Sidekick said:
Shil? you okay. I've tried you on your cell, your pager at your mamma's place.
bump?
The joys of designing midterms and grading have kept me occupied. But, to make up for it, a little longer than usual an update, with both more info on Nameless and an interesting situation at the end.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Even as Luna is about to leave, Nameless sniffs the air, wrinkling his nose. “You guys stink!”
“Huh?” Luna stops and sniffs herself, while the others look at each other. “All of us?”
“Yes,” says Nameless, after checking. “Including Six.”
“Something’s probably wrong with you after being to Xoriat at all,” says Korm.
“Yes,” says Gareth. “Like the fact that he has an evil magical aura in his chest?”
Nameless ignores him and continues to study his companions curiously. “And you all sound a little … purple.”
“We
sound purple? What does that even mean?”
“Yes. And I can’t really explain it to you. Mortal language is a little deficient in this regard.”
“Sure, whatever,” says Luna. “Anyway, I’m going. I’m hungry. You guys coming?”
While Nameless dresses, the others follow her, talking among themselves about what just happened. The alienist quickly joins them, wearing slightly longer sleeves than usual to keep the tentacle mostly covered, and then takes one of the group’s
hats
of disguise to make it look like a normal arm and hand.
Fett joins them as well, and while he’s relieved to see Nameless back, admits that he’s slightly uneasy about the other things that have happened to the alienist. During the meal, he informs the Angels about the details of the ‘ambush’ they had asked him to set up. He’s found a small band of Brelish ex-military turned not very successful mercenaries and criminals, who jumped at the idea of the Boromar bounty. He fed them the story that the other Angels would be away while the two druids would be performing a ceremony in Carosten Park three days later. The Angels discuss a few plans for the day and what they need to do to set the situation up properly.
The Angels also make a couple of less pleasant discoveries during the meal. Nameless finds that his sense of smell is similarly offended by the food on the table, and is eventually drawn to a rare appetizing whiff from the kitchen. There, he finds it to come from some rotten meat that Fett had set aside to be thrown out. Nameless’ mouth waters at the odor from it, and a little piece tastes quite scrumptious. He quickly checks and finds that some of the preserved tentacles and other strange meats that he has harvested during the group’s various adventures still taste fine to him. But anything else that isn’t well on the way to turning putrid is singularly unappetizing to the alienist.
In order to be able to eat a meal, Nameless has to use a
prestidigitation to give the flavor of putrescence to his food. As he casts the spell, he feels it twist and change slightly, attempting to manifest randomly but being restrained from doing so by only his level of arcane mastery. He quickly realizes what is happening, and casts another minor spell to check, with the same effect, though he forces it to have the result he desires. “Hmm – that’s strange.”
“What?” asks Gareth, a hand coincidentally resting not too far from the hilt of the Endless Blade.
“My spells seemed to be affected by the wild magic trait. It’s common to Xoriat.”
“You know, we really need to check out what else is different about you.”
After the meal, the Angels run through a series of tests. One of the things they discover is that Nameless himself does not count as evil in alignment, being unaffected by a
smite from Gareth or any spells that only affect evil creatures. He is, however,
detecting strongly as an aberration, and is damaged by spells that only target them. And he is no longer affected by magic that targets only humans and other humanoids. Not too surprisingly, most of these discoveries quite please Nameless, only serving to convince him that he’s a few steps closer to advancing to a different level of being. For the first time ever, he is also slightly pleased by Gareth’s ability to
detect thoughts, since the latter uses it to check and finds no more minds in the area than those of the Angels.
Afterwards, Nameless leaves to visit Trillia, walking instead of
teleporting to avoid any mishaps due to the wild magic affecting his spells. Gareth leaves at the same time, planning to speak to a few other people about what has occurred.
* * *
“This is fascinating!” says Trillia, once Nameless explains some of what has happened. She shakes her head and laughs. “I told you there was something unusual about you, but this is really a bit much.
Nobody that I know of has managed to reach Xoriat since the Gatekeepers sundered it from Eberron. I can see that you’re going to have to be teaching me a few things now.”
Nameless grins. “As I’d told you, I’ll share whatever I learn with you. Though, in view of some of the things I’ve seen, you might want to think a little about going any further down this path.”
“Why not?”
“Let me tell you a little of what I saw.” Nameless proceeds to describe everything that occurred to him, or most of everything, since he does not mention anything about the daelkyr ‘footprint’ in his head, which he has never told even Trillia about.
* * *
Simultaneously, across town, Gareth is sitting across the table from a marginally less amused woman. Even though he has just explained everything about the plague and Cainan, her focus seems to be completely on Nameless and his return from the dead.
“WHAT?!”
“That’s all right,” says Gareth quickly. “I don’t think there’s any reason to be worried about Nameless. I trust him.”
I wish the rest of them could hear me now.
“Why?”
“I think Nameless is generally trustworthy, though this interests and beliefs are a little strange.”
Ythana Morr looks at Gareth silently for a moment and then says, her tone as dry as sandpaper. “So you trust him because … you trust him?”
“No, that’s not all. I’ve had a good deal of experience with him, and Nameless dislikes having anything – even things from Xoriat – controlling him, so I seriously doubt he would want or allow it to do so.” After a moment’s thought, Gareth adds, “And he is not evil. Which I can now
detect, by the way.”
See – I told you I was a paladin!
The Archierophant ignores that particular piece of information. “You are certain he is not evil?”
“Yes. His heart is, but he isn’t.”
There is a chilly silence for a few seconds. “Would you care to explain that?”
“Well, not his heart. He came back with a magical aura in the center of his chest that he said has a strong aura of conjuration. I found it to have a moderate evil aura. But Nameless doesn’t.”
“I see. Is there anything else that has changed besides that tentacle you mentioned?”
“Oh, yes – he’s an aberration now.”
Ythana’s pause is a few seconds longer this time. “He’s an aberration?”
“Well, he detects as such to any magic that affects aberrations. And he’s not affected by any magic that affects humans.”
Ythana sighs. “All right. Let me see if I have everything correct. Nameless was slain, returned from the dead but you’re not sure the spell that brought him back was even cast properly, said that he had been to Xoriat, which has been sundered from our world for millennia, now has a tentacle, has an evil and magical area in his chest, is no longer human and has become an aberration. And there’s nothing for me to worry about. Correct?”
“Umm … yes.”
* * *
Half an hour later, Gareth is sitting across a table from Cedric, a pained expression on his face. “And that’s what she said. It didn’t go that well.”
Cedric shrugs and then slides over a brimming glass. “I’m not surprised. Were you?”
“Not surprised, but I’d have liked her to trust my judgement a bit more.” As Cedric chuckles, Gareth – who is slowly developing more of an appreciation for alcohol – takes a sip and eyes him curiously. “So what do you think?”
“Frankly, I don’t have that much to go on, do I? So let me ask you a question – do you think Nameless is a danger to those around him or Sharn in general?”
Gareth muses for a bit. “No. Like I told the Archierophant, I really don’t think so. He could be a danger if he was mind-controlled by some daelkyr or other entity from Xoriat, which is what I first feared when he returned and I
detected something evil in his chest. I told you I can
detect evil again, right?”
“Yes,” says Cedric with a grin. “Twice. And now thrice. Right, Blade?”
“Wh-uh?” says the Endless Blade, sounding sleepy. “Oh, you’re listening to him? I’ve got no
ing clue!”
“Quiet, you!” says Gareth with a slightly embarrassed grin, and then continues, “Anyway, like I was saying, Nameless has serious issues – understandably – with something controlling him, and I think he’d rather die than let it happen to him.”
“Okay.” Cedric thinks – and drinks – silently for a few seconds, and then says, “Well, here’s what I think, and you can tell Nameless that from me. Tell him I trust him to not do anything silly and if I can help in any way to deal with this problem he has, I’ll be glad to do so. And if he goes crazy at some point and starts hurting and killing people, I’ll take him down. I’ll try to do so without killing him, and would be sorry if I had to, but I would do it. Is that fair enough?”
* * *
On the way back from meeting Cedric, Gareth stops off at Lalia’s and joins her for dinner. Unsurprisingly, she too is very interested to hear about what happened with Nameless, and the two spend a lot of time discussing it. In a way, Gareth is thankful to have the subject at hand, since there is, even now, some degree of tension between him and Lalia, as has existed since the proposal. Nevertheless, things are improving, and by the end of the evening, they are laughing and joking as they did earlier.
* * * * * *
Over the course of the next two days, the Angels spend some time trying to find out as much as they can about the situation with Nameless. Something that they are also investigating is the issue of Calderus, the name they encountered in the lair of the mad and diseased druid Cainan. Nameless actually gives them a lead, having recognized the name – though he has no idea where the recognition comes from – as that of one of the mindflayer generals of the armies from Xoriat that invaded Eberron seven millennia ago.
Nameless begins by using some of his own magic, which gradually loses the wild magic trait that threatens to twist it every time he uses a spell. He uses an
analyze dweomer on the aura within his chest, and though it does not reveal precisely what it is, he learns that it is specifically a conjuration effect belonging to the calling subschool, that it is at least as powerful as the eighth valence, and that it is somehow quiescent, as if waiting for a trigger to activate or release it. For once, everyone agrees with Gareth that it does not sound positive.
Afterwards, the Angels visit a number of places, checking on Calderus. They stop at the Morgrave University library and then visit Flamewind. Unfortunately, the library contains nothing on Calderus, and Flamewind admits that her personal knowledge outside the visions is almost exclusively about Xen’drik. She promises to let the Angels know if anything relevant occurs to her, but suggests they don’t count on it.
“Any other ideas?” asks Luna, afterwards.
“I was thinking of one possibility. Cainan’s notes mentioned meeting this Calderus in the depths of Sharn, right? We do know one group of people … well, creatures … who live in the depths.”
“Ah!” says Nameless, beginning to grin as he sees the frown on Gareth’s face. “You mean the…”
* * *
… vampires. Eight vampires sit or stand casually around the well-furnished, if somewhat old-fashioned, room that the Angels find themselves in, for the first time since they first saw it four months ago. The tall (formerly) human woman named Mina who leads them sits across from the Angels, listening intently.
“Calderus?” she asks finally. “What made you think of asking us? Not that I’m complaining, mind you.” She smiles, probably unintentionally, toothily. “It’s not like we get visitors, so it’s definitely an interesting change.” Mina looks at the bodies neatly piled in the corner. “And you brought almost-fresh drinks!”
Nameless smiles. “No thanks are necessary. They’re members of one of the sewer gangs, who made the mistake of attacking us on the way. I thought you might be able to make more use of them than we can. And Six suggested that since you are the only people living in the depths that we know of, and presumably have good information about this area, you would be the ones to ask.”
“We will. But excuse me for a moment, will you?”
“Certainly.”
Mina rises gracefully, beckons to the elderly male vampire who seems to be her second in command, and walks into the next room and shuts the door. The Angels exchange curious glances, but there are no signs of danger or indication from the remaining vampires that anything is amiss. The two vampires return soon and Mina retakes her seat.
She smiles and says, “You have come to the right place. I just thought it was an interesting coincidence that you should come to a group of vampires to ask about Calderus since …”
“Ah,” says Nameless, “She is a vampire too!”
“But mindflayers cannot be vampires,” corrects Gareth.
“And people can’t take the trip I just took,” says Nameless. “What’s your point?”
Mina smiles at Gareth. “Correct. Nevertheless, your friend is correct. Calderus is a vampire. And she is a mindflayer.”
“Really?”
Fascinating! “So you know her?”
“In a manner of speaking. We have no real contact with her, and I don’t think any of us has spoken to her in the last fifty years.” Mina looks at the elderly elf and he nods. “But we know she has at least one lair in the depths, though we don’t know precisely where it is. She’s been here for centuries, maybe thousands of years. As far as I know, she’s a bit of a philosopher, actually.”
“So you don’t think she’s a danger to Sharn? I’m just asking because of this whole Cainan thing.”
“I doubt it. She’s very well informed about the depths, obviously, and there have always been rumors that there are strange creatures and diseases, perhaps even remnants of the works of the Lady of the Plague down here. Maybe she found this Cainan and shared some of that with him. Why she released him with that information, I don’t know, but I can’t see her wanting to let loose a plague in Sharn.”
“Could he have escaped? Cainan apparently thought he did, but he wasn’t all there.”
“Maybe he escaped, but I doubt it. Anyway, what I’m fairly certain of, is that there’s no danger from her to Sharn.”
“All right. You know better than us, so I’ll take your word for it.”
“Good. If we learn something about the subject, I’ll let you know.” Mina lounges into a more comfortable position. “So tell me, what else is happening up there? We haven’t been above ground in a few weeks, so a little news and gossip would be nice. What have you been up to?”
“We bought a house,” says Six, and Gareth adds, “The Gray House. We believe there were vampires there earlier.”
“Bah! Members of the Emerald Claw! Those cretins give us a bad name. And yes, I’ve heard of the place. Maybe I’ll stop by some time.”
“Certainly,” says Nameless. “You’re welcome any time.”
Having extended their hospitality to a group of vampires, the Angels spend some more time chatting with them about their recent actions. Mina and the others are very interested in just about anything to do with Sharn, and are reduced to hysterical laughter at the description of Luna’s antics at the Tain Gala. While they talk, Nameless notes that he can again hear the faintest strains of a wild, manic piping, which has often been hovering at the edge of his consciousness since he was brought back. Having earlier discovered that trying to focus on it leads to a mildly hypnotic effect and a lack of focus, he ignores it, and it eventually fades away.
* * * * * *
Over the course of the two days, the Angels make plans for the ambush on those that Fett has inveigled into going after the bounty on them. The final decision is that Luna and Korm will be in Carosten Park near the Gatehouse that Surr’kal lives in, purportedly to perform a druidic ritual, while the others will
teleport into the building behind them and wait.
In order to avoid any unnecessary complications, the Angels inform Balan what they are going to be doing. He promises that he’ll ensure the City Watch is nowhere near Carosten Park, and asks them to avoid doing any structural damage to the place and to protect any non-combatants in the area, as there will be many. The Angels also tell Flim Turen that something interesting will be happening and give him the time, but tell him the location will be the adjoining park, so that he doesn’t spoil their ambush by showing up and trying to speak to them. They also inform Surr’kal what they are planning, and he says that he’ll make sure to be down in Northedge giving Teln some company at that time.
For once, everything goes according to plan. Around noon of the 18th, Luna and Korm are going through the motions of a druidic ritual, when four warforged, step through the rough ring of bushes and trees approximately sixty feet from the Gatehouse, which separate it from the rest of the park, where the public of Sharn walk about. As the warforged advance, all in heavy plating and wielding two-handed weapons, a pair of
invisible attackers appear as they cast spells. The
dispel magic cast by the dwarf in half-plate, holding a symbol of Kol Korran, sovereign deity of wealth and trade and greed, is absorbed by Korm’s ring, but the human arcanist appearing near him successfully
hastes his allies. The warforged charge in, swarming around Korm, the closest target, and land a couple of painful blows. And that is the last bit of good luck the unfortunate attackers have, as the other three Angels come rushing out of the Gatehouse.
The four warforged are strong and skilled, veterans of the Last War, each having drunk a couple of potions to strengthen and fortify them. They last all of ten seconds, as a whirlwind of blade, chain and spells envelops them. The dwarven priest near him has even bigger problems, as Nameless
summons something he figures is particularly apt for the situation and the aim of making people around Sharn seriously reconsider attacking the Angels. An amorphous shape flows out of thin air beside the dwarf, constantly shifting through a dozen chaotic shapes before it forms itself into a bulbous thing with ten eyes swimming in a viscous sac at the top of a shapeless body surrounded by dozens of constantly smacking mouths. The chaos beast leers up at the horrified dwarf and reaches up to sink a claw into his side. Instantly, his body flows, writhes and melts into a spongy amorphous mass.
The wizard, staring around in horror as his allies drop, shouts, “It’s an ambush! Run!” and desperately begins to cast a spell to
summon some more allies. Three wolves begin to form between him and the Angels, eyes gleaming with fiendish light. Unfortunately for the poor caster, he misses the similar gleam in Nameless’ eyes as soon as he begins casting. As the wizard turns to flee, Nameless speaks a single, mind-twisting word in the language of the daelkyr. Incorporeal black tentacles burst out of the wolves, which scream and thrash around momentarily, and then turn to face Nameless. “Go on,” he says, “Get him.” With loud howls, the wolves turn and charge. Their summoner has a few seconds of confused, screaming terror before he disappears under them.
Korm, having dispatched the unfortunate dwarf, who had managed to recover his form just in time to meet the Gatekeeper’s sword, steps warily away from the chaos beast and says, “How the hell did you do that?”
Nameless smirks. “I made them an offer they couldn’t refuse.”
Now that the fight, brief as it was, is over, Gareth steps forward to address the surprised audience that has witnessed it. Many of the citizens who had been strolling around the park had fled, shouting and screaming in alarm, when the battle began, but some of them are watching fearfully from a distance. Gareth raises his arms and calls loudly, “Citizens of Sharn – do not fear! We are the Guardian Angels. We were attacked by evil and foolish men, and they have been punished for it. You are safe. Do not be concerned.”
The speech seems to work, since the cries of alarm cease, and a few of the more curious or foolhardy come a little closer. Having made their scene, the Angels collect the bodies outside the Gatehouse and discuss what to do next and when Flim will hear of the trouble and arrive. Then, a slightly nervous-sounding shout interrupts them. “What’s going on? Who’s in charge here?”
Four men are advancing towards the group, garbed in chainmail and carrying halberds that they keep pointed at the Angels. Recognizing their uniform, Nameless says to the others, “Members of the Royal Guard. They’re not the Watch. I’ll explain.” He walks over, with both hands – one of which is actually the tentacle under a magical disguise – lifted to show that he bears no weapons.
“Don’t worry,” Nameless explains to the leader of the Guardsmen. “We are the Guardian Angels. You’ve probably heard of us.” He gestures at the corpses and his companions. “We were attacked by some miscreants but disposed of them.” Remembering their plan, Nameless announces loudly, “We should thank Saidan Boromar, who informed us of this attack. He has been
very helpful.”
The man Nameless is addressing looks a little confused, and begins to say, “We have heard of you. But you say you were told of this by…,” when he stops and says, “What the hell?!” Looking back, Nameless sees Luna, who has decided this is going to get boring quick, transforming into an eagle and flying off. “Don’t worry,” he says. “My companion’s a druid. She’s just going back to our home. I assure you…”
As he is speaking, Nameless is interrupted in turn, this time by a loud shout. A voice yells, “Now! Now!” Turning, Nameless sees a quickly advancing collection of multiple magical auras, evidently on an
invisible person, who has rushed around a nearby tree. About a hundred feet further away, another voice strikes up a magical chant, evidently coming from another
invisible collection of auras. Three more such collections fly into view at the limits of Nameless’
arcane sight, 120 feet away and advancing. Three visible figures round out the new arrivals, speeding into sight on the backs of their fastieth dinosaurs. The riders are halflings, each in traditional Talenta garb, wearing a hunt mask and wielding a gleaming tangat.
! “Ambush!” yells Nameless, quickly rising into the air.
“What? Another one?” The Angels grab at weapons, even as the unexpected enemies rush in. To add to their surprise, the four Royal Guards pull out tanglefoot bags and hurl them, before rushing in as well, halberds swinging. One spatters onto Korm, but a pre-cast
freedom of movement causes it to slide off him. Gareth is not so lucky, but at least he avoids being stuck in place.
The opening moments of this battle go badly for the Angels. On the ground, the Talenta riders rush in, slashing viciously as their mounts carry them past their targets, and the Royal Guards, though much less effective, add to the melee. An even deadlier enemy emerges, as the first speaker is revealed to be a foe from the recent past. A volley of boomerangs flies out from the location of the now revealed attacker, the surviving twin of the pair who had accompanied Halak Boromar into the arena.
Even more deadly are the flying attackers, each of whom Nameless detects as being incredibly well-protected magically. Two appear as they
fly closer, activating wands that fire acidic orbs to strike with painful* and unerring accuracy. The third of them is even more protected, with more than a dozen auras marking his position to Nameless, who decides to take him out of the fight first. The alienist casts a
solid fog around him and then, with a word and a gesture, drops a
glitterdust around the chanting enemy in the distance, whom only he can detect from his aerial vantage point. The golden motes outline a humanoid figure, who stops chanting, rubs frantically at his eyes and stumbles backwards, before falling over a bush.
This initial success is slowly followed by others. Korm slash into the enemies around him, taking one of the Royal Guards down, and then hacks at a speeding rider, wounding him even as the halfling’s tangat lays his own side open. Gareth, rocked by an acidic orb that blast him with unusual power
dispels much of the user’s protections, just as Luna, infuriated that a battle began without her, rushes back in. She screeches and an empowered
arc of lightning leaping from the unprotected flier to the wounded rider, blasting both of them apart**.
Six, however, is unluckier. With the multiple enemies and especially the riders being adept at racing in and out and attacking, he decides that he needs to control the battlefield better. Six calls on his harness’ power and begins to grow, expanding to the height and heft of an ogre. Unfortunately, this both requires time and makes him a bigger target. Two boomerangs slam into his forehead, temporarily dazing him, allowing another rider and a pair of the Royal Guards to strike him with impunity.
Nameless too now has problems. As he prepares to cast his most powerful
summoning spell, the figure in the
fog cloud emerges without any signs of being hindered. A bolt of
enervation shoots forth to strike the alienist, removing the spell he was casting from his memory, as well as a couple of others. The caster doesn’t even appear, indicating that a
greater invisibility is in effect. And a
shield, since Nameless’ riposte of five
magic missiles, whiff out of existence before striking him.
Another exchange of spells leaves Nameless the worse for wear, an acidic orb from his enemy almost sending him down, and he quickly retreats behind his own
solid fog, shouting at Luna that he needs healing. The druid pauses to hurl a bolt of flame to take one of the Royal Guards down and then hurries to comply, englobing Nameless. On the ground, things are going marginally better. Seeing the way the boomerang thrower is keeping his allies off balance, Korm ignores his other enemies and steps towards him. The halfling hurls another volley, and though Korm deflects one, the others slam into his chest. Ignoring the pain, the Gatekeeper brings the sword up and around in an eviscerating sweep, almost cutting the halfling in half. But the attack leaves him open and another rider lays his back open in turn. Staggering under the attack, Korm quickly casts a
cocoon on himself too, so he is unable to see that his risk is doubly justified. The rider who attacked Korm is carried past by his dinosaur, putting him perfectly in position for an advancing Gareth. The Endless Blade comes down, gleaming with silver flame, and decapitates the halfling before he can dodge.
Despite the successes, only Gareth, Luna and Six are still on the battlefield, and the number quickly drops. As does Six. Already badly wounded while he was dazed, the now twelve-foot tall warforged is struck by another acidic orb and crashes down***. His attacker has scant time for celebration. Luna, rushing back after protecting Nameless, hurls another empowered
arc of lightning, blasting him apart. Even as she casts, the last remaining enemy spellcaster appears, a slim human who flies down to land near Six.
To the surprise of Gareth and Luna, and evidently his few remaining allies, he looks at the two Angels and says politely, “I’m sorry, but I have to do this. I’ll see you soon. Look for me in Droaam.” With that, he touches a wand to Six and speaks a word. And the two of them promptly disappear.
Even as the two remaining Royal Guards look around confusedly and then cast down their weapons, while the last dinosaur-rider turns his mount and tries to flee, Nameless and Korm step out of their respective
cocoons. “What happened?” asks Korm, looking around and seeing the battle apparently over.
“Somebody stole Six!”
* Artificers using Metamagic Item with Maximize Spell are nasty!
** I rolled damage for all the empowered spells and never got less than 50 pts on 12d6, and never higher than 5 for anyone trying to save against them. It was disgusting!
*** This is actually the first time Six got taken below -10 since the fight with the inane dragon Tyrass on the island some 27 sessions ago.
