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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Welcome to the Halmae (updated 2/27/07)
- Thread starter spyscribe
- Start date
spyscribe
First Post
Part the One-Hundred Sixth
In which: the party talks with the animals, walks with the animals…
It’s four days travel to the bottom of the valley. Well, four days travel if you travel with people who have to move on foot.
Kirara, in swallow form, soars.
The conifers are green, the other birds are friendly, and every moment she’s filled with… a sense of well-being that she can’t quite explain, not even to Annika. Is it her fault if she sometimes goes out of range of their empathic link? No. Besides…
“Nothing’s going to happen! It’s safe here…”
“You don’t know that, the other birds—”
“Are friendly. I told you.”
“But they could be big birds, and you’re small. We talked about this. I want you to tell me when you’re going far away…”
Lira listens to Kiara and Annika having another one of their “discussions” and absently pats Euro on the head.
Heh, birds. You know why they call them “bird brains,” right Boss?
However, in spite of Kiara’s extensive aerial reconnaissance, she is unable to locate any sign of human habitation anywhere in the Valley.
After the party’s third day tamping aimlessly down towards the river, Anvil decides to ask one of the locals they have encountered.
###
“Good squirrel,” Anvil begins, having just finished casting speak with animals, “do you know where we can find the archmage of this valley?”
The squirrel he finds—lately in the midst of scampering up a tree—seems rather surprised to be addressed.
It blinks several times. “Me?” it asks.
“No,” says Anvil, “not you. It would be a person, like one of us, but who lives in this valley.”
“People animals,” the squirrel says, perhaps for clarification.
“If you like,” Anvil agrees, rather magnanimously.
“I’ve seen people animals near my tree.”
“When?” Anvil asks, “recently?”
The squirrel stops to think about it for a minute. “It was during nut season.”
“Is it nut season now?”
Squirrel facial expressions are very difficult to read, if one is not a squirrel, but it seems pretty clear that this squirrel is wondering if Anvil is a little dense. “No.”
Anvil shrugs. “Can you take us to your tree anyway?”
The squirrel squints at him. “How do I know you won’t steal my nuts?”
“I have no interest in your nuts,” Anvil assures the squirrel solemnly.
The squirrel does not seem completely satisfied. “I will take you near my tree,” he agrees finally.
“Thank you.”
It is several more hours of walking to reach the vicinity of the squirrel’s tree, during which time (naturally) the duration on Anvil’s spell expires. When the squirrel stops and chitters at them, Anvil takes it to mean that they have arrived. Unable to thank the squirrel properly, Anvil attempts to explain slowly and loudly in common that the squirrel should return the following day, when he will be able to speak to it again.
The squirrel goes off. Although Eva is still by no means a wilderness expert, she somehow doesn’t think it will take Anvil up on his offer.
After looking around the grove of oak trees and finding no signs of recent human presence, Lira asks the obvious question:
“So, what do we do now?”
“We must wait until tomorrow, at which time I will again consult with the squirrel,” Anvil replies.
Kiara tugs urgently on Annika’s sleeve. “…but it’s a good idea. I’ll find a bird, and ask it where the people animals are.”
Annika rolls her eyes, “I thought we talked about this—“
“I won’t have to go far. Look, there’s a sparrow right there.” Kiara points to a small bird perched far above their heads. “See? And it’s little.”
Annika eventually relents, and Kiara shifts to swallow form and takes wing.
Once in the air, Kiara sees that there are in fact several birds that easily fall into even Annika’s definition of “close by.” However, the sparrow does seem the most gregarious-looking, and Kiara flutters down beside him. “Hello,” she says in bird.
“Hello,” the sparrow twitters back.
“Are there any people in this valley?” she asks.
“Sure,” the sparrow replies, nodding to the party.
“Yeah… I mean, besides them. A squirrel told Anvil that there were people animals that lived here, but it only knew it had seen them around his tree during nut season, and this isn’t nut season, so we kind of need to know where they are now.”
“Squirrels are dumb,” the sparrow opines.
“Yeah,” Kiara sighs in the way that only a swallow who is sometimes a human can. “Can you help me?”
The sparrow hops a bit, “Oh sure. I can take you to where the people animals live right now.” And he flies off.
With a quick thought to Annika, Kiara takes to the air and follows, a shouted, “Be careful!” floating behind her on the breeze.
###
After flying for a bit, and crossing the river that runs through the center of the valley, the sparrow stops on the top of a tall tree. Kiara settles beside him. “Why are we stopping?” she asks, “There are no people animals here.”
“Wait here,” he tells her. “I need to ask if the people animals want me to bring you the rest of the way.”
“Okay,” Kiara replies. “Tell them that it’s really important and we need to talk to them.”
The sparrow nods and takes off again. Kiara stays in swallow form, eating a few mosquitoes while she waits. Presently, the sparrow returns.
“You need to go back to your people animals now. The Mistress of the Valley doesn’t want to see them.”
“But she has to!” Kiara protests, her words nearly tumbling over each other in their rush to get out of her beak. “We’ve come a long way to see her, and we have an invitation to deliver, and a big rock, and even though Anvil says it’s not evil, it’s magic and weird and Annika has never seen anything like it and she knows about all kinds of magic stuff, and it’s dangerous because it made spines grow out of Anvil’s back, so she has to see us. Go back and tell her that!”
The sparrow blinks rapidly.
“I will tell her about your dangerous rock,” he says at last, slowly.
“The invitation too!” she calls after him. “The invitation is really the important part…”
###
Near sunset, the party is pitching their tents when Kiara and a sparrow come swooping into camp. Kiara twitters at the sparrow for a few moments, and then, once he has left, shifts back into her human form.
“We don’t have to look anymore! The sparrow said someone would find us.”
However, by morning, nothing has happened.
Following discussion over breakfast, the party decides to find a ford and cross the river to wait by the tree where Kiara waited the day before, to save time on the journey and in case there has been any confusion.
The morning is spent backtracking upstream to a passable ford, then heading back downstream to the tree. They make camp again in the afternoon, and settle in to wait.
The day passes uneventfully. So does the night. So does the next morning.
###
Lira is just prestidigitating the last of the breakfast dishes when a woman emerges from the woods.
She is tall, with long, curling dark hair that falls around her shoulders, and she walks with a sensuous grace. Her dress is clearly not of the Sovereign style, nor of any other style the party members are familiar with. Although Thatch notes that he wouldn’t mind traveling someplace where all the women dressed like that.
She takes in the group with an ironic smile and the barest disapproving click of her tongue.
“You were told to stay where you were, and someone would come to escort you. It really isn’t polite to intrude where you’re not wanted.”
In which: the party talks with the animals, walks with the animals…
It’s four days travel to the bottom of the valley. Well, four days travel if you travel with people who have to move on foot.
Kirara, in swallow form, soars.
The conifers are green, the other birds are friendly, and every moment she’s filled with… a sense of well-being that she can’t quite explain, not even to Annika. Is it her fault if she sometimes goes out of range of their empathic link? No. Besides…
“Nothing’s going to happen! It’s safe here…”
“You don’t know that, the other birds—”
“Are friendly. I told you.”
“But they could be big birds, and you’re small. We talked about this. I want you to tell me when you’re going far away…”
Lira listens to Kiara and Annika having another one of their “discussions” and absently pats Euro on the head.
Heh, birds. You know why they call them “bird brains,” right Boss?
However, in spite of Kiara’s extensive aerial reconnaissance, she is unable to locate any sign of human habitation anywhere in the Valley.
After the party’s third day tamping aimlessly down towards the river, Anvil decides to ask one of the locals they have encountered.
###
“Good squirrel,” Anvil begins, having just finished casting speak with animals, “do you know where we can find the archmage of this valley?”
The squirrel he finds—lately in the midst of scampering up a tree—seems rather surprised to be addressed.
It blinks several times. “Me?” it asks.
“No,” says Anvil, “not you. It would be a person, like one of us, but who lives in this valley.”
“People animals,” the squirrel says, perhaps for clarification.
“If you like,” Anvil agrees, rather magnanimously.
“I’ve seen people animals near my tree.”
“When?” Anvil asks, “recently?”
The squirrel stops to think about it for a minute. “It was during nut season.”
“Is it nut season now?”
Squirrel facial expressions are very difficult to read, if one is not a squirrel, but it seems pretty clear that this squirrel is wondering if Anvil is a little dense. “No.”
Anvil shrugs. “Can you take us to your tree anyway?”
The squirrel squints at him. “How do I know you won’t steal my nuts?”
“I have no interest in your nuts,” Anvil assures the squirrel solemnly.
The squirrel does not seem completely satisfied. “I will take you near my tree,” he agrees finally.
“Thank you.”
It is several more hours of walking to reach the vicinity of the squirrel’s tree, during which time (naturally) the duration on Anvil’s spell expires. When the squirrel stops and chitters at them, Anvil takes it to mean that they have arrived. Unable to thank the squirrel properly, Anvil attempts to explain slowly and loudly in common that the squirrel should return the following day, when he will be able to speak to it again.
The squirrel goes off. Although Eva is still by no means a wilderness expert, she somehow doesn’t think it will take Anvil up on his offer.
After looking around the grove of oak trees and finding no signs of recent human presence, Lira asks the obvious question:
“So, what do we do now?”
“We must wait until tomorrow, at which time I will again consult with the squirrel,” Anvil replies.
Kiara tugs urgently on Annika’s sleeve. “…but it’s a good idea. I’ll find a bird, and ask it where the people animals are.”
Annika rolls her eyes, “I thought we talked about this—“
“I won’t have to go far. Look, there’s a sparrow right there.” Kiara points to a small bird perched far above their heads. “See? And it’s little.”
Annika eventually relents, and Kiara shifts to swallow form and takes wing.
Once in the air, Kiara sees that there are in fact several birds that easily fall into even Annika’s definition of “close by.” However, the sparrow does seem the most gregarious-looking, and Kiara flutters down beside him. “Hello,” she says in bird.
“Hello,” the sparrow twitters back.
“Are there any people in this valley?” she asks.
“Sure,” the sparrow replies, nodding to the party.
“Yeah… I mean, besides them. A squirrel told Anvil that there were people animals that lived here, but it only knew it had seen them around his tree during nut season, and this isn’t nut season, so we kind of need to know where they are now.”
“Squirrels are dumb,” the sparrow opines.
“Yeah,” Kiara sighs in the way that only a swallow who is sometimes a human can. “Can you help me?”
The sparrow hops a bit, “Oh sure. I can take you to where the people animals live right now.” And he flies off.
With a quick thought to Annika, Kiara takes to the air and follows, a shouted, “Be careful!” floating behind her on the breeze.
###
After flying for a bit, and crossing the river that runs through the center of the valley, the sparrow stops on the top of a tall tree. Kiara settles beside him. “Why are we stopping?” she asks, “There are no people animals here.”
“Wait here,” he tells her. “I need to ask if the people animals want me to bring you the rest of the way.”
“Okay,” Kiara replies. “Tell them that it’s really important and we need to talk to them.”
The sparrow nods and takes off again. Kiara stays in swallow form, eating a few mosquitoes while she waits. Presently, the sparrow returns.
“You need to go back to your people animals now. The Mistress of the Valley doesn’t want to see them.”
“But she has to!” Kiara protests, her words nearly tumbling over each other in their rush to get out of her beak. “We’ve come a long way to see her, and we have an invitation to deliver, and a big rock, and even though Anvil says it’s not evil, it’s magic and weird and Annika has never seen anything like it and she knows about all kinds of magic stuff, and it’s dangerous because it made spines grow out of Anvil’s back, so she has to see us. Go back and tell her that!”
The sparrow blinks rapidly.
“I will tell her about your dangerous rock,” he says at last, slowly.
“The invitation too!” she calls after him. “The invitation is really the important part…”
###
Near sunset, the party is pitching their tents when Kiara and a sparrow come swooping into camp. Kiara twitters at the sparrow for a few moments, and then, once he has left, shifts back into her human form.
“We don’t have to look anymore! The sparrow said someone would find us.”
However, by morning, nothing has happened.
Following discussion over breakfast, the party decides to find a ford and cross the river to wait by the tree where Kiara waited the day before, to save time on the journey and in case there has been any confusion.
The morning is spent backtracking upstream to a passable ford, then heading back downstream to the tree. They make camp again in the afternoon, and settle in to wait.
The day passes uneventfully. So does the night. So does the next morning.
###
Lira is just prestidigitating the last of the breakfast dishes when a woman emerges from the woods.
She is tall, with long, curling dark hair that falls around her shoulders, and she walks with a sensuous grace. Her dress is clearly not of the Sovereign style, nor of any other style the party members are familiar with. Although Thatch notes that he wouldn’t mind traveling someplace where all the women dressed like that.
She takes in the group with an ironic smile and the barest disapproving click of her tongue.
“You were told to stay where you were, and someone would come to escort you. It really isn’t polite to intrude where you’re not wanted.”
spyscribe
First Post
Part the One-Hundred Seventh
In which: we find that our mission may have changed.
“We meant no offense,” Lira offers politely. “We were told merely that someone would come find us, not that we should stay where we were.”
The woman sighs and makes a vague gesture of dismissal with one hand. “None taken. Birds make terrible messengers.”
Kiara is so indignant she hops from Annika’s shoulder and shifts back into human form right in front of the stranger. “Not all of us are,” she replies hotly.
The stranger’s cool façade cracks just a bit as she cannot help staring at the transformation of a seemingly ordinary swallow into seemingly ordinary girl. She takes a few moments to collect herself, but her only comment is, “Perhaps not.”
She wrests her gaze from Kiara and turns to the others. “You have a dangerous magical rock in your possession, then?”
Kiara rolls her eyes, “I told him the invitation was the important part, but all he could remember was the rock so I told him to tell you about the rock, but really—”
Anvil interrupts her to address their visitor. “Are you the archmage of this valley?”
“No.”
“Then we would speak with she who is learned in such matters.”
The woman quirks an eyebrow. “Very well, Justicar. I will take you to her.”
The party quickly finishes packing their gear and follows the woman into the woods.
###
The woman, who informs the party that her name is Kiko, leads them through the woods for a day and half. Although she is very polite, she declines to answer any questions about herself, her life in the Valley, or the archmage.
Reyu walks silently through the undergrowth, one hand resting absently on Paws’ back. In contrast to the wild lands through which they have been traveling for the last three weeks, the Valley seems temperate, fertile and peaceful.
Occasionally however, through the trees alongside them, she catches glimpses of dark animal forms making their way through the forest. She suspects they are being escorted by more than the lone human. And so, at the same time as she enjoys the feeling of the ground beneath her feet and the scent of pine on the air, Reyu remains watchful.
###
Midafternoon of the second day of walking, Kiko leads the party into a small clearing. On the other side, tucked into the edge of the woods, is a house.
Despite its size, it is easy to see how Kiara missed the building during her aerial reconnaissance of the Valley. The house is made of rough timbers and the roof is interwoven with living pine boughs, letting it blend almost perfectly with the surrounding trees.
As they have apparently arrived at their destination, several very large animals—who Reyu earlier glimpsed escorting the party—enter the clearing a few steps behind the party. As far as Reyu can tell they are natural creatures, but she has never seen anything like them before. A huge lumbering beast, like a rhinoceros, except covered in heavy bone plates, and two creatures she would have called albino gorillas, except that each has an extra set of arms.
Kiko gestures her thanks to the animals and dismisses them. Then, she leads the party forward into the house.
###
Kiko leaves the party in a small sitting room at the end of one wing, and withdraws. Anvil and Lira both just have time to cast a quick detect magic before the doors open again and another woman enters.
She is middle-aged, and actually rather unremarkable in appearance. Her face is well weathered with sun. Her hair is up in an unkempt bun, clearly more for practical purposes than aesthetic ones. She wears a simple robe.
She also radiates more than a little bit of magic. If they have come looking for an archmage, it would seem that they have found her.
“Welcome,” she says. “My name is Chi’i. I hear you have a very dangerous rock.”
She listens politely while the party explains that the “dangerous rock” is not actually their main reason for coming to the Valley. They tell Chi’i about the fire at the Mages’ Academy, the need for a new chancellor, and of their mission to seek out the four most powerful wizards in the Halmae and offer them invitations to interview for the position.
She nods in recognition when they mention four wizards. “Ah, yes… And how many have you spoken with?”
“So far, only two,” Lira explains. “You, and the Miyen Kai.”
Chi’i’s brows furrow. “The Miyen Kai…” she pauses to roll the elven syllables around her tongue. “The health of the Miyen?”
Reyu nods.
“Odd… I’ve never heard of this individual.”
“Do you know most of the most powerful wizards in the Halmae?” Anvil asks her.
“I thought I knew them all. There are indeed four very powerful wizards in the Halmae, but if what you say is correct, perhaps there are five.”
In which: we find that our mission may have changed.
“We meant no offense,” Lira offers politely. “We were told merely that someone would come find us, not that we should stay where we were.”
The woman sighs and makes a vague gesture of dismissal with one hand. “None taken. Birds make terrible messengers.”
Kiara is so indignant she hops from Annika’s shoulder and shifts back into human form right in front of the stranger. “Not all of us are,” she replies hotly.
The stranger’s cool façade cracks just a bit as she cannot help staring at the transformation of a seemingly ordinary swallow into seemingly ordinary girl. She takes a few moments to collect herself, but her only comment is, “Perhaps not.”
She wrests her gaze from Kiara and turns to the others. “You have a dangerous magical rock in your possession, then?”
Kiara rolls her eyes, “I told him the invitation was the important part, but all he could remember was the rock so I told him to tell you about the rock, but really—”
Anvil interrupts her to address their visitor. “Are you the archmage of this valley?”
“No.”
“Then we would speak with she who is learned in such matters.”
The woman quirks an eyebrow. “Very well, Justicar. I will take you to her.”
The party quickly finishes packing their gear and follows the woman into the woods.
###
The woman, who informs the party that her name is Kiko, leads them through the woods for a day and half. Although she is very polite, she declines to answer any questions about herself, her life in the Valley, or the archmage.
Reyu walks silently through the undergrowth, one hand resting absently on Paws’ back. In contrast to the wild lands through which they have been traveling for the last three weeks, the Valley seems temperate, fertile and peaceful.
Occasionally however, through the trees alongside them, she catches glimpses of dark animal forms making their way through the forest. She suspects they are being escorted by more than the lone human. And so, at the same time as she enjoys the feeling of the ground beneath her feet and the scent of pine on the air, Reyu remains watchful.
###
Midafternoon of the second day of walking, Kiko leads the party into a small clearing. On the other side, tucked into the edge of the woods, is a house.
Despite its size, it is easy to see how Kiara missed the building during her aerial reconnaissance of the Valley. The house is made of rough timbers and the roof is interwoven with living pine boughs, letting it blend almost perfectly with the surrounding trees.
As they have apparently arrived at their destination, several very large animals—who Reyu earlier glimpsed escorting the party—enter the clearing a few steps behind the party. As far as Reyu can tell they are natural creatures, but she has never seen anything like them before. A huge lumbering beast, like a rhinoceros, except covered in heavy bone plates, and two creatures she would have called albino gorillas, except that each has an extra set of arms.
Kiko gestures her thanks to the animals and dismisses them. Then, she leads the party forward into the house.
###
Kiko leaves the party in a small sitting room at the end of one wing, and withdraws. Anvil and Lira both just have time to cast a quick detect magic before the doors open again and another woman enters.
She is middle-aged, and actually rather unremarkable in appearance. Her face is well weathered with sun. Her hair is up in an unkempt bun, clearly more for practical purposes than aesthetic ones. She wears a simple robe.
She also radiates more than a little bit of magic. If they have come looking for an archmage, it would seem that they have found her.
“Welcome,” she says. “My name is Chi’i. I hear you have a very dangerous rock.”
She listens politely while the party explains that the “dangerous rock” is not actually their main reason for coming to the Valley. They tell Chi’i about the fire at the Mages’ Academy, the need for a new chancellor, and of their mission to seek out the four most powerful wizards in the Halmae and offer them invitations to interview for the position.
She nods in recognition when they mention four wizards. “Ah, yes… And how many have you spoken with?”
“So far, only two,” Lira explains. “You, and the Miyen Kai.”
Chi’i’s brows furrow. “The Miyen Kai…” she pauses to roll the elven syllables around her tongue. “The health of the Miyen?”
Reyu nods.
“Odd… I’ve never heard of this individual.”
“Do you know most of the most powerful wizards in the Halmae?” Anvil asks her.
“I thought I knew them all. There are indeed four very powerful wizards in the Halmae, but if what you say is correct, perhaps there are five.”
Fajitas
Hold the Peppers
Capellan said:
I was quite positive that, at some point in the year plus between when this mission started and when the PCs got to Chi'i, I was going to inadvertantly refer to the five archmagi in front of at least one of the players, 'cause that's how I'd always been thinking of them in my head.
I'm inordinately pleased that I didn't.
spyscribe
First Post
Part the One-Hundred Eigth
In which: Chi’i demonstrates her spell-casting prowess, Anvil goes around with his shirt off, and Lira is posed with an interesting question.
There is a stunned pause.
“Tell us what you know of these wizards you have met,” Anvil says. Then, at a sharp look from Reyu, he adds “If it is not too much trouble.”
Chi’i quirks an eyebrow at Anvil’s tone, but she answers the question. “Well, there is Petros Menelaeus Korious. He’s very talented, very powerful. He lives in a moving tower.”
“Just like we’d heard,” Lira murmurs to Eva.
“He was visiting here just a few months ago, actually,” she continues. “He’s something of a… crusader.”
“In what way?” asks Anvil.
Chi’i considers. “He sought me out because he had heard of some great evil in the Village of the Bountiful Fields Between Two Mountains. He wanted my advice before he went there to deal with it.”
“And what did you advise him?”
“To stay away. That place was once the site of terrible actions by the Sovereigns. I would not be saddened nor surprised to learn that something evil had befallen them. He went anyway.”
Chi’i shrugs, closing the topic.
“We were also told of a wizard living somewhere in Ebis,” Anvil informs her.
“Ah… that would be Manaal al Amani.”
“Do you know where in Ebis she can be found?”
“No. I’ve only met her once. I believe she has a residence of some kind in the desert.”
“We didn’t think there were any wizards in Ebis,” Lira puts in.
“It’s my impression,” says Chi’i, “that Manaal has very little to do with most Ebisites.”
“You do not sound confident in her abilities,” Anvil says with typical bluntness.
“Oh, do not misunderstand. Manaal is quite capable. But… she is also very religious, and that colors her worldview."
“Religious?”
“She is an Ehktian.”
Lira’s eyes light up at this revelation. An Ehktian wizard. she thinks. That should be interesting.
Hey Boss, you think she’ll know where magic comes from? You know, why you are… the way you are?
I don’t know, but I bet she’ll have some interesting ideas.
“Who is the fourth wizard you would have put on the list?” Anvil asks Chi’i.
“I would have chosen Barnabus. Although, I’m not surprised no one you knew had heard of him. He lives on an island in the middle of the Halmae. Absolutely obsessed with his work, he seldom sees anyone.” Although Chi’i is able to give a vague description of where his island can be found, she does not have a map. “As far as I know, it doesn’t appear on any map.”
The party exchanges a look that clearly says, “Well, that will be simple to find.”
Finally, the party produces the object commonly referred to as “the big not-evil rock” for Chi’i’s inspection. Her eyes widen briefly as Thatch unties the now-leathery blanket that it was bound up in.
“That’s amazing,” she says. “I’ve never seen such a large piece of it before.”
Suddenly, Chi’i is not the only person in the room who is surprised.
“You know this… substance?” Lira asks.
Chi’i nods. “Yes. As I said, never so large a piece of it in one place, but small chunks and shards can be found throughout the mountains.”
“What is it?” Eva asks.
“The Go’nah-li called it Gods’ Breath.”
“Yes, but what is it?” Lira presses.
Chi’i smiles enigmatically.
(Thatch looks over at Anvil and whispers, “Go’nah-li?” Anvil shrugs.)
“Well that rock has got some kind of weird taint all over his back, and now it’s making spines grow out of his backbone!” Kiara protests, pointing at Anvil.
Chi’i raises an eyebrow. “May I?”
Anvil turns around and allows her to examine his back. She casts detect magic, and inspects the aura she finds there.
She “hmms,” stops. Then “hmms” some more.
“Well,” she concludes, “I believe I can remove the ‘taint’ as you call it. If you would come with me?”
Anvil is initially reluctant. “I am not harmed. I can wait until we return to the healers at the Temple of Justice to attend to it.”
“Are they familiar with the effects of Gods’ Breath?”
Anvil has to admit that they aren’t.
“This will not be affected by even the most potent healing magic,” Chi’i warns him. Seeing that no one else in the group has a better way for Anvil to remove the taint staining his back, he eventually agrees. Lira, Eva and Kiara accompany him to Chi’i’s workshop.
(Note: no, not because the girls wanted to see what Anvil looks like without his shirt on. Sheesh!)
Chi’i’s workroom is on the second floor of the house, tucked underneath the rafters, many of which still bear green needles from their boughs. She directs Anvil to remove his shirt and lie facedown on a large table.
Before she begins, Lira asks, “Do you mind if I cast detect magic? I’d like to see.”
“Not at all.” Chi’i observes as Lira casts, then asks, “Do you study at this Mages’ Academy?”
Lira shakes her head. “No, but Annika does.”
“What about you?”
Lira ducks her head. “I don’t exactly study magic. I was born to it.”
“A sorcerer?”
Lira nods.
A small smile flits across Chi’i’s face, but she turns to Anvil saying, “I’m going to begin now. You might feel a slight warming sensation, but there shouldn’t be any pain.” And, taking a step back from the table, Chi’i casts.
Looking through detect magic Lira can clearly see the taint remaining on Anvil’s back and the spell forming in the air as Chi’i casts. She doesn’t recognize the spell, except that it’s some kind of abjuration… and very powerful. The magic oozes down from Chi’i’s hands, settling along Anvil’s back until it has completely covered the area affected by the strange taint. Then, in a bright flash—visible only to Lira’s magically enhanced vision—the spell is gone. Unfortunately, the taint remains.
Chi’i frowns. “Interesting.”
She takes a breath and casts again. This time when the spell vanishes, the taint has gone as well. Lira reports as much to Anvil, who nods curly. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Chi’i replies. She runs a hand down Anvil’s spine. The lumps growing out of his backbone are still there, pressing upwards from underneath his skin.
“Can you do anything about that?” Eva asks.
“I could,” Chi’i allows, “but I don’t have the necessary spells prepared today.” She addresses Anvil directly. “It would also mean placing a permanent enchantment on your back.”
Anvil shakes his head. “That will not be necessary.” Apparently, having a lumpy spine does not stand in the way of Kettenek’s Justice.
“Very well.” As Anvil gets off the table and puts his shirt back on, and Kiara pokes her nose around Chi’i’s workshop, Chi’i turns back to Lira.
“Tell me,” she says, conversationally. “If you had the chance not to be a sorcerer anymore, would you take it?”
The room falls absolutely silent.
In which: Chi’i demonstrates her spell-casting prowess, Anvil goes around with his shirt off, and Lira is posed with an interesting question.
There is a stunned pause.
“Tell us what you know of these wizards you have met,” Anvil says. Then, at a sharp look from Reyu, he adds “If it is not too much trouble.”
Chi’i quirks an eyebrow at Anvil’s tone, but she answers the question. “Well, there is Petros Menelaeus Korious. He’s very talented, very powerful. He lives in a moving tower.”
“Just like we’d heard,” Lira murmurs to Eva.
“He was visiting here just a few months ago, actually,” she continues. “He’s something of a… crusader.”
“In what way?” asks Anvil.
Chi’i considers. “He sought me out because he had heard of some great evil in the Village of the Bountiful Fields Between Two Mountains. He wanted my advice before he went there to deal with it.”
“And what did you advise him?”
“To stay away. That place was once the site of terrible actions by the Sovereigns. I would not be saddened nor surprised to learn that something evil had befallen them. He went anyway.”
Chi’i shrugs, closing the topic.
“We were also told of a wizard living somewhere in Ebis,” Anvil informs her.
“Ah… that would be Manaal al Amani.”
“Do you know where in Ebis she can be found?”
“No. I’ve only met her once. I believe she has a residence of some kind in the desert.”
“We didn’t think there were any wizards in Ebis,” Lira puts in.
“It’s my impression,” says Chi’i, “that Manaal has very little to do with most Ebisites.”
“You do not sound confident in her abilities,” Anvil says with typical bluntness.
“Oh, do not misunderstand. Manaal is quite capable. But… she is also very religious, and that colors her worldview."
“Religious?”
“She is an Ehktian.”
Lira’s eyes light up at this revelation. An Ehktian wizard. she thinks. That should be interesting.
Hey Boss, you think she’ll know where magic comes from? You know, why you are… the way you are?
I don’t know, but I bet she’ll have some interesting ideas.
“Who is the fourth wizard you would have put on the list?” Anvil asks Chi’i.
“I would have chosen Barnabus. Although, I’m not surprised no one you knew had heard of him. He lives on an island in the middle of the Halmae. Absolutely obsessed with his work, he seldom sees anyone.” Although Chi’i is able to give a vague description of where his island can be found, she does not have a map. “As far as I know, it doesn’t appear on any map.”
The party exchanges a look that clearly says, “Well, that will be simple to find.”
Finally, the party produces the object commonly referred to as “the big not-evil rock” for Chi’i’s inspection. Her eyes widen briefly as Thatch unties the now-leathery blanket that it was bound up in.
“That’s amazing,” she says. “I’ve never seen such a large piece of it before.”
Suddenly, Chi’i is not the only person in the room who is surprised.
“You know this… substance?” Lira asks.
Chi’i nods. “Yes. As I said, never so large a piece of it in one place, but small chunks and shards can be found throughout the mountains.”
“What is it?” Eva asks.
“The Go’nah-li called it Gods’ Breath.”
“Yes, but what is it?” Lira presses.
Chi’i smiles enigmatically.
(Thatch looks over at Anvil and whispers, “Go’nah-li?” Anvil shrugs.)
“Well that rock has got some kind of weird taint all over his back, and now it’s making spines grow out of his backbone!” Kiara protests, pointing at Anvil.
Chi’i raises an eyebrow. “May I?”
Anvil turns around and allows her to examine his back. She casts detect magic, and inspects the aura she finds there.
She “hmms,” stops. Then “hmms” some more.
“Well,” she concludes, “I believe I can remove the ‘taint’ as you call it. If you would come with me?”
Anvil is initially reluctant. “I am not harmed. I can wait until we return to the healers at the Temple of Justice to attend to it.”
“Are they familiar with the effects of Gods’ Breath?”
Anvil has to admit that they aren’t.
“This will not be affected by even the most potent healing magic,” Chi’i warns him. Seeing that no one else in the group has a better way for Anvil to remove the taint staining his back, he eventually agrees. Lira, Eva and Kiara accompany him to Chi’i’s workshop.
(Note: no, not because the girls wanted to see what Anvil looks like without his shirt on. Sheesh!)
Chi’i’s workroom is on the second floor of the house, tucked underneath the rafters, many of which still bear green needles from their boughs. She directs Anvil to remove his shirt and lie facedown on a large table.
Before she begins, Lira asks, “Do you mind if I cast detect magic? I’d like to see.”
“Not at all.” Chi’i observes as Lira casts, then asks, “Do you study at this Mages’ Academy?”
Lira shakes her head. “No, but Annika does.”
“What about you?”
Lira ducks her head. “I don’t exactly study magic. I was born to it.”
“A sorcerer?”
Lira nods.
A small smile flits across Chi’i’s face, but she turns to Anvil saying, “I’m going to begin now. You might feel a slight warming sensation, but there shouldn’t be any pain.” And, taking a step back from the table, Chi’i casts.
Looking through detect magic Lira can clearly see the taint remaining on Anvil’s back and the spell forming in the air as Chi’i casts. She doesn’t recognize the spell, except that it’s some kind of abjuration… and very powerful. The magic oozes down from Chi’i’s hands, settling along Anvil’s back until it has completely covered the area affected by the strange taint. Then, in a bright flash—visible only to Lira’s magically enhanced vision—the spell is gone. Unfortunately, the taint remains.
Chi’i frowns. “Interesting.”
She takes a breath and casts again. This time when the spell vanishes, the taint has gone as well. Lira reports as much to Anvil, who nods curly. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Chi’i replies. She runs a hand down Anvil’s spine. The lumps growing out of his backbone are still there, pressing upwards from underneath his skin.
“Can you do anything about that?” Eva asks.
“I could,” Chi’i allows, “but I don’t have the necessary spells prepared today.” She addresses Anvil directly. “It would also mean placing a permanent enchantment on your back.”
Anvil shakes his head. “That will not be necessary.” Apparently, having a lumpy spine does not stand in the way of Kettenek’s Justice.
“Very well.” As Anvil gets off the table and puts his shirt back on, and Kiara pokes her nose around Chi’i’s workshop, Chi’i turns back to Lira.
“Tell me,” she says, conversationally. “If you had the chance not to be a sorcerer anymore, would you take it?”
The room falls absolutely silent.
spyscribe
First Post
Part the One-Hundred Ninth
In which: Lira’s head spins for one reason, and Euro’s does for quite another.
Lira chooses her words carefully as she formulates her answer to Chi’i’s question.
“There was a time not long ago when the answer to that question would have been very different,” Lira says slowly, “but no, I wouldn’t choose to change who I am.”
“I see.”
The silence settles on the room again, until Kiara burst out, “Wait a second! You can make her not a sorcerer anymore?”
Chi’i nods, not breaking eye contact with Lira. “It is possible.”
“But…” Lira searches for the right words. “If I wasn’t a sorcerer, what would I be?”
Chi’i merely smiles. “This could be your chance to find out.”
###
Lira is too shell-shocked by Chi’i’s offer to notice much about dinner, but the rest of the party has a perfectly pleasant meal.
(SpyScribe: Don’t mind me; I’m just over here having a head-trip.)
Naturally, everyone wants to know more about what Chi’i meant by making someone “no longer a sorcerer,” but her explanations remain general.
“Sorcerers tap into the source of arcane magic. Sever that connection, and an individual can no longer cast spells.”
“Do you know a lot of sorcerers?” Annika asks.
“I am one,” Chi’i replies.
A pause falls over the table. Anvil frowns. “We are looking for a wizard.”
Chi’i clarifies. “I was born with a talent for magic, and there are spells that I can cast because I know them the way that Lira does. However, that is not how I chose to develop my talents. I devoted myself to the arcane arts as a matter of study instead.”
“Oh, I see.” Anvil nods, as if to signal that this is acceptable.
At the conclusion of the meal, Kiko brings out a strange-looking stringed instrument which she places on the floor in front of her. She plays it beautifully, singing in a strange language none of the adventurers have ever heard before.
Reyu asks her about it when she finishes. “It is the language of the Go’nah-li. The Old Ones, as the Sovereigns call them,” she explains.
“The Go’nah-li,” Reyu repeats. She turns to Chi’i. “That was who you said called the substance we found Gods’ Breath.”
Chi’i nods. “They are the people who used to live in these mountains many hundreds of years ago, before the Sovereigns came.”
“What happened to them?” Thatch asks.
Chi’i’s eyes darken. “What happens to anyone who stands in the way of the Sovereignty? Those who would not convert to Sovereign beliefs were exterminated. And there were not many who chose to convert.”
A pall falls over the small gathering.
Chi’i puts a hand on Kiko’s arm. “Why don’t you play another song for us?”
Kiko does, another lilting haunting melody, and although none of the party members can understand the words, the sadness behind them is all too clear.
###
The next day, Lira seeks out Chi’i in her private study.
It’s a small room, with bookshelves filled with ancient tomes, loose papers, and scrolls of blank vellum lining opposite walls. Chi’i sits at a wooden desk placed against the wall below the room’s only window. Sunlight, filtered through the pine-boughs outside, speckles her work-surface. Chi’i turns her chair to face Lira and offers her a spot on a small settee.
As Lira settles in, she notices Euro suddenly going to alert from his post on her shoulder.
Hey Boss. I think that cat is lookin’ at me.
Lira follows his gaze to where a large orange cat is perched at the top of one of the bookcases. She cuts her eyes over to Chi’i. “Is that…?”
Chi’i nods. “Your weasel can introduce himself if he likes.”
You want to say hello, Euro?
As Lira watches, the cat extends one of its forepaws, pad up, and beckons, eyes narrowed.
Oh you better believe it, Boss. You know… I think that cat is messing with me.
Go ahead then.
Euro takes off, hitting the floor and scampering up the face of the Chi’i’s bookshelves. The cat waits until he’s just within reach of the top shelf… and then languidly leaps across the room to settle on the top of the shelves opposite.
Oh… now I know she’s messing with me!
Eruo tears down the shelves again and crosses the floor to scale the other side. The cat affects a yawn.
“So, what’s on your mind?” Chi’i asks.
Lira forces herself to tear her eyes away from the mustelid vs. feline smack-down and focuses on what has brought her to see Chi’i in the first place.
“Um… I don’t mean to be rude, but… When you talked about making me not a sorcerer… Is this something you’ve actually done, or it is just a theory?”
“Well, I have more than just theory to support my research, but no. You would be the first,” she allows. “Have you changed your mind?”
Lira shakes her head. “I really think Ehkt made me as I am for a reason, even if I don’t know what that reason is.”
“I certainly respect your choice in this matter. I wouldn’t wish to force you to do something which you do not truly desire.”
Lira nods, and allows herself to be distracted by Euro and the cat again. Chi’i follows her glance and smiles indulgently. They sit for a few moments in silence.
“Could I ask you another question?” Lira ventures.
“By all means.”
“Why does Kiara like this place so much? She said she could feel it, tugging at her, when we were still days away. I don’t think it’s a familiar thing. I mean, Euro doesn’t seem particularly affected.”
There is a small pause before Chi’i answers. “Kiara is a very special little girl. Very magically attuned. I’m not surprised she’s sensitive to this place.”
“The Sovereigns used to call this valley the ‘Valley of Untamed Fury’, Now it’s ‘The Valley at the Center of the Storm.’ Was it you that changed it?”
“What the Sovereigns call this Valley is not my concern. They leave me alone and I return the favor. However, my… presence… here probably has something to do with it.”
Lira is pretty sure that Chi’i is not telling her everything, but at the same time, she doesn’t know what the other woman might be holding back. She also doesn’t get the impression that she’s being maliciously lied to.
A sudden crash brings Lira out of her thoughts.
Ouch.
She looks over at Euro. He lies on his back, blinking rapidly, and slightly stunned. Euro!
S’okay Boss. I slipped.
Lira looks helplessly at Chi’i. “We should probably be going. I’m sure you have work to do.”
The wizard waves aside her excuses and rises to see Lira out. Lira scoops up her familiar, and takes her leave.
As it has been nearly since the moment she met Chi’i, Lira’s mind is racing. Can she do what she says she can? What is the source of arcane magic?… What would people like Devon do if they found out that being a sorcerer had become, in effect, a choice? What would people like the people who blew up the Mages’ Academy do if they found out? Is this where my path splits, like Alirria said in the prophecy? But which way is the stagnant pool, and which one is the rough rapids? What am I supposed to do?
Unfortunately, no matter how hard she thinks, she can’t come up with any useful answers.
In which: Lira’s head spins for one reason, and Euro’s does for quite another.
Lira chooses her words carefully as she formulates her answer to Chi’i’s question.
“There was a time not long ago when the answer to that question would have been very different,” Lira says slowly, “but no, I wouldn’t choose to change who I am.”
“I see.”
The silence settles on the room again, until Kiara burst out, “Wait a second! You can make her not a sorcerer anymore?”
Chi’i nods, not breaking eye contact with Lira. “It is possible.”
“But…” Lira searches for the right words. “If I wasn’t a sorcerer, what would I be?”
Chi’i merely smiles. “This could be your chance to find out.”
###
Lira is too shell-shocked by Chi’i’s offer to notice much about dinner, but the rest of the party has a perfectly pleasant meal.
(SpyScribe: Don’t mind me; I’m just over here having a head-trip.)
Naturally, everyone wants to know more about what Chi’i meant by making someone “no longer a sorcerer,” but her explanations remain general.
“Sorcerers tap into the source of arcane magic. Sever that connection, and an individual can no longer cast spells.”
“Do you know a lot of sorcerers?” Annika asks.
“I am one,” Chi’i replies.
A pause falls over the table. Anvil frowns. “We are looking for a wizard.”
Chi’i clarifies. “I was born with a talent for magic, and there are spells that I can cast because I know them the way that Lira does. However, that is not how I chose to develop my talents. I devoted myself to the arcane arts as a matter of study instead.”
“Oh, I see.” Anvil nods, as if to signal that this is acceptable.
At the conclusion of the meal, Kiko brings out a strange-looking stringed instrument which she places on the floor in front of her. She plays it beautifully, singing in a strange language none of the adventurers have ever heard before.
Reyu asks her about it when she finishes. “It is the language of the Go’nah-li. The Old Ones, as the Sovereigns call them,” she explains.
“The Go’nah-li,” Reyu repeats. She turns to Chi’i. “That was who you said called the substance we found Gods’ Breath.”
Chi’i nods. “They are the people who used to live in these mountains many hundreds of years ago, before the Sovereigns came.”
“What happened to them?” Thatch asks.
Chi’i’s eyes darken. “What happens to anyone who stands in the way of the Sovereignty? Those who would not convert to Sovereign beliefs were exterminated. And there were not many who chose to convert.”
A pall falls over the small gathering.
Chi’i puts a hand on Kiko’s arm. “Why don’t you play another song for us?”
Kiko does, another lilting haunting melody, and although none of the party members can understand the words, the sadness behind them is all too clear.
###
The next day, Lira seeks out Chi’i in her private study.
It’s a small room, with bookshelves filled with ancient tomes, loose papers, and scrolls of blank vellum lining opposite walls. Chi’i sits at a wooden desk placed against the wall below the room’s only window. Sunlight, filtered through the pine-boughs outside, speckles her work-surface. Chi’i turns her chair to face Lira and offers her a spot on a small settee.
As Lira settles in, she notices Euro suddenly going to alert from his post on her shoulder.
Hey Boss. I think that cat is lookin’ at me.
Lira follows his gaze to where a large orange cat is perched at the top of one of the bookcases. She cuts her eyes over to Chi’i. “Is that…?”
Chi’i nods. “Your weasel can introduce himself if he likes.”
You want to say hello, Euro?
As Lira watches, the cat extends one of its forepaws, pad up, and beckons, eyes narrowed.
Oh you better believe it, Boss. You know… I think that cat is messing with me.
Go ahead then.
Euro takes off, hitting the floor and scampering up the face of the Chi’i’s bookshelves. The cat waits until he’s just within reach of the top shelf… and then languidly leaps across the room to settle on the top of the shelves opposite.
Oh… now I know she’s messing with me!
Eruo tears down the shelves again and crosses the floor to scale the other side. The cat affects a yawn.
“So, what’s on your mind?” Chi’i asks.
Lira forces herself to tear her eyes away from the mustelid vs. feline smack-down and focuses on what has brought her to see Chi’i in the first place.
“Um… I don’t mean to be rude, but… When you talked about making me not a sorcerer… Is this something you’ve actually done, or it is just a theory?”
“Well, I have more than just theory to support my research, but no. You would be the first,” she allows. “Have you changed your mind?”
Lira shakes her head. “I really think Ehkt made me as I am for a reason, even if I don’t know what that reason is.”
“I certainly respect your choice in this matter. I wouldn’t wish to force you to do something which you do not truly desire.”
Lira nods, and allows herself to be distracted by Euro and the cat again. Chi’i follows her glance and smiles indulgently. They sit for a few moments in silence.
“Could I ask you another question?” Lira ventures.
“By all means.”
“Why does Kiara like this place so much? She said she could feel it, tugging at her, when we were still days away. I don’t think it’s a familiar thing. I mean, Euro doesn’t seem particularly affected.”
There is a small pause before Chi’i answers. “Kiara is a very special little girl. Very magically attuned. I’m not surprised she’s sensitive to this place.”
“The Sovereigns used to call this valley the ‘Valley of Untamed Fury’, Now it’s ‘The Valley at the Center of the Storm.’ Was it you that changed it?”
“What the Sovereigns call this Valley is not my concern. They leave me alone and I return the favor. However, my… presence… here probably has something to do with it.”
Lira is pretty sure that Chi’i is not telling her everything, but at the same time, she doesn’t know what the other woman might be holding back. She also doesn’t get the impression that she’s being maliciously lied to.
A sudden crash brings Lira out of her thoughts.
Ouch.
She looks over at Euro. He lies on his back, blinking rapidly, and slightly stunned. Euro!
S’okay Boss. I slipped.
Lira looks helplessly at Chi’i. “We should probably be going. I’m sure you have work to do.”
The wizard waves aside her excuses and rises to see Lira out. Lira scoops up her familiar, and takes her leave.
As it has been nearly since the moment she met Chi’i, Lira’s mind is racing. Can she do what she says she can? What is the source of arcane magic?… What would people like Devon do if they found out that being a sorcerer had become, in effect, a choice? What would people like the people who blew up the Mages’ Academy do if they found out? Is this where my path splits, like Alirria said in the prophecy? But which way is the stagnant pool, and which one is the rough rapids? What am I supposed to do?
Unfortunately, no matter how hard she thinks, she can’t come up with any useful answers.
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