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The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign
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<blockquote data-quote="Cafu" data-source="post: 6441065" data-attributes="member: 6692807"><p>I was looking at him wide-eyed; this was priceless information he was sharing. I couldn’t help but ask: </p><p></p><p>“How do you know all this? Have you been there? Have you seen the dragon? We are all very grateful for your help; is there anything we can do for you in return?”</p><p></p><p>Sagrimar smiled wistfully and replied: </p><p></p><p>“No, I have never been to the castle nor seen Trilla; frankly, although this plane is interesting in its own way, I have been here for a very long time. It’s changing; something is happening and I don’t know what. It may be time to move on. As for what you can do for me, you’ve done more than you can imagine already. As you didn’t attack me on sight because of my appearance, well, you restored my faith a little. That is more precious than you know. </p><p></p><p>Most of the information I managed to get from the thing with scrabbling wings.”</p><p></p><p>I spoke quickly as I didn’t want to lose my thought: </p><p></p><p>“The thing with scrabbling wings? What’s that?”</p><p></p><p>He smiled a little more widely this time: </p><p></p><p>“Oh, not a what but a who; you’ll meet her. The thing with scrabbling wings looks like a young woman with wings; lots of wings. She likes to play children’s games. She’s the only one who can guide you through that cloud bank safely. You must win her games and she’ll take you through. Oh, I wouldn’t advise trying to go through without her help.”</p><p></p><p>He frowned a little as he said: </p><p></p><p>“Actually, I’d better let her know I am sending her a few new playmates otherwise she won’t know you’re coming and she’s quite volatile.”</p><p></p><p>Longhelim and Victor began to put their armour on again; when he finished, the paladin stepped forward, put out his hand and said: </p><p></p><p>“Sagrimar, it’s been a pleasure. I hope we’ll meet in the future in the same circumstances.”</p><p></p><p>We all said our goodbyes in the same way, climbed up the stairs and mounted our horses. </p><p>We left the castle and began to travel towards the cloud bank. Only one event of interest happened on the way there. As we were leaving the castle, bolts of lightning still flew around us and I was hit…..not once but twice in quick succession. This is not an experience I would recommend to anyone. </p><p></p><p>Fortunately, John and Felix were able to use their wands to heal me and we rode to our destination. As we approached, we all saw that it was in fact not quite as straight forward as a normal cloud bank with a raging storm within; although I have to use that word normal guardedly in here. It was like a wall in front of us and there were images within its surface. The colours changed as did its very shape. It was easy to forget that we were inside Trilla’s dream but this…….whatever it was, was a very stark reminder of just what that meant. The closest way that I could describe it was that the surface of the cloud bank was a book with pages turning by themselves and as they turned, we were able to witness or see different images. Each page was a different scen. </p><p></p><p>We saw events from the past: a column of fire erupting into the sky from Castle Korstull; the first destruction of Seaquen in a mighty wind; the manifestation of the Elder Elemental Lords in Seaquen; the first activation of the Torch of the Burning Sky; the Torch again, smeared in blood and then seemingly shattering.</p><p></p><p>We also saw events that were happening now: two armies in a wooded landscape, Ragesian orcs against a mixture of Shahalesti elves and humans from Seaquen; a huge airship hovering above Seaquen with a glimpse of a masked figure seen in one of its enormous portholes. We all recognised our ally Master Pilus from the Monastery of the Two Winds. </p><p></p><p>Then the wall became even more dramatic if possible: it turned into a wall of flame and in its midst, an enormous masked figure turned towards us, stark and menacing; we all recognised the form and mask of the Empress Leska of Ragesia. </p><p></p><p>We all rode away a little distance while more dramatic events unfolded on the cloud. </p><p></p><p>John spoke: </p><p></p><p>“Well what now? Nice pictures but they don’t tell us how to call our new, unknown friend. Is the thing with scrabbly wings going to come out and speak to us? I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the thought of going in there without her. Look at what happened to poor Faden; and that was just going out of the castle.”</p><p></p><p>I wasn’t paying attention to what he said; I was thinking: </p><p></p><p>“I hadn’t realised just how big this bank was. We have to get her attention somehow. I thought Sagrimar was going to get in touch with her.”</p><p></p><p>Suddenly, John began rummaging through his pack and a moment later he retrieved something triumphantly: </p><p></p><p>“I’ve got it!” he shouted as he held out a large horn. It was something he picked up a long time ago. I think it produced a bank of fog as well as making a loud sound. </p><p></p><p>He looked at all of us and Longhelim just said: </p><p></p><p>“Let’s try that. It’s the best idea that anyone has had.”</p><p></p><p>So we arrived next to the cloud again and John blew his horn. The blast was impressive, reverberating around the sky. Nothing happened initially and then a black shape appeared through the edge of the cloud. We couldn’t really tell what it was but moments later, it disappeared back again. </p><p></p><p>We looked at each other and rode to that same spot. John blew his horn again. This time there was an immediate reaction as the head poked out. As we were close, we saw that it was the head of young woman. It was a normal human face but when she saw us she frowned and stuck her tongue out at John. </p><p></p><p>Longhelim spoke tentatively: </p><p></p><p>“Hello? Sagrimar sent us. Are you his friend?”</p><p></p><p>This time the head turned to the paladin and she spoke for the first time: </p><p></p><p>“Will you stop making that horrible noise! It’s very rude!”</p><p></p><p>The face may have been that of young woman but the tone of voice, diction and general tone was that of a young girl.</p><p></p><p>She ordered: </p><p></p><p>“Come in then! Let’s play a game! Follow me!”</p><p></p><p>She disappeared and we plunged in after her. </p><p></p><p>Inside the cloud, the storm was truly intense. Bolts of lightning flashed everywhere and I cringed. I really didn’t want to be struck again. Twice was quite enough. Despite the electricity, I had to look at our guide. She was quite extraordinary. Although she was humanoid in appearance, with the face and form of a young woman, she had four butterfly wings on her back. As we approached her, I also saw that she had wings on her ankles and wrists; these looked like very small bird wings. She also had tiny wings along both sides of her arms her arms. I suspect that there were more wings on other parts of her body but I couldn’t see them as yet. </p><p></p><p>I must have been distracted because as we were following her, I was struck by another bolt of lightning. This was getting very painful.</p><p></p><p>Finally, we arrived at our destination, having dodged several more bolts. It was a large round area of calm; well calm, except for the three large wind funnels which had anchored themselves in a triangle on the three central points of the arena; which was exactly what it reminded me of. Mind you, at least there weren’t any bolts of lightning flashing around here. </p><p></p><p>As we arrived, she turned to us, hovering in the air. </p><p></p><p>Of course, we weren’t affected by the wind but surprisingly, neither was she. Seeing us unruffled, she clapped her hands and squealed:</p><p></p><p>“Oh goody! You’re still here. Oh, you, the little one! You’re looking a bit burnt. What happened to you?”</p><p></p><p>That was directed at me: </p><p></p><p>“I got hit by a lightning bolt.”</p><p></p><p>She giggled and said: </p><p></p><p>“Oh you silly goose! You’re supposed to get out of the way!”</p><p></p><p>I was about to say something back when I caught Longhelim’s eye and he shook his head minutely. </p><p></p><p>Suddenly she giggled again and pointed at Victor. We all looked a little puzzled until she said: </p><p></p><p>“What are you wearing?”</p><p></p><p>It dawned on us that Victor’s full plate armour with its lime green spikes was quite surprisingly but we had all grown so used to it that we didn’t even register any more. </p><p></p><p>She continued: </p><p></p><p>“You look like a really big hedgehog! But with green spikes!”</p><p></p><p>Ever the stoic, Victor did not react. </p><p></p><p>Longhelim smiled at her and said: </p><p></p><p>“You want to play a game?”</p><p></p><p>She spun in midair and replied enthusiastically: </p><p></p><p>“Oh yes, yes! The game!”</p><p></p><p>Carefully, she pulled a length of red ribbon out of a pocket in her robe and showed it to us: </p><p></p><p>“I am going to go to the other side. You have to chase me and take this ribbon. If you can do that, then you have to take the ribbon to the centre of the circle. If you do, you win.”</p><p></p><p>This was said in a very serious tone, as if she was instructing a class. She also looked at all of us. </p><p></p><p>Longhelim said slowly: </p><p></p><p>“Well that sounds very simple. What are the rules?”</p><p></p><p>She frowned: </p><p></p><p>“There are no rules. We can play a little rough as well.”</p><p></p><p>I didn’t really like the sound of that, but Longhelim said: </p><p></p><p>“What happens if we win?”</p><p></p><p>Her reply was: </p><p></p><p>“I’ll take you through to the other side.”</p><p></p><p>Longhelim continued: </p><p></p><p>“What happens if you win?”</p><p></p><p>This time she said: </p><p></p><p>“You go away.”</p><p></p><p>With that, she turned around and flew away at such a speed that it was dizzying and I realised just how much she had been holding back when we had been pacing her with our horses. She reached the other side and we could barely make her out but she stopped and we presumed she turned around. </p><p></p><p>Suddenly, we all feel a massive invisible blow strike us. Everyone swayed on their horse but the only one to actually fall off was Drudge; thankfully, John reacted almost instantly and cast a spell which would slow his fall. I didn’t want to think what would happen if he hadn’t done that. I knew the spell and rode forward immediately. Thankfully, our magic horses were reasonably fast over the distance. I was quickly followed by Victor who joined me but we were outpaced by Felix, Longhelim and John who used the cleric’s magical transport spell to get next to Flight. </p><p></p><p>I couldn’t quite see what happened next but I did see that Longhelim literally tried to jump on her but she performed a very adroit maneuver whereupon several of her wings seemed to get in the way and brush the paladin, who recoiled, a flash of red indicating that the wings were sharp and obviously more than just wings. I realised that when she said the losing involved us “going away” could mean a different idea than I had thought previously. As my horse approached, I saw that Longhelim was also under attack by something else; something unseen and unfortunately, I had already used my spell which allowed me to pierce that magic. </p><p></p><p>Flight herself was obviously very angry and I wondered at that since she seemed to be well in control of the game when I suddenly saw that she did not have the ribbon! John did! How the rogue managed to get it I have no idea since he hadn’t even been close to her but now wasn’t the time to try to find out. Flight cast a spell and my old friend, a lightning bolt struck Longhelim; a whole storm of bolts then crackled and also hit Victor and tried to get to John, who dodged; more importantly, they struck all of their horses who ceased to exist. The magic was not designed to be hit by lightning bolts. Victor, Felix and Longhelim plunged down through the cloud floor and disappeared. </p><p></p><p>We had one chance and I took it; my steed ran as fast as it could and as I reached John, I touched him with my hand while casting a magical transport spell which took us to the middle of the arena. </p><p></p><p>Just to confirm it to her, I shouted: </p><p></p><p>“We win! We win!”</p><p></p><p>Flight could move with amazing speed when she wanted and she was with us almost instantaneously: </p><p></p><p>Her face was screwed up as she spat: </p><p></p><p>“Oh…..bother! You cheated, you cheats!”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cafu, post: 6441065, member: 6692807"] I was looking at him wide-eyed; this was priceless information he was sharing. I couldn’t help but ask: “How do you know all this? Have you been there? Have you seen the dragon? We are all very grateful for your help; is there anything we can do for you in return?” Sagrimar smiled wistfully and replied: “No, I have never been to the castle nor seen Trilla; frankly, although this plane is interesting in its own way, I have been here for a very long time. It’s changing; something is happening and I don’t know what. It may be time to move on. As for what you can do for me, you’ve done more than you can imagine already. As you didn’t attack me on sight because of my appearance, well, you restored my faith a little. That is more precious than you know. Most of the information I managed to get from the thing with scrabbling wings.” I spoke quickly as I didn’t want to lose my thought: “The thing with scrabbling wings? What’s that?” He smiled a little more widely this time: “Oh, not a what but a who; you’ll meet her. The thing with scrabbling wings looks like a young woman with wings; lots of wings. She likes to play children’s games. She’s the only one who can guide you through that cloud bank safely. You must win her games and she’ll take you through. Oh, I wouldn’t advise trying to go through without her help.” He frowned a little as he said: “Actually, I’d better let her know I am sending her a few new playmates otherwise she won’t know you’re coming and she’s quite volatile.” Longhelim and Victor began to put their armour on again; when he finished, the paladin stepped forward, put out his hand and said: “Sagrimar, it’s been a pleasure. I hope we’ll meet in the future in the same circumstances.” We all said our goodbyes in the same way, climbed up the stairs and mounted our horses. We left the castle and began to travel towards the cloud bank. Only one event of interest happened on the way there. As we were leaving the castle, bolts of lightning still flew around us and I was hit…..not once but twice in quick succession. This is not an experience I would recommend to anyone. Fortunately, John and Felix were able to use their wands to heal me and we rode to our destination. As we approached, we all saw that it was in fact not quite as straight forward as a normal cloud bank with a raging storm within; although I have to use that word normal guardedly in here. It was like a wall in front of us and there were images within its surface. The colours changed as did its very shape. It was easy to forget that we were inside Trilla’s dream but this…….whatever it was, was a very stark reminder of just what that meant. The closest way that I could describe it was that the surface of the cloud bank was a book with pages turning by themselves and as they turned, we were able to witness or see different images. Each page was a different scen. We saw events from the past: a column of fire erupting into the sky from Castle Korstull; the first destruction of Seaquen in a mighty wind; the manifestation of the Elder Elemental Lords in Seaquen; the first activation of the Torch of the Burning Sky; the Torch again, smeared in blood and then seemingly shattering. We also saw events that were happening now: two armies in a wooded landscape, Ragesian orcs against a mixture of Shahalesti elves and humans from Seaquen; a huge airship hovering above Seaquen with a glimpse of a masked figure seen in one of its enormous portholes. We all recognised our ally Master Pilus from the Monastery of the Two Winds. Then the wall became even more dramatic if possible: it turned into a wall of flame and in its midst, an enormous masked figure turned towards us, stark and menacing; we all recognised the form and mask of the Empress Leska of Ragesia. We all rode away a little distance while more dramatic events unfolded on the cloud. John spoke: “Well what now? Nice pictures but they don’t tell us how to call our new, unknown friend. Is the thing with scrabbly wings going to come out and speak to us? I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the thought of going in there without her. Look at what happened to poor Faden; and that was just going out of the castle.” I wasn’t paying attention to what he said; I was thinking: “I hadn’t realised just how big this bank was. We have to get her attention somehow. I thought Sagrimar was going to get in touch with her.” Suddenly, John began rummaging through his pack and a moment later he retrieved something triumphantly: “I’ve got it!” he shouted as he held out a large horn. It was something he picked up a long time ago. I think it produced a bank of fog as well as making a loud sound. He looked at all of us and Longhelim just said: “Let’s try that. It’s the best idea that anyone has had.” So we arrived next to the cloud again and John blew his horn. The blast was impressive, reverberating around the sky. Nothing happened initially and then a black shape appeared through the edge of the cloud. We couldn’t really tell what it was but moments later, it disappeared back again. We looked at each other and rode to that same spot. John blew his horn again. This time there was an immediate reaction as the head poked out. As we were close, we saw that it was the head of young woman. It was a normal human face but when she saw us she frowned and stuck her tongue out at John. Longhelim spoke tentatively: “Hello? Sagrimar sent us. Are you his friend?” This time the head turned to the paladin and she spoke for the first time: “Will you stop making that horrible noise! It’s very rude!” The face may have been that of young woman but the tone of voice, diction and general tone was that of a young girl. She ordered: “Come in then! Let’s play a game! Follow me!” She disappeared and we plunged in after her. Inside the cloud, the storm was truly intense. Bolts of lightning flashed everywhere and I cringed. I really didn’t want to be struck again. Twice was quite enough. Despite the electricity, I had to look at our guide. She was quite extraordinary. Although she was humanoid in appearance, with the face and form of a young woman, she had four butterfly wings on her back. As we approached her, I also saw that she had wings on her ankles and wrists; these looked like very small bird wings. She also had tiny wings along both sides of her arms her arms. I suspect that there were more wings on other parts of her body but I couldn’t see them as yet. I must have been distracted because as we were following her, I was struck by another bolt of lightning. This was getting very painful. Finally, we arrived at our destination, having dodged several more bolts. It was a large round area of calm; well calm, except for the three large wind funnels which had anchored themselves in a triangle on the three central points of the arena; which was exactly what it reminded me of. Mind you, at least there weren’t any bolts of lightning flashing around here. As we arrived, she turned to us, hovering in the air. Of course, we weren’t affected by the wind but surprisingly, neither was she. Seeing us unruffled, she clapped her hands and squealed: “Oh goody! You’re still here. Oh, you, the little one! You’re looking a bit burnt. What happened to you?” That was directed at me: “I got hit by a lightning bolt.” She giggled and said: “Oh you silly goose! You’re supposed to get out of the way!” I was about to say something back when I caught Longhelim’s eye and he shook his head minutely. Suddenly she giggled again and pointed at Victor. We all looked a little puzzled until she said: “What are you wearing?” It dawned on us that Victor’s full plate armour with its lime green spikes was quite surprisingly but we had all grown so used to it that we didn’t even register any more. She continued: “You look like a really big hedgehog! But with green spikes!” Ever the stoic, Victor did not react. Longhelim smiled at her and said: “You want to play a game?” She spun in midair and replied enthusiastically: “Oh yes, yes! The game!” Carefully, she pulled a length of red ribbon out of a pocket in her robe and showed it to us: “I am going to go to the other side. You have to chase me and take this ribbon. If you can do that, then you have to take the ribbon to the centre of the circle. If you do, you win.” This was said in a very serious tone, as if she was instructing a class. She also looked at all of us. Longhelim said slowly: “Well that sounds very simple. What are the rules?” She frowned: “There are no rules. We can play a little rough as well.” I didn’t really like the sound of that, but Longhelim said: “What happens if we win?” Her reply was: “I’ll take you through to the other side.” Longhelim continued: “What happens if you win?” This time she said: “You go away.” With that, she turned around and flew away at such a speed that it was dizzying and I realised just how much she had been holding back when we had been pacing her with our horses. She reached the other side and we could barely make her out but she stopped and we presumed she turned around. Suddenly, we all feel a massive invisible blow strike us. Everyone swayed on their horse but the only one to actually fall off was Drudge; thankfully, John reacted almost instantly and cast a spell which would slow his fall. I didn’t want to think what would happen if he hadn’t done that. I knew the spell and rode forward immediately. Thankfully, our magic horses were reasonably fast over the distance. I was quickly followed by Victor who joined me but we were outpaced by Felix, Longhelim and John who used the cleric’s magical transport spell to get next to Flight. I couldn’t quite see what happened next but I did see that Longhelim literally tried to jump on her but she performed a very adroit maneuver whereupon several of her wings seemed to get in the way and brush the paladin, who recoiled, a flash of red indicating that the wings were sharp and obviously more than just wings. I realised that when she said the losing involved us “going away” could mean a different idea than I had thought previously. As my horse approached, I saw that Longhelim was also under attack by something else; something unseen and unfortunately, I had already used my spell which allowed me to pierce that magic. Flight herself was obviously very angry and I wondered at that since she seemed to be well in control of the game when I suddenly saw that she did not have the ribbon! John did! How the rogue managed to get it I have no idea since he hadn’t even been close to her but now wasn’t the time to try to find out. Flight cast a spell and my old friend, a lightning bolt struck Longhelim; a whole storm of bolts then crackled and also hit Victor and tried to get to John, who dodged; more importantly, they struck all of their horses who ceased to exist. The magic was not designed to be hit by lightning bolts. Victor, Felix and Longhelim plunged down through the cloud floor and disappeared. We had one chance and I took it; my steed ran as fast as it could and as I reached John, I touched him with my hand while casting a magical transport spell which took us to the middle of the arena. Just to confirm it to her, I shouted: “We win! We win!” Flight could move with amazing speed when she wanted and she was with us almost instantaneously: Her face was screwed up as she spat: “Oh…..bother! You cheated, you cheats!” [/QUOTE]
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