Sapphire:Sessions:20190601
Jax disappears into the shadows.
Intrinsius senses a "tingle" that an "important/weird" event is coming, and his services will be needed.
Shawna suddenly feels that "a person who rides in the arms of Delsa" needs her help imminently; two people are approaching that will be of benefit to the group's quest. Shawna abruptly stands and tells the group that they need to ride immediately into the forest north-northwest of Levin.
The young man flees through the darkness, wary though there is as yet no sign of pursuit. In the distance, something glows magically, and he quietly works his way toward the light.
With his royal kinfolk getting on his case, and feeling picked on more than usual, on impulse the ellyll flies away. After a time he notices that the mana level is high, and he catches sight of a young man moving through the forest toward something glowing. Staying several yards back and above the young man, the ellyll trails him.
Out of the corner of one eye, the young man notices a small bird following him. The ellyll, knowing he's been seen, circles off to the left.
Both of them see a fine net of shining threads suspended between two oak trees. Standing below is a tall, handsome human male wearing wizard's robes and a cocked leather cap. His arms are spread wide. Arrayed behind him in a line are five large cats -- tigers. The wizard is speaking in an unknown language. The ellyll gains altitude, and the young man sneaks toward one of the cats.
The wizard stops speaking, lowers his hands, and says in grandiose tones, "That'll work. He will appreciate me coming to aid him and his mission!" He continues on in this vein for some time. A black swirl forms and circles his right hand.
Abruptly all the normal night sounds cease. The young man freezes in place. The ellyll hears in the ultra registers a melodic sound; he resists its lulling effect. He guesses that it's a spell to quiet animals.
From the wizard's right hand emerges mist that spreads quickly over a large area. The ellyll flies above the mist which reaches 30' high.
The wizard speaks again. "Why are you intruding on me in my task?" The young man moves forward. "My name is Kieran. I'm just looking for a place to go to. I don't know what happened. Who are you?" The wizard announces, "I am Alfrid the Magnificent! [The ellyll mutters inaudibly, "Suuure you are."] I wish to assist the Lord of Chaos!" Kieran: "I'm sorry, I can't help you." Alfrid, sardonically: "That's too sad." Kieran: "Why is that?" [The ellyll thinks, "Run, you fool!"]
One of the cats has been sniffing at Kieran and evidently likes his scent. Kieran senses that the animal doesn't like Alfrid. Kieran commands the tiger to "rush Alfrid the Magnificent" and as the tiger bounds forward, Kieran turns to run. "Coward," mutters the ellyll and flies down behind the tiger.
Kieran tries to run through the mist, which is apparently only a yard thick, but touching it causes him unbearable electrical pain. Looking around wildly, he sees no way out except the net, which he suddenly realizes is a portal, now twelve yards away from him.
Alfrid stands staring at the approaching tiger and ellyll. With his left hand Alfrid slaps at the tiger's head and misses. The tiger swipes its paw and strikes Alfrid. The ellyll bounces off of Alfrid's head, casting Death Touch. Alfrid staggers and falls.
Kieran stops just before he would have entered the portal. The ellyll alights on the tiger's back as the beast rips out Alfrid's throat. Proudly, the tiger 'smiles' at Kieran and trots docilely over to him. Kieran reaches out and pets the tiger, then asks the tiny winged humanoid, "What are you?" "Ellyllon." Kieran: "You're not what I expected." Ellyll: "That's what dad said." Kieran: "Why are you following me?" Ellyll: "I was coming to the light. I'm the sovereign of the local lands, by the way."
The ellyll looks suddenly around. "At least three large beasts are approaching. Bear-cats. Others as well. And I hear wings. It's time to leave." Kieran: "I'm following you." The tiger with the ellyll on its back passes into the portal. Kieran beckons to another tiger to follow him, then goes through.
Shawna shouts, "Open the gate!" The half-asleep guard momentarily considers challenging the group, but hauls the wooden gate aside. Less than an eighth of a mile into the forest they come across a clearing containing a glowing weblike structure, 12' high by 15' wide. Suddenly a tiger, its mouth and jaws bloodied, bounds from out the middle of the web. Perched atop the beast is a purple-haired ellyll, 5 1/2 inches tall with large butterfly wings. The tiger turns back to face the portal, and a young male human runs through, followed by another tiger. The lad stands nearly six feet tall, has bronze skin, brown hair, and green eyes. Slung on his back are a ragged backpack, a bow, and a quarterstaff.
Seeing the array of mounted, armored people, Kieran raises his hands and calls out, "I mean no harm! I am being pursued!" The elven woman, sparing him only a glance, shouts "Move aside!" Two large beasts -- bear-cats -- emerge from the portal. Kieran tries to calm them, but they are more monster than animal. Chalker dismounts, draws Dink-Dink, and smites BC1. Shawna readies her sword, and Intrinsius hurls a Fireball at BC2.
The ellyll flies up beside Shawna. Chalker swings again and BC1 dodges. Swiftly readying his bow, Kieran fires, striking BC1 in the vitals. Intrinsius fast-draws his katana and it flies out of his hand and thunks into a tree trunk, so he draws the longsword kept on his back and swings at BC2, which dodges. BC1 attacks Chalker but misses, and BC2 swipes at Intrinsius who parries, damaging the beast's claws. Jeb and Danel fire their bows, and one of their arrows strikes BC2. Alastor hurls a knife right into BC2's eye, and Cal puts an arrow into BC1's eye.
Intrinsius strikes BC2 in the vitals, killing the bear-cat. Chalker cuts BC1 in the neck and it collapses.
The portal closes and Shawna starts casting a spell. Chalker and Intrinsius begin questioning Kieran and the ellyll, whose name is Flit. Kieran says he had approached a light in the forest, as "it was better than heading toward darkness." His people worship The Almighty and are believe that the First Chosen are false gods. Kieran's father is the leader of their enclave; "The Almighty speaks to him. We listen to father and pray to The Almighty." Kieran was to have been made a Brother on his eighteenth birthday, which is tomorrow. But for some time he has been having disturbing dreams, culminating in a nightmare in which he lay in his bed paralyzed, the walls closing in on him, and his father looming over him. "I couldn't yell or pray." Kieran awakened, trembling with anxiety, and thought to consult with his father. But when he came upon his father, "the vision was real." His father rose up draped in shadows, bloodlust in his eyes, and lashed out at Kieran. Kieran ran away. He had thought to spend the night in the forest to pray and clear his soul, but then he found the portal.
Flit says relatively little about himself, although he concurs when Kieran calls him "sovereign of the land."
Chalker's Aura Sight - Kieran: Good person, gullible, devout, Magery 1, not touched by a demon or the First Chosen. Flit: bright aura, high Magery, mana source, good at heart.
Shawna tells Kieran and Flit that they have been teleported thousands of miles away from their homes and the group has no immediate way to send them back. Kieran asks to stay with the group, and Flit avers that he's in no particular hurry to go home.
At Flit's suggestion, he, Cal, and Danel go to a nearby farm to obtain food for the two tigers. The farmer offers up four chickens that have stopped laying and a scrawny piglet for 3sp. Flit gets him to include a dozen eggs.
The group has a small celebration for Kieran's coming-of-age day.
Kieran casts a Watchdog spell and his watch is undisturbed. On second watch, Chalker, Flit, and Danel observe that the squirrels are behaving oddly. Chalker guesses that they are being ridden by a mage who is jumping from one to another. Chalker wakes Shawna. Kieran opens his eyes just as Chalker is coming to wake him.
Flit leads Shawna to a squirrel, saying, "Either that squirrel goes back to normal or the tiger eats it." The mage riding the squirrel attempts to control Shawna, who becomes aware that the mage is in a temple in Levin. The squirrel is killed and the others scatter. Flit takes the dead squirrel to one of the tigers.
The group decides they must return to Levin immediately. Chalker pulls open the gate. At the temple of Assaraah, a prominent two-story building, Chalker opens the front door. In a building across from the temple the windows seem to "blink" at Intrinsius, who tells Flit and they head that way. Flit picks up a pebble and taps at a window.
Chalker strides directly to the altar. Shawna walks in and commands, "Stop hiding." Camouflaged against a wall is a robed man. Chalker senses that he has a belt knife, a coin in a pouch, an iron rod on his back, and a mass metal resembling dark mithril in his chest. Chalker: "What's that in your chest?" Mage: "A token of the crafter's admiration." Kieran feels the mage trying to influence his mind. Chalker murmurs to Shawna about the dark minthril. Mage's aura: "a bad man," powerful mage, observant, agitated, fatalistic.
Mage: "I'm the bait for the whole catalyst group. If even one of you survives, my lord will be unhappy." Shawna retorts, "Well, then, trip the trap!" and slugs Mage in the jaw, followed by a punch to the nose. Mage suddenly doubles in size (now 11' tall) and everything on him doubles accordingly, including the iron rod which he grasps in his right fist. Chalker pulls on the rod with his TK and feels something 'assessing' him; he strikes at Mage with the (sixteen-pound) rod and Mage dodges. With his quarterstaff, Kieran strikes the back of Mage's knee (damage blunted by Mage's tough skin).
Shawna fast-draws her sword and strikes Mage in the vitals. Mage punches at Chalker, who dodges. Chalker fast-draws Magekiller, steps forward, stabs Mage, and utters, "One Less Mage." Lightning courses through Mage's form and he falls away from the wall.
The iron rod begins glowing and Chalker resists the spell being "walked up" his connection. He senses that behind the spell is no human mind, that the spell was "programmed" into the rod. Mage's body crashes to the floor. The rod blurs, turns gaseous, and seems to flow up over Mage's fist. Chalker chops off Mage's hand but the rod continues to flow up the arm. Shawna severs the arm from the shoulder. Chalker has maintained his hold on the rod as it appears to turn into vapor; he snatches it out of the severed hand and moves it toward the door, intoning "Yay, Shawna!"
Kieran's special senses warn of increasing danger. "Something's happening..." The dark mithril suddenly pops out of Mage's chest, flies across to the altar, and seems to stick to it. Kieran asks, "What do I do?" Chalker advises, "Run!" and Kieran rushes out the back door (where he senses less danger). Shawna throws lightning at the wooden altar, which the dark mithril tries to absorb. Shawna heads out the door after the rod. Chalker tries to pull the dark mithril off of the altar, but it doesn't budge.
Meanwhile, across the way, something moves gleefully into Flit's mind; he flies up to the roof. Smoke rises from the chimney. He flies down it.
At the bottom of the chimney, Flit emerges from the smoke into a small room. He quickly scans the room and finds two witches staring out the window. On the left stands an Old Witch (OW) with a younger witch (YW) on the right close to the front door. Quickly assessing the situation, Flit flies across the room and taps YW on her head while casting Death Touch. YW cries out in excruciating pain, leading to Intrinsius kicking in the front door and yelling "Flit, did you scream?".
YW immediately moves to engage Intrinsius, flinging magical thorns at him, which he dodges. The thorns thunk into a wall. Intrinsius fast-draws his katana and slashes at YW, hitting and doing some damage. Bleeding, YW staggers. A green glob forms in OW's hand, which Flit recognizes as a Curse Missile.
Flit flies behind OW and casts Death Touch for moderate damage. Intrinsius fast-draws a dagger, then attacks YW, who dodges the katana but is struck by the dagger. OW whirls around and claps at Flit, missing but causing a small dusty explosion. YW steps back and sweeps her hand in front of Intrinsius' eyes, blinding him.
Flit casts another Death Touch on OW. OW sweeps her hand at Flit. A thorn sprouts from YW's hand and she wields it like a shortsword, but misses Intrinsius. Intrinsius misses with both katana and dagger.
OW critically fails a spell; blood gushes from her nose. YW drops, unconscious. Flit flies over OW's head, calling "Here, boy!" Following Flit's voice, Intrinsius swings and hits OW, who collapses.
YW's body seems to shrivel and melt; there is a stench of decay. Intrinsius asks Flit, "Can you cure blindness?" A magical effect around OW alerts Flit, who grabs Intrinsius by the sleeve and tugs him toward the door.
The rod and the dark mithril glow. Kieran senses an imminent explosion. Shawna casts a Force Dome to protect the group. Chalker pulls the dark mithril off of the altar and sends it out the back door past Kieran. As Intrinsius gropes his way out of the house, the room behind him blows up. A larger explosion leaves a deep crater.
Shawna calls out, "Santash, Aakbarath, destroy this temple!" A voice responds, "Once the next link is found, it will be destroyed. Assaraah has 'unconsecrated' this temple."
Intrinsius prays, "Santash, if you love me, can you make me see again?" Five seconds later, his vision begins to return, though blurry at first.
Shawna searches through the ruins for holy relics, which she destroys. Kieran asks the others, "Does this happen to you often?" Searching the grounds, Kieran turns up a heavy sack of coins (100gp). Chalker explains the 'loot rules' to Kieran: "If it's just you, you can keep it. If there are two of you, you split it. If there are three or more, it's divided among all of us."
Beneath a floorboard, Chalker finds maps, lists of names, and a trap. The map is in a language with Xanthyppian roots; Chalker partly translates it -- place of power ... core of [Assaraah and Charesoon's] goal. He shows the maps to Shawna and says, "The temple must be destroyed. These maps were supposed to be blown up." Shawna implodes the temple into the crater.
Locating a guard, Flit explains, "We're looking for the priest's house, to make sure there are no more explosions." Flit and Intrinsius make a detailed search of one house, noting that the inhabitants left quickly but managed to carry away most of their stuff. They find about 10g worth of knick-knacks, and a quantity of dried meat and sausage. At a second house, Intrinsius finds a pouch with 4sp.
Addressing a crowd of peasants who had gathered a block or so away, Chalker asks them, "Is it good or bad that the temple and the priests are gone?" The few respondents mutter, "They protected us from the destruction all around... don't know what Mayor Silas will think...." Chalker: "There were explosives in there. If the priests care enough, they'll come back and build another temple." One bold citizen asks, "Which First Chosen do you represent?" Chalker: "All of them. My father's going to be very upset with me." Citizen: "Y-you're a Second Chosen?" Chalker: "No, I'm his son. Don't worry, things will work out. Okay, townspeople, you can pay us tomorrow."
"Your father is Lord of Chaos?" Kieran asks. Chalker: "I call Assaraah 'Father' -- to mess with him. Because he's been trying to kill me for twenty years. My chaos goes against their chaos."
The group returns to their camp in the woods. Intrinsius gives his loot to Alastor to sell for him. Chalker and Shawna orient themselves to various landmarks on the map. Eighty miles away (about four days' travel) is marked power point... place of reverence... ancient of days... creatures of note... hidden valley.
At noon on the 25th the group prepares to move out. Shawna feels very well-rested, and certain that she's on the right track, but that the most difficult part of the quest is still ahead. Flit feels a connection to his tiger and looks forward to going into battle together. Intrinsius manifests his pyrotechic powers in a dream of a burning building in Colvin; nearby a female dwarf nods approvingly. Intrinsius calls out "Thank you" and a voice replies, "It's just beginning." In his dreams, a voice says to Kieran, "Persist! You can figure this out." Kieran feels a strong link to the second tiger; his Animal Empathy is the strongest it's ever been.
Mensep, in the form of a street kid, appears to Chalker. "It's getting closer to delivery time. Will you agree to another?" Chalker: "I'm good. Thanks for the offer." Mensep: "Pass along to her, 'thank you.'" Chalker: "The Xanthyppians... that place where we're headed has to do with them." Mensep: "They had a beachhead here, called upon the First Chosen, and did... some things." Chalker: "There was a war and they lost?" Mensep: "A Dark Age destroyed the Golden Age." Chalker: "What angered the First Chosen?" Mensep doesn't answer. Chalker: "Will we learn more about the Xanthyppians?" Mensep: "If you do it right. ... I'm going to miss you, when you go to the realm of Dar." Chalker: "I'm gonna find out more about y'all. You're not from here."
Kieran prays for understanding.
Intrinsius makes a fast trip to Levin, locates a shrine to Santash (a tiny fenced-off area marked with Santash's symbols), gives thanks and leaves a gold piece as an offering.
Cal buys a horse and tack for Kieran.
The group hits the road.