The Good, Bad And Ugly
aka: No Country For Old Mages
aka: Desperately Seeking Villagers
aka: Trust, Lust, and Must
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GM: Jeff Leddra
Session: Winter 813wk
Night: Wednesday
Location: Glenn's place
Level: Low
Party:
- Ahiga - Human Barbarian Rune Mage Warrior (good)
- Mîm the Pilgrim - Shapechanger Tiger cutie, Dark Mage and Thief (bad)
- Tallama - Giant Goblin female namer, Military Scientist (bad and ugly - PB5)
- Pug - diseased goblin ice mage, Military Scientist (bad and ugly - PB8)
- Elenna - E&E Mage. A shy human, not very pretty but quite practical (PB9)
- Rupert - E&E Mage (Good and ugly - PB10)
- Angus – Human, Illusionist, Troubador, and entertainment master
Employer: Elephant (a magic item maker)
Pay:
- 500 sp a week (standard guild pay)
- A week's iron rations (yum)
- A Magic Item
Guild Briefing
In one of those small stuffy guild rooms we meet Melody - young and female, looking distracted & wan, and a little bit translucent (odd). She's known as an interplanar transporter and an enemy of White Raven.
She's hiring on the request of a 'friend' , Elephant and will provide transport. It sounds like she is doing this for Elephant in return for something - something that may help her free her mother from the frigid clutches of White Raven.
Elephant wants us to investigate the spate of missing (and dead) villagers in the cold north of state known as Darwor, on the plane known as Sihode - and deal with the problem. He'll make a magic item for each of us if we succeed. Melody also has three 'resurrection' items which three of us can absorb - but it should be a good person, and she has a letter describing some constraints we need to be aware of.
Darwor has few mages, although once they were powerful and ruled there. Mages are known as lazy, greedy and ineffective or charlatans. Melody doesn't know, but it sounds like the nature of magic may have changed. Powerful Land Owners took over - with large estates.
Humans are the most common species in Dawor. Elves are rare and Orcs are scum.
A tired looking Melody has wants to leave immediately (she seems to be on a mission), but we pursuade her to lie down for a couple of hours while Ellena cast Greaters and we get some cold weather gear together.
Somehow we acquire an additional party member - the guild guard’s nephew. One Angus - who despite his stated skill as a blacksmith is a thin skinny teenager. I don’t think the guild guard likes Angus.
It begins
Duesday: Death on Ice
- Resurrection Eggs
Melony has three black eggs (DA: Highly magic, living) from Elephant for three members of the party. She doesn’t have much information, except they should be given to good members of the party - and she has a letter for those three that we will get once we get to Darwar. Ignoring the advice one goes to Ellena (good), Tallama (so-so) and the last to me (Mîm) (oh dear). As they momentarily blacken the skin of our hands and then are absorbed, my egg is heard to complain (oh dear)
- We didn’t expect that
After a boat ride up-river, in the early evening a noticeably fading Melody riffles through the portals (as she does) until the way to Darwar is open. We all file through, blinking at the cold icy glacial whiteness – and Melody proceeds to eviscerate herself, her spilled blood quickly freezing where it hits the ice. Our healers can do nothing.
Our frantic attempts to revive the song are interrupted by the appearance of 20, then 30 then 50 ice shrouded figures, emerging from the cracks and crevasses that furrow the glacier. We prepare: I get some shadow wings up – but they seem to be sucked into the glacier. Pug casts ice traversal and Ellena makes us all invisible - at least that works. Rupert takes the rapidly cooling corpse, seeming to merge even more imperceptibly with his surroundings. They still approach – each armed (literally) with a long very sharp looking spear of ice.
After some quick bear-back flying (dodging ice projectiles) Pug talks with his spirit polar bear (only recently returned from spirit salmon-bingeing) who says The glacier is alive! … and promptly abandons Pug (again) to go and talk with it. The goblin is not happy - he gets the feeling that the bear won't be back soon.
Despite our stationery invisibility, all except Rupert is faced by a spear of ice, exactly targeted at our warm beating hearts. I check out the aura of mine: semi-sentient alive, with an ice projectile attack, 200 years old - controlled by an entity that is extremely close. Not good. Pug throws up an ice wall, but it too seems to be sucked onto the glacier.
- Mr Big Approaches
Even bigger than Tallama, and taller than Rupert - a huge icey figure slides smoothly to face us
- Why are your spilling blood on me - on the ice? We explain
- Are you mages? Er, yes
- Are you lay lords? Ah, no
We find out the spirit of the glacier had an understanding with the Lay Lords (who ever they are) not to spill blood on the ice. We plead ignorance.
- Some villagers do come onto the glacier to collect ice – and I take them when I find them. Humm – so that’s where his ice warriors come from.
- Can the taken ones be returned to normal life? Yes, if they haven’t been taken for too long
We bargain – if you give us back one of the most recently taken villagers, we will try to convince the villagers to stay off the ice. He agrees.
We clean the ice and he moves us 20 miles to the edge of the ice – along with the de-iced villager, a cute teenager named Any (Best skill - Ice Sculptor). Of course, Angus thinks this absolutely marvellous (I'm sure some of his pimples burst with joy)
- Rupert watches ...
... all this totally unnoticed, and moves off alone with his burden – to make a 20 mile trek across the ice. Mr Big spots dripping blood and moves him too - along with a kill-on-sight banishment (because Rupert can be sooo imperceptible)
- Silent Night
Pug's magics protect us from the cold of the night, while we look at Melody's possessions and talk to Any.
- It doesn't look like Melody will be coming back soon - her eviscerating knife causes unresurrectable death (and if you possess it any attacker needs to make a Magic Resistance roll to hit). I take the knife.
- Her blood stained letter answers no questions.
There's something you must know about the device in you ...
(the rest is washed out with Melony's blood)
- Tallama divinates me - but the egg has no apparent magical effect
- Any had a simple life before taken, but tells of a wizard's fallen flying city (Ryk) a couple of days travel to the east, where treasure hunters come away with a deadly wasting, mutating disease. Sounds like fun.
Overhead cold stars sparkle - extinguished by the coming dawn.
W'ansday: Hot Villagers
Any guides us back to her village – but smoke in the distance alerts us to a large band of armed horse riders besetting a burning village. Up closer a mage is spotted – soon a target of Tallama’s nightmare illusion – but when the illusion reaches the mage it turns around and heads back to the big goblin. I go feline and go mage hunting too – but a perfect leap to take him off of his horse encounters nothing, and I have to shake off the impact of some pretty serious feeling magic. This mage is not what he seems.
Meanwhile, horsemen charge the rest of the party. Rupert goes feline and knocks some over, Ahiga hammers a few with well-placed arrows. Elenna keeps us moving fast while Pug prepares to engage.
Two strange effects are noticed: the sun seems to have dimmed a little, and we discover Angus is no simple blacksmith. He has some illusionist spells.
The battle isn’t going well for us so we resort to mass fear and flashes of light. This turns the tide and Mîm sees the real mage hiding in the rocks a few hundred feet to the south. She races over prepared to rip the sneaky devil to pieces but he turns into a rainbow and disappears, but not before casting some nasty spells on most of the party. Some have a burning green glob which needs to be scraped off, along with some skin. Rupert is a bit slow and the green effect seeps into his cell structure. We check him out and sunlight causes him massive pain.
In the meantime we manage to capture 10 raiders, 18 horses and save 71 villagers. Not a bad effort really. We note that a green rune has been carved in a number of places. We begin to interrogate the first prisoner but he immediately dies. This was a bit premature so we pause to consider our next steps.
- The Band of Brothers
A band of 12 riders approach. Doakin is the leader and he greets us warmly. He explains that the “knifemen of Palin†(our prisoners) have stepped up their raiding efforts lately and his band races to any area where an partial eclipse is predicted (they have a hedge mage who can figure this out). The prisoners have some powerful magic on them. Any attempt to question them leads to their deaths. We all agree that this is unsporting!
The riders fill us in on the history of the place and we find out the ley lords used to be powerful magicians but they were betrayed from within. A huge magical battle was fought in their floating city before it crashed to the ground, killing all of them. The crash site is only 100 miles away anyone where enters comes out diseased and looking hideous (something like a goblin actually).
- There is a library in Akiro, the capital city of this region, which is 350 miles away.
- And there is a Sage in another village (alyeo) which is 150 miles away.
Mîm passes her black marble from Melody to Rupert. The shape enters Rupert and comments on how much better it is in him than the evil Mîm. It also says the algae bloom converts light to energy and so Rupert doesn’t have much time left.
Rupert has this odd plan to slowly to move his body into the sunlight and let his shapeshifter regeneration ability bring back pure cells instead of the infected ones. This will cause many hours of extreme pain and so most of the party agrees it is a good idea.
Pug's polar bear appears and starts talking to us in Common. He also looks a bit more solid than normal. We suspect the bear is now an agent of the sentient glacier. This reminds us to tell the villagers not to go near the glacier.
Elenna notices she is wearing Melody’s snake belt. It tells us Elephant is in the palace of the dead and that the resurrection ability has a price. One of your loved ones will die to bring you back. Tallima starts to divinate the snake belt but gets bitten for her troubles and paralysed. Elenna convinces the snake to fix Tallama. It seems the belt was tasked with protecting Melody but since she has already taken her own life it decided Elenna was the only female here worth saving.
- Orcs!
In the twilight we finally notice a huge band of orcs approaching - about 300 and they have already surrounded the village.
The leader demands the rotting bodies from the attack and is annoyed when we tell him the riders had already burnt them. Angus (the shy young blacksmith who it turns out is a guild illusionist with a secondary mission) steps up to the leader and threatens him. Then he promptly bends down and kisses the orcs boots. This may have something to do with the massive sword being levelled at him. The orc then demands some slaves so we give him the 10 prisoners (including the dead one) and he goes back to the main group. They don’t leave though. This has us worried.
The snake belt tells us the orcs use the dead diseased bodies to extract some sort of biological weapon. We don’t really know what that is but we nod like we do.
Th'rsday: Pillage & Burn and Furry Friends
- Village Pillage
Pug suggests that he and Rupert go to the glacier and offer some service in exchange for healing Rupert. The debate is interrupted around mdnight by the orc leader demanding to be shown the whole town. While we escort him around (and a small band of 20 orc bodyguards) we explain about the ley lords and how we chased one off. The mention of ley lords makes the orc go pale and he seems perturbed.
Pug then does something to offend the orc leader and receives a well deserved thrashing. Unfortunately beating Pug to a pulp only triggers a severe case of Chaos. Pug has a fungus which releases noxious vapours over the whole town. He then triggers a helmet of darkness which covers all the town and several hundred feet further out. The orcs take this as a bad sign and charge in to attack anything that moves.
Mim has to trigger her mass fear again and we all head for the corralled horses. A few judicious flashes of light and some galloping sees us free of the town. Most of the band of riders get away with us but the villagers are a complete loss. We suspect the orcs will feast well for breakfast.
- After another sound Pug thrashing...
... the party are not surprised to see the disgusted Band of Brothers leaving, vowing to spread word of our evil deeds. Pug tries to defend himself by saying the glacier will be happy because the villagers are no longer a problem.
- Rupert Burns
Just before the sun comes up we have a spirited discussion about how to help Rupert. Pug still wants to go to the glacier but the party doesn’t trust him (he doesn’t understand why).
At 10am Rupert finally decides to go the way of pain and burning followed by regeneration. 5 hours of glorious pain later (at least Mim thinks so) and Rupert is his normal self.
The sun is beginning to set again (at 3pm!) and in the distance we hear an unknown number of wolves howling. When we spot a couple we can see they have 6 legs and look quite formidable.
- Furry Friends
It was not a good experience for our barbarian plainsman – ripped and ravaged to death by 6-legged wolves They seem to appear out of nowhere (with camouflaged/chameleon fur) - we all had 2 or 3 wolves at our necks.
I (Mîm) don’t mind getting in close - and shred my attackers until they fled (can’t touch me - particularly when Elenna has quicked me). Rupert has some fun roaring around the place.
Pug nearly dies from his own fanged friends and desperately encourages the wolves to shred Any’s tender flesh, cursing as she moves towards her true love Angus (and out of the range of the wolves' interests). I grudgingly obey the Party Leader orders to save Pug, ignoring my five attackers, slaying both Pug’s wolves - forcing them to regurgitate the repulsive pustulating fungoidal body that is called Pug.
Tallama crushed one between her thighs. Rupert helped a little – he managed to stop the wolves fleeing with the barbarian’s body parts.
I wonder how Ahiga feels about a shallow grave on a cold plain - under the arctic sun?
- Teenage Dramas
14 year old Any had conniptions when Angus doesn’t return her love and then tries to commit suicide when Angus was revealed to be the dirty old man Roberton (all of 25 years old) I advised her never to trust any man, but Rupert saved her life by donating his ‘life egg’ thingy – so she’s still with us.
Pug’s spirit bear returned, but seems to have been tasked by the glacier with being Pug’s conscience. Good luck to the bear.
Talima has strange dreams that night, that there is something big and hairy between her thighs perhaps? The snake belt opines that she is going insane. Excellent.
Frysday: Flight to Wisdom
- Sage Bound
The next morning, we decided to fly to the sage at the crater-lake – 150 miles to the south (we’ll get there before the Band of Brothers). The land becomes warmer as we fly south, with more brush and trees, and even the odd woodland.
After a few hours we landed outside the village of Dell (about 100 miles south of our wolverine encounter) - and chat to the Watchman Entiper, who is happy that their stock of glacier water will become more valuable (it has healing properties). Roberton spent some time lying to the villagers getting directions: the village of Tonsenamus is about a day's walk south, Olyeo, the crater town, is two days walk. They sell mean pikelets, lemon juice and sugar - we have to come back this way.
Flew closer - and walked to the cliff edge of the huge crater-lake (200 foot drop). We were lowered on some binder contraption down to a small lake-side village to be met by B'lonem, councillor, and welcomed to the city – and told to be gone by nightfall, or after the entertainments end at 9pm. We went to the pub for lunch - chef Newman - and found Resya, the short, cute, human sage, talking to someone about when the Band of Brothers may be back.
No accommodation lake side, so we’ll have to take the last trip up to the cliff top and stay in the settlement there
Oddly, the mana level in the village (and probably the whole lake) is high.
- Is Ahiga still dead?
He seems to be slowly regenerating (troll-skin like) – the healers think his body might be ‘whole’ soon. But – his spirit is elsewhere. Pug suggests that Ahiga’s spirit seek out Elephant in the land of the dead. Don’t know if Ahiga can hear – Tallama says there is no sign of that spirit
- Inn Time
As we discuss what to say to the sage lunch is served - and this is the best food we have ever tasted. I (Tallama) DA the chef - College of Magic - no answer. Must be a genius.
Divers are over-heard talking to the sage at the bar - discussing retrieval of gems and metals from the lake and the finding of a statue on their deepest dive. Why would there be a statue in the lake? DA the Diver - last magic to impact - No answer. DA the sage - 2nd highest ability - Uncanny ability to sense what people are thinking. Ok this sage is somewhat of a concern.
We intercept the sage as she is heading from the bar and we are invited to see her at 3pm that day, at her house in the new part of town.
- Robinton Reaches New Depths
Our illusionist decides to go deep - and challenges a diver (with a well developed pair of lungs). Apparently he doesn't have to breathe! (but can he talk when he's not breathing?) Bets are laid - most gamblers finally agree that the deeper diver wins (Pug figures Robinton can to 10 times as deep as the diver - silly goblin)
We head off to where the diving boats are - in the rust red walled crater lake. The diver put forward is Nipal - ew errs from the party - she is 'quite' pleasant on the eye. Elenna heads out with Robinton and Nipal on a diving boat. We don't want to be expelled from this town before we speak with the sage - so we are careful not to offend!
Robinton and Nipal are 250' down to a rocky bottom - even stevens. R grabs a 'starstone' and is attacked by a parrot fish at the bottom - and by a blue ring octopus on the way up (it grabs hold and pops into the wound and disappears into Rob). He drops the starstone - and the decision is to go down again (to break the tie)
On the second dive Nipal finds the 7 segment star stone. Still a tie.
Third dive - the decision to try and go deeper. Nipal gives away the stone - obvious to us for Robinton to fail the dive. Robinton is oblivious to this - and doesn't recognise the hint. On the way down the R'ton's octopus leaves the wound as they head down this time to about 1,200' deep - where mini trees and fish are seen.
After about five minutes down there Nipal passes out - not good. The courtier brings her up - and lucklily healing is successful when they both reach the surface. The divers see the bet has been won - Robinton saved Nipal - all for 20silver pieces. Pug loses.
I DA the entire crowd around us and there is not one mage in the crowd. DA Robinton - last magic to impact on Robinton - Penetration.
- Rupert tries to find a place to bed Any ...
...for her to stay that is. The tavern won't rent a room, but Any is a fine sculptor - and so has a chance of staying here if needed.
- Ahiga is Heard
I hear a voice from the sack - Ahiga - Get Melody. Elenna - Melody’s spirit or body?
Mîm heads to the other side of the tavern and outside - and distracts the locals by dancing
While Eleanor heads into the urn to get the Melody's body Robinton secures a private room and we meet Melody - and learn that Melody has met with Elephant.
The message from Elephant is - get rid of the madness and get rid of her permanent death.
Her planar ability has caused the madness. It’s a curse and requires physical healing and no planar travel for a while. We're directed to talk to the sage and find some serious magic - probably in the the crashed city.
- Resya is Heard
We meet with the sage tell us your story. We exchange information
- We find out that there is no magical healing / resurrection
- Help for healing madness - no help at all that she knows of.
- Ley lines? There is a node in the lake (probably why the mana level is high). It is best accessed when the lake still - but there is a tradition of not going onto the lake when it is still (no one knows why - just say NO)
- Other ley nodes: Silver mountain, Mount Tranquil, this lake - and others (like the glacier)
- The laylords died out about 500 years ago - Betrayal caused the city to crash. A young laylord was been seen about 2 years or so ago.
- Mages now are less powerful than mages of the past. The crashed city may have items to enhance abilities.
Resya advises to kill the person who created the dagger (assuming this is so that Melody can be recovered). The Hall of the Dead is a 'real' place - far to the west.
- Raider Lore
The Band of Brothers think the Raiders are kidnappping because are looking for something - maybe a talent for magic?
The BoB savant (that knows when the eclipses occur) is a nephew of a friend of the sage. These Eclipses are localised to where the attacks occur. And the sage says that there is a corona around the sun at an eclipse (which apparently is different to a 'normal' eclipse).
Resya has a collection of the seven runes left carved on the destroyed villages
- Resya's tapestry
It has 4 areas / squares / quarters. Top left is spring, top right summer, bottom right is autumn and bottom left is winter. Each picture is of the same place but each shows a different view The same woman is in each picture - from when she is a girl through to when she is an old lady in making the tapestry. The tapestry has been handed down from mother to daughter.
- Spring - shows fallen leaves, a small grey tombstone, a ruined courtyard and a flowing fountain.
- Summer - shows snow drops
- Winter - shows an eclipse and a moon in the lake with a wolf
- Autumn - shows leaves fallen, a weeping willow.
All 4 quarters show flowers in the middle There is a message on the tombstone
NEVER THE PLACE never the time
We check out the tapestry: DA - about 500 years since creation. DA#2 - Preservation magic. Ancient divination - Highly magical, preserving something - linked and its protecting something. There is no transport magic.
4 seasons in one day ?
DA on sage - any unknown ley abilities ?
- Healing Ahiga
The healers spend some time with Ahiga’s body - and estimate it will take over a day of hard work by Tallama and Robinton to repair what is damaged and broken. Resya gets a dispensation with the village council so we can stay in the village to do this work.
Resya seems to have become an ally - with her honesty is definitely the best policy (even if you are a goblin)
Reapsday: The Healing of Ahiga
Healing
Healing
Healing
Healing
Healing
(...Mîm spent her time memorising the tapestry)
Sunday: Spirited Movements
- A Rune Mage Returns and Reads Runes
OK, the healing of Ahiga's body is complete. Pug's spirit bear helps Ahiga's spirit move from Melody's body to his own. First up, he investigates Resya’s Runes and can't work much out except
- the seven runes appear to represent the colours of the rainbow (remember the village mage escaped Mîm on a rainbow)
- the fourth green rune which was carved by Any's village attackers seems to represent some sort of green growing magic (as Rupert knows all to well)
- the fifth blue rune is associated with magics of air and water
We try to guess at the magics of the other runes: red - fire; orange - ??; yellow - light?; indigo - mind?; violet - necromantic?
- OK, next up Melody
From Ahiga's discussions with Elephant in the Halls of the Dead we know that to resurrect her, we must first destroy the maker of the dagger - back on Melody's home plane. To get there, Elephant needs to transfer some of Melody's planar travel abilities to a party member - which means going to the Halls of the Dead.
After must discussion about who is going to die to get to the Halls to make this transfer, we work out an easier way. Pug's bear comes to the rescue again and is able to take Elenna's spirit directly to Elephant - without dying.
- Really useful that bear. Makes up for Pug I guess.
The bear says that all of us can join our spirits with Elenna’s (piggy back as-it-where) - and most of us agree. Rupert and Roberton stay to watch over our bodies, while Tallama has her own spirit form (a moose!).
Spiritually, we move through a landscape of pulsating lights, multi-coloured clouds, orchestral clashing sounds and thrumming energies that seem to invisibly impact on our non-existent skin (strange place).
Ahead we see a huge mass of icy white tinged strength apparently being choked by blue glows and bolts, emanating from a blue robed figure. The bear says it is the spirit of the glacier – and it is being attacked. We remember Ahiga’s analysis of the blue Raiders’ rune – magics of air and water. We all get a bad feeling.
Blue lines reach towards us and we try to prepare – only Elenna can draw mana, so she quickly quickens us all and we speed away to Elephant’s place (spurred by the pain causing blue lightning)
The bear lands us in front of a set of grandiose doors guarded by a sphinx - and some heavies. She says we have to answer some riddles - or deal with the heavies to get through the doors. Well, the barbarian proves to be pretty good at riddles and the moose just scrapes in – so we get to see the big man, who attempts to imbue Elenna’s spirit with some of the comatose Melody’s planar ability.
Seems to work, but there is a bit of mix-up getting out of the spirit lands – Pug wakes up in Elenna’s body, Elenna wakes up in Melody’s body and the bear wakes up in Pug's body (having lost all his spirit walking abilities) . We blame the goblin (he tried to stay awake in the Halls). Tallama makes her own way back via the blue vs white combat – and it doesn’t look good for the glacier.
- Save the Glacier I - Search of the Ley Lake Spirit
We think the best way to help the glacier (which we call a Ley Spirit) from the Blue Ley Lord is to try to get help from the Ley Spirit which we think must be associated with the Ley Point that is the crater lake, so we head on in a boat with Nipal on the mirror smooth lake (which the locals never venture out on). Robinton dives five feet into the crystal clear water – and disappears. DA? Transportation magic. Our troubles start when we agree with Pug ‘Let’s all dive after Robinton’.
- Hit me if I ever agree with the goblin again
As we dive through the clear water, transportation magic impacts and the water turns icy cold – and above us is a layer of ice. I (Mîm) hurriedly drink the potion of water breathing I got out before diving. Elenna has Melody’s Ring of Secret Breathing on – so she’s ok. The rest, well, they hold their breath. In the dim ice-filtered light, we spot immobile figures floating in the distance – just under the ice.
- Would the goblin poke a stick in a hornet’s nest?
Yes. Pug fires off an ice bolt at one (do you fire an icebolt??) - and one-by-one the figures stir and move purposefully in our direction. There are masses of them & they are dead and cold - and a touch encases the victim in ice, to float up to be just under the ice. Many undead are blasted, but one-by-one most of us are frozen and floating – and desperately holding their breath.
- The clock is ticking.
Robinton and me swim deeper to avoid the onslaught – and promptly disappear back to the crater lake. Ah! Rupert, Roberton, Nipal and me grab ropes of the boat and go invisible. It is tricky to sneak past the once-again-immobile ice zombies and lash a rope on an ice-cube and drag it down to the ‘transport-back’ layer, but we manage it. I get cubed and have to be rescued, but in the end we all lie gasping and melting in warm winter sun - back in the crater-lake boat, knowing we have had a very lucky escape.
- Next time, the goblin goes first.
If he doesn’t come back, well, I may spend a looong time re-reading my guild contract.
- Save the Glacier II - Kill the Mage
Well, it is going to have to be direct action, so we fly back to the glacier and spot a small tower, with an encampment of about thirty people - their cloaks emblazed with what looks like that blue rune emblem.
We land and stealth closer. Twilight shrouds our movements. I'm going to kill something verry soon.
There is a ruined village - that we didnt destroy - some tents with about 30 mercenaries and a burnt out tower.
We bickered for a while "Why are we doing this?" until a mercenary comes over to widdle on some rocks, only to be slept and knifed (thanks Mim, death buzzes are such a high). Then another merc comes calling for his mate, Fred, only this time someone decides to kill him openly. So now the camp is aroused.
Which was almost according to plan as Mim and Rupert stealthed their way through the doors into the ruined tower, covered by the raucous battle going on, explosions and arrow fire.
- The Tower has three floors
Up we went, the valiant duo, to find a dead Ley Lord, in a death rictus on a chair. The big goblin dropped the little one into the tower, who then threw the Ley Lord to the ground - he is very brave around the dead - only to see a good piece of loot disappear and his blood to shoot up into the air, downing the the big goblin. That is different. It became crowded as nearly everyone piled into the tower to wreck their revenge on Pug, so i went and looted the tents, and to determine that the mercenaries had been here about two days.
The Ley Lord had been dead for about one and a half days. That's good right?
The Sun went Dark, winds started to howl: oh not again!! A Ley Lord appeared on the top of the tower and began to rain blue death down the tower, so everyone ran away, or tried to... some got a little bit paralysed. Arrows to the rescue, and the bugger exploded, only this time his blood and body flowed downwards. The tower now has only two levels.
Hmmm. oh yes, just before he died he seemed to look into another realm and say "you traitor!" as if someone elsewhere was doing him harm. Excellent, we can claim it wasnt us if need be. Nor was it the Goblin.
Why were we here? With all the excitement i have forgotten why we came here and if we achieved it.
Moonday: Ice Freed
First a brief recap, Ellena is now in melody’s body, Pug is in Ellena’s body and the spirit bear is in Pug’s. The net result being Ellena is worried, the bear is suicidal and Pug to all our dismay is still Pug whatever body he is in.
- Riders in the Storm
After the battle with the Blue Lay lord, we start the healing process. Seven weather beaten riders approach from the west - they are cautious but introduce themselves as from Palen lead by a prophet call Ardghser. We start exchanging information; he had a vision of colours dis-appearing from a rainbow; Blue and Red missing from the rainbow and he saw the tapestry in his dream, which is protecting an area under attack - it seem very similar to what we had seen.
- Is it a stupidity curse that all Goblins have?
Then guess what? Tallima decides to turn into an earth elemental and starts to cast magic to heal Ellena’s body. Not surprising in a world were magic is virtually non existent the riders gallop for the hills - we do wonder is there anyone left on this plane who doesn’t think of us without fear or loathing.
We divinate the items gained in battle
- The orb explodes when divined, as it allows remote observation and with remote detonation. Giant goblin is blinded in both eyes, Robinton loses one, so starts another period of healing - and yet more healing .
- The claymore is divined as enhancing ice or air magic, we all groan as Pugs eyes light up. We also find out the Giant goblin's MA was leached by orb.
- Ice Spirit Unleashed
Reasonably sound in body (if not in mind) we go back to trying to release the ice spirit - we head out on the glacier. A voice talks to Rupert (as he is a blood linked enemy) - says he won’t kill Rupert as he needs our help to get unbound. Eventually we find the spirit bound at the centre of the glacier. Pug unsurprisingly gets himself sucked into the bind - playing around with it and some ice.
Well, it seems the binding needs high mana to maintain it so Rupert and Ellena telekinesis the spirit to edge of the glacier - where binding fails due to lack of mana. The spirit gifts us a piece of ice each which gives some endure hardship and fire protection.
- Now for solving Melody’s problem
With one success (at last!) we head off to the weakness in the planes - to find the maker of the dagger and get Melody back. Ellena shuffles though the planes and stops on what we hope is the right plane (the snake seems to agree). We go through and see ruined city, the snake directs us to valley, protected by a rune barrier, which we go through, into a lush and green valley.
We spot a necklace and night shirt in display cases. Tallima is filled with great sorry about a lost love when she attempts to DA it.
3 figures approach us from behind. The male is called Offa and he has 2 females with him. One is a panda carrying a staff. The other is human with a bandaged arm and dark sunglasses. Offa is a mind mage, the lady is a lesser summoner and the panda has no college. Offa tells us we are on the boulevard of broken relationships and the path leads to a house where Gorilla lives. We are currently on a planet called Eden 7 and it is in the process of being destroyed. He mumbles about a matter transformation going on but it means little to us. They agree to follow behind us as they don’t know how to get to Gorilla safely.
We ask the snake belt what Melody did last time she was here and it describes her checking some more pedestals. The party in female bodies, including Pug, follow this advice and make it to the cottage with no problems, other than some intense feelings of sadness from the pedestals. The males don’t do this and find the house getting further away. They finally relent and do as they were told.
We examine the door to the house a bit and discuss what to do about the alarm on it. Offa and his ladies walk in and head off down a corridor. After some more fussing about we notice the sky is cracking. This looks like a bad sign.
The house has a long corridor with multiple doors. We try a few doors and find that the same door can open on different rooms. Spooky. Robinton and Rupert find one with an acoustics stage. They wander in and things get out of control. Attempts to commit suicide and shagging occur, although neither wants to think about it once we get them out.
Eventually we focus on Gorrilla and a door opens to him. He is an old man lying on a sofa, unconscious, or doing a ritual. In the background is a floating orb of fire. Robinton goes in, naked, to deal with Gorilla. The door closes, opens: no Robinton.
Offa and company run past as the house starts to shake and shudder. We run for it. (some how Robinton turns up, alive: he says he bashed the Universe Maker (TM) with his own staff, which he shows to us as evidence. Mumbles something like 'I should have taken a knife'.)
- Eden 27
Offa helps us off plane to the icy Eden 27 - were these planes all made by Gorilla - with a mechanical device. We found a nice village of very friendly ladies, well they were to me, seemed to ignore Mim.
Very friendly.
As i recuperated from a night of pleasures, Guardian Angels portal through and start attacking us, showing us with firey death - something i later learn causes damage at a fundamental level that becomes fatal over time - the poor villagers start to explode.
XX ran out of the firey rain only to be attacked. We all follow and deal death to the angels, but one flies off with the Maker's staff. Mim and I flew after it, chasing it through the portal. I flew straight into an angel, which wrapped its wings around me and we plummeted to our mutual deaths. Mim chased the staff carrier, and dealt to it until some more angels turned up...
I had a bit of a dream sequence, Any spoke to me, saying she would sacrifice herself for me, that she had become worried so she talked with Elephant who said she could trade for me if i agreed. I demurred. Any said she hadnt anything to live for. I refused. Said my party would resurrect me.
Instead Gorilla resurrected me, and healed my body. In turn I told him everything i knew and surmised. Gorilla was rather vexed that Elephant had told us that he, Gorilla, had inflicted Melody with a permanent death. No indeedy, mister whiter-than-white Gorilla told me all he did was to illusion the dagger to look more dangerous that it was, in an effort to help Melody to survive against her arch nemisis YY. And that Melody's spirit was bound to Elephant. Gorilla gave me an item that will suck Elephant into it. Gorilla tells me he is destroying Eden-27 as he is miffed with it - i plead for him to save the innocents, such as the friendly villagers but he is unmoved, saying that if a plane fails to impress then he destroys it. Gorilla offers to not destroy all the established portals on the plane, so my party members wont be trapped there, and he offers to open a portal to there for me and Mim.
Meanwhile back on Eden-27, Elana and Pug get healed by one of Offa's women by trading a magical item for them. Somewhere Offa turns people into sheep with a device. The plane is attacked by Destructors, destroying the plane and causing the sky to crack - looks bad.
Mim and I return, explain all and Mim gets healed after rummaging around for a long time in her pack. We rescue the Cute girl from last night (the other died of fiery death) and the rest of the village to Eden 57, which is nice but the residents havent developed magic yet. Robinton decided to slaughter a hunting party of neanderthals.
- The Glacier
Eleana manages to find a weakness in the plane and we portal to the glacier. The Glacier tells us that Elephant may be a pseudonym for the founder of the Ley-lords, after setting up the ley-lines. Glacier starts to regenerate Pug's Testicle (which is all that came through in one of our portal travels), but it will take 2 weeks.
Glacier gives an ice golem to Pug to use once we have Melody's spirit so we can do a swoopity dooty until we get Pug's full body back.
- Divinations
- Melody's Dagger: An illusion was overlaid the shaped item, to make it look like anyone killed by it is permanently dead. Made by a very powerful illusion/shaper/E&E. The illusion cannot be destroyed, and it is not ley magic.
- Crystal (off Gorilla):
- Ice Block (from GLacier): Cold Affinity Rank 20, the bearer can send an SoS to Glacier on this plane.
- Any
We flew to the lake and checked on Any, she is ok. She was worried about me, so she talked to the black thing, and Elephant answered her. We have a way to talk to Elephant without going ethereal or spiritual or something.
Tapestry Girl had ridden out two days earlier to the southwest. So we flew off after her with the four surviving members of the Band of Brothers.
Duesday: Cottages and Castles
We flew to Lake Gem, just 70 minutes southeast of the lake. There is fog all over the place, almost completely masking an island in the middle of the lake. the island is 25 miles square! the fog has the ability to confuse the mind, turing you around. Tallima kills herself - Mim helped. Robinton kills himself testing an idea that he can fly out of the fog, but he recovered in time to resurrect Tallima. My ability to Pass Without Trace seems to work, and i lead everyone else to the centre of the island. The island is plit into four seasons, like the Tapestry, but looking rather run down.
Eventually I found the cottage in the centre, the door and walls of which are warded (nightmare illusion) but not the roof. breaking the roof i spied Tapestry Girl cutting the Tapestry. She tells us she is confined to the room by a big nasty, the greatest Ley Lord currently alive. He requires her to destroy the Tapestry so that he can gain control of this place which is where all the Ley lines intersect, and thereby he gains control of all the ley lines.
- Roberton's Ritual Fails .... VERY badly
Remember that Roberton killed himself? Well part of the resurrection was using a potion that Pug had that mended him. Unfortunately the potion had come from a vary dubious source, so the potion cursed Roberton at the same time - to look like Pug! Roberton was not happy, so the first think he did was start a ritual to remove this curse (something Roberton is particularly good at).
So while we investate the fog, Roberton (protected by an ever vigilant Tallima) ritualises and eventually completes his ritual - which goes majorly awry. The curse on Roberton is removed, but bounces onto Tallima - who is tranformed into a number of wormy, sluggy and snakey forms until eventually she stabilises into a 16 foot long, forked tongue 1/2 Naga, 1/2 giant Goblin - that's big even for a Naga! Yes, with Naga slit snake eyes, scaly hair, tail constriction, forked tongue with spit poison (constrict, poison and spat stats as per standard Naga; TMR 8/6, AG 13)
- Resya Writes and Reality Changes
Back at the cottage, Rupert and Resya have a yelled conversation. She is the last in a long line of guardians of the ley lines and the book she is writing is changing the nature of the Ley magic – unravelling the tapestry. At the end of it, the White Wizard will essentially be some sort of deity – with all of the magic of a planet at his disposal – including the magic he leached out of the other mages we’d seen killed. We all plot and plan what to do next – useless waste of time really.
- The White Mage I
Resya starts re-writing the book – changing magic back, and the White Mage appears and somehow breaks her legs. The first change Resya made was to summon all of the missing allies on the island – so Robinton and snake-girl appear as the guys on the roof jump in and attack the mage – totally ineffectively as their blows pass through him, but they are hit by a number of colourful shielding magics.
Pug is encased by a green constricting leaves and his lungs immediately fill with water. Dying, he changes to spirit form leaving the body (Ellena’s – remember?) to its fate. Even in spirit form, he finds Mr White invulnerable to his attentions.
Roberton (ignoring the agony, but visibly shrinking) talks with the mage – and says that he will be his Ally. It all looks pretty bad until the spirit bear disappears with Resya and the book. An annoyed wizard disappears with Roberton.
We waste time countering the 100 Nightmare Illusions that come to attack us when the Ice Golem breaks down the door. The bear arrives back with Resya. Pug’s spirit is still walking – even through the body is dead.
Roberton talks with Elephant (through the black egg) who now able to see through the permanency of Melody’s death - and the King of Spirits is able to tidy up Ellena’s body and put her spirit back in it and then put Melody back in her own body. He can also look after Pug’s spirit until the glacier has regenerated his body.
We ask the glacier where the White Wizard is – and he says he can take us to him. Rupert tells the glacier
Well, hurry up – take us there
...revealing his hidden goblin heritage. We disappear, totally unprepared for what may come next. It wasn't good.
- The White Mage II
A small castle with surrounding moat, set on a rise on a large cold flat plain - ringed by seven ice filled lakes, mountain ranges to the south and north.
- Spirit Pug spots Roberton atop one of the castle towers and flies there - followed by me (Mîm) and Rupert mounted on Pegasus Tallima. Pug DAs that Roberton's will is bound. Big surprise.
- The rest spot the ice cracking and masses of frozen creatures emerge (the ones we encountered on our dive search for the Ley Lake Spirit). There is a mad dash for the castle walls (nobody is going through castle entrance) - and we are soon testing our climbing skills. Another lake cracks and flying versions of the creatures emerge. Not good.
How bad could it get? The castle shakes and begins to animate, swallowing me and Tallima, while Roberton and Rupert do a roller coaster slide to the ground - soon joined by Ahiga and Ellena as they fall off the shaking walls. The frozen creatures advance and the castle extrudes giant mallet headed arms. Maybe the castle will hit the creatures? Not likely.
Ahiga tries to knock the will-bound Roberton unconscious (who may actually be the White Wizard), but kills him instead (bother). Rupert goes off to Elephant's spirit realm, soon followed by the rest of the ground party - overwhelmed by hordes of the frozen creatures (an Icy Doom touch will do that).
Now, it turns out Rupert was implanted with a Elephant trapper by Gorilla (back on Eden 27). Elephant is trapped - and Rupert takes the opportunity to size the Spirit throne.
- Spirited Adventures
Back inside the castle giant, rather than be crushed to death, Tallima cuts a hole to the spirit plane, where we encounter Pug - and alot of spirit eaters. We race off willing ourself to go to the White Wizard - with no luck. The eaters are gaining, so we head back to the hole and plunge back - and find we are no longer inside the castle. Unfortunately Pug doesn't make it - he is caught by a spirit eater - and, well eaten.
Our army of spirit eaters and djinnis flood through the hole too, and are delighted to find that the frozen creatures have spirits to be eaten too (an icy treat).
- Seagate Strikes Back
The other members of the party hurriedly search Elephant's realm for magical items - Ahiga finds a huge morning star. In the midst of the morphing castle, Tallima and Mîm spot the White Wizard - just in time to see Ahiga arrive (teleported in by the Glacier spirt) and make a major impact - with a morning star wielded two handed, slaying the mage instantly. Outside, the Glacier's shock troops arrive (remember them? the strong, silent and chilly types) and mop up the Wizard's troops - and the spirits too.
Seagate wins!
- The Somber Aftermath
Eventually, Elephant is freed from Gorrilla's trap and does some major body and spirit alignment (and more than a couple resurrections).
Unfortunately, Pug's spirit is no where to be found. We are all very sad (really!). I have a feeling Seagate will be back to this place - to find the goblin's lost spirit.
Admin
- Watches
- Evening: Rupert, Ahiga
- Middle (Lady's night): Mîm, Tallama, Any
- Morning: Pug, Ellena, Angus/Roberton
- Marching Order
- Meat Shields: Ahiga, Pug
- Cherished Flowers: Ellena, Mîm
- Cowards: Angus/Roberton
- Bum Guards: Rupert, Tallama
Treasure
- Melody
- Resurrection eggs x 3 (Elenna, Tallama, Any)
- Dagger of Unresurrectable Death - d make Magic Resistance roll to hit possessor, +20% defense sheathed, +10% defense drawn
- Snakeskin belt vs Male Molestation (it's alive and biting)
- Boots of Leaping - 50ft leep, TMR +5 if pursued, TMR +1 normally
- Purse - small bag of holding
- Ring - of secret breathing
- Horse Raiders
- Miscellaneous weapons and armour
- Horses
- Coinage
- Arctic Wolves
- 6 skins (camouflaged/chameleon fur)
- 6 sets of teeth
- Blue Ley Lord
- Orb - explodes when divined, allows remote observation and with remote detonation/MA leach
- Claymore - enhancing ice or air magic
| Ellena | Rupert | Tallima | Mîm | Pug | Roberton | Ahiga |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st (25) | 2nd (30) | 3rd (54) | 4th (60) | 5th (63) | 6th (72) | 7th (85) |
Calendar
| Winter: Frost 813 (7) | ||||||||||||||
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| Moonday | Duesday | W'ansday | Th'rsday | Frysday | Reapsday | Sunday | ||||||||
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Samhain | 1 | Guild, Death on Ice | 2 | Hot Villagers | 3 | Pillage Burn Fight Furry Friends | 4 | Fly to wisdom | 5 | The Healing of Ahiga | 6 | Spirited Movements | |
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7 | Ice Freed | 8 | Cottages & Castles | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | |||||
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14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | |||||||
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21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | |||||||
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28 | 29 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||||||
| Winter: Snow 813 (8) | ||||||||||||||
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5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||||||
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12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Solstice | 16 | 17 | 18 | Yuletide | |||||
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19 | Days of Chaos | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | ||||||
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26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | Twelth Night | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Winter: Ice 813 (9) | ||||||||||||||
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3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | First Plough | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||||||
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10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | |||||||
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17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | |||||||
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24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | |||||||
