For the Love of Tomeri...(23June2004)

[simmo]

We Interrupt This Adventure to bring you the following scholarly excerpt by the noted sage Littleby Cakebeard

[Note: this chapter was written by Crater, who plays Littleby Cakebeard]

Chapter 1 - Great Dwarven Wizards

Not generally renown for their affinity with Magic of The Arcane Variety, it is a little known fact, dear reader, that many Wizards of Great Power and Prestige were, in fact, Dwarves.

Due to the stigma surrounding Magic of The Arcane Variety within Dwarven communities, a would-be Dwarven Wizard often finds it appropriate to maintain a Certain Level of Discretion regarding his studies.

A Dwarven Wizard, therefore, can sometimes be seen to lead Two Lives, one in which he is a Respectful, Loyal and Hard-Working Member of his Clan, and one in which he is a Legendary Arcane Spellcaster of Epic Power, usually in the guise of a Human, or Elf, or some such race more commonly associated with such curious personages.

It would be unethical to name names, but where do you suppose such rare and potent spells as Mordenkainen's Marvellous Mineshaft came from? And who do you suppose invented the first Hewards Handy Pillow-Full-O-Gravel?

And why do you suppose it is traditional for all the Greatest and Most Powerful Wizards to wear Beards?

It is a truth as old as Moradin's Mumbling Uncle, and as such I ask you dear reader, keep it secret, keep it safe.

 

[simmo]

We Interrupt This Adventure for more of Serena's visions:

Eveything that has an ending

"My daughter". A field full of small yellow flowers, children run all around playing and having fun. Serena looks around for the source of the voice, but cannot find it. The children begin to sing a beautiful and simple melody, the song is called 'For the Love of Tomeri'. The words are simple, but the heart cannot help but be moved by them. The air is full of the smell of blooming flowers as well as the sounds of children singing and laughing.

"My daughter". Suddenly the sky darkens and a vast shadow blocks out the light. Serena can still hear the children laughing and singing. There is no fear in their voices, only innocence and acceptance. Zakar growls and then begins to howl in a primal rage of anger and longing.

"Be strong my daughter". The darkness is complete and the solitary voice of hope disappears. When Serena can see again, the flowers all lie dead. There are no children and their songs are now a distant memory. Zakar is kneeling on the ground, his large body shaping with grief.

Also has a beginning

"Hello Serena". It's Nyon. There are not enough curses in the Multiverse to heap on his hated head. God of Fate and Prophecy. Bah! The feeling of loneliness is overwhelming. The Garden feels very far removed and Zakar is too far gone in to his grief to take any notice of the world around him.

"I'm sorry." Nyon. Why won't he shut up and go away. Serena tries to envisage what it might be like to kill him on the spot and realises that she can do so. Will it avenge Ejelka, Roxanne or Inlia? Will it bring back the field of flowers? Few have ever felt so alone in the Multiverse and the grief is enough to move all of the archons on Mount Celestia to tears. And all he can say is "I'm sorry."

Well, that's not enough. There may be little fairness or justice in the Multiverse, but they will be seen here. The power has always been there, but it has lain dormant until now. The waters on the lake stir, begin to boil and a monstrosity rises from its depths. Serena gazes upon the creature realising what it is and she does not look away. 'I am for me', she thinks. 'This is what is and now is the time'. She turns back the god of Fate and prepares to strike.

"I can make it all OK again," he says and the Multiverse spins away, sanity taking flight in search of the last refuge.

 

[simmo]

We Interrupt This Adventure to bring you the following scholarly excerpt by the noted sage Littleby Cakebeard

[Note: this chapter was written by Crater, who plays Littleby Cakebeard]

Chapter 2 - The Elements According to Grumbar

The number of The Elements are 4. They can be arranged in a square, where Gold faces Time, and Earth faces Air, Fire and Water, which are one, collectively known as the Forging Elements.


Time, as is written in the Third Great Tablet of Grumbar, is the elemental opposite of Gold;

You dont find it, you must make it.

It doesn't lie there waiting for you to stumble along and dig it up, you must seize it.

Times may change, but Gold always stays the same.

Time is best when spent, while Gold is best when saved.


The Forging Elements, as is written in the Fourth Great Tablet of Grumbar, are known as such because they are used to forge metal, which is considered Earth.

They are also useful in the creation of Pottery, if one is so inclined, but otherwise serve little purpose.


The Tablets of Grumbar detail no Para or Quasi-Elemental Planes, as all things should be described in their simplest forms. This law of primacy is known as Boccob’s Razor, after the great Dwarven Wizard who proved scientifically that 4 was infact the Original Primal Number of Creation.

Boccob’s findings still influence marital arrangements in many Dwarven societies.

 

[crater]

Unfortunately for him there may be some lasting consequences of trying to force his consciousness in to the mind of a modron. One side effect will be random moments of extreme lawfulness

Or extreme chaos, with the Modrons recent behaviour in mind? I'm easy either way.

Good work with the storyhour Simson!

 

[simmo]

Or extreme chaos, with the Modrons recent behaviour in mind? I'm easy either way. Good work with the storyhour Simson!

Thanks! The characters have some ideas about why the modrons are marching, but have no concrete proof. See: Part 10 'Reflections of a Shattered Mirror', chapter 2 'Multiple Pants of Demogorgon' for their theories

The story hour is fairly up to date and by the end of this weekend when I've posted parts 14,15 and 16 it will be completely up to date. It's possible that the characters will discover the whole truth about why the modrons are marching - but that will have to wait for another day.

Littleby should be joining the group again on Monday night and I'll leave it up to his player to decide if trying to magic jar the modrons has any lasting effects. Perhaps acting very chaotically is his body's way of dealing with the experience...

 

[simmo]

Part 14 Voyage of the Princess Profiteer

chapter 1 All Aboard

The Profiteer hung in the sky above the hills surrounding the colourful port city of Haven. The steel plates welded on to the sides reflecting the sun as it slipped below the horizon. Black smoke drifted down lazily and a rhythmic pumping sound could be heard coming from the vessel. The large crystal sphere at the from of the ship caught the light and scattered it over the incandescent sails.

“If you stand a little closer," Pic told the others once everyone had joined them. "Then we can all go up together.”

“How?” asked Serena, curious to know how they were going to get up to the ship so high in the sky.

“A short dimensional jump, nothing serious.” Pic stated as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.

“Intriguing.” Malkir felt a familiar urge to be standing on the deck of a flying ship, but he could not remember ever having done so.

The broad-shouldered goblin held up his crystal contraption and adjusted some of the tiny wheels and levers. Coloured lights shone outwards illuminating his flat face. The others looked up to see a small shower of silver sparkling lights descending from just a few feet above them. A strange tingling was experienced as well as a brief moment of pain and the silver pinpricks of light simply passed through their bodies.

When companions could see again they found themselves standing on round metal plates on the deck of the ship. Crew members dressed in blue and purple uniforms rushed around them getting the ship ready for it's voyage. Men and women, goblins and dwarves were each busy with their own tasks and despite the initial impression of chaos patterns of order could be discerned.

A tall handsome man wearing a blue uniform with a brass backpack that had tubes and valves coming out of it strode over to the companions. He walked with a leisurely pace, but managed to get across the ship in only a few strides. His straw blonde hair was tied with a black ribbon and he carried a three-pointed hat under his arm. A long thin scabbard banged against his leg and on his other hip he had a short metal tube with a wooden handle.

“No I am not Captain Malkir, though I do look like him.” Malkir said quickly before the tall man had a chance to open his mouth. The mystic was glad that they had not arrived on the ship inside the brig and wanted to set the record straight from the start.

“Yes, Pic has informed me." The man bowed slightly and studied each of the new arrivals in turn. "I am Captain Koff Jameson of the Profiteer and on behalf of the crew I'd like to welcome you aboard. I know that you are not Captain Malkir but Pic has explained somewhat. Perhaps we can discuss this as we travel.”

“Yes." Malkir was unsure of how much the goblin had told his Captain about the Convergence and how he'd received the news. "You are planning to go to the Outlands directly now are you? That rather handily takes us closer to our goal and I'm sure that Caleb can find his own way there.”

“This is Clavun my cosmologist” The Captain pointed to a bladeling with pouches who bowed deeply. The creature was humanoid in shape and had short metal spikes that covered all of his visible body. The bladeling had a variety of implements and gadgets attached to his belt including what Littleby recognised as a miniature etheroscope.

“This is Skinner, the healer on board this ship." The Captain indicated to an elderly dwarf. "You've met Pic, who is in charge of mechanika. The rest of the crew you'll meet as we travel. And your names would be?”

“I am Serena Allman,” the seer made a small curtsy.

“Littleby Cakebeard,” the dwarven scholar nodded to the Captain and his senior officers.

“Malkir,” the mystic decided against adding Captain to his name.

“Andrew Rimilia,” as soon as Andrew told the Captain his name, he could see that the Captain had already forgotten it.

“It's a pleasure to meet you all and welcome aboard." The Captain led his new guests to the Captain's quarters where he bid them to make themselves feel welcome. "We have enough fuel to make the jump to the Outlands. Once we are there we plan to set down, refuel. We can travel some distance, but the ship does need repairs.”

“This is fascinating." The dwarven scholar had been absorbed in studying a miniature replica of the ship inside a bottle. "You have a ship which can cross dimensions. Does it create a portal?”

“Pic is the expert on this, but it does not exactly create a portal. It..." He paused looking around for his mechanika expert. "Pic, what's the best way to explain it?”

“Well you see, it's like this." The goblin produced a sheet of parchment that had formulae in blue writing as well as arcane symbols. "The ship's engines create a bubble of reality around the ship, which harmonises to the plane that we wish to travel to.”

“Ah.” The dwarven scholar nodded his head and studied the diagrams intently. There were a few bits and pieces here and there that he recognised from an ancient book he'd been reading.

“By consuming items with magical charge that fuel the bubble." Pic decided not to go in to detail about how they'd acquired the items exemplifying neutrality. "The ship's bubble then becomes more like the plane that we are travelling to and less like the plane that we are currently in. Hence the ship slides between planes. However, this means that we have to be careful about the items aboard ship in general. You don't have items with strong resonance to particular planes?”

“Perhaps it would be better if I stepped out for the duration of the trip” Serena said, thinking about her Garden.

“But then you would not travel with us,” the goblin replied somewhat confused.

“Ah," the mystic commented. "But actually she would.”

“What is the likely effect of such an item being aboard ship?” Littleby asked curious to find out more details about the ship's inner workings.

“Well, we could compensate for it and adjust the engines." Pic rolled up his scroll and took out a small thin slab of granite with some tiny symbols carved in to it. His fingers danced over the runes and they glowed briefly as his long fingers passed over them. "But if the item has strong resonance then this would complicate matters.”

“How about something that..." Serena was unsure of how to phrase her question and then changed her mind about asking it. "Yes, I think that I'd best step out.”

“What item are you referring to?” The goblin asked, curious to find out more.

Serena showed him the silver locket in the shape of a beautiful womanly figure with wings, inside the locket was a green gem stone.

“Can I take it?” Pic asked reaching out towards it.

“No!” The seer said loudly as she snatched the locket away.

“Can I take readings of it?” The goblin asked, realising that he'd over stepped some unknown boundary. He held up his crystal to examine the Garden. The crystals pulsed with inner lights and green gem-stone flashed in reply. “Ah, interesting.”

The mechanika expert walked over to the bladeling and discussed his findings. They muttered about it not being anchored and possibly a seed of some kind. When the bladeling nodded his head to indicate that all was well, the goblin came back. “That should be fine. It's not a problem. It is not attuned to any particular plane.”

“These items, do they have to be physically fed in to the engines?” Littleby was hoping to find out more about the inner working of the flying vessel.

“Yes.” Pic answered, unsure about how much he was permitted to say.

“Just checking,” Littleby replied and he turned to study the miniature ship inside the bottle again. He could detect a faint aura of alteration magic seeping off it, as well as abjuration.

“Ah, must make some minor adjustments." Pic said suddenly, realising that he'd forgotten something. "That should not be a problem. Excellent." He tapped the stone tablet again in many places and it glowed in response. "Only two to make adjustments for.”

“Am I being adjusted for?” The dwarven scholar asked curiously.

“Yes, somewhat.” Pic finished his calculations and put his magical and mechanical gadgets away.

“Can I ask..” Serena began, but was interrupted before she could finish her question.

“What specifically?” Littleby asked.

“Uh, energies” The goblin replied vaguely. “I could show you the formulae but... Captain are we allowed to tell them?”

“Normally I'd say yes, because of Captain Malkir." The Captain looked somewhat troubled. "But it's not Captain Malkir.”

“Please don't make any judgements on the basis of who I was.” Malkir stated, aware now of what had been bothering the Captain since they'd come aboard ship.

“That's OK." Captain Jameson smiled and a small jet of steam escaped from his strange brass backpack. "Unfortunately we cannot divulge these formulae as they are important for the defence of the realm.”

“Quite understandable. Quite Understandable.” The dwarven scholar said nodding his head. The Captain led the others out on to the deck as the ship began to move.

As they walked on to the deck, Malkir noticed a tall pale man standing in the crow's nest who had a large black sword strapped to his back.

“Who is that man?” The mystic asked.

“He claims that he is on a quest for his people and we've decided not to interfere." The Captain shrugged dismissing the strange traveller. "Best to leave him alone.”

Serena, Malkir and Andrew remained above deck, keeping out of the way of the sailors and enjoying the magnificent view of the land below them. Littleby tagged along after the goblin and engaged him in conversation. The two climber down a ladder in to the bowels of the ship where there were many more humans and goblins at work.

As the dwarven scholar walked through the narrow passages inside the ship he could hear snippets of conversation. He did not recognise some of the slang that the crew were using, such as 'steamo' and 'jackhead'. But other phrases such as 'band out of order' and 'almost got away with that one' were ones that he was a little more familiar with.

Littleby asked Pic about some of the instruments that they passed along the way and the dwarven scholar began to recognise the names as ones he'd read in a book. When the dwarven scholar mentioned the words 'necrotech' and 'negation' it was as if he'd said a code-word of some kind. Suddenly the goblin was a lot more forthcoming with information and even went in to detail about how he'd managed to immobilise a Helljack and take it apart.

“Where did you find one of those?” Littleby asked, enthralled by Pic's stories.

“Well, in my homeland.” The goblin stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“And that is called what exactly?” Littleby knew that the question would highlight his ignorance on this topic but wanted to find out where the goblin an this ship came from.

“Cygnar in the Iron Kingdoms, of course." The goblin pointed to an insignia on his blue uniform. "How do you know about this stuff?” Pic had never met anyone from outside the Iron Kingdoms who knew so much about mechanika, especially necrotech. The goblin had studied it a little and had been reprimanded several times by his Captain for tampering with it. However, the dwarven scholar who'd just come aboard was a well-spring of knowledge about Negation and Pic was fully intent on learning as much as he could.

As the two sat in the bowels of the ship discussing arcana, mechanika and Negation - elsewhere in the ship the engines were being stoked. One of the crew carefully pulled out some amber spheres that had butterflies of various colours trapped inside and fed them in to the furnace.

The companions standing on the deck of the ship could see that the air around the ship was changing. A transparent sphere formed around the flying vessel and began to steam up with appeared to be condensation. Unable to see the sky above them or land below them, everyone aboard ship could feel as if the vessel was sliding sideways. There was a sudden burst of light that penetrated the entire vessel and everyone aboard and the ship began it's jump.

 

[simmo]

chapter 2 Engine Trouble

"Pic, what is going on?" The goblin could hear his Captain shouting through the metal communication tubes.

"We're having some trouble down here Captain." The goblin jumped up and raced through the narrow passages of the ship towards the main engine room.

"Get us to the Outlands now." The Captain ordered.

"But Captain, the engines are having real trouble." Pic slowed himself as he raced in to the engine room by running straight in to another goblin. He grabbed hold of a communication tube and shouted orders in to it as he scanned the dials and gauges on the engine.

"Don't say it Pic." Littleby muttered under his breath. "Don't say it."

The ship became a hive of activity with sailors racing around the vessel. Orders were shouted and quickly carried out. The engine room was full of goblins and humans working frantically on keeping the ship in one piece, as the magical vortex inside the engine threatened to spin out of control.

"Is there anything that I can do?" The dwarven scholar asked as Pic frantically turned a lever.

"Yes, is there a deity that you worship. What's it called?" The goblin spent a moment getting his breath back and caught a spanner thrown to him by another goblin. "Ah, Moradin. Pray to him for salvation." He patted the dwarf on the back and then began hammering on a pipe.

The ship shuddered and the sounds of wood breaking and metal tearing could be heard. Malkir sat down on an empty portion of the deck to meditate and Serena grasped her locket preparing to enter the Garden if all went wrong.

"What's going on down there?" The Captain shouted through the communication tube. "What just happened?"

"Captain," Pic shouted back, trying to make a joke. "She cannot take much more Moradin's.." He did not get the chance to finish his sentence with 'blessings'. The ship gave a final lurch, as if it had crested the top of a waterfall and then the planar slide was completed.

As the flashes of silver light faded the crew of the ship could see that the vessel was on the Outlands. Far below them was a large lake with many small settlements nearby. The Spire was some distance away and directly below them was a large village with many standing stones. Off to the side of the village was another some distance away with many colourful tents of merchants camped outside. In the other direction was the ruins of a city which the jungle had reclaimed.

Malkir could see over the side of the ship a familiar river of metal and flesh marching through the large village of plinths. The modrons poured through the gate on to the Outlands and continued their ceaseless march through the village and in the direction of the ruined city. The mystic felt the wind rushing past his face and realised that it was coming from below. The Profiteer was plummeting out of the sky.

Malkir had a strange sense of deja vu and saw his dwarven companion clambering on to deck. "So then Littleby, any spare fly spells?"

"Pic," The Captain shouted. "Do something!"

"Talk to Skinner," the tired voice came back through the communication tube. "He's the miracle worker."

"Littleby," The mystic repeated his question, hoping that his friend had a way to save them from falling to their deaths. "Anything at all?"

"Uh, what would you like to look like when you go?" The dwarven scholar did not laugh for long when he saw Malkir's serious expression.

"Clavun, what's causing this?" The Captain intercepted the bladeling cosmologist as he strode across the deck of the falling ship. "How do we slow our descent?"

"We are in a ring of the Outlands in which the enchantments needed to keep this vessel flying do not function." The cosmologist summed up their predicament in a single sentence. He spoke in a calm and emotionless voice, almost as if their current situation was a puzzle to be solved.

"Well, do something about it!" The Captain commanded as he sought desperately to save his ship.

"Dammit Captain." The bladeling replied, showing emotion for the first time. "I'm a cosmologist, not a jackhead."

Ltments in his mind. He would be able to give someone wings, perhaps shield another with a bubble of force and he dismissed the idea of giving someone else the power of moving through the ground. By the time they hit the Outlands they wouldn't stand a chance of survival.

The crew were busy trying to get the sails under control. Here and there splashes of colours filled the white sails, like droplets of rain on the surface of a pond. But the ripples died quickly and the ship continued to plummet out of the sky.

"Captain,” Pic stuck his head through a hatch to address his commander directly. “We need something to feed the engine. The items we placed inside are too powerful and it's tearing her apart. We need something less powerful that we can increase in strength over time."

"Does raw spell energy work?" Littleby asked, having leapt on to an idea for saving the ship.

"We've never tried it.” The goblin tried to scratch his head, but realised that he was still holding a spanner. After he'd recovered from almost knocking himself out and thinking the idea briefly over he said: “It might just work."

"What is your best guess?" The dwarven scholar asked as he climbed down after the mechanika expert in to the bowels of the ship.

"There is a sixty to forty chance that it will not work." The goblin replied having picked some numbers out of the air at random. He had no idea if it would work or not, but he was getting very desperate.

"Let's go for it. That's pretty good odds." Littleby and Pic ran through the ship as fast as their short legs would carry them and arrived in the engine room. "Is there any particular school of magic that you would not recommend?"

"Probably not Negation. The engines would not take that too well." As soon as Pic said it, he realised that this was what the dwarven scholar had in mind.

"Oh," Littleby replied, his plan dashed to pieces.

"Is that what you had in mind?" Pic asked, knowing what the answer would be. He He pulled out a key from under his vest, unlocked an old chest and began pulling out pieces of metal and bone that had been fused together. It gave off a horrible smell of blood and metal.

"No, no.” Littleby said looking at the items with interest. “Of course not."

"I have some necrotech modifications that we can add in, but the Captain has been against me tampering with it so far.” The goblin shrugged his broad shoulders. “Still in a situation like this we need all the help we can get."

"You're the engineer. You call it." Littleby said, having chosen the enchantment that he would use.

"OK, let's do it.” Pic held out his hand. “We'll use Negation."

"Negation." Littleby shook his hand and then walked over to stand by the large engine.

"If the Captain want a miracle, then we'll give him one." Pic whispered a quick prayer to the machine goddess and started work.

The dwarven scholar placed his hands on the metal sides of the hot engine and could feel the raw magical energy moving inside, spinning around in an effort to keep the ship aloft. He slowly spoke the words of the enchantment in the language of Negation and drew the arcane force in to his body to feed in to the vortex.

Littleby felt as if he was standing on a black shale beach with huge waves crashing down on him. The waves of negative force battered his frame and he fought hard to control them. Slowly but surely he fed in some of the arcane force and he could feel his control begin to slip.

Pic watched in awe as the dwarven scholar channelled the raw energy of Negation in to the vortex inside the engine. Remembering that he was supposed to help he quickly set to work adding some of the parts scavenged from the Helljack to the furnace feeding the engine. The goblin chose parts and added them to the engine using his intuition rather than logic. He chose pieces that 'felt' right and his years of experience as an engineer allowed him to aid the dwarven scholar in a way that his mind did not comprehend.

Serena, Malkir and Andrew who were holding on for dear life on deck could feel the ship begin to tear apart as it fell closer and closer to the ground. A ghastly screech of metal and steam escaped from the bowels of the vessel that almost sounded as if the Profiteer herself was screaming in agony. As the ground rushed ever closer birds and animals could be made out and the tops of the trees were not far away.

Suddenly the sails blossomed with colours and billowed outwards. The whole ship lurched forward and great vents of steam escape from beneath the ship. The banging coming from the engine had changed and sounded more like it did in Elysium, but there was a sinister undertone to the sounds that it now produced.

Just as the ship was about to hit the tree tops, Captain Jameson managed to level out the ship and it flattened the tops of several tall elms as it pulled out of its dive. It continued to fly level with the ground, although it was travelling at incredible speed. The Captain slowed the ship and was relieved to still be able to see the Spire behind him.

A great cheer went up from the crew, with many of them hugging their colleagues with joy at having survived the fall. The ship was brought around and began its descent towards Ecstasy, gate-town to Elysium, that was currently witness to the end of the modron march passing down it's streets. Behind the march were a few wagons and caravns, as well as a crowd of people who followed the modrons out of town.

"We need to put down as soon as we can," Pic shouted through the tubes.

"Well done Pic," Littleby said. Every part of his body ached and he knew that he would never quite be the same again.

"Hmm. That's really changed things.” Pic said as he looked over the modified engine. Gone were the smooth brass-coloured pipes and clean shining exterior. Instead pieces of metal and bone now protruded from the metal sphere, making it look like a magical experiment gone horribly wrong. “We may have to ask you help to get the ship flying again. Best to tell the Captain to put down outside of Ecstasy."

"Captain Malkir, it's been an absolute pleasure to fly with you again." Captain Jameson shook the mystic's hand as they set down at the outskirts of town.

"Something like that yes.” The mystic replied, but he was not smiling. “Nearly plummeting out of the sky and crashing is not particularly what I would call pleasure. But I get your sentiment."

"Well we made it and that is the main thing." The Captain gave him a friendly pat on the back and turned to see his first officer walk over.

"Captain it will take approximately four days to make repairs," the bladeling stated.

"Littleby," Pic said "Is there some place that we can contact you in Sigil?"

"Yes at the City Barracks," the dwarven scholar informed him.

"Who should I ask for at the City Barracks?" Pic asked. He'd never been to Sigil and was unsure of where the City Barracks were or how easy they might be to find.

"Ask for me." Littleby replied simply.

"You are always available at the City Barracks?" Pic asked, somewhat confused.

"No, but I can be contacted there." The dwarven scholar made a mental note to let Arianna Redstrike know that there might be a goblin coming by asking for him.

"OK, farewell then.” The companions climbed down a rope lander on to the ground. There was not enough energy in engine for any short dimensional jumps and Pic was reluctant to test it with the recent changes to the engine. “We'll contact you via the City Barracks. There may need to be some changes made to the engines and hence the reason we'll need to contact you."

"Well, good luck." Littleby waved as they set off towards town.

"Thank you," Pic replied, waving at the man who'd saved the Princess Profiteer.

 

[simmo]

chapter 3 A Knight In Need

The quiet village of Ecstasy had fared much better than Haven with regards to the modrons passing through. Not a single plinth or standing stone had been overturned and only a few trees had been flattened.

The residents of the large village walked calmly and quietly through the tree-lined avenues pondering on the mysteries of the Multiverse and exchanging pleasantries with their neighbours. Several of them smiled or nodded their heads in greeting as Serena and her friends entered the village. The companions found a nearby inn called Benn Crouch and they ordered some drinks.

"Greetings, I am Sir Vamish Crasad.” A well-built man wearing ornate plate-mail approached the table. His hair was grey at the edges and he had a long, flowing moustache. The knight walked with a confident step and spoke in a friendly and open manner. After he'd been introduced to the companions, the knight began to explain his quest.

“There is an order of malevolent knights that carries out raids across the Outlands.” Sir Vamish stroked his moustache with his hand as he told his story. “These so called knights has been raiding the Outlands for some time in the region of the Lower planar gate towns. However, the Anahkarim have begun to expand their area of interest and have approached several towns that lead to the Upper Planes.” The knight looked over the people seated at the table and hoped that they might be able to help in his quest. His men had ridden out of Excelsior to guard the modrons along the Outlands and having lost a number of good friends, he was forced to hire guards along the way. “We are hunting them at the moment to thwart their activities. We have agents in their ranks to warn us of the next attack."

"These knights,” The mystic began. “They ride at night and are dressed in black. They are accompanied by yeth hounds."

"You know of these knights?" Sir Vamish asked, both surprised and impressed.

"We've seen them," Andrew stated. The knights had ridden past when he was on watch on the journey back from Curst and he was not too keen to run in to them again.

"They carry an insignia like a purple flower," Serena added.

"That fits the description of the Anakharim." Sir Vamish was overjoyed to hear that they'd encountered the knights before. The last group that he'd hired had run off as soon as they'd heard the yeth hounds. Perhaps Bahamut had finally sent him some worthy guards to help him in his quest. He smiled inwardly, knowing that Lady Toujin might be jealous when he told her that he'd found suitable stand-in knights.

"We have seen them the last time that we were in the Outlands," Serena said.

"Where exactly was this?" Sir Vamish asked wanting to find out more. He knew little of the Anakharim and had recently sent out some spies to infiltrate their ranks, including his sister.

"Curst.” Serena spoke the name with distaste, it was almost as if it left a bitter taste in her mouth. “It was near to the gate town called Curst."

"Ah, yes. There have been sightings of them there.” Now that the knight was convinced that these were the people he was looking for, he decided to share with them all of his information. “However, they have also been seen closer to Ecstasy. We expect an attack any day and are currently hiring good people to help to defend the marchers. To make sure that nothing untoward happens. My sister should be reporting to me any time now when the next attack will take place."

"They ride during the day or mostly at night?" Littleby had been studying the knight, trying to figure out what deity he might follow. But he could not figure out what the symbol of a platinum dragon on the knight's shield might represent.

"Mostly at night,” Sir Vamish replied. “But they are known to roam during the day." He remembered the first time that they'd come across a patrol during the day. Unprepared for the fight, his men had reacted slowly and many lives had been lost.

"Anyway, I hope that enjoy your stay in town. If you care to join us then we'd be more than grateful.” Sful and friendly. He liked these people as soon as he'd seen them and prayed to Bahamut that they'd be willing to come along. Still, he knew that it was their choice to make. “You've come in that strange contraption, I see." He said as he pointed to the Profiteer floating in the blue sky some distance from town.

"Yes" Serena replied, less than enthusiastic.

"Will you be returning in it?" He asked, hoping that they would not.

"Unlikely," Serena said.

"Yes,” Malkir agreed. “Definitely unlikely."

"We are looking for a gate back to Sigil." Serena looked at the knight, hoping that he might have some information. He seemed a friendly man and from what he'd told them, his quest sounded noble.

"Yes,” Andrew agreed. “We are definitely looking for a gate back to Sigil."

"I don't know of any too close by.” Sir Vamish realised in his heart that this encounter had been too good to be true and decided to aid them in any case. “However, there might be some further on."

"We are quite keen to get home," the seer stated. She was looking forward to going back to the temple of Tomeri in Sigil as well as staying at 34b Stonecutter's Row.

Sir Vamish stroked his moustache again and tried to remember where he'd heard of portals to the City of Doors. "Well, you could try travelling to Automata."

"I'm not travelling through there again,"the seer replied quietly. She was not too keen on returning to the gate-town to Mechanus after their last encounter. There was also the possibility that they might run in to Jezrene Quickeye, which was not an appealing option.

"And I'm pretty sure that Faunel has a portal which merchants use to move goods without drawing attention to themselves. There are some locals there and a few talking animals but not much else.” The knight took a swig of ale and wiped the foam off his moustache. “Yes, the knights of the post. Is that what they are called? Or is it knights of the cross trade, I can never remember? Sigil slang and all that." He laughed deeply, causing the buckles on his plate mail to jingle.

"Can we not go through the Garden of Trepidation?" Littleby asked, trying to remember how they got back last time.

"No,” Malkir replied. “That leads to Automata."

"Considering the manner in which we left there last time...” Serena reminded the others. “At high speed."

"Oh yes." Malkir recalled the jail break as well and decided against returning to the town in the near future.

"Perhaps if you went to Curst.” Sir Vamish had run out of ideas and only one other option came to mind. “You said that you went there last time. Perhaps there is a portal nearby to the city."

"There is one there.." Serena began.

"Although I would not recommend travelling to that part of the Land." The knight recalled seeing a halfling in town who had lots of maps and was in charge of a caravan. He decided to look for the halfling later in the day and send him to this inn to talk to these friendly travellers.

"How long would it take to get there?" Serena asked.

"Umm, perhaps a couple of weeks." Sir Vamish knew that travelling in the Outlands never took the same amount of time for any journey.

"Exactly." Serena stated pensively.

"Then again travelling to Faunel will probably take a week and the same amount of time to Automata. It really varies with each journey." The knight told them.

"Sweet Tomeri." Serena sighed as she rested her head in her hands.

"Yes,” Malkir said somewhat despondent. “I've become aware of that."

"Let me say Sweet Tomeri again." Serena sighed again and tried to come up with a plan for getting back to the Cage quickly.

 

[simmo]

chapter 4 Beware of Halflings Bearing Gifts

Later on that day as the companions sat enjoying their drinks and food in the Benn Crouch tavern, a large hat drifted towards the table with a thin trail of pipe smoke coming from underneath. The hat was bright and colourful with a large peacock feather tucked in the side. Underneath it was a halfling who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Hello!" The halfling exclaimed as he tipped his large hat back so that the others could see him.

"Hello Deus!" Serena exclaimed in delighted surprise. The petite seer got up and gave the halfling a great big hug. Malkir looked somewhat bemused and not too surprised to see his former travelling companion in town.

"Malkir,” The halfling commented as he shook the mystic's hand. “You look different."

"Yes, I am." The mystic replied, as if that explained everything.

"You would not believe what it is like out here.” Deus began as he climbed on to the bench next to Andrew. “So many things to see, so much to do. I've learned quite a few things and have found out more about my father. There are business opportunities out here that you would not believe. In fact we have a caravan leaving fairly soon."

"Let me make some introductions.” Malkir decided to interrupt his former travelling companion before the halfling got in to the full swing of his story telling. “This is Littleby Cakebeard."

"We've met." The dwarven scholar shook his hand and smiled. When he finished shaking his hand he surreptitiously check to see if he still had all his rings on his fingers. Deus, knowing what necromancers were like, surreptitiously checked that he still had all his fingers.

"And this is..." Malkir began.

"Andrew Rimilia." He said as he shook the halfling's hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet you." Deus studied the non-descript human man and memorised his features for future reference.

"Deus I always knew you as a halfling of good ideas,” Littleby began. “A little abstract of course, but of good ideas." He paused to take a sip of his drink. "Nearest portal to Sigil?" The dwarven scholar asked suddenly.

"You've just missed one. It will not reappear for another week or so." Deus tried to think of any other portals in Ecstasy, but he could not think of any to the City of Doors.

"How do you mean?" Malkir asked. He was certain that portals remained in place.

"It will appear again in ten days time," Deus informed the others.

"Where exactly?" Littleby asked.

"Here in Ecstasy." The halfling had used the portal recently during a brief visit to the Cage where he'd wined and dined with an attractive human woman.

"I thought that portals were permanent." As Malkir said it, he realised that a part of him knew this to be untrue. Thrown off by the sudden revelation, he missed the beginning of Deus's lecture.

"Oh no.” Deus sat up to explain, glad to have a interested audience. “Some portals are only open for a specific duration of time. Some shift at one end and cycle between locations in a regular manner. Some appear for a short duration and then never reappear again. Quite a few portals are only one way."

"There was this very nice woman that I met in Sigil who knew a great deal about portals.” The halfling looked down as if lost in thought, but his large hat conveniently hid his blushing face. “Always carried a book with her and was very touchy about people complimenting her looks. She prefers people to appreciate her for what she knows. I got a chance to appreciate her keen mind, oh yes. I certainly did some appreciating." He laughed and remembered the magical evening they'd spent together. It had ended earlier than he'd hoped, but he was called away on urgent business.

"Tell us her name?" Malkir asked, recognising her description.

"Lissandra," the halfling spoke the name with wonder and longing.

"I've met her!" Serena said suddenly. That was the name of the nice woman that she'd met at Firoz LaRachelle's party in the Lady's ward.

“She's a lovely woman," Deus said simply.

"Isn't she just," Serena replied. Lissandra about the only ge

"Yes," Deus agreed, thinking her lovely for quite different reasons.

"Yes," Serena echoed Deus's last sentence. "We met once at a party. Deus can we..."

"Oh, when you next see her.” The halfling lent over the table and whispered conspiratorially. “Can you please tell her that I will write."

"Will you though?" Serena asked, trying not to smile.

"Oh yes," the halfling replied sincerely.

"Right." The seer said, not believing a word of it.

The halfling pulled out a scroll with a red ribbon and slid it across the table to the heart seer of Tomeri. "This will explain a great deal. It has portal information in it." Malkir notices that it was sealed with a glyph. Serena put the letter in her backpack.

"So what did you find out about your father?" Serena asked, wanting find out more about what her former travelling companion had been up to.

"He belonged to an organisation known as the Expansionists." Deus spoke with pride at having uncovered this elusive bit of information.

The others at the table let out groans and Littleby jumped out of his seat. He spat out what he'd been carefully chewing and almost lost a tooth after he bit down on a piece of grit cake.

"Deus, do you remember our old employer?” Serena asked sweetly. “Vincent Danster?"

"Yes. I'm still working for him of course" The halfling replied, thinking about the money that Danster's wife would pay for the information leading to the return of her husband.

"He was an Expansionist too as I'm sure that you are aware." Serena studied Deus as she spoke, but the halfling was not giving much away.

"Yes,” He replied with a small smile. “So I have discovered."

"Do you know where he is?" the seer asked innocently.

"Ah, no.” The halfling replied with a smile of his own as if he had just been asked to reveal his hand of cards. “But Vartus Timlin and I are certainly looking for him even as we speak."

"Really," Serena exclaimed.

Littleby fell off his seat laughing. The halfling's revelation was simply too much and he felt as if some cosmic joke was being played on him.

"My word,” Malkir said as he watched the dwarf spit out more grit cake. “He's doing it again."

"Well I don't know Vartus Timlin in person as I've only met him once. Very fine man." Deus rubbed his chin and studied the others to read their reactions. It was trivial to see what they were thinking, apart from the one who'd been introduced as Andrew Rimilia.

"Deus,” Littleby said after picking himself off the floor. “Let's go and have a drink."

"But you are paying for yours," Malkir said knowing full well how much the halfling enjoyed fine beers. "I know what you are like. I know about your kind. You are a halfling with expensive tastes."

"Of course,” Deus laughed. “Are there any other kinds?"

"I've had a handsome pay-out in the ferry business recently and I'd love to hear about Vartus Timlin.” Littleby climbed off the bench and invited the halfling for a drink in a different tavern. “What say you to going to that inn and having the largest mug of whatever you fancy?"

"Sounds like a good idea," the halfling replied. It being the best proposition he'd so far that day.

 

[simmo]

chapter 5 Word Games with Deus

Deus eased himself in to a comfortable chair in the tavern called the Cricketers. He had no idea why the tavern was called by that name, but it did have a good view of a large green field outside. People were sitting on the grass outside chatting with friends and enjoying their drinks.

The inn next door was called the Kings Arms and was mostly empty of patrons. On the other side of the Cricketers was a tavern that had been built inside the frame of a ancient sailing vessel and was simply referred to as the Old Ship.

"You see,” Deus explained as he sipped his expensive elvish beer. “That is how our business model works."

"Yes there is a business potential in following the modron march," Littleby agreed.

"Yes, I've been thinking about that very same thing just now.” Deus paused to watch one of the barmaids walk past. The lithe elven woman bent over to place two tankards on a nearby table and Zeus's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

“You see the Outlands is about Balance,” He continued, focusing back on the topic at hand. “Maintaining that Balance. So if weapons are shipped from one place to another, then moving medicines from one place to another gets you across the Land faster than you might expect."

"Interesting." Littleby nodded his head, waiting patiently for the subject to come around to the topic of the Expansionists.

"So far it has worked a little, but following the modrons could be very profitable." Deus watched the barmaid walk in to the kitchen and raised his eyebrows at his dwarven friend.

"How about organising a group of Chaosmen to travel in the other direction?" asked the dwarven scholar, who thought that the elven woman had nothing on Ejelka and did not rate elven women that highly.

"That works right up until five minutes in to the journey when they change their minds," Deus laughed.

"Ah, there is that yes." Littleby joined his friend in laughing.

"Yes, our caravan will follow the modrons. I've decided." The halfling raised his mug and toasted Littleby.

"You've met Timlin recently?" Littleby tried to introduce his question in as subtle a manner as possible.

"Yes,” Deus replied. “Briefly."

"Where was that?" Littleby asked, wondering how far he could push this line of questioning.

"I don't exactly know.” Deus shrugged. “They blindfolded me and walked me a great distance."

"Who?" Littleby asked intrigued.

"Well,” Deus answered somewhat reluctantly. “My colleague the merchant."

"What plane were you on?" Littleby asked.

"This one although I'm not sure." Deus shrugged and his attention was drawn away by a human barmaid staring at him from across the room. He winked at her and she smiled back at him.

"Who is your business partner anyway?" The dwarven scholar asked, realising that it was a good time to ask now that the halfling was distracted.

"An old man that I cam across outside Automata.” Deus stated as if it was the least interesting bit of information in the world. “He was transporting cloth and fabrics."

Malkir's fists clenched and his hands turned white. His body went absolutely still as a chill went down his spine. "I remember him," Malkir said.

"Agar." Deus told the others the name of the merchant that he'd met.

"Agar, yes." Malkir repeated the name and then realised that there was no blood flowing in to his hands. He slowly and painfully unclenched his hands.

"That's the name that he gives to most people," Deus said with a knowing smile.

"Next time that you see him tell him 'thank you'," Malkir did not bother to hide the contempt from his voice.

"It's funny because I did not think that I would run in to you again." Deus looked somewhat bemused and tried to remember what he'd been told. "He said to tell you 'I hope that the service is OK'."

"Anyway, moving on.” Littleby interrupted, trying to get back to talking about the Expansionists. “You are no longer working with Garr Goodfortune?"

"No, business turned sour.” Deus blocked the image of the spidery-eel shaped raiders from hisunately the human barmaid was wiping some tables nearby and he distracted himself by staring at her for awhile. “We still keep in contact but it turned out that he was working with Tso raiders."

"So far business has really improved, we always seem to be in the right place at the right time.” Deus looked at Malkir and grinned. “Much like yourself."

"Sorry to get back to this but did you find your father?" Littleby interrupt again, hoping to avoid a confrontation.

"I found out some more information about him, yes. I believe that he is being held somewhere in the Negative Energy Plane." Deus knew full well that Littleby was an expert in Negation.

"Is that likely to be the place where several of the Expansionists are?" Malkir asked.

"Possibly although I have no idea why they'd be there." The halfling decided against telling the others how his quest for the Word of Resurrection was going. "There is a small piece of information that I'm not supposed to know but he was captured by some 'thing'. If you are ever in a place where some things don't seem quite real they are probably not real.” As the elven barmaid walked past he caught her attention with a lovely smile. “Anyway, I'll have another drink."

"Of course you will," Littleby paid the woman and thought about what he'd just been told and what he'd not been told.

"Deus,” Serena said. “The last time that I looked for Vincent Danster he was with a halfling man who looked a lot like you."

"Aha," Deus acknowledged as he sipped his beer.

"Very much like you indeed," the seer repeated to enforce her point.

"Then Danster could be in the same place." The halfling smirked knowing that they were all playing an intricate game, but he realised that the seer was too innocent to follow everything that was going on. Whilst on the subject of innocence (or lack thereof), his thoughts drifted back to the two barmaids.

"That's what I'm thinking although I have not looked for him for a long time. I could look for him tonight." Serena spoke sincerely, willing to risk using her remote viewing skills again despite the possible dangers involved.

"I would appreciate that," Deus said feeling genuinely grateful.

"One more question before we order dessert. What did Timlin say to you?" Littleby asked.

"He says that 'we will regrow'.” The halfling answered, remembering the large cavern filled with thousands of people. “Once we'd dealt with the problems on our world we would regrow."

"Solve the problems on our world.” Malkir was caught off guard by Deus' comment. “He had plans to solve them?"

"Well, yes of course.” Deus nodded. “When he was there a long, long time ago the word of Lammed was quite different but he has grand plans."

"Have you been home at all?" Serena asked, knowing that her friend would not rest until his father was found.

"No.” Deus sighed and considered slowing down a little in his search. “I've been sending money home of course. Anyway, what do you know about the Expansionists?"

"Bits and pieces.” Serena replied, who simply did not know much about them. “We know that they don't like the Harmonium much."

"How do you fit in to all of this?" The halfling asked Andrew out of the blue.

"In to all of what?" Andrew replied, not really surprised by the question.

"Well, I've met Littleby,” Deus explained. “I know both Malkir and Serena from home. Where do you come in to all of this?"

"Well, I was sitting in a tavern one day and she came in and offered me a thousand gold." Andrew replied as if that explained everything.

"A thousand gold, wow.” The halfling sounded impressed. “Serena you've come in to some money have you. If you are ever looking to invest it I'd be more than happy to help." Deus smiled at Andrew briefly, impressed with his skills in diverting attention and questions.

"To be honest, I'm fine at the moment Deus." Serena smiled at her friend but did not trust him with her money. Life yes, money no.

"Well fortunes come and fortune go.” Deus smiled in return. “One day you're rich and the next you're poor."

"I'll consider it OK," she promised him.

"Well I'm sure that we'll meet up again.” The halfling got up from the table and could see the barmaid standing by the bottom of the stairs beckoning him over. “Travelling with Agar has led me to come across a lot of people that I know."

"Yes,” Malkir replied sardonically. “It seems to be a speciality of his."

"He's a bit scatter brained some of the time," Deus joked.

"The voices have gone then?" Littleby laughed after asking the question.

"Oh, there are no voices.” Deus spoke as if he was entirely sincere. “But he does talk to himself sometimes."

"We all talk to ourselves sometimes," Littleby replied, patting the halfling on the arm.

"But we tend not to say: 'yes my child' or 'I will guide you my child'." Deus laughed heartily and waved farewell to the others. He was about to head for the stairs and the waiting human barmaid, when he heard Littleby behind him.

"What about 'let's slit their throats whilst they are asleep'?" Littleby asked, trying to make a joke of it.

"No. He is fond of saying 'for everything there is a time and a place'.” The halfling grinned at Malkir, who sat rigidly and gave him a hard, angry stare in return. “I'll have some more of that dessert now please." The halfling skipped between the tables, his large hat floating between the table tops and then he raced up the stairs after the barmaid.