Shadows Rise and Shadows Fall - Chapter 1
Shadows Rise and Shadows Fall
Chapter 1
OOC Notes:
Exp this week will come via email
For the Readers:
This session marks the group’s transition to epic levels, as well as the campaign’s transition to 3.5 rules. Some of the events of the cataclysm mentioned are related to these fundamental changes in the rules/world.
This Week’s Adventure:
Well something had happened but we didn’t know what. Maybe it was just caused by our transition from the demi plane, or even the death of the ShadowTaker. Something made Scorch’s crystal shatter. But for the moment however we were away from the crypt and standing in Sceadutine. The question was now how safe it was to be here.
Valanthe said that this was the city of the last free Shadow Prince, and it should be reasonably safe here. I let out a tense breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and relaxed, and the realization came that we had won. We defeated the ShadowTaker and escaped, and suddenly I was in a mood to celebrate. Dravot was worried about Zara and the others that the ShadowTaker had held, and used a Discern Location to find him. The results were disturbing: Zara was, at that moment, on an astral brig controlled by the Githyanki, named The Will of the Queen that was currently in the astral plane. But at the moment, we had no means of traveling from the plane, to the astral, prime, or anywhere else.
While Sceadutine might not be overtly dangerous, Valanthe still thought we would draw a lot of attention and might want to get off the streets. Save for her, we were all sporting more color than anything else here, and Dravot’s “shadow” was made of light, and seemed to stretch off in one direction as if tugged. Valanthe thought we should stop in on the Prince, and lacking any better options we moved through the streets trying to be discreet.
We hadn’t gone a block when two broad-shouldered guards saw us, and took a wary posture. The called out in an unknown language, and didn’t seem inclined to deal with the common tongue. Soon more guards, dressed of a kind, showed up from other alleys and streets, but Valanthe said they were not part of the city watch. Dravot’s wand of Tongues came in handy again but the guards were becoming more on edge as we tried to approach. But before anything could break out, a lilting voice rang out in common – “There is no threat here. Do not exceed your authority.” The voice seemed feminine, but I couldn’t say the same for the creature that came around the corner. Its pearlescent skin glowed with a light, floating off the ground. Its features were sharp and angular, drawn further by its nine foot height. It wore a long robe that was jeweled with varying stones and shot light all around it. The guards that protected the glowing being stood down, but they were muttering between themselves and I picked up pieces “… is that the shadow princess with them? …. and who’s the freak with the light?...”
The being said “There is no disturbance. The guards are concerned as my presence here is meant to be inconspicuous. We are glad to see you are well.” The creature seemed to have some idea who we were, but how I could not say. It was evasive during introductions, and it was clear that it was here on some clandestine diplomatic mission and could not say too much about who it was or whom it served. It only identified itself as the Crystal Emmisary.
Of course there was the matter of the shadow princess. It seemed to be a reference to Valanthe but she was quite unware of it. There were some quick words between her and one of her new shadow companions, Littleshade, who was abashed and it seemed she’d meant to mention that to Valanthe. She mentioned something briefly about popular legend rising around Valanthe but that was all we had time for at the moment. But Valanthe made it clear that she would be back to that topic, and soon.
We asked if the Emmisary if it knew where we could find the Shadow Prince, and it was going to the Diadem (the stronghold of the Prince) and would escort us. Even better, we made our way through back streets and quiet alleys. The guards with the Emmisary were very vigilant and ready for any trouble or ambush, but there was none and we soon came into view of the Diadem.
It was not terribly large as fortresses go, but it was notable for its height rather than breadth. It looked like a natural growth of crystal that had been worked into a fortress, which bloomed into seven spiers at the upper reaches. Between the spires were gossamer walkways spun between them. The spires themselves were capped in isometril and large mirrors on brass swivels sat atop the roofs. Oddly there were no guards in evidence. We entered the main hall and the Emmisary departed to tend to his own business, with our thanks.
The main hall had several passageways leading away, but no majordomo or butler to receive guests. We started wandering down one hallway which spiraled up a few stories and then let out back into the main hall. A different hallway got us similar results.
It then started to dawn on us how the fortress was protected. Instead of roaming, we called out loud, and after a moment a shadowy form manifested and greeted us. Valanthe requested to see the Diamond Prince and we were shown to a waiting area and told he would see us shortly.
The room was quite comfortable and the furniture matched our numbers oddly well. We started sifting through the various things we had taken from the ShadowTaker including his notes. It was clear that it would take quite a while to comb through all his writings but the effort would surely be well worthwhile. We did pick up a few interesting tidbits – Taen Clearcutt was the main influence behind the Gulthias Horrors but Gulthias himself did not know he was serving the ShadowTaker. The worm also worshipped Therizdun very actively and intentionally. He had infiltrated most of the arcane brotherhoods throughtout the Flaness, with the notable exception of the Silent Brotherhood. While he had tried several times, he had no success there.
Shortly a new door suddenly appeared in the wall, and what looked like an honor guard entered. After them came a man, who was in full color and did not seem to waver and phase the way most of the residents here did. He wore full plate made of isometril augmented with diamond vitaesis. He walked in a comfortable way like a man who spent most of his waking hours in armor.
“Greetings to you all. I am Stevaslite, the Diamond Prince.”
We introduced ourselves but it seemed clear that he already knew who most of us were. We offered our apologies for dropping in on him but we had been caught in the collapse of a demi-plane and this was the only place we could get to at the time.
“So you were forced out as a result of the cataclysm them?” he asked. A long pause followed as we looked at each other. I slowly asked “What cataclysm? We’ve been tied up in demi-planes for quite some time, perhaps we missed something.”
Bolo added in that the demi-plane collapsed when we defeated the ShadowTaker. I sighed a bit and looked over at him – few people knew who the ShadowTaker was, and those that didn’t had no need of knowing we killed him. We have no idea what other plots the ShadowTaker spun, and I thought we would be better served by not trumpeting our victory too loudly.
“There was some kind of inter-planar cataclysm yesterday. It has changed many things fundamental to magic, and blocked inter-planar travel completely. Our color pools leading to other planes have been blocked off. We do not know if it will be permanent. I have received some limited communication from various agents but no travel has been possible. There are reports of various creatures, notably arcanists, who have suddenly unleashed incredible powers and usually destroyed themselves in the process. Some divinations have also been blocked and the astral plane is rather treacherous at the moment. It would take a being of considerable power to cause this kind of change.“
We sat in shock for a moment. Scorch was reviewing spells in his head and something seemed different. I started feeling out my own magical valences and knew something was different but I couldn’t quite figure out what.
We thanked him for what he told us, as we were entirely unaware of these happenings. He was glad to help. We share many enemies in common and it was the least he could do for some of the foes we had disposed of. The topic then took us to the subject of the Shadow King. He knew the same thing that we did – that the Shadow King was the shadow of Therizdun. However he was unaware of the way to stop him by resetting the seals that kept Therizdun imprisoned. He was interested to learn of this, but at the same time neutral. However in his mind, I think he started to see the first flicker of hope of some way to deal with this menace that had nearly destroyed his world.
That brought us around to another subject – that of powerful weapons. We had been told that the Diamond Prince was one of the few people who knew the secrets of creating weapons that possessed magical power that transcended normal limits. He said that indeed he did know the secrets of forging powerful blades and other weapons.
I nodded and Aethramyr said “Indeed we have seen your handywork and have been most impressed.” And in so saying, loosed Shatterspike in its sheath and revealed a few inches of the blade.
The prince’s eyes went wide for a moment. “Gebrecan Gimstan? Shatterspike? That blade was lost to me . . . quite some time ago. May I see it?” Aethramyr gladly offered the blade for inspection and the prince examined it carefully. “The blade shows marks of… enthisastic use,” the prince smiled. “This damage here….and over here… who repaired this?”
Aethramyr humbly replied “I did the best I could to maintain it with my meager skills.”
“Interesting,” the prince mused. “The blade must have accepted you to even allow you to work it this much. You must have more than meager skills.”
The prince returned the blade and went on. “Yes, I know these secrets. And I can teach them to you as well, should your skill as a craftsman be up to such a challenge. Like any true creation you would need to invest some of your own essence to create such weapons, but I can show you the way.”
I thanked him. Aethramyr and I were keen to learn these arts, and glad that the prince would share his knowledge freely. We discussed the blades briefly and Shatterspike. All the other blades had been lost the the prince save one, which he brought from a display case he made appear on the wall. The blade was crafted from jade vitaesis, and was called Sceaduscaeft or ShadowCut. Unlike ShatterSpike which would grow from a longsword to a greatsword, ShadowCut would shink to a shortsword if the wielder desired.
It was a stunning blade and every bit Shatterspike’s equal. I couldn’t help but steal a glance at Valanthe who seemed equally impressed, and I wondered what she was thinking right then.
The Diamond Prince offered us his hospitality for the night and in the morning he could give us our first instructions on the weapons of power. While it would take some weeks to properly educate us, he would begin with the fundamentals and we could return later after tending to matters on some other planes, assuming we could get there.
We retired to very comfortable rooms and had as restful a night as one could so far from home. In the morning my mind was much clearer and I was able to begin to probe the changes in my magical valences, most of which were minor, but there were some spells gone and others in their place as if the basic laws had shifted slightly out from under them.
Over breakfast, I learned that I was not alone in this. Dravot reported that the offerings from Pelor were different than they once were, and Bolo said the same was true for him. Aethramyr told me that he had spoken to his Lady in the Dreaming last night and seemed to be a changed elf. The marks of fire and stone were fully visible on him. He had crossed over.
After breakfast we spent the morning and into the afternoon with the prince. The workshop was a forge and foundry but was also filled with tuning forks and other tools, as working with vitaesis was more art than science. You could not force the crystal, only encourage it to bend as you willed. As we worked, an idea started forming in my mind, but it will take a great deal more work and more importantly, time, to fully realize.
In the afternoon we planned to try to break through to Sigil. While the prince said that the color pool was dim and not working yesterday, by the time we got there it was functioning again, and we landed in the Noble’s district and moved on without incident. A lightkeeper confirmed what the prince told us – that many arcanists were now dead from a sudden surge of power. And many of the celestials had apparently left the city several days ago, which may be related.
[Hey, I wonder where all those modrons are going? Eh, someone will figure it out.]
I couldn’t help but notice the jade vitaesis of ShadowCut at Valanthe’s side. I raised my eyes to her and she raised her hands innocently. “No – I asked and he let me borrow it! He did! He said he thought I would try to borrow it on my own and was thrilled I asked.” I just laughed as we moved down the streets.
We went straight to the shop of Mortimer Fuvex-vex-vex. The tiefling seemed to be doing well and was glad, if wary, to see us again. His mood brightened considerably as we got down to business, offering him a vast array of goods and requesting equally expensive items in return. Apparently the death of so many arcanists had caused a glut in various types of magic items so there were many interesting items available, and we spent several hours conducting our business. Mortimer remained upbeat the entire time, no doubt due to the huge profit that our transactions would net him.
Again, Bolo felt the need to mention our defeat of the ShadowTaker. This time I gave him a long look. That kind of information given to Fuvex would surely get around, and that could be very dangerous for us if old allies of the worm decided to come after us. I’m not sure why he had to blurt that out – it was not something Mortimer needed to know, nor could he be trusted to stay quiet about anything.
When we were done, we planned to return to the prime. Fuvex-vex-vex confirmed what we had already learned about the arcanists and the problems with planar travel, but we wanted to try anyway. Bolo was very concerned about his grove and I think we were all ready to return home. Fuvex-vex-vex understood completely, what with the Githyanki invasion and all.
“Excuse me?”
“The Githyanki have invaded the prime. Didn’t you know?” I wanted to smack him.
We decided to hurry. We used a back room in the shop and Scorch prepared to open a gate. But the gate would not open at first. Scorch was annoyed at being denied, and forced his full energy and concentration into the spell as it started to stall. With a massive surge of power, the gate was forced open and tore a hole to the Prime and we hurried through. The gate should have stayed open for some minutes, but it collapsed under the weight of the interference almost as soon as we were through it.
We appeared in the grove, safe and sound. I was already starting to like gates for planar travel rather than the random landing of a plane shift. The grove did not seem to be in any immediate danger.
I focused on the scale and contacted Lord Gelban. The return contact was swifter than usual.
“Hello. We’re back,” I said.
“Hello. You’re alive. Good. Busy now. War. Dyvers. I’ll contact you soon.” He dropped the contact, clearly in the middle of a battle but he stopped to answer me anyway.
I think it was about then that I noticed some…thing stuck in a large tree. It was an astral dreadnaught – a beast like the one we had fought one in the maze that the Lady cast us into after the unfortunate incident in Fuvex’s shop. But this one had been modified. There seemed to be pieces of a ship grafted on to it. And there was a large ballistae bolt through the center of its forehead, and it must have crashed into the tree. The thing was so big there was no way to get it down.
I stood staring at it as the Owl came up. “From when the Githyanki attacked here the other day. Given the number of bizarre assaults we have around here, we’re taking our defense pretty seriously,” she remarked. “It was a serious assault, but we won.”
Scorch was admiring the ballistae bolt. “Your work?” he asked the Owl. She beamed proudly and pulled out a small whistle and blew on it twice. A few seconds later there was a loud crashing as something stomped through the trees accompanied by a great deal of cursing. Then Haldrin camin to view, barely maintaining a seat atop a gigantic animated ballistae. The weapon came to a halt and the Owl looked over at Scorch, who fully approved. Feeling the need to show off a bit, Scorch asked “So you want me to get rid of that thing?”
The Owl said “Um, sure. It’s starting to stink.”
Scorch unleashed a modified disintegrate and the entire massive creature vanished with a trace of dust on the wind. Scorch cackled a bit and looked pleased with himself.
The Owl related how the Gith had attacked with some kind of half-dragon troops with them. There were also casters with dark powers, and some healing magic – odd since that is usually off limits to the Gith. The powers of these dark casters were difficult to pin down, but they operated mostly in a support role. There was also a slaad of some kind with them, probably grey. Most retreated after they were thrown back, not expecting such a fierce defense here. Ariadne had shifted into a full dragon form and was apparently quite a terror.
Bolo checked on his parents. Apparently they were unconscious since the death of the ShadowTaker – the worm had put some kind of control mechanism in them not unlike things we had seen before, but Dravot was able to cure them of the trauma. While he did that, he asked me to use a new Stone of Sending he had to see if things were well with his sister.
I sent Thora Kayleigh here. We’re back on the plane and well. We’ve heard of Githyanki attacks. Dravot asks how Brindinford is. Respond in 25 words or less.
Her reply came quickly. Glad you’re alive. Undead massing at Rauxes. No immediate danger but increasing defenses. Temple of Wee Jas preparing for attacks. Kalten has sent message.
Why is everyone so surprised we’re alive?
After some looking around and idle conversations, Scorch and I started checking on some people. He tried to scry some members of his guild and found them apparently rebuilding a guild hall somewhere. I scried Aran’gel, and saw him leading a column of troops northward and from the looks of it he was in Celene somewhere. That didn’t bode well but he wasn’t in any immediate danger.
Bolo had scanned the grove for any other attackers or unusual presences. He found a powerful anomaly to the south, and we went to investigate. Hiding in a tree was a large wooden marionette, similar to what we had seen in the Crypt of the ShadowTaker. One of his agents surely. It turned and shifted to a smaller shape with rubbery tentacles for hands and two legs. It started moving faster and we tried to talk to it. It tried to hide but when it couldn’t, it then shifted to the form of a wolf to run, and we destroyed it. Once dead, it reverted back to the form of a marionette. How many of these spies were still around with no one to report to?
We then discussed our next move. Aethramyr and I would need time in the Shadow Plane to learn more. Scorch wanted to check in on his guild, while I also wanted to return Aran’gel’s hand and maybe see to his healing. We were about to split up and tend to our own affairs for a bit when the scale hummed again and we heard Lord Gelban’s voice in our minds.
Githyanki are attacking Celene. Aran’gel needs help soon. Immediately. Now. Can you assist?
I smiled slightly. We might have been late to this war, but we’d make up for it and then some. I thought back to Lord Gelban “We’ll go immediately.”
Scorch prepared his teleport while I used the crystal ball to find Aran’gel again. He was on a field, arranging his men, and looking worried. I held the ball up to Scorch who smiled and just said “Right!”.
And we were there.
