Adventure: Echoes of O

[Dawn Raven]

The first reaction the githyanki has is to stop Ashburn. However, first she will wait to see what the halfling does in response to his aggressive actions. It wasn't quite the time for them, but if it revealed anything that Allip could be hiding then it would serve a purpose. Otherwise, she simply would get Raiyek and his silvered tongue to step in and soothe any hurts caused to the situation.

 

[Don Incognito]

"Who are you? And how do you know Rebekkah is dead? And WHY do you know Rebekkah is dead?" Ash questioned in a menacing voice. "Answer me or meet my blade." Hoping his bluff pulls through.

[sblock=Bluff]13+8=21[/sblock]

Allip sighs. "Well, that answers THAT question. Looks like we're going to have to start at the beginning."

The halfling walks over to a wall and attempts to retrieve a book on one of the many shelves. He can't quite reach it, and he jumps awkwardly several times before sighing and muttering a quick incantation. The book he was reaching for shudders, then drops down into the Allip's outstretched hands. The book is large, almost as large as the halfling himself, and he struggles as he carries it over to a nearby table. He makes a motion for you all to gather around as he opens it, carefully turning the pages until he find what he was looking for; a map of an island.

"This is O, the home of ritual magic. Everything we know about ritual magic originates from this isle. When I say 'we', of course, I mean Daunton's arcane community at large. Everything from spying on enemies to locking doors to raising the dead has its origins in O. Ritual magic is unique in that although different rituals require different reagents, there almost all of them can be substituted by a single substance: residuum. It is pure magic; power diverted into powdered form. Residuum can be used to fuel almost any ritual there is. Almost."

"When ritual magic was first discovered, its practice spread quickly throughout the isles. But the Oans kept some of the knowledge to themselves. You see, Oan mages know that residuum is a powerful substance, but not an all-encompassing one. Not EVERY ritual can be powered by residuum. There are some that require more...exotic materials. They require life itself to be expended."

"Now, residuum is created by destroying a magic item. The magic is drained from the item in question in the form of residuum. Similarly, life can be extracted from a humanoid being in the form of sanguiduum. Just as residuum is purified magic, sanguiduum is purified life."

Allip turns the page, and points to a ghastly illustration. A male hobgoblin, bound and gagged, is within an ornate circle drawn on the ground in chalk. Surrounding the poor thing is a group of hooded men and women, arms folded in prayer. The hobgoblin's eye's are seem to be bulging from its sockets, and veins are visible on the creature's face and neck. It appears to be in quite a bit of pain.

"The process of siphoning sanguiduum is particularly grisly."
[sblock=7 Rabbit]

The horror that 7 Rabbit cursed not a moment ago turns toward him and opens his mouth, letting loose another torrent of chirps and squeaks. The dwarf suddenly remembers hearing odd chanting from a deep, throaty voice. But the pain is (was?) too great to recognize any of the words. His throat is hoarse from screaming; he's been screaming ever since they took him. They took him? They didn't take him, did they?

[/sblock]
"Survivors have described it as being worse than any torture imaginable."
[sblock=Kruk]

Kruk's mind is assaulted with memories and half-forgotten dreams. He feels the rough rope binding his hands and feet, feels the cold floor touching his soft, exposed flesh. He can't see anything, no, they were sure to cover her face in a bag when he was taken. Taken? When was he taken? Where is he? But of the memories being injected into Kruk's mind, there is one overwhelming feeling: pain. Pain like none he has ever experienced before. It is as if thousand of ghostly hands are reaching inside him and squeezing each and every one of his internal organs at once. As if every fiber of his being was being ripped apart, and even the tiniest piece of him that is torn out sents ripples of pain throughout his body, throughout his mind, throughout his soul.

[/sblock]
"Sanguiduum extraction has been known to make grown men weep, to make seasoned warriors and heroes beg for mercy."
[sblock=Raiyek]

He remembers being cold and wet and alone, so very alone. And in pain. So much pain.

[/sblock]
"But the ritual has a drawback; in order to draw sanguiduum from a living, sentient creature, the ritualist must know the creature's name. That is, the creature's TRUE name; the name given to it by its mother when it was born. This is, among other reasons, why Oan mages disguise their names."

"So. You can see the conundrum that Oan mages are in. In order to procure sanguiduum, they need fresh, living bodies. But they can't just cull from O's lower class; they all hide their names. Torture is not an option, either. An Oan knows that he is in for a far worse fate should he give up his true name to a captor. Therefor, the Oans turned outward rather than inward, taking slaves and prisoners of war for their experiments. I believe that there is an Oan mage here, and that he sacrificed Rebekkah."

 

[Lord Sessadore]

"While that is all very interesting, and it sounds like what we believe Rebekkah was put through, how does that explain the apparitions under the bridge? Does the extraction of sanguiduum normally create such creatures?"

 

[Don Incognito]

"I'm glad you asked, elf. I shall show you."

The halfling waves his hands, creating a light show via his magic. With magic, he weaves a tapestry, threads sprouting from his fingers as the image takes shape, floating in the air. You see a one pebble, floating near the left side of his magical portrait in a pool of smooth water.

"In this analogy, the pebble is the subject of the ritual, the water is reality, and the edges of the picture are time. Watch what happens when someone tries to pluck the pebble from the water."

Allip twiddles his fingers, and the tapestry moves, individual weaves shifting colors as the objects spring to life. A hand reaches down and takes the pebble, creating ripples in the water.

"Do you see? No matter how slowly, how gently you try, you cannot remove the pebble without affecting the water. These rituals don't just kill someone, they erase them. Rebekkah can't be revived, because there is no body to animate. Her soul cannot be called back, because there is no soul to signal. She is gone, her individuality spent as a casual side effect of her soul being distilled into red powder."

"But you can't obliterate someone so utterly and completely without making some sort of impact. You can't just pluck someone from reality! There are consequences! There are ripples!"

Allip sighs before continuing.

"There are echoes."

 

[Lord Sessadore]

[sblock=OOC]

"But you can't obliterate someone so utterly and completely without making some sort of impact. You can't just pluck someone from reality! There are consequences! There are ripples!"

Allip sighs before continuing.

"There are echoes."

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN!

Oooh, I get it now! This is awesome, Don!
Don't have time for a longer post at the moment.[/sblock]

 

[JoeNotCharles]

7 Rabbit listens in fascination. The essence of magic distilled into a physical substance? No wonder his rituals no longer worked here! Immediately he begins thinking of ways to fuse this new power source with the workings he is familiar with... Distilled moonlight? Stardust?

Then the halfling turns to the page on sangiduum.

"Ghastly!" croaks 7 Rabbit. "A sacrifice for the mage's own power? Blasphemy! Sacrifices are for the gods! To inflict such pain on a creature and then waste the blood? How horrible!"

 

[dimsdale]

Kruk blinks

 

[Dawn Raven]

[sblock]
I think Kruk's reaction is the only appropriate one.[/sblock]

"How...how often could this happen then? And how many of these...echoes form? Is it simply the ritual to obtain the sangiduum that attenuates reality or do the rituals that use it also do the same?" Les looks contemplative and considers the book, one long finger tapping the side of her cheek.

She had seen many atrocities before, but this...this was simply awful. To think that these mages from O had cadged Rebbekah so. Her brow furrows and another idea comes to her mind.

"Why are you telling us this? And what do these mages to do...to ah..buttress reality? If they put such strain on it and there are corporal results, there must be some danger." Les stops and suddenly blinks, turning sharply from Allip to face Seven-Rabbit.

"Your people endorse ritual sacrifice to the gods? How are sacrifices chosen, if I may ask?"

 

[dimsdale]

"In this analogy, the pebble is the subject of the ritual, the water is reality, and the edges of the picture are time. Watch what happens when someone tries to pluck the pebble from the water."

Allip twiddles his fingers, and the tapestry moves, individual weaves shifting colors as the objects spring to life. A hand reaches down and takes the pebble, creating ripples in the water.

"Do you see? No matter how slowly, how gently you try, you cannot remove the pebble without affecting the water. These rituals don't just kill someone, they erase them. Rebekkah can't be revived, because there is no body to animate. Her soul cannot be called back, because there is no soul to signal. She is gone, her individuality spent as a casual side effect of her soul being distilled into red powder."

"Wait...let me get this straight... the pebble is Rebekkah. The ritual is the removing of the pebble (Rebekkah) from the water (Rebekkah's being a part of the world) in order to create sanguiduum: purified life. When the ritual took place, Rebekkah was removed from our world, but in doing so, consequences (ripples in the water) took place. These consequences (the residuals of Rebekkah...each with a last memory) were the things we fought." Kruk stares in disbelief, then states "Allip, is what I'm saying true?"

 

[Don Incognito]

"How...how often could this happen then? And how many of these...echoes form? Is it simply the ritual to obtain the sangiduum that attenuates reality or do the rituals that use it also do the same?"

The halfling shakes his head. "No, no, no. Not sangiduum. Sanguidoom. Sang-gwi-doom!"

Allip is apparently a stickler for grammar. He sighs and continues to answer your questions.

"It is the harvesting of sanguiduum that creates the Echoes, not the rituals that use it themselves. And there is an interesting phenomenon regarding the number of Echoes created. Look at the picture again. The left side of the picture is the past; so, if a person is planning to perform the ritual, or if the ritual is already in progress, Echoes of the victim may appear, even thouggh the victim is still alive. The right side represents the future, and the future is less certain than the past. Echoes appear in greater number once the victim has actually been sacrificed. Judging from the number of Echoes you encountered, I'd say that Rebekkah was sacrificed not long after she was taken."

"Echoes are strange creatures, and truth be told, we don't know that much about them. We know that they are not undead; the closest thing to classification that has been given to them is fey. They are bizarre mirrors of humanoids, after all. They always tend to spawn at the victim's home, but their actions vary wildly. Some, like the ones you encountered, are content to stay in that area, only attacking those whom venture close enough. Others leave immediatly, destroying everything in their wake until they are put down by local authorities. Even more curious is that their strength is seemingly random. There was a warrior that travelled with the Five that was sacrificed some time ago, and his Echoes were so weak that a strong breeze caused them to dissipate. There were also reports of a sacrificed shifter child whose Echoes were frighteningly strong."

"Of course there is danger in the ritual, but the person performing them in this case most likely doesn't care. Were he more careful, he would send parties to eliminate the Echoes, thus covering his tracks. The fact that he didn't leads me to believe that he is either sloppy or vain. Most likely both."