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[ZEITGEIST] The Continuing Adventures of Korrigan & Co.
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<blockquote data-quote="gideonpepys" data-source="post: 7871338" data-attributes="member: 79141"><p><strong>Session 248, Part Four</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Known Unknowns</strong></p><p></p><p>“You are dealing with the Avatar of the End!” cried Rumdoom, just a couple of seconds too late.</p><p></p><p>Nicodemus was gone. His dead host fell forward into the blackened snow.</p><p></p><p>Again, Uriel tried to speak, to pass his urgent message on to the others; he only maintained this projection with great effort and strain, and each second ran the risk of losing his connection. But the others were used to seeing him in an astral form, and again waved for him to wait, in deference to the Ash Wolf. </p><p></p><p>Uriel was not to be put off this time: “I bring you urgent word from the Gyre!” he cried, in an unaccustomed tone that got their attention. “I do not have long! I could be drawn back at any moment. Know this: we were reflected when Av sundered. One version of you remains in the Gyre, and has bonded with many planes. Our mission has not failed! We have found a way to send the icons to you – to Kai. I will send them to you soon, my boy, as your link to the other worlds is so strong.” Kai flushed with excitement. “I do not know when they will arrive, but I know you will get them in time. One thing I can give you now, I hope, is this…”</p><p></p><p>With great strain, Uriel summoned Conquo’s golem-heart from the volcano where it had fallen. It glowed with heat, but that did not harm Uriel. Nonetheless, the effort severed his connection and without another word, he vanished. The golem-heart fell hissing into the snow.</p><p></p><p>“What do we need this for?” someone asked.</p><p></p><p>“Who knows!” was the general consensus. They picked it up anyway, and at last turned to thank mighty Ash Wolf. The fey titan had finished off the Screaming Malice, and now towered above them, panting heavily. It told them it was not as strong now that Av was gone; the strength of the titans was fading fast. Korrigan still hoped the Ash Wolf might be able to help them in the final battle, but Uru told the titan they considered his debt repaid.</p><p></p><p>The Ash Wolf bowed. “Good hunting,” it said, then loped off through the forest.</p><p></p><p>Lauryn Cyneburg, who sat at the foot of the ziggurat, nursing her wounds, gave a cough and said, “I suppose you’ll be wanting a detailed report now? How much was Pemberton able to tell you?”</p><p></p><p>She was as acerbic and business-like as usual, but Korrigan could tell something was weighing on her mind. Some bad news she had yet to deliver. He decided not to press her, but answered her question instead. They knew that Nicodemus had used the hivemind phenomenon to take control of all the major nations, and that he was within striking distance of his ultimate goal - to successfully perform the Axis Seal Ritual. Then, of course, there were Nicodemus’ own, disturbing last words:</p><p></p><p><em>“It’s not worth throwing more resources against you in open battle. You’re a terror to behold, true, but you will fail because you lack leverage. I do not. If you can set your pride aside for one day, I will have this fixed and we can stop this worthless violence. But continue to move against me and I promise you, every city on this world will burn. In a thousand years, no one will remember their names even if millions die. They will only know that I secured a perfect world. My conscience can abide a scorched earth. Can yours?”</em></p><p></p><p>Cyneburg gave a grim nod. “The Ob were afraid of your return. They know how hard you are to put down. So they set up an insurance policy. Wherever you strike, they will send a warning to all of the other major cities of the world – Flint, Slate, Cherage, Trekhom, Seobriga, Alais Primos. Everywhere you have allies and close connections. If you don’t surrender, the world will burn.”</p><p></p><p>“How?” asked Korrigan.</p><p></p><p>“That, I don’t know. Though my mind remained instinctively curious even after the Ob took control of me, and picked up on a lot of what was going on around me, that only lasted for a while, it seems. My knowledge of recent events his hazy; incomplete.” She gave a long pause, strengthened her resolve, before she went on: “There’s something else you need to know. They took out some of your allies who they knew they couldn’t control. That vsadni in Drakr, for example – the one in the big tower. They rolled some of Dengar Kreigshaff’s big guns up to it and blew it to kingdom come. Worse still, they… I… we…” Another pause to steel herself. “We killed Wondermaker.”</p><p></p><p>“The Clockwork King!” they gasped.</p><p></p><p>“His mind isn’t real, it couldn’t be possessed. They knew he’d never submit to them. So they tracked him down to his quarry lair and killed him. Killed the formorian that carried him, smashed open the jar around its neck…” They could imagine the rest. “I was there. I took them there.”</p><p></p><p>Gupta had always had a soft spot for Cyneburg, who it seemed always had a soft spot for her too. She sat down next to her and offered what comfort she could. They didn’t hold her actions against her. To get her mind off self-loathing, she asked what else Cyneburg could tell them.</p><p></p><p>“The seat of power in Risur has been moved to Flint. They’ve put Harkover in charge. Slate has no industrial sector, so it wasn’t much use to them. Flint was set to begin producing enchanted machinery. A lot of cargo ships from have been going to Axis Island, laden with parts to repair the colossus. Rural Risur gave them a bit more trouble, as populations were sparse and hard to infect with the hivemind. They sent military units out to domineer the people, since the new dark world is struggling to produce enough food. In Ber, it seems the more savage races like goblins and gnolls have proven resistant to hiveminds that are based on the idea of civilization, so the Beran military has been rounding up ‘primitives’ in camps. I didn’t know what happens to them after that. I don’t have much news from Crisillyir. There was a rumour that Nicodemus was looking for a female who was held in a Clergy prison, not to punish her but to recruit her. Danor was already loyal to the Ob, of course, but they set about publishing more ludicrous propaganda to convince people that everything was going according to plan. That makes me wonder if maybe there’s some secret core of resistance causing them trouble. As for Drakr, they were tasked with producing gargantuan anti-aircraft cannons to be delivered and installed at Axis Island.”</p><p></p><p>“That’s where we need to go,” said Uru. “Right now.”</p><p></p><p>The others disagreed. They didn’t want the world to burn if they could help it. Also, Gupta recalled the intense energies around the Axis Seal, which they had seen on their visit with Pemberton. The Ob had Borne to deal with them; what could the unit do?</p><p></p><p>Thinking back to that moment made Gupta aware of another presence she had sensed back then as well.</p><p></p><p>“Xambria!” she called.</p><p></p><p>Xambria had arrived on Lanjyr with no host. Uriel, her advocate and defender, had not returned, and so she had stayed silent. Now she acknowledged her presence, nervously. Gupta had once threatened to erase her mind.</p><p></p><p>To her own surprise, Gupta felt her bitterness towards Xambria soften, and almost before she knew what she was doing, she offered her erstwhile friend ‘headspace’. “Unless you’d prefer one of Pemberton’s duplicants?” Xambria did not relish the prospect of occupying one of those cold, clumsy things, not after the sleek, bespoke design Wondermaker had created for her. She gratefully accepted Gupta’s offer, and entered her mind, saying as she did so, “I’m sorry.”</p><p></p><p>“That’s past now,” Gupta replied, then they turned their attention to the present:</p><p></p><p>If Axis Island was off-limits, at least for now, where should they go? It would be a good idea to move away from here, they realised. The Ob could send more foes against them.</p><p></p><p>“You should be careful about teleporting,” said Cyneburg. “If you go anywhere they have controlled, they’ll know. Telepathy, too. That’s a giveaway. The hivemind can sense it.”</p><p></p><p>Uru invited them all back to his place. Not the old garden in the well, but his new domain beneath the mountains. The Ob couldn’t trace them there!</p><p></p><p>And the <em>Coaltongue</em>? “Let’s send her at high altitude towards Flint.” The crew had already righted her, and they were firing up the flight components. Korrigan went to give them their orders in person. Rutger Smith came to greet him and Korrigan had to resist the unaccountable urge to give the admiral a big hug, as if he hadn’t seen him for a very long time. They shared as much information as was necessary and told them they would rejoin the ship when they had fixed on a plan.</p><p></p><p>The <em>Coaltongue </em>took off, and so did they, courtesy of Leon – arriving in Uru’s cavern, which was now filled with dark, exotic flora and fungi. His little gardeners gathered around him and he thanked them for keeping it so well. Then, before they got down to the urgent business of deciding how best to oppose the Ob, Uru – responding to a hunch – approached the memorial effigy of Conquo he had created in his garden, and which now formed an impressive centrepiece. The thing was even bigger than Conquo had been, formed from knotted branches, with a hard, outer carapace. Uru was sure it must have grown since he first made it. He climbed up to the chest, and placed the golem heart within it.</p><p></p><p>At once, grasping vines snaked out to envelope the heart and connect it to the effigy, which gave a sudden shudder. Uru jumped off and floated to the ground. A bio-machine! Created by accident!</p><p></p><p>Beneath a beetling brow, crystalline eyes lit up and the thing made a noise like a deep sigh in basso profondo. One by one, it wrenched each of its massive legs free of their moorings in the loam of the garden, then turned its glowing eyes upon the unit.</p><p></p><p>“This is much cooler than the lava,” said Conquo. “What happened?”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="gideonpepys, post: 7871338, member: 79141"] [B]Session 248, Part Four Known Unknowns[/B] “You are dealing with the Avatar of the End!” cried Rumdoom, just a couple of seconds too late. Nicodemus was gone. His dead host fell forward into the blackened snow. Again, Uriel tried to speak, to pass his urgent message on to the others; he only maintained this projection with great effort and strain, and each second ran the risk of losing his connection. But the others were used to seeing him in an astral form, and again waved for him to wait, in deference to the Ash Wolf. Uriel was not to be put off this time: “I bring you urgent word from the Gyre!” he cried, in an unaccustomed tone that got their attention. “I do not have long! I could be drawn back at any moment. Know this: we were reflected when Av sundered. One version of you remains in the Gyre, and has bonded with many planes. Our mission has not failed! We have found a way to send the icons to you – to Kai. I will send them to you soon, my boy, as your link to the other worlds is so strong.” Kai flushed with excitement. “I do not know when they will arrive, but I know you will get them in time. One thing I can give you now, I hope, is this…” With great strain, Uriel summoned Conquo’s golem-heart from the volcano where it had fallen. It glowed with heat, but that did not harm Uriel. Nonetheless, the effort severed his connection and without another word, he vanished. The golem-heart fell hissing into the snow. “What do we need this for?” someone asked. “Who knows!” was the general consensus. They picked it up anyway, and at last turned to thank mighty Ash Wolf. The fey titan had finished off the Screaming Malice, and now towered above them, panting heavily. It told them it was not as strong now that Av was gone; the strength of the titans was fading fast. Korrigan still hoped the Ash Wolf might be able to help them in the final battle, but Uru told the titan they considered his debt repaid. The Ash Wolf bowed. “Good hunting,” it said, then loped off through the forest. Lauryn Cyneburg, who sat at the foot of the ziggurat, nursing her wounds, gave a cough and said, “I suppose you’ll be wanting a detailed report now? How much was Pemberton able to tell you?” She was as acerbic and business-like as usual, but Korrigan could tell something was weighing on her mind. Some bad news she had yet to deliver. He decided not to press her, but answered her question instead. They knew that Nicodemus had used the hivemind phenomenon to take control of all the major nations, and that he was within striking distance of his ultimate goal - to successfully perform the Axis Seal Ritual. Then, of course, there were Nicodemus’ own, disturbing last words: [I]“It’s not worth throwing more resources against you in open battle. You’re a terror to behold, true, but you will fail because you lack leverage. I do not. If you can set your pride aside for one day, I will have this fixed and we can stop this worthless violence. But continue to move against me and I promise you, every city on this world will burn. In a thousand years, no one will remember their names even if millions die. They will only know that I secured a perfect world. My conscience can abide a scorched earth. Can yours?”[/I] Cyneburg gave a grim nod. “The Ob were afraid of your return. They know how hard you are to put down. So they set up an insurance policy. Wherever you strike, they will send a warning to all of the other major cities of the world – Flint, Slate, Cherage, Trekhom, Seobriga, Alais Primos. Everywhere you have allies and close connections. If you don’t surrender, the world will burn.” “How?” asked Korrigan. “That, I don’t know. Though my mind remained instinctively curious even after the Ob took control of me, and picked up on a lot of what was going on around me, that only lasted for a while, it seems. My knowledge of recent events his hazy; incomplete.” She gave a long pause, strengthened her resolve, before she went on: “There’s something else you need to know. They took out some of your allies who they knew they couldn’t control. That vsadni in Drakr, for example – the one in the big tower. They rolled some of Dengar Kreigshaff’s big guns up to it and blew it to kingdom come. Worse still, they… I… we…” Another pause to steel herself. “We killed Wondermaker.” “The Clockwork King!” they gasped. “His mind isn’t real, it couldn’t be possessed. They knew he’d never submit to them. So they tracked him down to his quarry lair and killed him. Killed the formorian that carried him, smashed open the jar around its neck…” They could imagine the rest. “I was there. I took them there.” Gupta had always had a soft spot for Cyneburg, who it seemed always had a soft spot for her too. She sat down next to her and offered what comfort she could. They didn’t hold her actions against her. To get her mind off self-loathing, she asked what else Cyneburg could tell them. “The seat of power in Risur has been moved to Flint. They’ve put Harkover in charge. Slate has no industrial sector, so it wasn’t much use to them. Flint was set to begin producing enchanted machinery. A lot of cargo ships from have been going to Axis Island, laden with parts to repair the colossus. Rural Risur gave them a bit more trouble, as populations were sparse and hard to infect with the hivemind. They sent military units out to domineer the people, since the new dark world is struggling to produce enough food. In Ber, it seems the more savage races like goblins and gnolls have proven resistant to hiveminds that are based on the idea of civilization, so the Beran military has been rounding up ‘primitives’ in camps. I didn’t know what happens to them after that. I don’t have much news from Crisillyir. There was a rumour that Nicodemus was looking for a female who was held in a Clergy prison, not to punish her but to recruit her. Danor was already loyal to the Ob, of course, but they set about publishing more ludicrous propaganda to convince people that everything was going according to plan. That makes me wonder if maybe there’s some secret core of resistance causing them trouble. As for Drakr, they were tasked with producing gargantuan anti-aircraft cannons to be delivered and installed at Axis Island.” “That’s where we need to go,” said Uru. “Right now.” The others disagreed. They didn’t want the world to burn if they could help it. Also, Gupta recalled the intense energies around the Axis Seal, which they had seen on their visit with Pemberton. The Ob had Borne to deal with them; what could the unit do? Thinking back to that moment made Gupta aware of another presence she had sensed back then as well. “Xambria!” she called. Xambria had arrived on Lanjyr with no host. Uriel, her advocate and defender, had not returned, and so she had stayed silent. Now she acknowledged her presence, nervously. Gupta had once threatened to erase her mind. To her own surprise, Gupta felt her bitterness towards Xambria soften, and almost before she knew what she was doing, she offered her erstwhile friend ‘headspace’. “Unless you’d prefer one of Pemberton’s duplicants?” Xambria did not relish the prospect of occupying one of those cold, clumsy things, not after the sleek, bespoke design Wondermaker had created for her. She gratefully accepted Gupta’s offer, and entered her mind, saying as she did so, “I’m sorry.” “That’s past now,” Gupta replied, then they turned their attention to the present: If Axis Island was off-limits, at least for now, where should they go? It would be a good idea to move away from here, they realised. The Ob could send more foes against them. “You should be careful about teleporting,” said Cyneburg. “If you go anywhere they have controlled, they’ll know. Telepathy, too. That’s a giveaway. The hivemind can sense it.” Uru invited them all back to his place. Not the old garden in the well, but his new domain beneath the mountains. The Ob couldn’t trace them there! And the [I]Coaltongue[/I]? “Let’s send her at high altitude towards Flint.” The crew had already righted her, and they were firing up the flight components. Korrigan went to give them their orders in person. Rutger Smith came to greet him and Korrigan had to resist the unaccountable urge to give the admiral a big hug, as if he hadn’t seen him for a very long time. They shared as much information as was necessary and told them they would rejoin the ship when they had fixed on a plan. The [I]Coaltongue [/I]took off, and so did they, courtesy of Leon – arriving in Uru’s cavern, which was now filled with dark, exotic flora and fungi. His little gardeners gathered around him and he thanked them for keeping it so well. Then, before they got down to the urgent business of deciding how best to oppose the Ob, Uru – responding to a hunch – approached the memorial effigy of Conquo he had created in his garden, and which now formed an impressive centrepiece. The thing was even bigger than Conquo had been, formed from knotted branches, with a hard, outer carapace. Uru was sure it must have grown since he first made it. He climbed up to the chest, and placed the golem heart within it. At once, grasping vines snaked out to envelope the heart and connect it to the effigy, which gave a sudden shudder. Uru jumped off and floated to the ground. A bio-machine! Created by accident! Beneath a beetling brow, crystalline eyes lit up and the thing made a noise like a deep sigh in basso profondo. One by one, it wrenched each of its massive legs free of their moorings in the loam of the garden, then turned its glowing eyes upon the unit. “This is much cooler than the lava,” said Conquo. “What happened?” [/QUOTE]
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