The Slave and Her Sovereign

[Manbearcat]

Quick book-keeping aside: I didn't have an obstacle here. I just had The Moon Stair and the confrontation of wills with Vezzuvu being a win con to (a) get the group out of The Pit and (b) on the trail to Delban's Blessed Ten by aid of shimmering light of The Moon Maiden. But all good. I can certainly see an obstacle leading the rest of the group up the invisible path (Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade!) by physical prowess or by marshalling faith!

So all good. We'll go with that.

Goal: Find out what happened to the remaining Blessed Ten (those trapped here with Qamra) and locate them.

3 Successes (0 Hard DC Available)/0 Failures/1 Secondary Skills Available

---

While Ibhea leads the group up the frightening ascent of the invisible (to the others) stair, Qamra, watching in awe and wonder as her feet seemingly walk on air, comments on her egress from The Pit:

"When I was here with the others, we were granted our exodus from this terrible place by The Moon Stairs. But it was a terror. Half way up, many of us gave into our fears, crawled and gripped into the nothingness of these stairs. Absolutely stricken by the situation, they were unable to move. Those of us that still had heart tried desperately to get them to their feet and wipe away tears, but they wouldn't budge their hearts, minds, hands, or knees. Regarding Arunny, it was your brother who got us to safety. He abseiled down half the pit onto our invisible stair. We were so exhausted, so weary with time, toil, and test of will and faith. Unable to see the stairs below his feet, he let his faith guide him and his golden splendor, like yours, was impossible not to take as clearly a miracle of deliverance from Omthala herself. Those among us who lost the will to move finally found it.

Over the next days they provisioned us with food and water, cared for our wounds, kept us from predator. When we were well in a few days, he and his force moved on after learning of your father from the one amongst us who encountered him."

Grimly, she puts in; "...and it was clear that he got what he wanted out of the Caiphonian cultists he put to the sword, because he sent a contingent of those with him to root out their members in the villages out here in the wild."

Not realizing they have topped their spiraling trek and stand on firm ground, she continues:

"But I know not how we will find the others..."

The moon above looms massive.

Clouds wreathe the pale orb above, creating a trio of luminescent, blue-white beams that dance between the obscuring...shaping...frozen mists, high-aloft. The three beams settle briefly across the far-flung landscape until the clouds take the moon whole and the guiding light is no more.

---

Is this a sign from The Moon Maiden of three settlements that house the remaining Nine or merely a trick of the night?

If the former, can you read the signs and make out the locations? (1)

Or do we set out from here, using Xin Mae's best understanding of the settlements and "knock door-to-door" to find the remaining children and their various plights? (2)

Next success and we'll hard frame into each of the three situations with the children (in succession).

MEDIUM DC

 

[darkbard]

Atop the low bluff that surmounts the entrance to The Pit, Arunny perceives the cold, silver beams of moonlight breaking through the clouded night sky like some great tripod supporting the weighty silver orb.

"That light shines upon Dolg Hana," she says. "I spent some time there with my father and Ahaan as a child as part of my father's missionary circuit. A small village around a central well and oasis. Good people, farmers mostly, who work what fruits they can from the land. And those other places: Dolg Arat and Dolg Olsolis. I've never been to either, but they are similar places, or at least they were when I was a child, small settlements, not too far from Dolg Hana."

The whisky priest blanches. "Dolg Hana, did you say, Arunny? That name appears in The Shadowed Sun." Ibhea pulls out from his pack his original copy of the text, not that duplicated by Xin Mae, and unwraps it carefully from its protective oiled wrapping. He turns the pages to a passage within The Decateuch and begins to read aloud.

"Blessed are they who readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand, Dread and Terrible Delban comes to the mortal world to harrow his enemies and scour their influence from the earth.

"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and but few eyes shall see him at first, though in time all kindreds shall wail because of him.

"The Sun shall not hidest ever in Shadow, for the courter, Maba, leadest the way, moon before shadow, shadow before flame, flames to engulf the unsanctified.

"In time, the Blessed Ten shall lead his worship, a great church built anew from the ruins. What beginest in Dolg Hana under great duress finds fruition throughout the land, first three brands to be enflamed, then ten torches casting shadows upon ten mortared walls, and ten trials endured, though none so punishing as what betides in Dolg Hana."

Ibhea stops. "There is more. But I think you get the gist. These three oases are from where the Ten shall be assembled. So it is written in prophecy. And so it shall come to pass. Our trial begins in Dolg Hana."

---

Arunny makes a Secondary Skill Perception check to make out the locations of the moonbeams (I'm going to count training as exhausted from her SC to locate her family since the two SCs are proceeding concurrently, but it's still a +10 autosuccess vs 11 Easy DC) for a +2 bonus to Ibhea's Primary Skill Religion check to interpret the signs via crossreferencing scripture, already an autosuccess due to his +15 vs 16 Moderate DC. Success.

 

[Manbearcat]

Goal: Find out what happened to the remaining Blessed Ten (those trapped here with Qamra) and locate them.

Resolved. We begin in Dolg Hana, then Dolg Arat and Olsolis.

XP & LOOT

* 300/2 = 150 xp apiece.

* The pages of the Decateuch embolden Ibhea; take an Advantage to be used in the coming conflict(s) in Dolg Hana.

---

The night blazes with a pyre so large that that it seems to shame the dark of the heavens into infernal illumination. As one, then two, then three wrapped bodies are respectfully delivered to the well-stacked wood, quiet sobs stifled by fear play as soft background vocals to the crackling chorus.

One man grasps the shoulder of a smaller man as they both absently stare into the fire.

"Well, that does it I guess. Amu, Darwesh, and Rehmana were our only members of the faith remaining; and the most blessed Dolg Hana had seen in generations. If they couldn't drive out the pestilential spirit that haunts our girls, then it cannot be done. When the violet stigmata emerged on Leucra, Mahlgara, and Beshtoun, they took their four sisters and locked themselves within the stone walls of the temple. They knew what was coming even if we didn't."

He forces the man to look at him. So he does.

"Its time."

Loud enough for the gathered townsfolk all to hear, he gives the command:

"Fetch the kindling and the pitch. We can do no more..."

---

We'll discuss your approach here to figure your next move and set a Skill Challenge or Combat to it (or both).

 

[darkbard]

As Omthala's Pilgrims watch from the edge of the circle of light cast by the funeral pyre, Xin Mae sputters, "This isn't how it is written in the holy text! There is to be a birth of a new religion, not the death of little girls. I didn't sign up for that last at all, no, not at all! Isn't there something you can do?" He wrings his hands anxiously.

Arunny's and Ibhea's eyes meet. A silent nod from the former, drawing upon their previous discussion of contingencies.

IBHEA steps forward into the glow and heat, intones the sacred words that conclude the funereal benediction, "Life from light, into flame life. The circle concludes. We bear witness and are humbled." He clears his throat and continues.

"Though the hour seems dark, do not despair, good people of Dolg Hana! We come from the Holy Sanctuary of Light in the Imperial City itself, drawn forward from the visions of The Prophetess." He gestures for his companions to step more fully into the light cast by the raging pyre and raises his voice over the roar of the flames devouring the recently deceased.

"This golden vision is Arunny, Searing Voice of Our Radiant Mistress, and she has foreseen the ... difficulties ... that beset Dolg Hana. Qamra, this young warrior beside her, is Omthala's Radiant Shamshar, though once she was comrade to your ... Leucra, Mahlgara, Beshtoun. As you can see," he extemporizes, for the group's discussions did not anticipate such developments, precisely, "she is not stricken with ... the violet stigmata. Omthala's Searing Voice cast it out from her before it could take hold, a most holy and rare miracle, indeed!

"Will you not grant us entry into the temple so that Arunny can make good on her Vision and exorcise this malevolent infection from your girls?"

---

Our goal here is to gain admittance to the temple and exorcise the infected, hopefully without combat at either stage (vs the villagers, vs the girls themselves). Should the forces besetting the Blessed be external in nature, well, then that might be another story!

 

[Manbearcat]

Your holy recitation, pronouncements, and unmistakable badge of office is sufficient to grant you your wish. The man who calls for the kindling and pitch stares at you, turns to stare at the fire, then nods as if receiving some instruction.

"Dolg Hanans, hear me. Prepare your beasts of burden, your wagons, provisions, and what few precious items you can spare."

He pulls forth a key, walks over and places it in Ibhea's palm. Looking at the whiskey priest but announcing to his people:

"If the high clergy of The Holy Sanctuary of Light cannot mend this demonic trespass, then it cannot be mended. Should they fail or fall, we leave this place this very night, not looking back...for surely as we do the untamable curse herein will chase us into the wilds. Go to your home, prepare as I have instructed, lock your doors...and pray."

---

There is serious danger here:

* Level +3, Complexity 2 Skill Challenge (DCs 13, 18, 26, vs NAD = 22/23, vs AC = 24/26) to gain entrance and exorcise the infected before they fully become Caiphon's thralls. 2 Secondary Skills, 1 Hard DC, 1 Advantage available (reward from prior conflict).

* Any micro-failure will put you in an of-level combat where the win con will be resolving the threat before 4 rounds. Both sucess and failure will put you back into the Skill Challenge. Success will earn you 1 micro-success. Failure will earn you a complication of take -2 to your next Primary Check.

* Failure in the full SC means that you're in a Level +4 Combat with an embedded Skill Challenge to "save the 7." If you are able to save them, you'll have to figure out something/change the situation sufficiently to cleanse them of the Caiphonian influence. The exorcism of the influence would be beyond your rote passages and supernatural implement, despite how legitimate they might be. If you are not able to save them, then the terrible events the prophecy foretold in Dolg Hana weren't properly interpreted, as 7 of the 10 will have fallen!

---

One by one the villagers leave to their homes. Doors shut, then lock, and an eerie quiet accompanied by the crackling remnants of the pyre settles over the small farming village in the wild.

The windows to the stone-wall church are shuttered from the inside and locked, curtains drawn. It must be sweltering inside despite the open dormer window some twenty feet up on the front face of the A-frame, wood-and-thatch roofs of the cathedral cut structure.

There is intense quiet as you approach the heavy door to allow front entrance. As you look at the hole that should bear the key and allow ingress, purple plasma pours from it, vomiting on the ground like a ghastly supernatural maw, leaving a deformed keyhole before you.

The open dormer window well above you slams shut in its heavy frame, an ominous glow of purple wreathing the interior.

---

How do you gain entrance?

MEDIUM DC

 

[darkbard]

IBHEA steps past the purple putrescence bubbling on the clay tile steps of the temple and assesses the key bestowed by the town elder and the now-deformed lock, one eye closed, the other squinting. He grimaces. Once again the whisky priest withdraws the Magickal Necklace of Keys from beneath his sedra.

"If this artifact served us on the Moon Stair with a practically-immaterial door, mayhaps our entrance is not forestalled. I hope." He riffles through several of the pendant latchkeys until one hums slightly in his hand. The hand holding the key shakes slightly but visibly. Ibhea takes off his traveler's pack and rummages about inside with his free hand. His fingers close on something and he pulls it forth with a sigh. A bottle of arak.

Ibhea uncorks the bottle with his teeth, then takes a deep swig. "For good luck," he says and returns the bottle to his pack. He inserts the key firmly into the lock. With his free right hand, he withdraws a small torsion wrench from the hem of his sleeve and inserts it beside the key, turns the latter a full circuit to the right. And holds his breath.

---

Ibhea makes a Primary Skill Thievery check, utilizing (this time) both his traditional thieves' tools and his Necklace of Keys, r(10) +9 +2 +1 = 22 vs 18 Moderate DC. Success.

 

[Manbearcat]

1 Success (1 Hard DC Available)/0 Failures/2 Secondary Skills Available/1 Advantage Available

---

The supernaturally ruined lock is supernaturally manipulated by the prowess and magic-infusion the priest brings to bear. The heavy hinges resolve the burden of the large, aged door with an extended groan and creak as the group stands on the stoop.

Seven figures levitate in the nave, converging in various states of horrific contortion as if trying to, or being forced to, assemble into a singular state; perhaps that of a sphere. Purple plasma coalesces around them, attempting to infuse them.

The floor of the church is spartan; wooden substrate where the hardpan of this barren hinterland leaks up through the cracks of haphazard installation.

That floor swells. Into a wave. Of purple.

The "infected church" knows you're here. A living structure. And as the alien wave attempts to wash over you, cascading you in a churning tumult toward the walls that are similarly "alive," you know you are not invited!

---

What do you do?

MEDIUM DC

 

[Nephis]

ARUNNY stands for a shocked moment, seeing double: the contorted bodies of young girls and the future sphere being imposed upon them now. The purple waves of the undulating floor turn into discordant music in her ears as she stands there watching, obviously hoping to confuse her thoughts.

Then, the harmonious tones of the moonlight beyond the building somehow reaches her, calming her thoughts. This lunar music drowns the cacophonous and hellish sound, and Arunny is able to take a quick moment to assess how best to combat the situation.

Observing the girls floating in the magenta glow once more and with great sorrow, the seer suddenly remembers something her father once said, "When you're going through hell, KEEP GOING." These girls are going through hell RIGHT NOW, and she, young Qamra, and Ibhea will need to enter into that purple hell, to share (hopefully only briefly) their pain, and KEEP GOING, if they are going to help these chosen girls.

Breathing deeply, Omthala's Searing Voice says quietly, "Child, take my hand, share in my strength, and then pass it along to our fellow travelers. If we stand together, and if we stand strong, we will endure this madness and make it through to where we can give aid and healing to your friends. Don't let go! Omthala will work through us to see us through!"

Steadfastly breathing through the anxiety of her young heart, Omthala's Radiant Shamshar steps forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with the seer, taking her hand. Then Qamra reaches an open hand back to the whiskey priest. As he takes her hand, the young warrior can feel another - shaking - hand grip her cloak. She glances back at Xin Mae, giving him a small encouraging smile, already beginning to take strength from her elder sister in the faith. Then, she turns back to Arunny and says that she is ready.

Nodding and giving the girl a look of approval, Omthala's Searing Voice steps forward into the purple cacophony of soundwaves and illusion.

---

Group Primary Skill Endurance check vs. 13 Easy DC: Arunny: r(15) + 12 = 27. Success; Qamra: r(14) + 11 = 25 Success; Ibhea: r(10) + 4 = 14. Success. 3 out of 3 Successes = Group Success!!

 

[Manbearcat]

2 Successes (1 Hard DC Available)/0 Failures/2 Secondary Skills Available/1 Advantage Available

---

After the roaring din of Caiphon's illusory assault abates, a quiet whisper is the only sound.

Rote words slip unsteadily out of the scrivener's mouth, pursed through either frustration or anxiety to the point that he can barely form the prayers that he learned in his youth and has likely not marshalled since.

Timid words.

Wrong words.

Either Caiphon is speaking through him, corrupting his pleas, or poor Xin Mae's terror at this terrible specter before him is stealing his nerve despite Qamra's hand in his. Whichever it is, he is desperately trying to help shape a better outcome here; help support his companions in ritual denouncement of the fell power from The Far Realm. But its going wrong. His eyes close and scrunch up. He knows it.

A single instance of disunity amongst your fellowship will tear apart the joint effort!

---

Is this Caiphon's influence or Xin Mae's nerve?

How do you resolve it?

MEDIUM DC

 

[darkbard]

IBHEA knows that Xin Mae is made of firmer stuff than this; only Caiphon's malevolent influence can be at play here to account for the scrivener's nearly-incoherent blather. The whisky priest has never considered himself an intimidating man. Sure, back on the mean streets of Bantouk's lower city as a child, he had to "front" on occasion, for mere survival. Life as an urchin shouldn't have been so rough. But it was. And thus he developed an ability to draw from within an inner steel, the affect of a desperate youth with no "effs" no give.

Blending this natural ability with Delban's boon, Ibhea's voice gains great power and eloquence ... a hint of threat, as well. "Scrivener, you are more man than what you show. These girls' lives depend upon us here! If you wish to live to see the birth of Delban's glory embraced by the people of Hageri--and beyond!--you will collect yourself and shake off the mad influence of Caiphon, who seeks to exploit what he views as a weak link in our defense. Right now!"

The whisky priest catches a glint of moonlight upon the blade in his hand for added emphasis.

---

Ibhea uses Beguiling Tongue (+5) to enhance his Primary Skill Intimidate check, r(16) +7 +5 = 28 vs 18 Moderate DC. Success.

Edit: Hopefully obviously, I opted for Caiphon's influence accounting for Xin Mae's failure of nerve....