Sapphire:Sessions:20140816

About four miles west of Winslow, Rory, Trace, Chalker, and Striker approach a deserted village. The aura of evil deeds is so palpable here that Rory shudders; he knows that people have died here, in fear and pain. Something big and bad must have slain them. Chalker remarks, "I wasn't expecting to talk to Aaoo so soon. It's the pain and insanity, not the death, that bothers me." Trace says that there is a gate between the old mill and what looks like a receiving building; the gate is 40 feet from the creek bank and 30 feet down. Chalker hears a faint splash from the creek.

Trace begins to Shape Earth; he feels a creepy, "squishy" taint to the mana here.

Chalker sees eyes glowing an eerie red in an upper window of the mill. He taps Rory's shoulder and points to the eyes, then waves at them. The mill's front door opens and emerging from it is a scarecrow, nine feet tall, glowing eyes, and ragged clothing. Chalker drops two coppers into his lantern.

Rory notices something skittering behind the scarecrow... many things... so many targets... too many.... Rory realizes that this fear is directed toward him as a bowman, to overwhelm his process of deciding what to shoot first.

Chalker calls out to the scarecrow. It 'smiles' and steps back inside the mill.

From an upstairs window leans someone with delicate features and gently upswept pointed ears. A feminine voice calls out, "I'm going into a tear in reality!" The woman withdraws from the window. There is a faint exclamation, and a few seconds later something gets flung out the window. It is an animated doll with glowing eyes, wielding a silver butcher knife. Reacting quickly, Chalker chops off the doll's knife arm, then he knocks the doll aside as it grabs at him with its other arm. Striker latches onto the doll and shakes it back and forth. Chalker chops off the doll's head.

Inside, the woman sees a shimmering mage, a necromancer surely, a lich probably, wielding a carved staff held parallel to the floor. Arrayed around him are the ghosts of fighting men armed with swords, and urns filled with dried blood. A "rip in reality" lights the area. She says to the mage, "Oh, you are in trouble," draws her sword, and descends the stairs.

Chalker and Rory see black vultures diving toward the window where they had first seen the glowing eyes. Rory lights the rag on the end of his arrow, aims, and shoots at one of the vultures, which catches fire. Chalker picks up the silver butcher knife (removing the doll's inanimate hand) and calls out to Trace (who does not want to stay outside alone).

The second vulture dives at the woman, misses very badly, and slams into a wall. The ghost warriors move around her like an honor guard.

When Trace lays eyes on the rift, he identifies it as a rare type of gate -- a gate into a spirit realm. As he routinely does, Chalker checks the aura of the necromancer... and almost 'loses it'; it is one of the worst sights he's ever seen.

The woman feints low with her sword, then rapidly strikes the necro across the eyes, blinding the right and dimming the left. Trace begins invoking a spell to wrest control of the gate. Chalker pulls his 'mage killer' dagger from his pack. Rory aims at the vulture, which is struggling to its feet.

Half-blinded, the necromancer crosses quickly over to the rift. Standing with his back to the rift, he turns his staff to a vertical orientation. The staff begins to glow a sickly white. The woman strikes at his left wrist; the necromancer parries. Chalker runs forward, hooking his dagger with his metal power. The woman dodges an attack from the burning vulture; the other flaps into the air. Six of the warrior ghosts charge Trace, Chalker, and Rory. Rory yells "Heart!" and fires; his arrow bounces off the vulture's feathers. Someone notices that the tall scarecrow is standing behind the rift.

The woman slashes at the necromancer's right eye, which stops glowing. Chalker hurls his dagger, which impales the necromancer. With the ghost swordsmen approaching, Rory steps to one side and draws his sword. The burning vulture manages to fly straight into a support post. The other vulture flaps its way through a warrior ghost (which seems to slow/distract it) toward Rory. Striker crouches, eyes fixed on the vulture. The necromancer steps backward into the rift. Two of the ghosts swing swords at Rory; Rory parries one, and the other misses. Rory shakes off the wave of fear emanating from the ghosts. Chalker shouts "Wait!" as two ghosts approach him; one hesitates, the other swings and Chalker parries. Chalker feels the unnatural fear but doesn't let it affect him. Two ghosts attack Trace but miss; Trace continues his spell, taking one step closer to the rift.

Shouting a battle cry, the woman raises her sword and leaps into the rift. On the other side is a plain of dead grass that slopes slightly upward toward a red-splotched horizon. The sky is grey, as is the ambient light. About five miles off, moving in her direction, is some kind of large object. The necromancer is a few strides in front of her, Chalker's dagger sticking out of his chest. The woman slashes wildly and strikes the necromancer's torso. Inside the mill, the burning vulture wobbles to its feet; the other flies at Rory but misses. Chalker sidesteps the warrior ghosts and runs through the rift; the other side reminds him of the Never-Never. Two ghosts swing swords at Trace; one misses completely, and Trace blocks the other with his staff while continuing his spell. He realizes that certain ghosts can be partially tangible if enough power is put into them. The two ghosts that attack Rory both miss. The ghosts that Chalker sidestepped appear to dither momentarily, then charge toward the rift. Willow wands erupt from the ground on either side of the necromancer, and when the wands touch him, the latest sword cut he received from the woman heals up. Rory runs toward the rift. Trace takes another step closer. Striker leaps and fastens his jaws onto a vulture's wing.

The necromancer raises his staff and heals himself completely. The damage to his eyes is gone, though they still do not glow. Angrily, the woman slashes across his eyes again. Chalker pulls the dagger out slightly, says the magic word, and drives it back into the necromancer's chest; a massive lightning bolt staggers the necromancer. The vulture that Striker attacked slams into a wall. Rory, with Striker following, approach the rift. The ghosts following Chalker enter the rift. The two ghosts that swing wildly at Rory both miss. The ghosts that try to attack Trace both fail miserably.

The woman strikes the necromancer in his left knee; his leg buckles and he falls to his left. Chalker pulls out the dagger slightly and jabs it in again. The necromancer makes some ineffectual, spasmodic gestures. Rory goes around the rift and pops up behind the scarecrow. One of the ghosts that just entered the rift looks more solid now and charges at Chalker, who turns his head and smiles. The other ghost seems to have 'transport shock.' One of the ghosts that was chasing Rory goes through the rift. Another ghost strikes at Trace, who blocks with his staff and continues his spell despite the wave of fear. Striker follows behind Rory.

Chalker rushes past the necromancer, striking him hard in the head (and embedding his blade several inches into the ground), then whirls around. The necromancer goes limp. "Nice going," the woman says before she decapitates the necromancer. Rory and the scarecrow confront each other. Trace completes his Control Gate spell; something is actively opposing his control, but Trace shrinks the gate vertically by three yards. Ghosts attack Trace; he parries one of them. Trace has to close his eyes and turn his head against the terrible visions. He calls out, "Better get in, I'm closing the gate."

The woman and Chalker see the rift shrink. Chalker notices that the 'mountain' that had been close to the horizon is nearing them rapidly. He pulls his dagger out of the corpse, says to the woman "Let's go," and runs for the gate. Trace teleports to a corner of the rift. The woman grabs a charred amulet from the necromancer's remains, then follows Chalker. Trace feels gathering power, then a stab of pain and disorientation. The scarecrow falls to its knees, holding its head. Rory swings his sword and decapitates the scarecrow; the scarecrow dissolves into ectoplasmic goo.

Trace collapses from the acute pain, but is able to close the rift immediately after Chalker and the woman come through it. All the warrior ghosts break up into ectoplasm. The woman lays her palm on Trace's forehead, refreshing him and relieving the pain; he thanks her.

The woman introduces herself as Shawna. She recognizes the names Chalker Jackson and Aurora Borealis, and Trace introduces himself.

Beneath the old mill is a Venettian gate with six slots. Shawna interestedly reads the Venettian inscriptions; she's heard of the Virtual Keep. Borrowing crystals from Rory, she puts six of them into the slots. They step through into a corridor, which Rory identifies as being under a swamp in Zondell.

Back in the deserted village, Shawna points out the creek that flows past the old mill, and the armored eel-like creatures she had found swimming in it. Chalker uses his power to hook onto their metal scales, and the creatures are all slain.

Shawna shows them the amulet of Aaoo and announces her intention to destroy it. Chalker insists that Shawna take a gold piece as her cut of their fee for cleansing the old mill.

Around midnight, the group rides to the inn at Winslow. Rory prepares a late supper. Rory asks Shawna about the best way to get to Sapphire, because they have to deliver a message. She describes a route with which she's familiar. By 2:00am, everyone is asleep.

The representative comes looking for Chalker. He doesn't hide his surprise that the group has come back. Chalker tells him about the necromancer, and the rep says he will take a priest out there to cleanse the place. Two previous parties that had gone out there in broad daylight had never returned. Chalker negotiates an additional gold piece fee for each.

Rory and Striker go to Winslow's Merchants' Guild. The proprietor, Lyndon Baker, explains that he has already paid weregild to the families of those who were lost. He offers Rory a total of 20 gold, plus an offering to Dara. Rory hands him some Copper King flyers; Baker agrees to register Copper King as a guild in good standing.

Around 1:00pm everyone gathers for lunch. Rory portions out the gold. Shawna asks which of the companions has the Sapphire Diamond. Rory checks his pouch and exclaims, "It has me!"

Shawna goes out ("shopping", she says) and Rory loans her his map of Winslow.

Chalker goes to the temple of Gauder and gives observance; he can feel that this temple is sacred to Gauder. Addressing the war god as he paces in front of the altar, he says, "I have a concern; it falls in your purview. I have a question about war. I think it's going to be a big war, and I want counsel." A priest with the build and demeanor of a military man approaches and says, "I sense you have a query for our Lord Commander." Chalker: "I'm about to start a war in the Calventine Empire, and I was trying to get some guidance." Priest: "How may I help you, my child?" Chalker: "This is above your pay grade. It'll be the Calventine Empire versus... I don't want to say." Priest: "War strengthens Erethel." Chalker: "No, it does not." Priest: "I'm sure the Lord Commander will honor your desire, though perhaps not at this time.... Warrior, you are a very strange man." With permission, Chalker and the priest read each other's auras. The priest is a tough, callous, dangerous man who has killed multitudes; he is devout to and blessed of Gauder. The priest blinks quickly and takes an involuntary step back. "You have been touched by many but blessed by none.... We can entreat him to grant you a visitation tomorrow at dawn." Chalker: "Believe me, if he desires it, he can always talk to me." Priest: "I will have the acolytes raise their prayers at our end-of-day devotions."

The next morning, Change Time 6, the group sets out. Shawna has agreed to accompany them to Sapphire. In a caravan behind them, Shawna recognizes three mercenaries that she had helped put in prison ten years ago; they are disguised as merchants. One of them wears some kind of magic item to cover the brand he had received on his cheek marking him as a felon. Shawna and Chalker ride back, and while the false merchants try to bluff and bluster their way out, Shawna calls two of them by name. Chalker eventually lets them go with a warning.

That evening they stop in a town called Verde. Shawna says there is a good road between Verde and Sapphire.

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