Strange Bedfellows - Chapter 1
Strange Bedfellows – Chapter 1
OOC Notes:
Exp: 3000 (everyone is 25)
This Week’s Adventure:
I would have expected this group of the powerful and influential to be less disturbed by the sudden appearance of an armed party. I think the concern was not so much driven by our sudden appearance as it was by the fact that we found the location. Nonetheless I took the time to look around quickly while the noise died down.
Chavram stood silently, unperturbed by the whole thing (making him one of the few). Behind him stood Dravot’s father and brother, and there was a pair of storm giants behind them. And then something else… A creature that I thought was only slightly taller than Chavram until I noticed it was kneeling behind him. Dravot was barely able to recognize him from portraits – his great grandfather.
The forum was in a large circle with more formidable entities towards the center, including the dragons, and others at the periphery. I noticed a high ranking official of Heironeous – cleric or paladin, I could not be sure. The druids had emissaries, though not Marcus himself. The Owl was there, and in the inner circle interestingly enough. Near The Owl was a creature with alabaster skin with a pearlescent sheen and with a muted gender wearing silks. Slightly further back I saw another adventuring party – my cursory glance told me they worked for the Council, and while they were not mere amateurs, nor had they crossed over.
There was plenty of noise, and more than a few drawn weapons and breath weapons readied. I took it in with a casual patience, waiting for it to settle. None of my companions seemed particularly threatened either, for that matter.
Lord Gelban finally raised his voice and boomed out “PEACE! Peace! I did not realize they would be arriving so soon to this Tribunal.” Then he said to us as much as to the assembled group “Let me make this clear – this is a truce ground. If you cannot abide by that, then leave now.” He was taking some pains not to look directly at Chavram, but I suspected he might have also been worried we would do something… rash.
The assembly started to calm down. Reactions varied from “Oh it’s them,” to “Oh is that THEM!?!?” to “Thank heavens they’re finally here,” and so on. It seemed clear that everyone knew us at least by reputation if not by sight.
“I suggest we take a brief recess and refocus our thoughts. Agreed?” Gelban said. It was clear he was running this meeting and from the arrangements and whom he looked it, only some of the attendees got a say in the proceedings. The Council was consulted, as were the druids, the priest of Heironeous, The Owl, and a few others. The adventurers were not, which spoke volumes. I noticed a mage, a cleric of Corelleon, a dwarf in leathers, and a halfling spellcaster with what looked to be a Staff of Power.
There were no objections and the group began milling about.
A nondescript human walked directly to Scorch. He was confident but with no obvious power.
Bolo took a guess and said “Hello Jonathan.”
He was wrong. “You have me confused. I am not Jonathan. But I serve Jonathan. I am here on behalf of the Valley of the Mage. I wanted to clarify that the offer is no longer available, but more importantly, my master would appreciate the discussion of some form of truce. It is apparent that you have had issues in the past.”
The contempt flowed from Scorch. “Let me guess: The Burning Skin.”
The man nodded. “This is a name my master once used before his ascension.”
All of us glared at the man and it was clear that had the Burning Skin been here personally, he wouldn’t have lasted ten seconds. Even this impassive man found himself retreating a step before our collective stare. Valanthe said to me quietly, but loud enough for the man to hear “Put ‘Kill Jonathan’ on our list of things to do.” I nodded.
Scorch still had a score to settle, but there were other things on his mind right now. He waved his hand dismissively and said “For now. There are more important things in play right now than settling our score with your master. So for now, there will be a truce.”
The man bowed slightly and withdrew. Smart man.
Lord Gelban finished his conversation and leaned down. “My friends it has been 11 days since we last spoke. I don’t know when Zinkman began exerting control exactly. The active effects on the Silverring occurred some six days ago when I tried to reach him when we discovered the demon armies were on the march. We have taken to labeling them Zinkman Silver and Zinkman Black since the Zinkman in Ru’un Khazai is also an issue. We also noticed the lack of Judges. We realized five days ago the Judges were dealing with incursions from gates that Zinkman Silver had ripped open. I believe the dreamer is dead and cannot be restored at this time. A sizable percentage of the people in the Lendores have been turned into monstrosities. The Judges are barely holding back the tide and are trying to contain them to the islands.”
“Ralishaz is a deity of the Prime – shouldn’t he be more powerful here?” I asked.
“Zinkman has found another loophole in the Interdiction, though not a direct one. The Far Realms are not part of the goverened realms – they have no gods. Thus the Interdiction does not quite apply.”
We groaned collectively. I idly commented “I knew we shouldn’t have brought him back with us.”
Lord Gelban said “I think there was a kernel of truth about Zinkman and the binders but he is rapidly becoming an asset we cannot tap. We’re not sure what Zinkman Black is up to – he has begun altering a section of the Prime around Ru’un Khazai to suit him and it is an impenetrable sphere even Judges cannot enter. Before losing contact, Meepo indicated they had discovered a demoness in their midst and he said something about the Inevitables and they would deal with it somehow.”
He added “We have sent three squads to assassinate Zinkman Silver but they have failed. Our resources are stretched thin. Your return alters the balance of power considerably, perhaps even bringing us even.”
Aethramyr asked “And what do we know of the Khel Hr’dad? We know they are on the march.”
Lord Gelban winced. “Not enough. They are on the march and not in a hurry either. As if they didn’t care if anyone knew. One is in the Bright Desert. Another was somewhere in the west.”
Dravot noted “We saw one near Kalstrand some days ago – that’s probably him.”
That reminded me of the “package” we had to hand off for the time being. We had agreed before coming that no mention would be made of the theerpart, Acererack, or Gulthias or the Heart. There was no need for our enemies to know of these things. I said to Lord Gelban “We also have an item that needs safe-keeping for now,” and I indicated the small ark that Aethramyr was holding. Lord Gelban needed no other prompting to know what it was.
“Which one is it?” he asked.
We exchanged a lot of puzzled looks – I had no idea. (“The evil one?” “They’re all evil ones.” And so on.) Dravot indicated it was the Neutral part, and Lord Gelban waved a claw at The Cupric to come over.
The Cupric didn’t ask. Just complained. “Oh certainly. I’d be happy to take this off your hands and have it festering in my demi-plane. Why it would be a pleasure.” And he grumped away. Lord Gelban said “That gives us all three then.”
“Three?” about half of us asked. “The last was in the hands of the Red Lord in Rauxes last we knew.”
“Apparently Chavram recovered it. Said something about taking care of the Scarlet Brotherhood at your request, Dravot.”
Fascinating.
Bolo then spoke up. This was a warning sign in itself. “Lord Gelban, you should know that…”
About this time, he got many stares, grunts and gestures to stop and not say any more. But this is Bolo – why would that stop him? That would require critical thinking.
“that Ashardalon’s heart…”
More whistles, stares, gestures, and other rather clear indications that this was not a topic to be discussed in the open. Maybe he thought whispering would make it all better. That would of course carry the requisite assumption that “he thought.”
“… has been destroyed.”
Now, it is undeniable that this is important information. It is also, I believe, equally undeniable that it did not have to be reported at this time. It could have waited til a more private moment away from so many prying eyes and ears. All eyes were focused on us since our arrival, waiting. They may not all have been able to hear, but I’m sure the more powerful ones had plenty of ways. This could have waited rather than revealing it for the world to know.
[OOC: Wizardru said: “Ok you have to understand guys. This is a Star Trek convention. And you are the entire NextGen crew (or first crew, even the dead ones) who just walked out unannounced in a group and are standing on stage whispering. They may not know what you’re saying but you are focus of everyone there just the same.” The analogy is… disturbing. ]
Bolo thought this was nonsense I suppose. He may however have had occasion to re-think that when a figure wrapped in black clothes fell out of a tree as Bolo finished his statement.
Lord Gelban rolled his eyes. “He is a representative of the reds. He has no voice here but he is their emissary.”
I felt like strangling Bolo. Not to kill him – just to strangle him a bit. Through clenched teeth I said “This… could… have… waited.”
Lord Gelban was not pleased at the information being out either but his mind was more focused on what next. “It is possible that this may serve our interests for our enemies to know you have destroyed something so powerful. This might work to our advantage.” I wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince us or himself. I know he didn’t convince me.
Bolo then started to mention a certain vampire but was shouted down and at least this time had the sense to remain silent.
Lord Gelban withdrew to speak to another dragon while we milled about. Chavram took the opportunity to speak to his grandson. “It pleases me to see you here. You have expanded your abilities. This pleases me. And you have recovered some research that will aid you in your destiny.”
Dravot bristled at doing anything Chavram liked. “Yes. I have.”
Chavram snapped his fingers and one of his attendants handed him a book. He handed the book to Dravot. “This tome will give you information that will help you restore your father to life. It will take about two days but is fairly simple.” Chavram said to his son “Go with him.” The animus moved silently to Dravot’s side.
Dravot was understandably skeptical. “And what do I owe you for this?”
“Why nothing of course. You have fulfilled all that I have asked. It was, after all, always meant to be reversible. Do you take me for some idiot enchanter who could not convert them fully? But I can no longer motivate you in ways I used to. So you may restore them. Both of them.” And he waved to Kaltin to join Dravot.
“I am not prepared to go, Grandfather,” Kaltin said
Chavram was clearly weary of Kaltin’s defiance. “What, you have something better to do?”
“Yes,” he said solemnly. “Keeping an eye on him,” indicating Chavram’s father. “What if another episode occurs? It is in everyone’s best interests.” Kaltin turned to Dravot “I will come home in time, brother.”
Dravot said “It pains me that you will not return now, but I understand. You have free will,” and then he stopped and asked Chavram “He does have free will, doesn’t he?”
Chavram rolled his eyes. “Oh yes. Of that you can be sure.”
Kaltin tried to reassure Dravot. “Soon, brother.”
Chavram said “It is almost done. My tasks are nearly complete, then you can destroy me. You would not benefit from my destruction as you once would, but there is so much to do.”
Dravot’s eyes narrowed, “I look forward to that day.”
The tribunal reconvened, Lord Gelban slowly bringing things back to order. “So the Silverring must be destroyed. Not all of you agree, or some may not participate, but we agree as a group. Then comes the question of how. Three attempts have been made so far, and failed. Wounds heal as fast as they are made and he seems immune to all manner of breath weapons and elements. Brazen, please show them.”
The Brazen conjured an image of the Silverring. Growing from his shoulder was a vaguely humanoid shape from the torso up. “I am lead to believe this thing began growing out of him after a recent slumber. Zinkman somehow implanted himself into the Silverring. This one appears to have a greater sense of self, as opposed to Zinkman Black who seems more crazed. About six days ago, this Zinkman ripped open a rent in the Prime and created a large gate through which have poured horrors from the Far Realms. From here it is as much conjecture as fact.”
The Brazen shifted slightly as he went on. “An ever-more-powerful cascading series of creatures have flowed in through the gate. They caught some of the people of the Testing unaware. The Dreamer however was not caught completely off guard and mounted an emergency defense. Some creatures as far away as the Vast Swamp and Hipmonoland and the Yeomanry have been tainted. His motives are unclear – it is possible he may be trying to distract the Judges. The Judges have not committed fully, fearing this same thing. At least Meltorannan has indicated this possibility. The Three have been silent on this subject and Ralishaz has ignored all attempts to contact him.”
“The Dreamer used the last of her energy to mount a defense and rally those left. The defenders are being slowly pushed to the sea and are being evacuated with the help of the sea elves. The main island is nearly empty. We are not even sure if we can seal his gate or stop Zinkman. The creatures are building some kind of hive structure at a central point however.”
I asked “So how do we stop the Silverring?”
The Brazen answered “The Silverring is the oldest living dragon. He has access to magics even Gelban can’t cast. He is nearly invulnerable to us so far. We believe he is drawing power from three places – The Silverring, The Far Realms, and the Binders.”
“So it is logical for us to at least cut off the one source that we can – the Binders,” I said.
Lord Gelban said “There is some question as to whether destroying the Binders truly impedes him. Even without the Princes, their power may still be available to him. Still it hurts us little to attempt it, and it may aid us much.”
Scorch turned to Chavram “And would you give us the three Binders you control, knowing we would destroy them?”
I could hear stray murmurs from the crowd. Some didn’t even know what a binder was, while others were shocked to know some were here and others were destroyed.
Chavram said coldly “I will not give them to you.”
Dravot asked “Will you give them to me?”
Chavram replied “I will give them to you, Grandson.”
But there was a problem. “This is useful, but it may be moot,” I said. “I suspect we would be best served by destroying all of the binders. And at the moment, there are two of them that we cannot account for. Another entity has been gathering binders and got to two of them before you did, Chavram.” Most of the group did not know of the binder in Celene but anyone who did the math did not speak of the missing binder that at least some of us did know of.
Chavram, to my surprise, had information. “I am aware of this. But I do not believe it is a new entity that has claimed these two, but rather someone who already had one.” He stared at me as he said this, waiting.
“If true, then we can destroy the binders, and then mount an attack on the Silverring,” I said, grasping Chavram’s full meaning.
The comment passed with very little question, for which I was very grateful. I wasn’t sure if what Chavram said was true, but it was certainly plausible, and easy to verify.
There was little other discussion from there. Lord Gelban turned the discussion to the details of the assault. In prior attacks, the non-dragons were turned into creatures of chaos, while the dragons were “sent” somewhere.
The First Knight of Heironeous spoke. “I prefer a good sword slash in these matters. But it is clear to me, as it is to many of us here, that this is beyond our capabilities. Nonetheless, I pledge my cadre to your cause, if it will help.”
Bolo speculated “If Zinkman draws power from the Far Realms, then we should face him there.”
The prospect of that terrified me. Fortunately I wasn’t alone. A human representative, serving as a proxy for Rary the Traitor apparently, twitched and was co-opted by his master. “That would be… inadvisable. He has likely found some great source of power. He may have a chaos seed within him, perhaps trying to corrupt the entire plane. That would be… inconvenient.”
The discussions continued on the attack, and it became clear that while we never were asked nor stated we would go, not only were we going, but we were the de facto leaders of the assault. This was not troubling to me in any way, I simply note it as I reflect that there was never any question or argument that it would be up to us to lead this effort. We settled on a plan of reconnaissance-in-force – something we’ve always excelled at. The formal discussion concluded and separate conversations were held to discuss the exact members of the strike force.
I took a moment to speak to the Platinar. I always found him to be a kind, noble dragon, and I knew the events unfolding would be deeply troubling to him. I went to him and asked “How are you doing?”
His face held a profound sadness. “I never desired this position.” He was the heir-apparent to lead the silvers if the Silverring was destroyed.
“I know you don’t. But we may be able to save him yet,” I said softly.
He whispered quietly “I will go with you on this mission. Do not speak of it aloud though – the Council would forbid it. Three times the Gilden has tried to take the field and they have refused him. We cannot afford to lose him. But there are others who could replace me.”
“I understand. I will be glad to fight at your side and will welcome it. I would do the same in your position.” I’m not sure if I helped any, but I had to try.
“One more thing,” he said. “Hammer, Tongs and Anvil will wish go to. Do not let them. This will be too much for them.”
I nodded in agreement. “I have great love for those three, especially Tongs who helped me when I sorely needed it. But this is beyond their ken. I would not have them die this way.” I put a hand on the dragon’s massive foreleg, and stood with him for a moment in silence, doing my best to share some strength with him, then left him in peace when another dragon needed to speak to him.
Chavram approached Dravot again. He removed two rings and a necklace, each a miniature version of a binder. “I warn you: do not attempt to use them. You should know by now that the binders were never meant to be together for any period of time. Should you attempt to use them it would be… unpleasant.” He hand them to Dravot, who took them without attempting to take control of them.
I looked at Aethramyr. “I guess it’s up to me then. I’ll be back.” And I teleported to the palace.
The palace was on a military footing but I didn’t bother to ask why. After being checked thoroughly by a guardian mage, I made for the throne room. As the guards opened the door, I could see there were no supplicants and very few courtiers milling about, trying to look important. I made my way down the long carpet to the throne where I could see the Queen and Onselven talking quietly. As I passed a small group of courtiers I simply pointed at them, then towards the door. This was not for their ears.
They looked towards the Queen who by now had seen me coming. She waved them out and they departed quickly. I approached the throne and curtsied. The Queen dismissed the formality. “What brings you before Us today?”
I wasted no time. “Your Majesty, how many binders do you control?”
There was a long pause. “That is a rather… direct question, my daughter.”
I paused and considered. “Indeed, Your Majesty. And your answer speaks volumes. You do have them.”
She nodded, her suspicions confirmed. “Yesterday We consulted the divination binder. It foretold that you would come. But it could not see events unfolding tomorrow and there could only be one explanation. And so it is.”
She went on. “Allow Us to save you the effort: Yes, I am the one who secured the two unclaimed binders. I helped to hide them many years ago so I knew where they were. And yes, I will give them to you, knowing what you intend to do.”
But I was hesitant. No. Not hesitant – scared. “Your Majesty, do we sacrifice Celene for the sake of the world? The binder has helped keep our kingdom safe.”
If she shared my fear, she did not show it. It may have been just for my sake, but I was glad for it all the same. “Corelleon will protect us, as he always has.”
I nodded, and she beckoned me to follow her down to the binder chamber. She pulled out two small boxes, each velvet-lined and containing one of the sets of swirling rings. She cautioned me “Do not attempt to use them. Having them close to each other is very dangerous.”
“I understand. Chavram told us of the dangers when he handed over his three,” I told her. It was unnecessary though – she knew I would not come here unless all the other binders were secured.
She released the wards around the first binder, but then hesitated. “We would look upon our sons one last time.” The binder showed Melf and Aran’gel together on march somewhere, chatting casually. Then they looked more cross, and began trying to punch each other in the shoulder from horseback like they were fifty-year-olds.
The Queen’s rolled her eyes and I sighed. “One of these is the future King?”
“We find it helps not to think of it too often,” she said dryly.
The image faded as the Queen relaxed her concentration. I stared at the binder for a long time, wondering if this was the right thing to do. If this did not weaken the Silverring, then I have weakened Celene for nothing.
In the end, all I was left with was faith in Corellean. Slightly to my surprise, that faith was enough.
“Prince Uufhez ben Daman,” I said. The wispy form resolved to something more substantial. “You know what comes next. Will you go with me?”
The Prince nodded silently. The Queen passed her hand in front of the binder and it shrunk to a more transportable size. I placed the binder in a third box and without further discussion prepared to leave. As I was about to depart, she said to me “Be careful, my daughter.”
I returned to the tribunal. It was only later that I realized that while Her Majesty had called me “my child”, she had never called me “my daughter” before this day.
**********************
I returned with a great deal less commotion than on our first arrival. The rest of the party was talking to Lord Gelban and I approached, nervous about getting too close to Dravot. Everyone turned towards me as I walked up.
“I have the remaining three binders,” I said, offering no more detail. Aethramyr gave me a comforting look, trying to assure me it was the right thing.
“Then we better take care of this straight away,” Scorch said. He got no argument. “Let’s head for the Great Map then.”
One of the druids stopped us. He wore green and brown in his tunic and trousers and had two blades strapped across his back. The druidic representatives had been generally less surly than they might have been, but Bolo was the only one of us who got anything better than open disdain. “If you will give me a moment, I will warn the defenders and have them stand down. It will be less… complicated this way.”
We nodded and he merged into a nearby tree, returning a few minutes later to tell us the way was clear. We arrived at the grove and made our way to the map room. There was a tension in the air and when we activated the resident janni, he knew what we had and why we had come.
Suppressing the great magic of the binders was fairly straightforward – the trick would be breaking them quickly enough. The binders would all have to be destroyed very quickly otherwise the feedback would destroy us. The problem was that Shatterspike was the only weapon that could break the rings.
Fortunately with Shatterspike comes Aethramyr. Scorch stopped time and suppressed all the binders in an instant, and then Aethramyr launched into a whirlwind of cuts shattering ring after ring. As each binder fell apart, the djinn prince took his normal form, then faded back to the elemental planes. The last to fall was the first of the binders, and the first I knew – the divination binder, Prince Uufhez ben Daman. He lingered before returning home.
“It is over then,” he said quietly. “I give you a boon in return for your faithful help, well given, and well intended. To stop the Shadowking, the prophecy says you must combine as one. The elements must flow through you, Aethramyr. That is why you were chosen with this new form and the new blade. You must strike the blow. You must not die again. Equal and opposites of each type will flow through you. It is the only way.”
“Be well, my friends. You have weakened the madman. This I know.” And with that, he faded away.
The map stepped forward into the broken rings smashed onto the floor. “Thank you for ending over a millennia of servitude. If you are ever traveling the elemental planes, seek us. We will gladly provide succor.”
I smiled. “Please, if you would be so kind, take back with you a message to Prince Sumez and the others. When we are able, we will visit for a celebration of your freedom.”
The janni bowed deep. “He is a liar, but he throws a wonderful party.” And the janni too returned home.
On our way out of the chamber, we encountered a priest of Wee Jas. It took a moment to place him but we did now him from the Land of Black Ice. He bowed politely. “I have negotiated with the druids to remove the isometril.”
After a moment he shrewdly added “Providing of course that you have no objections?”
We nodded collectively. “That is probably for the best,” said Dravot.
****************************
We returned to the tribunal, our immediate task done. Most of the rest of the assault team had been selected – some paladins of Heironeous, several dragons, and Rary was sending some henchmen. Lord Gelban was keeping the other adventuring party behind. He said nothing of it, but it was clear to me that he viewed them as not ready for this challenge, and as potential substitutes should we fall.
So all that was left was to go kill a friend.
Thanks!
