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Veils and Crossings (was: Shadow over Felthera) - StalkingBlue's Midnight game
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<blockquote data-quote="StalkingBlue" data-source="post: 1754002" data-attributes="member: 645"><p>(Sorry for the delay, people. We skipped one session and lost our faithful chronicler. Here's a poor overworked GM's effort to fill the gap. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> ) </p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>The White City</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>It has been hours of fighting. In the thick of melee, Katrin takes an orc down with a wide slash and cleaves through into its neighbour. Pallas sends the head of one of his attackers flying. Overrun by orcs, Apari flicks his hands in an elaborate gesture and disappears from sight. Ara stands over an unconscious guardsman holding orcs off with narrowly controlled swings of her blade. Wave after wave ... they can't hold for much longer. </p><p></p><p>Then, like smoke on a surprised evening breeze, the orcs hordes flutter and disappear, leaving all of them standing in Hamra's white ruins: weapons in hand, trembling and wheezing with an afternoon of neverending exertion, but otherwise unharmed. </p><p></p><p>Shocked silence, slowly they start moving, orders are bellowed. Katrin looks around worried for Tam, who is not in sight. </p><p></p><p>They had been struggling to excavate just before noon, using ropes and horses. The banister of the stairway that used to lead down into the crypt juts tantalisingly out from the rubble. It is dusk now. Like clouds, large groups of black beings race towards the city ruins across the hills from the east and south-west. </p><p></p><p>"Death cannot sweeter be, sky cannot bluer be..." </p><p></p><p>Bells tinkle: a many-coloured jester's hat. A whirl of hat and hands and soles somersaults in among them. In this long-forsaken place, a jester? He gives his name as one: Jester. He taunts them, chatters, warns them to stop digging. Offers sanctuary and dinner. </p><p></p><p>"Only dead men dig here. Digger men go dead..." </p><p></p><p>Glances are thrown across shoulders, quick words exchanged. Can they still flee before the orc companies cut their retreat off? Impossible to tell. They decide to accept the Jester's invitation. </p><p></p><p>After a moment confusion at a seemingly solid wall (the Jester simply leaps through), the company follows into a half-ruined, half freshly-tunneled underground complex, into a wide cave where a long table is laid with jugs and ancient-looking goblets. </p><p></p><p>The company sits. Behind each chair, an armoured and armed man or woman coalesces quietly from the shadows and stands to pour rich red wine. The Jester insists that this Spectral Guard is friendly; companions of Lord Norden Cain, the last Steward of Greater Hamra who fell with him and took an oath to stay awake with him, forever alert to defend the remains of their city from the Shadow army's onslaught. </p><p></p><p>No food is offered by the spectral guardsmen. Above, orcs can be heard screaming and dying. The company unwraps its rations, the Jester sings his ditty. "Death cannot sweeter be, cannot be possibly..." </p><p></p><p>The Captain of the Guard, a quick, slim figure who the Jester claims can help the company gain access to the buried gatestone, enters and sits at the head of the table. Beneath the helmet the Captain's face is wrapped tightly in a Sarcosan sand veil. </p><p></p><p>There is an intercalation with Ara, who wants the Captain to drink with her; he doesn't. Trying to see the Al-Kallar signet ring on Ara's finger more closely, the Captain makes an impossibly quick gesture - Katrin gasps. Despite veil, helmet and armour she has recognised her one-time lover, the father of her late friend Zana, Lord Arrenu Than. </p><p></p><p>He is dead, of course. </p><p></p><p>And as it turns out, he remembers Katrin. "Is that why Tam isn't here with me?" she asks. Ah yes. If the Lady insists. At a snap of Lord Arrenu's gloved fingers, a bruised and furious Tam is brought and set free in front of her. </p><p></p><p>Lord Arrenu confirms what the Jester has told them. The Keeper Norden Cain still jealously guards the ruins of his city. He has shadow-wraiths under his control, things that the Shadow forces have sent to fight the undead resistance: he has bent the shadow-wraiths to his will ... Now if a living man makes a wrong move here, they will drain him of colour and life. </p><p></p><p>Arrenu offers to help, but wants the head of an enemy in exchange: a man by the name of Alander Everett. Ara flatly refuses. It is decided that the next morning, the company will return to the buried stairway and continue their excavation. </p><p></p><p>The night passes peacefully. The Jester, apparently now in a form that can travel through rock, time and again sticks his head out of cave walls happily aping the expressions of sleepers. Pallas exchanges a friendly jester's pantomime with him during his watch. </p><p></p><p></p><p>The Jester and Lord Arrenu have not lied. The next day as the company starts digging in earnest, two of Ara's men are assaulted by shadows flitting between cracks in the rubble. Experiments with torches fail. When one of the recruits dies and turns into another flitting shadow, the company flees back underground through the illusory wall. </p><p></p><p>Ara threatens to have Arrenu shot if he won't order his Guard to dig immediately, without commitment from the company to help him with his revenge against Alander Everett. An unfortunate remark is dropped about Katrin's "undead boyfriend" that Katrin does her best to ignore and Tam is seen struggling with. </p><p></p><p>Katrin whispers to Arrenu that she will kill Alander Everett, for his sake. At Arrenu's signal, the Spectral Guard starts to excavate. </p><p></p><p>The digging will take a while, longer than the company can dare to stay in these ruins, with no fodder for almost twenty horses and shadow-wraiths lurking in the cracks waiting for any living man's wrong move. It is agreed that the Jester will contact one of the party in their dreams as and when they reach the gatestone. Meanwhile, the company decides to use an escape tunnel promised by the Jester and return to Erethor...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="StalkingBlue, post: 1754002, member: 645"] (Sorry for the delay, people. We skipped one session and lost our faithful chronicler. Here's a poor overworked GM's effort to fill the gap. :) ) [b]The White City[/b] It has been hours of fighting. In the thick of melee, Katrin takes an orc down with a wide slash and cleaves through into its neighbour. Pallas sends the head of one of his attackers flying. Overrun by orcs, Apari flicks his hands in an elaborate gesture and disappears from sight. Ara stands over an unconscious guardsman holding orcs off with narrowly controlled swings of her blade. Wave after wave ... they can't hold for much longer. Then, like smoke on a surprised evening breeze, the orcs hordes flutter and disappear, leaving all of them standing in Hamra's white ruins: weapons in hand, trembling and wheezing with an afternoon of neverending exertion, but otherwise unharmed. Shocked silence, slowly they start moving, orders are bellowed. Katrin looks around worried for Tam, who is not in sight. They had been struggling to excavate just before noon, using ropes and horses. The banister of the stairway that used to lead down into the crypt juts tantalisingly out from the rubble. It is dusk now. Like clouds, large groups of black beings race towards the city ruins across the hills from the east and south-west. "Death cannot sweeter be, sky cannot bluer be..." Bells tinkle: a many-coloured jester's hat. A whirl of hat and hands and soles somersaults in among them. In this long-forsaken place, a jester? He gives his name as one: Jester. He taunts them, chatters, warns them to stop digging. Offers sanctuary and dinner. "Only dead men dig here. Digger men go dead..." Glances are thrown across shoulders, quick words exchanged. Can they still flee before the orc companies cut their retreat off? Impossible to tell. They decide to accept the Jester's invitation. After a moment confusion at a seemingly solid wall (the Jester simply leaps through), the company follows into a half-ruined, half freshly-tunneled underground complex, into a wide cave where a long table is laid with jugs and ancient-looking goblets. The company sits. Behind each chair, an armoured and armed man or woman coalesces quietly from the shadows and stands to pour rich red wine. The Jester insists that this Spectral Guard is friendly; companions of Lord Norden Cain, the last Steward of Greater Hamra who fell with him and took an oath to stay awake with him, forever alert to defend the remains of their city from the Shadow army's onslaught. No food is offered by the spectral guardsmen. Above, orcs can be heard screaming and dying. The company unwraps its rations, the Jester sings his ditty. "Death cannot sweeter be, cannot be possibly..." The Captain of the Guard, a quick, slim figure who the Jester claims can help the company gain access to the buried gatestone, enters and sits at the head of the table. Beneath the helmet the Captain's face is wrapped tightly in a Sarcosan sand veil. There is an intercalation with Ara, who wants the Captain to drink with her; he doesn't. Trying to see the Al-Kallar signet ring on Ara's finger more closely, the Captain makes an impossibly quick gesture - Katrin gasps. Despite veil, helmet and armour she has recognised her one-time lover, the father of her late friend Zana, Lord Arrenu Than. He is dead, of course. And as it turns out, he remembers Katrin. "Is that why Tam isn't here with me?" she asks. Ah yes. If the Lady insists. At a snap of Lord Arrenu's gloved fingers, a bruised and furious Tam is brought and set free in front of her. Lord Arrenu confirms what the Jester has told them. The Keeper Norden Cain still jealously guards the ruins of his city. He has shadow-wraiths under his control, things that the Shadow forces have sent to fight the undead resistance: he has bent the shadow-wraiths to his will ... Now if a living man makes a wrong move here, they will drain him of colour and life. Arrenu offers to help, but wants the head of an enemy in exchange: a man by the name of Alander Everett. Ara flatly refuses. It is decided that the next morning, the company will return to the buried stairway and continue their excavation. The night passes peacefully. The Jester, apparently now in a form that can travel through rock, time and again sticks his head out of cave walls happily aping the expressions of sleepers. Pallas exchanges a friendly jester's pantomime with him during his watch. The Jester and Lord Arrenu have not lied. The next day as the company starts digging in earnest, two of Ara's men are assaulted by shadows flitting between cracks in the rubble. Experiments with torches fail. When one of the recruits dies and turns into another flitting shadow, the company flees back underground through the illusory wall. Ara threatens to have Arrenu shot if he won't order his Guard to dig immediately, without commitment from the company to help him with his revenge against Alander Everett. An unfortunate remark is dropped about Katrin's "undead boyfriend" that Katrin does her best to ignore and Tam is seen struggling with. Katrin whispers to Arrenu that she will kill Alander Everett, for his sake. At Arrenu's signal, the Spectral Guard starts to excavate. The digging will take a while, longer than the company can dare to stay in these ruins, with no fodder for almost twenty horses and shadow-wraiths lurking in the cracks waiting for any living man's wrong move. It is agreed that the Jester will contact one of the party in their dreams as and when they reach the gatestone. Meanwhile, the company decides to use an escape tunnel promised by the Jester and return to Erethor... [/QUOTE]
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