carborundum
Adventurer
Wow - that's one cool proposal, Avi! Congratulations to you both 
It seems like she has Absolutely No Idea what you're up to. Sweet!
It seems like she has Absolutely No Idea what you're up to. Sweet!
Shilsen's Eberron SH (Finished - The Last Word : 9/20/15)
- Thread starter Rackhir
- Start date
shilsen
Adventurer
Unpleasantness? Hmmm... rings a bell...
/makes mental note to dive into the depths of the thread and read the bits outside the updates.
EDIT: Just read the update. Woah! How dare you do a classic cliffhanger there. Argh! Can't wait for the next bit
It's part of the job requirement. Do unto the readers as you would do unto your players
OT: Thanks for the tips - she loved Jaipur. They got a local taxi driver to become their personal guide/ chauffeur for a week and that was great. She knows a film director from Delhi who she looked after during a film festival but he was in Mumbai, unfortunately. Still - taxi driver personal chauffeur FTW!
They also got followed around by lots of teenage boys. She's 6' 2" and blond - no surprise
Luckily no-one shouted "Behemoth"....
Now they're in Nepal at about 1600m and regretting all those cigarettes!
Glad to help. I've last been to Nepal (only Kathmandu) a couple decades ago and it was a beautiful place.
Wow - that's one cool proposal, Avi! Congratulations to you both
It seems like she has Absolutely No Idea what you're up to. Sweet!
Don't jump the gun on the congratulations. Remember, Gareth got engaged this year too, and wait till you see what happens to him
On that note, I'm in the process of preparing to return to the US in a few days, so the next update will likely be delayed for a while.
Lastly, I see we're up past 50 pages and 1000 responses. I was not expecting this campaign or story hour to last this long!
Last edited:
Dilandau Kale
Explorer
Speaking of which has the party played any more adventures since the incident?
Not in this campaign. He sent us a short "afterwords" a couple of months later.
We did some experimentation with 4e. Shil likes it a lot. Me, not so much.
shilsen
Adventurer
What Rackhir said. We took a break from 3e and played some 4e, nominally set in Eberron too. I'm a little burned out on 3e after nearly a decade of playing it, plus I'm not a fan of how it handles higher level play. Plus I really like how 4e works for both players and DM, so I'm going to focus on that eventually. But when we get back to this campaign, which'll happen some time after I'm back in the US, we'll be sticking with 3e till it ends.
Dilandau Kale
Explorer
Soooooo any chance of an update soon?
shilsen
Adventurer
Working on it, but it'll be a few days. Darn Comcast isn't going to give me internet at home for weeks, which makes things a little complicated.
shilsen
Adventurer
And here it is...
The two figures that appear in the middle of Nalyna’s gymnasium are just as the Angels remember them – identical creatures, appearing at first glance to be extremely beautiful male humanoids with supple, lithe bodies, naked except for the boots and wrap-around skirts they wear. The effect is spoiled by the large, leathery wings on their backs, similar to those grown by Korm when wearing the aspect of the cloaker, and especially the black pits where their eyes should be. Both creatures have a complicated-looking sigil in their chests, and each has a heavy mace hanging from a loop on his belt.
But what is different from the last time is that the twins are now alone, unprepared, and faced by enemies specifically ready for them. As the former devas look around in surprise, tiny tentacles emerging from their eye-sockets to quest blindly at the air like an earthworm, the Angels rush in.
The twins are incredibly fast, but not quick enough to beat Gareth and Nameless. The paladin casts a dimensional anchor, striking one of their foes and covering him with a gleaming green field of energy which prevents them from escaping magically. With their enemies constrained to stay, Nameless goes for a more direct assault, conjuring up two gigantic earth elementals. The creatures appear on either side of one of the twins, bent over to fit beneath the ceiling of the room, and strike instantly, huge fists smashing into their enemy.
Their target staggers back at the impact and then simply disappears from view. Even though the Angels cannot see him, they see the effects of what he does next, since the wounds on the visible ex-deva disappear. The latter glances at Nameless and Gareth, causing a blade barrier to erupt among the two. As both alienist and paladin leap out of the way of the storm of magical metal, the second twin also disappears.
There is the faintest whisper of movement and Nameless snaps, “They’re both moving! Over there!” and indicates a particular area, his magically heightened vision clearly picking out their position.
“Got it,” says Six calmly, pulling out an object from his magical haversack and opening its shutter. Light flows from the lantern (obtained by the Angels in the lair of the dragon Kallionaxis) and the twins’ invisibility melts away in the brightness. An instant later, Korm and Nalyna fly among them, swords hacking, while Luna’s faerie fire lights them up further, in case they avoid the lantern’s beam.
Not that she needed to bother. As the twins try to strike back at their foes, a bolt of silver smashes into the closest – the form of Gareth driven by all the power of the Endless Blade. The target shudders as the paladin smites him, looking down with an expression of mild surprise at the blade driven nearly hilt-deep in his chest. The former celestial, long corrupted by the magic of the daelkyr, looks at Gareth wordlessly for a moment … and then explodes into nothingness.
So does his brother, and the two blasts rock the room, putting large cracks into the walls, and then there is silence.
Korm flaps down to the ground and spits out some blood, large bruises already forming across his torso as he completely failed to avoid the blasts*, and swears in orcish. “Sh*t! That hurt! I guess that’s what the divination warned of.” He glances at Nalyna, whose divine protections have enabled him to emerge untouched, just as Gareth has. “Sorry – but we did tell you there’d be damage.”
“I know,” says the elderly paladin, looking around with a mildly rueful expression. “And I have no recriminations. This will be easily repaired.” He looks curiously at the spot their two enemies had occupied, where not a trace of them remains. “That was … interesting. And quick. But I was pleased to be of service. Is there any other help you need in this regard?”
“No,” says Nameless, shaking off the after-effects of the blast, “And I appreciate your help. But,” he pauses thoughtfully, “Could we use this room a little further?”
“How come?” asks Luna.
“I was thinking of using the bowl another time,” explains Nameless, “And this seems a good place to do so, if anything unexpected happens.”
“Unusual? Impossible,” says Six, drawing a guffaw from Korm, but the alienist ignores it. Nalyna simply looks curious and then says, “Of course you may use it. May I ask what bowl this is?”
“A relic of the daelkyr, the masters of the creatures we just slew,” says Nameless. “I have learned some things from it in the past and hope to do so again, but there is always a risk in using it. If you want to take the chance of more action, you could stay and watch.”
“Then I shall do so,” says the half-elven paladin.
While Nalyna and the others watch, Nameless opens a bag of holding and produces the blue crystal bowl – which had ironically once been in the possession of the twins they just destroyed. When he touches it, the alienist feels no effect whatsoever, and he realizes that his mind blank is preventing the item from mentally contacting him – and vice versa.
Nameless proceeds to dismiss his abjuration and then touches the bowl, this time instantly feeling the jolt of its attempt to warp his mind. But where a normal human being would instantly be driven insane, the feeling is all too natural to the alienist and has little effect. He concentrates, negating the mental assault, and then focuses further, attempting to bend the bowl to his will. After a few moments of effort, he feels himself succeed – and everything goes black.
The others who are watching see Nameless’ eyes roll back in his head till only the whites show, while his lips begin to twitch and move as if he were speaking, though no words emerge. “Something’s wrong,” says Gareth worriedly, and Six nods mechanically.
“Probably,” says the warforged. “The bowl is also not showing the mist and lights that it does.”
Luna shakes Nameless and frowns as there is no response. The frown deepens as Korm cheerfully says, “Maybe a daelkyr ate his mind through the bowl.”
The Gatekeeper is actually half-correct.
After a few moments, the blackness clears and Nameless finds himself floating in a gray, misty void. He possesses – as far as he can make out – no body, existing only as pure consciousness. There is movement in the fog before him, within which he can make out a distinctly humanoid form, but he cannot make out details. All that he can see clearly are the two eyes set in the mist-shrouded face – they are his own.
Recognition comes even easier as the figure begins to speak, in a voice which – thought it sounds as if it were coming from a long distance away – is quite distinct. Nameless once used to hear it inside his head and also heard it in the Cyst in the Mournland. It is the daelkyr Antaryami, twin to the trapped Antaratma, and it says, “So, Nameless – or should I say Edgar Thorn? You come to bother me again. After you aided me in the Mournland I thought you would be wise enough to avoid my path. But now you slay my minions, steal my possessions, and come to speak with me?”
Oh, great! Nameless doesn’t let his concern show in his voice, replying cheerfully, “We have a survey for you to fill out. How many residents are there in your household?”
Antaryami emits an exasperated sighs, a sound which causes a sharp pain in the center of Nameless’ invisible brow. Though he says nothing, the daelkyr evidently notices the effect. “See?” it says, in a tone both threatening and triumphant, “Did you really think even your mind can survive contact with mine? I could destroy you right now!” Before Nameless can respond, the daelkyr’s tone shifts to strangely complimentary, perhaps even cajoling. “But I do not wish to destroy you. You are a work of art, Nameless. And you opened Khorvaire to us. Our armies march across your land even now, reaping its people for Xoriat. Because of you! Why then should you fight us? You cannot win!”
Meanwhile, in the world outside Nameless’ mind, the others watch in growing alarm as his rolled-back eyes begin to darken. Then black smoke begins to seep from his nostrils, slowly forming a cloud around him. But through it all, the alienist doesn’t respond to their ministrations in any way.
Inside his mind, Nameless is still engaged with Antaryami. The daelkyr continues speaking, barely letting the alienist get a word in. “Do you think Cyäegha will protect you and your world? The Watcher cares not for such things.” There is a moment’s pause at the harsh laugh from Nameless at the thought of aid from Cyäegha. “And even he does not watch you – and your…,” the daelkyr hesitates as if seeking a word that is alien to it, “…friends as I do. Does Cyäegha know that you are in Argonnessen?”
He knows a little too much! I wonder if he is reading my mind right now. Half wondering how to ascertain if that is the case, and half wishing to distract the daelkyr, Nameless breaks in, “You comprehend less than I thought if you imagine that I expect Cyäegha to aid me. As for why I seek what you think of as futile, that too is sadly beyond your comprehension. There is a certain concept we call ‘responsibility’ here on Khorvaire.”
“Responsibility?” The daelkyr’s tone is again that of one exploring an unfamiliar subject.
“Yes,” says Nameless. “I feel a responsibility to some of those around me. They do not know the perils we face. I do. They lack the tools to face these dangers. I do not. And some of their danger comes from my past and my choices. So I feel responsible and I act accordingly. I don’t expect you to understand.” He laughs again. “Anyhow, I have to save the world. As Luna so quaintly puts it, we keep our stuff here.”
“So,” says the daelkyr, “You wander among the people of Io’lokar, even though they will not aid you against me? That is why you seek futilely for allies among the dragons?”
Damn. He probably is reading my mind. And … perhaps I can do the same in return. Nameless doesn’t bother to answer, instead putting forth his will and trying to contact the daelkyr’s mind. He instantly has success, sensing an immensely powerful intellect before him.
But the attempt doesn’t go unnoticed. Antaryami stops speaking instantly and then, after a moment, says, its tone now cold and deadly, “Really? You dare? Then let us put it to the test.”
Nameless feels the strange sensation of the daelkyr’s mind flowing over and around his own, exerting tremendous pressure as it attempts to crush his psyche. Luckily, the tenuous nature of the mental connection makes it easier for the alienist to resist, though he estimates that he can only do so for a short period of time. Nameless exerts his mental powers, holding back the crushing grip of Antaryami’s will even as he attempts to wriggle out from the mental grasp. He succeeds at the former – for the moment – but not the latter.
Outside, just as the daelkyr strikes at Nameless’ mind, the black smoke around his physical body increases drastically in both strength and volume. Swirling up around him, the smoke darkens and thickens, hiding Nameless from view as it solidifies. Luna, who had a hand on his shoulder, is pushed back. “Hey!” she shouts, feeling muscle and cold, ebon flesh under her hands. “What’s going on?”
“That!” shouts Korm, pointing up above her. A gigantic, serpent-like creature rears above the druid, fully thirty feet in length and perhaps a third in breadth. Its body is broken into segments like an earthworm, each bearing a ring of small tentacles. Four longer tentacles, each equal to a human body in size, ring the mouth-like opening at one end of creature’s body, and a giant spine-like tail – equal in length to the largest tentacles extends from the other extremity.
Surprisingly, Gareth is the quickest to respond, slashing into the creature again and again. The dark flesh parts under the edge of the Endless Blade, deep purple blood pouring forth from the wounds. The giant worm jerks at the wounds, drawing a smile from the paladin.
“Nameless didn’t actually turn into that, did he?” asks Nalyna, hesitating for a moment.
“I doubt it,” says Gareth, raising his sword to strike again. “But i…”
He never finishes the sentence, as the worm strikes back, its giant maw snapping shut where he stood. When it rears back up again, Gareth is gone.
“Let’s not discuss the possibilities,” suggests Six, tumbling away from the worm and activating a wand embedded in his arm to haste the group. “Kill the thing before any more of us disappear.”
“Very well,” says Nalyna, moving forward to attack as Gareth did. As he strikes, spells from Luna and Korm hit right above his head, burning and further wounding the creature.
The worm flagellates at the various wounds, but before it can retaliate, a shape appears behind it. The figure is wounded and battered, his form dripping with purple fluid so that his features are almost hidden, but it is clearly Gareth. The paladin calls on the Silver Flame and brings down the Endless Blade over and over, gleaming with argent fire. The worm shudders at each blow and finally collapses limply to the floor as the final blow severs it into two halves, the others jumping out of the way of the falling bulk.
Trapped inside his own mind, Nameless has no idea what is occurring outside, but he feels a sudden slackening of the grip in his psyche. Again he tries to break free but to no avail, and now tiredness begins to set in. Growing steadily more concerned, Nameless racks his mind for another way to escape, and something tells him that his spells – which he is certain that he cannot use as normal – are an option. Nameless concentrates, letting one of his most powerful spells fade from his mind, and instantly feels energized as the released magical energy flows into him.
But for only a moment, as he feels the daelkyr seize upon it**. “Very clever, Nameless,” says its mental voice, “But not quick enough. You are in my realm now. See?” The crushing mental pressure increases and only the momentary increase in energy that Nameless just received lets him resist it.
Outside, Korm chuckles at Gareth’s return. “You’re back, I see. Did you get swallowed? I couldn’t tell.”
“Yes,” says Gareth, wiping slime off himself. “By the Flame, that hurt like Dolurrh!” He glances at Nalyna. “Luckily, that dimension door your people use works here too. So I popped out and…,” he gestures dismissively at the pieces of the worm.
Which immediately rolls over and smashes all four of the large tentacles into him, bruising muscle and bone and taking him off his feet.
Gareth cries out at the completely unexpected attack and looks up to see that the second half of the worm is in motion too. Its spine-like tail flashes down at his helpless form – and is intercepted in mid-strike by Luna’s body as she reflexively throws herself across him***.
She screams as the spike rams through her body, shooting a dark poison into her that only her druidic immunity lets her resist. A second later Nalyna, Korm and Six leap onto the creature’s halves, hacking and slashing.
At the same time, Nameless feels a minor shift in the power of the mental grip on him. Realizing that using his prepared spell energy can help but is also something that Antaryami can absorb and block, the alienist comes up with another idea. He attempts to channel the energy of a quickened spell, discovering that it is as quick to use as when casting such a spell. Again, he feels a momentary surge which is almost instantly leeched away by the daelkyr.
And as it does so, Nameless releases the energy of his most powerful spell. The arcane power surges through him, and he realizes – just as he had hoped – that the daelkyr cannot react quickly enough to steal this energy in time. Nameless draws in as much of the released power as he can gather and then exerts himself in a huge mental effort. This time it works. There is a sudden release of pressure, the attendant sense of freedom punctuated by a fading snarl of frustration from Antaryami which sends a stabbing pain through Nameless’ mind.
The alienist opens his eyes, only to groan in pain and look down to find himself almost cut into half. Korm standing over him with a surprised expression, hurriedly lowers his blade and reaches down to cast a heal. “Damn, Nameless – what happened? One moment we’re fighting that weird black worm and then you’re in its place.”
“What worm?” asks Nameless, staggering to his feet.
“It’s complicated,” says Six, looking him carefully in the face. “Good eyes.”
“They’re completely black,” says Nalyna, walking up. “What happened?”
“Also complicated,” says Nameless, “But, in short, I met the daelkyr. And the bowl is compromised, as I expected would happen.” The alienist looks down at the innocuous-looking crystal object and gestures, sending an empowered disintegrate into it. There is an anti-climactically soft puffing sound and it falls apart into a small pile of dust.
With the bowl disposed of, Nameless explains to the others in some detail what happened to him. Having done so, he says, “I picked up a little information while I was in mental contact with the daelkyr. I’m fairly certain that Antaryami is still on Xoriat and was able to communicate with me across the planes due to the now open connection between Khorvaire and Xoriat. Even with my usage of the bowl, that sort of communication would have been impossible earlier. I also got the impression that the daelkyr was hiding something and wasn’t quite as pleased or confident as he wanted me to think he was.” The alienist strokes his forehead gingerly, since he has developed a fairly painful headache. “I think it very likely, though I can’t be certain, that he gained some knowledge from my mind too.”
Gareth has been eyeing Nameless suspiciously for a few moments, and suddenly his eyes begin to glow with the characteristic silver light which appears when he detects for evil or for someone’s thoughts. While the others turn to him in surprise, Nameless frowns. “What are you doing?”
“Just checking on you,” says the paladin. “Something seems awry since you returned. This’ll just take a moment.”
“You could have asked,” says Nameless, beginning to walk back and forth, which he knows makes it difficult for Gareth to gain any information even with his particularly specialized abilities. “Anyhow, I’m fine.”
“Maybe,” says Gareth, frowning, “But I’d like to know for sure. Now hold still, please.”
“I’d rather not,” says Nameless, before turning to Nalyna. “Thank you for your hospitality. I shall have to leave now. We are heading back to Sharn shortly, but I’m sure we will return again soon.”
Nalyna inclines his head and says, “You are always welcome,” with a bemused look in his eyes.
Nameless turns to the others and says, “Let’s head outside, shall we? See you on the road.” And disappears, using Io’lokar’s dimension door power.
The others quickly follow, joining Nameless outside Nalyna’s house. Gareth and Nameless promptly proceed to have an argument about whether the alienist needs to let Gareth examine his thoughts or not. Nameless utterly refuses to let the paladin do so, continuing to move around Gareth when he tries to focus on him and successfully resisting the power when he does.
“Damn it!” Gareth growls in frustration, turning to the others, “Make him listen to me!”
Korm, who has been watching with growing amusement, chuckles and says, “How do you expect us to do that? And don’t you think you’re overreacting?”
“No, I don’t!” snaps the paladin, “Considering the things we are dealing with, we need to be certain that Nameless hasn’t been taken over or…”
Six says dryly, “Yes, it would be horrifying if any of us had been tainted by our contact with strange, eldritch horrors. Oh, wait…”
Nameless chuckles harshly at the warforged’s witticism and says, “Listen – I just don’t appreciate you probing around me. And I’m certainly not letting you into my head. So you’ll just have to trust me.”
“And you need to trust me! Us!” says Gareth hotly, “If you don’t, I’m … I’m … not returning to Khorvaire with you.”
“Fine by me,” shrugs Nameless.
A few minutes later, the Angels stand in a loose circle around Nameless, along with the two members of the Wayfinder Foundation – or at least all of the Angels save Gareth. The paladin stands nearby, with a dark expression and his arms folded across his chest.
“Come on, Gareth,” says Luna, “Won’t you drop it and come back with us? How about letting him check your thoughts for just a minute, Nameless?”
“No,” say both the alienist and the paladin at once. Nameless follows with a cheerful wave at Gareth and then transports himself and his passengers away, leaving a fuming Gareth behind.
* And ate 100 pts of damage instantly.
** Mechanically, each spell Nameless was burning gave him a bonus on his opposed Int check against the daelkyr equal to its level, so he was on close to even terms. But thanks to Rackhir’s stellar rolling, he burned through all his 8th and a couple of 7th level spells before he broke free.
*** The attack would have taken him to -14, except for Luna using a swashbuckling card to take his damage instead.
The two figures that appear in the middle of Nalyna’s gymnasium are just as the Angels remember them – identical creatures, appearing at first glance to be extremely beautiful male humanoids with supple, lithe bodies, naked except for the boots and wrap-around skirts they wear. The effect is spoiled by the large, leathery wings on their backs, similar to those grown by Korm when wearing the aspect of the cloaker, and especially the black pits where their eyes should be. Both creatures have a complicated-looking sigil in their chests, and each has a heavy mace hanging from a loop on his belt.
But what is different from the last time is that the twins are now alone, unprepared, and faced by enemies specifically ready for them. As the former devas look around in surprise, tiny tentacles emerging from their eye-sockets to quest blindly at the air like an earthworm, the Angels rush in.
The twins are incredibly fast, but not quick enough to beat Gareth and Nameless. The paladin casts a dimensional anchor, striking one of their foes and covering him with a gleaming green field of energy which prevents them from escaping magically. With their enemies constrained to stay, Nameless goes for a more direct assault, conjuring up two gigantic earth elementals. The creatures appear on either side of one of the twins, bent over to fit beneath the ceiling of the room, and strike instantly, huge fists smashing into their enemy.
Their target staggers back at the impact and then simply disappears from view. Even though the Angels cannot see him, they see the effects of what he does next, since the wounds on the visible ex-deva disappear. The latter glances at Nameless and Gareth, causing a blade barrier to erupt among the two. As both alienist and paladin leap out of the way of the storm of magical metal, the second twin also disappears.
There is the faintest whisper of movement and Nameless snaps, “They’re both moving! Over there!” and indicates a particular area, his magically heightened vision clearly picking out their position.
“Got it,” says Six calmly, pulling out an object from his magical haversack and opening its shutter. Light flows from the lantern (obtained by the Angels in the lair of the dragon Kallionaxis) and the twins’ invisibility melts away in the brightness. An instant later, Korm and Nalyna fly among them, swords hacking, while Luna’s faerie fire lights them up further, in case they avoid the lantern’s beam.
Not that she needed to bother. As the twins try to strike back at their foes, a bolt of silver smashes into the closest – the form of Gareth driven by all the power of the Endless Blade. The target shudders as the paladin smites him, looking down with an expression of mild surprise at the blade driven nearly hilt-deep in his chest. The former celestial, long corrupted by the magic of the daelkyr, looks at Gareth wordlessly for a moment … and then explodes into nothingness.
So does his brother, and the two blasts rock the room, putting large cracks into the walls, and then there is silence.
Korm flaps down to the ground and spits out some blood, large bruises already forming across his torso as he completely failed to avoid the blasts*, and swears in orcish. “Sh*t! That hurt! I guess that’s what the divination warned of.” He glances at Nalyna, whose divine protections have enabled him to emerge untouched, just as Gareth has. “Sorry – but we did tell you there’d be damage.”
“I know,” says the elderly paladin, looking around with a mildly rueful expression. “And I have no recriminations. This will be easily repaired.” He looks curiously at the spot their two enemies had occupied, where not a trace of them remains. “That was … interesting. And quick. But I was pleased to be of service. Is there any other help you need in this regard?”
“No,” says Nameless, shaking off the after-effects of the blast, “And I appreciate your help. But,” he pauses thoughtfully, “Could we use this room a little further?”
“How come?” asks Luna.
“I was thinking of using the bowl another time,” explains Nameless, “And this seems a good place to do so, if anything unexpected happens.”
“Unusual? Impossible,” says Six, drawing a guffaw from Korm, but the alienist ignores it. Nalyna simply looks curious and then says, “Of course you may use it. May I ask what bowl this is?”
“A relic of the daelkyr, the masters of the creatures we just slew,” says Nameless. “I have learned some things from it in the past and hope to do so again, but there is always a risk in using it. If you want to take the chance of more action, you could stay and watch.”
“Then I shall do so,” says the half-elven paladin.
While Nalyna and the others watch, Nameless opens a bag of holding and produces the blue crystal bowl – which had ironically once been in the possession of the twins they just destroyed. When he touches it, the alienist feels no effect whatsoever, and he realizes that his mind blank is preventing the item from mentally contacting him – and vice versa.
Nameless proceeds to dismiss his abjuration and then touches the bowl, this time instantly feeling the jolt of its attempt to warp his mind. But where a normal human being would instantly be driven insane, the feeling is all too natural to the alienist and has little effect. He concentrates, negating the mental assault, and then focuses further, attempting to bend the bowl to his will. After a few moments of effort, he feels himself succeed – and everything goes black.
The others who are watching see Nameless’ eyes roll back in his head till only the whites show, while his lips begin to twitch and move as if he were speaking, though no words emerge. “Something’s wrong,” says Gareth worriedly, and Six nods mechanically.
“Probably,” says the warforged. “The bowl is also not showing the mist and lights that it does.”
Luna shakes Nameless and frowns as there is no response. The frown deepens as Korm cheerfully says, “Maybe a daelkyr ate his mind through the bowl.”
The Gatekeeper is actually half-correct.
After a few moments, the blackness clears and Nameless finds himself floating in a gray, misty void. He possesses – as far as he can make out – no body, existing only as pure consciousness. There is movement in the fog before him, within which he can make out a distinctly humanoid form, but he cannot make out details. All that he can see clearly are the two eyes set in the mist-shrouded face – they are his own.
Recognition comes even easier as the figure begins to speak, in a voice which – thought it sounds as if it were coming from a long distance away – is quite distinct. Nameless once used to hear it inside his head and also heard it in the Cyst in the Mournland. It is the daelkyr Antaryami, twin to the trapped Antaratma, and it says, “So, Nameless – or should I say Edgar Thorn? You come to bother me again. After you aided me in the Mournland I thought you would be wise enough to avoid my path. But now you slay my minions, steal my possessions, and come to speak with me?”
Oh, great! Nameless doesn’t let his concern show in his voice, replying cheerfully, “We have a survey for you to fill out. How many residents are there in your household?”
Antaryami emits an exasperated sighs, a sound which causes a sharp pain in the center of Nameless’ invisible brow. Though he says nothing, the daelkyr evidently notices the effect. “See?” it says, in a tone both threatening and triumphant, “Did you really think even your mind can survive contact with mine? I could destroy you right now!” Before Nameless can respond, the daelkyr’s tone shifts to strangely complimentary, perhaps even cajoling. “But I do not wish to destroy you. You are a work of art, Nameless. And you opened Khorvaire to us. Our armies march across your land even now, reaping its people for Xoriat. Because of you! Why then should you fight us? You cannot win!”
Meanwhile, in the world outside Nameless’ mind, the others watch in growing alarm as his rolled-back eyes begin to darken. Then black smoke begins to seep from his nostrils, slowly forming a cloud around him. But through it all, the alienist doesn’t respond to their ministrations in any way.
Inside his mind, Nameless is still engaged with Antaryami. The daelkyr continues speaking, barely letting the alienist get a word in. “Do you think Cyäegha will protect you and your world? The Watcher cares not for such things.” There is a moment’s pause at the harsh laugh from Nameless at the thought of aid from Cyäegha. “And even he does not watch you – and your…,” the daelkyr hesitates as if seeking a word that is alien to it, “…friends as I do. Does Cyäegha know that you are in Argonnessen?”
He knows a little too much! I wonder if he is reading my mind right now. Half wondering how to ascertain if that is the case, and half wishing to distract the daelkyr, Nameless breaks in, “You comprehend less than I thought if you imagine that I expect Cyäegha to aid me. As for why I seek what you think of as futile, that too is sadly beyond your comprehension. There is a certain concept we call ‘responsibility’ here on Khorvaire.”
“Responsibility?” The daelkyr’s tone is again that of one exploring an unfamiliar subject.
“Yes,” says Nameless. “I feel a responsibility to some of those around me. They do not know the perils we face. I do. They lack the tools to face these dangers. I do not. And some of their danger comes from my past and my choices. So I feel responsible and I act accordingly. I don’t expect you to understand.” He laughs again. “Anyhow, I have to save the world. As Luna so quaintly puts it, we keep our stuff here.”
“So,” says the daelkyr, “You wander among the people of Io’lokar, even though they will not aid you against me? That is why you seek futilely for allies among the dragons?”
Damn. He probably is reading my mind. And … perhaps I can do the same in return. Nameless doesn’t bother to answer, instead putting forth his will and trying to contact the daelkyr’s mind. He instantly has success, sensing an immensely powerful intellect before him.
But the attempt doesn’t go unnoticed. Antaryami stops speaking instantly and then, after a moment, says, its tone now cold and deadly, “Really? You dare? Then let us put it to the test.”
Nameless feels the strange sensation of the daelkyr’s mind flowing over and around his own, exerting tremendous pressure as it attempts to crush his psyche. Luckily, the tenuous nature of the mental connection makes it easier for the alienist to resist, though he estimates that he can only do so for a short period of time. Nameless exerts his mental powers, holding back the crushing grip of Antaryami’s will even as he attempts to wriggle out from the mental grasp. He succeeds at the former – for the moment – but not the latter.
Outside, just as the daelkyr strikes at Nameless’ mind, the black smoke around his physical body increases drastically in both strength and volume. Swirling up around him, the smoke darkens and thickens, hiding Nameless from view as it solidifies. Luna, who had a hand on his shoulder, is pushed back. “Hey!” she shouts, feeling muscle and cold, ebon flesh under her hands. “What’s going on?”
“That!” shouts Korm, pointing up above her. A gigantic, serpent-like creature rears above the druid, fully thirty feet in length and perhaps a third in breadth. Its body is broken into segments like an earthworm, each bearing a ring of small tentacles. Four longer tentacles, each equal to a human body in size, ring the mouth-like opening at one end of creature’s body, and a giant spine-like tail – equal in length to the largest tentacles extends from the other extremity.
Surprisingly, Gareth is the quickest to respond, slashing into the creature again and again. The dark flesh parts under the edge of the Endless Blade, deep purple blood pouring forth from the wounds. The giant worm jerks at the wounds, drawing a smile from the paladin.
“Nameless didn’t actually turn into that, did he?” asks Nalyna, hesitating for a moment.
“I doubt it,” says Gareth, raising his sword to strike again. “But i…”
He never finishes the sentence, as the worm strikes back, its giant maw snapping shut where he stood. When it rears back up again, Gareth is gone.
“Let’s not discuss the possibilities,” suggests Six, tumbling away from the worm and activating a wand embedded in his arm to haste the group. “Kill the thing before any more of us disappear.”
“Very well,” says Nalyna, moving forward to attack as Gareth did. As he strikes, spells from Luna and Korm hit right above his head, burning and further wounding the creature.
The worm flagellates at the various wounds, but before it can retaliate, a shape appears behind it. The figure is wounded and battered, his form dripping with purple fluid so that his features are almost hidden, but it is clearly Gareth. The paladin calls on the Silver Flame and brings down the Endless Blade over and over, gleaming with argent fire. The worm shudders at each blow and finally collapses limply to the floor as the final blow severs it into two halves, the others jumping out of the way of the falling bulk.
Trapped inside his own mind, Nameless has no idea what is occurring outside, but he feels a sudden slackening of the grip in his psyche. Again he tries to break free but to no avail, and now tiredness begins to set in. Growing steadily more concerned, Nameless racks his mind for another way to escape, and something tells him that his spells – which he is certain that he cannot use as normal – are an option. Nameless concentrates, letting one of his most powerful spells fade from his mind, and instantly feels energized as the released magical energy flows into him.
But for only a moment, as he feels the daelkyr seize upon it**. “Very clever, Nameless,” says its mental voice, “But not quick enough. You are in my realm now. See?” The crushing mental pressure increases and only the momentary increase in energy that Nameless just received lets him resist it.
Outside, Korm chuckles at Gareth’s return. “You’re back, I see. Did you get swallowed? I couldn’t tell.”
“Yes,” says Gareth, wiping slime off himself. “By the Flame, that hurt like Dolurrh!” He glances at Nalyna. “Luckily, that dimension door your people use works here too. So I popped out and…,” he gestures dismissively at the pieces of the worm.
Which immediately rolls over and smashes all four of the large tentacles into him, bruising muscle and bone and taking him off his feet.
Gareth cries out at the completely unexpected attack and looks up to see that the second half of the worm is in motion too. Its spine-like tail flashes down at his helpless form – and is intercepted in mid-strike by Luna’s body as she reflexively throws herself across him***.
She screams as the spike rams through her body, shooting a dark poison into her that only her druidic immunity lets her resist. A second later Nalyna, Korm and Six leap onto the creature’s halves, hacking and slashing.
At the same time, Nameless feels a minor shift in the power of the mental grip on him. Realizing that using his prepared spell energy can help but is also something that Antaryami can absorb and block, the alienist comes up with another idea. He attempts to channel the energy of a quickened spell, discovering that it is as quick to use as when casting such a spell. Again, he feels a momentary surge which is almost instantly leeched away by the daelkyr.
And as it does so, Nameless releases the energy of his most powerful spell. The arcane power surges through him, and he realizes – just as he had hoped – that the daelkyr cannot react quickly enough to steal this energy in time. Nameless draws in as much of the released power as he can gather and then exerts himself in a huge mental effort. This time it works. There is a sudden release of pressure, the attendant sense of freedom punctuated by a fading snarl of frustration from Antaryami which sends a stabbing pain through Nameless’ mind.
The alienist opens his eyes, only to groan in pain and look down to find himself almost cut into half. Korm standing over him with a surprised expression, hurriedly lowers his blade and reaches down to cast a heal. “Damn, Nameless – what happened? One moment we’re fighting that weird black worm and then you’re in its place.”
“What worm?” asks Nameless, staggering to his feet.
“It’s complicated,” says Six, looking him carefully in the face. “Good eyes.”
“They’re completely black,” says Nalyna, walking up. “What happened?”
“Also complicated,” says Nameless, “But, in short, I met the daelkyr. And the bowl is compromised, as I expected would happen.” The alienist looks down at the innocuous-looking crystal object and gestures, sending an empowered disintegrate into it. There is an anti-climactically soft puffing sound and it falls apart into a small pile of dust.
With the bowl disposed of, Nameless explains to the others in some detail what happened to him. Having done so, he says, “I picked up a little information while I was in mental contact with the daelkyr. I’m fairly certain that Antaryami is still on Xoriat and was able to communicate with me across the planes due to the now open connection between Khorvaire and Xoriat. Even with my usage of the bowl, that sort of communication would have been impossible earlier. I also got the impression that the daelkyr was hiding something and wasn’t quite as pleased or confident as he wanted me to think he was.” The alienist strokes his forehead gingerly, since he has developed a fairly painful headache. “I think it very likely, though I can’t be certain, that he gained some knowledge from my mind too.”
Gareth has been eyeing Nameless suspiciously for a few moments, and suddenly his eyes begin to glow with the characteristic silver light which appears when he detects for evil or for someone’s thoughts. While the others turn to him in surprise, Nameless frowns. “What are you doing?”
“Just checking on you,” says the paladin. “Something seems awry since you returned. This’ll just take a moment.”
“You could have asked,” says Nameless, beginning to walk back and forth, which he knows makes it difficult for Gareth to gain any information even with his particularly specialized abilities. “Anyhow, I’m fine.”
“Maybe,” says Gareth, frowning, “But I’d like to know for sure. Now hold still, please.”
“I’d rather not,” says Nameless, before turning to Nalyna. “Thank you for your hospitality. I shall have to leave now. We are heading back to Sharn shortly, but I’m sure we will return again soon.”
Nalyna inclines his head and says, “You are always welcome,” with a bemused look in his eyes.
Nameless turns to the others and says, “Let’s head outside, shall we? See you on the road.” And disappears, using Io’lokar’s dimension door power.
The others quickly follow, joining Nameless outside Nalyna’s house. Gareth and Nameless promptly proceed to have an argument about whether the alienist needs to let Gareth examine his thoughts or not. Nameless utterly refuses to let the paladin do so, continuing to move around Gareth when he tries to focus on him and successfully resisting the power when he does.
“Damn it!” Gareth growls in frustration, turning to the others, “Make him listen to me!”
Korm, who has been watching with growing amusement, chuckles and says, “How do you expect us to do that? And don’t you think you’re overreacting?”
“No, I don’t!” snaps the paladin, “Considering the things we are dealing with, we need to be certain that Nameless hasn’t been taken over or…”
Six says dryly, “Yes, it would be horrifying if any of us had been tainted by our contact with strange, eldritch horrors. Oh, wait…”
Nameless chuckles harshly at the warforged’s witticism and says, “Listen – I just don’t appreciate you probing around me. And I’m certainly not letting you into my head. So you’ll just have to trust me.”
“And you need to trust me! Us!” says Gareth hotly, “If you don’t, I’m … I’m … not returning to Khorvaire with you.”
“Fine by me,” shrugs Nameless.
A few minutes later, the Angels stand in a loose circle around Nameless, along with the two members of the Wayfinder Foundation – or at least all of the Angels save Gareth. The paladin stands nearby, with a dark expression and his arms folded across his chest.
“Come on, Gareth,” says Luna, “Won’t you drop it and come back with us? How about letting him check your thoughts for just a minute, Nameless?”
“No,” say both the alienist and the paladin at once. Nameless follows with a cheerful wave at Gareth and then transports himself and his passengers away, leaving a fuming Gareth behind.
* And ate 100 pts of damage instantly.
** Mechanically, each spell Nameless was burning gave him a bonus on his opposed Int check against the daelkyr equal to its level, so he was on close to even terms. But thanks to Rackhir’s stellar rolling, he burned through all his 8th and a couple of 7th level spells before he broke free.
*** The attack would have taken him to -14, except for Luna using a swashbuckling card to take his damage instead.
Dilandau Kale
Explorer
Excellent It all falls into place...
Wow - that's one cool proposal, Avi! Congratulations to you both
It seems like she has Absolutely No Idea what you're up to. Sweet!
Thank you. And no she had no clue. While we had discussed marriage I would never tell her if I was interested and she would always ask if I was planning to at some point (months, years, w/e).
Don't jump the gun on the congratulations. Remember, Gareth got engaged this year too, and wait till you see what happens to him
Shil is a sadist.
