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Message: <blockquote data-quote="shilsen" data-source="post: 5742693" data-attributes="member: 198">The next couple of days after the Guardian Angels deal with the attack on Sharn are comparatively peaceful, but they are exceedingly busy, traveling back and forth across Khorvaire to make arrangements for the expedition into the Mournland. The most significant portion of their time is spent of the issue of what to do with the gate rings that Essirise has brought them from Argonnessen. Considering the sheer number of their contacts among the most powerful and influential members of the Five Nations and beyond—and the Angels’ usual difficulties in achieving consensus—they eventually decide to divide up the smaller rings among themselves (excluding Luna, based on the supposition that she will just keep it for herself) and bestow them where they individually see fit.* * *Sora Maenya lounges casually in her seat, but her green eyes gleam darkly and a huge clawed hand strokes the haft of her huge greataxe as she gazes at Nameless. “I’m still not that happy about you taking my trolls without asking me,” she growls.“I understand,” the alienist rasps with as diplomatic a tone as he is capable of, “but you do realize why we did it, of course. I doubt your trolls are disappointed by the fact that they will probably never need to pay for drinks ever again with the stories they’ll be able to tell. Also, Sora Katra did say it was acceptable.”“My sister sometimes makes decisions she should not,” grunts Sora Maenya, glancing sideways at the figure of an elf-maid who sits nearby. Sora Katra smiles demurely and says nothing. Preferring not to comment on the subject, Nameless instead extends the ring. “This, as I said, will allow you to participate personally in the greatest battle of this war.” Sora Maenya picks up the ring and studies it suspiciously. “You’re sure about that? What are we talking about – incredible odds, powerful aberrations, terrible danger?”“Certainly all that and likely more.”“Hah! All right, I’m in – but you better be right!”* * *“And,” Gareth explains, his tone respectfully polite, “I naturally leave it to your judgment, your majesty, of who might be the best recipient. If I might make a suggestion, my companions and I have fought beside Sir Maddox Kaminaar and know he is a powerful warrior. If he is not available or you prefer some other candidate, however …”The tall figure before him leans back in his throne and bounces the ring on a gauntleted palm, his heavily stylized plate armor making his powerful frame seem even more muscular than it is. A grimly thoughtful smile appears on the chiseled, saturnine countenance. “Thank you for the suggestion,” he says, in a voice that is redolent with power befitting one of the three most powerful monarchs of Khorvaire. King Kaius ir’Wynarn III, ruler of Karrnath, says, “I will think about it carefully and make a choice that you will not be unhappy with.”* * *Korm puts two heaping plates of food down on the counter and wipes his hands on his apron. “So I figured that, considering all the crap you’ve put up with thanks to us, you might want to be in on this.” “Yeah – I definitely am. And I appreciate the offer,” says Prine. After a pause, he adds, sounding vaguely suspicious, “You’re sure it’s safe?”“Huh?!” The Gatekeeper stares at the scout from Io’lokar. “Safe? Fighting an aberration army in the Mournland with Mual-Tar and possibly that damn daelkyr lord present? Are you kidding me? Of course it’s not safe!”“No, no – not that! I mean this,” explains Prine, carefully considering the plate before him, from which a potent combination of heat and spice radiates.“Hah!” Korm guffaws loudly, before shoving a large spoonful into his mouth. “Of course this isn’t safe either!”* * *Doran Dol Doras—officially only the aide to Ambassador Tasho Mol Doras, but in reality the master of spies at the embassy of Zilargo—leans back in his chair and steeples his fingers, looking over them at Six. The warforged, of course, stares back with expressionless stolidity until the spymaster speaks.“While I appreciate the compliment, master Six, I admit myself slightly puzzled at why you would come to me in this regard. Surely House Deneith, or even Medani, could provide you with skilled warriors.”“Yes,” says Six, “but I’m less interested in people who can run up and stab people. I,” his tone indicates a grimace which his metal face cannot show, “know enough of those. I’m more interested in people of skill and subtlety. And, if my information is correct, you would be the person to speak to regarding the … Shadow?” Doran is far too skilled for his thoughts to show on his face, but there is just the faintest of pauses before he replies. “I … see. You see clearly what others are blind to, but that is to be expected of one of the Guardian Angels. For virtually anyone else, I would refuse, but in this case … what do you think, Madra?” There is no verbal response, but a faint movement causes Six to see that there is a figure standing against the wall beside Doran’s desk. He also realizes, in surprised retrospect, that the individual has been there all along, though he never realized it till this moment despite his augmented senses. At first glance, it appears to be a child wrapped in shifting shadows, but taking a closer look he realizes that it is a gnome in a hooded darkweave cloak, features hidden beneath a darkweave scarf. Glimpses of black studded leather peep through the shadows. Madra Sil Sarin, representative and deadliest assassin of the Zilargo Triumvirate in Breland, makes the briefest of nods. Doran smiles pleasantly and says, “Interesting. I would not have expected assent. She must be impressed by you!”Six simply inclines his head at the words and extends the ring towards Madra. The warforged does not see the gnome actually move, but there is a faint flicker of movement and then the ring is gone from his grasp, appearing instead in Madra’s. Though he cannot see her hidden visage, Six gets the impression that she is smiling.* * *Once the four rings have been bestowed, there is the issue of the remaining, and largest, ring. Here at least there is no argument about whom it should be taken to…Cedric spins the ring on the table before him. “And you’re sure this will work the way you said?”“Yes,” rasps Nameless. “I have analyzed it. There appear to be,” he gestures vaguely, “some other abilities which I could not discern, but I’m certain that it will definitely bring you to our location. You and whatever troops you can muster.”“All right. Four days doesn’t give us much time, but luckily we have substantial troops remaining in Flamekeep. I will have them ready. As much of them as we can safely spare, that is.”“You won’t be alone,” says Gareth. “We’ve already spoken to King Kaius, King Boranel and Queen Aurala, and all of them have promised some troops.” “Really? Well done. If this works out, the Five Nations—well, four nations—are going to owe you even more. And if this doesn’t work out, well …,” Cedric smiles grimly, “… then it has been a pleasure knowing you bunch.”“Pfft!” Luna growls. “I am not about to get myself killed. And I already had to bring these four back, so I’m not losing them either.”“Good to know,” chuckles Cedric. “So, do you have anyone else who is going to come along on this?”“Yes,” says Six, extending his metal fingers and beginning to count off on them. “You know Corven, our former companion. He is now advisor to Prince Oargev and has a small group of Cyrans who will accompany and help your troops. We’ve also spoken to Merrix d’Cannith, and he has promised a contingent of artificers led by Tarya d’Cannith. A number of warforged from Sharn have also agreed to join you. Houses Deneith and Tharashk …” * * *Besides the visits regarding the gate rings, there are also a few others that the Guardian Angels make for varying reasons of importance. Luna transports Gareth to Karrlakton, where his mother and grandmother are still living, now at a small manor near House Deneith’s Sentinel Tower. Once he has met with them, Luna drags the paladin off to the ruined mansion and the surrounding land which the Guardian Angels had been granted what now seems ages ago. Only after having thoroughly examined it does the druid head back with Gareth to Sharn. After they arrive, she then goes off to meet Lalia, the reluctant paladin in tow, for a protracted discussion about her plans for Gareth’s and Lalia’s wedding and how it should be carried out.Korm, meanwhile, takes a trip alone back to the Shadow Marches, to meet with some of the remaining Gatekeepers and discuss what is to come over the next few days. He also makes time to meet and feast with some of his old friends, whom he has not seen in a long time. Though he does not say so to them, the fatalistic Gatekeeper does not expect to return from the Mournland, in view of the enormity of their task and based on the prophecy of Sora Teraza. Not that the cheerfully grim warrior has any doubts or hesitation about the task he is engaged in.Six, when not at the Gray House with the others, spends much of his time in the bowels of Sharn at the Red Hammer Inn. There he speaks to Blue and Crucible about some of his plans for the warforged—those that will be entering the Mournland with Cedric’s troops, those that dwell in Sharn, and the species in general. He also visits the Pool of Onatar’s Tears and speaks with the warforged priest Smith about similar subjects.With no other friends or confidantes, Nameless spends most of his time at the Gray House, making strategic and tactical plans of various kinds with Trillia and whichever of the Guardian Angels are present, though sometimes he also uses magical forms of communication or simply teleports himself to consult with others who are involved in this expedition. At one point, however, he leaves the Angels’ home and simply walks over to another part of upper Sharn, finally stopping at a location where few might expect to see him—a very high-end jewelry store.“That one!” the alienist rasps peremptorily, pointing at a huge sapphire in an ornate setting. “I want it.” “Certainly!” responds a nervously obsequious salesman, eyes lighting up at the thought of selling a piece that he had expected would be too expensive to sell to anyone short of King Boranel. “And, if I may be so bold, Sir has excellent taste. That is probably our finest piece. The setting itself …”Ignoring the platitudes, Nameless says, “Yes, the setting—I want it removed.”The salesman stares for a moment, his expression making it clear that his brain is having difficulty comprehending what his ears just heard. “I … beg your pardon?”“The setting. Remove it. I just want the gem.”“But … but the quality … and … and, I mean, the price will … ah,” the salesman stammers, only to fall silent as he finds himself staring into a pair of eyes that have faced dragons, demons and daelkyrs.As the unfortunate man swallows and tries to keep from wetting himself, Nameless says harshly, “Price is not an issue. I only want the gem. You can keep the setting. That will not be a problem,” he concludes, with no indication in his tone that he is asking a question.“No … er, no, not at all!” Despite his discomfiture, the salesman makes one more attempt to fulfill his duties. “Would Sir like it to be … um, wrapped? Is it a … gift?”The alienist smiles, an act which causes the man before him to move from worried and uncomfortable to genuinely scared. “Yes. It is a gift. A gift for my … oldest ‘friend.’” Nameless smiles broadly. The jeweler, to his credit, actually manages not to faint. * * * * *Five days after their first meeting with the dragons from Argonnessen, the Guardian Angels meet them once more at the edge of the Mournland, only under slightly different circumstances. This time, the Angels are standing on the deck of a Lyrandar airship, the Falcon. Its sister ship, the Blackjack, floats nearby. The decks of both ships bristle with weapons and warriors, the most distinctive among them the six armored trolls from Droaam. The sight is an impressive one, though perhaps not quite as much as that of four dragons hovering in mid-air beside the airships.“I thought,” the Light of Siberys commander Bhirali says, sounding a little grumpy, “that I had told you to keep our presence from your people. Not to bring two ships of observers.” “We intend to take these airships with us,” Nameless responds as politely as he can, “so they had to be here. Nobody else will see you.”Essirise, the only dragon who is not in her natural form, having landed on the deck of the Falcon and transformed into her usual alternate form of a silver-haired elf, intercedes quickly. “In view of our aims, I don’t think this is a problem.” Ignoring the loud sniff from Bhirali, she continues, “We have a little news too. We did a little ‘scouting’ into the Mournland and had some strange experiences.” She smiles wryly at the expressions which appear on the Guardian Angels’ faces. “Yes, just as you’d warned us. One of the stranger things we saw was on our second entry. Part of the mist detached itself, took on a roughly draconic shape, and attacked us with a combination of spells and physical attacks. We retreated and tried entering later and in different places, but the same thing showed up every time. It was powerful. Gomashur was almost killed.” The red dragon she is referring to says nothing, but the Angels notice that it looks away, seemingly scanning the Dead-Gray Mist.“That’s not something we have experienced,” says the alienist, “but the strange, unexpected and inexplicable are the norm for the Mournland.  Are you ready to go?”When the dragons indicate that they are, Nameless outlines the Guardian Angels’ plan. They intend to travel above the Dead-Gray Mist via the airships, using their connection to Mual-Tar to judge where they are in relation to the Chaos Serpent. Once they arrive above it, the Guardian Angels and the trolls will descend from the airships with the dragons, hopefully arriving right above the aberrations, and launch their attack. Bhirali has no objection to the plan and so the airships set off, flying well above the Dead-Gray Mist, with the dragons flying alongside. They quickly grow tired of flying at the airships’ pace and spread out to travel at their own pace, generally flying ahead and then looping back in a huge arc to let the Falcon and Blackjack catch up. Barely half an hour after they head over the Mournland, some of the observers on the airships see a large misty shape, which does look a lot like a dragon, fly out of the Dead-Gray Mist. The Light of Siberys dragons immediately zoom towards it, but the shape disappears back into the Mist. Once it has made its first appearance, the Mist dragon continues to reappear, sometimes almost directly beneath one of the airships, sometimes emerging a few miles away. It does not, however, evince any offense intentions at the moment.The airships continue onwards, the Angels’ connection with Mual-Tar indicating that they are approaching its current position, which seems (at least from this position) to be closer to the edge of the Mournland than they would have expected. Nevertheless, it takes the better part of a day of traveling, before they reach a spot above it. They also discover by this point that their sense of the Chaos Serpent’s presence seems to span an area at least a mile wide.“Great!” says Korm with dark cheerfulness, as the Angels make preparations to descend into the Mist. “The Silver Flame must have given it a growth spurt!”After a short discussion, some of the dragons from Argonnessen reluctantly agree to carry the trolls through the Mist, while Essirise says that she will do so for the Angels, which should hopefully lower the chances of them being separated. To be as safe as possible, once they have mounted the silver dragon’s back, the Angels also tie themselves together. Then, once everyone is prepared, the five dragons dive into the Mist in unison.This is the fastest of the Angels’ numerous trips through the Dead-Gray Mist, perhaps because it is thinner at the top of the Mournland than at its sides. Or perhaps it is because, within moments of entering the Mist, they feel Essirise disappear from beneath them. A second later, the quintet drop out of the Mist.In the split second of falling, the Angels see the Mournland a little over a hundred feet below them. There is no sign of Mual-Tar. Instead, a dark forest, one of the very few they have seen within the Mournland, stands below them. Or, more precisely, rushes up to meet them as they fall towards it. Luckily, all of the Angels had taken the precaution of being capable of flight at this moment, whether through spell or item or innate ability. So they manage to catch themselves before they would strike the ground, albeit with some awkwardness due to still being roped together.As the Angels hover, they see the trolls appear as well, similarly falling out of the Mist about a quarter of a mile away. Lacking the Angels’ abilities, they all strike the ground with painful force, and then begin to climb groggily to their feet. The dragons appear seconds later, flying out of the Mist at various points, anywhere from a quarter of a mile to a mile distant. Essirise is one as well, emerging with a confused expression as she looks around for the Angels. Much closer at hand, another dragon emerges from the Mist, except this one appears to be formed of it. Now that it is near them, the Angels can see that the gargantuan shape does look almost exactly like a dragon carved of mist. The mist that makes up its form does shift and move constantly, but always retains the same general shape. As the mist moves, what look like sparkling gems the size of a human fist appear and disappear from view within it. Nameless thanks to his arcane sight notices that these have auras like spells do, which extend outwards from each ‘gem’ in a web over the form of the creature, and remain visible to his magical sight even when the ‘gems’ are not.Not that the Angels waste much time on such discoveries. As soon as the mist-dragon appears, Luna hurriedly summons forth a greater air elemental, commanding it to form a whirlwind and attempt to disrupt the enemy’s form. She adds a swift faerie fire, just in case this thing can hide itself.The mist-dragon does not, however, show any intention of doing so. Instead it flies in a wide circle around the Angels, while long streamers of mist flow from its body. They wrap around Gareth, momentarily hiding him from view. And then, when they disappear, the paladin is gone as well. The coil of the rope connecting him to the others goes slack.“Oh – sh*t!” says Korm. “What did it do, Nameless?” Not waiting for an answer, he casts a greater dispel magic, hoping to strip away some of the magical protections the creature may have. And then swears vituperatively as he feels it bouncing back to him, as if reflected by a spell turning, though luckily his ring of counterspells absorbs it.As the Gatekeeper calls a warning about what just happened, Six hastes the remaining members of the Angels and the elemental, before slipping out of the rope.“If it has a spell turning,” Nameless opines, “your spell should have drained most of it, Korm. Let me try.” The alienist uses the same spell as the Gatekeeper and his supposition is quickly confirmed, with four of the magical auras crisscrossing the mist-dragon’s shape winking out. Following up with a swift feeblemind, which appears to have no effect, Nameless calls out, “That works! Luna – greater dispel it too!”“Boring!” growls the druid, who had just been about to charge the creature, but she does comply, similarly stripping away four more auras, leaving only one behind. Her air elemental, however, has less effect. The gigantic whirlwind attempts to envelop the mist-dragon but has little effect, bouncing off its surface and only causing some stray streamers of fog to be sucked into the vortex.Ignoring the elemental, the mist-dragon ceases flying and hovers in place. Droplets of liquid appear across its surface, glimmering with a faint green color. And then, streams of fog emanate from it once more and wrap around Luna, before causing her too to disappear.“I hope that’s some form of dimensional attack, like maze,” calls Nameless, adding hurriedly, “Korm, dimensional anchor yourself, just in case.”The Gatekeeper quickly complies and then hefts the meteoric blade. With an inarticulate warcry, he charges the foe and hacks viciously at it, only for his sword to bounce off what feels like solid rock*. To add to his disappointment, the action brings him in contact with the droplets on the foggy surface, causing the painful realization that they are acidic. On the other side from him, Six swoops in gracefully and attacks as well. The warforged’s precision strike has more effect, his chain’s barbs ripping free a large section of mist as if it were actually solid.Having decided to simply treat this creature as a very odd dragon, Nameless casts an assay resistance and then risks flying closer, before using a stun ray. The crackling bolt of electricity strikes and, to the alienist’s surprise and delight, the giant misty form simply falls out of the sky to the ground.“Yes!” Nameless crows, “It’s stunned! Quick – destroy it before it can recover!”Needing no such admonishment, Korm and Six descend upon the fallen shape, hacking and slashing to the best of their ability. The air-elemental-turned-whirlwind also descends as well, and though it cannot sweep up the mist-dragon, it does appear to be doing some damage as well. Giant hunks of mist fall apart under the assault, especially when Nameless adds a carefully placed maw of chaos which rips at the prone shape.As the shape is disintegrating beneath the attacks, Gareth appears in mid-air at the spot he had vacated seconds ago. The paladin casts a quick glance around and then, realizing what has occurred, dives head-first at the shape. As he comes, the Endless Blade transforms into a gleaming lance in his hands. Gareth strikes with tremendous force, driving his weapon deep into the spot where the heart would be on a physical dragon. Immediately, there is a soft inrush of air and the shape beneath him falls apart, the mist thinning and flying apart until nothing remains.As the Angels stare at the spot where the strange creature** had been, Luna reappears as well. “So,” Nameless inquires, “was it an equivalent to a maze spell?”“A maze? Yes, it was a maze!” Luna waves her arms dramatically. “I was all alone in there! I wanted to get out! And none of you came with me! I was left there to languish and die!”As Korm chuckles, Nameless rolls his eyes. “Don’t be dramatic. Time doesn’t pass differently in a maze. You were in there for less than half a minute!”The druid fixes him with a glare and growls, “You … don’t … know! You weren’t there! It was so lonely!”Six glances at Gareth. “You were in it too. Want to argue?”The paladin takes one glance at Luna and shakes his head vehemently, only half-joking when he says, “Nope. I just came here to fight a daelkyr lord – not deal with Luna!”* Thanks to a totally characteristic roll of a 2 on the attack. ** Mechanically it was a CR 21 wyrm brass dragon.</blockquote>

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