The Creation Schema:THE FINAL BATTLE FOR POSSESSION OF THE SCHEMA

EBERRON
08/08/05
SEGMENT 098
"In The News"
 

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Just in case I can't fix this- Four articles

Three armored persons attack someone within Sharn. Magical fire erupts that kills many homeless and the three attackers.

Merrix d'Cannith is missing- believed kidnapped

Darguun sends a representative to quell issues of raiders within Breland

Repairs continue on White Arch Bridge connecting Aundair and Karrnath
 


EBERRON
08/13/05
SEGMENT 099

The creature stood before a heavy reinforced door made of Adamantine and Steel. It had an image of a Gorgon and an anvil with the numbers 2-213 engraved onto it. It reached up and waved its scaled hand before the door being careful not to touch it. A snort that one would expect from a wild animal emits from the creature. It backs up and looks around the hallway. This is the way, it is quite certain of it.

It crosses its arms before it then begins to melt. It clicks and clacks though. It slides under the large heavy-warded door. On the other side it wiggles and reforms first into a hunched over position then to its full position. It’s tail wiggles in agitation then steps slowly forward. It passes several other doors including one heavily warded and marked as door 2-566. Light emits from the room but it feels …wrong to it. It ignores the door and seeks another door.

Finding it, it once more shrinks and falls apart into hundreds of thousands of small vermin insects and slides under the door without incident.


Shortly the door marked as 2-566 opens. A man of great power and influence steps out. His man- Merrix d’Cannith. He speaks with several people including Lady Elaydren ir’Vown. The two men leave. Multiple wands are visible on their hips and thighs. Elaydren also has a similar outfit. They wait for the men to disappear then embrace and kiss passionately. “Soon my love.” She purrs into his ear. “Very” he answers then they move away from the door to exit the secret hallways of Cannith within UnderSharn.


The creature has found itself within a large library of rare tomes, notes and research papers. Second to Metrol, Cyre, this is the largest library of House Cannith and it is very secret. The creature eyes rapidly the volumes and looks for something specific. Two hours pass before it snarls in anger. In a voice part snarl and part hiss it speaks to itself. “Patience. It is all about patience.” And it resumes looking again. Another hour passes and it stops.

It reaches up and pulls down impossibly large and heavy book containing maps. It must weigh over 300 pounds but it holds it easily. It turns pages and sputters to itself. Then begins to slow down. “Ahhh… here it is. The secret facility in the ice formations. With this I will learn where to search for my prize. The artifact I most prize.”

It places the book back on the shelf and turns. It escapes with little signs of having ever been there. It makes it into the sewers edge and looks to reach the surface before dawn.

“Hey You! Stop!” a man calls out. The light from a wand flashes over the creature’s scarred and scaled face.

“Hiiiiissssss. You have no idea what you face. Begone!” It backs into a corner and disappears. The guard runs up and finds the corner bare except for a few maggots and a centipede.

“How do I explain this to Merrix?!?”
 



EBERRON
08/20/05
SEGMENT 100
“What Do You Make of This?”

“You what?!?” yells Black sand.

“I want to go outside and summon new help.” Answers Taskerdoo.

“I thought that was what this winged horse was.” Replies Sharshek.

“Nope.”

“Then why bring it into these tunnels?” asks Vale.

“The creature is beautiful. I wanted to keep it but I realize now that this is a battle we are going to. A serious battle.” Answers Taskerdoo looking down then at the Pegasus.

“I was hoping for war.” Smirks Black sand.

“I want to go up and release this creature and summon a new one.”

“That takes 24 hours!” yells Sharshek.

Cedious looks to the ground. “This has noting to do with the warning?”

Silence.

“He was sent here to delay us!” yells the ½ giant barbarian. “And he is doing it!”

The shifter looks at the group and contemplates his choice to join them. It is obvious the group have no idea who or what the source of the warning came from. The source can be very dangerous but also very helpful. The warning he gave is true enough but because of what the group seeks or something else. This place is a cell for many things. Most are dangerous.

“Maybe there will be more giants up there.” Says Cedious hoping to cause new concerns within the group.

Black sand takes the reins of the Pegasus and leads it up the ramp. “Comon! The nature boy wants to summon any help he can.”

Cedious stammers… “I …I ..now wait a minute! This …That was a … humph.” And he follows.

They carefully look around and see no giants and exit. Taskerdoo, the halfling druid spends a few minutes with the winged animal before letting it go. He then sits to begin his summoning. Vale heals everyone of every scratch, bruise and rash they have before meditating. The shifter cleric sits on guard with his head held high. Cedious sharpens his weapons along with Sharshek. Black sand mopes around. No giants.

That night it snows again. A full three inches fall onto the group. To stay warmer, the group spends most of their time inside the main chambers. They are uncertain whether to start a fire. The smoke may collect and at the least, the smoke may alert new dangers of their presence.

The following day a large snorting creature can be seen nosing through the snow as it begins again. The snow is falling hard enough that the creature nearly enters the first chamber before being seen by Sharshek.

“Taskerdoo! Taskerdoo- get up here quick or I attack this thing just to be safe!” Sharshek draws his sword and back steps to the secret entrance. Before him stands a 1 ton large furry mammal with sharp teeth and angry dark eyes (similar to Black sands or a Shark). Small spikes grow unnaturally through its hide armor. Long digging claws that could be a weapon easily scratch on the stone work.

Taskerdoo pops out from the removed door. “A dire Wolverine! Now THAT is what we need on a mission like this.”

Black sand even seems impressed.

“Can we go in now?” whines Cedious
 

EBERRON
08/20/05
SEGMENT 101
“The Large Cave”

Taskerdoo pats and strokes his new Ally provided from the rugged and cold environment of the Eldeen Reaches. The creature does seem perfect for this kind of adventure. Strong, fierce and battle ready.

It bares its teeth when Taskerdoo climbs onto it holding onto the spikes for support. If Taskerdoo is nervous, he covers it well.

They reenter the underground crevasse and follow the stone bridges again. They pass the area the dark skinned elf warned them at. Finally they reach large double doors made of a dark grained wood. Unimpressed they search the door before continuing through them. This tunnel goes for a short distance of about 200 feet with a slight downward climb. This would place the area under the Dark Hills.

They reach an iron gate. The chain and lock are undone and hang to the side. Raising an eyebrow and finally his shoulders when he looks back to his teammates, Cedious gently pushes open the gate. It is Erie. It doesn’t creak or anything. The chamber they enter is huge.

The lanterns and torches do not provide any clue to the size or shape of the chamber. Faint echoes emit as they all move inside. Thick dust covers the floor and there are chunks of stone and debris mixed in with the dust.

Cedious looks as best as he can for traps and the such under the dust as they go. The surface under the dust is worked stone with areas being colored stone. They come across two sets of footprints. Looking carefully at them, Cedious figures these tracks are VERY old and of different times. He compares these tracks with theirs. Their tracks are an inch deep. The others are ½ inch and quarter inch deep. Cedious wonders how much dust there is and how quickly it fills footprints. Growing bored with this they move on but follow the tracks. Eventually one veers off. They follow the one that doesn’t veer and find … a scroll case?

Cedious pokes it with his rapier before reaching for it (PCs seem very cautious don’t they?) He opens it and finds a map and writing on it. Looking at it he frowns. “What is it?” asks Sharshek.

“A map …to here. And writing …in goblin.” Cedious takes a moment to glance over it before reading it out loud to everyone.


To Senator Hazodda
Below is a map to the Cavern of Mysteries I have recently discovered
It is of an unusual make and design
It radiates magic unlike any I have encountered before
There are swirling colored stripes and designs that are either artistic in nature
OR
They are more magic runes used by the foreigners
If it is the last, then they have been deceiving us on when they arrived here.
If they would lie about that. Then would they lie about promises of peace?
Your faithful servant
Dogan​

“Large runes?” asks Taskerdoo to himself. “Lets clear some area.”

The group moves away a twenty by twenty space of thick dust making it hard to breathe. Indeed, what they thought were colored stones are runes. The runes measure anywhere from 6 inches to several feet in size. “I have a bad feeling about this.” Murmurs the druid.

Sharshek turns to the shifter. “What do YOU know about this place?” The group surrounds him.

The shifter is quick to note the accusing tone and understands the fear and reasoning behind it. “My people have guarded this area along with the giants for as long as our records go back. Some say my cursed ancestors even guarded this place until the Silver Flame attacked and drove them off. It has been told to me there are great wonders and greater dangers hidden within this chamber. Some say it is a prison or holding cell for things best forgotten about. I just had to see for myself.”

The group looks into his eyes and tries to sense the truth. He seems sincere but …so have many others. “Lets go.” Says Black sand looking to find out himself. Eventually they happen onto a large block of stone. It measures 60x40 and 20 feet high. The tracks end mysteriously about twenty feet before it. Cedious looks for secret doors on the wall before him and Taskerdoo figures he can check above.

Mineral growths drop from the ceiling onto the top of the building. When Taskerdoo and Black sands mention this, Cedious opts to go above. He remembers how the weight of the minerals broke through the Cannith Foundry before. Maybe the same thing has happened here also. Sharshek and the two clerics remain on the dust-choked floor and they look around with a great deal of precaution.

“Do you hear something?” asks Taskerdoo.

“No why?” asks Cedious whom stops and listens.

“My wolverine does. Over there-“ and he points further into the mineral forest.

The light of Cedious’ hooded lantern flashes over the maze of mineral deposits and something metallic shines …and moves. “oh crap.”
 
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EBERRON
08/20/05
SEGMENT 102

“What do you see?” calls up Sharshek.

He can hear the wolverine snarl and Black sands give a reply of at last. Sharshek turns for the rope they used to climb up when the Shifter warns of something in the dust. Their torch (dangerous) reveals four slowly moving humanoids. They wear cloaks and have no facial features. As they get close the three of them feel fatigued.


“How many are there?” yells out Cedious as the first metallic spider springs from column to column to reach him.

“Four” yells Taskerdoo from the wolverine as he begins to caste spells to protect both himself and his mount.

“Five …no Six.” Yells Black sands.

The fast spiders attack. They reach out with their multi-fingered pincers. The pincer tips separate into even spaced fingers, which then begin to spin and hum ominously. The Wolverine snarls as it is scrapped by the spinning blades (chain saw). Twin compressed air driven darts fire at Cedious. They miss but now Cedious rethinks this as he quips “I can do that also.”


The shifter takes several hits as three of the four creatures strike him. Vale avoids a blow then yells for support from Sharshek. Sharshek swings, hits then crumbles to the ground in a heap. Vale castes a spell onto himself and goes to his fallen comrade.

The shifter strikes at another of these creatures. Instead of bleeding blood the creature bleeds sand. Vale can not awaken the human fighter. “There have best not be more of these.” Mumbles the cleric as he reassures himself that Sharshek is even alive.


Cedious takes down one metal spider and Black sands the other. “Are these house Cannith?” asks Black sand looking at the mechanically and magic creatures. At this point, the Wolverine, Logan, (I know- corny I agree but its Bill’s critter and character) destroys two and seriously damages a third. He hears the shifter snarling and SHIFTING to defend himself. The 1 ton dire beast turns and leaps from the top onto the closest humanoid attacker. It bursts into a cloud of sand and dust.

The sand-based creatures are no match to the wolverine’s great strength and savagery. Soon everything is quiet again. Figuring there is potential profit here, the barbarian places each broken robot spider into his new bag of holding. Cedious searches the roof for anything else and finds nothing. He returns to the floor with everyone else. Sharshek eventually wakes with a solid slap in the face by the halfling whom stands still to have everyone acknowledge that he could awaken the fighter on his own too long as the fighter grabs for him with his bloody nose.

With a sore head, Cedious searches for a door on another side. He finds one. Everyone gathers around him. “See anything?” asks Taskerdoo.

“ahhh …nope.”

All but the shifter move away. That was not a confident reply.

Cedious touches the door and searing hot air swirls out. The shifter takes a direct hit but the others back off just enough to take only a small amount of damage. The burning cloud continues to cook the shifter even after he succumbs to the heat. Cedious pushes on the door further hoping to get by before becoming burnt himself. The door opens fully and the hot gases stop.

The shifter is dead.

OOC: Can’t we ever keep henchmen alive? Is said by several

The few items of worth on the shifter are burnt and heavily damaged. They leave him outside the stone structure and enter.

They all stop quickly.

The room here measures 40x40x40. Outside it measured 60x40x20. The druid calls up detect magic. The entire structure radiates in many magics – especially Transmutation magic. He is forced to turn it off as the swirls of radiated magic blind and distract him greatly.

There are three other doors here. One on each wall. One of wood, one of iron and the other of stone. The druid goes to the one of wood. The moment he touches it the door melds into the wall. A face appears that seems to first mock him then scream as it spreads and slides up the wall. Arms and body parts also grow from the very walls. He turns and sees the door they entered through is gone and has also been replaced by the scene of melted and fused faces and limbs. Within twenty seconds it is done. The four walls are now a mass of faces and limbs that match goblins, demons, humanoids and other creatures. The floor is 75 x75 feet and the ceiling is this also. A perfect cube. Four red “X”’s are on the floor also.

Black sand runs to an “x” along with Cedious. Four of the five are on one and Taskerdoo fears something happening to him. Nothing. They all look at each other and the look of “WTF”. (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday)

“What did you do?” asks Black sands of Cedious.
 

EBERRON
08/20/05
SEGMENT 103

They spend a few minutes looking around when Cedious and Sharshek notice about 35 feet up large openings in the wall. The mouths of a demon and a giant. They point to it and they decide to check it out. Climbing the mass of piled up faces and arms is not easy. Especially when everyone is paranoid the arms and mouths will animate to bite and claw at them. They go and open a simple door just inside the mouth of a mad looking stupid giant.

Smiling with excitement, Cedious opens the door and looks inside. There is a 15x75 foot long tunnel with a 15 feet high ceiling. It is clean and free of dust. It is also free of arms and faces.

Cedious runs down to the far end. There is another door here. “Comon- lets go!”

The others hurry after him if only to contain the damage he may cause while opening various doors and possibly releasing many dangers.

He searches for traps then opens the door. Several of the others can’t help but to hold their breathes in fear of another trap being released.

Instead the sickly smell of rotted vegetation and humidity comes in. “Huh?” is all that comes out of Cedious’ mouth as he peers out into the space beyond the doorway. He swats at a few gnats and misquotes that buzz in while he looks at a large moss covered branch of a tree. He looks down and sees he is about 35ft up from the ground. Below is a swampy mess of water, mud and grass. Thick clouds of bugs and many frogs can be heard within. He looks up and strong beams of light pierce small patches through the thick canopy. Looking back down he sees dark areas of shadow that resembles the night air.

“What is it?” asks Taskerdoo.

“Is it too late to go back?” asks Cedious as he walks to the edge of the doorway. He looks down the side and discovers the door is hovering above the ground. “OYE!”

The group uses the tree to carefully climb down from the hovering door. There is little ground for them to use that is not mud and silt. Taskerdoo warns them of quicksand.

Black sand finds a stone statue of a demon grimacing at them through thick tall grass. Annoyed he destroys it and places the face into his pack. Sharshek calls attention to a glint of metal within the roots of a large willow tree. Taskerdoo is almost horrified by what he sees.

A dead warforged. Something made the wood that made up its body grow and become a tree. While the druid is shaken Sharshek asks how this can be. If no one has been here for so long then how come there is a warforged here? They are only a 100 years old at best.

“Magic” Cedious tries to say without sounding impressed.

The sound of buzzing bees gets Taskerdoo’s attention. He and his Dire Wolverine begin to sloppily make their way to the sound even as Sharshek looks for a way out. He spots another door floating 35 feet up into the air. Under it lay a small pile of rotted moss covered logs. Blossomed flowers on vines attract many bees to the logs.

The Cleric looks around to try to find anything else of use or importance. Cedious walks along a different path towards what he hopes is the center of the space they are in. “Is it space or a room?” he wonders.

Taskerdoo can hear a faint squeaky sound … a voice. He moves further and finds a stone arch covered with blossomed flowers then sits on the path. Going closer and concentrating, he can make out some words.

“visitors ….so long … good or bad ….so long indeed ……I hope they don’t go there ….should I say hi ….oh the fear ….visitors ….” The words are in Sylvan.

Sharshek begins to climb up the logs but dislodges one. A large swarm of angry bees comes out and attacks him. Black sands holds back and watches in humor. Cedious is more preoccupied by a find he has. A wooden practice sword that is stabbed into the ground. Around it the grass is sparse and dry. He knows this may be wrong but reaches for it anyway.

“Hello?” says the druid in Sylvan. “Hello I can’t see you. Where are you?”

The voice stops.

The sound of crashing logs by a series of curses and laughter can be heard in the background.

A loud buzz can be heard before the druid. He concentrates on the sound and tries to follow it. It originates from the arch and comes to him then away then behind. A few moments pass then – “hello.”

Sharshek swats at the bees as they attack and try to get into his armor. He nearly tumbles off the logs. His actions do stir up more bees. Black sands stops laughing as he notes more bees than before are at the flowers by him.

Cedious touches the wooden sword. Nothing. With a smile he grips it.

“what is that? Is it a bear? I have never seen a bear like that before it has spikes and claws and oh my I bet it can be mean what are doing here? Who are your friends? Are they friends? It has been so long since last I had visitors. What is your bear’s name? Does he have a name? Or does SHE have a name? Oh yes a male. A big male. I haven’t seen a bear in soooo loooong …..” Taskerdoo is nearly overwhelmed by the barrage of questions he is facing by his unseen source of the voice.

“I am Taskerdoo and this is my Animal Companion- Logan. He is a wolverine. Something like a bear but not one. Who are you and where are we?”

A loud splash can be heard as Sharshek falls into the murky leech filled bog. The bees cover anything NOT in the water. Black sands smiles as the bees leave him and go to the logs.

Cedious pulls out the sword. Then quickly pales and stabs it back in as the earth quivers and swells. It reverts to normal. “oh crap …that was neat.”

“Can you help my friend? He has angered the bees by the logs.

A six-inch tall female fairy appears and looks amused by the sight. Then she screams and turns invisible. “evil! Evil! Must hide!” He hears this within his mind, not by hearing it.

Taskerdoo has a confused look on his face.

Cedious pulls out the sword again and once more the ground swells. He pushes the sword back in place. The smile on his face says it all. It is just a matter of time before he pulls it out and sees what happens.

“Cedious!” Taskerdoo yells. He is unaware of what the rogue is doing but just knows it is him and his actions that drove the fey away.

Cedious stops in mid pull then pushes it back in place. “Look what I found. Should I touch it?” He says as innocently as possible.
 

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