Realms of Enlightenment: The Grey Companions (final update posted 02.14.10)

[Jon Potter]

[Realms #475] Resisting Arrest

While Perragourp was pronouncing what amounted to a death sentence for at least two of the defendants, Morier looked about the room. He took inventory of which guards possessed which of his belongings that he would need if he was to escape. Too many items were in too many hands to get them all back together. He'd have to make some tough choices. He looked across the way at Saelus, absorbing the sudden sting of unpleasant realization: he couldn't get them both out of here.

The odds were insurmountable... He might be able to get himself free, but trying to save them both seemed a certain failure. Perhaps Saelus could avail himself of the circumstances Morier would create. He hoped so, but he simply couldn't take responsibility for both of them. Not now.

Whether the decision was cowardly or just was a question he could consider at length later - if there was a later. Perhaps the line was too fine to distinguish anyway. But the stakes had risen too high with his possession of Dridana's spark for him to be squeamish. Akerman's presence magnified the problem a million times.

He drew on the power of The Heart...

The Gisir, realizing what was happening, shouted out a warning and snatched up his greatsword in a single motion.

One of the two githyanki standing behind Morier brought his own greatsword up and then down intending to split the albino from crown to crotch, but the eldritch warrior twisted his body and the blade whistled down inches from him.

Perragrourp cursed and sent a Quickened Flame Bolt at the albino. Morier's innate spell resistance foiled much of the attack, but the conjured orb of flame struck him in the forehead nonetheless, disrupting the delicate matrix of power forming within The Heart and causing the Owl's Wisdom spell he'd been attempting to dissipate without effect.

It left behind a red burn mark on his pale forehead and a new sting of realization: maybe he wouldn't even be able to save himself...

The Gisir shouted out some kind of command and Morier was driven to the floor by a press of githyanki warriors. His face was forced roughly into the stone while his arms were twisted back. Neither caused him any injury; the Heart made him highly resilient although it did nothing to prevent him being pinned and held immobile. Looking through the chaotic storm of jaundiced limbs and wiry torsos, the albino saw Saelus trying to make use of the distraction and make good his own escape.

The war mage leapt on his nearest opponent, simultaneously seizing and drawing the githyanki's greatsword. Then he slashed downward with the blade, opening its belly in a single stroke that sent a cloud of blood billowing into the air as the githyanki collapsed in shocked horror. In the next instant, the colonel disappeared beneath a pile of githyanki warriors and though he struggled valiantly, he didn't do so for long.

 

[Jon Potter]

[Interludes #10] What's a Nice Bunch Like You Doing in a Place Like This?

Ayremac looked from Del to Maleko and nodded slowly.

“In an effort to be diplomatic," he began, "my mission here is simply to purge this vessel. As you stated, association with a Neogi vessel is somewhat questionable in itself."

"Diplomatic?" Maleko scoffed. "Once you start with insults it's a bit late for diplomacy, don't you think? I can't say I am fond of being called a fool."

“I apologize for the unkind words," the Officer of Umba said. "With the threat of battle, I tend to fall back on the heavy weight of authority that can break the will of the common criminal. You are obviously not such a man, and no disrespect was intended.”

Del breathed easier at this and again offered his potion to Ixin.

"Are any more of you 'kung fu fighters' injured?" Maleko asked, stepping closer with his holy symbol of Nethlar displayed. "I assume that is what you call yourselves since that was the battle cry we heard."

"Yeah, we're hurt," the pale twins admitted in unison, stepping closer. One was gingerly probing his chest where Maleko's Magic Missiles had struck and the other was holding a bleeding gash on his arm from Jinissi's dagger.

"We did not see an Officer of Umba when we engaged you. I am relieved we did not kill any of your crew," Maleko apologized. "Were you prisoners here? Neogi are famous for their mind tricks; I was worried that you could be deceiving us." Ayremac looked at him impassively and touched the holy symbol of Umba worked into his breastplate.

"In the name of She Who Judges," he intoned and invoked his Sacred Healing ability. Ixin and the twins both visibly relaxed as the healing took hold and Ayremac turned his attention back to Maleko and Del.

"You needn't worry about deception from me" he said definitively. "Now what brings you here?”

"We mean to explore this, the ship of the alleged enemy neogi," Maleko explained, "and perhaps go back to the ship we came from with what we found here." Del immediately caught the significance of his friend's assertion that 'perhaps' they'd go back. He wondered what Jinissi thought of that statement and suddenly realized that she was nowhere in sight.

“There was another amongst your party…” Ayremac began, picking up on clues in Del's demeanor.

"One of our party is missing," Maleko said, only just noticing her absence. "Jinissi, the lizard folk. bears hostility towards Neogil she was their prisoner once and has lots of information about this ship. Come out please, Jinissi."
She did not come out and Ayremac glanced about for the lizard woman.

“Ixin, do you see the cloaked figure?” he asked.

"No," the skull-faced woman told him as her four globes of floating light spread out to better fill the cargo hold with illumination. "But I'll find her."

"Not likely," Cerrakean croaked from the hatchway leading out. "Not if she doesn't want you to find her." With a single motion the hobgoblin sheathed her scimitars across her broad back.

"Do not underestimate my abilities," Ixin snapped and Cerrakean snorted.

"It's not about you, sweetheart," the hobgoblin sneered as she hopped over the umber hulk corpse. "But I know her type and you're not gonna just trip over her in the dark."

"Perhaps you could assist in the search?" Ayremac suggested. He looked at one of the twins. "Perhaps you'd like to go as well, J'inn? To keep the two groups in contact?"

The three searchers moved off through a doorway that led deeper into the deathspider, leaving Ayremac, Del, Maleko and the second twin, J'ann, to exchange information.



“So you are in the service of a githyanki captain?" the holy warrior asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Are you pirates?” Del shook his head fiercely.

"No!" he said quickly. "We hired his ship and crew as transport on the Astral plane, but it has proven to be a difficult contract." Maleko nodded.

"He is a seasoned trader here, with his own code of conduct and a devil as a first mate," Del went on. J'ann, stepped forward.

"You came on the Dire Hag?" he asked, surprised. Del nodded and J'ann shook his head. "I'm surprised you made it this far. Grawl isn't known to follow the spirit of a contract."

"The only law out here is his law was how I believe he put it," Maleko smiled and saw the Officer of Umba's lip curl in disgust. "I do not know if Grawl is totally bad; he just has his own interests first and foremost."

"His interest in this vessel is not to be taken lightly," Del asserted and Ayremac turned his gaze on the half-elf.

"And just what is his interest?" the holy warrior asked.

"He wants us to commandeer this ship for him," Maleko answered simply. "But since it could be said that you were here first, it seems we have little right to take it from a just party."

"I have no desire for this evil vessel," the Officer of Umba said. "It's helm must be destroyed, but the rest belongs to the Buommans as far as I'm concerned." He indicated J'ann and the pale man nodded his thanks.

"Captain Grawl and his crew may not feel the same way," Maleko cautioned. "If we deal with him, I suggest you change your tone to be more polite. He would certainly not tolerate being called a fool."

"If this Grawl consorts with fiends, there will be no deals," Ayremac said flatly and Del and Maleko exchanged a glance.

"What have you found about the ship so far?" the elf asked, deflecting the conversation away from talk of the Dire Hag.

"It was all but deserted when we arrived," Ayremac said. "There was a single neogi on board and two of those umber hulks." He indicated the massive aberration wedged in the open hatchway. With a new note of icy bitterness in his voice he added, "Their slaves were all dead."

"Drained of life by the ship's Helm," J'ann explained. "Deathspiders use a Lifejammer Helm powered by the vitality of whoever's attached to it. There's a half-dozen withered husks on the bridge that used to be strapped into the thing."

"That's why the Helm must be destroyed," Ayremac said. "Ixin can burn it before we leave."



"What do you know of this ship and its crew and slaves?" Cerrakean asked, her voice a low whisper in the darkened hallway.

"The crew are all dead," Ixin replied, spreading out her Dancing Lights to show more of the corridor. "The slaves were all dead when we got here."

The hallway from the cargo hold sloped downward toward the front of the ship. Six doors were set in the walls, three on either side, and all were locked. Ixin sent a globe of light to the far end of the hall where another door stood, this one half open. "Those lights are just gonna alert Jinissi to our pursuit," Cerrakean grumbled and Ixin turned a sharp eye on her.

"You would have us stumble about in the dark?" the sorcerer snapped and Cerrakean shrugged her meaty shoulders.

"I can see just fine in the dark," the hobgoblin grinned. She turned to the Buomman and asked, "What about you, pasty?"

"I can see in darkness," he admitted. "And my name is J'inn."

"And I'll bet you a gold piece that Jinissi's got no trouble with the dark either," Cerrakean said, smiling at Ixin. "That just leaves you, sweetheart. You can hold J'inn's hand if you're scared."

"Do not mock me, trolblood!" Ixin snarled, raising the scimitar in her hand. "I am Ixin, daughter of Ventisjir the Red, granddaughter of Lady Dominor Corastrixarosvith of Clan Vermillion!"

"Sister, I don't care who you are," the hobgoblin said in a low purr. "But you want to put that sword away. There's not a spell-slinger alive who can cross blades with me and walk away." Ixin looked at her and curled her lip in disgust.

"This will not help us find the lizard woman," J'inn interceded. "That was our task, was it not?" Ixin sighed and looked at him, lowering her sword with a nod.

"Yes," she admitted. "Ayremac would not be pleased to see me let my pride get in the way of our success." Cerrakean raised an eyebrow.

"Are you and the angel...?" she let the question hang in the air, but the lascivious grin on her face left little doubt as to her intimation. Ixin shook her head.

"He stood by me when everyone else I cared about had given up on me," she said. "He has earned my respect and friendship. That is all." Cerrakean shrugged.

"Pity," she said. "He's real pretty to look at." Ixin turned her eyes away and changed the subject.

"I can dismiss the Dancing Lights if you think it will aid our cause," she said but Cerrakean shook her head.

"Don't bother," the hobgoblin replied. "Just keep 'em back and let me and J'inn go up front."

 

[Jon Potter]

[Interludes #110] Suppressive Fire

"J'inn has not found the lizardfolk yet," J'ann told Ayremac. "But it seems that she's heading for the bridge." The holy warrior considered the information and sighed.

"Let J'inn know that we're on our way," he said. "If they do find her tell them to contain her until I arrive."

"She's after the helm," Maleko said nervously.

"There is little that she can do alone," Ayremac confided. "The helm requires two to operate, and it's not like she can just remove it from the ship."

"That's Grawl's plan," Del told him as they started to move toward the door.

"Then he will be disappointed," Ayremac said.



Another umber hulk corpse lay slumped on the boarding deck. This one was visibly burned on one side of its body, and an unpleasant smell filled the area. A narrow staircase spiraled up into a hole in the ceiling. A pair of double doors were closed at the far end of the room, and two smaller hatches let out onto the "spider leg" grappling rams. The door on the left stood open and smoke was billowing around the opening.

"Smokestick!" J'inn announced when he looked at it.

"She's signaling the other vessel," Ixin guessed and Cerrakean nodded, gesturing to the staircase in the center of the room.

"Where's that go?" she asked.

"The bridge," Ixin told her as she and J'inn sealed the hatch. Cerrakean shot up the spiral stair at once into the domed chamber above.

It was an oval room twenty feet long by perhaps fifteen feet wide made, it seemed, entirely of glass. Two of the enormous, forward-thrusting spider legs flanked the chamber, and the main body of the ship rose up at the rear, giving Cerrakean a clear view of some type of ballista-like weapon mounted there. The chamber was dominated by what looked like a double-sided throne with a seat extending from each side of a central back. The whole was worked in a motif of interconnected bones and spider webs. The seat facing forward had a commanding view of the area in front of the deathspider and was cushioned in red velvet. The seat facing backward, however was unadorned and had a cage of bone that still held a shriveled humanoid corpse imprisoned within it. Half a dozen similarly desiccated humanoid corpses lay on the deck around the throne.

Jinissi was outside, clinging to one of the grappling rams beside her signal smoke. Beyond her, Cerrakean could see that the Dire Hag had maneuvered closer, and a boarding party that included the chain devil was making its way toward the deathspider.

"We're about to have company!" Cerrakean yelled down the stairwell and J'inn darted toward an exterior viewport. Ixin stepped back from the sealed door and crossed her arms.

"Let them come," she purred glowering at the hatch as if she could somehow see the boarders beyond.

"Remember why we are here, Ixin," Ayremac cautioned as he and the others entered the boarding deck. "Standing and dying for no good reason will not help us find the sword."

"Well whatever we're going to do we'd best do it quickly!" J'inn cried from his spot at the port. "We've got maybe 10 seconds before the boarding party's banging at the door!" Del looked around at the chamber, noted the presence of two of the ballistae-like weapons, and formulated a plan.

"Can you operate that weapon?" he asked J'inn and the Buomman looked at him strangely.

"Enough to fire it, I suppose," he answered. "Reloading it might be another matter, but..."

"Fine then!" Del cut him off. "You do that. Target the party first and then the ship if you can manage it." He looked at Ayremac and Maleko and asked, "Can we get this ship powered up?"

"I told you it's powered by-" Ayremac started to argue, but the marshall stopped him.

"I'll volunteer to act as the source," he said quickly. "And we're out of time to argue! Though I've never seen a ship powered this way, I have some nautical experience. Grawl has an entire crew and a ship at his disposal... we need to take advantage of our position here."

“Del, that sounds like a great plan," Ayremac conceded with a nod. Then he moved to join Ixin at the hatchway she and J'inn had just locked. "I will secure the door.”

"Okay, let's give this a try," Maleko sighed and started to follow Del up the stairs. "I really have no clue what I am doing, mind you."

There was a sudden roar as J'inn and J'ann fired the ballistae-like weapon. It rocked back violently, propelled by the explosion of fire belching from its muzzle. If it hadn't been contained by a pair of stout chains it would likely have ended up on the other side of the chamber.

As it was the deafening blast gave everyone pause until J'inn and J'ann, peering out through the port gave twin whoops of joy as they slapped hands.
"We got 'im!" they cried in unison.

Their shot, hurried and untrained though it was, still struck with deadly accuracy, impacting the kyton squarely and vaporizing his torso entirely. The shot then exploded into a mass of webbing that caught all of the surviving boarders in its entangling strands. Ayremac hurried over and looked out at the Buommans' handiwork.

"Well struck!" he congratulated them both.

"I still would feel more comfortable if we could block the entrance," Maleko said nervously. "Who knows where Jinissi is." Cerrakean slipped eel-like passed him on the stairs and vaulted down to the boarding deck.

"I do!" she barked. "She's outside on the hull."

"Well that's good," Maleko said, relieved and the hobgoblin raised an eyebrow.

"Is it?" she asked. "We already know that she can pick the locks on this thing. And I don't have a clue how many ways into the ship there are. Do you?"

 

[Jon Potter]

[Interludes #11] Route!

"Not really," Maleko admitted. "But if we find her, perhaps I could help. I could Web her and then she would be easy to remove." The elf started back down the stairs but Cerrakean shot him a staying look.

"I can deal with Jinissi," she said. "That's what I'm good at. You stick to what you're good at and let me do my job." She cocked a thumb back up at the hole in the ceiling that led to the helm.

"We should all go take care of this situation," Maleko insisted. "I don't want the lizard woman catching any of us alone after this." Cerrakean's lip curled back from her fangs, but before she could say anything Ayremac spoke up.

"I’ll try and help Cerrakean rid us of our stow-away, Maleko," he said. “Meantime let's try to get this ship moving anyway. I think your plan to pilot the ship was a good one and we don’t want to be sitting ducks. If you want to try to get this thing moving, we may be able to at least give this pirate a challenge." The elf scowled but turned back up the stairs. After one step he paused and asked, "J'inn and J'ann, can you reload that weapon?"

"Maybe..." J'inn started.

"I've never done it before," J'ann finished.

"Why?" they said in unison and each cocked his head at Maleko in exactly the same way.

"I don't think Shroud is done for. If I am not mistaken, he will regenerate soon enough," the mage told them. "Mr. Jangles will not be happy when he comes 'round."

Ayremac paused at that announcement, considering. Then he turned to Cerrakean and asked, "You're sure you can handle Jinissi alone?" She looked at him like he was mad.

"Does an elf crap in the woods?" she asked and set about opening the hatch to the outside. Ayremac nodded at her back.

"Ixin, I don’t like the idea of you and I splitting up," he told his charge. "What say we head out and see if we can finish off that boarding party?”

"There will be justice," she said and Ayremac smiled at the zeal in her eyes. He'd had that same enthusiasm when he'd first read Umba's Writ.

"Maybe one of us should stay guard here in case the lizard woman comes back," Maleko suggested and Ayremac paused at the door as Cerrakean darted out into the silver void.

“Obviously, your party can do as it chooses," he told the elf and followed the hobgoblin outside. Ixin grinned at the mage and then she too disappeared outside.

Maleko sighed and Del called from the helm above, "Are you coming?"



Finishing off the boarding party was a simple matter. Ayremac called down a Holy Smite on the webbed mass of pirates and from the resulting cries of pain easily determined that every one of them trapped within was evil. Ixin came in close and spoke a quick word of benediction, "Umba's wisdom is infinite."

In the past, Ixin's draconic fundamentum was responsible for producing her dragonfire. It was as natural a thing for her as laughing and it used to bring her almost as much joy. But now, since returning from the samsara sword, she was wholly human and possessed no organ to generate her fiery breath. But regaining that power had been the focus of every free moment she had had in Frothingham and through hours of meditation and concentration she'd found a way to convert the energy from her spells into dragonfire. The higher the Circle of spell she sacrificed, the hotter her breath burned. She drew now on the power of a single 2nd Circle Valence, opened her mouth and breathed fire on them.

The effect was horrible and instantaneous. Most of the pirates were directly caught in the cone of flame and charred to a cinder at once. Some few of them were on the periphery of the mass, but they could not avoid the spreading flames as the Web burned. Weakened as they were by exposure to Ayremac's Holy Smite, they were swiftly immolated by the purging fire.



Cerrakean's prey wasn't nearly so cooperative. Jinissi was sneaky and knew her way around the Deathspider, so it was little wonder that the hobgoblin had trouble finding her. In truth, despite Cerrakean's earlier bravado she may well have never found Jinissi if the lizardfolk hadn't simply darted off the ship into the void. At first, Cerrakean couldn't figure out what she was doing, but then looking up, the hobgoblin noticed that the Dire Hag was turning away, executing a retreat from the scene.

Jinissi didn't want to be left behind.

But she was slow. Too slow as it turned out and Cerrakean caught up with her before she'd closed half the distance between the two ships. She struck the lizard woman scimitar-first in the back, opening a terrible wound there. Hissing, Jinissi looped around, trailing droplets of crimson as she came at the hobgoblin with her shortsword. The weapon stabbed out and drew a line of blood along the inside of Cerrakean's right thigh.

"Let me go," the lizard woman hissed, her long tongue tasting the air, but Cerrakean just snorted laughter.

"Not a chance, honey," she said and her two scimitars became a blur of motion as she sought some opening in her opponent's defense. She found none, and as Jinissi parried her last attack, the lizard woman hissed menacingly.

"You are not so skilled when facing an opponent rather than stabbing them in the back," she said and tried to bring her shortsword up into Cerrakean's belly. The hobgoblin batted the blade away with her own and slashed across Jinissi's left bicep with her other scimitar.

"Keep talking," the hobgoblin shot back as her opponent recoiled in pain. Cerrakean came in close and Jinissi stabbed her in the side.

"Oh, I will, wretch," the lizard woman laughed as hobgoblin blood leaked from the puncture in Cerrakean's gut. Cerrakean stopped the laughter short by slashing her across the snout.

Jinissi stabbed her again in the thigh.

Cerrakean opened a matching wound in Jinissi's.

The lizard woman reared back to drive her sword into Cerrakean's gut and the hobgoblin's two swords flashed out like a pair of scissors opening horrible wounds in Jinissi's throat. The lizard woman made a gurgling sound and clutched feebly at her ruptured neck, but she could do nothing to stem the flow of blood and after a moment she was still in the center of a crimson cloud.

"Try talking now," the hobgoblin growled, spitting on the corpse.



"This is taking too long," Del hissed through gritted teeth.

"Are you alright?" Maleko asked as he tried to get a sense for the strange controls governing the ship's movement. He stared at the spinning tangle of concentric circles and glowing nodes of light that hung in the air before him, and thought that at last he was seeing some logic to the display. The bright red hourglass at the core clearly represented the deathspider and if he could get it to tilt forward and to the left...

The entire ship shuddered and lurched forward, beginning a laborious turn to port.

"I'll be fine," Del panted behind him. "Just do what you have to do." If Maleko had been able to see the half-elf he might have thought differently. Cold sweat was streaming down the Marshall's ghastly white face, and his eyes were pressed tightly shut with the effort to keep his voice even despite the steady pain that came from being strapped into the lifejammer helm.

"Hold this heading," one of the twins hollered up from below.

"Can you close the distance any?" the other asked.

"I... I don't know," Maleko admitted. The controls were so... alien.

"Then just hold it right-" The cannon fired below followed an instant later by disappointed cursing.

"We missed," they yelled up. "And Grawl's ship is moving off."

"Do we pursue?" Maleko asked eagerly as he frantically moved his hands over the glimmering controls. "We've got them on the run!"

"No!" Del panted through gritted teeth. "We powered up this ship to help deal with Grawl's attack. If the Dire Hag is sailing away, I see no benefit in chasing it down at the physical expense of our own manpower."

"If we run though would it not appear to be that we are afraid? Perhaps letting me take my time to get the control of this ship would be good," the elf suggested, his attention rapt upon the controls. "We can't power it too long using ourselves. That's not a great plan, although it may work."

"I see no reason to run risks to hunt him down," Del groaned. "Unless you want to take a turn sitting in this seat." Maleko sat up with a start and rushed around to where the half-elf was imprisoned within the cage of the second throne. He began releasing him at once.

"You're right of course!" the mage said. "I do not want to power this ship with a person unless essential for our survival. Very brave of you, Del. Are you alright? I am sure it was excrutiating." Pale-faced and sweating, Del leaned forward in the chair breathing heavily.

"I'll live," he said tremulously. At that point Ayremac poked his head up through the hole in the floor.

“We may have won a bluff here," he said. "The ship is moving off with haste. I thought for sure the pirate captain would pursue, but he may think this ship is better manned that it is. Let's not give any evidence that it is not the case.”

"We have now made a life enemy of Grawl, I'm afraid," Del breathed and the holy warrior scowled.

"You look unwell," he said matter-of-factly. "Perhaps some rest is in order."



"What in your journeys has brought you to the astral plane?" Maleko asked later after they had regrouped. J'inn, J'ann and Cerrakean were all on sentry duty studying the silver void for any sign of other ships, the Dire Hag or otherwise.

"We are on a quest," Ixin said proudly and Ayremac nodded.

“I am not sure how familiar you both are with the path of Umba, but I am what we call an Officer," the celestial told Maleko and Del. "I am given the honor of dispensing Umba’s justice on the material plane. I also bear the responsibility to take on the missions of my elders, the Justiciars."

"I am familiar with Umba," Maleko said. "I am a priest of Nethlar, the Lorekeeper." Ayremac smiled.

"Good," he said. "In any case, my personal teacher, Justiciar Galmache has asked me to search the Astral Plane for a sword… Fedifensor, to be specific. Have you heard of it?”

"Who hasn't?" Maleko laughed. "There're entire books written about Fedifensor and how it figured into the defense of Amphibese and southwestern Pellham."

"Well, I've never heard of it," Del admitted as he rubbed his brow.

“Fedifensor is a holy sword, a mighty relic, actually, that is imbued with the holy power to overcome fiends and send them back to the lower planes,” Ayremac told him.

"In the high tongue it's name translates as 'Defender of the Faith'," Maleko said, grinning. "Finding it after all the years since it was lost would be amazing!"

"What about you?" Ixin asked, unmoved by Maleko's enthusiasm for minutia.

"We have come to the astral plane in search of surviving members of Grey House." the elf said proudly. He was looking at Ayremac when he spoke, pointing at a gem bracelet he wore on his left wrist, so he missed the look that passed over Ixin's face. Del saw it however and made a point of watching her as Maleko spoke.

"We are tracking them through this device. It is telling us if we are closing in on their coins," Maleko went on. He pulled out a pierced mithril coin threaded on a chain from around his neck to demonstrate. "They may or may not still be alive. We may encounter difficulty if they were murdered or something. I never mentioned that before to Del or Cerreakan, but I assumed they thought of that possibility. There are very few surviving members left after a battle at Myth Drannor, so we are very concerned that the Grey Company continue."

"This is familiar to you," Del said to Ixin and she looked at him quickly. There was fire in her eyes, and recognition. She sighed and nodded.

"I travelled for a while with some who bore such coins," she announced and her eyes seemed to visibly glaze over with memory. "I even wore one myself for a time. A smallfolk... A dvergar... A fairyborn... A trolborn... All of them are dead now. All dead."

 

[Jon Potter]

[Interludes #12] Synchronicity

Del could see that there was more to be told about Ixin's former companions, and he perked up at the prospect of information related to the story that he and Maleko were pursuing.

"What can you tell us of your time spent with these Grey Members?" he encouraged, unable to completely mask the anxiousness in his inquiry. Ixin looked at him, her eyes smoldering.

"They were my friends," she said, her voice heavy with emotion. "Like Ayremac, they stood by me when I had no one else. But as I said, they have all taken the Walk of 100 Days."

"For how long did you travel together?" he went on. "Where were they headed?"

"I don't know," Ixin faltered, stumbling over her imperfect memory. "Half a year, perhaps." Ayremac stepped in, sensing his companion's growing discomfort.

“Funny that the gods would put us together like this... on a neogi ship, chased by pirates, in a world foreign to us all,” the Officer of Umba mused and Maleko nodded.

"It does amuse me at times what the Gods put mortals through," he said. "It cannot just be a coincidence that we have found you here." Now it was Ayremac's turn to nod in agreement.

“I am not sure how our stories will intertwine, but it seems that combining our efforts here may be the best course of action,” he said.

"It might be beneficial for us to travel together, for a time, given that we now have a common enemy," Del suggested. "There is no guarantee that the sword and coins are together here on the Astral plane. But as we are each in search of something, maybe we would be smart to band together toward that end. Depending of course on where we go from here."

“I am not sure if you believe that the gods help control our destiny, but I traveled with the party you speak of... Ixin and I both did, as a matter of fact," Ayremac admitted, and Del started as if someone had poked him in the ribs with the haft of a spear. "I never carried a coin, and by the time I joined the party no one had even met the Grey Company. They were simply carrying on a shared mission. A mission passed down by those whom had traveled with them and died.”

Maleko opened his mouth, but then stopped, aware that Del would ask about Ledare if he wanted to know more and respected the former janissary's choice not to ask for more details. He imagined it would open a flood gate of emotions the half-elf did not wish to share or struggle to control in his weakened state.

"It must be a most worthy cause if these people continue on the path laid for them by their comrades," Maleko said and Ayremac nodded.

"It is most worthy indeed. The fate of the world hangs in the balance," the holy warrior admitted and even Ixin nodded sullenly.

"Then why are you two no longer with them?" Del asked, carefully noting the pair's reaction to his question. Ayremac looked stung, but Ixin seemed positively defeated.

“I was pulled away by a disagreement of faith," the Officer said. "My companion here was dead, so perhaps she can be forgiven for abandoning the quest."

"Dead?" Maleko asked, shocked. He knew that there were divine miracles that could pluck the souls of the recently dead from Purgatorium, but there was always a tremendous toll to be paid for such meddling in the natural order. He'd never known anyone who'd petitioned the gods for such a boon, much less anyone who'd actually returned from the Walk of 100 Days.

"Yes," Ayremac assured the elf. "But it is, perhaps, a tale for another time." Maleko looked at Ixin and noticed that the woman's demeanor had worsened as the conversation wove its way toward the subject of her death. He was unsure what it meant, but he was diplomatic enough to let the subject lapse. He nodded and Del picked up the thread of the dialogue.

"Will this disagreement of faith you speak of be a problem should we meet your former companions?" the half-elf asked.

"I don't see how," Ayremac told him. "That issue is passed and I find it interesting that you not only search them out but that you have the tool that would help me find them.”

"The gods have their hands in this," Maleko said with a reverent nod.

“Would you join my quest and in return I will aid you in yours?" Ayremac asked the two men. "We will find those that carry these coins, and then we will find Fedifensor.”

Maleko looked at Del and the two shared a moment's unspoken debate.

"Our quest is merely to find these men. I will have to see what their agenda is before I could in good conscience pledge my service to your cause," the elf explained. "I believe it to be a great cause, but I would first wish to see what happens with these men we seek."

"I understand," Ayremac said and he looked at Ixin. After a moment, Del stood clapped his hands together.

"What now?" he asked and Maleko reflexively looked at his bracelet. Then the elf looked up at Ayremac.

"How do we find Fedifensor?" he asked. "You do not have a jeweled bracelet as I do."

"True, but we already know where Fedifensor is," the Officer told him. "It is being held at an outpost on the astral plane called Akiv-tchai."

"J'inn and J'ann know where that is," Ixin added. "They agreed to show us the way in exchange for eliminating the threat of the deathspider."

"Which I'd say we've done," Del said and his assessment was met with nods all around.

"Yes," Ayremac said. "Let's find the Buommans and complete our bargain."



They were on the boarding deck. J'inn had opened the double doors at the front of the chamber and was standing watch there with Cerrakean. J'ann had opened up two lockers that contained a variety of weapons and other objects mounted within. There were plenty of curved swords of a sort similar to Cerrakean's scimitars, some sized for use by creatures of smaller than man-like stature. The majority of the items within, however, looked superficially like crossbows, ranging from hand-sized designs up to weapons with heavy brass-plated stocks. All of them lacked actual bows, their missiles likely propelled by magic, but it wasn't hard to imagine how they were used.

"We found their weapon lockers," J'ann announced. "Most of it's pretty standard stuff. Nothing magical." Ayremac's eyes swept over the contents and settled on the Buomman.

"I think that we've fulfilled our part of the bargain we struck earlier," he said and J'ann nodded.

"Of course. Of course," the Buomman nodded. "J'inn and I have already sent a Whispering Wind to the Cabal. Others of the Dirge will be here shortly to secure the ship."

"Which means that you'll need this," J'inn said from the front of the chamber. He held a small piece of stone cut in a diamond shape in his hand and offered it to Ayremac. "This is a bit of Avik-tchai, itself. Concentrate on the stone and it'll point you in the right direction." Ayremac accepted the object and smiled gratefully.

"You have my thanks, J'inn," he said.

"No worries," J'ann replied.

"What will you do with the deathspider now that it's yours?" Del asked as he once more gazed around at the marvelous craft. J'inn and J'ann both shrugged.

"Strip it," J'inn said.

"Burn it," J'ann added.

"Leave it as a warning that the neogi are not welcome in the Chain of Tears," J'inn finished. And Ayremac looked concerned.

"Certainly, I won't stand in the way of you burning this evil contraption," he said. "But might I just say that for one... much of this ship is wood, if you start a fire, you may not be able to put it out. Also the pillar of smoke will be seen for miles, and you may have visitors... scavengers, or previously defeated evil captains, coming back to see what happened."

"Don't worry... 'bout a t'ing...," J'ann sang in a strange lilting accent. "'Cause every little t'ing, is gonna be alright..."

"Just so," J'inn agreed nodding his head to the rhythm of his twin's song. "We'll wait until our fellows arrive before engaging in any pyromania."

"In that case, I suggest we leave now," Ayremac announced, turning his attention from the Buommans to his companions. "I have not tired while on this plane, and I don't think we will."

"The astral plane has the timeless trait," Maleko assured him. "We'll have no need for sleep other than the recovery of spells."

"So we just leave?" Del asked and Ayremac nodded.

"I have no more business to tend to on this ship and I am eager to see old friends," he said.

"Are we sure we're heading in the same direction?" Maleko asked, holding up his bracelet and angling it about until he was sure of the proper heading toward the mithril coins.

Ayremac looked at the glowing bracelet and held up the touchstone he'd gotten from J'inn. It lay flat on his palm for a moment and then it spun like the needle of a compass to point off into the void. Its path and the path set by the Maleko's jewelry seemed the same and Ayremac smiled.

"It seems the fates are confirming we quest together," he said and Maleko smiled, happy to have their ranks bolstered.



"Do you think we should stick around to see the helm destroyed?" Maleko asked after they'd taken a final pass through the ship. "Just to be sure."

"We are close now, my friend," Del countered. "Are you really sure we should stay to watch this ship burn when what we've traveled so far for may be within reach?" Maleko looked at the half-elf and could see that despite Del's attempts to conceal it, he was extremely eager to press on. The mage-priest would not stand in his friend's way.

"Let's go," he said, patting Del reassuringly on the back.



It was with mixed feelings that Del left the deathspider, knowing as he did that its helm would soon be engulfed in flame. He had felt a part of the ship, briefly, in the cage. It had tugged at his physical will and drained him in a way that was impossible to describe. It had certainly not been pleasant; he pitied the creatures who had been sucked dry and left as little more than husks by such an instrument. But it was exhilarating just to know that powering a vessel in such a way was possible. It opened up a whole host of possibilities for his family's shipbuilding trade back in Awad... If Del had been in a position to share this unique experience with them... But he was not. Still, it was something new to consider. Someday when he was old and gray, perhaps he could return to the shipyard and take his family's business in a new direction. Would they welcome his experience? His brothers might. His father... well, who knew what the world would look like by then...

"Are we ready?" Ayremac asked, his question lifting Del from his reverie and plunking him back into the cold hard reality of the present. The marshall looked at his companions and nodded.

"Ayremac, you and I will take point," he said, having already determined that they two were the fastest amongst the group. "The rest of you stay together, but not too tight."

"Yeah!" Cerrakean barked. "Stay out of-"

"Fireball formation," Ixin finished and the two shared an appraising look. After a moment, Cerrakean snorted laughter and slipped into position.

"What she said," the hobgoblin croaked.

 

[Jon Potter]

[Interludes #13] The Doorman

They traveled for a time that was difficult to gauge, only once spotting anything worth seeing in the silver expanse - a bit of astral flotsam that they used as a temporary rest stop so that Maleko could trance and replenish the spells he'd used to heal Cerrakean's injuries. Ixin and Ayremac too rested, leaving the hobgoblin on watch with Del until the others awoke.

Nothing assailed them and after prayers they set off once more, following the heading set by their magical "compasses".



Some time later, they saw it.

Avik-tchai. Inside which lay both a holy sword and several mithril coins.

The outpost was built in, and projecting out from, a roughly spherical piece of astral debris they judged to be 200 feet or so in diameter. Four towers jutted out from the central section at roughly symmetrical angles while a fifth projection, longer and thicker than the towers, was topped by a bulbous sphere with four smaller towers jutting out near the edges of a large set of double doors — the only apparent route by which to enter the complex. The whole was strange and vaguely sinister, festooned with Iron spikes and riveted metal plates.

There was no immediate sign of anyone manning the outpost, nor did there seem to be any way to enter or leave it but by way of the large wooden doors.

"Charming..." Cerrakean mused and spat. The gobbet of spit flew several feet away and then hung suspended in the void. Ixin looked at it and the hobgoblin before screwing her face up in disgust.

"Yes..." the sorcerer sneered. "Quite." Cerrakean snorted at her and sneered right back.

"We can't all be pretty little things like you, sister," the hobgoblin told her. "Somebody has to do the heavy lifting." Ixin opened her mouth to retort but Ayremac silenced her with an admonishing look.

"Do we just knock?" Maleko asked earning his own look from Del. "I was only kidding," the elf assured him.

"I will sense what I can about this place," Ayremac said as he spread his wings out of habit and rose upward. "I suggest we all do the same."

"We don't all have angel powers, glitter boy," Cerrakean grumbled.

"We all have eyes," Ixin told her and turned her attention on the outpost



Further scrutiny yielded little in the way of new information. Several of the towers were capped with what looked like glass skylights and the glow of light from within was dimly apparent. However, other than that faint glow, there was no sign that the place was inhabited.

Even to Ayremac's "angel powers".

"I will attempt the door," the holy warrior resolved. "I have resistances to certain harm, so I may be better able to hold off a surprise attack"

"I will ask that we show some restraint on insulting any githyanki," Maleko said quickly, looking directly at Ayremac. "They are quick to anger."

"I am well-versed in diplomacy, Maleko," the Officer of Umba replied. "I do not make a habit of hurling insults at strangers."

"Of course not," the elf back-pedalled."I just meant that I have had experience dealing with Grawl with moderate success so far. I do not think he saw me as a threat. Where as you... he does. He saw me as a business opportunity. Maybe we can pull the same thing off here." Ayremac looked at Maleko and then at Avik-tchai.

"Perhaps," he said. "I have no desire to shed blood if it can be avoided."

"I can go either way," Cerrakean grinned ferally and Del looked at her disapprovingly.

"Let's proceed forward as a group," the marshall said after a moment. "But remember what I told you and stay spread out."



They made it to within 100 feet of the outpost doors before anyone hailed them.

"Stop where you are!" a gravelly voice shouted. It was not readily apparent where the voice originated, but its words reached their ears perfectly well. "Avik-tchai has been sealed to traders by order of Gisir Okemocik pending the outcome of today's trial. You will wait until-" The voice paused then and when it spoke next, its tone had softened quite a bit.

"Oh, I say!" the voice chuckled. "Don't I know you?"

Ayremac saw the speaker then. The stone features of Grandfather Plaque smiled at him from the lintel above the double doors leading into Avik-tchai.

 

[Hairy Minotaur]

So do the players know the coins are there or are they "hoping" they will be? It will be interesting to see if they are there how many of them you've decided to leave for them.

Interestingly the party has yet to see a dead god yet......

 

[Jon Potter]

So do the players know the coins are there or are they "hoping" they will be?

They're pretty confident. There's only so much I can do to keep the obvious meta-issues out of the discussion. The characters might see the gods' hands in events, but the players know what the DM's been telling them.

Interestingly the party has yet to see a dead god yet......

You have no idea what's in store for these poor suckers - I mean "valued players" - before they get to glimpse a dead god.

 

[Jon Potter]

[Interludes #14] Revelations at the Gate

“Grandfather Plaque??" the holy warrior gaped. "Is that you?” The stone face smiled warmly.

"Indeed it is. It's good to see a familiar face in such a vast emptiness as this," the construct mused. " It's funny, I spent years in a forgotten shrine imprisoned in the dark behind a brick wall. But all this... nothing .. is worse, somehow!" Ayremac nodded compassionately.

"May I approach?" he asked and Grandfather Plaque looked thoughtful.

"I suppose so," he announced after a moment. "My instructions were to repeat the message I gave you and to keep interlopers from breaching the gate. I see no reason why I can't visit a bit with an old friend." Ayremac drifted closer until he was less than 10 feet from the doors and the graven face.

“Grandfather Plaque, I bring friends in peace," he said as he moved, motioning for them to draw slowly nearer as he did so.

"Well I don't wish to speak too ill of my new masters, but I dare say that you'll find little peace hereabouts," the stone face told him. "The githyanki are a bit sword-happy if you take my meaning."

"You have new masters?" the Officer of Umba observed. "Do you still travel with the party? Are they inside?” Grandfather Plaque looked discomfited at that and his eyes roved around for something to look at other than Ayremac.

"Well... two of them are," the construct admitted after a moment. "I tried to bargain for their release, but... but... the githyanki tricked me."

"What do you mean?" Ayremac asked and Grandfather Plaque sighed.

"I offered my services as guardian in exchange for the others' release," the construct said. "Not a bad station, warding such a grand door in such an exotic locale, I thought. And they were going to kill them otherwise, I just knew it."

"So what happened?" Ixin asked and Grandfather Plaque flicked his eyes toward her.

"Oh, hello," he said congenially. "I don't believe we've met."

"Yes, we have," she said. "I'm Ixin." The construct squinted at her.

"Nooo..." he said, drawing out the syllable as he appraised her. "I never forget a face. Ixin looked quite a bit different with-" Ayremac cut him off.

"It is Ixin. She was reincarnated," the Officer of Umba explained succinctly and Grandfather Plaque's face took on an expression of exaggerated awe.

"How terribly interesting," he said. "You simply must tell me all about it. Right after you explain how it is that you came OUT of my first door without ever going IN."

"Grandfather Plaque!" Ayremac said firmly, drawing the construct's attention back to him. "I don't mean to be rude, but you were telling me about what happened to the party."

"Oh yes! Sorry," the face smacked its stony lips. "I made my offer to become a part of Avik-tchai and they agreed to let one of them go in exchange for such a deal. And I thought that one was better than none so I agreed."

"Who did they release?" Ayremac asked.

"Well, I hoped it would be Morier," Grandfather Plaque admitted. "He was always nice. A bit morose, perhaps, but at least he didn't keep suggesting that they stuff me inside the Handy Haversack when he didn't like what I had to say, like Saelus!"

"Who's Saelus?" Ayremac asked. "I don't know him."

"A military man, I believe," the construct told him. "War wizard, or some such. Uniform, shiny boots... quite dapper really. But also quite rude! So I was glad to see that they didn't let him go in exchange for my vigilance."

"Who did they release?" Ixin asked. "Shamalin? Huzair?" Grandfather Plaque looked at her sadly.

"Noxin told me that they were both dead," the construct said glumly.

"What!?" Ayremac exclaimed. "Shamalin's dead?" A cyclone of emotions whirled inside him, but before he could even begin to make sense of them Grandfather Plaque hit him with another revelation.

"They released Dr. Akerman," the stone face said dejectedly.

"Akerman?!" the Officer of Umba snapped. "What were they doing traveling with that parasite?"

"Well, they weren't actually traveling with him," the face said. "He sort of lured them here... into a trap to get some sword that Morier had." Ixin and Ayremac exchanged a glance.

"A sword?" the sorcerer asked. "What sword?"

"I don't know..." Grandfather Plaque admitted. "Some big ugly thing with a jagged blade..."

"Ravager," Ixin said shaking her head. "It's been in the party for a long time. Draelond used to carry it. Then Ledare had it. Morier must have taken it after she was killed." Del drifted forward at the mention of Ledare.

"This is all fascinating stuff. But it isn't getting us anywhere," he said before turning his attention to Grandfather Plaque. "You mentioned a trial. What is that all about?"

"Well, Morier and Saelus killed a few githyanki before they were captured," the stone face told him. "They are on trial for murder."

"I can imagine the kind of law that would govern in this place," Del mused, thinking of Grawl. "I fear they will get no fair trial here." Ayremac seemed to agree with the half-elf's assessment; his jaw clenched angrily.

"When he left, Akerman told me it was to be a trial by combat," Grandfather Plaque explained. "Morier is to fight Saelus to the death... with the winner going free."

"How is that justice?" Ayremac shouted, his hand straying to the handle of his longsword. Ixin drifted closer and put a staying hand on his arm. He took a cleansing breath and nodded to her. When he spoke, his voice was restrained, calm, even. "This is a mockery of law, Grandfather Plaque. You must realize this."

"I fear that the only law here is that of Gisir Okemocik," the stone face admitted sadly. "He rules Avik-tchai and the githyanki obey him unflinchingly. He is the law here."

"Where I go, Umba's law goes with me," Ayremac assured him, the holy warrior's ire rising slowly again. But he retained his composure when he asked, "Can you allow us to enter?"

"Oh, no!" Grandfather Plaque said hurriedly. "My orders were very clear."

"Your orders!?" Ayremac shot back, visibly angered once more. "Our friends are in danger in there and you worry about following orders?" Grandfather Plaque looked nervously around at the assemblage, his eyes flicking meaningfully to the longsword at Ayremac's hip.

"A bargain was struck! My services for a prisoner's freedom," the construct explained. "True, the deal was not the one I intended, but I agreed to the letter of the agreement and the githyanki adhered to that. I am bound by my oath. Surely you understand that." Ayremac opened his mouth to speak, but Maleko slid forward to cut him off.

"One time we were traveling with the caravan up the Coast Highway toward Hillsburg. We passed an apple orchard where a farmer was working. Our team leader yelled to the man, 'How much for a barrel of apples for me and my men?' He replied 'Five gold pieces for a barrel of any of the apples off of these trees.' We got a barrel and loaded it up," Maleko recounted. "A little way down the road we opened them and they all were rotten. We sent a man back to ask him for another barrel. The farmer replied 'I said for any apple of those trees. Those apples were off of those trees. I will not give you more apples, dandelion eater!' Is that contract fair?"

"Well... um... It does not sound fair," replied Grandfather Plaque thoughtfully and the elf nodded.

"It was deceptive - like yours was. Akerman is the rotten apple. You should not be obliged to honor this," Maleko went passionately on. "Now, it was not worth fighting for apples, but a life is at stake and you must let us in. A code of honor among merchants was broken in our case. A world may be broken if you do not help us."

"You can be instrumental in righting the wrongs that have been done," Del added.

"It is never too late to start anew," Ixin suggested. "Take it from one well acquainted with new beginnings."

"You were meant for greater gates than this," Del said, relentlessly laying on arguments until it seemed at last that the stone face was convinced.

"I WANT to help you. Really, I do," Grandfather Plaque said. "It's just that... I... I don't want to see any more of my friends get killed. And that's what will happen if I let you storm in there. I haven't been deeper into the outpost than the mooring platform beyond this door, but I know that there are dozens of githyanki in Avik-tchai. Dozens! All of them are ready and willing to take up arms against you. Many of them are spellcasters as well. It's folly."

 

[Jon Potter]

[Interludes #15] Have Fun Storming the Castle

Ayremac’s thoughts wandered briefly as the group pondered their options.

How things had changed in his life. When he thought back… to Arland, his former self, the human who strived to achieve respect in the world of politics in his small community did not even seem like him. It was a completely different person who walked home at night to his wife and family. At that time, his faith was something he used to meet more people in the community. It was an obligation, a part of his routine. Even his own angelic blood was something he thought of as a small piece of his mother inside him… not something that was within his power to tap into, but simply a part of his history that made him who he was.

Now, floating in another dimension, Ayremac... Ayremac the Warrior of Umba, the Holy Warrior of Umba, the faithful follower of his Justiciar, student of his church, and worshipper of Umba... felt as if he had finally come into his own.

He was no longer numb to his heritage and the divinity of the Gods around him. He was no longer feeling the searing, blinding pain of loss. He was no longer unsure of his capabilities amongst trail-tested adventurers.

Ayremac was ready to be strong for those around him, strong for those who would perish in a world where Aphyx was powerful, strong for those who would take the Walk of One Hundred Days. He had seen many things on the trail, and could feel Umba’s wisdom guiding him to make decisions that would allow him to work with this team better than he had the last. He needed them to achieve his goals, and although he could not forsake his faith, he would not expect others to tip-toe around it.

Ayremac caught himself… this was not the time for this sort of reflection. He made a mental note to pray on this later, but now…

“Maleko, Del… What do you propose?" he asked his companions. "Do you think we should charge in? Challenge the leader? Or search the outside for other entries?”

"There are no other entries," Grandfather Plaque reminded.

"The idea of challenging Gisir Okemocik is interesting," Del said, thinking aloud. He and Ayremac shared a glance and the holy warrior nodded.

“Yes, interesting… Could we use a duel as a distraction?" Ayremac considered. "What do we know of how these duels take place?”

"I don't think there's any formality to it," Maleko said. "But if you challenge the leader to a duel he'd be honor-bound to accept. If he did not he'd lose face in front of his troops and likely end up shipped back to the Lich-Queen on Tu'narath, the githyanki capital. Not a pleasant fate, let me tell you. The Queen Vlaakith sucks the life from any who fail to-" Cerakean shoved him in the shoulder, cutting his recitation short and earning herself a startled look.

"Save the lecture for after we rescue angel eyes' friends," the hobgoblin growled, cocking a thumb at Ayremac.

"So we're going to challenge the leader of this place to single combat?" Ixin asked, looking around at the assembled faces.

"I say we go in with lots of bravado and claim the right to challenge the leader, yes," Ayremac said with a nod and a grin. Cerrakean laughed.

"Yeah!" nothing can go wrong with that plan," she scoffed.