ZEITGEIST BSI: Bosum Strand Irregulars

[skotothalamos]

The Future is Now

The constables made their way into the next archway, prepared to see their future. Through the fog, they found themselves on the top floor of a five-hundred-foot-tall tower in the middle of a wasted, abandoned city. The tower rose into a spire above the floor they were on, and featured four balconies. On each of the balconies was a platinum loop, suspended like a doorway. Through one of the portals, the constables could see the gold-domed rooftops and spires of Alais Primos. Near the middle of the tower, a body lay on the ground, motionless. The large man’s face was obscured in shadow.

The howling wind picked up and the portal turned black. A shadowy wraith emerged from each of the four portals. The wraiths had fire in the eye sockets of their skulls, and were draped in robes that seemed to contain endlessly screaming ghostly mouths. The wraiths immediately attacked the minds of the constables, forcing them to re-enact tragedies that had happened before.

Cazara threw herself from the balcony, saved only by her Ring of Feather Fall and her Winged Bracers, which turned a terminal leap into more of a majestic swoop. Alienor starting shooting everyone, seeing Gale and her husband in front of her. IronPeak relived the war, charging everything in sight. Colleen lashed out at James, once again forgetting who as friend and who was foe. James escaped any negative effects, and Summer turned the tables on the wraiths, forcing them to relive the fall of Srasama, burning them with her radiant fires.

After they got control of their minds back, Colleen healed Alienor, but Alienor felt a pulse from her Rod of Negation. Finally realizing that the Rod was negating positive magic in addition to being able to dispel unwanted magic, Alienor decided the time was right to be done with the rod. She moved to the middle of the fight and cracked the bone over her knee, blasting everyone with the years of stored up magical energy held within the rod. Even that did not destroy the wraiths, but they were seriously weakened and the group was able to finish them off quickly enough.

When the wraiths vanished, they left small flames in their place. The group collected them in their hands, as they had done in the rooms of the past, but IronPeak stopped the others from combining them and ending the vision. She wanted to find out the identity of the dead man. Unfortunately, nothing she did could reveal his face. However, the more she studied him, the more she was reminded of bringing pants to Mister Mapple on the Avery Coast Railroad. Satisfied that she had her answer, she allowed the others to end the vision, which left them in a small bare room similar to the others. In the room were the six burned bodies of the constables themselves.

When they went to investigate their own bodies, the bodies disappeared. There was a new doorway available, and after taking a short break to catch their breath, the constables were off to another vision of the future.

In this one, Rock Rackus was leading them through a dense forest while flaming asteroids rained down from overhead. The stars had re-arranged themselves into a massive pair of gear-like constellations slowly turning. In between them, a galaxy was being pulled in and crushed. Rock yelled at the constables to get to the ship before they all got killed, and then a meteor hit the ground near them, opening up a fissure in the ground. The fissure revealed that the forest they were running through was sitting on a surface of crystal, and below the crystal was fire. Also, the fissure was now separating the constables from Rock, who kept running for the ship.

The thirty-foot span was little challenge for the constables. Cazara and Colleen leapt it easily, as did IronPeak after transforming into the form of a ram. James flew across with his Remarkable Rocket Boots, Alienor tried to teleport across by shooting Rock Rackus, but all she succeeded in was injuring the singer, as he was too far away for her magic to work. Summer scooped up Alienor and flew across with her.

As they reached the other side, a group of demons wrapped in gold chain appeared behind them. The demons were the same as those the group had encountered in the Vault of Heresies, though the Vault demons had chains of lead instead of gold. Xambria immediately recognized the Golden Legion of Egal the Shimmering. She excitedly shouted in Cazara’s head while Cazara put us much distance between herself and the demons as she could.

The demons teleported swiftly through the tangled forest, passing Colleen, James, and Alienor as they all ran for one ship, hanging in mid-air at the edge of a cliff up ahead. As Summer, Cazara, IronPeak and Rock Rackus closed in on the flying ship, they saw the flames of five torches similar to the fires of the previous visions. As the group scooped up the fires and looked ready to escape the vision, Summer was apparently caught up in the excitement and asked Rock to marry her.

“Sure thing, baby,” said Rock, “as soon as we get out of this!” Just then, the leader of the demons teleported next to Rock. His massive pincers grasped Rackus and tore him in two, throwing the pieces in two directions. The constables quickly combined the flames to end the vision before something else horrible happened.

They found themselves in a tiny room intended for one person to meditate. Summer tried to meditate, but just felt uncomfortable. Cazara took over, and felt herself content with her past, present, and future. The group looked around the temple for a direction. As they returned to the front room, they saw that the carving of Ingatan had been replaced by a fiery archway. With no fear, Summer went through the archway, followed by the others.

They found themselves on top of the temple. Ingatan’s four hands each held a flame. Suspended in space before them, they saw a silvery circlet with a chunk missing, matching the appearance of the ring around Apet. Summer grabbed the Arc of Reida and put it on her head. The sharp edges where the piece was missing cut into her forehead and the arc felt much heavier when she was wearing it than when it was in her hand.

Summer felt a pull to several places in Elfaivar. She knew that if she went to places where she had significant memories, she could relive those memories similar to the way Ingatan’s Refuge had given them visions of the past and future. Now, she had only to decide if she was ready…

 

[skotothalamos]

Sharp Hat

After their success in Ingatan’s Refuge, the constables stayed the night again with the Children of Hewanharimau, enjoying another feast of delicious but unfamiliar meats. In the morning, they were trying to decide on their next business. Summer said the Arc of Reida was pulling her southward, and when she had asked the stars, they told her to go to Rumah Terakir, the “Last Home.” As the group discussed this, IronPeak got a Sending from Delft.

“They’ve spotted Tinker Oddcog in Ber. Get to Seobriga ASAP!” He somehow managed to teleport a newspaper clipping to her which said that Tinker had been seen in the company of Cazara’s old boss at the Executores, Glaucia Evora. The article implied that the gnome was going to be put in charge of military projects for Ber. No on thought this was a good thing, and the group told Summer her memories would have to wait.

Cazara said that she had some unfinished business in Elfaivar, in a place called Sentosa (which was annoyingly not on the map). She suggested that the group cut across Elfaivar to Rumah Terakir, and then catch up with the RNS Impossible on the south coast, whereupon they could sail to Seobriga. They made the appropriate arrangements and set off for Rumah Terakir.

Along the way, the made a stop at a Bloody Stump Trading post, picking up a few bullets and healing potions. The troll hand nailed to a tree was a strange landmark, but the small camp of Beran traders and the opportunity to sleep in something resembling a bed were too good to pass up.

After about six days of travel, the team arrived at a massive ruined city, seemingly about the size of Flint. The jungle had not invaded the borders of the city, however, and James said he thought he could see the auras of magical milestones protecting the perimeter of the city. The group warily entered, looking about for a secret entrance. Summer and Cazara inferred that the city they were looking for has shifted into the Dreaming and that there must be a portal somewhere.

A brief exploration of the city turned up three temples that were still more or less intact. A large Pyramid to Srasama was mostly intact, except for the destroyed statue of Srasama at its top. An amphitheater-like stepped depression into the ground seemed to be devoted to Ingatan, and a domed structure covered in animal carvings and whose only entrance was sealed by a massive stone looked like a temple for Hewanharimau. The group investigated Ingatan’s temple first.

The vertical surfaces of the ten-foot-high steps were covered in Eladrin writing. The writing obscured a second layer of writing magically hidden behind the first. Xambria excitedly started making notes and James put on his reading glasses to translate the text. It turned out that the writings were the enchanted transcriptions of people’s memories. The arcanists discovered that the writings could be activated through meditation and study, allowing a person to learn the skills of whomever had recorded their memories here. Most f the group decided it was worth a day’s delay to tap into that power. Alienor sort of harrumphed and spent her time smoking and exploring the ruins of the city.

After a day’s study with Ingatan, the group moved on to Hewanharimau. Cazara asked th building what was inside, and the building showed her images of a bronze urn filled with a bubbling red liquid, and also a brightly-glowing blue stone. James and Colleen worked out the engineering to remove the stone blocking the entrance, which mostly meant coming up with a rope that would be strong enough to allow Colleen to just pull the stone out of the way like a giant mechanical pack mule. Inside, the low, domed structure featured many carvings of animals, with a repeated theme of a tiger walking like a man. In the center of the temple, they found the urn full of blood on a stone plinth. Cazara, Summer, and IronPeak all had a drink. Colleen splashed the blood on her face, while James abstained entirely. Alienor waited outside, as she had done at the last temple.

Summer suffered no ill effects from the foul tiger’s blood. Ironpeak’s hands became furry and clawed, making it difficult for her to manipulate objects. Cazara was affected even moreso, as her opposable thumbs receded back up her forearms and her hands stretched into tiger-like paws. Realizing that there was more to becoming a Child of Hewanharimau than just drinking the blood of Hewanharimau, Cazara and IronPeak asked James to prepare a couple of Remove Affliction rituals. Deciding it would be rude to remove the “blessing” Hewanharimau in his temple, James headed outside, but his way was blocked.

A ghostly woman appeared, holding a brightly-glowing blue stone. “Will you stand against evil in all its forms?” asked the woman, in Elvish. James had no idea what she said, but Summer did. She held the First Blade of Srasama high and told the ghost that she came in the name of Srasama. The ghostly woman keyed more on Summer’s raised sword than her words and simply said, “Challenge accepted.”

The stone turned to a sword and the two began to duel. Summer cast spell after spell at the ghost, and the ghost kept changing her weapon from one form to another. First it was a bastard sword, then a longbow, then a great axe. At one point it was a whip, used to tie up Summer’s feat. Summer responded by channeling the energy of the triple goddess Srasama and teleporting to three places at once. Colleen tried to heal Summer at one point, but her exhortations had no effect; some abjuration was preventing any of Summer’s colleagues from interfering in the duel. The two circled the temple for several minutes, and Summer looked like she would lose, but she kept chugging healing potions and mocking the skill of the temple’s guardian. Finally, the guardian relented.

“You are a worthy champion,” she said, “to carry the Arsenal of Dhebisu.” She told Summer the story of how Hewanharimau had betrayed the other Eladrin gods in ancient times, and had been cursed to become a rakshasa, a demon in the form of a tiger that walked like a man. She told her that none could defeat Hewanharimau, and his great claws wiped entire villages from the map, until the hero Dhebisu hunted him down. She learned of his weakness from the great cats of the jungle, and when a meteor fell, she created her arsenal from it metal. Dhebisu mocked Hewanharimau relentlessly, much as Summer had just done with the temple guardian, and she was able to anger the rakshasa, forcing him to make tactical mistakes. Hewanharimau shot a poisoned arrow at Dhebisu, but she caught it and plunged it into his loins, killing him and insuring that he would never reincarnate. When Dhebisu passed from the world, this guardian brought her arsenal to the temple, hoping to find another champion who would stand against evil as Dhebisu once had. Now her duty was done, and she passed the stone to Summer.

Summer found that she could make the arsenal into any weapon she wanted. As a spellcaster (who just happened to cast spells using a sword), she did not have much actual use for the Arsenal. She gifted it to IronPeak after they were safely away from the temple. James did his rituals and Summer meditated before the group decided to tackle the temple of Srasama.

Inside, they found a archway flanked by two lion statues. They could feel the extraplanar energy radiating from the gateway. Summer yelled to Alienor that she had better come along, because everyone was going to the real city. Alienor followed, but only on the promise that it would be less boring than Rumah Terakir.

As they tried to go through the portal, one of the lions came to life. The lion had ten heads, only one of which was attached to its body. The others floated around it, all looking at the constables. In unison, the ten heads asked, “Do you have the key?” No one knew what it was talking about. Various items were produced, including the Arsenal and a plain skeleton key, but the lion would have none of it. After an extended impasse, the lion looked at Summer and said (with ten voices), “I am receiving new instructions. Kasvarina Varal and her companions may enter the city of Sentosa.”

The group passed through the portal and were transported to a place that seemed to be the same city, but in its heyday. Hundreds of eladrin and few milled about. An invisible man in a fancy suit tipped his hat to the party, and a squad of Eladrin guards got their attention. “Athrylla is waiting for you,” the lead guard said. “Please come along.”

The guards escorted the group to the same Srasama temple they had just left, but this one was undamaged and seemed to have been set up as a seat of government. On the top floor of the pyramid, they met with the Matriarch of Sentosa, Athrylla Valanar.

“What brings you here, Kasvarina,” she asked, seeming unpleased with the name. “Are you still calling yourself Kasvarina Varal, ‘Scourge of the Revolution?’ What business do you and your band of demons and technological monstrosities have with us? Give me one good reason I shouldn’t throw the lot of you in my dungeon.”

Summer explained that she had no memories of who Kasvarina was and that she was using the name Summer now. She told Athrylla that Grappa had wiped her memories and regresses her to adolescence in the hopes that she could be reborn as a new person, but now Summer found she needed information on who she had been so she could atone for her sins and right the wrongs that she had once done, so she was using the Arc of Reida to regain her memories, and the Arc seemed to be pulling her here. She showed Athrylla the First Blade of Srasama and told her that the sword had chosen her and shouldn’t that be worth something? Cazara vouched for Summer, saying she has been inducted into the Vekeshi Mystics and was now on the right path.

Athrylla locked eyes with Summer. “I hope what you say is true. I can think of no better punishment for you than to have to relive the awful consequences of the horrible things you’ve done in your life. I could not devise a more perfect curse for you, ‘Kasvarina,’ and I hope you get what you deserve. That your own terrorist organization accepted you is typical. It’s disgusting that you named them for Vekesh, when you perverted his vision of patience into one of assassination. What’s the point in assassinating humans? They breed like rabbits and die in 80 years anyway. Go to Aozagi and remember Vekesh the way he was, not the way his message has been twisted. Go to Navras and remember Vekesh as he was. See if that helps you to see what you have done. Those ‘Mystics’ of yours brought nothing but hatred and more war to our people, and you should be ashamed of what they do! I know why that sword chose you, and I could tell you, but it will be far more satisfying to know that you’ll have to relive it and deal with the repercussions of your life. Go, find your memories, and then leave my enclave as fast as you can, before I change my mind and throw you in the dungeon anyway.”

Summer thanked her and made her way out as quickly as possible, not noticing in her haste that Zara stayed behind and had a private conversation with Athrylla about Vekesh.

Summer was being drawn to a house in the city. Cazara caught up on the way and no one even missed her. At the house, Summer explained to the owner that the Arc of Reida was pulling her here to relive her old memories, and if he didn’t want to get drawn into the mess, he might want to leave. The eladrin man decided it would be a good time to take his dog for a walk, and left the constables with free run of his house.

When Summmer crossed the threshold, she was no longer in the year 501. She could feel that it was instead 279 and she was Kasvarina and she and her husband Asrabey had just come back from a conference with Athrylla. Some of the others were drawn into the memory as well. James found himself acting out the part of Asrabey, expressing dislike for Athrylla and a desire to be home in Ushanti. Colleen and IronPeak found themselves in the roles of house servants, quietly eavesdropping on Kasvarina and Asrabey’s conversation. Alienor and Cazara found themselves strangely detached form the whole event, as invisible observers of the past. Kasvarina told Asrabey that he must go on a mission to the Unseen Court in Risur, and she may never see him again. Asrabey asked to sleep with her if this might be their last night together, but she rebuffed him, saying she was too focused on her journey to Aozagi in the morning, to visit the graves of her two daughters.
After that, the memory faded, and James felt most awkward.

Before they had much time to process the memory, Summer felt the Arc pulling her back toward the temple of Srasama. When they arrived, the place was empty save for two guard watching Athrylla’s throne room. The group was drawn even further back, to the year 111. Again Alienor found herself a detached observer, but the rest were drawn into their parts. Summer once again became Kasvarina. Cazara found herself playing the part of Athrylla. Colleen had become a third Eladrin Matriach named Latika. By inhabiting the three Matriarchs, the three of them inherently knew that they were the famous Triad of Endurance, who had led the Eladrin people out of the disaster of the Great Malice, and guided them for a century. Also present were IronPeak as general Sor Daeron, whose right arm was entirely made of salt, after being hit by a Clergy spell during the war. James was Daeron’s attache, and the two guards were other military leaders.

Kasvarina pleaded before the other two Matriarchs and the General for help. The Dragon Tyrant Rillego had kidnapped her daughter Masako and she needed help to rescue her. The other Matriarchs were not interested. They accused Kasvarina of being a bad mother who failed to protect her daughter. Athrylla argued that it may be a trap meant to ensnare more than one Matriarch at once, and was not worth the risk. Eventually, Kasvarina was able to secure the promise of a few soldiers, including Latika’s personal house guard. She left the room, telling the others she would teleport to Seobriga within the hour. After she left, before the memory completely faded, Athrylla, Latika, and Sor all had a self-satisfied feeling: Kasvarina had taken the bait.

The memory faded, and the others told Summer what they had learned, that she had been sold out by her fellow Matriarchs, and they had set the whole thing up to get rid of her, or punish her, or some other motive they were unsure of. Alienor said she had felt like intervening for a moment, but she knew it was pointless, since from the previous memory they all knew that Kasvarina had to fail, as both of her daughters were dead 168 years later. After some discussion, the group realized that it was possible that Masako survived this series of events, but died later. Summer was most struck by one fact: she was alive and her daughter was not. How could that have happened? She had to know. She had to get to Seobriga (and Aozagi, and Ushanti, maybe, but those could wait). Delft wanted them in Seobriga, Summer wanted to be in Seobriga, and Athrylla wanted Summer gone, one way or another. It was definitely time to leave Sentosa.

 

[RangerWickett]

I'm excited and curious about how your players are taking this delve into Summer's history.

 

[skotothalamos]

I'm excited and curious about how your players are taking this delve into Summer's history.

They had a lot of fun with it. I had everyone who failed their WIS check take on one of the roles in the memory, going them their motivations and (some of) their knowledge. For this first session, I did have to feed people lines from time to time to make the memories have the right conclusions. In future, I plan to make up little cards that explain who the character is, what info they need to share, and what their goal is for the memory. They all seemed to have fun getting to stretch their roleplay muscles.

 

[skotothalamos]

Summer's player studied Japanese, so I had her give me a list of names to replace Launga, Dala, Bhalu, and Resal with names that would make sense for her. We all decided together that Kasvarina Varal was a post-Malice pseudonym used by Summer.

In our world, there are (at least) two dominant Elfaivaran cultures: that derived from Japan and that derived from India.

 

[skotothalamos]

Worth mentioning that Summer (a 13th-level Sorcerer/Bard hybrid) took out the level 20 Kolyarut all by herself, and I didn't level it down at all. She needed 15+ to hit it, and she dropped two 17s and two crits (and a 5) in 4 successive rounds. The +4d12 crit bonus of the First Blade of Srasama (which she uses as an implement) and three Potions of Vitality got her through with 2 healing surges remaining.

I figured it was going to be one of those "come back and try the test again when you're more powerful" moments. I was wrong.

 

[skotothalamos]

Across to Ber

After several weeks, the constables were making their way out of Elfaivar, by way of the Danoran colony of Port Perrault. The port was originally established as a base for privateers during a previous way with Risur, and so the town was a bit rougher than other Danoran settlements the group had visited. Alienor took the opportunity to hire a printer to make up flyers spreading rumors that the rumors of her death had been exaggerated, and that the Jierre family were corrupt. Alienor hoped to fuel the fires of rebellion in her home country, starting with the sailors of Port Perrault.

Harkover Lee was aboard the RNS Impossible. He had inscribed a teleportation circle on the foredeck of the ship, so that supplies could be sent to the constables as needed. He also made sure the constables were up to speed on their Ber mission. They needed to track down Tinker Oddcog, last seen in Seobriga in the company of Cazara’s old boss, Glaucia Evora. Minister Lee informed the constables that the RHC had attempted to contact Oddcog through a Sending ritual, which is limited to 25 words. Oddcog’s response was:

“Twenty-five words? Three, four, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, thirty! Behold: base five! I have thwarted your numerical orthodoxy!” Followed by a fit of laughter for a few seconds, which apparently counted as a single word.

Lee facilitated the acquisition of some supplies and then used the teleportation circle to return to Risur. The short journey across the sea was mostly uneventful, save for Summer idly deciding to start collecting husbands. Rock Rackus’s acceptance of her marriage proposal in the future has emboldened her. She expressed a desire to marry Mister Mapple as well (to save him from his fate). IronPeak seemed none too happy about this idea.

As they arrived at the port of Seobriga, the constables noticed the Lux Profectusque, Lya Jierre’s ship, was in the harbor. Once ashore, Alienor decided that her number-one priority would be to keep an eye on the ship. While the others explored the city and tracked down Oddcog, Alienor found herself a nice sniper nest on top of a tall warehouse, and kept tabs on the comings and goings on the Danoran ship. She noticed Lya Jierre’s notorious bodyguard Rush Munchhausen and his unmistakable paired Immovable Rods stalking about with some thugs, apparently also keeping an eye on activity in the harbor.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew accompanied Cazara as she showed them around her former hometown, on the way to finding Glaucia. The weekly protests were in full swing, and the streets were full of orcs and lizardfolk and minotaurs in fancy wool dress clothes topped with the peculiar powdered wigs that had gone out of fashion a decade previous in Risur. The protesters waved different flags, each color-coded to a particular grievance. The constables did not partake. Cazara checked in at her old Executore office, inquiring after Glaucia. She was told that Glaucia was presiding over trials at the “courthouse,” which was a euphemism for the skeleton of the last dragon ruler of Seobriga. When the dragon Widoreva died, the citizens of Seobriga left her body where it fell, and eventually used her remains as a place to sit in judgment of one another.
In a coincidence that IronPeak would no doubt put down to a healthy dose of narrativium, Glaucia just happened to be presiding over the trial of Brakken of Heffanita that day, the arbitrator who the constables had met a few months prior before the aborted Danor-Risur peace summit. The bailiff asked if any of the group were there to testify in the defense of the Minotaur. No one took him up on the offer except for Summer. After a brief pre-interview with Glaucia, Summer was told to sit in the front row for the trial; she would be called as a character witness.

The trial started promptly. Brakken was paraded before the jeering throng, and Glaucia read out his alleged crime. He was accused of using mind control to violate the free will of others, breaking up a fight between a pair of orcs. Glaucia traced a ring of fire on the ground with her finger, and asked each witness to step into the Circle of Truth and give testimony. As each witness entered, she asked them to state the date and their name, and then to mis-state the date. When the witness said it was a different day than it was, the fire would rise up and slightly burn them. Once Glaucia was satisfied that the enchantment was working, she asked questions about the events.

The two orcs’ stories matched up. They got into a fight. One shoved the other into Brakken. Seeing a good opportunity to use a Minotaur as an improvised weapon, that orc then shoved Brakken at the other orc. Then, they both felt calm and did not wish to fight any more, a very un-orcish turn of events. Other witnesses confirmed the orcs’ version of events. Brakken was called, and he said that he asked the men to stop fighting. When pressed for more details, Brakken admitted to using his natural magical talent to sway the men in an effort to prevent harm to himself and them. He said that his calming influence would have subsided as soon as he left, and that he did no harm to the pugilists.

Glaucia called Summer to the Circle. When asked her name, Summer said, “Summer,” and the flames burned her. Glaucia reminded her that she was to tell the truth while in the circle. Glaucia asked again, and Summer used her original name, a name barely remembered from her childhood, years before she had become Kasvarina: “Kuraguchi Yoku.” Glaucia then asked her to lie about the date, to make sure the Circle was working. Glaucia asked Summer how she knew Brakken and if she had ever seen him use his magical powers to affect the minds of others. Summer said she had actually seen the opposite: Brakken had been affected by the moods of those around him far more than he had affected them. She also shared that she herself had magical powers that sometimes got out of control. Glaucia asked if Summer thought she was a danger to herself and others. Summer responded that sometimes things got a little crazy, but she was working hard on using her powers for good and helping people, even though sometimes she hurts them when helping them, like that one time she lit James on fire to save him from being eaten by a Mimic. Summer went on for some time about how the intentions of a person had to be taken into account when judging their actions, and she took complete command of the courtroom, tapping into a latent talent for oratory. By the time she was finished, the entire “courtroom” was hanging on her every word.

Glaucia took some time to consider everything she had heard. She finally rendered her ruling. Brakken had meant to help those around him, and had acted honorably. No one present at the court was to speak ill of him in regards to this matter, or they would face the judgment of the court. However, Brakken had broken the letter of the law, and so must be punished with a mandatory beating. Glaucia asked Brakken to approach her “desk” at the nose of the dragon’s skull. She asked him to hold out his hands, and then she rapped him once across each knuckles with her cudgel, drawing his blood.

Later that night, Cazara and Glaucia got together for drinks at a nearby tavern called El Ano del Dragón. The two old friends caught up on each other’s lives. Eventually, Cazara asked about the wherabouts of Tinker Oddcog, and Glaucia said she had last seen him in the Bruse’s entourage. Apparently, the little gnome as being tasked with secret projects to modernize the Beran military. She had not seen him since, but figured the best place to ask would be at the Bruse’s summer court, a day’s journey up the road. She mentioned to Cazara that her influence might help the constables get an audience with Bruse Shantus, but she had a full docket the next day and would not be able to leave until the day after. Cazara thanked her and said she would get back to her.

Meanwhile, Alienor was getting very antsy about finding Lya Jierre. Summer could not detect her within the mile radius of her sword’s lady detector, so Cazara started asking the city. Not the people, but the city itself. The city told her that someone matching Lya’s description had left by the north road, heading toward the summer court, just a day before. Was Lya Jierre also searching for Tinker? Now the race was on. The constables needed to get to the summer court quickly. They resolved to leave early the next morning, but before that, they would have to deal with another of Summer’s recovered memories.

 

[skotothalamos]

A Beautiful Feathered Tyrant

Before leaving Seobriga, the constables dealt with another of Summer’s recovering memories. Summer felt the Arc of Reida pulling her to a part of town that Cazara recognized as home to a monument of the first time a foreigner slew a Beran dragon. Worried that the memory event might draw in bystanders, and therefore deprive them of their liberty, Cazara and IronPeak announced to the nearby citizens what was happening, giving them a chance to leave the area. Only about half left. The others seemed interested in seeing what would happen.

Night turned to day, and Summer found herself running through the streets of Seobriga, chasing the dragon Rillego as he carried her daughter Masako. Summer melted away and she was Kasvarina once again. As she shouted angrily at the blood-red dragon, her rage was channeled into a blade of lightning that collapsed a nearby building. Behind her, Kasvarina was pursued by the general Sor Daeron, whose right arm had been turned to salt by a clergy spell during the war 111 years prior. Behind him was Latika, another Eladrin matriarch. Rillego landed on a spire, holding Masako under one of his great claws.

Kasvarina tried to run to Masako, but Sor stopped her, summoning a wall of force in her path. She tried to teleport, but the gold bricks of the street stopped her from moving. Sor’s salt arm grabbed her. “We know, Kasvarina, and so you must pay, and not just with your death, but first you must lose all that you care for.” With that, Latika signaled the dragon, and Rillego vomited forth a torrent of fire onto Masako, burning away her flesh and killing her instantly.

Kasvarina shook herself free from Sor and flew toward Rillego, who launched himself into the air. Sor and Latika scrambled for cover in nearby buildings, but Kasvarina took her revenge on them first. She fired lightning at Sor’s refuge, collapsing the building around him. Latika escaped into a nearby street and waved for Rillego, who swooped down and picked her up. As they flew away, Kasvarina used her Unrelenting Geas spell to seize control of the dragon’s mind and force him to throw Latika to the ground, killing her as well. The constables who had not been drawn into the memory saw Sor Daeron escape the collapsed building as Kasvarina went to her daughter’s body, half burnt away by the dragonfire.

As reality came back, Summer was struck by what an awful person she must have been before, to be so hated by her fellow eladrin. IronPeak told her that Sor Daeron had been seen sneaking away, and James, who had been drawn into the memory in the role of Sor, remembered having a strong urge to go into hiding in Ber. But that information would have to be tabled for the time being; the constables were off to the Bruse’s summer court in the morning.

While the others slept, Cazara went to commune with her old apartment, in order to find out what had become of her old eladrin girlfriend Dhebisu, who had gone missing several years ago. Cazara had found evidence that she had been abducted and sold into slavery. The trail had led her to Risur, but then gone cold, and Cazara had joined the RHC to keep searching for clues in and around Flint. With her newfound ability to ask cities and buildings for information, she asked her old apartment building what had happened when Dhebisu had disappeared. The building told her that “Dheb” had trashed their apartment and then walked out under her own power. This information floored Cazara. Had everything been a lie? Much like Summer, she did not have time to chase this development; the group was on the road in the morning.

The next day, Cazara went to Glaucia and asked her to clear her docket for the day and join them immediately on the road to the summer court as Lya Jierre was undoubtedly also after Tinker Oddcog and the group would need Glaucia’s influence with the Bruse to have any chance of keeping the gnome from falling back under the influence of the Obscurati. Glaucia told Cazara that they could get through here day’s docket in about an hour if Cazara helped and they took care of the cases “old school” style. After a disturbing number of whippings and beatings outside the courthouse, with the crimes of the accused being shouted to the heavens, and the group was ready for their journey.

A carriage was acquired, to load James, Glaucia, Summer, and the great bulk of Colleen and her steamsuit. Cazara and IronPeak rode horses, and Alienor found a large domesticated lizard to ride. After about an hour of silence on the road, when the group stopped to water their horses (and lizard), Glaucia asked about the Risuri tradition of skyseeing. She wanted to know if everyone’s future was written in the stars, and if so, could someone see if she would ever get revenge against the Cult of the Steel Lord for what they had done to her family. She also pursued interesting questions about fate and predestination, and whether one could spite a prophecy by intentionally not doing what was foretold.

Summer gave her advice on divination, indicating that her visions of the stars were generally more vague than what Glaucia was describing. Usually, she felt more that she was getting advice about possible futures, rather than being told that one course of action would take place. Also, she advised against spiting the stars. IronPeak helpfully chimed in at this point to tell the story of the time they had angered Nem by throwing a train through a portal to an alien planet, causing the destruction of everything in a mile radius. Glaucia listened to all of this attentively, and then asked Summer to look into her future and see if revenge was in the stars for her. Summer promised to do so, and then they got back on the road.

Several hours later, the group was ambushed by Lya Jierre’s bodyguard, Merton Goncala. He attacked them with a mated pair of trained Tyrannosaurs (giant bird-like lizard beasts with brilliant plumage that the dragon lords of Ber had raised as status symbols). The Tyrannosaurs drove a herd of giant goats before them, each as tall as a man. Half the group made for the trees while the other half scrambled to exit the carriage. The brightly-colored male Tyrant knocked over the carriage, spilling everyone to the ground. Merton used a sonic grenade to obliterate the trunk of the tree that Cazara, IronPeak, and Summer had scaled, forcing them back to the ground. Merton’s main weapon was a large tuning fork that channeled sonic magic, but the group barely got a chance to see him fight as Colleen, Alienor, and IronPeak made short work of him. However, as he went to the ground, he faded into shadow and gave IronPeak a smug look. “See you in court,” he said.

The Feathered Tyrants were busy fighting over a delicious morsel who normally went by the name James M. Chinast. The male scooped him up in its mouth, but James struggled to get free. James’s wiggling appendages were too enticing for the female, and she bit off most of his left leg and ran off. Summer teleported James out of the male’s mouth and applied immediate first aid to keep James from bleeding out. James struggled to stay conscious, but managed to steady his musket long enough to bullseye the female as she fled into the wood, killing her just before she got out of sight.

The male was enraged and grabbed Glaucia in its mouth, intending to swallow her, but IronPeak used her gift with wild animals to calm the beast, eventually coaxing it to release Glaucia in exchange for a “treat” which was actually a Potion of Friendship. So mollified, the gargantuan bird-lizard beast accepted IronPeak as a new master, and even allowed himself to be ridden the rest of the way to the summer court by IronPeak (and her bear).

The line of petitioners at the Bruse’s Summer Court stretched more than half a mile from the Bruse’s fort-palace. The constables drove a small herd of eighteen goats ahead of their carriage, to use as T. Rex food. Their procession was stopped by an Orc Executore named Heiliana who asked them to please make camp like the other petitioners, and she would forward their request for an audience to the Bruse himself. They constables told her that they were representatives of Risur, here t see the Bruse on official state business, but that did not seem to sway Heiliana. She told them to make camp and wait to be called. Glaucia parted company with the constables at this point, offering to accompany Heiliana on her return to the Bruse.

As luck or political cachet would have it, the constables were called that night to “earn” their audience with the Bruse, but that is a tale for another time…

 

[skotothalamos]

Initializing Bruse Shantus

The constables were called to Bruse Shantus’s labyrinthine arena. The other petitioners had gathered in the bleachers to watch the festivities. The constables were guided to a raised platform where they were allowed to introduce themselves and were introduced to the rules of the game.

They would be participating in one of the Bruse’s “Adulthood Challenges.” The Adulthood Challenges were a series of competitive activities intended to replace the traditional Beran rites of passage, such as being mutilated by one’s elders or murdering a member of a nearby tribe. In this instance, it was taking the form of one of the minotaur’s favorite environments: a labyrinth. Forty-foot-tall hedges formed a maze on the floor of the arena. The constables would be expected to traverse the maze and emerge safely from the other side, overcoming all challenges that presented themselves. Flying or climbing over the tops of the hedges was prohibited, as was “using magic or technology to bypass the challenges.” Anyone who exited the maze from the opposite end would be granted an audience with the Bruse. The constables were given some glowing crowns so they could be more easily identified by the crowd, and then sent into the hedge maze. A few moments later, they heard someone shout, “Release the bears!”

The initial passageway through the hedge featured a twenty-foot-tall concrete wall on the left-hand side, only 20 feet high, blocking the way to a side passage. After much debate over whether they were allowed to go over concrete walls, the constables decided to take the straight path ahead of them. Cazara promptly fell into a pit trap. A glowing light shot into the sky from the bottom of the pit, and then it slammed shut as the crowd roared. The others pried the pit trap open, but there was no sign of Cazara at the bottom. Had she failed already? Had she simply been disintegrated? There was no way to know. IronPeak and Colleen stood on the edges of the false floor, counterweighting it so Summer, James and Alienor could cross, and then Colleen made the jump across, crashing into IronPeak and sending her flying.

Around the first turn was a new challenge: a twenty-foot-long pool of brackish water. right in the middle of an intersection. Upon further investigation, only the top foot of the pool was water; a darker substance lay below. After much speculation and experimentation concerning gelatinous creatures, various slimes and maybe a pudding or two (including an experimental Magic Missile at the darkness below the water), the group just decided to jump the pool or climb across the hedges adjacent to the pool. It was at this point that they heard a gunshot from elsewhere in the labyrinth. Either Cazara was alive, or she had just been shot. IronPeak climbed across the left hedge. On the right side, the hedge was interrupted by a passageway. James went for the shorter jump halfway across to the intersection, and then a second jump to join IronPeak. Instead, he jumped right into a pit trap and never made the second jump. Another light shot into the sky, the crowd roared again, and the group was down to four.

Summer climbed across the way IronPeak had gone, but lost her grip and fell into the water. Luckily, she as able to teleport away at the last moment, Colleen jumped (crashing into IronPeak again), and Alienor drank a potion of Water Walking. With only five minutes before the effects of the potion expired, Alienor hurried the group past two more pools of water and they came upon a three-way decision point. Opting for the first branch, they found themselves confronted by a passage that dead-ended into another concrete wall.

As they were deciding what to do with that, a bear emerged from one of the other passages, and they started to scramble over the wall, using Colleen as a ladder. On the other side was another bear. Alienor perched atop the wall and shot them both. Summer turned invisible and ran down a side passage, where there was another pool of water. She tried to stop, but then realized her momentum was carrying her too fast, so she tried to jump it, but lost her footing and just fell face-first into the ten-foot-deep pool of water and grease. The grease was too viscous for her to extricate herself from, and too dark to see through to try to teleport away, so she just floated down the bottom of the pond and started to accept her fate. IronPeak shoved past the oncoming bear and jumped in to save Summer. Fortunately, Summer’s invisibility wasn’t a hindrance, as the grease was too dark and thick to see through. IronPeak grabbed her and swam back up to the surface. Colleen tried to stop the bear, but it charged IronPeak and Summer, trying to shove them back into the pond. Summer decided she’d had enough of that, and just teleported across the pond.

In all the commotion, James came running to them from a side passageway. The pit trap had teleported him to the bottom of a different pit trap, and he had shouted for them, but they had been too busy to notice. When he heard the fighting, he had been able to figure out where they were. In his excitement to rejoin the group, he nearly triggered a pit trap right in front of himself, but he was able to jump it in the nick of time.

Colleen and IronPeak were able to beat back the bear, which had filed-down claws, and — in IronPeak’s estimation — was trained not to kill, but to subdue. The punishment that IronPeak and Colleen had done to it was enough to break its training, however, and it was turning to run when Alienor shot it dead. The resounding chorus of boos from the crowd drowned out whatever expletives IronPeak was shouting at Alienor.

The mostly re-united group made their way further through the labyrinth. While crossing another pit trap, another bear appeared, startling Colleen. She and James tumbled into the pit, leaving only Alienor, Summer, and IronPeak to handle the pair of bears coming from either direction. Summer found herself facing down a bear alone while IronPeak and Alienor scared off the other, bickering the entire time. Summer reached into her pockets for something useful, and found a hunk of goat meat she had been using as T. Rex treats. She offered it to the bear, and then tossed it into a corner, distracting the bear while she ran away.

Colleen rejoined the party from a nearby pit trap and they made their way to what seemed to be the exit, especially when they saw the mechanical bear blocking their path. As they sized up the massive mechanical beast with deadly sharp blades for claws, there was a convergence of five or six other bears. The group fought their way past the first wave of organic bears and then IronPeak engaged the mechanical bear, but ended up surrounded and cut off from the rest of the group. Summer tried to fly past the mechanical bear, with Alienor in tow, but if leaped up into the air and skewered them both. Alienor responded by exploding in a ball of fire and escaping its clutches. IronPeak and Alienor destroyed the mechanical bear and Summer made a run for the exit, with them following close behind. Colleen was in danger of being dragged down by a pair of organic bears, but a thrown healing potion from the others allowed her to stay on her feet long enough to escape just ahead of the bears.

The group (minus James, who had failed the test by falling into a second pit trap) was escorted to the Bruse’s temporary throne room, adjacent to his viewing balcony. There they found Cazara, who had been teleported to the pit trap nearest the exit, scared off one bear with a gunshot, and outwitted the mechanical bear to exit the maze far ahead of her colleagues. A crowd started to gather in the throne room and the group was told that the Bruse would hear their petition in a few minutes.

 

[skotothalamos]

More BS

As the constables waited for the Bruse to meet with them, a crowd gathered in the throne room. Dignitaries and those with petitions that were in the process of being considered were allowed to watch the proceedings. Glaucia Evora was there, as were Lya Jierre and her two bodyguards, Rush and Merton. The Bruse’s three main advisors entered: Zarkava Ssa’litt, the lizardwoman Vizier of Ber, who handled most of the day-to-day policy of the realm; Kenna Vigilante, the dragonborn Minister of Dragon Affairs, whose main responsibilities in modern Ber resembled those of a treasurer in other nations; and Pardo, a scruffy gnoll wearing only a tattered white shirt and carrying a dirty handkerchief. Pardo was the Minister of Rebellion, an honorary title given to one who speaks in opposition to the Bruse and represents those who are not represented by the other three.

Glaucia visibly bristled at the sight of Pardo, and he reciprocated. The two gnolls had no sense of keeping their enmity quiet. There would be no pretense of civility, even here. IronPeak picked up on this, and remembered hearing that the Cult of the Steel Lord venerated metal, and some devotees would not even deign to touch the holy substance, leading to them carrying handkerchiefs for those times when they had to turn a doorknob or use a handrail. Since the Cult of the Steel Lord had attacked Glaucia’s village many years ago and forced her to kill one of her own children, it was easy to get to the root of the gnolls’ hatred for one another.

The Bruse entered and addressed the constables. He introduced his advisors and talked at length about local happenings. He asked the constables if anything eventful had happened to them since the events on the Avery Coast Railroad, and they filled him in on the unclassified parts of the aborted peace talks, and the doomsday cult bombers they had faced, and the release of the Colossus. The Bruse mentioned that giant footprints had been seen in the western portions of his country, and he hoped they would have a chance to visit about that in the near future.

After an intolerable amount of small talk, Cazara finally pressed the issue and presented their request to see the gnome Tinker Oddcog, and have the chance to interview him. Tinker had designed the Colossus, and he would be the most helpful person to get it under control. Also, there were some matters of state security that needed to be discussed with Oddcog. The Bruse turned to Kenna Viglante and asked her to read the record form the day before. She informed everyone that there was already a petition outstanding with the Bruse’s court for the exact same request, put forth by the representative of Danor, Lya Jierre. Danor was offering five modern steam-powered naval vessels for the opportunity to meet with Tinker. The Bruse turned to the RHC ans asked what Risur was offering.

The constables offered a custom-built steamship, built to Beran ergonomic specifications, and the training of Beran engineers on the design of modern steamships so that Ber could gain the capability to build their own. The Bruse and his advisors took a recess to discuss their options. After a few minutes they returned. Kenna and Zarkava looked defeated and slightly upset; the Bruse had gotten his way again, and something stupid was about to happen.

The Bruse announced that there would be a vote to determine which of the two petitions to grant. He, Zarkava, and Kenna would each have one vote, representing “the heart, head, and purse-strings of Ber.” There would be two other votes, each to be decided by a contest between the two petitioners. Both groups would be sequestered until sunrise, and then the “race” would begin.

One challenge involved the unfinished transnational railroad of Ber. Two railroad companies were building toward each other, nearing completion of a rail line from the capital to the far shore of Ber. The two companies were, at last report, separated by 36 miles. Each group would be assigned a company, and the first team to get their company to reach the halfway point would win. The Risuri delegation was assigned to Liss Rail Construction, and the Danorans were assigned to Griento Railways, the company owned by Damato Griento, whom the constables had met while undercover on the Avery Coast Railroad.

The second challenge involved Cavallo de Guerra, the old orc warlord who helped unify the country with Vairday Bruse forty years ago. He had always been a thorn in Shantus’s side, believing that he should have been appointed as Vairday’s successor. Cavallo’s stronghold (Citado Cavallo) was not paying its share for the rail line connecting it to the capital (a different rail line than the one the groups would be working on). The Risuri delegation were tasked with getting Cavallo to agree to cooperate with the capital and pay up. The Danorans were tasked with destabilizing Cavallo’s credibility so he could be removed from power. In order to do this, they had to convince the old warlord to invade the nearby Risuri town of Manhill.

The Bruse seemed very pleased with himself, and exited quickly, saying he was going to do some stargazing. Some hors d’oeuvres were brought out and light chamber music began to play, allowing the crowd to mingle. Cazara went to Glaucia to get her opinion on the Bruse’s decision, but Glaucia was mostly concerned with leaving as fast as possible. She did advise Cazara that, as motivated as her group was to win, it would be unwise to do anything damaging to Ber or its citizens in a misguided attempt at victory. She then made a display of groping the door handle for Pardo’s benefit as she left.

Lya’s bodyguard Rush Munchausen came straight to Alienor and asked her how her “camp out” at the docks had gone. Then, barely waiting for an answer, he asked her whether the trial of Brakken or the attack of the T. Rexes had been more disruptive to the group’s progress, because he had a bet to settle with Merton. Alienor told him that IronPeak had captured one of the feathered tyrants, so it really had been a net profit. Rush was giddy at this. He laughed and openly mocked his co-worker for losing his treasured pets in a failed attack. For his part, Merton was stoic and simply watched the room.

IronPeak ran into Kenna Vigilante at the buffet table. Kenna happily picked through the offerings as IronPeak pressed her for dragon information. The constables had developed a theory that Leone Quital (the “Steelshaper”) might be the dragon Gradiax (“dead” former leader of the Cult of the Steel Lord), and IronPeak was hoping Kenna might have information, or be able to help her find the library so she could do her own research. Kenna clearly enjoyed talking with IronPeak, and (after loading up a plate to take with her) offered to take IronPeak to the library herself and help her with her research. The two headed off together.

Cazara, meanwhile, had turned her attention to Zarkava. Cazara had a hunch that the Vizier was not pleased with the current leadership of Ber. Cazara herself was not pleased with the direction the Bruse was taking the country, and wanted to see if Zarkava could be an ally in her plan to depose the Bruse. The two had a pleasant conversation about the weather and current events, while actually having a telepathic conversation about who would be a good replacement for the Bruse. While Zarkava wouldn’t go so far as to endorse Cazara’s first choice, Cavallo de Guerra, she did seem very receptive to the idea of getting someone else on the throne.

While all that was going on, Summer and Lya Jierre were meeting. Summer had a glamour up to hide her true face, so Lya started in with a diplomatic about how she was seeking a peaceful resolution to the whole thing, and how she thought the Bruse’s game was silly, and what if the two groups colluded to each only win one contest, thus forcing the Bruse and his council to actually make their own decision; Summer’s group could have the Cavallo challenge (since Lya really didn’t want to start a war), and Lya’s group could have the railroad challenge. Summer was not pulled in by Lya’s own false face, and she changed tacks, deciding to intimidate the Tiefling. For just a second, she revealed her true face, the face of Kasvarina Varal, who had helped build everything that Lya now worked for. Lya recognized her, called her a soulless bitch, and stomped out, triggering the chain element on her sword over and over. There would be no deal, nor any pretense of civility.

A clerk came by and informed both groups that the Bruse had provided cottages for their convenience, together with a trio of guards for each group, to make sure they did not leave the grounds before sunrise.

IronPeak and Kenna talked half the night away, going over the many dragons of Ber’s past. There was nothing conclusive that linked Gradiax to Quital, but there was no actual evidence of Gradiax’s death, either; he had simply stopped being an active influence over his subjects, and so his death had been inferred. Kenna gave IronPeak a tip: she warned of the dragon Cheshimox, a white dragon from Drakr who had emigrated to Ber centuries ago, bringing an enchanted chunk of glacier with him. He had killed an entire tribe of lizardoflk and then reanimated them to be his undead followers in his unnaturally cold realm in the midst of a tropical badland. She warned IronPeak that the rail line her group had been assigned would run uncomfortably close to Cheshimox’s old realm, and while the dragon himself had been dead for at least 200 years, his servants had made a few raids in the area as recently as ten years ago. Kenna eventually had to take her leave, but she invited IronPeak to accompany her on her morning run. IronPeak agreed, as long as it could be delayed until after sun-up, since she didn’t want to break the Bruse’s rules. Kenna agreed and left IronPeak to her books.