Characters:
Pomegranite The Treefallen, The Spymaster
Mielikki The Field Marshal, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate
Thicket The Grandmaster Terramorpher, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate
NPC: Granmarg The Striking Vanguard, The Boulderstruck, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate
Escape
Pomegranite came up with an excuse to separate Barbena from the rest; he wanted a dwarf to take a closer look at the stone of the step pyramid. He extended his cloak of Secrets to cover her as well, and the two returned to the base of the structure, where instead he asked her what she really knew about this place. She was still evasive, but admitted that, though she had never been here, the stonework appeared to be dwarven.
They returned, and Mielikki suggested they go back into the labyrinth and search for a way to drop the obelisk hanging from the ceiling. It should land directly on the sarcophagus, killing the necromancer and avoiding a difficult and lengthy battle. The others disagreed, and so they walked toward the step pyramid. When they reached the top of the first tier, they were blinded by a green flash, followed by a peal of thunder. They exchanged glances, Pomegranite remarked "Business as usual", and they continued up.
At the summit of the pyramid, they found that the sarcophagus was gone, and in its place was a smouldering hole. Garmnrag was chosen to step up to the edge and take a look, and he reported that it was pure black inside the pyramid. They tossed in a torch and it dropped, then bounced off of something invisible and halted. It took a moment to realize that this must be the same stone as the light-absorbing obelisk above the pyramid. After finding some rope, Garmnrag was lowered in, and purely by touch confirmed that this was just a rough hole. There was no hidden chamber he could find.
Pomegranite noticed a flickering from above and shouted for him to get out. The rockman was pulled free with no time to spare, and lightning boomed once more. Garmnrag lived, but his reinforced stone armor and nunchaku had been melted. Barbena attempted to manipulate the stone, but found it didn't react to her earth magic. With no other leads, the group then marched down the far side of the pyramid, where they found a dead-end. After a moment, Pomegranite discerned that there was a secret passage, which their prey had likely fled through.
Using the Path of the Moon, he found a circular pattern of bricks that were connected to a lock. With a bit of experimentation, he recognized the pattern he needed to press them in. Mielikki noticed that the pattern matched the constellation the Restful Maiden. Perhaps sleep was similar to death? Another bolt of lightning flashed behind them as the door swung open, and they filed in. A wide passage led to a spiral staircase going up. Pomegranite went up ahead while concealed by his cloak of Secrets, but couldn't go more than a half turn in advance without being in pure blackness.
Round and round they climbed the staircase, for an indeterminate amount of time. Finally, their legs burning, they arrived at a dead end. Pomegranite swiftly found another concealed door, this time with no lock at all, and opened it to reveal a round chamber of white stone that reeked of rotten fish. Ankle deep silt covered the floor, and there were staircases leading up as well as down. Unlike the rest of the Labyrinth, Barbena could trivially manipulate the earth here.
As the passages down looked to be filled with knee-deep fetid water, they went up instead, and found an exit letting in natural light. They emerged to find themselves on a hillside, with a dirt road leading off into the east. Through the haze of dust thrown up by the battle, Segreta was visible in the distance, and from behind they could hear sea birds and the crash of waves. Hans Hessen spotted some footprints surely belonging to the necromancer, but they soon led to a river, where they had waded in, and the trail went cold.
Moving On
Abandoning the hunt for now, Barbena raised a step bridge from the depths for them to cross, and the champions returned to their forces in Segreta. The undead were no longer being controlled, and the ghost had never returned after one of its hit and run attacks. They learned that Thicket had been severely injured by the ghost, his spine twisted and his skin deathly pale. Mielikki requisitioned troops and had them search the river and coastline for anywhere the necromancer might have washed up. Several squads were also dispatched into the Labyrinth, in case they had been misdirected.
There was some debate over whether the ghost was Eros, God of Destruction and the Sea or just some kind of spectral undead. Granmarg asked why they thought it was a god, and Pomegranite said that it was strong. Staring into the distance, Granmarg rubbed his chin and muttered "Strong like the sea, of course...". The scouts returned, and Hans Hessen compiled their reports: there was no trace of the necromancer or the ghost.
Mielikki put forward the idea that they raze what was left of the city. They couldn't hold it due to the energies from the Path of Death permeating the region, the necromancer could easily come back here and use it as a base, and it was already mostly destroyed. There was some concurrence from those present, but Edelina, as Triumvirate Empress of the League, strongly objected. She was far more invested and argued the others down, and so they departed for Baronde.
On the journey the effects of the death magic steady waned, grew again as they neared Liguria, and faded away entirely as they neared Baronde. The halfling army greeted them, and reported that only a few refugees had turned up since they had taken up position on the border. A decision was quickly reached to patrol the borders of the League to ensure that the domain of the Path of Death did not expand, and that no undead traveled into the other provinces. The refugees would be sent to Tauschun, and Edelina petitioned the College to investigate the Death energies, so that the province might be restored.
Mielikki noticed that while everyone else was sick and wounded, Edelina had not a hair out of place and appeared fully hale. She also continued to avoid mentioning the assassination of her god, Astraeus, which was odd. In addition to Edelina, the earthlings and Ulrich supported the investigation into the Path of Death, while Curzo stressed that they should focus on the Void Beast. King Barrend initially sided with Curzo, but Mielikki convinced him to switch his vote and the motion carried. For now, the research into the Void portals would be put on hold.
While the others discussed, Pomegranite consulted with Curzo on the subject of the portal to "Terra's realm" in Bedrock. In reality, it was likely the Path of Earth, which, according to Imperial Cosmology, lay beside the Path of the Void. This could mean it would be a potential staging ground for the battle with the Void Beast. Curzo was open to the idea, but was unsure how to convince Mielikki and Thicket, both arch-conservatives who were unlikely to allow the unfaithful into the home of their god. Perhaps they could be convinced by Emperor Uthemar?
With autumn approaching, and no sign of their prey, the Triumvirate decided to split up. Pomegranite made an arrangement with Ulrich to coordinate their spy network. Thicket and Mielikki, meanwhile, would go with the dwarves to get their logistics and command structures more integrated. Granmarg would head to the Highland Forests; someone had to be there. Just before they left, however, a group of messengers arrived from the elves with news that scuttled all of their plans.
The gods Consus and Carmenta had attacked the Elven Forest. It had been razed, and Theren had been slain in an ambush. Uthemar still lived, and the surviving elves were now coming to the Highland Forests.
Notes:
On finding the secret door, Mielikki asked "What's the word for 'friend' in dwarvish?" Pomegranite insists there is no such word, but they do have fourteen words for treachery.
They failed to figure out what kind of magic the green light is, so for now it is being referred to as the Path of Battery Acid.
The squads that went into the Labyrinth are clearly the online coop live service version of this game.
Barrend and Morkral rolled to see how they did in the fight with the ghost and did very well, so we determined that Thicket blocked the spell with his body to save them. Truly a hero.
Mielikki's player was actually the one to pitch the use of the Path of Earth as a staging ground, but obviously his PC as a conservative zealot could not support such a plan.
No comments:
Post a Comment