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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 9529633" data-attributes="member: 16069">Dark Squad in the Secrets of SaltmarshSession #152b: The Narrator.Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).Daktari/Dak (played by Haggis) Male Human Uthgardt Sky Pony Barbarian Lvl 9Fellowyn Silverstream (played by George) Male Eladrin Wizard Bladesinger Lvl 9New Tricks/Newt (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 9Ramshambo/Ram (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue/Fighter Lvl 7/2Vincenzo/Vinnie (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 9DEAD PCs<s>Nicholai Barbaros Kostyiev/Nicky (played by George) Male Dhampir Cleric of Twilight Lvl 8 </s>RIPNPCs<s>Inverna Nightbreeze (played by George) Female Wood Elf Fighter Lvl 8 (Sidekick)</s> RETIRED<s>Garumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 5</s> RIP*<s>Tarbin Tul (played by goonalan) Male Human Bard</s> RETIRED<s>Ubmo (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 1</s> EXPLODED<s>Ubdug (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 2</s> EXPLODEDUb-Pam (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 3*Trapped in the Land of the Bad Dead Ancestors.Servants/FamiliarsGerald (Bat/Giant Bat) servant/mount of New TricksOwly (Owl) Vinnie’s familiarArchimedes (very scruffy & old, Owl) Fellowyn’s familiar.The Dark Squad’s to-do list-<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Find the other four Symbols of Ub, one was left in Deepbridge (Duergar fortress in the Underdark). The others need to be found, they belonged to- Rambles 'Shambles' Bowspirit (halfling killer from Lowhill), Antonio De La Crane (posh kid druid alchemist) & Giggles (crazy wood elf). All of these folk lived in the Saltmarsh region, the Dark Squad have found the De La Crane Manse (in the Dreadwood) and the De La Crane Crypt (in Saltmarsh Cemetery).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Nightshade is in the Deep Dreadwood- except she's not there anymore, but a big red dragon is?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Blackedge and the Goblin Stair?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">To join the Pact of the Wild Flame prepare the Witch's Tor for the coming of the starfall, the Witch's Tor is in the Drowned Forest, in the Mere of the Dead Men.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">To join the Pact of the Wild Flame track down the last member of the Pact, a wild elf adventurer called Giggles- and finally put her spirit to rest, and also recover her maze button. Location unknown. SEE 2. ABOVE.</li> </ol>This is session 152b, and the Dark Squad are no longer in the Witch’s Tor (maybe, we’ll see), and they still have a beacon to light (maybe).The Dark Squad are, at present, collectively and individually falling out/through/off reality.There is blackness.The whooshing of movement- very specifically, falling.The twinkle of lights, here and there- the twinkles however elongate and stretch until it’s a kaleidoscope of colours and patterns, and then…Ram holds his breath.His heart thumping in his chest.Someone, somewhere is shouting- “Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”He thinks it might be Daktari.Then…Six embarrassingly quiet/dull thuds.And the Dark Squad have landed.Reality coalesces into things and stuff.[ATTACH=full]388844[/ATTACH]Here they are.The Squad’s Rary’s Telephonic Device-spell is still working, and so it takes only seconds for the six members of the Dark Squad community to figure out that they are situated in an ancient cell (or two)- both with open doors, and most likely not too far apart.When and where they are however…That’s a mystery yet to be solved.Time to explore, which means- of course, Ram’s up.[ATTACH=full]388845[/ATTACH]The rogue, creepy-creepy, gets everyone together for a whispered conversation, and some healing for Fellowyn.Consensus is, atm, it looks familiar this place- and yet, no one has a scooby where they’re at.And so, with Ram to the fore, we go on.[ATTACH=full]388846[/ATTACH]And now things are both more and less familiar. Vinnie is certain (for a while) that they’ve been here before or else somewhere very similar.I buy my maps from the same five or six places so, they’ll probably look similar- some of them.Oh, and all the drawings and etchings on the floor (they continue onto the walls and ceilings) it’s Fellowyn (again) that figures this out.“It’s stars and planets, old boy. The movements of the heavens- in space, and… time. There’s some jolly difficult maths going on here. Whoever worked this stuff out was a very smart fellow.”But that’s not all, soon after there’s a voice- a soft, female- possibly elven voice, and it’s narrating.Ah, one of those scenes.The Dark Squad do a lot of listening, a little bit of thinking- not too much, a lot of spit-balling ideas, and with a lot of chatter amongst themselves in between, trying still to bridge/leap the gaps as the narrator goes on.They quickly figure that the narrator stops talking when they stop exploring, and so… they explore some more.[ATTACH=full]388847[/ATTACH]Here we all are again, a bit more spread out, the Dark Squad are of the opinion that this place is safe, empty… dead.This place is ancient- properly ancient, things fall apart at the slightest/lightest touch, but in its day… this would have been a suitable lair for a mad scientist or three (or more), it’s stocked with everything they would need.In the above image the Moonboar and Fellowyn are examining the time-ruined contents of an alchemy lab to beat all others- there’s everything in here.Oh, but back to the elven voice, the narrator, here goes-“We elves have, in our way, manufactured our own downfall. Perhaps even the downfall of all Faerun.”“The dwarves, in their damp holes mither, scurry and say- 'be wary, don't dig too deep', truth be told we should have learned from them.”“This then is something in the way of a confession, I pray you listen to what I have to say, and judge 'the elves' none too harshly.”“The Pact of the Flame, in its later years- when the dragons had been subdued- or else the war with them was at a stalemate, well... they're interests wandered.”“And keep in mind these were some of the foremost elven minds of their time, and kind- wizards, sorcerers, and adventurers with a myriad skills and interests.”“They built this place, or else one of them did.”Keep in mind the narration is being doled out a slow pace, a stanza or two at a time.[ATTACH=full]388848[/ATTACH]Daktari, Newt & Ram discover a (once) plushily appointed meeting chamber.It even has its own orrery.[ATTACH=full]388849[/ATTACH]Newt has wanted an orrery to call his own for ages, it’s a shame this one is nine feet tall and made of rusted, falling-apart, iron work.A little later Newt meets up again with Vincenzo, the two have had the same idea, although for different reasons, but nevertheless, here it is- the idea, as voiced by Newt-“Ah. Vinnie, I’ve had an idea- we should get back aboard the time travelling castle-thingy and come back here when it was all up and running. Kill whoever we find here and take all their stuff, some of this loot is potentially magnificent. Fit for a king, or a God!”Newt preens, he’s thinking about himself again, he often does.But the narrator has much more to say.Also, keep in mind the Dark Squad (mostly Newt, sometimes Fellowyn, and once or twice Vinnie) are prone to shouting answers and/or questions back at the narrator, as she unfolds the story.It’s always about them.“The Pact of the Flame’s new interests were manifold, but primary amongst them was their exploration of the heavens, and the stars, and the spheres of the great beyond.”“They struggled for centuries to find a way to visit these far worlds- they tried in vain for a generation or more, and that for the elves is a very long time.”“And over time the far unexplored places they dreamed of became an obsession. And so unable to go there they did the next best thing.”“They built a beacon.”“This place.”“In the hope that whatever was out there would notice them, would see their signal.”“And thus, they called out to the great beyond.”The Dark Squad are beginning to appreciate the narrative, they like a good bit of story every now and then- it helps them make sense of things, obviously.[ATTACH=full]388850[/ATTACH]Ram finds the library, more books than he’s ever seen. Floor to ceiling, all of them ruined.But there’s still more story to be told.“And the great beyond answered.”“Imagine their delight.”“You have seen, and perhaps even been, to a place in a far-flung future. A place in which strange technology is every day, a place filled with bright lights and yet hidden by gloom and torrential rain. A place patrolled, and ruled over, by a great world-spanning wyrm.”“Do you remember this place, on your journey?”The Dark Squad nod and murmur their ascent.“You were reacquainted with your friend Buggles there, oh and his duergar friend- what was her name?”The Dark Squad are asked another question.This then isn’t a narration, as much as an interview, or else an interactive story- the Dark Squad need to play their part.But yes- the Squad remember the future place, and Buggles being there, and his duergar companion- Gwen.Although let’s just take a brief moment right here. You remember Gwen right, the armoured skeleton summoned by the black whistle- Nightcaller, all the way back in the PCs first adventure- in the Sunless Citadel.Gwen, who the PCs later came to learn was, in life, named- Gwendawr Blackheart, Scourge of the Black Sea, the Duergar Pirate Queen.That Gwen.I must have mentioned the above for a reason, the reason however now escapes me, still- worth knowing.We, and the narrator/speaker move on.“Do you remember this?”The Dark Squad nod some more.“That is the future you fight to avoid.”“The Pact of the Flame called out and the Great Wyrm answered.”“Dendar the Night Serpent.”“Faerun would have, should have, fallen...”“But then, at the very last moment... an enterprising young dwarf (at least he looked like a dwarf, a small pale-skinned fellow, a pygmy, a runt) well, he somehow 'arrived' to save the day.”“Odd that Ub should just happen by.”[ATTACH=full]388851[/ATTACH]Fellowyn finds an audience chamber, or perhaps even a throne room. Oddly, he takes a seat, the chair doesn’t collapse- everything else has… the chair Fellowyn sits on doesn’t, it takes the strain.I guess the ancient elven wizard must just be lucky that way.The narrator has yet more to say, and I’m still parcelling this stuff out.“And now Ub’s plan unfolds every two hundred or so years a group of reckless heroes (and the like) are somehow drawn into this mystery.”“And hope, and the fate of all of Faerun rides with them.”“For a while...”“If the heroes are defeated somehow, but the end times have not yet been triggered, then... nothing happens, Faerun holds its breath and waits for the next incarnation, for the prophecy to come around again.”“But if the heroes go undefeated.”“And continue to go undefeated...”“Then the pale dwarf's great scheme rolls on, the threat all the while increasing, the stakes getting higher all the time.”“There will come a point, yet to be reached, when your failure or else demise will no longer be enough.”“Your deaths will serve only to bring about the coming of the Night Serpent, and then Faerun, as we know it, will be no more.”“You have seen this future.”“And so, know this, every step that you take forward increases the threat to Faerun- tread carefully my friends.”“A goddess asks this of you.”“The end time we call Ashardalon, Dendar too we call Ashardalon- it means the Time of Ash, or the Ashbringer- when the great fire comes to burn down the world.”“When all is lost.”“And so, know that each of you have my blessing. Whatever choice you make.”“You may each call upon my service but once, each of you.”“A boon, and to the limit of my power.”“Any questions?”But at this point we have got to here.[ATTACH=full]388852[/ATTACH]Sehanine Moonbow, back to see the Dark Squad- the narrator.The Dark Squad either ask questions, or else for Vinnie & Fellowyn- fawn a lot and then ask questions.Sehanine has the answers, but it’s exactly as the goddess explained it above- every two hundred years or so this prophecy goes around again, a bunch of heroes pop up and do what they can to put it all to bed for a while- fail, and… it all goes around again.The implication made very clear after the Q&A with Sehanine is, the Dark Squad are getting to the point of no return. They still, however, have a choice- walk away/fail/die before the cut-off point and everything is okay, until the next time.It’s also worth stating at this point that none of the other adventurers that have run this course have made it to the point of no return, they can’t have- Faerun is still here, and not a technologically advanced dystopian nightmare/dictatorship.And so, if the Dark Squad go on, keep winning the good fight then from the point of no return onwards, well, there’s no return- for Faerun, for anyone, Dendar the Night Serpent, Swallower-of-Worlds, is on his way- and the future dystopia (with goblins) will come to pass.There’s a lot of frank discussion, but here’s the thing- the Dark Squad are in it to win it, they’re all on board.Oh, and the point of no return- is when the Pale Dwarf turns up.The Pale Dwarf, the Squad figure is Ub- a small albino dwarf. Sounds just right.[ATTACH=full]388853[/ATTACH]FTW, the Dark Squad re-pledge themselves to the cause. Bring on the end-times.And that, after the discussion is over, is pretty much what we got up to.Oh, but Vinnie beseeches Sehanine to increase the powers of the Moonboar, and spends his ‘boon’ asking for the favour.Which is odd, because this scene- apart from the story portion (above), was going to be about improving the Moonboar’s stats/powers, Jim playing Vinnie/the Moonboar asked for this to happen about six months ago. I keep notes- at the time I told him to ask again the next time he met with Sehanine, and so here we are.And Vinnie just spent his ‘boon’ to get what I was going to be giving him anyway. Makes me smile. In truth, the Moonboar has gained a few new extra powers- what with him spending his boon and all.Final bit, before her departure, Sehanine offers a few more words-“When you are ready to leave here climb the stairs.”“When you get back to the Witch's Tor the Beacon will have already been lit, the call will have gone out- the countdown to the starfall will have begun, and... the Night Serpent will begin to stir.”“Remember, when the pale dwarf returns the Time of Ash will have begun. that is the point of no return... do you understand what I have said?”Nods.“Then, again, I wish you good luck and a goddess' speed.”“Oh. but before I forget, this place is named after the Pact of the Flame wizard that created it. Remember that- it is most important. It is key.”And she’s gone.Several members of the Squad are nigh-on certain that they know the name of the crazy wizard that built this place and then lit a beacon to bring Dendar the Night Serpent, and the other alien creatures from beyond the stars, all to Faerun.I wonder who they could be thinking of?Stay safe and well you lovely people.Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan.</blockquote>

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