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After Seamus and Vincent have left to make their way through the forest to Tymon, Howard helps Leonard back down the steps towards the Sellen Starling. Captain Skywind shakes her head dejectedly, as she looks at Howard and Leonard. ”I don't want any more incidents today. I would appreciate it if you just took care of Leonard, and both of you spent the rest of the trip in the cabin.“
Howard asks for the Vooniths to be allowed out, which Captain Skywind agrees, remarking that they were not part of the whole incident. The rest of the trip passes uneventfully. Howard spends his time in the cabin taking care of Leonard, crafting and in his free time, studying Lowl's journals. He hears that Captain Skywind and her crew fended off a winged bat ape, and helped a Senator Emilo Daldamane escape from a Gray Gardener, in Darbil.
Finally one of the crew knocks on the door and tells Howard that the are approaching Cassomir. Howard, after being stuck in the cabin for 68 days, takes a peek out.
A city towers at the edges of Blackwood Swamp. A mouth of rickety buildings grins like rotten teeth around a calm harbor crammed with vessels. A great castle overlooks this bay, proudly flying the flag of Taldor. Yet just beyond the dike that surrounds the city, the swampland gropes outward, hungrily drawing buildings into its belly.
The Vooniths help push their way through the crowd at the bustling docks, tapping people with their claws when they get too close. Howard tags behind them and manages to get himself and Leonard out of the hustle and bustle relatively unscathed. Monty, Siriss, Verdigris and Shesha bid Howard farewell – they have work to do if they're going to earn their planeshifts back to the Dreamlands.
Once out of the hustle and bustle of the docks, he finds a temple of Ioemdae, and drops Leonard into the care of their clerics. After that he asks around for a reasonably priced room, he finds out that Captain Skywind, for her valour in helping Senator Emilo escape – has been granted 5 years free docking in Cassomir. He finds out that rental of houses can be done at a place named “Budget Accomodations.” Following the directions he ends up in a smart looking office building named “Budget Accomodations.” The owner of the business, Davor, suggests a bricked cottage with a nice garden located in Abbey Green District at the rate of 5 silver pieces per day. After viewing the accomodations in question, Howard agrees to the price and rents the place.
The cottage itself has 2 bedrooms, a dining room, a kitchen (well stocked with cheese, ham, bread, sausages, potatoes and other root vegetables, as well as large supply of apples), and a bathroom. The interior of the cottage is whitewashed, with granite floors and oak funiture. The place does not look particularly inviting, but rather utilitarian. Howard unpacks his baggage then settles down in his new place.
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Howard's trip was... subdued.
Still reeling from the actions, and sudden disappearance of, Seamus and Vincent, he numbly accepted his voluntary exile within the cabin.
He did his best to keep Monty's spirits up, and to continue to teach the Voonith more Common, so they have a better chance of integrating with / surviving human society once he has moved on.
However, he was troubled.
Although he did not sleep, whilst meditating, he could feel a presence... not a corporeal entity, but a force that was barely on the edge of consciousness, a splinter in his mind that just would not go away.
Occasionally he would see scales overlain on the walls of the cabin, or catch the dry, acrid smell of reptilian flesh, or hear the faintest echo of a hiss... but when he turned around, or looked again, everything would be back to normal.
He did his best to throw himself into crafting, to take his mind off things (creating a beautiful cloak which shimmered like a cross between the night sky, and a dream made manifest, directing harm away from his body, and a simple headband of tanned star vampire hide, which enhanced his intellect), but it did not help; over time the splinter seemed to pierce deeper, and to fester. He started to hallucinate more and more frequently, seeing claws overlain upon his hands, seeing his flesh as supple reptilian scaled hide, and hearing a sibilant hiss when he spoke... but no-one else seemed to notice anything...
...until one day, nearly two months after the Fellowship failed, whilst meditating, he felt a sudden rush of euphoria, as something finally reached the critical mass necessary to achieve break through into his reality, and then Howard's perspective suddenly changed; he felt taller, and more powerful than before, literally seeing the world around him through new eyes.
Glancing down at his body, he saw the translucent outline of a heavily-muscled tauric reptile overlain upon his form, but it was more than an illusion - when he moved his hand, it was the shell's clawed fist that picked up the mirror, and enabled him to see the terrible serpentine visage that was now overlain upon his own... and enabled him to see the glowing silver crescent that was emblazoned upon his forehead.
Over the next few days, he discovered that he was able to dismiss the shell (although he could feel that it was... reluctant... to leave), and learned how to summon it back with a brief meditative trance (opening his mind to a force from literally beyond this reality could hardly be problematic, right?).
When the time came to disembark in Cassomir, Howard politely bargained for some spare clothes from the crew, and Claude changed into human form(clearly exhibiting similar aquiline features, dark hair, and blue eyes to those possessed by Howard), and donned the clothes so that he could move through Cassomir without attracting too much attention.
Finding the temple of Iomedae came as something of a relief; here, Howard was certain, were people that would look after Leonard properly, and give him a chance to find a more normal life again. He was sad to see him go, but knew that it was undoubtedly for the best.
As for himself, Howard was content with the cottage that Davor recommended; basic, it was true, but it was all that he needed in order to finally finish the tasks set out so many weeks ago.
We came too far. I cannot bare to let things go unfinished. It is time to see what lies in wait within the Dreamlands once more...
After casting his buff spells, and summoning his shell, Howard then conducted the ritual, Claude assisting as best he could...
Late at night, Howard begins the secret ritual, with Claude and himself sitting opposite sides of the room.
"We, The Seekers, are bound by a common purpose - the thirst for knowledge."
Howard then tosses the miniature ivory and horn staircase to Claude, who feels eager of its 70 steps.
""We have gathered this very night in order to open the gate to the Dreamlands."
Claude tosses the miniature ivory and horn staircase to Howard ,who feels eager of its 70 steps. The miniature ivory and horn staircase is now heavier.
"For beyond lies the knowledge we seek."
Howard tosses the ivory and horn staircase to Claude, who feels eager of its 70 steps. Claude realizes the staircase has now grown bigger.
"Let the portal open between this world and the Dreamlands."
Claude tosses the now glowing with faint yellow light staircase back to Howard,who feels each of its 70 steps.
Howard takes a deep breath, then drops the stairs case in the center of the room.
Howard feels the staircase sap his life energy. The party sees the staircase sinks into the granite floor, expanding to the size of a normal staircase and leads downwards into darkness...
Howard and Claude moves towards the staircase, and fall fast asleep the moment they touch it.
They find themselves falling through cold darkness…then nothing but falling through it.Then they find themselves standing in a vast and featureless desert, feeling the cool desert night air blowing against them, feeling slightly drained from the ordeal. The stars are sparkling and there is a full moon in the distance. He sees the familiar stone building in the distance.
Howard realizes that the journey into dreamlands has stripped him of his shell, and goes into a meditative trance to resummon it, with Claude standing guard as he does so.
After he has done so, he heads towards the stone building.
Howard realizes the doors are neither locked nor trapped, he opens the door and finds two decorative fountains are large basins held aloft by carvings of sleepwalkers. The fountains are full with a strange yellow liquid.
As he does so, he noticed the rustling of wings south of him, as he sees 6 nightghaunts, looking more muscular then those he saw in the asylum previously, take to the air flying for him and Claude.
Claude manages to swipe at a green Nightgaunt, while Howard rips his Nightgaunt into pieces.
The red Nightgaunt goes after Claude, while the yellow, purple and orange nightghaunts go after Howard. The yellow one reaches Howard but is unable to attack.
Claude is clawed twice by the green Nightgaunt and grappled and tickled, but he is not nauseated
The purple and orange nightgaunts claws bounce off Howard's tough reptilian shell.
Claude manages to claw at green the green nightgaunt on its wing once.
The green nightgaunt continues to try to maintain grapple on Claude, while red nightgaunt tries to attack the grappled Claude.
Howard does manage to shred the orange nightgaunt into little bits.
Seeing their previous attacks bounce off his reptilian shell, the purple nightgaunt moves up and Howard claws him on its thigh, then tries to grapple Howard. The yellow nightgaunt moves into a flanking position and tries to grapple Howard as well.
They both try to tickle the grappled Howard with their tails, but Howard is not nauseated.
Howard manages to rip purple apart, then lands a claw onto yellow.
Claude manages to slice green into two.
Red tries to claw into Claude, but not managing to grab onto him.
Yellow continues to grapple and tickle Howard, but Howard is not nauseated.
Howard rips apart yellow, then moves to help Claude , opening a wound in its back, sending yellow ichor oozing out.
It continues to maintain its grapple on Claude despite getting bitten and clawed by Claude.
It continues to tickle him, but Claude is not nauseated.
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Howard and Claude do a credible impersonation of a mincer...
...annihilating the remaining nightgaunt.
Howard clasps Claude's hand and grins.
"Yesss... well done. It isss good to occasionally let go..."
He then breaks out the healing flasks.
"That sssaid, you ssshould be more careful. perhapsss you should ussse that ssshield we found, yesss?"
Claude bares his teeth for a moment, before shrugging, nodding, and digging out the shield which he equips to himself.
Howard and Claude then move on to the next set of double doors.
As Howard opens the curtains he sees the back of the wall glow as he sees a glyph ignite, draining him and Claude's strength, but they both manage to resist it.
Wang Shan pops out from the other side of counter rather irate. "Which part of get out and don't come back again did you not understand?"
Howard and Claude, getting the hint, head in another direction down the hallway.
All of the tables, chairs and furnishings in this room have been shoved to the perimeter. A humanoid alien figure in tattered robes leads four eerie grey hounds that float in the air, similar to those that the party encountered earlier.
Howard realizes the hounds are Yeth hounds, with the shadow template. Howard realizes the humanoid is a denizen of leng, and they have resistance to electricity and cold, and have a dexterity draining bite and can sneak attack.
Howard lets loose into the denizen, then opens a deep gnash into blue.
Claude then tries to chomp off its head, but falls short.
The hounds start howling in unison.
Howard and Claude are not affected by the awful bays.
Howard rips both red and blue apart, while Claude manages to wound white.
The white hound tries to bite Claude, while the green hound takes a 5 ft step to bite Howard.
Howard makes short work of the green one, while Claude continues the tussle with white, with Howard helping finish the job.
Nothing jumps out at Howard as he moves swiftly past the baths.
The door into this room stands ajar, wedged open by a ledger that tumbled to the ground from within the room. On the short stretch of wall just north of this room, a secret door connects to a storage room in the courtyard. A steep staircase on the southern wall ascends.
Howard sees a lanky, grey skinned humanoid with fangs immaculately dressed with a sharply peaked collar and a tall top hat, pouring over a low table with ledgers scattered all over it and the floor as well. There is something rather disturbing about that humanoid. On seeing Howard enter, he raises up one long finger. "Dont take another step. I am coming close to deciphering the Supreme mathematical truths and if you step into the room, you're just going to mess up everything." He admonishes Howard.
"What do you mean I wasn't here before. I've always been here, and I've always been pondering the truth of numbers."The figure gives Howard an indignant look.
"Oh wait, since you're here, let us examine the divine truth of arithmetics together." The figure in the top hat exclaims, as he shows a grin full of pointed teeth. "If two bapples and 3 cherries cost 12 moolahs, and one banana and 2 cherries cost 11 moolahs, and 3 bapples and 4 bananas cost 37 moolahs, what is the cost of each bapple, each banana and each cherry?"
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Howard nods thoughtfully for a moment, before responding.
"Ah, basic algebra! It has been a while, but with three expressions and three unknowns, it is fairly elementary.
One bapple is worth (12-3xCherries)/2, one banana is worth 11-2xCherries. Given that one cherry is worth 2 moolahs (after solving for C), that means that one bapple is worth 3 moolahs, and one banana is worth 7 moolahs."
"Oh wow! That equation has been puzzling me for several weeks." His jaw drops open. "I guess I don't need all that, do I?" He gestures at the ledgers all over the floor sheepishly. He then starts collecting them into a neat pile, leaving the floor clear for Howard to step.
"I am in your debt for helping me solve the equation, as such, you may ask me a question, if you wish."The figure offers Howard.
”Oh that guy. Ahhh a denizen of Leng named Weiralai brought her retinue of goons and her dogs, and flyers. I have no idea why anyone would bother, he looks like some vagrant, really. Not at all of any consequence to the universe.” He sniffs disdainfully.
”You see, anyone of status would be dressed…properly. Like you know, tuxedos and tophats like me?” He gestures at himself proudly.
He continues rambling, ”Well, she asked me where would be a secure place to put him, and I suggested she should put him in the moon. You do know there’s a lunar prison there, don’t you?”
”So Weiralai went up there, and I haven’t seen them come down yet.” He shrugs indifferently. ”Now so long they keep out of my affairs, I’d keep out of theirs, and I’d recommend you do the same. You seem like a nice chap. It’d be a shame if anything untoward happened to you.”He clucks his tongue.
Howard hears the creature start puzzling yet another question out loud. "If lotus leaves double every day, at the end of 60 days the pond is covered fully with lotus leaves, at which day would half the pond be covered by lotus leaves?"
This office has plainly seen evidence of a fight since the party was last here: the landscapes hang askew on the walls and the chair is smashed.
Further, the door to area H11 stands ajar, one of its hinges broken.
Peeking around the stairwell, Howard sees two denizens of Leng not looking too happy at Howard's sudden intrusion.
Howard tears the first denizen of leng into bits with his claws, only to see the remains dissolve into nothingness. Claude looks grumpily at Howard for not having things to bite. The second one moves up to Howard and tries to bite him, only to land on a green shield.
Aside from the dark night sky and the area’s new inhabitant, a scaly, bird-like creature has a vaguely horse-like head and vast, slime-encrusted wings, with a truly magnificent Howdah on it, this rooftop appears the same as when it was described before.
He recognizes it as a giant shantak
Howard stretches out his magical senses and determines that the Howdah is a Howdah of leisurely travel.
The creature backs away from Howard, nervously giving high pitched squeaks like glass grating on stone. "Dwi ddim yn hoffi chi. Ewch oddi wrthyf!"
I don't like you! Stay away from me!
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Howard raises a placating hand.
"Peidiwch â phoeni. Rwy'n golygu nad oes unrhyw niwed gennych, oni bai eich bod yn ei olygu i mi. Yn wir, yr oeddwn yn meddwl a allwch chi fy helpu - fe welwch, hoffwn ymweld â'r carchar lun, ond mae arnaf ofn na allaf fynd yno yn rhwydd. Gyda'ch help, fodd bynnag, rwy'n dychmygu y byddai'n symlrwydd ei hun."
"Ydych chi'n iawn. Mae'r lleuad yn lle da i fynd, efallai y gallaf ddal i fyny gyda fy mrawd Shantak yno!" The creature agrees to take Howard to the moon.
Yes you're right. The moon is a good place to go, away from those nightghaunts. Maybe I can catch up with my brother Shantak there! If Weiralai gets pissed off, well I'm pissed off too after having to be near them for weeks!
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Howard nods sympathetically.
"Gallaf werthfawrogi y byddai'n blino. Ychydig iawn o bethau sy'n fwy llidus na chael eu cadw'n agos at rywbeth yr ydych chi'n ei odio. Diolch am y cymorth!"
"Ie, dylwn i alw iawndal am yr holl gam-drin hwnnw i'm eardrumau. Ond a fyddaf yn cael unrhyw beth? Na, oherwydd nad oes undeb gweithwyr Shantak!" The Shantak grouches.
Yeah I should demand compensation for all that abuse to my eardrums. But will I be getting anything? No,because there isnt a shantak workers union to fight for our rights!
The pale moon that hangs over the Dreamlands is small, but appears larger because it’s very close. Because of its proximity, it’s surprisingly accessible. The air between the Dreamlands and its moon is cold but breathable. Not that Howard or Claude care, being protected by the Howdah of leisurely travel. On the way, Howad spots ominous dark galleys travelling from other parts of Dreamlands to its moon, and spots and froglike moon-beasts on those galleys. He knows these moon-beasts are inhabitants of the moon who live in cities of pale, hard stone.
Upon arrival, the shantak descends quickly to the rocky surface of the moon. The terrain is stony and barren, with hills rising around a lake of dark, viscous fluid. A large, windowless building squats at the edge of the lake, constructed of enormous, close-fitting blocks of the pale stone from which the moon is formed. The building’s largest entrance pierces one end of the structure, with a smaller entrance to the side. The other end of the structure rises several dozen feet above the level of the lake like the humped back of a great stone beast. The shantak lands in a large, empty paddock a few hundred yards from the imposing building.
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Howard listens sympathetically on the trip over, happy to hear about life in the Dreamlands.
"Pam nad oes undeb yno? Ydych chi'n cael ei weinyddu? Ydych chi erioed wedi ystyried mynd ar streic?"
Upon arriving, he gives the Shantak a friendly pat.
"Diolch am y lifft. A fyddech chi'n meddwl aros? Nid wyf yn disgwyl i hyn gymryd mwy na dwy awr, os yw hynny."
Howard heads for the building, but doesn't approach the entrance.
Instead, he moves to one side, and then casts Summon Totem Creature to bring forth a small earth elemental.
He then instructs it to do a quick sweep of the building, using tremorsense to identify the number of creatures in each room.
Any small rooms that could be cells, it is to visually check for the extraction target (and Howard uses Alter Self to give the elemental a better idea of *whom* the extraction target is), and then report back.
Howard then intends to Dimension Door in, grab the extraction target, and then Dimension Door out.
The wide-open paddock is on the shores of a vast sea of a dark, viscous liquid, about a mile south of the prison structure. Experimentation reveals that this lake is oily salt water roughly the consistency of syrup. Howard examines the shore near the prison, finding a half-submerged drainage pipe 4 feet in diameter.
No other shantak occupies the paddock. The Shantak seems disappointed. "Roeddwn i'n meddwl y byddai Bobbob yma. Dyfalu Roedd Weiralai yn hedfan iddo rywle arall. Edrychwch fy mod yn newynog a hoffwn hedfan i Mickey Ds am rai bwledi wedi'u rhostio. Byddaf yn aros i chi am ychydig, yna ydw i yn hedfan i ffwrdd oherwydd nad oes neb arall yn gofalu Amano."
I thought Bobbob would be here. Guess Weiralai flew him somewhere else. Look I'm hungry and I'd like to fly to Mickey Ds for some roasted buopoths. I'll wait for you for a while ,then yes I'm flying off because no one else cares.