probably would have taken both watches.

Kyle hadn’t returned by the time Autumn was roused for her watch, and didn’t come back until well into the night. Lanara had received a brief report of the earlier incident from Arrie, and so had let Autumn take the lead on the conversation. This, of course, had led to a fairly quiet evening.

Kyle came into the camp and sat down next to Autumn on a rock. Lanara looked at the two of them.

“Oh, gee, look at the moons,” Lanara said, glancing up at the overcast sky. “Time for my long perimeter patrol.” The cansin stood up and walked away from the fire, pulling her cloak around her shoulders tightly.

Kyle handed Autumn a handful of scraggly yellow wildflowers. “Not much to pick from out here,” he said quietly. “The altitude, you know… and it’s pretty late in the year.”

“They’re lovely,” Autumn said. “But I should be the one giving you flowers. I shouldn’t have laughed. I was so annoyed that you weren’t paying attention to me that I did the same to you.”

“I understand,” he replied.

“Can we be friends again?” she said with a smile.

“Friends and more,” Kyle laughed, and leaned over to kiss her.

“So, tell me what you read in the Codex that upset you so much,” Autumn said. She had the urge to rest Kyle’s head on her shoulder and stroke his hair, but she realized that while wearing full plate it wouldn’t exactly be the comforting gesture she intended. She settled for holding his hands.

Kyle sighed. “I don’t think I’ll be able to do what I had hoped to do.”

“Why not? You seemed to think that it was possible, with a little more study…”

“That was before I started reading tonight. Actually, I’ve suspected it for a while, but my reading confirms it.”

“Well, what’s the problem?” Autumn asked.

“In order to pull off the necessary modifications to the demiplane, I would need to have mastered the manipulation of raw magical energy to a degree I simply can’t manage.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are ways to manipulate spells to improve their effects by investing additional energy into them. You can make them travel farther, affect a larger area, last longer, or change the energies they use. You can alter the way they are cast so they can be discharged without sound, or gestures, or even with just a single word. Many mages pursue this knowledge to varying degrees.” Kyle poked at the fire with the end of his staff. “I never did.”

“Why not? Surely you had a good reason.”

“I did, or so I thought. When I first started training as a wizard under Professor Vorsha, I gravitated toward the path of the artificer… making magic items. It seemed a good fit at the time – I still considered myself more a laborer than a mage, and I was good at working with my hands. I understood the theories of metamagic, but it seemed so… impractical. So I never pursued it.”

“You sound like you wish you’d chosen differently,” Autumn said, “I suppose that’s natural, since it presents an obstacle now, but…”

“It’s more than just that,” Kyle said. “Lately I’ve had many reasons to regret the choices I made in my early training. When I first started following the path of the artificer, I’d assumed I’d end up in some workshop somewhere, making potions and magical trinkets to sell. But that was when I thought I’d never get very far studying magic, before I realized my true potential. I’m not that same laborer playing at being a wizard; I haven’t been for some time now. Artifice just doesn’t hold the same joy for me that it used to; my ambitions have evolved.”

Autumn nodded in understanding. For years her highest ambition had been to join the Order of the Sentinels and serve them; now she was a duchess in control of a significant portion of the Tlaxan Empire.

“And even if I still enjoyed making magical items as much as I used to, there’s no time for me to create anything worthwhile, either for myself, or us, or for the Alliance. We just don’t have days to sit around, or the gold to spare on materials – both are resources in short supply, and the more things I create, the more of both I need. These days, I look at what it would cost to make a wand, and I see the salaries of two thousand mercenary troops. I think of making an amulet, and I picture a month’s supplies for an entire dwarven battalion.”

“The war won’t last forever,” Autumn said.

“I know, but then some other threat will take its place. If it’s not the Taurics, it’s the psions. Or fanatic cults, or Xhintai warlords, or scheming devils, or whatever. This is our life Autumn, for better or for worse.”

“Merciful Bail,” Autumn said, “I had no idea you felt this way.”

“How could you?” Kyle said with a half-hearted smile. “We’ve been separated the past few months. And it wasn’t until I read the Codex today that my fears were really confirmed.” Kyle looked down at the fire and poked it again. “I hadn’t realized how much this demiplane idea was keeping me going, keeping my spirits up.”

“You still have me,” Autumn said, this time giving in to her urge and cradling Kyle’s head to her shoulder.

“I know, but I need something besides you and the others,” Kyle explained. “Something that’s just for me, something that lets me know I did everything in my power to leave the world better than I found it.”

It was a simple, almost naïve wish, made all the more powerful by the fact that Kyle probably had the potential to make it happen. “Surely there’s another way,” Autumn said.

Kyle shook his head. “That’s what I’d hoped. But you can’t invest metamagic into created items unless you know how to do it in the first place, so I can’t just simulate the knowledge. Besides which, this task requires a good measure of both careful preparation and spontaneous adjustment; the first is easy, the second is impossible with magical devices.”

“Well, why can’t you learn this metamagic stuff? You’re not exactly an old man, you know.”

“When would I find the time? Who would teach me? I’m not an old man, but I'm not an apprentice wizard any more, Autumn, and most mages I know aren’t too keen on taking on a student who exceeds their own ability. Besides, with the war going on everyone’s too busy. I even hear the Tower is considering canceling this year’s courses to free up staff for the war effort. And even if I could, it’s not the same. People are always better at things they learn early in their profession than with things they learn later. I’m too used to looking at magic in a particular way for metamagic to come easily to me.”

Kyle snuffed out a loose ember with the end of his staff. “I know, I sound pretty negative right now. I feel that way. But I’ve looked at this problem from every angle I can think of, and I just don’t have the skills to pull it off.” He straightened up, pulling slowly away from Autumn’s embrace. “Perhaps I should consider returning the Codex to Myndrila. I’m sure she’ll be pleased to have it back, and who knows? Maybe she can find someone to complete the project, though Erito knows how she would convince a mage to help psions.”

Autumn watched Kyle stand up and walk slowly toward their tent. “My watch is almost over,” she called out, “I’ll be in soon.”

Kyle nodded.

“But don’t wait up for me,” she added. “Try and get some sleep. Maybe things will look better in the morning.”

“Maybe,” he said, unconvinced.

Autumn’s heart ached to see him so forlorn. “Sweet dreams,” she called out. This time he didn’t respond as he ducked into the tent.

Lanara returned a minute later. “Boy, I’m glad that’s over. He was starting to get me depressed.”

“Were you listening in?” Autumn asked.

“Of course I was, dear. Had to make sure nobody did anything stupid. You’re armed, you know.”

“I see.”

Lanara laughed. “I’m teasing you, Autumn! Really, I didn’t hear that much, just kept an ear on the general tone of the conversation. Wanted to make sure I didn’t walk in at a bad moment.” She stole a look back at Kyle and Autumn’s tent. “Think he’ll be okay? Want me to try talking to him?”

“Not yet,” Autumn said, “we’ll see how it goes.”

* * *​

Kyle was asleep when Autumn came in from her watch. She pulled her armor off quietly while Lanara went to wake up Tolly and Crystal for their watch, and then laid down next to him. She was asleep herself within moments, one arm draped over her husband’s body.

She awoke some time later to a strange, but pleasant sensation. She opened her eyes to darkness; it wasn’t morning yet, so she couldn’t have been asleep for more than a couple of hours. She was too tired to properly focus, even with darkvision, and so it took a moment for her to discern what was happening. The touch of a familiar hand brought her fully awake.

“Kyle?” she whispered, “what are you doing?”

“I’m just giving the most beautiful, most wonderful woman in the world the attention she deserves,” he said with a chuckle.

“But why…? I thought that…”

He silenced her with a kiss. “Because of what you said to me. It’s sheer genius. It’s perfect.”

“I don’t understand, Kyle. What did I say that…”

And then Kyle did something else, and at that moment asking questions became a very low priority for Autumn.

* * *​

On the next day’s march through the mountains, Kyle was in high spirits. He laughed and joked with the rest of the party, and didn’t seem to care when half of the jokes he told fell flat. And he was affectionate toward Autumn to the point that even Tolly’s normally stoic apprentice Crystal was compelled to comment on it, and by afternoon the party insisted that the two of them walk at opposite ends of their traveling line. Despite this, he still wouldn’t explain what had so drastically changed his mood, saying that he didn’t want to jinx it.

By the time they stopped for the night to camp, Kyle seemed almost jittery with excitement. He rushed through camp preparations, and the evening meal.

“Well, good night!” he called out suddenly. He stood up, kissed Autumn on the cheek, and disappeared into his tent.

The others looked at each other. There was still a full hour of sunlight remaining.

Tolly reached over and picked up the skin Kyle had been drinking from. He pulled out the stopper and sniffed. “Water,” he said, “that’s not it.”

“And I don’t recall seeing him stop to eat any strange mushrooms or lichens,” Arrie mused. She turned to Autumn. “What did you do to him last night?”

“And are you willing to share your techniques with others?” Lanara added.

“I didn’t do anything!” the sentinel protested. “We just talked.”

“Of course,” Tolly commented, “That’s what I heard from your tent last night. A lot of deep… conversation.”

“I swear, we’re going to start sleeping inside a rope trick from now on,” Autumn muttered.

“Promise?” Arrie asked.

“I’ll give you some rope!” Lanara added. “For the spell, of course.”

“I’m going to go tend to the horses,” Autumn said, standing quickly.

“We don’t have any horses, Autumn,” Arrie pointed out.

“Then I’m going to swing my axe around for a while before I turn in,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll have much more fun speculating on the details of my marriage if I’m not here to interject any reality into the conversation.”

“Sir,” Crystal asked Tolly as Autumn walked off, “do you always discuss each other’s moments of intimacy so openly?”

“No, just theirs.”

“That is good,” Crystal said. “I feared I would have to swear a vow of celibacy while in your service.”

* * *​

Inside the tent, Kyle dreamed.

He floated through an alien landscape, his form given purpose and solidity by the spell he’d cast before laying down. Though he had the sensation of being far from his physical form, he knew that in other ways he wasn’t that far away at all.

He looked around at the vast, multicolored terrain around him that conformed to no normal geography. There were dozens of concentrated points of color that Kyle knew represented the dreams of all sorts of myriad creatures, including those of his companions. He was tempted to peek into some of those dreams, but the spell he was using would not allow him to deviate from his target, and besides which he had no way of determining which of those dreamscapes belonged to which person. He noted that one of the nearby dream points seemed particularly dense; he would have guessed that one belonged to Arrie, but she had first watch, and was probably still awake. Kyle had no idea who else would have such intense dreams.

After a while, Kyle felt a pull on his magically created form, and there was a sudden sensation of movement. The points representing individual dreams began to flit past like a swarm of dragonflies, appearing and receding all around him. In the distance, Kyle saw something moving at an odd angle; perhaps another mage using the same spell as him but heading for a different destination, or perhaps some sort of strange dreamscape entity that arcanists could only theorize about.

Suddenly, there was a shift, and instead of flying along through a kaleidoscopic soup, Kyle found himself walking up a path toward a mansion built atop a sea cliff. He looked around, but could see no trace of where he’d come from.

He continued walking until he came to the main door of the mansion. The place was utterly silent, other than the distant sound of crashing waves. Kyle knocked on the door, and waited.

After an hour with no sign of any response, Kyle felt a little discouraged. He could feel his spell urging him to enter the house, knowing the target of his spell was inside. But he knew there was no way he was getting inside without being let in.

Sighing, Kyle pulled a pen, ink, and a sheet of parchment out of his pockets. He sat down in the entryway and scrawled a quick note on the parchment. He put away the ink and pen and produced a hammer and nail, and with three quick strikes he nailed the parchment to the door. He stepped back, and then there was a sudden rush of color all around him before he found himself back in his tent, looking up at the ceiling.

Next to him, Autumn stirred slightly. “S’okay?” she mumbled.

“Yes, dear, I’m fine. Go back to sleep.” He smiled when he heard her snore in response.

“I guess that all I can do is wait,” he said quietly to himself, before rolling over and going back to sleep.

* * *​

Kyle got his answer the next night. He was having a rather bizarre dream where he was playing cards with a hound archon, an astral deva, a bralani eladrin, a succubus, and a kyton. He was looking at his cards, and realizing that they were blank, when he looked up and realized that the dealer at the table had changed.

“Hello, Kyle,” Aran said. He looked around. “You have interesting dreams.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Kyle said, as the other five players in the game slowly faded away, “I’m sure you must see plenty of them.”

“Indeed. I received your message.”

“Good, I was wondering about that.”

“I don’t see how I could have missed it. Using arcane magic to manipulate the Dreaming is… unsubtle, Kyle. I would advise against using that method to contact me in the future.”

“I didn’t see any problems with it,” Kyle protested.

“And as a wizard, you wouldn’t have. But to my people, you accomplished the metaphysical equivalent of knocking on my front door with a trebuchet. Fortunately, at this point your group’s affiliation with me is no great secret, and your message contained no information other than your desire to talk. So, here I am.”

“Thank you. Aran, I need your help in order to complete the demiplane project I told you about just before my wedding.”

“I sympathize, Kyle, truly I do, and I admire your goals. But I’ve already explained that I will not divulge the secrets of the Dreaming to you. The Dreaming is the one metaphysical realm we psions have that is free from both arcane and divine meddling. I will not relinquish the medium through which I exert my powers.”

“I know. That’s not what I want.”

Aran’s eyebrows arched inquisitively.

“I know enough about psionics that I know that some of you have the ability to delve deeply into a person’s memories and experiences, and if they’re willing you can even alter those memories to grant a person new knowledge.”

“You’re referring to the psychic reformation power,” Aran said. “I possess this ability myself.”

“Would you use it on me?”

Aran looked carefully at Kyle. “For what purpose?”

“Among other reasons, I will need to be well versed in metamagic in order for the demiplane to have even the slightest chance of working as I want it to,” Kyle explained.

“Understand,” said Aran, “that I can’t just insert new knowledge and training into your mind. I have to alter existing knowledge, erase things you know now.”

“I understand,” replied Kyle. “I want you to rework all of my training as an artificer.”

The master psion blinked in surprise. “I thought that magical artifice was your primary focus of study.”

“It is… it was. Things change, and sometimes drastic measures are needed.”

“This will require a rather extensive change in your psyche…” Aran mused.

“Then you’ll do it?” Kyle asked.

Aran gave Kyle a warning look. “There will be a cost to you.”

“Nothing I’m not familiar with as an artificer. I’m prepared to pay.”

“It is more than that,” he warned.

“It will cost some of your life force as well,” Kyle said, “I know, and if there’s anything I can do…”

Aran waved his hand. “The cost to me is an insignificant matter. I know that you are doing this for our sake, so I will gladly part with it. But this procedure will alter a significant part of who you are. And there are other complications possible. Your psyche is suffused with arcane power, and as you know magic and psionics do not mix well. Your heritage, and the artifact you carry, will further complicate matters. I can’t predict all of the effects.”

Kyle thought for a moment. “I’m willing to risk it if you are.”

“Very well. I will need to prepare. I will contact you tomorrow night to begin. I suggest that you give your companions some warning; the procedure will take several hours to complete, and they will not be able to wake you until I’m finished.”

“Thank you,” said Kyle, as they both stood up. “I appreciate this, really I do.”

“Glad to help where I can. Good luck to you.”

“You too,” Kyle said. “See you tomorrow.”

Kyle faded from Aran’s sight as the psion exited the wizard’s dreamscape. He began walking back to his domain through the polychromatic swirls of the Dreaming. Waiting nearby was his assistant, the dromite Tek.

Your meeting went well, master? Tek asked.

Reasonably so, Aran replied. I will need to return tomorrow for more extensive work.

Is everything all right, master? You appear troubled.

Aran turned back to look at the spot of intensified color that represented Kyle’s dreams. The wizard has completed another circuit on his spiral, Aran replied at last. It remains to be seen in what direction that spiral progresses.

* * *​

Autumn woke up early, and was somewhat startled to see that Kyle was still sleeping next to her. Normally he was up and about well before she was, so having him still next to her was an unexpected, but pleasant surprise.

“Well, you said last night that we wouldn’t be able to wake you up,” she said, after her initial efforts to rouse Kyle produced no results. “I didn’t realize that it’d last this long. I hope you wake up soon, because we need to pack up and get going.”

A moment later, Lanara called out to the couple. “You two up yet?”

“I am, but Kyle isn’t,” Autumn called back.

“Well, then, write some dirty words on his forehead or something. That’ll teach him to sleep in.”

Autumn chuckled. “You should be very grateful that I’m not Lanara,” she said to herself.

“Why is that?” Kyle asked.

“Oh! I didn’t realize you were awake. How are you?”

“I’m fine, I guess,” he said. “But who are you?”

Autumn’s smile faded. “What?”

“You seem familiar, ma’am, but I can’t quite put a name to your face,” Kyle replied. He spoke with a heavy rural accent, which he hadn’t had for years. “My head feels kinda fuzzy, ma’am. Did I fall off a roof or somethin’? You must be a healer.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “And a far sight prettier one than Old Dame Gezell back in Potter’s Creek. ‘Course, that’s not sayin’ much, no offense to you or nothin’.”

Autumn started to panic. “Arrie? Tolly?” she shouted. “Anyone? Help!”

Kyle quickly sat up, looking worried. “Now now, calm down, ma’am. There’s no problem here. I wasn’t trying to…” Kyle looked at Autumn again, who was still dressed only in her smallclothes, and he immediately turned his head and covered his eyes. “Aw, gee, ma’am, I didn’t realize you weren’t decent. No wonder you thought I was… are you here for healin’ too?”

Autumn was about to shout for help again, when she heard a voice in her mind. Please, stay calm. Slowly, Autumn relaxed as she recognized the speaker.

Kyle, seeing the strange blonde woman suddenly staring off into space, decided to keep quiet for a bit. He wasn’t sure why he was laying in a tent with a half-dressed woman, but it certainly didn’t seem to be the good situation it normally would be. Whoever she was, she sounded like she had friends close by. Not that she needed friends; she looked like she could break him in half on her own. And if the staff on the ground nearby was any indication, she was a wizard too. Probably one of them archmages from Trageon knowing my luck, he thought forlornly, she’ll probably have me thrown off the top of that big Tower they’ve got.

Forgive me, Aran continued inside Autumn’s head, I’d hoped to contact you sooner, but I needed a few moments to rest after the night’s efforts. I also wanted to contact your companions briefly, to assure them that there was no danger. Your husband will be fine, and the amnesia will pass relatively quickly. He is in the process of reintegrating his memories. Did he explain what was happening to him tonight?

Not really. He just said we wouldn’t be able to wake him up.

Probably trying to spare you from worry, without realizing that by keeping you ignorant, he would create greater worry. Well, we all have our lapses in judgment.

Aran explained briefly to Autumn what he had done to Kyle over the course of the night. There may be other effects of the procedure, which I can’t fully predict. I had to draw upon the psychic memories of other mages to make the proper alterations to Kyle’s mind – he may manifest brief personality changes or periods of erratic behavior. Ideally he would spend the next few days in seclusion while his mind heals, but sadly that’s a luxury you lack. His talents as a wizard should be unaffected, once he recalls that he has them.

Is there anything I can do to help him? Autumn asked.

Try not to read too much into what he says or does in the next few days, Aran advised. And just be supportive. I will be in touch. There was a brief pause. I would recommend that Kyle be kept away from any sensitive conversations or negotiations until he fully heals. But given your current location, I assume that is not going to be a problem.

Autumn felt Aran’s presence recede from her mind. She looked over at Kyle, who was grinning like a fiend as a tiny ball of light hovered an inch off his open palm.

“Looky here!” he said with glee, “I can do magic!”

----------------------------

Of course, the psychic reformation power doesn't actually say anything about after-effects, but I always thought that there would have to be consequences for having a significant chunk of your memory just rewritten. Thus, this story. I'd intended to really roleplay this to the hilt for a couple of sessions afterward, but I ended up toning it down, because it would've been too disruptive to everyone else. No sense spoiling everyone's fun so I can have a few laughs.

 

[Delemental]

Ariadne Verahannen

And as a bonus entry for this Friday, the stats for She of the Funky Weapons...

ARIADNE VERAHANNEN
Human female exoticist 7/exotic weapon master 5/wilder 3
TN Medium humanoid
[B]Init[/B] +9; [B]Senses[/B] Listen +0, Spot +0
[B]Languages [/B]Common, Aquan, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Orcish
------------------------------------------
[B]AC[/B] 21, touch 19, flat-footed 15; Combat Expertise, Dodge
[B]hp[/B] 144 (15 HD)
[B]Fort[/B] +17, [B]Ref[/B] +11, [B]Will[/B] +8 (+4 vs. mind-affecting effects, +4 vs negative energy and death effects)
---------------------------------------------
[B]Speed [/B]30 ft (6 squares)
[B]Melee [/B][I]Strike From Beyond[/I] +26/+21/+16 (2d4+12, 19-20) or [I]Anyweapon[/I] +25/+20/+15 (varies) or [I]+1 jambiya[/I] +25/+20/+15 (1d4+6/19-20)
[B]Ranged[/B] elven double bow +25/+20/+15 (1d8, x3) or elven double bow +23 (1d8+1d8, x3) or masterwork orcish shotput +25 (2d6+11, 19-20/x3) or [I]+1 distance orcish shotput[/I] +26 (2d6+12, 19-20/x3) or [I]+1 impact orcish shotput[/I] +26 (2d6+12, 17-20/x3) or bolas +25 (1d4+8)
[B]Base Atk[/B] +18; [B]Grp [/B]+24
[B]Atk Options[/B] Weapon Finesse, Combat Expertise, Strange Strike, Karmic Strike, Standstill
[B]Combat Gear[/B] [I]potion of cure serious wounds[/I] x5, [I]potion of minor glove of invulnerability, oil of bless weapon, oil of magic weapon, crystal mask of dread, evader psicrown[/I]
[B]Powers Known[/B] (ML 3rd. 14 PP):
	1st – [I]empty mind, vigor[/I] (DC 14)
[B]Spell-Like Abilities[/B] (CL 15th):
	1/day [I]detect poison[/I]
-----------------------------------------------
[B]Abilities[/B] Str 22, Dex 21, Con 22, Int 13, Wis 11, Cha 16
[B]SQ[/B] can use Knowledge skills untrained, Elude Touch, Wild Surge +2, Psychic Enervation, Full Exotic Proficiency, Exotic Specialization, Exotic Two-Weapon Fighting, Strange Strike
[B]Feats[/B] Improved Initiative, Cosmopolitan (Bluff), Combat Expertise, Standstill, Quick Draw, Karmic Strike, Danger Sense, Improvised Melee Weapons, Improvised Throwing Weapons, Weapon Finesse, Combat Reflexes, Dodge
[B]Skills[/B] Autohypnosis +8, Balance +13, Climb +4, Concentration +12, Craft (bowyer) +3, Escape Artist +17, Intimidate +24, Jump +11, Knowledge (local) +3, Perform (dance) +6, Psicraft +7, Swim +6, Tumble +18
[B]Possessions[/B] Combat gear plus Strike From Beyond ([I]+1 keen ghost touch spiked chain[/I]), [I]+1 impact orcish shotput, +1 distance orcish shotput, +1 jambiya[/I], Anyweapon ([I]+1 sizing metalline morphing weapon[/I]), masterwork orcish shotput, elven double bow, bolas, Herion’s Heart ([I]+1 soulguard  mithral chain shirt[/I]), [I]traveler’s cloak, headband of mental armor, gloves of tripping, figurine of wondrous power [/I](silver raven), [I]belt of giant strength +6, steadfast boots, vest of escape, amulet of health +6, bag of holding[/I] (type I), [I]minor ring of jumping, Ariadne and Herion’s Wedding Band[/I]
[B]Notes[/B]
[I]Anyweapon[/I] – this +1 sizing metalline morphing weapon can take on the form of any melee weapon the wielder desires, and can mimic any exotic metal type (cold iron, adamantium, alchemical silver).  Making any change to the weapon requires a move-equivalent action.
[I]Elven double bow[/I] – This bow can be fired as a normal composite longbow, or alternatively the wielder can string two arrows as a move-equivalent action, and fire both at the same target using a single attack roll.  There is a –2 penalty to this shot.
[I]Strange Strike[/I] – You receive a +1competence bonus to attack rolls against opponents not proficient in the same weapon.
[I]Standstill[/I] – Whenever you could take an attack of opportunity, you can instead attempt to halt your opponent’s movement.  Make an attack roll as normal; if it hits, the opponet must make a Reflex save (DC 10+damage rolled) or halts as if he had used up his movement for the round.
[I]Full Exotic Proficiency[/I] – You are proficient in all exotic weapons.
[I]Exotic Specialization[/I] – Your attacks with exotic weapons gain +2 to all damage rolls.
[I]Exotic Two-Weapon Fighting[/I] – Your penalties to attack rolls when wielding two exotic weapons are reduced by 2.
[I]Improvised Melee Weapons and Improvised Ranged Weapons[/I] – You can turn any reasonably solid object into a melee weapon or a thrown weapon.  Improvised weapons do damage as a club (1d6).  The range increment on improvised thrown weapons is 10 feet.
[I]Herion’s Heart[/I] – This +1 soulguard mithral chain shirt allows any wearer with the Combat Expertise feat to gain +3 to their Armor Class for the first point of BAB sacrificed with the feat (further increases to AC through the feat progress as normal).  The soulguard special ability gives the wearer a +4 sacred bonus to saves vs. death effects and negative energy.
[I]Headband of mental armor[/I] – gives the owner a +4 resistance bonus on all saves vs. mind-affecting effects.
[I]Ariadne and Herion’s Wedding Band[/I] – this ring (one of a matched pair) gives a +2 enhancement bonus to all saves.  When a ring is worn, they can detect the direction and distance to the other ring if the other ring is within a 100 foot radius.  Each ring can issue a sending to the other ring’s wearer once per day.

A note about Arrie's classes - the exoticist is identical to a fighter, except that instead of proficiency in all martial weapons, they get proficiency in four exotic weapons of their choice (which means that Arrie is just fine with an urgrosh, but can't get the hang of a longsword). They can also choose from a small list of special abilities instead of one of their bonus feats; Strange Strike is one of those abilities (I can't remember the others, but Arrie doesn't have them anyway).

The exotic weapon master is the one that was in the 3.0 splatbook Masters of the Wild, but modified - the rage prereq was dropped, the Exotic Focus ability was dropped, and the Improvised Weapons abilities were changed.

 

[Krafus]

Glad to see that Kyle has his priorities straight! So Artificer just wasn't doing it for him, eh? I wonder what he'll do with that book he did so much to acquire...

Oh, and does Crystal have designs on somebody in the party?

 

[Delemental]

Glad to see that Kyle has his priorities straight! So Artificer just wasn't doing it for him, eh? I wonder what he'll do with that book he did so much to acquire...

It was a personal decision based on both my own opinion of item creation and on the DM's presentation of how the final act of the campaign would progress.

While I have nothing against item creation, and in fact had fun with it for quite a while, the truth is that IMO the return on investment gets less the higher level you go, especially in a setting that is high magic and where common items are relatively easy to acquire. Sure, you're still saving money by making your own items, but the xp and time costs really start to hurt. And our DM has told us that a lot of our time in the game from this point forward is going to be used up, with the war, and the psions, and everything else, so the days of being able to kick back for a month to crank out magic goodies is done. In the end, it seemed like Kyle would never get to use most of his item creation feats, and so I decided to make the switch to metamagic.

(And let's not even discuss epic item creation. Talk about a resource sinkhole...)

As far as the book, understand that it exists as pure plot device. Jovol's Codex (and yes, the name Jovol comes straight from Sepulchrave's SH; I make no apologies for my plagarism) was something I created when I wrote my little side story a while back about how Kyle first started pursuing his little 'project'. I put it in only to get across that his plans have something to do with planar metaphysics, which is what the Codex is about. And in this most recent story, I used it as a catalyst for Kyle's decision to abandon item creation and pursue metamagic instead.

And what is Kyle's project, you may ask? Well, it will all come out soon. Kyle's been trying to keep it secret from everyone, because there are some... controversial aspects to it. Of course, this probably means that everyone knows about it.

Oh, and does Crystal have designs on somebody in the party?

If she does, we don't know about it. Being relatively new to the party, Crystal hasn't shown much of a personality in game yet. The ongoing tension between her and Autumn hasn't helped much with getting her out of her shell, either.

 

[Delemental]

The Forging Anew

This is the second of three pieces of fiction, this written by Tolly's player Sinewgrab.

Don't worry, there will be actual game updates coming. These fiction pieces just all happen to occur at this particular point in the story, so here they go.

-----------------------

"Crystal, keep the crew together, and don't let them get themselves killed before I am back."

"Sir, I still don't understand what you are doing. Why can't I go with you?" The axani Inquisitor pulled the strap tighter on Tolly's left side. "Your associates don't seem to like me, and I am not comfortable at all alone with them, especially the Duchess. She is less than even-tempered, and now she is stressed because of the wizard."

"I don't think I entirely know what I am doing either, Crystal. I have been praying nightly for guidance as to what I should be doing next, and I find that I have an inexplicable urge to climb that mountain. When I checked over the maps of the area that we brought from Laeshir, I found that this mountain was once a holy site for Ardara. Somewhere near the top is an open temple for priests to expose themselves to the elements and our Mother. I am going there. Alone." Tolly stared evenly at Crystal, and then grimaced. "I cannot help you with Autumn. She is a woman of strong passions, and somewhat uncontrolled. I suspect in time that Kyle will provide her stability, and help her sister keep her out of trouble--if he can cease his idiotic experiments."

Tolly shrugged, and hopped slightly to settle his plate armor. His maul he strapped in place on his back, and he finished his preparations by pulling on his armored gauntlets. It was time to go. He could feel it.

He stopped briefly by Kyle and Autumn's tent, but decided against interrupting them. In the day and a half since Kyle's...transformation...the wizard had been impossible to live with. Tolly suspected that the pressure Kyle had exerted on him to leave was at least partially due to his memories being time-dependent. If he was correct, Kyle was almost to the point where he and Kyle had been less than friendly, due to their mutual admiration of Autumn, and the clash over psionicists. The Servants of Ardara had done him no favors there--but he had learned that were no hard rules to the world. Shades of faith, as the Exalted had told him, were what the world was made of. Like soil, there were rich loams, and hard clays. Both will sustain, but one better than the other.

He nodded to Arrie as he passed, glad that the group had decided to pause for a day to let Kyle restore himself. She smiled at him and returned to her watch. He ventured into the trees, comfortable in the cool mountain air. His thoughts went to Iria, and he smiled, continuing his steady pace. He hoped she was doing well in Miracle. It had been too long since he had seen her. Once this diplomatic mission to the Vampire Lord was over, he would ask Kyle to take him to Miracle. Tolly missed his ward terribly.

Some hours later, he was still walking. He had passed the treeline some time back, and was now following a barely visible path, made of worn steps, which in the fading afternoon light were nearly invisible. The Inquisitor Primus could see the temple above him, and it had become tasking to follow the path – he swore that it was practically straight up. Finally, he was at the door – and he could see the old Dwarven runes telling him to follow the path if he was a pilgrim. Unfortunately, they also contained the character that meant deep. He wasn't done walking. Into the darkness he went, it closing behind him as he strode into the bowels of the earth.

He lost track of time – he was no dwarf to know these things instinctively – but soon came to a room lit by incandescent fungi. There were no other exits, and this room felt absolutely right to him. Every breath brought him comfort, and each moment cleared his mind and eased his weariness. He stripped, and carefully laid out his armor and clothing on a stone shelf. Tolly walked to the center of the room, and knelt. He closed his eyes, and began to pray.

It may have been an hour, or it may have been a day later. Tolly opened his eyes. A form stood in front of him – one which was familiar, and yet not.

"Exalted?"

Good, Tolly. Your mind is still sharp. How are you this day?

"I am well, Exalted, though somewhat surprised. I thought you had moved on." Tolly shifted. His knees ached, but it was a familiar ache. Stone was never soft. "To what do I owe this honor?"

The ghostly form shimmered slightly. The Holy Mother has determined that you are correct in your suspicions. You are not on the best path to continue Her work in this world. Your absorption of the traits of the Earth does not best prepare you for what is to come. She will help you.

"I don't think I understand." Tolly stood. "Does the Mother wish for me to change where I am going?"

No, Tolly. She is going to change where you have been. Brace yourself.

The room collapsed on Tolly, burying him in the heart of the mountain.

* * *​

Tolly became conscious of his surroundings. He was fully clad in his armor, and everything seemed to be in working order, although he had a splitting headache. A healing orison did nothing to abate it. He felt dehydrated, and he could taste earth on his tongue. He stood, and then realized he could not see. His darkvision was gone, as was the stone-like feel he had become used to in his skin. Memories slowly emerged, of Jerome guiding his mind, splitting off learned knowledge like the slabs from slate, forging him anew in the heat of the Mother's love, with memories gleaned from other of her children. He felt acutely the loss of his knowledge of forging magical arms, but then gained a feel of the earth that he had missed before. He could feel the Mother through the stone. He would never be far from her so long as he could touch the earth.

He prayed briefly, knowledge flowing into his mind. He muttered a prayer, and the room alit with divine light. He breathed in the remaining essence of Ardara's love and approval, and walked out. It was a long walk back to camp, and the sooner started, the sooner ended. He did not look forward to explaining his condition, much less the changes in his physical makeup. First Kyle, now him. Who would change next?

 

[Ed Gentry]

I love this SH. Keep it coming!

 

[Delemental]

The Bard’s War

I love this SH. Keep it coming!

Well, if you insist...

This will be the last of the three pieces of fiction written at this point in the campaign, this one authored by Lanara's player. Pretty much a synopsis of recent events from her perspective.

-------------------------------------------


Damn, my butt hurts! thought Lanara, squirming in her chair at the massive table. She’d have thought the emperor’s council chambers would have more comfortable seating. Maybe elves get calluses on their rears so they can’t feel these gods-be-damned hard stupid chairs. Lanara sighed. Maybe Haxtha had uncomfortable chairs to discourage exactly the kinds of crap these “allies” and “negotiators” kept slinging about, with nothing actually being said. Just imagine, the bard thought, if every session was like this, it would take forever to get anything accomplished in Tlaxan. Of course, given the average lifespan of an elf, that might not be such a long time to wait. But the rest of the world had things to do and an invasion to worry about. Lanara kicked her foot against the leg of the table nearest to her and tried to pay attention to what was being not-said...

*****

“More orders from the Shadow General,” sighed the aide as he dropped a pile of parchments in front of Lanara. Their eyes met over the stack of missives from the so-called Shadow General (though Lanara had her suspicions as to who he really was). Whoever it was, the general was busy. And clever. Between the general and the bard, everything from troop movements to supply trains were being confused and delayed for the enemy. Lanara looked bemusedly at the silver stylus laying on her writing table. She’d acquired it from an elven fancier of hers, who still hadn’t confessed to his or her identity. The stylus of the masterful hand had certainly made her forging abilities much better, thereby making it much more fun to mess up the enemy’s tactics. She winked at her aide and grabbed at the topmost parchment. “Let’s see what I can do to those bastards this time,” she muttered gleefully, bending over her writing supplies...

*****

Grumbling and whispering chased each other around the conference room the Legacy had commandeered for their own use. There was talk of individual exploits, near-death experiences, battlefield victories and comparison of tactics. Lanara sat quietly in one corner, strumming her harp and singing almost as if to herself. The tension in the room was palpable and she felt a bit left out when it came to fighting words. As the other members of the Legacy continued their conversations Lanara let her mind drift back a little to her brief, if mostly removed from, experience of the battlefields.

The hospitals were terrible, even the best of them. Too many bodies, too much blood, so much pain and so much wasted youth. Most of these fighters would most likely not see another battle; if they had been easily healed, they would be back with their units and the mobile healers, not here in some poor noble’s house-turned-death ward. And for many, these appropriated manors would be their place of death, for the healers were as worn out as the mortally wounded who made their way here. It grieved Lanara greatly that sometimes all she could do was try to ease the passing of these brave souls.

Her companions in the Legacy would only have had her pink hair and her music to identify her in these halls. In the hospitals, Lanara donned garb more comforting than revealing, though when the troops were in higher spirits she pulled out the entertainer’s garments she’d had specially made and did her damnedest to make them forget where they were and what condition they were in. She was actually very glad that the healers separated the men and women, for the healing needs of each varied greatly. She actually found the borrowed healers’ robes comforting to her own soul, as it was easier to concentrate on her music when the young warriors weren’t gazing longingly at her cleavage before turning their heads to the walls, afraid to be faced with their own incapacitation. And while Lanara possessed no psionic abilities, it was no real chore to realize that some of these men would never lay with another woman, even if they did make it out of the hospital confines. Nor was it hard to realize that they knew this too, and that it ate at them. Many of the women glared at her with poorly disguised loathing - whether for her unmarked body or other reasons mattered little. So she covered her femininity as best possible and concentrated on soothing the wounded so that the healers could work what magic they were able. Lanara played her music so that the battered bodies and souls of the wards could find a modicum of relief, but in the recesses of her own mind she wondered if she would ever sleep again without seeing the weariness, pain, longing and fear on the faces of the men and women she played for.....

*****

What in the name of Feesha’s left nipple is going on here? Lanara wondered. First Kyle got all goofed up on us, what with Aran re-doing his memories, and for whatever reason that might have been; now Tolly’s acting all mystic on us, too! Last time that happened he’d just come back from resurrecting Autumn after he’d been communing with his...by the holy Four and all their servants! The cansin slapped her forehead. I’ll bet Crystal anything she likes that he’s been in touch with Ardara again, and she’s gone and done something profound to him! What is it with these Ardarans and their be damned “reforging?” Wasn’t Tolly insufferable enough without being remade too? For the planets’ sake, we’re still trying to get Kyle back together...

Lanara sighed. Leaning against the nearest tree, she slid down until she was seated on the ground and rested her head on her arms, which were folded across her knees. Not very ladylike, no, but who cared at this point?

Lanara shook her head. We’re going after a vampire lord, this Lord Morladim, some vampire prince. What do I know? Well first off he’s a member of the Tlaxan extended royal family, kinda like that Sauroth creep. I never could understand necromancers. Yick. Rumors are that the fellow is still quite the looker - vain enough to pass up lichdom for vampirism. I suppose that’s one way to avoid rotting. He used to be a merchant prince, so he’s probably still living in high style in some fine manor house or even a small castle. Avoiding the lich route means he probably doesn’t like to do things the hard way; I seem to remember he was a sorcerer and not a wizard. So he’ll want instant gratification from whatever action he decides to take. He’ll also be slightly limited in his range of spells, but he can cast them as often as he likes. And while he won’t necessarily have a tome lying around, after however many hundreds of years, he probably has a pretty nasty set of tricks up his sleeve. Have to be careful not to overreach myself.

Lanara paused in her musings. A good-looking, most likely very vain ancient sorcerer vampire lord. What the hell was the group getting into? What was she getting herself into? With gods-only-knew what was going to happen with Kyle and Tolly in the long run, she couldn’t necessarily count on them in her planning. And since this was supposed to be a diplomatic mission, Autumn, duchess or no, was right out. Big on charisma, that woman, but way too quick-tempered for comfort. Best to have her and Arrie as bodyguards, in case something corporeal became a threat. Crystal was a complete unknown, so best to have her stay near Tolly, as she seemed very protective of the stuffy ol’ cleric anyhow. And where in all the planets was Osborn? He and Rupert would have been nice to have near, since he was such an excellent scout and strategist. I mean, hey, if he could play at being the Shadow General, he could certainly help out with a little old vampire, right? Lanara giggled nervously at herself. Osborn wasn’t here, Kyle was a mess, and who knew what Ardara had done to Tolly this time? The battle babes could be depended on if it came to a fight, and so, she supposed, could Crystal. Lanara leaned back against the tree trunk and inhaled deeply. Who knows? She thought with sarcastic amusement. Maybe the old neck-biter would be like many of her other conquests. I really hope he falls for cleavage and concertos...