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<blockquote data-quote="Isklexi" data-source="post: 6366518" data-attributes="member: 6684948"><p><strong>Date With the Devil</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Evening</strong></p><p>After taking the orphans to the mayor’s office in the Cloudwood District, the constables decided to head to North Shore and see what Calaphax wanted to show them. Eberardo was waiting to open the front gate for them. Once inside, the constables met the Satyr again. He introduced himself as Drustan, the Vigil captain that had helped them deal with the malice monsters in the harbor. Drustan opened a secret door leading to a hidden basement and told them that Cal was waiting below.</p><p></p><p>The basement contained a hidden workshop with alchemy and ritual equipment. Cal stood at the far end of the room in his guise as Lord Califrey, gazing into a silver basin atop a pedestal. Cal welcomed the constables and congratulated them on their victory over Ekossigan. He commended the party on how quickly their power had grown since their first meeting. Cal told the constables that he was prepared to reveal more of his motivations to them. He claimed that the gods had twice failed Lanjyr when it was beset by darkness, and he wanted the people of this world to flourish to spite the heavens. Cal then revealed that he had prepared a demonstration to support his claims.</p><p></p><p>Calaphax gestured towards a large mirror and a table covered in a torn white cloth. He explained that two objects were beneath the cloth and that touching them to the mirror would show visions of the original owners. Irony stepped forward and pulled aside the cloth. The table held a gardening trowel made of flint with a carved bone handle and a small ivory box 3 inches on a side with a black handprint burned onto its side. Xambria, who still lived within Irony, excitedly pointed out that the trowel resembled the design of tools from the late pre-collapse period of the ancient Orcish Empire.</p><p></p><p>Irony selected the trowel first, at Xambria’s insistence. The mirror revealed three brief visions from the life of an Orc shaman. The images were without sound, but Calaphax provided narration for them. First the mirror showed a young Orc tending an herb garden with the trowel and studying magic. Next, the same Orc older now and tending to soldiers grievously wounded in battle. Finally, it showed the shaman leaving his garden behind. Calaphax claimed that the Orc was a mystic named Toteth who watched his civilization crumble as the their gods did nothing to protect their world from a terrible invasion. It was Toteth and his disciples that saved Lanjyr 10,000 years ago. However, Calaphax refused to reveal just how Toteth had saved their world, saying only that some secrets were best left forgotten.</p><p></p><p>Next came the small ivory box. The mirror showed a strange race of reptilian humanoids with feathered crests and taloned feet. Calaphax claimed that these saurians were a race of people called the Nychusians who were wiped out at the end of the Dawn Wars. The visions followed Saruhuitl, the last king of the Nychusians. The mirror showed the king receiving the box as a gift from his son. Then it showed him returning the box’s key to his son as a promise to return after a great battle. Finally, it showed Saruhuitl’s death in battle against a Primordial named Vezzuvu, the Burning Mountain. Calaphax blamed the gods again for failing to protect their followers. He also revealed that Rai owed his existence to Vezzuvu’s legacy on this world.</p><p></p><p>The mirror had one last surprise for the constables. Calaphax repeated his admiration for their progress, but he mused aloud whether they could match the conviction of those that came before them. Cal vanished from sight as a duplicate of the long dead Nychusian king stepped through the mirror and attacked. The constables were able to quickly defeat the simulacrum, which crumbled into dust, but not without some nasty gashes from its talons.</p><p></p><p>Calaphax reappeared and congratulated them on passing the sudden test. He then delivered one more revelation. He informed the constables that the immortality he granted most of them on Axis Island was a result of a magical bond he had forged between them and himself. If the link were severed, they would once again be able to grow old and die. However, Cal had devised a method for granting his greatest champions true immortality. He revealed that he had the ability to reincarnate mortal souls as demons or devils while allowing them to completely retain their original memories and personality. He told them that this option was open to them when they felt that there time on Lanjyr was done and were ready to move on to greater things. He also said they didn’t have to make a decision any time soon, but they really ought to think it over.</p><p></p><p>Calaphax thanked the constables for stopping by and whished them luck at the dinner tomorrow. The party left to retire for the evening. They had learned many new things from Cal, but they also had many more questions. Not least among those questions is whether they can believe Cal’s story as true.</p><p></p><p>[gm]I used this interlude to expand on Cal’s role in my game. I also used it to tie Rai’s character more into the setting. I especially tried to emphasize Cal’s attempts to portray himself in a favorable light to the PCs. The players are already wondering whether devils and such creatures are always automatically evil in this setting, which is exactly the ambiguity I was shooting for. Also, this post took a lot longer to write than I anticipated. I'll try to update the other things that have happened recently soonish.[/gm]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Isklexi, post: 6366518, member: 6684948"] [b]Date With the Devil[/b] [B]Evening[/B] After taking the orphans to the mayor’s office in the Cloudwood District, the constables decided to head to North Shore and see what Calaphax wanted to show them. Eberardo was waiting to open the front gate for them. Once inside, the constables met the Satyr again. He introduced himself as Drustan, the Vigil captain that had helped them deal with the malice monsters in the harbor. Drustan opened a secret door leading to a hidden basement and told them that Cal was waiting below. The basement contained a hidden workshop with alchemy and ritual equipment. Cal stood at the far end of the room in his guise as Lord Califrey, gazing into a silver basin atop a pedestal. Cal welcomed the constables and congratulated them on their victory over Ekossigan. He commended the party on how quickly their power had grown since their first meeting. Cal told the constables that he was prepared to reveal more of his motivations to them. He claimed that the gods had twice failed Lanjyr when it was beset by darkness, and he wanted the people of this world to flourish to spite the heavens. Cal then revealed that he had prepared a demonstration to support his claims. Calaphax gestured towards a large mirror and a table covered in a torn white cloth. He explained that two objects were beneath the cloth and that touching them to the mirror would show visions of the original owners. Irony stepped forward and pulled aside the cloth. The table held a gardening trowel made of flint with a carved bone handle and a small ivory box 3 inches on a side with a black handprint burned onto its side. Xambria, who still lived within Irony, excitedly pointed out that the trowel resembled the design of tools from the late pre-collapse period of the ancient Orcish Empire. Irony selected the trowel first, at Xambria’s insistence. The mirror revealed three brief visions from the life of an Orc shaman. The images were without sound, but Calaphax provided narration for them. First the mirror showed a young Orc tending an herb garden with the trowel and studying magic. Next, the same Orc older now and tending to soldiers grievously wounded in battle. Finally, it showed the shaman leaving his garden behind. Calaphax claimed that the Orc was a mystic named Toteth who watched his civilization crumble as the their gods did nothing to protect their world from a terrible invasion. It was Toteth and his disciples that saved Lanjyr 10,000 years ago. However, Calaphax refused to reveal just how Toteth had saved their world, saying only that some secrets were best left forgotten. Next came the small ivory box. The mirror showed a strange race of reptilian humanoids with feathered crests and taloned feet. Calaphax claimed that these saurians were a race of people called the Nychusians who were wiped out at the end of the Dawn Wars. The visions followed Saruhuitl, the last king of the Nychusians. The mirror showed the king receiving the box as a gift from his son. Then it showed him returning the box’s key to his son as a promise to return after a great battle. Finally, it showed Saruhuitl’s death in battle against a Primordial named Vezzuvu, the Burning Mountain. Calaphax blamed the gods again for failing to protect their followers. He also revealed that Rai owed his existence to Vezzuvu’s legacy on this world. The mirror had one last surprise for the constables. Calaphax repeated his admiration for their progress, but he mused aloud whether they could match the conviction of those that came before them. Cal vanished from sight as a duplicate of the long dead Nychusian king stepped through the mirror and attacked. The constables were able to quickly defeat the simulacrum, which crumbled into dust, but not without some nasty gashes from its talons. Calaphax reappeared and congratulated them on passing the sudden test. He then delivered one more revelation. He informed the constables that the immortality he granted most of them on Axis Island was a result of a magical bond he had forged between them and himself. If the link were severed, they would once again be able to grow old and die. However, Cal had devised a method for granting his greatest champions true immortality. He revealed that he had the ability to reincarnate mortal souls as demons or devils while allowing them to completely retain their original memories and personality. He told them that this option was open to them when they felt that there time on Lanjyr was done and were ready to move on to greater things. He also said they didn’t have to make a decision any time soon, but they really ought to think it over. Calaphax thanked the constables for stopping by and whished them luck at the dinner tomorrow. The party left to retire for the evening. They had learned many new things from Cal, but they also had many more questions. Not least among those questions is whether they can believe Cal’s story as true. [gm]I used this interlude to expand on Cal’s role in my game. I also used it to tie Rai’s character more into the setting. I especially tried to emphasize Cal’s attempts to portray himself in a favorable light to the PCs. The players are already wondering whether devils and such creatures are always automatically evil in this setting, which is exactly the ambiguity I was shooting for. Also, this post took a lot longer to write than I anticipated. I'll try to update the other things that have happened recently soonish.[/gm] [/QUOTE]
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