Where Have All The Gryphons Gone?

Summary

Adventure: Where Have All The Gryphons Gone?
GM: Jeff Ledra
Season: Autumn 805 WK

Party

Sally playing Dawn – leader, scribe
Martin playing Mortimer – military scientist in sieges
Brent playing Bozo – military scientist in aerial/skirmish
Sue playing Kin
Miles playing Garrick
Andrew playing Kit

Employer: Dawn

Scribe Notes

Background

In 803 the adventurer previously known as Thistle Foote, and also as Mary-Jane returned to the Seagate Adventurer’s Guild following her ten year absence. During this decade she had been living with a pride of gryphons at Mount Desai, due west of Seagate, on the southern peninsula of Confederation Bay.

Last year Dawn came back from Earth with a friend, namely a huge Sea Eagle from the Isles of Arran, called Carrick, who is interested in seeing new worlds and places, and like the idea of meeting mythological creatures, so decided to come to Alusia. Since last Spring, Dawn spent quite some time flying around Confederation Bay and to sea with Carrick, with him giving her instruction about diving for fish (got used to the taste of them raw), then taking off from sea. A month or so ago (?) they decided to visit her old 'friends' the gryphons, and found them missing.

Went back to Seagate to Mortimer and asked him to do a tarot reading divination and whatever else he can on the area. We three flew over and discovered the presence of a portal.

Dawn did astrology readings on "Where have the gryphons of Mount Desai gone ?" and "How do we get them back ?”. Refer later.

The astrology answer indicated getting a group together for further investigation so Mortimer approached his friend Kin. On a visit to her family's home in Stonesboro, Dawn found Bozo has returned from Terra Nova, and invited him along.

Dawn thinks Mortimer invited Garrick, Mortimer probably thinks Dawn invited Garrick, we don't really know how he got there, but are too polite to ask.

Since five didn’t quite seem enough, Dawn also invited a man she’d met flying a ship in Confederation Bay, who introduced himself as Kit.

Mount Desai Portal

At the head of the valley near the caves in which the gryphons used to live a sphere hovered 75 feet above the ground. A magical pattern, which needed to be traversed like a maze, lay around it. The remaining duration of the portal numbered in hours. It was tempting the gryphons to go through, and they found it irresistible. The destination of the portal was variable, but gave the impression of the gryphon homeland. The gold from their nests which they had attempted to take was scattered on the ground beneath the portal – this was looted when we returned with Merlin, tracks from the mouth of the valley indicated a local destination.

A dead orc-dwarf flesh golem (Alusian, necromancy) was found near Jarred and the tracks seemed to fit 4 or 5 of these creatures.

Jarred the lone gryphon we found crying in pain in the home caves. The others had gone through gradually. Jarred had been away from the caves, when he returned he fought with the golem (which was poisonous to him when eaten). Jarred had just managed to kill the golem – had thought it might have come from the portal. His wings had been broken in the fight, which meant he couldn’t fly through the portal, though was still very keen to do so. We skin changed him into rabbit, then he was carried through by Dawn.

Plane of Rings

Creation & History

This is a world created by a Universe Maker (also encountered in an Icefall adventure). At the time of creation security measures ensured portals to the plane did not allow weird/strong magical persons to enter. (We got in by not using its portal, but with the help of Merlin adapting Bozo’s hat portal.)

There are 6 Rings of the world:

Middle Ring: that we arrived onto.
God Ring: where the gods & goddesses reside
Dead Ring: where one goes when one dies
Hot Ring: with warmer temperatures, Jungles, strange people and creatures
Ghost Ring: world which either wasn’t fully made, or has been destroyed. Parts of the world are unjoined.
Lost Ring: with no way of making contact with, any more

The Universe Maker Workshop apparently at the centre, well guarded by wards etc, where one would/could change the rules of this universe.

Travelling between the rings – need to visit the philosophers in Kaf to find out how.

Suggestions of buying drugs in Merchant City, to do a body-swap holiday.
When a pacted person dies they go to the god plane.
tin can over the edge, usually the occupant survive and return, journey takes months. The Ancients used to use “Gates”.
There have been three Armageddons in its history. The last one was many generations ago.
Armageddon I was a take-over by another Universe Maker, who imported alien human races to fight for him. Ruins of the first civilisation are in the mountains.
Current Ring Master is called Deep Shight.
Some First Born entities are now gaseous, sentient constructs.

Gods

There are two types of Gods, which the people worship and believe in, and thus create, in a similar nature as Practising, but on a bigger scale. See also later section on God Ring.

Old Gods

Benevolent, world caretakers, in the decline when we arrived

Ardhat, Goddess of Justice & Vengence: uses gryphons as her servants. Is infallible when passing judgement on others, but has (and did admit) to personally making mistakes.
C'lle , God of Life: very beautiful bright awesome dude. 7’ tall, golden hair. No sense of humour.
God of Death: a chilling cold feeling in his presence.10’ tall seemed to be made of leaves joined together. Wanted his Mandle Tree back from Life.
God of Knowledge: weakened by attacks of new gods, has sense of humour.
Goddess of Harmony
God of War
God of Peace
God of Sea
God of Mountains: Sleen – destroyed by a new demonic god.
Child of Sleen (possibly co-parented by said demonic god): sleeping/hibernating/suppressed at the ruin, but has liquorice strap like connection from under the rocks to the Pool of Incubation. Best weapon is Tentacle of Disintegration. Some faction is trying to rouse him, which would then

eat/destroy the world? Faction led by the Universe Maker displaced by Armageddon I ?

New Gods

Brutal, evil, uses sacrifices, coerces people into becoming a follower. Priests of the new gods rank themselves in order to twenty, the greater the rank, the greater their power.

Iemi, new god of Vengence and destruction.
Gods of War, Death, Destruction & Vengence, Sea, Fire etc

There was a Fight between the Old & New Gods of War. The New God dealt a killing blow to the Old God, and thought he had won, and began his winner posturing. Meanwhile a goddess healed the Old God, who in turn killed the New God. His screams as he died created a rift in the Rings which some demonic gods found their way through, wreaking mayhem and ruin in the world, but they have since been killed (?)

Middle Ring

Physical Description

We arrive through the modified hat portal and the gryphon is no longer with us. Everyone else seems ok, with gear and abilities apparently intact. We are greeted by a lone boy, Liskel (?8yrs).

The plane appears to be an inside of a wedding ring, and we arrive against one edge of it, with mountains lining the edge along on our left. The forward and backward views are disconcerting as the ‘horizon’ slopes up. Towards the right (‘east’) farmland/plains go on. In the centre is a bright ‘sun’, with a rainbow-ish halo. It gradually dims, over half an hour, to become night (?10 hours long). A small band of stars appear over the mountains, and lights of cities/towns appear above us. A blue glowing area is also visible – some natural feature, perhaps the sea?

Wind that flows over the edge are dispersed, which would explain, not just the thinning of air at high altitudes, but its absence. Apparently there was a huge tin with people in it successful thrown off the edge at some stage. The mountains are always cold, other places’ weather remains constantly average.

A rite of passage is to view the edge, special breathing stuff is required. Plants, animals, peoples seem to be gathered from other planes ?dozen different named planes noted. Although they may have been born on this Plane of Rings, they still have racial association to the other plane.

Races

Races met are human, human-ish, mist wolf, shapechanger wind(?)hobbits,. Also refer to elf, dwarf, dragon, roc, miniature earth elemental. Alien races are those introduced after Armageddon I.

Kresti: are alien humans with large crests on their heads, live in cities in the desert, attack & eat humans for fun – a risk of sequin gathering. .
Flewer: 7’ tall lizard-like, wearing clothes, lives singularly in caves.
Floot: similar to Flewer, but 5-6’ tall, live underground, and use Flootmen as servants/pets (also Flootgirls who never develop into women).
Flootmen: pale skinned wearing dark cloaks & wide brimmed hats. Have a penchant for collecting artefacts and historic items – quite possibly from decanting knowledge from it’s owner with violence – we didn’t investigate fully – the Flootmen we

talked to were telling us truths, but trying to deceive us.

Firstborn: giant gaseous form/cloud that live (and travel between) between the rings. We summoned Lial Firstborn via a scroll given to us by her friend, the Chancellor of the Unseen University.
Gelwick: live at Kachang in the territory of Yoch, which we didn’t visit. Small green wizards, very adept magic users. Have human slaves called Yochmen, who like to paint their skin green too.

Currency

is in sequins – small ‘coins’ found in the Kresti Desert, magically imbued to not be counterfietable, and leaking mana somewhat. Quite probably left over from an earlier civilisation destroyed in an Armageddon. A small pile glows. 10 yellows = 1 red. 1 silk scarf ? 30 sequins. Metal is very scarce.

Nature of Practising

The people of the plane seem to have an ability to create things by Practising them. The more one Practises, the better quality the item becomes. Conversely, if one stops Practising, the quality lessens.

Estimated that Mortimer’s shirt, if unpractised, would be in tatters after 5 weeks. Some things deteriorate more quickly than others, the edge of weapons being one of the fastest. Gear & clothes we had were considered family heirloom quality. For example, to create an axe, a stone is tied onto a stick, then used in an axe manner, and it will become an axe, of a material that we didn’t recognise.

Different people Practise different things more adeptly. An item can become Fixed, which makes the quality level permanent – similar to shaper. A Fixer - Kyall is a different race of humans, living secretly in the mountains, sometimes referred to as witches, shy of giving their names – refer to themselves as Someone of No Consequence etc. Potions seem to work, but are slow acting. Our magically shaped gear seems unaffected, but non-magical stuff deteriorates.

Blue Moop

Blood Angels will come and ‘take you away’ if your Moop levels become too high. As one gathers Moop (perhaps by casting bad-magic), it can become visible, glowing blue. Blood Angels are humans, with skin the colour of fresh blood, and white feathered wings. Padua suggests Moop does not accumulate when using “permitted magics”. A defence mechanism to stop powerful out-of-world entities taking over control of the Rings. Selected members of the unseen university may transfer their own moop to other people. Bozo learnt how to so this.

Places We Visited

We arrive in the Barony of Dardane. There are villages about 10 miles apart, and a couple of towns, which have roads connecting them to a castle. Vehicles on the roads don’t have wheels, apparently sledge-like, drawn by horses. The Baron is “Bad”, plotting to overthrow the king. He takes prisoner locals to Practise for him, creating stuff; also Fixers. He has an ‘old mage’ necromancer in his employ, plus another ‘young mage’. Baron’s guards wear black, round shields, fine weapons. Triggered some sort of sensing magic – radiating ?300’.

Ruins of Klun-hi in the mountains created (not built) from stone, for human scale. Only a few buildings remain at the centre of a much bigger complex. A scummy pool of water has a magical nature of Incubating Creature. High mana zone, and magic cast has an extra element to it, like a cherry on top of a cake.

Mer City A long standing trap for male sailors of the area. Inhabitants sing irresistibly, men go underwater to live with them. Unless fed to many-tentacled-sea creature, as was the Princess’ fate. Area also controlled by Sea-Witch, which enabled the men (& us) to breath the water. Has many powerful water magics, and herd of killer whales for added protection. Snuck past her invisible, left her sleeping.

Isles of Clouds Home of Princess Fin, and where Niles the Monk & Padua were expelled from the monastery after Niles killed the Prince monk who was defending Padua the cat from Niles’ attack. Fin’s father King Wasseler is the current ruler, but under the influence of those favouring the new gods. We didn’t visit. Padua was a white cat who talked, (sometimes in quite a sarcastic manner), was pacted with Goddess of Hearth & Home. Attached to our party because we fed it fish. Managed to sent us home – back to our hearths.

KAF CITIES Each city has a speciality and is named after it, such as City of Warriors, Truth, Mages, Philosophy, Merchants. Knowledge, University, Equality, as well as the Lost City, and Perfect City.

We visited:

City of Merchants: A hot Moorish style city, full of street vendors constantly harassing passer-bys with items to sell. A lack of sequins on our part put many of them off. An underground Hobbit movement. Run by different merchant Houses. An official landing zone in the city, with a ward over the city against flying or anything to upset trade. Showed a couple of burnt buildings, from ruckus with new god fanatics. We visited Alambril House, (which specialises in air combat weapons, popular in the Isle of Cloud against flying pirate ships, (including long ranged Cleansing magic which stop the flying temporarily)) , where the daughter Rosa was a good friend of Princess Fin. Rosa was under compulsion to stay at home, and enjoy the company of Niblick, who had usurped her father’s position when he failed to return from City if Sages a month previous. Niblick used to be head of security for the merchant house, is a very rude man, and uses mind mage(s) on Rosa. We left her in her compelled state for her safety, but with Rosa in company to stop her marrying Niblick, until we returned her father. When we returned with the father Fin had already dealt with Niblick, and Rosa happy again.
City of Sages.: a walled city which appeared quite old & well practised/maintained, with a gate in each wall. Under control of the New Gods, the gates close 6am to an hour before dusk, and a curfew in place. A couple of weeks prior to our visit the Chancellor was replaced with a new gods supporter. Any researchers adhering to old gods and associated idea/beliefs had been removed from the University, to become guards, public housekeepers etc. The more degrees one use to have, the worse this demotion. Possibly an underground Poets movement.
Unseen University: a philosphical grouping of academics, with access to the God of Knowledge’s library (see later). The Chancellor is an immortal, who abdicated to Kit once we passed the entrance test/contest. The abdication was not an unknown occurrence – leads to flushing out of insubordinate subordinates – in this case the vice chancellor who had turned to the new gods. Vengence was wreaked on him The chancellorship was passed to White Crow when we left.

Death Ring

The domain of the God of Death. Is composed of several different terrain, but we visited his favourite – a forest of eerily dead trees, with the ground covered in dead leaves. Very cold place. Death is very attuned to any resurrection that happens here (it’s not a good idea) – and will appear to find out why. If you think you’re dead here, then you will be.

God Ring

Is covered with many mountains , each of which is a domain of a different god/dess. Each has its own architectural style/atmosphere. We visited:

Life: A narrow bridge approaches the gate. Many heroes retired here. Lovely place. Many gardens – Life offered us a Persimmon fruit to counter our time in the Death Ring.
Justice: Austere Turreted style castle, with many big arches windows (large enough for Gryphons to fly through). Swords, scales and Gryphon imagery abounds in the decorations. Surrounding mountains have fine gryphon playground caves etc.
Knowledge: fortress under repair. Many large guards present outside – perhaps in reaction to the attack Knowledge had recently suffered from New Priests. We were allowed to enter the Library to gain one piece of knowldege. This was sort of inside the god’s mind. Each person saw it / interpreted it in their own way. Such as an a library of infinite number of books, a forest with leaves of knowledge all over the ground, a pub with infinite bottles waiting to be imbibed. We all appear there together though, and listen to the instruction book. One defines the categories of of knowledge on is looking

through, asks the question, then is transported to where that knowledge is stored. One falls unconscious as one absorbs it. The greater the knowledge, the longer one is out for. Getting back to the entry gate may be difficult due to its size and disorientation. If the piece of knowledge one sought was too too much for that person (also willpower dependant) then their brain was damaged and death ensued. Have a assistant/guard/follower helps avoid this. Healers outside the librabry are used to resurrection and brain regeneration – but memories are dodgy, and quite possibly not one’s own.

Rift: no mana, cold yucky place, (no wonder the demons were escaping out of it during the War Gods Duel). Had a construct of lifeforce who wanted to have afternoon tea with us, and didn’t want the cat to send us back to our hearth (on behalf of his Goddess).

Finding the Gryphons

When we got there Roual, the alpha male of the gryphon group, was hung in a cage above the gate.

However was not a normal looking gryphon, he had his plumage coloured as per the astrology reading Dawn had done, and could talk common, and had more intelligence, even considering he was the leader. He was also obviously tired, battered, hurt and yet not despondant. We talked with him and others from the Alusian gryphon pride, and got the story that the Godess of Justice had raised him to a greater level of being, in return she demanded/comanded that he go and smite the new gods on her behalf. Roual had refused to be commanded and took the brunt of her anger, hence was caged up.

We asked for an audience with the Godess, which was granted, with the party on warning not to offend her. Dawn couldn’t resist pointing out to the Godess her faults regarding Roual, but with Mortimers suave summary of the points of Justice of allowing individuals the right to choose their actions, and the power doing things for love rather than by command.

We finished with the last astrology reading – (spoken in the first person, of loving it so much and to let the gryphon go, because to keep it caged will kill it).

We were dismissed from our audience rather than being smote out of hand, which was a good sign. We were attended upon by attendees of the order. While the others conversed, Dawn talked with one of them, and consequently accepted the opportunity to become a shapechange gryphon, like Roual.

The goddess agreed to let Roaul free, upon which he agreed to lead the gryphons in the attack to reclaim the old gods from obscurity. (He later to promised to return to Alusia to be with Dawn when he had completed that role.) In recognition of the loss of gryphons from Mount Desai, the godess gave a dozen gryphon eggs into the keeping of Dawn to reinstate that pride. The eggs were subsequently blessed by the God of Life, which may or may not affect their appetite (Dawn was aiming for them to become omnivourous fish eaters, rather than mammal eaters because of her own life aspect.)

The party helped out the gyphons in their first attack on the Kaf cities’ new temples. Then Kit resigned as chancellor form th unseen university, and we went to visit Rose tinted to get back to Alusia of the edge of the plane. The cat came with us, as he was a follower of the goddess of Hearth, and could banish us to our own Hearth once we were between the planes. Dawn was banished first with Bozo’s hat, which he would then appear in. There was somewhat of a time pressure in the banishing, as we were under attack. But we all made it back to our own home ... just in time.

Diary of Events

Prelude Dinner at Alfonses in Seagate to meet up and discuss the situation, stay the night at Mortimer’s.

Day 1

Meet at the guild in morning to inform them of our mission. Further astrology readings/discussions of what to take through the portal. Meet visiting philosopher Merlin, then head out to Mt Desai with him. Meet lone injured gryphon, Jarred. After lunch use Bozo’s hat with Merlin’s help to go through portal to the Plane of Rings. Meet boy Liskell, fly a bit, then chat with his mother at home. Fly up to ruins in mountains, chat wind, see Mist-Wolf, see Child of Sleen. Fly back to plains to camp.

Day 2

Over breakfast rescue Kyla from guards, chat, fly her back towards her home, introduced with Mist-wolf, Tree Claw. Fly East towards Kaf, over Kresti Desert. Camp amongst rocks before we reach the Sea. Sleep interrupted at midnight by lizard man thing. Padua the Cat introduces himself to us.

Day 3

Summon Cloud and fly towards the Isle of Clouds, but divert to rescue Princess Fin and Niles the Monk from underwater mermaid colony and sea witch. Notice curse “Attraction to Ground” – possibly got from Kresti whilst flying over the desert Day 2. Instead fly onto Merchant City and meet Fin’s friend Rosa, of Alambril House. Harassed by many street traders, begin spreading word of Gryphons making a comeback. Fly onto City of Sages.

Gates closed (dawn to dusk), talk with guard somewhat, then camp outside. Sneak into City, rescue Rosa’s father from a tree-succubus. Kill a New Priest as we leave the city – vengence is wreaked by a small explosion destroying a block of houses and their occupants. Fly away.

Day 4

Fly until daybreak, then breakfast and sleep in an inn outside Merchant City. Return to Alambril House to celebratory feast that night. Go Shopping to spend our sequin reward. Arrange to meet Flootman representative of the Flooters.

Day 5

R&R in Merchant city, until evening fly to City of Sages for our Midnight Meeting, and subsequent testing for entrance to the Unseen University. 1) how to deal with old university flunkey. 2) present a strategy to overthrow reign of the New Gods.

Day 6

Testing continues – 3) storytelling in the afternoon market square. 4) Sailing Ship race. 5) Speech “Why should the other team win?”

Day 7

Meeting with Flootmen – trade small info for more portal locations, decline to enter their territory.

Day 8

Begin portal trek to Harmony, decline to enter combat with illusionist/New Gods priests/mind controlled locals.

Day 9

Portalling & Flying across the Ring aiming to portal to Life. Trout triggers portal to Death.

Day 10

Visit Life, then Death again, then Life again. Cloud to Justice

Day 11

At Justice – first Vengence raid.

Day 12

Visit Knowledge

Day 13-15

Personal business with various gods. Cat recovering.

Day 16-23

Summon first born Liel Rose-tinted. Cloud to the rift.

Day 24

Returned to our Hearth, regroup at Seagate. Debrief at guild

Astrology Readings

Where have the gryphons of Mount Desai gone?: Where have all the gryphons gone?; Gone to their maker, all but one.; Where all the makers gone?; Gone to a ring, but fading now,; Where have all the rings gone?; Gone to new beliefs, not everyone,; Where have the old beliefs gone?; Gone, to gryphons, every one.

How do we get them back?: Assemble a group of valiant friends; Prepared to leave their gold behind them,; With powers outside the pattern ordained; Follow the Gryphons’ trail to racial home; Servants of the practise of belief; (The retribution of Justice, some would say); Persuade, fight, practise, compel, wait?

Ode for the Godess of Justice & Vengence: The gryphon slept upon the sand as I walked out one morning; And there beneath the silver strand I spied him without warning; His splendour woke desire in me, I vowed that I would have him.; Of all the powers in the world, not one of them could save him.; But no cage was ever made to hold a creature such as he.; No chain was ever forged to bind the wind.; And when I think about all the scars he left on me,; The cruellest are the ones I bare within.; Softly I crept near to him, bound him in a subtle cage; I trapped him with my sorcery, but it only woke his rage.; He clawed me with his weapons, intelligent and skilled,; With raking claw and fiery eye, and the fury of his will.; Our battle raged from gentle dawn until the bloody eve.; He cut me twice I bound him still beyond his hope to leave.; Though he weakened in my power still, the victory was mine.; I feared that he would kill me still for the freedom of his kind.; At last he stilled his struggles, and lay down upon the sand.; His pelt was smeared and matted, his feathers limp and fanned.; But his eyes were fierce with hatred and I knew that he would die; If I chained him with my passion and kept him from the sky.; With ragged breath and anguished sigh I stroked his feathered head.; I pleaded that he understand the words that I had said; For all the pain of loosing him, and the power I’d never know.; I broke the spell that held him there and I let the gryphon go.