Renkar nods to Hamar
“The answer is knowledge. You know as a warrior that not all fights are won by the strongest fighter. Tactics and using an opponent’s strength against them can often be the most effective way”
He sketches a crude wand surmounted with a skull on the slate
“This is the … item. I won’t go into specifics lest I fall into the trap of calling unwanted attention to us. It was a large black iron rod fashioned in the form of a human spinal column. A human skull was affixed to the top, which looked authentic “
He turns to the group
“One of the difficult parts of this is that all knowledge of …. This item has been erased as well”
Renkar writes Secret knowledge and links it to artifact and unmaking. Under this he writes Pelion
“The suggestion the wizard Erehe gave you is a solid one. Amun-Thys is a realm know for ancient wisdom. Nephythys is an ancient goddess, one that is loosely allied with the Pantheon of Osiris, although she seems to be a holdover from an earlier pantheon that ruled many desert realms before Osiris and his kin came to power. If there is anywhere where extant knowledge can be found it would be there”
"Right, so do we try to get the wand and then figure out how to break it or do we try to figure out how to break it and then get the wand?"
Justin lifts up his head from where he has been cradling it in his hand. His eyes are wide, and his headache,... Well it clearly isn't gone yet, but it is apparently forgotten in whatever sudden realization the wizard is having.
"Holy Undead Powers on a Stick! Of ALL the cockamamiesillystupidrediculousasininethings,..."
The wizard stands hastily, knocking over his chair with the sudden movement. He begins patting himself all over frantically, as if trying to squash insects that only he can see. He flips his coat almost inside out trying to search all of his hidden pockets at once. His sticks his hand into a tiny pocket that was almost invisible it is so small and out of the way. He freezes.
"Oh. Thank goodness." Justin breathes softly, and slowly pulls his hand out, keeping whatever is inside it hidden in his fist.
"Sorry. I haven't had a chance to tell you all yet. I met a guy last night, and then went to the library and was distracted by O.L.L.I's,... um, situation,...yeah."
Justin coughs and clears his throat deliberately and quickly, before Karrin's angry face returns at the reminder of poor O.L.L.I.'s 'incident'.
"So, ANYway. Last night I was approached by what appeared to be an intelligent cadaver of some sort. Gave the name of 'Rotting Jack' and offered some darks. He knew a lot. Like that we had been in Erelhei-Cinlu less than 24 hours prior. And he knew about 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Renamed' and it's fancy stick. Claimed that he used to work for it back in the 'good ol' days'. But turned on it and got a gig with another power now. Said she wants to help us. The only request was not to try and keep the fancy stick once we find it. We have to destroy it. Which we both agreed to. Sadly, his boss couldn't figure out how to do that, or she would have done it already when they erased everything the first time."
Justin takes a breath, and closes his eyes. Then he smiles. Just a little bit. And re-opens his eyes.
"The answer to your question Karrin, is that we go and find out how to destroy this thing first. THEN we go and find it. Because we won't have time to do any research on destroying artifacts once we grab it. According to Mr Rotting jack, Once the artifact starts moving, 'IT' will KNOW. We have to be able to destroy it swiftly. Before 'IT' finds US."
Justin's grin grows bigger, and he opens his hand, revealing a small, clear crystal in his palm.
"BUT, thanks to the kindness of strangers, we know how to find it. THIS will lead us to it's hiding place."
The wizard turns to Renkar and shrugs apologetically.
"Sorry. It's been a REALLY hectic past few days."
"Hmm, so ignoring the chance that this Rotting Jack isn't some double agent that needs a mortal to move this wand or something, and the trap is set the moment we release the thing from whatever MacGuffin is keeping "you know who" from releasing it themselves, we'll have to take care of that second, but it does mean that we'll have to be sure we're not somehow slipped false information on how to destroy this thing, because gods are tricky folks, and they're always trying to lay traps and stuff, so I don't want to be left holding the bag if we release this item and we've been tricked into thinking we know how to destroy it. Other than that I guess we know the order."
Justin blinks at Karrin as he tries (and mostly succeeds) on following her verbal gymnastics. The wizard nods slowly, pretty certain that he is agreeing to the same thing he was already thinking.
"Yes, well, treachery IS always a possibility. But so far, everyone that we've met, Well, MOST, that had any clue to what is happening, have all seemed to want the same thing. For 'IT' NOT to return, and/or destroying it's favorite toy. Whether they want this for altruistic reasons, or for selfish reasons, like being on IT's 'top ten hit list' if it returns, the result is the same. 9 out of 10 powers agree, 'IT' returning is a BAD thing. And they are willing to provide aid to make sure it doesn't happen."
Justin holds up the small clear crystal.
"This trinket only means that we will have an easier time finding the stick-o-doom than others will. It doesn't mean that the others can't still find it first if we dilly-dally. It's still a race, it's just a race we have an advantage in. For now."
"So. A hopefully quick trip to Pelion, and Amun-Thys, for a hopefully friendly chat with Nephythys, to figure out how to UNmake an Epic Artifact that beings across the Planes have been convinced never existed."
Justin smiles and spreads his hands,
"Sounds like another typical day-trip for the Silver Rose crew!" He says cheerfully, trying to project a confidence he's not sure he really feels.
While he is cheerfully making with the wizard-talk, in true 'Justinian' fashion, Justin's mind is racing.
He does his best to ignore his pounding head, and focus on any tidbit of information that he can dredge from his memory.
As far as they can tell, only direct references to 'the name' have been erased. There is still information remaining that pertains to IT. Just obliquely. As confirmed by the fact that somewhere, somehow, someONE(s) had pieced together enough information to realize that a Power had been erased.
It was time for Justin to put his self-proclaimed big-brain to work, and do the same for the good guys.
After The group had had that strange encounter in the temple in the Lower Ward where they suffered those hallucinations about the ancient dead god, Issac had received that last divine spark of him as a gem. Although the two didn’t have anything much to do with each other, that distillation of divine essence might be something that could be used against Tenebrous. Justin can’t recall if Issac kept it or gave it to a fellow party member.
Justin also remembers that someone had found a golden circlet in Tcian Sumere. He had meant to examine it, as it read magical, but he never had. Any mysterious magical item from that dark fortress could be a key. He’d need to inspect it closer…
Justin's eyes snap open. He hadn't even realized he had closed them again.
"Waitaminute,..."
Justin looks around.
"It seems like Aeons ago,... remember that temple in the lower ward? One of the early gigs we had when I first joined up? Where we had the shared hallucination about a dead power? Issac was given the power's last bit of divine spark as a small gem. Did he still have it when he left? Or did he hand it to someone to keep?"
"Waita,... OHfertheluvuv,..."
Justin yanks his bag from the floor where he had placed it, throws open the top flap, and begins rummaging around in it. He stops after a moment, takes a deep breath, and calmly sticks his hand inside.
"Accio, Circlet!"
The wizard pulls out a small circlet. The one from Tcian Sumere, the floating fortress in the negative plane.
"We never did get around to identifying THIS little bauble. We picked it up in Tcian Sumere boss. It's very magical, but we didn't take the time to ID it. SOMEone was worried what might happen if if a giant, magical bell that was in the same room accidentally on purpose got rung."
Justin is deliberately not looking anywhere NEAR Karrin's direction.
Still holding the circlet in one hand, Justin peers suspiciously into the depths of his magical haversack.
"What ELSE have I got in here?,..."
Justin peers at the circlet carefully. He murmurs “Adaperio” and the circlet glows strongly. Within his mystical sight he can see that the circlet is covered in a pattern of very fine runes, in Abyssal. The dark runes talk of possession, confinement, and control. Justin can see that this circlet was made to control a creature, most likely an undead creature. It’s magical aura is quite strong. Justin can make out a name intertwined within the magical script … Anarchocles
;)
Justin mutters to himself as he squints at the fine, archaic, magical script on the circlet.
"What, or WHO is,... hangon. Blasted headaches."
The wizard takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. He simply stands there for a few moments as he rummages around in his memory.
"I gotta get a better filing system,..."
"Memnon! Renkar, what do you make of THIS name?"
On the chalkboard, Justin writes the name ANARCHOCLES in block letters. He turns around, and holds up the circlet.
"This thing is COVERED in fine runes. Written in Abyssal. Runes of possession, confinement, and control. For something undead I think. And this name is intertwined with them all. The name ring any bells O sage of ancient knowledge?" Justin addresses the last comment directly to Memnon.
"I,... am spitballing here. But I think this thing is a major magic item, or possibly even a minor artifact. Made to control a specific creature. And because of where we found it, I am wondering if it is a weapon of last resort? To be used against against 'He-who-must-not-return' if it ever DOES manage to return??"
Justin tips his chair back upright with a long leg, and sinks gratefully back onto it, scrunching up his forehead in pain.
Memnon zips over and takes a look
“I saw similar things on Ranaïs, boss. That looks an awful lot like the control circlet for a Skeleton Warrior. I’m assuming the name is the poor berk whose soul is trapped in that thing”
Justin looks at Memnon, and back to the circlet in his hands.
"A Skeleton Warrior? That makes sense. But was the circlet being kept there as a weapon to help prevent 'IT' from returning? OR as a weapon to help 'IT' return? Flip a copper coin and call it."
Justin looks unblinkingly at the circlet.
"Skeleton Warriors are no ordinary skeletons. They were bad-@$$ warriors made badder-@$$er by being cursed with undeath. Free of fear and pain, and already dead, they are literal 'Hades on Prime'.
Justin looks at Renkar.
"Remember our first meeting? What I said to you? Nothings changed. I STILL won't be summoning a horde of undead for you or anyone else anytime soon. And I would really prefer NOT to use such an item. Especially since if you lose control of the Skelly it will kill you to get the circlet back,... But maybe,... if we can make a bargain with it. Ask him to help us fight 'IT', if needed. Either way, set the poor guy free afterwords. No one deserves to be trapped for eternity."
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Renkar nods
“We should probably discover the story of this Anarchocles first, to see if he is still extant. This might just be a trophy that .. Tenebrous kept if they were adversaries. He could be destroyed “
Justin casts back on all he read in the past about Orc…errrr Tenebrous (can THINKING the name be bad? Don’t think!!!).. .
He recalls studying about … him … in his university. At that time he had been a very high-profile arch demon, and a very intriguing story. He recalls one tome, A History of The Abyssal Wars, and the Overthrow of the Obyrith Demons.
It was an ancient book, and wasn’t a first-person account. Rather it was a synthesis of several fragmentary original sources compiled by a wizard named Drevitch who specialized in discovering fiendish and celestial true names.
The book had mentioned the name Anarchocles, who had been a Paladin back when paladins wore loincloths and swung bronze swords. This Anarchocles had been seduced by the archdemon, and become an antipaladin in his service. After a long career, he fell in battle and the archdemon created a skeleton warrior from his soul. This undead version fought for centuries as a vassal of … Tenebrous… until he was destroyed during the Abyssal Wars conclusion.
What is really intriguing is that in the marginalia of this account, Drevitch speculated that the skull atop the … wand … was none other than Anarchocles. The Wand was created just after the destruction of the skeleton warrior, and his skull would have made a potent ingredient for an artifact’s construction.
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"Huh," Karrin says as Justin relays the information, "You think he who shall not be named used this anti paladin to make his wand? If so they could be the key to destroying the thing. Like we'd need the living version of this dude though, hopefully uncorrupted, like pure paladin, but that's probably like one step, might need to find out where it was crafted or something like that, and then have this Anarchocies throw it into a volcano and stuff. I'm willing to bet bringing this dude back to life isn't going to be an easy step though. Might need some really powerful magic to do that."
Memnon flys over towards Karrin
“It’s even easier than that sweetcheeks. If that’s his skull we put that circlet on the skull on the wand and WHAMMO! No more skull. Thus, no more wand.”
"That easy? I don't know seems kind of sus"
Justin looks up from here he had been massaging his head. Again. His smile is big and just keeps growing.
"A Paladin-turned-AntiPaladin-turned-Skeleton Warrior serving a Power, with hundreds, if not thousands of years of experience, would be the perfect capstone for a Powers-level Major Artifact. I can't even begin to calculate the,..."
Justin shakes his head and turns to Karrin, his grin even larger, and speaking faster in his excitement.
"The crystal peeping Tom is right Karrin. The ONE weakness Skeleton Warriors have is their control circlets. They want them back at all costs. And once they recover them, they crumble to dust! THAT'S why the circlet was there in storage. It wasn't to be used against 'Tenebrous', or to work for 'IT' if it returned. It's the one major chink in the armor of his power source!"
"I mean, yeah,... it SOUNDS easy. But it's only 'easy' IF we get to it first. I seriously doubt that 'IT' is just gonna let us decorate his newly-recovered toy cuz we ask nicely."
Justin looks at Renkar, and then to the rest of the group.
"What do you all think? It's just a theory. And a theory based on a page I read in a book a long time ago. But if it's right, we could save a LOT of time and effort and head straight to the Stick-O-Doom. Avoid an entire side trip to to a land of the dead looking for answers. But if it's wrong, and we recover the stick and it doesn't work,... We'd be up the Ditch without a paddle. Or a canoe."
"Or even if it is the secret to destroying it, it might only work in a certain place. Probably should still go and chat with Nephythys and make sure we know how to work the unmaking properly. Just to be safe. We should just make it a SHORT trip."
Renkar nods
“This might be the how, but you still need the where. Agathion isn’t called the plane of secrets for nothing. “
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"That easy? I don't know seems kind of sus"
Memnon shakes his crystal skull
“You tieflennials and your crazy slang. “
He laughs
“Besides, getting that circlet was hardly ‘easy’. We all trouped down to the Negative Energy Plane after you folks took on my old nemesis Thakhotis and scampered all over my former home battling Pelor knows what. Then you promptly forgot about it”
Justin gives Memnon a side-eye.
"Yes. Well. We didn't exactly forget about it. We've,... been busy."
Justin clears his throat and nods to Renkar.
"I agree. No way an object with THAT much power stored in it can just fall apart anywhere. We need to know WHERE it can be unmade. And just hope that it's not limited to during some obscure celestial conjunction that only happens once every thousand years on a Prime world. And it was yesterday."
The wizard says wryly, eyebrows knit in consternation.
"Well I mean usually with this sort of thing you need to do a bunch of research to find out how to destroy the thing, but the moment we start looking into it we find a bunch of thing we need to destroy it we already got, Just saying that's kind of weird, I mean in terms of difficulty, it was pretty hard, but you know we were there for another mission and we didn't think this job and that job would have been connected right? I mean who puts the means of destruction in the same base as the dude that can point you to the item that's the source of your powers? That's just bad planning."
"Or GOOD planning. Keeping the only thing that can break your favorite toy where no one else can get it. Of course that only works IF the good guys don't find out about your secret base and raid it in typical Adventurer fashion."
Justin grins at Karrin.
"We DO seem to be making a habit if stumbling upon nefarious happenings and stopping them. Accidentally on purpose."
Justin stops smiling, a sudden thought striking him.
"You ARE right about it being weird though. I'm not a big believer in 'coincidence'. Or 'Fate'. But maybe,... well,... There ARE other powers out there that have made it clear they don't want 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Renamed' returning. Maybe they've been helping us out all along? Making sure we 'happen' to stumble across the things we have found?"
Justin tosses a suspicious glance towards the ceiling.
"Nawwww."
Justin begins pacing, slowly, rubbing his needs-a-trim goatee in thought.
"OK, so what do we need? First a trip to visit Amun-Thys and chat with Nephythys. To get the FULL story of the when-how-and-where to destroy a Major Artifact. So we need information on a portal. I can't imagine that a 'realm of secrets' has too many well-known portals to it."
Justin pauses his pacing to incline his head and gesture to Renkar with a small smile.
"Second, we need to be able to travel fast as a group if needed. I can teleport us all, but only to somewhere we've been before safely. And I can't Plane-Hop. Some of us can fly, but not all flight spells are the fastest, or longest-lasting. Maybe a 'Communal Mount' or similar spell? So we dont have to worry about horses but we have them if we need them? I'm open to suggestions."
Justin continues pacing, eyebrows knitted in concentration,...
Hamar merely listens trying to absorb all of the information being thrown at him.
Magic and Gods.
The things that drew him from his home keep him away from it. This life is not much different than that on the Shaar but the stakes are much, much higher it seems.
"What of the Lady of this mad place?
Would she or hers have a vested interest in aiding us, if this being is such a threat to so many, would it not be a threat to this place as well. This is after all, Her city. Does she not know where all Portals lead?"
Renkar frowns
“Even of this … personage we’re to restore to his full power, Sigil would be safe. Perhaps one of the few places that would be, but if beings on the order of magnitude of Zeus and Odin cannot breach the city, I doubt he could. He’s not on that power scale”
He looks around
“We don’t need any help getting to a portal. There’s a very well-known one to the second level of Arborea right in the Heart of the Bazaar”
He looks around
“Have you heard of the Merman’s Fish Market?”
K(local) DC 15
The 30-meter plus cylindrical green building with ‘Tivvun’s Antiquities’ carved into its side in a huge wraparound scroll rears nearby, where the enigmatic elderly tiefling Alluvius Ruskin sells her portal keys
“I know one of the owners, and I can get you lot in no worries. Once you get to the city of Elshava, you can contract to travel to Pelion. Planar travel there is fairly easy I’m told. At least between the individual Arborea planes. “
Even Justin cringes as Hamar mentions the Lady aloud.
(He's a slow learner sometimes, but he CAN be taught.)
He starts to glance around, but stops himself.
"Um, 'She' has her own agenda. And I haven't heard of anyone who claims to know what it is. But I'm pretty sure she's not worried about anything but Sigil." Justin explains to Hamar.
Renkar frowns
“Even of this … personage we’re to restore to his full power, Sigil would be safe. Perhaps one of the few places that would be, but if beings on the order of magnitude of Zeus and Odin cannot breach the city, I doubt he could. He’s not on that power scale”
"Thank the Arcane for small favors!" Justin murmurs as Renkar continues.
He looks around
“We don’t need any help getting to a portal. There’s a very well-known one to the second level of Arborea right in the Heart of the Bazaar”
He looks around
“Have you heard of the Merman’s Fish Market?”
Justin perks up and looks at Renkar. "Merman's Fish Market? I know where it's located. But I've only been brave enough to penetrate the Bazaar's Heart once to actually SEE it and the other buildings there. Never been inside."
"Good to know the start of this little excursion will be easy at least." He nods to his employer with a wan smile.
"So, we have a portal to start with. Get to the city of Elshava, and contract to travel to Pelion. Great. We still need means of fast travel for the entire group. I have a feeling any long walks will NOT work in our favor." Justin shakes his head.
"So, Once in Pelion we travel to,... Agathion. And then to Amun-Thys, and hope that Nephythys feels like receiving inquisitive visitors."
Justin looks to Renkar, the look on his face makes it clear that he not entirely certain he has the Cosmic Path worked out properly in his mind.
Renkar shakes his head
“Agathion is your final destination. That is the lowest plane of Pandemonium. Pelion is the lowest plane of Arborea. Arborea is the easier, since the inhabitants espouse individual goodness while Pandaemonium espouses individuality to the extreme of madness”
He looks up at Mel
“I would advise you find any magics that pertain to curing insanity “
He looks at the gem softly glowing in Hamar’s forehead
“Master Hamar should weather Pandaemonium well”
Hamar shivers at the memory of the confusion that overcame his mind in a previous battle, "Nothing is so terrifying as losing control of ones own mind!
If this is the path before us, do we eat and then go? Or eat, shop, and then go? Do we not need some sustenance for this trip or trips? The hunting in such places itself is a danger no?"
Justin makes an "AH" face as he mentally shuffles the piles of Planes, realms and destinations into their correct placement.
The wizard gives a brief, bright smile, like a youth who has figured out a difficult math problem.
"Yes.
The City of Elshava is on Ossa, the 2nd level of Arborea.
Then to Pelion, the 3rd level of Arborea.
To Amun-Thys, a realm on Pelion. And Nephythys.
THEN to Pandaemonium, to hopefully find a way to Agathion which won't be easy.
That makes MUCH more sense. Thanks boss."
The wizard holds up a hand, and ticks off a finger for each of his next points.
"And of course,
Find wand.
Destroy wand.
Return home.
Victory celebration.
Piece of cake." Justin grins, waggling his thumb last.
The wizard stares across the room at nothing, and no one, in particular as Renkar continues to give advice, and Hamar asks questions that prove this isn't his first trip out of the gate. (Or, THROUGH a gate?)
Still staring at nothing, Justin observes softly as he scratches idly at his goatee.
"It's a shame that we ended our relationship with the Cebonite on a sour note. We could REALLY use a necklace of Planar Travel about now! And they don't grow on trees."
Renkar nods
“You can always buy a portal stone attuned to Sigil. That’s a 10K investment, but when you need it, you need it”
Renkar looks around
“So, a trip to the fish market then?”
The Barbarian shrugs, "I do not favor the smell but if this is where we must go to achieve our aims then so be it".
Justin nods.
"Gear up folks. If anyone needs to fetch or buy anything, grab it quick, or hope it's available on the way. Memnon, let me know if I need to grab anything from the lab to brew potions on the way. We may end up needing all the boosts we can get."
The wizard looks around at all in the room. He gives a dry, lopsided smile smile.
"Whattya' say? Shall we go and save the Planes?"
Renakar wraps up the meeting and leads the group out to the Great Bazaar. The Sigilian Before Peak is busy, with a light drizzle and fog obscuring Copperman's Way. The Great Bazaar is crowded, as normal, with early shoppers haggling up and down the narrow tent alleys. Vendors hawk their wares to the passersby
"Crystal pets! Elemental companions! Never need feeding and no cleanup!"
"Refurbished armor! Only used once!"
"Smokes! Cigarillos! Cigars! Pipeweed! many blends and herbs!"
The party makes its way to the Heart of the Bazaar. The huge buildings loom larger, and the tents surrounding it become more ornate with proximity. Now the vendors hawk jewels and rare unguents.
They arrive at the Merman's Fish Market. The large building is covered in maritime frescoes of various sea creatures and underwaters vistas. various shoppers emerge with packages and carts, some piled high with fish.
Renkar leads them inside. The building is actually laid out as a roofed bazaar, with shops lined up along a main concourse. Renkar leads them to a shop with the legend The Laughing Crab. He enters and asks a server for the owner. A burly green-skinned man walks out, wiping his hands on a stained apron and shakes Renkar's hand. Renkar turns to the group
"This is Hobbdeldroop, an old friend of mine."
The man, Hobbdeldroop, nods to the party
"Welcome to my humble shop!"
Renkar addresses him.
"My friends here have a need to visit Elshava. Can we use your portal?"
"Of course! Anything for you my friend!"
Hobbdeldroop brings them behind the counter. in the back is a large space full of containers with fish. the air is very cold, likely magically assisted. A portal flashes on the wall, and a woman appears pushing a large cart full of crabs. He leads them to a spot in the rear and holds up a whelk shell. A glowing portal appears, swirled in greens and blues
"Elshava awaits!"
;)
The party heads into the glowing portal. They have that odd stretching feeling that accompanies most planar portals, then they arrive at what looks to be a dock area. The sky has what looks to be a normal blue with clouds, but no sun seems to be in evidence, much like the Outlands. The ground the party stands on is made of tiles of nacreous shell, making a beautiful mosaic of fractal patterns. ships made of giant shell are tied to the edge of the docks, and are busy unloading various fish.
Hamar places his hands on his blades in case he needs a quick draw and begins observing the surroundings for signs of danger. Such that he can recognize in such an odd setting at any rate.
Perception
Justin enters the glowing portal in turn, automatically stifling the urge to lose his lunch (What little he had) to the tune of Memnon's gleeful "WHEEEEEEE!!!" as the familiar stretching-pulling feeling takes hold.
On the other side Justin takes a moment to make sure his stomach is still secure, then looks around.
"Huh, Shell beach, sea-shell ships. Nice sky, no visible sun. Elshava I presume?" The wizard murmurs aloud. The others can practically see the wheels turning.
"So this is Ossa, Second level of Arborea? Seems nice enough. How about you Memnon, been here before?" he asks the crystal skull floating nearby.
The wizard resists the urge to bop the swinging tassles of the Mimir's hat.