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Adventures in the Eastern Provinces
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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 7585766" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>While the group rests, Shifty and Karl pour over their copy of the verse, looking for clues. The gnome points to the paper. “I saw a sundial in that area with all the beetles. This bit- 'Count you the shadows, watch the sun/The wise know where they stand;/While knowing not the time to shun'- could be a reference to it.”</p><p></p><p>“Maybe we stepped in the wrong spot or something and drew the beetles,” the wizard muses. </p><p></p><p>“I don't think so- that woman was there, disguised as a prisoner, when we showed up.”</p><p></p><p>“Perhaps we should examine it more closely.”</p><p></p><p>Shifty nods. “Agreed.”</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Beetles still crawl in and out of the small holes in the beruned building. The sundial, which the party barely made note of during their battle in the marble building, sits in an cul-de-sac in the place. Though it is under a roof, a flaming brazier hangs on a chain from the ceiling. Obviously under the influence of some kind of magic, it isn't hanging straight down, but rather extends down at an angle, causing the sundial's gnomon to cast a shadow. </p><p></p><p>“It looks like the right time to me,” says P-69. </p><p></p><p>Karl squats down to look at it a bit more closely. “Agreed, at least as far as I can tell.” He closes his eyes and uses his arcane senses to feel the magic surrounding it, but can't discern anything more.</p><p></p><p>For the moment, there is nothing obvious to do with or to the sundial, so the party leaves the marble building. They cross the river that P-69 and Shifty had been teleported into along a dilapidated wooden bridge, which leads them to the main plateau above the cliffs, where a collection of weirdly-shaped buildings constructed from the old grave markers stands. Two large black obelisks stand before a building to the group's left; they elect to continue their investigation there.</p><p></p><p>The building beyond the obelisks is even more haphazard than the rest. “It almost looks like someone was trying to build an artificial cave,” Sepia remarks. </p><p></p><p>The group steps in- and the world seems to spin away beneath them. There is a shock of cold and nausea, and the inherent brightness of the Feywild is replaced with a sudden somberness.</p><p></p><p>“We've shifted into another plane,” Karl says. </p><p></p><p>“Which one?” asks Shar. </p><p></p><p>The wizard shakes his head. “I can't be sure, but... a sinister one.”</p><p></p><p>Kane leads the group into a bone-strewn chamber. An ominous-looking statue, robed and crowned but with its face chiseled away, stands near the back; many of the bones seem to be pointing at it.</p><p></p><p>“I don't trust it,” says PHUQ-69.</p><p></p><p>“I'll check it out.” Before anyone can stop her, Sepia skips forward toward the statue. </p><p></p><p>Which lashes out, a scythe appearing in its hands from nowhere. The tiefling yelps and flips backward, but still takes a nasty cut. </p><p></p><p>Kane growls, “Foul sorcery!”, then rushes the statue. </p><p></p><p>But another one comes from behind. </p><p></p><p>Both unleash pulses of necrotic energy, ripping life energy from our heroes, then lash out, moving quickly through the party ranks and cutting left and right. Kane responds by entering a rage and unleashing a series of devastating blows, while Shar, Sepia, and P-69 focus on the other statue and Karl fires <em>magic missiles</em> from the center of the party. Bradford darts in and stabs the thing that Kane is fighting, and the party begins to wear their foes down.</p><p></p><p>But the creatures are very dangerous, striking with frightful precision, and the very air in the place reeks with death. Just being too close to the walls causes the bones of the heroes to ache. Combined with the terrible gray angels' attacks, the power of decay that runs through the very fabric of the local reality begins to wear the adventurers down.</p><p></p><p>Then, in the flash of a blade, Sepia falls to the ground unconscious. Before anyone can help her, a scythe slashes into her back, and then the pull of the plane itself finishes her off.</p><p></p><p>“Sepia!” cries P-69. “Noooo!!”</p><p></p><p>“It's not too late!” Karl exclaims. “Grab her and let's get out of here!” </p><p></p><p>The shardmind scoops Sepia's corpse up into his arms and the party retreats. As soon as they leave the building, they can feel themselves transition back into the Feywild. The glum, oppressive feeling that death is just around the corner is replaced with the burgeoning sense that life is everywhere. </p><p></p><p>Shifty gasps, clutching at his wounds. “Those things were nasty!”</p><p></p><p>Karl ignores him, checking Sepia for signs of life. There are none. “It will be all right,” he mutters. “I recently learned the <em>raise dead</em> ritual. We just need some time.” But then he frowns. “Time, and ritual components. Damn.”</p><p></p><p>“You don't have enough?” asks Shifty.</p><p></p><p>“Not of the correct type. We'll have to return to Goldwash. Unless... perhaps the folk of Moonstair will have what we need, and since we're aiding them, if they do, hopefully, they will be willing to surrender it to us.”</p><p></p><p>Plan made, the party departs for the fey crossing.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Alas, Moonstair does not have the ritual components that Karl needs, necessitating that the party return home for a few days. When they do, they find a stranger waiting for them. Strangely garbed in what is plainly some kind of uniform, with tanned skin, a hawk nose, and long fingers, the stranger introduces himself as Moab ak-Atel. </p><p></p><p>“I am an emissary,” he tells them, “from the Delphinate.”</p><p></p><p>Karl is thunderstruck. The Delphinate was a society of mages based upon an island, but he had assumed that it was destroyed in the fall of civilization. <em>If it survived, who knows what kinds of magical secrets I might find there?</em> His pulse quickens.</p><p></p><p>“My people have heard of your community,” Moab says. “As you are probably aware, there are very few surviving towns or cities- of which the Delphinate is naturally the greatest. When we discovered your communities were still extant, we felt it wise to reach out and make contact with you. Thus, I have come with an invitation for you- you being the local authorities- to either send emissaries or to come visit yourselves.”</p><p></p><p>“Where is this Delphinate?” Shar asks.</p><p></p><p>“South of here, past the desert. Assuming you wish to come see our glorious civilization, I am to guide you.”</p><p></p><p>“Well, that's very interesting, and we might take you up on it in the future. But we have other obligations to fulfill first.”</p><p></p><p>“Oh?” Moab says politely. “Contact between our people is a very high priority for us. After all, those few points of light that have survived the extinguishing of civilization must stick together, or we'll all fall separately. Perhaps I could help you in order to expedite matters?”</p><p></p><p>Karl says, “I take it you're a wizard, given your origin?”</p><p></p><p>“Of course. I specialize in the school of enchantment.”</p><p></p><p><em>Specialization! Another lost art!</em> thinks Karl. “I would love to compare notes with you.”</p><p></p><p>“Oh? You are a wizard, too?”</p><p></p><p>“Indeed, although I am not a specialist like you. Instead, I focus on my implement of choice- the tome.”</p><p></p><p>“Ah.” Moab seems unimpressed, which makes Karl feel even more rustic than he normally does. Nonetheless, the stranger allows, “I suppose it couldn't hurt anything.”</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Sepia's resurrection goes as planned once the components are acquired. She is shaken by the experience, but her commitment to helping the fey folk seems to have redoubled. </p><p></p><p>That night, the party has dinner with Moab. They are shocked to see him pull out a pouch of residuum and sprinkle some on his food.</p><p></p><p>“What are you doing?” yelps Karl. </p><p></p><p>“Oh, you're not familiar with residuum,” Moab says condescendingly.</p><p></p><p>“No, I am- we are- but you're putting it on your food??”</p><p></p><p>“Of course. It vastly improves the flavor.” He dumps a small pile of it onto the back of one hand, leans over it, and snorts it. “Ah, refreshing.”</p><p></p><p>“But-” Karl stops. <em>Do they have so much magic in the Delphinate that they can treat residuum so casually? Eating it? Snorting it??</em></p><p></p><p>“Care to try?” asks Moab, offering the pouch. </p><p></p><p>“Uh...”</p><p></p><p>“I'll try it,” P-69 declares. </p><p></p><p>“You don't have a nose.”</p><p></p><p>The crystals making up the shardmind's body shift around, forming an orifice in his face. </p><p></p><p>“I'm not sure it will have any effect on you,” Moab shrugs, “but give it a try.”</p><p></p><p>Sepia and Shifty try snorting some residuum, too. All of them- even P-69- find that it gives them a sort of floating head feeling, along with a charge of energy. Karl refrains and merely observes. <em>There eyes are bright, almost feverish,</em> he notes. “Is it addictive?”</p><p></p><p>“What? Addictive?” Moab ponders for a moment, then answers, “It depends. Do you consider food and drink addictive?”</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Reinforced by their new ally- who, while stuffy and arrogant, seems willing to help in whatever way he can contribute to their cause- the party returns to the fey crossing. Moab finds the experience of passing over into another world fascinating, admitting that he hasn't had the chance to do so before. Karl contains his smirk, but can't help thinking, <em>Who's the bumpkin now, eh?</em></p><p></p><p>The party moves through the bright foliage and sweet perfumes of the fey plane until they once again reach the Garden of Graves. On the way, Shifty shows Moab the doggerel that they copied down, and the newcomer spends some time familiarizing himself with it. “It's already proved useful several times,” Shifty comments, “and I'm hoping that unraveling what the rest of it means will help us deal with whatever other threats are here.”</p><p></p><p>The party once again ascends to the building atop the stilts. Indicating the diorama, Karl says, “I'm pretty sure that's what this place used to look like. But now, the graves have been dismantled and used as building materials.”</p><p></p><p>“I wonder who's behind it,” Sepia says to herself.</p><p></p><p>The party again crosses the rope bridges to the building where they fought the beetle-woman. The runes within still glow, still twist when observed closely. “That's the sundial we told you about.” Shifty gestures. “And... waitaminute-”</p><p></p><p>The beetles are swarming together. Forming a familiar. An all-too-familiar figure. </p><p></p><p>Laughing maniacally, the woman's face appears in the mass for a moment. </p><p></p><p>Then the beetles wash over them again.</p><p></p><p>It is the first time that they have had the opportunity to see Moab in battle. While Karl is the sort of wizard who is like a catapult, Moab proves to be more like a bag full of ball bearings. His <em>beguiling strands</em> confuse the enemy, move them around, pushing them away from the party and preventing them from swarming over them.</p><p></p><p>This time, the battle goes better for our heroes. </p><p></p><p>Their new ally has more than just magical might; he also proves to be tactically savvy. He may be a wizard, but he thinks like a soldier. </p><p></p><p>The beetle woman tears deep wounds in our heroes, but she can't stay consistently close enough to maximize her effectiveness with Moab's enchantments constantly forcing her back. This time, the party defeats her with far less cost to themselves. Even so, she almost kills Bradford and Shifty before Karl's arcane flames finish her off. </p><p></p><p>Once more, the remaining beetles scatter, withdrawing through the holes in the building. </p><p></p><p>“She's gonna be back again,” Shifty declares. “I can feel it.” </p><p></p><p>“But hopefully not today,” says Shar.</p><p></p><p>Kane snorts. “Bah. Let her come. We will lay her low again. Put her to the sword enough times and she will die for good.”</p><p></p><p>“Maybe.” Karl sounds unconvinced.</p><p></p><p><em><strong>Next Time:</strong></em> Our heroes continue their exploration of the Garden of Graves!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 7585766, member: 1210"] While the group rests, Shifty and Karl pour over their copy of the verse, looking for clues. The gnome points to the paper. “I saw a sundial in that area with all the beetles. This bit- 'Count you the shadows, watch the sun/The wise know where they stand;/While knowing not the time to shun'- could be a reference to it.” “Maybe we stepped in the wrong spot or something and drew the beetles,” the wizard muses. “I don't think so- that woman was there, disguised as a prisoner, when we showed up.” “Perhaps we should examine it more closely.” Shifty nods. “Agreed.” *** Beetles still crawl in and out of the small holes in the beruned building. The sundial, which the party barely made note of during their battle in the marble building, sits in an cul-de-sac in the place. Though it is under a roof, a flaming brazier hangs on a chain from the ceiling. Obviously under the influence of some kind of magic, it isn't hanging straight down, but rather extends down at an angle, causing the sundial's gnomon to cast a shadow. “It looks like the right time to me,” says P-69. Karl squats down to look at it a bit more closely. “Agreed, at least as far as I can tell.” He closes his eyes and uses his arcane senses to feel the magic surrounding it, but can't discern anything more. For the moment, there is nothing obvious to do with or to the sundial, so the party leaves the marble building. They cross the river that P-69 and Shifty had been teleported into along a dilapidated wooden bridge, which leads them to the main plateau above the cliffs, where a collection of weirdly-shaped buildings constructed from the old grave markers stands. Two large black obelisks stand before a building to the group's left; they elect to continue their investigation there. The building beyond the obelisks is even more haphazard than the rest. “It almost looks like someone was trying to build an artificial cave,” Sepia remarks. The group steps in- and the world seems to spin away beneath them. There is a shock of cold and nausea, and the inherent brightness of the Feywild is replaced with a sudden somberness. “We've shifted into another plane,” Karl says. “Which one?” asks Shar. The wizard shakes his head. “I can't be sure, but... a sinister one.” Kane leads the group into a bone-strewn chamber. An ominous-looking statue, robed and crowned but with its face chiseled away, stands near the back; many of the bones seem to be pointing at it. “I don't trust it,” says PHUQ-69. “I'll check it out.” Before anyone can stop her, Sepia skips forward toward the statue. Which lashes out, a scythe appearing in its hands from nowhere. The tiefling yelps and flips backward, but still takes a nasty cut. Kane growls, “Foul sorcery!”, then rushes the statue. But another one comes from behind. Both unleash pulses of necrotic energy, ripping life energy from our heroes, then lash out, moving quickly through the party ranks and cutting left and right. Kane responds by entering a rage and unleashing a series of devastating blows, while Shar, Sepia, and P-69 focus on the other statue and Karl fires [i]magic missiles[/i] from the center of the party. Bradford darts in and stabs the thing that Kane is fighting, and the party begins to wear their foes down. But the creatures are very dangerous, striking with frightful precision, and the very air in the place reeks with death. Just being too close to the walls causes the bones of the heroes to ache. Combined with the terrible gray angels' attacks, the power of decay that runs through the very fabric of the local reality begins to wear the adventurers down. Then, in the flash of a blade, Sepia falls to the ground unconscious. Before anyone can help her, a scythe slashes into her back, and then the pull of the plane itself finishes her off. “Sepia!” cries P-69. “Noooo!!” “It's not too late!” Karl exclaims. “Grab her and let's get out of here!” The shardmind scoops Sepia's corpse up into his arms and the party retreats. As soon as they leave the building, they can feel themselves transition back into the Feywild. The glum, oppressive feeling that death is just around the corner is replaced with the burgeoning sense that life is everywhere. Shifty gasps, clutching at his wounds. “Those things were nasty!” Karl ignores him, checking Sepia for signs of life. There are none. “It will be all right,” he mutters. “I recently learned the [i]raise dead[/i] ritual. We just need some time.” But then he frowns. “Time, and ritual components. Damn.” “You don't have enough?” asks Shifty. “Not of the correct type. We'll have to return to Goldwash. Unless... perhaps the folk of Moonstair will have what we need, and since we're aiding them, if they do, hopefully, they will be willing to surrender it to us.” Plan made, the party departs for the fey crossing. *** Alas, Moonstair does not have the ritual components that Karl needs, necessitating that the party return home for a few days. When they do, they find a stranger waiting for them. Strangely garbed in what is plainly some kind of uniform, with tanned skin, a hawk nose, and long fingers, the stranger introduces himself as Moab ak-Atel. “I am an emissary,” he tells them, “from the Delphinate.” Karl is thunderstruck. The Delphinate was a society of mages based upon an island, but he had assumed that it was destroyed in the fall of civilization. [i]If it survived, who knows what kinds of magical secrets I might find there?[/i] His pulse quickens. “My people have heard of your community,” Moab says. “As you are probably aware, there are very few surviving towns or cities- of which the Delphinate is naturally the greatest. When we discovered your communities were still extant, we felt it wise to reach out and make contact with you. Thus, I have come with an invitation for you- you being the local authorities- to either send emissaries or to come visit yourselves.” “Where is this Delphinate?” Shar asks. “South of here, past the desert. Assuming you wish to come see our glorious civilization, I am to guide you.” “Well, that's very interesting, and we might take you up on it in the future. But we have other obligations to fulfill first.” “Oh?” Moab says politely. “Contact between our people is a very high priority for us. After all, those few points of light that have survived the extinguishing of civilization must stick together, or we'll all fall separately. Perhaps I could help you in order to expedite matters?” Karl says, “I take it you're a wizard, given your origin?” “Of course. I specialize in the school of enchantment.” [i]Specialization! Another lost art![/i] thinks Karl. “I would love to compare notes with you.” “Oh? You are a wizard, too?” “Indeed, although I am not a specialist like you. Instead, I focus on my implement of choice- the tome.” “Ah.” Moab seems unimpressed, which makes Karl feel even more rustic than he normally does. Nonetheless, the stranger allows, “I suppose it couldn't hurt anything.” *** Sepia's resurrection goes as planned once the components are acquired. She is shaken by the experience, but her commitment to helping the fey folk seems to have redoubled. That night, the party has dinner with Moab. They are shocked to see him pull out a pouch of residuum and sprinkle some on his food. “What are you doing?” yelps Karl. “Oh, you're not familiar with residuum,” Moab says condescendingly. “No, I am- we are- but you're putting it on your food??” “Of course. It vastly improves the flavor.” He dumps a small pile of it onto the back of one hand, leans over it, and snorts it. “Ah, refreshing.” “But-” Karl stops. [i]Do they have so much magic in the Delphinate that they can treat residuum so casually? Eating it? Snorting it??[/i] “Care to try?” asks Moab, offering the pouch. “Uh...” “I'll try it,” P-69 declares. “You don't have a nose.” The crystals making up the shardmind's body shift around, forming an orifice in his face. “I'm not sure it will have any effect on you,” Moab shrugs, “but give it a try.” Sepia and Shifty try snorting some residuum, too. All of them- even P-69- find that it gives them a sort of floating head feeling, along with a charge of energy. Karl refrains and merely observes. [i]There eyes are bright, almost feverish,[/i] he notes. “Is it addictive?” “What? Addictive?” Moab ponders for a moment, then answers, “It depends. Do you consider food and drink addictive?” *** Reinforced by their new ally- who, while stuffy and arrogant, seems willing to help in whatever way he can contribute to their cause- the party returns to the fey crossing. Moab finds the experience of passing over into another world fascinating, admitting that he hasn't had the chance to do so before. Karl contains his smirk, but can't help thinking, [i]Who's the bumpkin now, eh?[/i] The party moves through the bright foliage and sweet perfumes of the fey plane until they once again reach the Garden of Graves. On the way, Shifty shows Moab the doggerel that they copied down, and the newcomer spends some time familiarizing himself with it. “It's already proved useful several times,” Shifty comments, “and I'm hoping that unraveling what the rest of it means will help us deal with whatever other threats are here.” The party once again ascends to the building atop the stilts. Indicating the diorama, Karl says, “I'm pretty sure that's what this place used to look like. But now, the graves have been dismantled and used as building materials.” “I wonder who's behind it,” Sepia says to herself. The party again crosses the rope bridges to the building where they fought the beetle-woman. The runes within still glow, still twist when observed closely. “That's the sundial we told you about.” Shifty gestures. “And... waitaminute-” The beetles are swarming together. Forming a familiar. An all-too-familiar figure. Laughing maniacally, the woman's face appears in the mass for a moment. Then the beetles wash over them again. It is the first time that they have had the opportunity to see Moab in battle. While Karl is the sort of wizard who is like a catapult, Moab proves to be more like a bag full of ball bearings. His [i]beguiling strands[/i] confuse the enemy, move them around, pushing them away from the party and preventing them from swarming over them. This time, the battle goes better for our heroes. Their new ally has more than just magical might; he also proves to be tactically savvy. He may be a wizard, but he thinks like a soldier. The beetle woman tears deep wounds in our heroes, but she can't stay consistently close enough to maximize her effectiveness with Moab's enchantments constantly forcing her back. This time, the party defeats her with far less cost to themselves. Even so, she almost kills Bradford and Shifty before Karl's arcane flames finish her off. Once more, the remaining beetles scatter, withdrawing through the holes in the building. “She's gonna be back again,” Shifty declares. “I can feel it.” “But hopefully not today,” says Shar. Kane snorts. “Bah. Let her come. We will lay her low again. Put her to the sword enough times and she will die for good.” “Maybe.” Karl sounds unconvinced. [i][b]Next Time:[/b][/i][b][/b] Our heroes continue their exploration of the Garden of Graves! [/QUOTE]
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