Return to Sudar

Scribe Notes

Summary

Adventure: Return to Sudar

• aka: Freeing the Hourglass Plane Plane-Makers

GM: Greg Taylor
Season: Spring 799 WK

Party

• Amelia, Female Hobbit Fighter (Leader & Mil Sci #1) - Rosemary M
• Axy, Male Human Fighter (Namer) (Scribe in Dwarvish) - Daryl C
• Keshah, Male Elf Rune (Mil Sci #2) - Michael H
• TDP Roberts, Male Human E&E - Phil J
• Thorn, Male Human Fighter - Helen S
• Ughbash, Male Orc Dark Celestial & part-time Lich! - Adam T

Time on adventure

2 to 24 Thaw, Spring 799 WK

Employer

Shaygin, Lord of Lorgos

Mission

Locate and retrieve a lost artefact

Original Scribe Notes

Media:Snsp9902.zip

Scribe Notes

Meeting in the Guild room, I feel in awe as I find myself face to face with some of the Guild’s biggest reputations. One of whom, I’ve adventured with before – Amelia.

The hourglass planes are described in Aqualina’s Seagate Times article, “The Seven Hourglass Planes” (Issue 25, Winter 799, pages 4-5). As descriptions of these planes are now in print, I’ll only add details at the end. The seven Planes are (postulated pairs are bracketed): Norden, (Lorgos, Virym), (Chos, Kerax), (Eradin, Sudar).

The Lord of Lorgos, Lord Shaygin has employed us to help him locate and retrieve a lost artefact - a suit of armour, apparently also sought by Sudarians. Lord Shaygin feels that the Sudarians knew where it was but were unable to retrieve it. Lord Shaygin believes it to be in a maze of catacombs under the City on Sudar. The entrance to the catacombs is at the bottom of the stairs from the 1st to the 2nd level. Our fee is 2,500 SP for turning up, and a 3,000 silver finder’s fee once the artefact has been retrieved. We are also entitled to any “lawfully” taken loot.

On the 2nd of Thaw, we plane walk to the Market square on Lorgos. Where we meet up with some soldiers who report sightings of undead and Vampires on Norden. The following day finds us preparing for the forthcoming sally into the city’s catacombs, noting that armour is often the skin of something! We portal to Sudar, whose portal room exit is warded with Telekinetic Rage triggered by Greater Undead, this is easily suppressed. The town is very eerie, makes the skin on the back of my neck crawl, as if we are being watched by thousands of beady little eyes, or perhaps I’ll let just let Ugbash go first.

As we walk towards the city gate, we chance upon several humans, capturing one, who can drain undead, as Ugbash finds out to his cost. The others are another man, a woman, a baby, and a small boy. As they pass, their auras are very strange, the man has draining magic in effect, the Woman has a necromantic special counterspell. We deduce that these people are Calimar bait for real undead.

Before tackling the walls we notice a secret portal on the inside a building. It’s probably linked with a similar building at the opposite side of the city, ie a quick way to bring reinforcements across the city.

We scamper up the city wall and lower ourselves down the other side. Then across the causeway. As we enter the forest, a feeling of dread falls down like a shroud over a coffin. The tree’s have been dead for the last 7 years, killed by Scarring Terrain. As we near the edge of the forest, someone notices that a patch of dark drifts across the sky, it has the distinctive shape of a Calimar Voidcruiser.

At the edge of the forest we reach the top of the 1000’ cliff that marks the boundary of this level. The path leads to a building, guarded by the expected TK Rage. Hidden outside the building is a skeleton (dead for 4 months) with a death cursed Scimitar.

Inside the door, the ward was easily suppressed, we start our descent down a zigzag series of stairs on the inside of the cliff that marks the edge of the 1st level. Eventually we reach the landing above the ground entrance.

We hear a scraping noise from below. Amelia pops her head out of the window to have a look, but sees nothing. There is a statue of Lord Garn in the centre of the entrance, the base of which is a surrounded by a half circle of gold, then the ground. I pop my head out and see a figure there - a Vampire Mind Mage. Wow, I didn’t stop doing Mind mage coutermagics until one went off, I didn’t even let a backfires phase me. Keshah gets the Vampire on ESP as it moves away from the entrance. From the atrium I see that the archway has the ubiquitous TK Rage ward.

The aura on the statue and the door to the catacombs show that they are linked. We figure that the Vampire was trying to open the secret door.

We enter the maze, as Shaygin has been through the maze on Lorgos several times, he assumes that this is similar and he guides us accordingly. In 3 hours of travelling we pass a couple of chasm’s, the pathway goes across a bridge, and a round room. As we pause for some food we hear an eerie animal howling sound – then in a few minutes - another.

After several hours 3 imaginary animals with red glowing eyes attack us – 2 disappear when hit, the third disappears whilst being held down by Amelia and Ugbash. Those that attacked the things (Keshah and Ugbash) have been doomed to die and to rise at the next midnight as a White to serve Lord Garn. The curse (Rank 10 MA 25) cannot be counterspelled.

On our travels there are the occasional marks of someone coming this way before us. Stoping at a room Keshah sets up a rune portal. At the sound of more howling, we set up some walls to keep the things out and rest. Journeying on, Ugbash eventually reports company, he and Keshah are at the back and tackle the things, which turn out to have blue eyes this time. Keshah is cursed with ill luck, 20% unless engaged in the service of Lord Garn. I’m struck with a backfire, weakening me considerably, requiring about 20 hours for a healer to cure it. Ugbash and I are no longer much use in a fight, and so we portal out to get ourselves mended.

We end up on one of the Lorgos hinge portals, and meet up with a group of Lorgosians fishing. Spend a couple of days removing curses and healing me. The first curse removal on Ugbash does not work, so Keshah and I go to visit the library on Norden.

Norden is a hive of activity – market day! – lots of kids, lots of stone golems. I notice some merchants from Kerax. At the library, we find a small book shelf – the books are written in weird languages, but can be read when sitting in the comfortable chairs. I read about fantastical creatures, and Keshah reads about Portals.

Ugbash has been cured. Powering up we portal back in to where we left. Nearing the centre we hear sounds of chiseling. It stops as we approach. The domed room is 100 ft across and 50 ft high in the centre, with 4 entrances and a one way (out) portal. The walls are covered in Runes, Shaygin tells us that they contain the operation and structure of the plane, powered by the eye.

On the central portal sit 3 illusionary creatures waiting for us – they have yellow eyes of Blindness. They are quite still as we sneak up to the entrance. Ugbash shoots one with an arrow and I dispel the other two. But, just after the last one is dispelled, three more green eyed ones turn up on the portal and disappear.

We enter after suppressing the Blackfire ward. A lump of rock on the portal makes the illusionary animals, we must get someone to divinate it – ah yes Keshah can do that. TDP opens his boat, after making a holding room in the boat the stone is rushed into it. Eventually three red eyes of doom appear, and I dispel two of them so that if they could escape, we only have to deal with only one at first! TDP removes Ugbash’s blindness curse – it takes a while. We find out that the floor is magical – permanent and about 2’ thick, also, you can damage the floor, say “Alleshim” and it magically repairs itself. Keshah helps Shaygin read the runes. Shaygin later reports that there is a “secret” room underneath this one but that there are no entrances, and he suspects that that is where the suit of armour is.

TDP looks for a way in using Wizzard’s Eye – no chance. Keshah makes one of his portals about 100’ away from a door just in case we have to come this way again. Amelia feels a slight breeze and does a smoke test, following it drift towards the center of the room – and then down a very thin crack that rings the dias. Ugbash gets his wraiths to go down to investigate. They report 5 (actually 7) alcoves with a big chest (sarcophagus) in each (2 missing). There is also a big hole in the floor – as big as the dias. Shaygin opens the dias after reading more runes - he touched a special rune. But the dias stops 20’ down about 30’ above the floor. We check the room out with wizzards eye and wraiths. Looks like the room hasn’t been opened for ages. The room is actually flat at the bottom and quite small, the alcoves make it seem bigger - but not as big as the room above.

As we set up a rope to the dias and then a ladder to the floor, the breeze starts to pick up, the wind disappearing into the grey hole. This moves us to try and close the door before the wind gets too much. The dias descends to the floor and fits flush, there is no more wind. Shaygin touches the rune again and the dias moves all the way up. Open it again and the dias sticks on the way down. Although the room is mentioned in the runes, everything in it is not – perhaps Sudar was the first built. Amelia, Keshah, Ugbash and I go down and investigate, leaving the other two to keep guard upstairs. As we don’t find the expected suit of armour, Shaygin decides he should now look for the birthplace of Alleshim ie the 8th, or is it the first!.

This room is an area of power, high mana. The alcoves are magically trapped with a rank 10 lightning triggered by any sentient being. It resets every pulse but can be turned off for 10 minutes by pressing a panel on the back wall. The sarcophagi are large – certainly giant size giving off a distinct air of awe. They are worn and have a faint crack around the lid. They are covered with faint runic markings worn away with time – about 10,000 years?

We notice signs that two of the sarcophagi have been dragged away, leaving a thin veneer of rubble – saying Alleshim does nothing to clean it up. Keshah and I do divinations. I’m interupted by Ugbash who demands Mind special counterspells. I oblige but find I can no longer do any magic - magical amnesia for 3 days. A vampire appeared upstairs and closed the dias. The wraiths and TDP (through his wizzards eye) go after the vampire who disappears. TDP cannot pick him up on ESP.

I volunteer to run the lightning gauntlet after Shaygin says he has a ring of protection from lightning – taken from one of the Sudar priests. It takes me 3 to 4 pulses to reach the back wall and press the panel – my armour is a little blacker, and I’m completely bald!. Now we know why Sudar priests are dark skinned and bald. For the record, they have a big rune on their chests, and wear rings and a loin cloth, Keshah uses the time to set up his runes to divinate a sarcophagus, the containment and protection magic comes from the runes. The magic has partially gone, ie fading through the passage of time. ie a sealing rune, sealing a non-undead entity with the power level of a Titan, Nagos, Balrog, or demi-God, not demonic/angelic. Despite the faded runes there is still a long time before the magic fails.

Above each alcove there is a runic inscription, about 15’ up - eye level for a titan!!! We find Chos, Kerax, Norden, Lorgos, and Virym. The sarcophagus’ for Sudar and Eradin are missing.

Is there room for an eighth? (ie the unfinished plane) – we find one wall is longer than the others, and then we find the eighth rune, a oneway portal to Alleshim, not recently activated, and it is not in the runic plans. We figure that the sarcophagi were moved 3 days ago by divination – the time since the portal was last used – ie just when we were happening upon the centre, so, we only just missed them!. Our only option now is to go through the 8th portal, as the robbers may come back for the remaining sarcophagi and that could be big trouble for the planes. Keshah’s limited precognition of us going to the 8th plane – shows it to be safe. TDP shrinks his boat (we can always open it if necessary). The eyes have gone from the boat – must have been the vampire. The name plaques allow the shade of the named person to be summoned, activated by the name, except for the empty alcoves.

Whilst everyone is preoccupied, Keshah and Shaygin decide to summon Chos. Ugbash watches from the ceiling. The shade looks unhuman and exudes a feeling of awe – very alien - 3 eyes, 3 arms etc. Cannot quite make the GTN out. Shaygin closes the summoning and says he’s not feeling too well! – he’s seriously suffering from the effects of cold.

TDP’s curse removal works. We go back and ask some more questions of the shade, this time Ugbash uses a ring against the cold - the questioning continues!

Shaygin tells us how the Sudarians have 2 suits of armour that confer special powers ie power the Ziggarut. The armour’s description sounds like leather, Ugbash says Calimar wear God skins. Shaygin says that when Lorgos was raided, they fought against mind magics. The Sudarians wore suits of calimar skin giving the wearer mind magics, insanity and dimensional weaving spells.

Shaygin rethinks his objectives – not only does he needs to talk to Alleshim, but he also has to take the remaining sarcophagi with us. Amelia tries portalling upstairs – it works. We get some Golems in to move the Sarcophagi onto the boat, which has to be prepared - we keep a sharp lookout for the Vampire. First a test take out the Chos sarcophagus, put it back and see if we can summon him again – no!

Keshah’s ESP finds 30 other sentients in a number of directions – malevalent intent – the minds move away almost as soon as he picks them up. Keshah rune walls the entrances, and Ugbash does walls of light and darkness.

We get all the sarcophagi on the boat – the boat is still structurally sound – just - but we don’t hold out too much hope for it!. Ugbash sends his friends to do battle with the 30 “minds”, they don’t last more than 15 seconds. All this whilst TDP does his ritual to reduce the boat into it’s bottle. As he nears the end – one mind comes nearer – to just beyond one doorway “leave the sarcophagi and you will live, you have been warned”. He goes away, silently – creepy huh?

Amelia teleports down to the lower level through the closed door finding a grey pyramid shape rising 4 foot out of the greyness – a ziggarut?. Not one to hang about Amelia triggers quickness. A figure appears on top of the zigarut – no hair, dark skin, loin cloth, rune in chest – no not me - but a priest of Sudar.

Keshah fortunately had his esp going and because of the small crack around the portal he knew something was wrong and alerted the rest of us. We get quicknesses, Shaygin is supposed to open the portal – ie to block off the hole at the bottom, and the rest of us to teleport down and help Amelia – whatever predicament she is in.

We teleport in a circle around the tip of the ziggarut. Amelia is writhing in pain as one of the priests is “massaging her heart” – from the inside. Keshah and I attack one side, Ugbash and Thorn attack the other, TDP does magic. Ugbash, Keshah and I kill our foes and receive curses – Ugbash is blind, I’m deaf, and Keshah is dumb. We end up with 4 bodies, and 16 magical rings.

The dias does not descend and Shaygin is missing in action. Ugbash’s friends go up, 1 dies, the other reports that the vampire is there. Ugbash skins the chest of one priest. With control of the upper room, the Vampire opens the portal, as the portal starts to come down, we use the 8th portal and end up on Alleshim.

The air was thick with the smell of death, but that was another time, and another place, right here in Alleshim, the sky is, well, grey. I put down a mind counter on the area we came through. In my attempts at this magic stuff I backfire yet again and again – I now suffer from advanced arthritis, and then I loose all my skills. Everyone waits for the vampire to follow us through – being a mind mage he must have known what we were up to!

After a while we get bored, except Ugbash who is trying to will the Vampire here mentally. Keshah digs down through the island – and reaches the grey stuff, he makes a bit of a hole and drops sand through it - “oops” – still it will make a really good pit trap for the vampire if he ever shows himself. Ugbash’s friend goes down – and reports that it is breezy, Keshah shoves his hand in - it's cold. TDP uses his wizards eye to see what is inside the middle of the island. By working out where the eye does not go, he reckons that there must be another sarcophagus down there, just a touch bigger than the others. The rest start digging down to the sarcophagus, we have the other 5, this one will make up a six pack.

After a day of digging, we reveal the sarcophagus and see that the grey soil must have been protecting it as the runes are not as faded as the others. The next day, we bare the sarcophagus – it is bigger than the others. Someone calls out “Alleshim” and asks the question “can you answer more than yes/no questions”, the usual 3 armed form appears, and says “Who are you?, and what do you want?”. Bit of a shock really!

In discussing the implications of rewards, for letting him and the others out we find out that the ritual is required, and it will release all of them in full health. The items required for the ritual are located on each of the other planes. They are recognised by their unique GTN (Waking Dream). Alleshim does not know the specific locations of each, but he can make an E&E able to locate them – TDP is not at all happy with this. We must return here with all the items and perform the ritual. In terms of protecting Alleshim and the sarcophagi, Alleshim removes the portal from the hidden room in Sudar, and puts it in a house on Lorgos – near where we are staying.

Someone asks if he can remove curses – he waves his hand – we lose our curses, oh and our enchantments, oh, and Ugbash is no longer proudly part-Lich. On our tactful complaints he waves his arms again and we each get rank 15 greater enchantments with some extras – protection against planar attack magics (+30 vs Dimensional Weaver type magics).

A day passes and TDP has learnt the locate spell - a special knowledge spell – locate the nearest GTN. We test this out on Amelia who knows the Song for the ritual (we got it from Alleshim) as she sings the song, her aura has the GTN “Waking Dream”. I spend a day teaching the Waking Dream GTN to TDP so he can locate it.

We portal back to Lorgos, where we locate the “Waking Dream - name”, but we cannot find Shaygin. His men say they havn’t seen him recently, not since he left with us. Leave a message for him to stay here if he does turn up. Back to quarters to power up – first stop Sudar. Oooops – slight delay to plans as Ugbash backfires and dumbs himself. During the curse curing I help out with the “renovations” – this involves boring golem ordering but the conversation is good with the other lorgosians. Amelia gets tanning stuff for Ugbash’s “skin”. The tanner specialises in fish skin, especially the sharkskin sanding paper used by the golems to scrub the city.

We portal to Sudar and are greeted with the words “Hello, you can come out now”. After making sure they are friendly, we follow them to the brightly light central courtyard where we are given Shaygin’s body. As we walk inside, we see a long 400’ Calimar flying ship, I see one Squiddy come down a gangway as we are leaving. Our guides say that the ship helps them catch up with and destroy the undead that are plagueing the plane. ie if a troop is having difficulty with a group of undead – funny how they always gang up – they call for back-up and along comes one of these 400’ monstrosities. We also go past two old men training, they have the illusion “ Illusionary old men” on them.

We are led to Lord Shaygin lying on a table, gash across his throut, and he has been preserved. We find his fabled doorknob and work out that he is resurrectable. When we locate the “Waking Dream - stick”, it is in the opposite direction to the central courtyard.

We go to Alleshim’s plane, and he says that he can resurrect Shaygin, once we release him and his friends. We work out how to operate the Doorknob – it opens to a shared pocket dimension – perfect for holding the ritual items. Back on Lorgos, we are told that there is no longer a need to block the portals at night – the Sudarians sent word via the Nordens.

Lorgos - the “name”

located on the underside of a sundial on one of the statue/golem pedastles – I read it and it gets engrained into my brain – get an ITN as well!!

Norden - the “coin”

on the second level, not far from a hinge portal near a copse of trees. The “coin” is in the centre of the top stone of a dolmen in an area of high mana. Ugbash smashes the stone in two – including a hidden portal beneath it. But the stone re-assembles leaving the “coin” on the ground.

Chos - the “knife”

lies underground, accessed through the tower. Some cracks on the floor, are an “Alleshim” activated trapdoor. Down several flights of stairs to a room. Inside is the old grey stuff. One of Ugbash’s “friends” goes in and gets the “knife” from a statue and notes that there isn’t any floor, even though Ugbash had “touched” the floor with his axe.

Kerax - the “claw”

at the end of a small trail off the main track through the forest is a clearing with a great statue of a rat – sphinx style. There are signs of food offerings having been left in the clearing. The “claw” of prophesy was prised from the statue, which promptly disappeared. We shoot off back to the forest track and portal straight out of there.

Eradin - the “blood”

very well hidden, we cannot locate anything, or anyone. We go up towards the tower, when we come across a girl dressed in animal skins, she takes fright and takes off. Setting up an ambush, Ugbash and Amelia go unseen, I wait in my cloak of blending further along. As she passes Ugbash steps out and saps her – but not before she has a lightening strike at him – drawing blood. Now Ugbash’s blood is odd at the best of times, but we were conscious that we are supposed to find blood on here. TDP’s locate shows it pouring out of Ugbash’s wound – we collect as much as we can in a bottle.

We tie the woman up and divinate her. She has had some sort of Namer ritual performed on her – she thinks, acts, and lives like an animal. She has been like that for some time and I’m not able to reverse the process.

To Virym - the “feather” (from an angel), coming ready or not.

An old woman, Crouder, lives in a little cottage at the end of a small trail off the track through the forest. She tells us the tale of an angel that was summoned a few years ago – on Norden to resurrect someone. Apparently an angel can be summoned with the right words, I write them down eagerly: Call upon the eye for light and weeping in the falling night it doth control the starry poles and summon angels, burnished bright.

Virym’s courtyard entrance is guarded. We explain carefully that we want to go into the tower and summon an angel. The guard has to defer to a higher order, and his sleepy boss appears. We explain again what we want to do, he’s reluctant at first, but we insist and mention Shygin a few more times. By the time we leave he is no longer sleepy but most definitely wide awake!

We are escorted to the tower that is completely walled in, and surrounded by protective golems. More golems are inside, we make our way around the golems and go up to the room with the eye in it. Golems surround the eye. I ask for them to be moved, and recite the poem, an angel comes into view. I try to talk to it, it does not answer although it does seem to be listening. I then explain what we are doing and ask for a feather from it’s wing – it disappears – in it’s place, the “feather”.

Sudar - the “stick”

Noting that the Sudarians are now mainly in the swamp areas of Norden, we go in search of a guide to show us around the second level hinges of Sudar. On Norden we bump into Kars, a Sudarian. He is reticent at first as no-one is supposed to go back there, we said it would be just a quick tour and he can come back as soon as he has taken us to all the hinges.

With mind counterspells on all of us, we portal hop. TDP’s locate always points north – so it’s on the first level, but not in the city. We portal to Keshah’s portal at the top of the stairs (it was still there). TDP’s locate takes us round to the skeleton we met before, it has a stick sticking through it’s eye and pinning to the ground – I don’t remember it being there before! It’s a stick of summoning. Keshah finds out that it’s trapped - slightly before Ugbash says it is trapped.

With my protection from lightning ring, I get the stick into the “room”. We figure that two lightning strikes in the same area would get noticed, closely followed by some interested people and voidcruiser(s). So we portal to a hinge, then to Lorgos, quick trip to the Alleshim portal, and thence to Alleshim itself.

Surprise!, at Alleshim we are greeted by five evil creatures, obviously waiting for us. Apart from a cloven footed Rimstalker, there is an Orc, a skeleton, one of the illusionary animals (that I suspect is not illusionary), and something that can only be described as a stick-man. They obviously came from the Ziggarut that was parked at the end of the pier. As did a vampire that came out in vapour form during the battle.

We are blasted by magic, mostly Necromantic specials so it’s just as well my Necromantic special counter spell went off first time. We hold off against the magic, although some does get through. I hold off the 2-handed sword wielding Rimstalker until Thorn and Amelia join in to finish it off. Having realised that their magic was running low, we were about to go on the offensive when they started to dissappear in lond bangs, smoke and lightning. Obviously Alleshim had heard what was going on and decided to pay a visit!. Keshah managed to flick the Rimstalker’s sword away just in time. As the Rimstalker was right next to me when it went, I got caught in the blast, nearly dying in the process.

We get together and perform the ritual, Alleshim and friends are released. Well we assume they are as we awake on the grassy plains of Norden, with a glowing blue-eyed Lord Shaygin. We are somehow changed by the experience, our dreams appear to have been granted. We talk to a disoriented Lord Shaygin, having so many questions to ask him, when someone asks how we are going to get back to the Guild. Lord Shaygin has obviously been influenced by Alleshim, as he waves his hands and there we are – outside the guild. Here ends the story of the freeing of the Plane Builders, and hopefully the start of some retribution against the Calimar!

Note

No planes were seriously damaged during the unfolding of this story, but several party members and lots of Sudarian hench-things were.

Important Facts

Our mission was to the hourglass plane of Sudar as described in Aqualina’s Seagate Times article, “The Seven Hourglass Planes” (Issue 25, Winter 799, pages 4-5).

The Seven Hourglass Planes

The seven Planes are: Norden, Lorgos, Virym, Chos, Kerax, Eradin, Sudar.

General

Anyone flying over 50 ft gets zapped by lightning. There is usually a forest outside the central city. Apes on any of these planes are sentient and can give astrology readings, we never met any, I think they live in the forests.

1st Level

There is a central city on the 1st, 1 mile in radius/diameter? A grinding noise comes from the tower – the world spins around! The houses are basically two-storey, one room above the other. The centre of the city is a market - at first it seems strange to have a market at the highest point, but apparently all the travelling is done by portal. From the cobble-stoned market place that surrounds the central tower, the ground slopes away to the city wall, 50-60’ high.

From the walls a mile long causeway traverses the moat (in reality a small lake). Then there is a mile of forest, and then the edge of this level. At the edge of the forest there is a 1000’ high cliff that marks the boundary of this level. The trees are more stunted around here, it’s colder and a small breeze blows. There is a building at the top of a long flight of stairs to the next level.

2nd Level

Maze at the second level extends from the base of the edge under the third level. Corridor are 8’ by 4-5’ wide – similar construction to the city above. The maze is complex, direction choices are presented every 30’, taking about 3 days to reach the centre. The centre of the maze is a big hemispherical room, the walls of which contain the runes that control that particular plane. Lord Shaygin reckons that reading these will let him know how the planes were made!

Alleshim

The eighth plane, was found by us, probably the first, and certainly the linchpin of the other seven hourglass planes - he created the "network". The sarcophagus of Alleshim is located at the centre of the island, an island of 500 m diameter and 15 ft high, no sky, no horizon - just grey. The greyness that surrounds the island in fact is also under the island – if you dig deep enough you will fall through! A 30 strip of grey sandy beach rings the island with a silver-grey wooden jetty off to one side. The jetty has a permanence on it “that cannot be forgotten”. Real fire will not work on this plane – it wasn’t programmed in.

Norden

Each midday a heavy storm passes around the plane. Soldiers wear blue tabards and when we saw them they were pulling big cross bows on wheels, they appear to be drilling. 2nd level = rolling grasslands, with lots of nomads and beeves (sort of cow). Occasional copse of trees. Note that Grendel the mind mage is teaching the nomads military training. The nomad tribes are named after their dangerous foes – ie Bear, Wolf, and Manticore. 3rd level = swamp (swamp bunion type trees) where the ex-Sudarians are making their home, portals are on top of towers with wooden stairs and guard rails.

Lorgos

After the flood, the water level has dropped. The 1st level, is now all land all the heavy duty cleaning work is done by Golem statues ordered by Lord Shaygin. During the troubles, the Lorgosians had people blocking the portals during the night to stop Sudarian undead from coming over. Lorgosian soldiers wear green tabards. 2nd level is now a 30ft deep fresh water ocean, and the portals are now surrounded by a stone circle forming an island. 3rd level is a salt water ocean controlled by the Viryms – mind mages who don’t want land dwellers in their territory. They say they don’t like fresh water, and they are not sighted there, but they are Mind mages, so who knows?

Virym

2nd level

grassy plane with Lorgosian refugees from when Lorgos was flooded,

3rd level

ocean with Viryms.

Chos

Completely frozen – thawing out?

Kerax

The desert plane, inhabitants known for their fine cloth.

Kerax

Very bright, but shouded by mist visiblity about 100 ft. occupied by the “people of the mist” apparently was a fairly recent occurrence.

Sudar

Covered by darkness, undead roam the place. Declared off-limits by the Calimar who are in the process of “cleaning it up” - mainly by having several “altered”, “frail” humans who can drain undead when attacked. The Dark priests of Sudar are bald, dark skinned, have a rune emblazoned on their chest, and can fly with impunity from the lightening bolts that strike flyers down - rings of protection from Lightening Bolts. The ones we met tended to use investeds rather than innate magical abilities.

Portals

The central portal is a large building off to one side of the central tower. It is of three stone walls with pillars in place of the fourth wall. There are “arrow slits” high in the walls. Inside is a large room with a large dias in the middle, this is the portal. Place your hands on the dias, visualise the destination and utter the magic word “Alleshim”, and portal!. “Alleshim” will trigger all portals. Both the known and the unknown.

Although some portals only go to one place, most go anywhere within planes and between planes. Another thing about the portals is that if someone is occupying the other end to where you want to go to, you won’t go.

Characters

Lord Shaygin

Lord of Lorgos, a water mage. His mission in life is to find out where and how the planes came into existance. He is aware that the Calimar are the “keepers” of the plane and has even studied at Calimar libraries. Shaygin knows how to Plane Walk, he creates a blue glowing crack in the air and prizes it open slipping through and holding the hand of any passenger(s). Shaygin expects that the suit we find will tell him about the origins of the planes. He and Lord Sern have a magical doorknob each – which gives them an escape route to a shared off-plane room.

Lord Sern

Lord of Norden, we didn't meet him.

Lord Garn

Lord/ex-Lord? of Sudar, apparently the nemesis of anything and everything on the 8 planes. Never actually met,but we were hit by many curses that involved doing something in the service of Lord Garn.

ex-Lord Arundel

Lord of Lorgos before Shaygin apparently went to the 8th plane he managed to get out – he didn’t talk about it. I know, and I’m not telling.

Plane Builders

Namely Alleshim, Norden, Lorgos, Virym, Chos, Kerax, Eradin, and Sudar. They are very strange, 3 of everything, arms, legs, eyes etc.

They were captured and told/compelled to build the 8 hourglass planes by the Calimar as “breeding” grounds for humans. Although the planes were designed by themselves.

They wanted to be free of their sarcophagi, as it was the Calimar that put them there against their will. They therefore hate the Calimar, and will hunt down the Calimar responsible.

Ritual to Free the Makers

Components

A component is located on each plane, identified by the GTN “Waking Dream”.

Plane	Component
Norden	Coin
Alleshim	Song
Chos	Knife
Sudar	Stick
Kerax	Claw
Lorgos	Name
Eradin	Blood
Virym	Feather

The Song (GTN: Waking Dream)

Find me the rose that will not die
The tree no axe can fell
The spring no summers drought shall dry
And this last miracle
Show me the wood, the timeless wood
Where tall and steadfast stands
“The lightenings quenched, the storms withstood”
A house not made with hands.

The Name (GTN: Waking Dream)

The shadow of my finger cast
Divides the future from the past
Before it sleeps the unborn hour
In darkness and beyond thy power
Behind its unreturning line
The vanished now no longer thine
One hour alone is inthy hands
The now on which the shadow stands 
KLESCH (ITN)

The Ritual

I give you a coin I made from a stone
I give you a song I stole from the dirt
I give you a knife from under the hills
And a stick that I stuck through a dead man’s eye
I give you a claw I ripped from a rat
I give you a name and the name is lost
I give you the blood from out of my veins
And a feather I’ve pulled from an Angel’s wing
I call you with names
I sumon with reason and I summon with rhyme
I open the way and I open the gates
I summon with the names of the old Lords
Chos, Sudar, Kerax, Eradin, Lorgos, Virym, Norden
From the dark they call you
Into the dark they call you
Coin and song, knife and stick
Claw and name, blood and feather
Here in the darkness
We summon you together