The Wind Riders: Tales from the Infinite Staircase (Updated September 13)

[RedShirtNo5]

Jangling Hiter

The party decides they will first visit the “Jingling Fortress”. They set out from the Singing Siren, and climb up and down the Stairwell for six hours. They arrive at a platform of corroded metal plates. The doorway is formed of heavy metal chains that hang from a frame of rusted iron. Thantar bashes the doorframe with his warhammer, but nothing happens. He bashes it again harder, and the chains part.

Through the doorway is a strange passage, composed entirely of chain, which runs in both directions parallel to the doorway. The floors, ceiling and walls are all formed of a metal mesh, like chain mail. The Wind Riders move cautiously into the passage. Once in the passage, all of the adventures feel a sense of weight or oppression. Ka’hari seems to be afflicted the most strongly, and Rodney the least.

“Doorways” line both walls. These doorways are blocks of chain strung together and attached to a barbed pull-chain. The party hears a low gurgley moaning from one direction. Kindrid pulls open several of the doors, cutting himself on the barbs. Beyond each door is an empty ten foot square chamber. The party heads away from the gurgling, moves around a corner, and finds a wider passage leading to a double-door.

They open the double-door and exit the building. They find that they are in a city apparently built entirely of chain and spattered by oily rain. The street is a fine chain mesh that crunches beneath their feet, and small pools of oily water accumulate in the depressions left by their footprints. The buildings are chain sheets or piles of chain links. The doorways are areas of heavy iron chains that hang vertically from the metal mesh of the building. Far above them, huge chains stretch horizontally across the sky, apparently strung between unseen supports. Other large chains hang vertically down from the uppermost level of chains, and the vertical chains support a regular grid of chains perhaps four hundred feet above the “ground”. Yet more chains hang vertically from this grid, and these chains are secured to the roofs of the mesh buildings. The air is heavy with the smell of rust, sweat and oil.

The streets and adjacent buildings are deserted. Geldar casts invisibility and fly on himself, and rises into the air. From his vantage point above the buildings, he can see several things of interest though the light rain. The city may be a mile square, and he is in a quadrant he arbitrarily labels “south”. In the four cardinal directions, huge flags hang from the metal mesh above. Proceeding clockwise from the south quadrant, the flags show a white circle on a black field, eight outwardly-pointing red arrows on a black field, three silver disks on a brown field, and five silver linked circles on a red field. Geldar can see few forms flying through the air in the west quadrant, and thinks he sees creatures walking on the streets in the north quadrant. Unfortunately, in the light rain he cannot make out anything distinct.

The Wind Riders head north. They walk for perhaps five minutes, when they see an eight-foot tall, emaciated creature walking from the west. The thing looks like bone-white skin stretched tight around a human skeleton and a scorpion-tail with a stinger that reaches over its skull-like head. Geldar recognizes it as a bone devil. The devil spots the adventurers, and approaches them.

“Hail and well met?” asks Kindrid.

“Humanoids,” the bone devil replies in a raspy voice, “you do not belong here. You will accompany me.” Ka’hari feels a sudden desire to trust the creature, but hardens her will.

“Where would we accompany you?” asks Kindrid.

“To the interrogation chambers,” the devil replies.

 

[RedShirtNo5]

You allied with those bone devils?

“Where would we accompany you?” asks Kindrid.

“To the interrogation chambers,” the devil replies.

“I vote we don’t do that,” says Ka’hari.

Thantar now feels a sudden desire to trust this creature, but easily throws off the effect. “Treachery!” he yells, and smacks the bony creature with his hammer. Unfortunately, his blow bounces harmlessly off the creature's dried skin. The creature lashes back with claws and stinger. The stinger pierces Thantar’s left shoulder. He feels the poison start to sap his strength, but he resists its effects. Reynard rushes forward and slashes the creature with his enchanted bastard sword, but Kindrid’s masterwork arrows cannot wound it. Reynard and Thantar feel waves of magical fear wash over them, but with Reynard’s aura, they easily resist. Before Reynard or Thantar have the opportunity to kill the thing, it simply disappears. The adventurers spend a few minutes checking to see if it is merely invisible, but eventually decide that it must have transported away.

The Wind Riders continue to head north. When they have reached what Geldar guesses the center of the city, they spot another creature approaching from the east. The creature, which is humanoid and human-sized, is completely wrapped in chains, although a few patches of dirty flesh are visible though the larger links.

“What have we here,” the thing remarks in a male voice, “visitors? Perhaps I can be of assistance.”

“You allied with those bone devils?” asks Thantar.

“Ah, you seek information. What shall be the terms?”

No one speaks immediately. “You allied with those bone devils or not?” asks Thantar again.

“Well. Perhaps we can begin in the customary manner. I will provide my name, and you will provide your names. Agreed?” Reynard thinks he hears a tone of condescension in the creature’s voice.

Again, no one takes the lead. Thantar gestures with his hammer. “We aren’t talking with you until you tell us whether you are allied with those bone devils,” he says angrily.

The creature shifts its posture. “Very well. I will tell you this, gratis.” It spits out the last word with clear condescension and scorn. “We are often forced to work together, but we are not allies. We have different agendas. Now, perhaps we can continue. We shall exchange names?”

The party murmurs an unenthusiastic assent. “I am termed Gorizorlar,” the creature says. The rest of the party introduces themselves, until Thantar. “You can call me Dwarf,” Thantar says.

“That is your race, but not your name,” Gorizorlar responds.

“For you, my name is Dwarf,” says Thantar.

“Convince your friend to give his proper name, or I will consider our negotiations closed.”

The party looks at each other, and several people speak at once to keep Gorizorlar talking, but they won’t gainsay Thantar’s refusal to give his name.

“Very well,” Gorizorlar says, “good luck.” The chain-wrapped creature turns and walks away to the west.

 

[RedShirtNo5]

My idea here was that due to some ancient compact, if the proper protocols are followed, devils are forced to adhere to (at least the letter of) contract terms. My further idea was that this protocols required some minor exchange, e.g., names, blood, etc. There were two reasons for this. First, I wanted to give my devils an RP twist explaining why contract negotiation is so common (or purportedly common). Second, I thought that at some point in the adventure the PCs might need to negotiate with devils, and I wanted the players know that the devils would, in fact, abide by the agreement. But of course, at this point in the adventure they don't know any of that.

I've forgotten why I had Gorizorlar leave when the party (unknowningly) indicated it did not want a binding abreement; in retrospect he should have starting providing false information.

 

[RedShirtNo5]

Frustrated that they can't get even simple information, the Wind Riders decide that they have spent enough time in this city of chain. They head south back toward the doorway. After five minutes at a quick trot, they near the spot where they encountered the skeletal creature. Waiting at the intersection are three more of the bone devils. Fortunately, the adventurers are not spotted.

The Wind Riders detour two blocks to the west, then continue south. The party zig-zags through the abandoned mesh buildings, until they reach an intersection near where they initially arrived. One more bone devil waits at the intersection. Several prepatory spells are quietly cast, including magic weapon on Thantar’s warhammer, and the party rushes the creature. In the ensuing fight, the thing seriously injures Reynard, but is slain before it can teleport away.

The adventurers enter the building, detect evil behind one of the doors with the barbed pull-chain, and open the door. Four small melted blubbery creatures emerge from the cell. The creatures immediately attack the party, but are quickly killed. Needles reports that he hears voices outside, so the adventurers return to the entry door. Thantar bashes the door with his warhammer, the door opens to reveal the Infinite Staircase, and the Wind Riders leave the city of chain. The adventurers climb up and down the stairways for five hours, returning to the Planewalker’s Guild.

The following day, the Wind Riders decide that they will visit the “Swirling Realm” next. They buy five tuning forks at the market. After climbing the Stairwell for four hours, they arrive at a haphazardly constructed platform with a multihued metal doorway. Five of the adventurers each strike one of the tuning forks, producing a discordant chord. The doorway swings open, and the adventurers step through.

The Wind Riders find themselves standing on a stone building surrounded by swirling chaos. In front of them are the crenellations of a fortress battlement. About thirty feet beyond the crenellations is a constantly churning kaleidoscope of matter and energy in which pockets of fire, earth, water and air appear and disappear. This chaos-stuff extends above and around the party, perhaps forty feet distant, cutting through the stone building. Behind the party is a twenty foot-tall building with two doorways, one of which the party just emerged from. Looking over the crenellations, the party sees that the building rises about thirty feet from the swirling chaos. In brief, the party seems to be standing on the remnant of a fortress captured in a small spherical bubble set in a sea of chaos.

After gazing around, many of the part begin to feel nauseous and dizzy. Kindrid, Thantar, Reynard and Rodney are all strongly affected, but Ka'hari feels fine.

The adventurers explore the two doorways. One chamber is empty, and is now partially cut off by the edge of the chaos. The other chamber is still intact, and appears to have been a conference room with a wooden table, chairs and credenza. The Wind Riders search the room carefully, and hidden in a secret compartment find a map with inscriptions in an unknown language.

Geldar casts comprehend languages. He feels his spell nearly veer out of control, but he completes the casting and begins to decipher the map. In the center of the map is a rectangle labeled as the “Spawning Stone”. Dashed lines extend outwardly from the rectangle to several circles, labeled as “Ret’or Outpost”, “Irq’ot Outpost” and the like. The dashed lines include indications of inclination or declination, and other symbols seem to indicate orbital rates, and a key provides directions such as “antispinwardly” and “outwardly.” Unfortunately, there is no indication of how the directions on the map correspond to their current location.

Needles and Ka’hari climb down the tower face and through a window to explore the lower level of the fort. They find several abandoned bedrooms. Beneath a cot they discover a journal, written in the same unknown script. They bring the journal to Geldar, who skims it quickly with comprehend languages. It appears to be the diary of a soldier who was stationed at the outpost. Early passages discuss the fact that the soldier was being assigned to “Irq’ot Outpost”, and mentions that “we traveled through the protomatter for three days to reach the outpost.” A later passage mentions that the writer had been “gazing out the spinward window.” By comparing the location of the window to the key on the map, Geldar is able to determine the relative location of the Spawning Stone.

The adventurers next approach the swirling chaos stuff. The material is dangerous, alternately burning, freezing or trapping those who try to enter it. However, Geldar finds that by concentrating, he is able to mold the chaos-material and create a benign area with a stone walkway surrounded by air. With Geldar creating a path through the chaos-stuff before them, the Wind Riders set off toward the Spawning Stone.

 

[RedShirtNo5]

The Dream Diver

The adventurers have walked for about three hours, when suddenly they see a large metallic bubble, thirty feet in diameter, approaching them rapidly through the chaos-stuff. The metal sphere halts about thirty feet away, and an iris door slides opens in the bottom of the sphere. As the door opens, the chaos-stuff quickly coagulates to form a stone platform that extends from beneath the iris door to Geldar’s walkway.

Once the door is open, nine four-foot tall humanoids jump out of the sphere. The creatures have slate-gray skin, black gem-like eyes, and are armed with nets and clubs. They swarm toward the Wind Riders, attempting to entangle the adventurers with the nets and then subdue them with clubs. However, the creatures do little damage, and the adventurers are able to quickly kill several and even the odds. However, during the battle, Geldar and Ka’hari note that their spells are difficult to cast, as if their magic is slippery and unstable. Several times their spells go awry, either failing or appearing in an unintended location.

As it becomes apparent that the battle is going poorly for the gray-skinned creatures, a voice shouts from inside the sphere. “Pitiful weaklings! Must I do everything myself!?”

A hulking nine-foot tall brown-skinned humanoid creature appears from invisibility. The thing has lank black hair, skin as hard as rock, and it sneers as it slashes Kindrid with its huge longsword. A fierce fight ensues, with the creature grievously wounding Thantar, Kindrid and Needles before eventually being slain.

One of the gray-skinned creatures throws down its weapons and pleads for mercy. “Please masters, I am only a lowly shad. I was captured by Rav, that dao that you have slain. I mean you no harm!”

Thantar thinks back. This particular creature hadn’t actually attacked any of the party, so the dwarf withholds his hammer blow. Under questioning, the creature reveals his name is “Mulk” and he belongs to a race called the shad. He originally lived in a region of the Elemental Plane of Earth called the Great Dismal Delve. However, two months ago he was captured was by the dao, Rav. The dao are earth spirits, much like djinni are air spirits. Rav had a special commission to capture a slaad from the plane of Limbo. They had grabbed the slaad yesterday and chained it inside the spherical craft, which Rav called the “Dream Diver”. Rav was investigating other area for potential future slaving raids, and found the stone pathway created by the Wind Riders. They followed the pathway, eventually reaching the adventurers. Ka’hari and Reynard listen to the story, and do not sense any deception.

The adventurers enter the Dream Diver. The craft is about thirty feet in diameter, and is actually shaped as a dodecahedron. One-way transparent windows are formed in six of the twelve sides, and the iris-door is formed in a seventh side of the craft. A six-inch crystal dodecahedron floats at the center of the craft, pulsing with mystic energy. Mulk explains that to control the ship, one need merely grasp the crystal and will the craft to move. The person touching the crystal can also will the iris door to open or close.

In addition, chained to one of the inner walls of the Dream Diver is a nine-foot tall frog-headed creature with blue skin. Long claws protrude from the back of the creature’s hands. “That’s Chaax,” Mulk explains, “the slaad that Rav captured. He was floating near the Spawning Stone, and barely put up a fight.”

“You humanoids. Where dao?” Chaax asks in common.

The adventurers explain that Rav is dead.

“Good. You release me now. Release me! Release me!” The blue slaad begins struggling with the chains.

 

[RedShirtNo5]

The Spawning Stone

The Wind Riders are non-committal. “Why don’t you answer some of our questions first?” someone suggests. “Like how you got captured.”

“Me left Spawning Stone and traveling. Big sphere flies toward me. Door opens, and ugly dao and earth-creatures come out. They throw nets on me, then bind my arms with icy chains. Now me is a prisoner. Slaadi not like being prisoners. Slaadi need freedom!”

“Where were you going?”

“Not know where to go. Just know me must leave.”

“Why did you have to leave?”

“Something wrong at Spawning Stone. Me at celebration. Suddenly celebration ends! No change, no rejoicing. Everything boring." Chaax sighs. "Me confused and not know what to do. Me leave, try to find reason celebration stopped.”

“Well, did you see anything or anyone strange before this celebration ended?” asks Geldar.

“Me want pet snake,” says Chaax.

“Does the snake relate to what happened at the celebration?”

“No. Just wanted to mention. Always wanted pet snake. ”

“Ok. Did you see anything strange at the celebration.”

“At celebration, me see insect creature. It have four legs and two arms.”

Thantar casts a summon monster spell, and attempts to summon a worker formian. At first he feels something impeding the magic, and then he feels the magic slipping out of control. However, Thantar manages to finish the spell successfully. A small centaur-like insectoid appears. “Yes,” says Chaax, “it looked like that. But bigger.”

The adventurers agree that ithey should go investigate the Spawning Stone. Geldar takes hold of the control crystal, and the Dream Diver speeds off into the swirling chaos.

“You release me now?” asks Chaax. Not yet, the adventurers decide. The slaad becomes despondent, alternately muttering to itself, demanding to be released, and staring into space.

The party travels, and when Geldar becomes tired, Kindrid takes over control of the Dream Diver.

About two days pass in a rather monotonous travel through the swirling chaos, although it is now difficult for the Wind Riders to determine the time with neither day nor night. Finally, however, the Dream Diver bursts out from the swirling chaos into a huge spherical bubble nearly a mile across. In the center of the bubble is a gigantic stone slab, at least half a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide. The stone is scribed with giant glowing runes that crawl across its surface, gradually changing in color and shape. At the center of the slab is an obsidian throne, currently empty. Floating in the air around the slab are dozens of stone structures of various sizes and shapes.

Also floating in the air around the slab are hundreds and hundreds of the frog-headed slaadi, and dozens of slaadi corpses. About half of the slaadi are blue-skinned, but another half are slightly smaller red-skinned creatures. A few of the living slaadi swim through the air, but most of the slaadi simply sit listlessly.

“The Spawning Stone,” says Chaax. “But no rejoicing. The celebration must return. Or slaadi will stagnate and die.”

 

[RedShirtNo5]

Torpellian

The Wind Riders look at each other. Rodney is first to speak his mind. "These things are creatures of chaos. There's been some disruption here, but why should we assist them? The creatures are unpredictable. Perhaps it is better for them to die out and be replaced by something more orderly."

"I don't like these slaadi either, but they aren't malicious," Reynard replies. "We should assist them, not because we like them, but because whatever is affecting them could spread elsewhere, causing even greater disruption."

The group debates the merits of assisting the slaadi. Chaax follows the discussion, but quickly looses interest, and falls asleep. Reynard's position soon wins out, and the Wind Riders now focus on exploring the area. Geldar guides the Dream Diver to within about one-hundred feet of the surface of the Spawning Stone, at which point the rolling waves of chaos energy from the Stone being to make several of the adventurers, including Rodney and Reynard, physically sick. Geldar backs the Dream Diver away, and then begins an orbit around the narrow dimension of the Stone.

Half-way around the Stone, Kindrid's sharp eyes spot something moving near a trapezoidal stone building that floats six-hundred feet from the Spawning Stone. Kindrid exits the Dream Diver, and finds himself floating weightless in the air. He activates his wings of flying, and heads toward the trapezoid building, followed closely by the metal sphere of the Dream Diver.

As Kindrid flies toward the building, he sees a dead red slaad and four small fairy-like creatures clustered on the frog-creature's body. The fairies are perhaps two or three feet tall and have gossamer butterfly wings. But they are also cutting up the slaad body with their small knives, and greedily feeding on the bloody entrails. They look up sharply when Kindrid is about one-hundred feet away, pull out small bows, and bar their teeth at the elf. Slightly unnerved by the blood dripping from the sides of their mouths, and not wanting an unnecessary confrontation, Kindrid decides to give these feral fairies a wide berth. He flies in a semicircle around the fairies, and continues toward the trapezoidal building.

Nearing the trapezoidal building, Kindrid signals to the rest of the group. Kindrid flies clockwise around the building, whereas the Dream Diver begins heading counterclockwise. About a quarter of the way around the trapezoid, Kindrid sees a figure cautiously crouched in a recess in the building. It is female humanoid, about five and a half-feet tall, with pale yellow skin, long straight black hair, and distended ear lobes. She wears a plain white robe, and is watching the elf cautiously.

"Hail and well met," says Kindrid says in what he hopes is a non-threatening voice.

"Greetings. Who are you, and what brings you to the Spawning Stone?" asks the woman.

"I am Kindrid Moonsong. My friends and I are investigating some strange events, and our investigation led here. Who are you?"

Meanwhile, inside the Dream Diver, Chaax wakes up and begins pulling at his chains. "Humanoids, you release me now?" the frog creature asks. The group debates, and agrees that they have no reason to keep the slaad prisoner. Ka'hari begins unlocking the chains.

As the Dream Diver comes around the trapezoidal building and Kindrid's view, the woman answers Kindrid's question. "My name is Torpellian, originally from the Golden Spires. If I might ask, what are your intentions toward the slaadi?"

Kindrid assures Torpellian that they wish to assist the slaadi and remove the strange lethargy.

"This is good," says Torpellian. "I have been watching and investigating here at the Spawning Stone. I dislike seeing the slaadi mistreated. Are those your friends inside the sphere?"

Kindrid thinks of the past two days that Chaax has been chained inside the Dream Diver and tries to decide on an answer.