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Message: <blockquote data-quote="LordVyreth" data-source="post: 1627879" data-attributes="member: 9626">TieThe heroes returned with a sullen but cooperative Zuriden, and were welcomed upon their return.  Lavaldur in particular was overjoyed to see his son safe, and gladly paid the party the money he agreed to give them.  While Tal spent some time reminiscing with his relatives, Tsine went to visit Joddark and introduce him to Tebryn and Galeron, and then explain to them what they learned so far.  Meanwhile, Fnipper and Robin went to retrieve their friends Fenthrip and Dane, so they can meet with Facetous and hopefully get permission to leave the city.  Surprisingly, Fenthrip was still bedridden.  “They said I’ll be okay pretty soon, but I can’t even stand up without getting sick.  If it’s okay with you, I think I’ll just wait here until you’re ready to leave.”    Dane, however, had an even stranger tale to tell.  “It was amazing.  While I was unconscious, I had a strange vision.  I imagined myself flying on glittering red wings, and sharing my mind with the collective wisdom of millennia.  I always thought Tal was little freaky, but I finally understand what he’s been doing to himself.  If you don’t mind, I think I’d like to spend some time here, to try to understand what I must do.”    Robin looked shocked.  “But why not come with us and learn as we adventure, like Tal?  We need your help to defeat Bas.”    Dane shook his head.  “I’ll be there for the final battle, don’t worry.  But I need to take some time and plan for my future first.”    And so Robin and Fnipper left, alone.  As they left, Robin was devastated at losing another friend, even if it was peacefully and hopefully not permanent.  But Fnipper was more thoughtful than anything.  Didn’t Tal once mention a half-dragon with glittering red scales?    The party regrouped and went to meet with Facetous.  He looked at them proudly.  “I have heard of your heroism and bravery, and I believe you to be worthy heroes.  Very well.  Since Joddark’s “friend” insists that you will be of utmost importance back at your home.  I will allow you to leave.  But there is once condition.”  He leaned very close to the group.  “I want you all to swear an oath to whatever goddess you worship that you will never, EVER speak of this place to outsiders.  Do you hear me?”    They all nodded their assent, but Tal, who had been talking to Fnipper on his way here, had a question.  “Actually, there is one person I met you might be interested in.  He was a half-dragon, with ruby red scales.”    This gave even Facetous pause.  “What?  How is that possible?  My son died over a thousand years ago.”    “Yes, but this man claimed that he died when falling onto some ancient bones, and became a half-dragon when he was raised.  Maybe these bones are tied to your son?”    Facetous thought for a long time, before finally saying, “Very well.  If you see this man, you may send him here.  But make sure no one else hears you, and only tell him as much as he must here.  Now, if that is all, you should leave as soon as you can.”    However, Tal, being ever inquisitive, felt a strong urge to ask one more question.  “Is there nothing else on this continent?  Just this city and a few primitive tribes?”    Facetous nodded.  “Essentially, yes.  Well, and the blue man…”    “The blue man?”    “Yes, he’s a strange man that lives at the base of a nearby mountain.  He looks like a normal human, except for a slightly blue-tinted hue to his skin, and he wears only simple clothing, but doesn’t look like he is suffering from the cold at all.  He says that he is guarding someone called ‘TIE,’ who the man claims is his master.  However, when some of my followers see him, he always says that this master is not available at the moment, and to come back later.  He doesn’t even respond to threats, and any amount of force just makes him vanish, only to return an hour or so later.”    At the words “TIE,” a powerful headache built up in Tal, Tsine, Galeron, and Robin’s heads.  Tsine suddenly remembered that the word TIE was also used in the writings of Wee Jas, back in Delaspie’s library’s hidden passages.  He also realized that…    “We must go meet this man,” Galeron suddenly said, finishing Tsine’s thought.  This came as a surprise to all of them, including Galeron, who hadn’t heard the full story of Delaspie yet.    But the other three nodded immediately.  This, like perhaps Delaspie itself, is a clue to their shared memory and the nature of Lady Memory.  Tebryn looked around confused, and Fnipper shrugged.  “This isn’t the first time they’ve done this, but it was profitable this time, so I’m inclined to go along with it.”      Tebryn sighed and mentally resigned himself to going with.  After all, he had nowhere else to go, but this was already very aggravating to him.  He felt like a mere spectator to this strange puzzle.  Well, maybe this TIE, whoever it was, could give him some answers as well.    The party left the next day, minus Dane and Fenthrip, and began a three-day trek through the mountains.  However, before they left, Galeron had a request for Tsine.  “I’m starting to worry about my friend and trusted cohort, Thorrun.  He is a worshipper of Bha-Ael, like myself, and I believe he could be a boon to our group.”      Tsine agreed, and they were gone and back again in a matter of minutes.  Now, they were accompanied by a short but stout dwarf, who wore the same priestly garments and symbols of Galeron.  After a brief introduction, he was ready to join the group on their journey.    The next three days were harrowing, but except for the general danger of the mountain journey, it was fairly safe.  The only exception were a pair of brief fights, once against bulky humanoids made of ice, and the second time against dragons again made of ice.  But they were both very easy foes, and were dispatched in a matter of moments.  But Tsine was nervous.  It was as if something was testing them…    Meanwhile, another story began over a thousand years ago.  In a noble and heroic kingdom that once was at this exact same spot long ago before the dark moons, Grockith lived.  He was a hero of the time, and himself was a half-dragon.  He was a holy knight for his god, a paladine (as it was spelled at the time,) of the highest order, and struck fear in the hearts of his enemies with a rhinoceros steed.  However, shortly after the problems began as the two evil beings rose to power, he decided to go on a quest to learn how to stop them.  He soon found himself speaking to a plain-looking man, much like the one the party was going to meet, and who told him that TIE would meet with him, but soon, and that he could wait here until it was time.  He then waited a little while, until he was instructed that it was time to pass the first test now that he had some new allies that could help him actually succeed.  He was teleported out to begin the test, unaware that TIE was having a little fun with him, and that he had been waiting for over a thousand years!  Though he had some idea when he noticed how cold and dark it was.    Meanwhile, the party had reached the mountain, where the blue-hued man was waiting for him.  He looked them over, and spoke to them, “My master is in fact ready to speak to you.  However, before you can meet TIE,” which caused everyone to suffer more headaches, “You must pass a number of tests.  The first one is simple: you must defeat me.  Do not worry, I have been instructed not to threaten your lives, though some of the later tests will be dangerous.  Also, before we begin, you must meet one last ally, who has been waiting here for a long time to receive the help he needed to pass the tests himself.”    With that, Grockith and his mount appeared out of thin air, and after some initial confusion, both groups realized the other was here to help.  With that, the test began!      Robin started with a volley of arrows, but the man was far more dexterous than he appeared, and his skin was like iron.  Thorrun began to prepare defensive magic, while Tsine and Tal hurled more offensive spells at him.  However, before the fight started, Tsine noticed that the man’s skin turned from blue to red, and realized that this might mean he developed a resistance to fire.  He switched over to his less powerful lightning magic, which nonetheless had a powerful effect.  Strangely, though, the man didn’t bleed when injured.  Instead, where he was wounded, his body began to turn blurry and indistinct.    The more combat-related members of the party didn’t have the time to worry about such things, however, and Fnipper, Grockith, and Galeron charged the man.  However, only Grockith and Fnipper could even reach him before he disappeared.  Fnipper noticed before the man vanished that even though he was able to stab the strange creature, he didn’t find any actual organs inside!    The party wandered around confused for a moment, before a red ball suddenly landed among them, and exploded in a blast of incredibly painful fire, which somehow left no serious injuries on any of them!  The guardian was standing on the mountain, and it looked like he was invisible!  Tal quickly sent his familiar, a pseudodragon named Violet known for her ability to see invisible creatures, up to find him, and then saw through her eyes to continue firing at him.  He was rewarded by another blast of subduing flames, and then a volley of energy missiles which had an equally painful effect.  Oddly, he saw through Violet’s eyes that the man was creating these effects out of strange metal tubes that emerged out of nowhere from his body!    By now, Thorrun finished a spell that let some of the party see invisible creatures, and Robin joined in the distance attack with his bow, while Tebryn tried to dispel the magical effects on his foe.  Surprisingly, nothing happened, as if all the strange powers the man had weren’t even magical!  They were in for another surprise when the man realized this attack was failing, and teleported in front of Grockith.  Instantly, he set upon the surprised warrior with a pair of blades, and attacked the poor paladine a half/dozen times in a matter of moments.  Before he even knew what was happening, the unfortunate warrior was reduced from perfect health to being barely able to stand!  Fortunately, the attacks once again were painful and disorientating, but not deadly.      Now that he was again among the party, the strange man was soon set upon by a half-dozen trained warriors.  Between the party’s many spells and attacks, he soon was defeated, but even this was a strange effect.  He didn’t so much die as completely disintegrate.  Fnipper thought he saw a strange shimmer where the man once stood, but before he could warn the others, the shimmer was gone.  No sooner did the man “die,” than the path opened for the party.  In fact, the entire mountain rumbled as it partially split open, leaving a dark tunnel!  Cautiously, the party entered, ready for their next test.    OOC Notes:  Lots of stuff for this update.  Grockith is a new player, though a short-lived one.  He was mostly there to replace Dane’s player, who had to leave the group for time reasons.  And yes, he did pronounce it “paladine,” and we never really learned why.  We soon learned that wasn’t the only odd variant he brought to paladins, either.    TIE is a major figure in both this campaign and my other ideas.  It also was the cause of one of the major running jokes of the campaign.  Whenever the name was used from this point on, at least one person would hold his or her head in mock pain, much like the characters suffered the first few times they heard the name in this game.    The guardian was actually a NAHULI, a creature of my own creation.  Essentially, it’s a person made of a swarm of advanced nanomachines, which let him change his body into almost any shape, letting him changes his abilities and defenses on a round by round basis.  It was a pretty good fight, despite the non-lethal nature of it.</blockquote>

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