crazy_monkey1956
First Post
OOC: This is a solo adventure for one of my players in Paths of Legend: Azgundi Tournaments. It tells another angle of the story being told there and, as such, contains a great deal of spoilers for the other players in that game. Thus, I strongly encourage all of my players except ethandrew to read no further.
Cut Scene: One Month Ago...
Corath stood at the obelisk. She had stood in the same position for days. Had not moved since Varol's last visit. Most other creatures would have sat, or scratched an itch, or eaten, or slept. Not Corath. She had no need for such things.
Since there were no other creatures around, she didn't bother with her human guise. And thus, she appeared to be an exquisitely carved statue made of precious metals, depicting an elegant and beautiful woman.
While she stood, unmoving, she pondered Varol's words on his last visit. The winged, lion-like Varol had told her that he had found Norali's body, but the Dagger was missing. He now searched for it, but Corath doubted that the lammasu would find it. It didn't want to be found, this much Corath knew from her brief contact with it.
Her thoughts strayed to the staff given to her by Jollithri Tal, the halfling tailor who was more than he seemed. It was hidden among Varol's belongings, in the nearby keep. Jolly had said that it could make her truly alive, a human, instead of the construct she was now. She wasn't ready for that, yet. There was still much she needed to learn and, as a human, she wouldn't be able to maintain her vigil over the shadowstone obelisk.
Quite unexpectedly, a half-elven man stood before her, a handsome man with intense black eyes that seemed to stare straight into her soul, even though Corath didn't know if she really had one or not. She found it odd that she hadn't detected him sooner.
A twinge of emotion, something strange that she hadn't felt before, entered her consciousness...fear. The man held Jolly's staff in one hand, a stunning red ruby in the other. He didn't speak, he didn't move but she felt compelled to move toward him, to touch the gem.
Her mind screamed at her to stop, but she couldn't. Her hand touched the gem and suddenly her consciousness was gone.
A glow emanated from the staff, washing over Corath's body. It shivered as it drew in a ragged breath for the first time, metal replaced with skin. The rapiers that had once been a part of its body clattered to the ground, ignored by the half-elf. The half-elf sneered as he tossed the ruby to the ground near the rapiers.
What was once Corath's body followed along behind the half-elf obediently, alive thanks to the staff, but more of an automaton than before. The half-elf had given it only a modicum of sentience...enough to get it to his mistress for her to take as her own.
After they were gone, the ruby began to glow. Another magic was at work, residual deific magic from the brief time when the Shadow Knight aided William in battling the Serpent Queen, within Corath's mind and spirit. The ruby split in half, each half embedding itself in one of the rapiers. The ruby's glow spread over the blades of the rapiers, magic infusing them. Corath discovered consciousness again, within the rapiers. She could see and hear, but could not move.
Varol returned a few days later and found the rapiers. Weeping at the loss of another friend, he nonetheless took the rapiers and flew west, seeking to deliver them to Corath's former companions, hoping they might find a way to restore Corath to her body.
Today...
The dark eyed, intense half-elven man had told her if she left, she would do so alone. And thus, she did indeed find herself alone, for many days, the fortified walls of Vedlund finally coming into view. Her lack of wilderness skills had caught up to her two days ago. She had run out of food, though she didn't need as much now, and water. She hadn't been sleeping well, suffering from half-remembered nightmares of her father.
The walls were so close, but her body would no longer cooperate. The world became fuzzy and then dark.
She awoke on a bed in a cramped little room, her feet dangling over the end of the bed. A halfling sat nearby, reading from a journal titled "Triumph of Light and Shadow over Darkness." The halfling smiled as he looked at her, "Ah, you're awake, finally. Thought I might lose you there for a little while. How are you feeling?"
Cut Scene: One Month Ago...
Corath stood at the obelisk. She had stood in the same position for days. Had not moved since Varol's last visit. Most other creatures would have sat, or scratched an itch, or eaten, or slept. Not Corath. She had no need for such things.
Since there were no other creatures around, she didn't bother with her human guise. And thus, she appeared to be an exquisitely carved statue made of precious metals, depicting an elegant and beautiful woman.
While she stood, unmoving, she pondered Varol's words on his last visit. The winged, lion-like Varol had told her that he had found Norali's body, but the Dagger was missing. He now searched for it, but Corath doubted that the lammasu would find it. It didn't want to be found, this much Corath knew from her brief contact with it.
Her thoughts strayed to the staff given to her by Jollithri Tal, the halfling tailor who was more than he seemed. It was hidden among Varol's belongings, in the nearby keep. Jolly had said that it could make her truly alive, a human, instead of the construct she was now. She wasn't ready for that, yet. There was still much she needed to learn and, as a human, she wouldn't be able to maintain her vigil over the shadowstone obelisk.
Quite unexpectedly, a half-elven man stood before her, a handsome man with intense black eyes that seemed to stare straight into her soul, even though Corath didn't know if she really had one or not. She found it odd that she hadn't detected him sooner.
A twinge of emotion, something strange that she hadn't felt before, entered her consciousness...fear. The man held Jolly's staff in one hand, a stunning red ruby in the other. He didn't speak, he didn't move but she felt compelled to move toward him, to touch the gem.
Her mind screamed at her to stop, but she couldn't. Her hand touched the gem and suddenly her consciousness was gone.
A glow emanated from the staff, washing over Corath's body. It shivered as it drew in a ragged breath for the first time, metal replaced with skin. The rapiers that had once been a part of its body clattered to the ground, ignored by the half-elf. The half-elf sneered as he tossed the ruby to the ground near the rapiers.
What was once Corath's body followed along behind the half-elf obediently, alive thanks to the staff, but more of an automaton than before. The half-elf had given it only a modicum of sentience...enough to get it to his mistress for her to take as her own.
After they were gone, the ruby began to glow. Another magic was at work, residual deific magic from the brief time when the Shadow Knight aided William in battling the Serpent Queen, within Corath's mind and spirit. The ruby split in half, each half embedding itself in one of the rapiers. The ruby's glow spread over the blades of the rapiers, magic infusing them. Corath discovered consciousness again, within the rapiers. She could see and hear, but could not move.
Varol returned a few days later and found the rapiers. Weeping at the loss of another friend, he nonetheless took the rapiers and flew west, seeking to deliver them to Corath's former companions, hoping they might find a way to restore Corath to her body.
Today...
The dark eyed, intense half-elven man had told her if she left, she would do so alone. And thus, she did indeed find herself alone, for many days, the fortified walls of Vedlund finally coming into view. Her lack of wilderness skills had caught up to her two days ago. She had run out of food, though she didn't need as much now, and water. She hadn't been sleeping well, suffering from half-remembered nightmares of her father.
The walls were so close, but her body would no longer cooperate. The world became fuzzy and then dark.
She awoke on a bed in a cramped little room, her feet dangling over the end of the bed. A halfling sat nearby, reading from a journal titled "Triumph of Light and Shadow over Darkness." The halfling smiled as he looked at her, "Ah, you're awake, finally. Thought I might lose you there for a little while. How are you feeling?"
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