Defense of Brookside

Game Master caster4life

***

It was so sudden! One moment, Micah was in the midst of furious combat, surrounded by the clash of weapons, the chanting of the casters as they incanted their spells, the shouts and cries of the combatants. It was all sound and color and furious motion.

And then one of the lamia-kin reached out and tapped him on the chest, and all that sound and color and chaos ended: cut off in a moment.

He finds himself floating in a vast, faintly silvery void. After a few moments of confusion and panic, he looks around and takes stock.

There is very little to differentiate the space around him. There does not appear to be an "up" or "down" exactly, but looking down towards his feet he can see that the void gets brighter in that direction -- more luminous. Glancing up above his head, he can see that it darkens in that direction, growing dimmer.

Here and there tiny bits of rock tumble lazily through the void. He reaches out to catch one, and it proves to be an unremarkable bit of brownish-grey stone. But when he reaches for another, his fingers clasp on nothing. It appears that rock is actually very large and far away.

A bit of experimentation shows that he can move around simply by deciding a direction to go. It feels like falling; but he can slow and stop easily.

***

What now?

GM

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Micah:

Darker areas must mean land while lighter areas must mean sky. Therefore, he's upside down! Thrilled that he figured it out, he "swims" breaststroke style towards what he hopes is the ground.

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GM:

Micah gradually picks up speed. It feels like falling, which is somewhat discomfiting at first; but he soon becomes accustomed to the sensation.

Soon he's moving at quite a clip. His hair whips in the air. (He's pretty sure it's air. At any rate he has no trouble breathing.)

The dark area does not appear to come any closer. He can tell he's moving -- he passes bits of rock now and again. The large, distant one he tried to grab earlier definitely grows closer. It's difficult to judge the size still, but as he grows closer he notices that it's got some kind of building on it.

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Micah:

Probably a good idea not to run into it. He slows, surprised at the speed of his swimming. Give it a go to land, then walk around the building, checking for windows, doors, or any creatures that might jump at him. The rocks are unimportant unless they seem to be gems he could take with him, so generally ignored.

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GM:

As Micah draws closer, the building resolves into what is clearly a large, sprawling house. He seems to be approaching it from the back. The bulk of the structure appears to be about two stories high with tall, gabled roofs. But it also features two towers: a squat one rising to three stories at one end, and a much taller, narrower one perhaps five stories tall at the other. Both towers are nearer the front of the building -- the opposite side from Micah's arrival.

Windows pepper the walls regularly, but he doesn't see any doors yet. Perhaps on the other side.

(I've attached a very rough drawing to make this clearer.)

At first, the place appears to be made of wood. But as he gets closer, he sees that it's actually made of stone which has been shaped to resemble wood.

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Micah:

There's a definite sense of "hell no" to wanting to enter the building. Last time they did that it was because of some wendigo creature that nearly did them in. Best to just put his back against the wall first, shifting to peek into each window in turn to see what's going on or if anyone seems to be inside. In this manner, he works his way around to the front of the house.

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GM:

(Err, you mean the wendigo siege in the hut with the blizzard? That hut was conjured by Zoey.)

The first room he peeks in proves to be a large formal dining room, with an enormous table. A quick count of the chairs shows that it could accommodate a party of 12. To one side he can see a cabinet full of finely painted china. To the other sits a grandfather clock, ticking away. An elaborate chandelier dangles from the ceiling some 30 feet up. The entire place is empty.

The next room proves to be a small, cozy sitting room panelled in warm wood. The beautifully carved pillars at the intersection of each panel segment take the form of statues. He can see all sorts of statues supporting the low ceiling: men, women and children from all walks of life. They're about half life-size. Across from the window he can see a fireplace with a cheerful fire crackling in it. There is no one in the room.

The third room occupies the section at the end of the house. It does not have windows; instead, the entire wall wrapping around the end of the house is made of glass. Within, he sees a riot of plant life: trees extending as high up as he can see, a vast profusion of flowering vines, and lush jewel-green moss starred with tiny white flowers along the banks of a small creek that flows from nowhere at one end and vanishes to nowhere at the other. He cannot see any door within this greenhouse that might lead to the rest of the house -- though it might just be buried under some vines. There is no sign of life other than the plants.

Circling around, he comes to the large low tower. There is a porch there, with a set of steps leading up onto it. Sneaking up onto the porch, he peers in a window. There seems to be a window seat on the inside, equipped with comfy pillows. The far wall appears to be curved book shelves -- he can't see how high up they extend from this angle, but in the center of the room there is a desk, strewn with papers.

Everything is warmly lit with what looks like afternoon sunlight streaming through a window. Which is odd, since there is no sunlight of any kind on the outside. But it's definitely there on the inside. A cat lies curled on the desk, napping in the logically impossible warm afternoon sunlight.

Sneaking around the curve of the tower to get out of the cat's potential view, Micah hears a faint noise up ahead. A low, steady, rhythmic creaking of wood on wood.

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Micah:

He goes to see what's going on with the wood on wood noise, creeping slowly.

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GM:

Micah rounds the corner and finds himself on a porch that runs the length of the house. A railing runs along the edge, and fancy pillars support the roof above him.

Ahead of him, he can see the source of the sound: a little old lady in a rocking chair. She is engrossed in a book, and rocking gently back and forth as she reads.

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Micah:

He slowly steps into view, wary and cautious, keeping his distance for now. Having faced a number of creatures that hadn't been what they seemed (and no few partners that had been diseased or worse), he figured it was smarter to stay back some. But at the same time, he had met Ronia in a similarly strange circumstance. Best to let the old one talk first... Or turn into a raging tentacle monster.

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GM:

(I've attached an NPC portrait.)

As Micah steps cautiously into view, the old lady startles, lifting her face from her book. The two look at one another for a long moment.

"Well," she finally says. "A visitor. How unusual. What brings you to my door step, young man?"

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Micah:

"I have no idea. I don't even know where here is." He approached slowly, stopping at the base of the porch. The same respect he'd offer children is extended to the old woman. "I was in the middle of battle, helping my travelling companions. Next I knew I was floating near this place. ... Are you the only one here?

(Stephen King wrote the stand. The old woman is like a harbinger of trouble, but they don't know it on first meeting her.)

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GM:

"I see! I see," she says. "Well then, welcome to the Astral Sea. It sounds as though one of your foes sent you here. It is a between place. Easier to reach than some."

She folds the book closed, tucking a ribbon in as a bookmark. "I am Aeschildr. And you are?"

(It's pronounced ASH-hild-er, rhymes with builder.)

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Micah:

"Micah, ma'am." He glanced around and crept a little closer, putting a foot on the bottom step.

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GM:

"Pleased to meet you," she says. "I take it you don't have any way to get back under your own power? Or else you would already be gone, I'm sure."

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Micah:

"I guess I hadn't thought about it? Why do you stay here? Don't you want to leave?"

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GM:

She laughs. "I am done with all that -- retired. This is my home, now. Besides, I'm time-stranded. No going back."

She thinks a moment, then adds "But perhaps you're not familiar with time-stranding? No reason you should be, I suppose."

She sweeps a hand over the view -- the vast expanse of silvery void. "Here in the Astral Sea, your body is time-locked. You will not hunger; you will never need to use the restroom. You will not require sleep, though you can if you like."

"And most importantly, your body will not grow older. At least, not without magical intervention. But just left to its own devices, you'll continue just as you are now for ... well, forever. Or until the entirety of existence comes to an end. Whichever comes first."

"But there's a catch, of course. Your body won't age, but your soul will. And when you go back to one of the planes where time flows normally, well, your body will catch up on all that missed aging. It is no great matter if you are only here briefly -- a few hours, a few days, even a few years if you're young enough. But I have been here ... let's just say it's a very long time indeed. If I were to go back to a time-bound plane, I would wither into a pile of dust in just a few seconds. And so I am time-stranded. Most of the planes would kill me the instant I set foot in them."

"I don't mind it, so much. I chose to build my home here, before I reached the end of my life. Perhaps one day I will tire of it. But for now I am content. It is peaceful, if sometimes a bit lonely."

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Micah:

"Is there a way out???" Panic crept into his voice. "I mean, I don't mind staying young and handsome, but... I have someone waiting for me back there. I have to get back to her. I promised. Please - do you know a way out of this?"

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GM:

"Be at ease," she says. "I can send you back."

She taps a finger thoughtfully on the cover of her book. "Now, let me see ... where DID I leave that tuning fork? Hum ..."

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Micah:

Alarmed, he waited until she turned to get busy searching before slowing backing up several steps. Then he paused and looked out over the vastness. There was nothing there. Well, rocks. But there didn't seem to be any other land. And the light thing was even further away now. And if she was honest about turning to dust... How long had he been here anyways at this point? He knew that some nights of pleasure could pass in an instant and sometimes - like with some of his previous companions - time could drag on forever. Was he having fun; had more time passed than he thought? Was this awful; were things moving very slowly?

He thought about Eri and the last time he'd seen her. Too long. Belated, he wondered about his companions; were they still alive and fighting? Had they left him behind?

After another moment of thought, he walked up on the porch. "Let me help you look for that." He wanted to go back.

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GM:

"Good, good," she says, having just managed to get out of the chair. "I'm pretty sure it's in the closet on the third floor of my tower. But I need to get the spell first. This way!"

She hobbles off into the house, leading Micah inside. The interior proves to be more or less as he had seen through the windows, though he hadn't noticed the insubstantial lights hovering near the ceiling in each room.

Passing down the hall, they come to the large library he had seen from the outside. It is a large, round room; neatly organized books line the shelves which extend upwards a good 30 feet. A wrought iron balcony circles the room halfway up this towering expanse of books. Each level is equipped with a ladder attached to a track built into the wall, with wheels on the bottom so you can slide it to wherever you need to be.

The windows look out on rolling green hills that eventually merge into a distant forest. It's a sunny day outside.

Aeschildr ignores the books, shuffling over to the desk in the middle of the sunlit room. "Hey," she says, stroking the large orange tabby cat. "Wake up, Pumpkin. I need some spells."

The cat slowly opens its eyes, rolling its head toward her with disdain in its orange-brown eyes.

"Pshaw, don't give me that," she says. "Come on now. Upsy daisy!"

The cat flicks one ear and lowers its eyelids, but hauls itself up into a sitting position, glances coolly at Micah, and then begins washing a paw, clearly unimpressed.

"This may take a few minutes," Aeschildr says. "Feel free to look around, there's nothing dangerous on this level."

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Micah:

Weird magic, that's what this was. No hills outside, but there were in the windows? Ah, who was he to judge - she was a lonely old lady. Maybe they were like paintings to her or something.

Those rolling ladders intrigued him. They looked like fun. But he followed her over to the cat instead. Temperamental things, cats. And he had no treats for them. Owls now, that was more his thing. Or kids. He had treats for both of those critters. So he eyed the cat with the same "whatever" expression.

When she told him to go ahead and look around, he happily turned to go explore those ladders. He -really- wanted to try riding one. He stopped though when she spoke the last. "...on this level? What have you got in this house?"

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GM:

"This and that," she says. "I've got some experiments cooking that might blow up in your face if you poke the wrong bit. And some of the rooms have mementos that aren't especially safe. Now, excuse me, I need to have a chat with Pumpkin."

She turns to the cat and begins stroking it, making occasional low questions or comments which the cat answers with purrs or hisses.

The ladders prove to be quite fun to slide on, and surprisingly quiet as well.

After about twenty minutes, Aeschildr pats Pumpkin one last time and then looks up again. "All done," she says. "I have the necessary spell now, plus a few others."

She gets out of the chair at the desk, planting her cane and creaking her way up.

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Micah:

Not sure how the cat figured in to all of that, but he had strange connections to the owls he worked with, so... there was that. "Great! What do need me to do? Where do we go?"

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GM:

"This way," she says.

She leads him along the corridor, back to the other end of the house. The doors on the right lead to the rooms he saw during his approach from the back of the manor. The ones on the left lead to places he hasn't seen before -- a pool room, a bed room with a vast four-poster bed, and a staircase leading down.

Aeschildr passes all of these, and the corridor opens out into a circular room. Three statues stand before the walls, placed at regular intervals. The first, to the left, depicts an elven woman with a bow in her hand. The sculptor caught her laughing merrily at something. There is a plaque beneath that reads: "Ilvani."

The second, opposite the entry, depicts a stern man seated on an imposing chair. A sheathed sword rests across his knees. His expression seems ... mournful. Like a man remembering an old sorrow whose edges have been only slightly blunted by time. The plaque on this one says "Rhodos."

The last, right of the entry, depicts a bearded man dressed in elaborate, flowing robes decorated with intertwining gears. He wears a pendant depicting a pair of spears crossed over a full moon. He smiles gently, his gaze fixed forever on something only he can see. At the bottom, the plaque reads "Hyram."

Aeschildr makes her way to the center of the room. "We're going to the third floor," she says. "Just will yourself to float up and you shall."

Suiting actions to words, she looks upwards and suddenly zips up through the air, passing through an opening at the top of the room and out of sight.

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Micah:

He stood there staring at the statues, unable to look away, maybe in horror or flashbacks. He didn't like representations of people anymore. How could you know if they weren't real people trapped inside? What if these three had family missing them, or thinking they had been unwanted or left behind?

He looked up where the old woman had gone, then circled around each of the statues, looking for anything, like the scrap of blanket he had identified his mother with, on the three. Any small clue to prove they were real or assure him they really were just stone.

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GM:

Examining the statues more closely, Micah discovers tool marks on them. Although they were carefully sculpted, these are clearly nothing more than carven stone.

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Micah:

Still creeped out, he backed slowly away from them and jumped upwards all superhero style, arm up, other hand on his hip.

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GM:

Micah rises into the air, passing through the hole in the roof. Beyond it he discovers that the second floor of the tower is a large laboratory. A vast array of bubbling beakers, retorts, calcifiers and other more arcane bits of equipment that he does not recognize.

He is fairly certain in the glimpse that he gets of it that the laboratory is notably larger than diameter of the tower.

Passing through a hole in the ceiling of the lab, he finds himself in a circular room lined with boxes, bags and trunks. Windows pierce three sides of the tower. Through them he can glimpse mountain slopes cloaked in great fir trees, nodding under the weight of a thick blanket of snow. It gleams in the light of a full moon.

Aeschildr stands at the fourth side, looking pensively at a large door of deep, brown wood. Heavy black hinges hold it in place, together with an enormous lock that has no keyhole, but bears the symbol of a crescent moon on it.

"My closet," she says. "The tuning fork I need to send you back to the material plane is in there."

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Micah:

"...In the closet." He shook his head a little. "Alright then. Guess I'm going in." When she opened it, he would be ready for it to be another dimension, Narnia, or the abyss. Or possibly a room with no floor where he'd fall endlessly. His life really had turned out to be weird that those were all normal thoughts to have about a closet.

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GM:

"I think ... I will be coming as well," she says.

She pauses, looking conflicted; but after a moment she nods. Decisively. "Yes. I will come with you. But first ..."

From one of the boxes near a window she draws out a small, black velvet bag. She unties the knot, and empties its contents into her hand: a silver pendant in the shape of a crescent moon, hung from a silver chain. She puts it around her neck, plants one fingertip firmly against it and slides it slowly from the top point of the moon to the other.

As she does, the years fall away. Her back straightens, the wrinkles flee, fingers curved with age straighten. Color seeps into her white hair, which lengthens into a cascade of blond. In moments, she passes from senescence to fresh youth. Only the vivid green eyes remain the same.

(Fresh portrait attached.)

"Ah," she says in a light, soprano voice untouched by age. She stretches hugely. "It has been so long!"

"Now, Micah," she goes on. "My closet has ... peculiar properties. Neither you nor I will be able to cast spells in there, including those from potions, scrolls, and wands. However, any ongoing spell effects will persist. I have a few spells I intend to cast on myself before going in, and if you would like to do so you may as well, but short-term spells will likely run out before they become relevant. Any magical gear you have should continue to work normally, as long as it doesn't involve casting a fresh spell."

(OOC: no spellcasting, including from items. Your Beads of Force will be inert, ditto for potions, but once you come out it will all work again. Anything that provides an ongoing magic bonus of some kind will work. E.g. your swords get their enhancement bonus and elemental damage dice and so forth, but Blessing of Water and Curse of Thirst won't work because those are casting fresh spells.)

"If you would like to look around here before we go in, I have all sorts of knick-knacks stowed away." She sweeps an arm to indicate the boxes, barrels and bags stacked around the edges. "Help yourself to whatever you find."

(OOC: you can find up to 2,000 gp worth of assorted stuff, mundane or magical.)

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Micah:

She looked a lot like the celestial lover he had had some time back, but he wasn't going to say that to her. The crescent moon necklace intrigued him. "How did you...?"

And he looked around the space, unsure what he should be picking up or if it would be useful. Or maybe something Eri might like.

"Lead blades." Was all he said about magic. He didn't really cast anything - usually that was for Zoey and Wren to help him with. "What exactly are we going to be facing in this closet of yours?"

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GM:

She shakes her head. "I don't know, exactly. I know the chest will need three keys. And those would be difficult for me to get alone, without my magic. But I no longer remember any specifics. Having you along may make it easier."

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Micah:

"In we go then." He motioned her to go ahead of him.

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GM:

She takes a few moments to cast a few more spells on herself.

When she is done, she presses her crescent moon necklace against the lock. A locking mechanism within retracts with a heavy thunk, and then the door swings open.

Light spells out on them, and the two step through to find themselves standing on the top of a grassy hill rising from the midst of a forest stretching out before them. Bright sunlight plays across the tops of a canopy of leaves rising from old, gnarled trees. In the distance -- a few miles off, it seems -- a mountain pierces the forest, reaching upwards into the sky.

Two paths lead down into the woods. One veers left, the other right. Both are clearly marked and hard to miss.

A stone lectern stands in front of them, words graven into its surface. It says:

One key takes surety of aim.
One key will be a bear to get.
One key waits at the base of the ascent.

The chest waits above.

Aeschildr nods. "That seems about right," she says. "I have no particular preference which we do first."

(OOC: we've got about two weeks to finish this up before the next session. I've kept that in mind in planning this out, and I think we can do it okay as long as we both reply promptly.)

Note to self (Micah won't see this till later): Aeschildr's buffs are as follows:

- Greater Age Resistance (24 hours)
- Threefold Aspect (24 hours)
- Mage Armor (17 hours)
- Mind Blank (24 hours)
- Overland Flight (17 hours)
- See Beyond (24 hours or until discharged)
- Unseen Servant (17 hours)
- See Invisibility (170 mins)

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Micah:

"Let's go left." Micah started off down Robert Frost's version of Narnia.

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GM:

The path leads them down the hill and into the trees. It is cool and green beneath the canopy. The path is easily followed, and Micah sees no evidence of anything more threatening than a butterfly and a couple of rabbits as they walk.

Before long, the trees thin out and they come to clearing. In the center, a large cage hovers mid-air, a few feet off the ground. It is made of shimmering bars of magical force, separated by gaps of about three inches. The whole thing is cube 15 feet each side.

In the center, they can see a target, hovering mid-air. There is a peg protruding from the bottom, and dangling from it a key, with a piece of parchment tied to it.

To one side there lies a wooden chest. It is not locked, and inside they find a simple yew bow and several dozen arrows.

"Ilvani must have designed this one," Aeschildr remarks. "She did love her archery."

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Micah:

"Huh. I haven't done archery in... well over a year." He said after opening the chest. He then stalked around the set up before walking over to stand next to her, arms crossed as he looked at the whole thing. "You know it's a trap, right? These things are always a trap."

A step back, putting her more forward now. "I'll shoot, then you go ahead and grab it. I'll get you out once it goes off."

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GM:

"Mmmm," she says. "I doubt it. But all right."

She gets into position, crawling under the cage.

Micah takes the bow. The draw is perfectly fine for him, despite the fact that he is not an especially strong man. He nocks an arrow, aims carefully between bars, and hits the target dead center on the first try.

(I rolled an actual die. It came up 12. After adding Micah's assorted modifiers, including a very high DEX and BAB, that is ample to hit a stationary target at 20 feet, even through a little hole.)

Jolted off its peg, the key tumbles down and falls between the bars. Aeschildr collects it and crawls back out with no issue. She reads the note attached to it.

"Well, that's one," she says. "On to the next, I guess."

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Micah:

"What's the note say?" He started walking back the way they'd come, so he could take the other path.

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GM:

She hesitates a moment, but passes the note over to him.

In elegant, sloping handwriting, it says: "If you must. But no sooner."

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Micah:

"Well that's about as clear as a cloud. What's it supposed to mean? Did you know this was a thing?" He turned on to the other path.

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GM:

She is quiet for a few long moments, before saying "It is clear to me. I did not know to expect messages, but it does not surprise me. I ... never expected to have company for this task."

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Micah:

"If it helps, I didn't plan on being here," he gave her his most charming smile. "But here we are, two good looking people, walking through a closet-forest and looking for keys that have clues!" There's a pause as he walks along before he shook his head. "That... sentence should NOT sound logical. Yet it's not the weirdest thing I've done in the last couple years." Another pause before his foot goes right in his mouth: "Were you this good looking when you came in here, or did you come in the other way?"

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GM:

"I don't remember ever coming in here before," she says.

"And *this* ..." -- she sweeps a hand down her front to indicate her admittedly lovely self -- "... is a matter of convenience. This is the maiden I was, many long years ago. But I am not her any longer, and I have resumed her form only because I needed her strength and agility to complete this task."

She smiles kindly. "You're sweet. But I am well past all that. Shall we move on?"

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Micah:

"So how long will you stay like this? Do you need a hand with anything? I could always carry you if you need." He kept his eyes out down the path for anything they might need to avoid, fight, or find.

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GM:

"I am fine, thank you. This particular spell lasts one full day. I do not think we will be here that long."

The two of them return to the fork in the road and follow the other path. It passes down to the right, into the forest again. After about a quarter hours' walk, Micah catches a sound up ahead: a grunting noise.

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Micah:

He continued moving ahead but put an arm out to have her stay behind him as he drew one blade, creeping forward. Either there were two more people up ahead having a good time, or there was an animal or beast that could be trouble. He moved careful, ready to draw his other blade.

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GM:

Micah creeps forward and discovers a moderately sized clearing. White and gold flowers adorn the grass, and he can make out bees hovering about them.

The grunting sound turns out to be an enormous bear. It is standing on it hind legs and attempting to shove a dead tree over. From the alarmed bees swarming out of it, Micah infers that there must be a hive full of honey inside.

He can also see that there is a collar around the bear's neck, and as it lunges forward to shove the tree again, he catches sight of a silvery key tied to it, together with a note.

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Micah:

It had been awhile since he'd had to try calming an animal in any way. Killing a collared animal was a bad idea, so he took a few deep breaths, willing himself to a grounded and centered state. One with nature and all that. He kept his voice calm and low, as he would have back in the forests well before he started this crazy adventure. "Hey buddy. Looking for some honey, huh?" No fast movements. Look big, but non-threatening. Don't turn your back. "You want me to get that down for you?"

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GM:

(Point of clarity -- it's not a hive hanging from the branches; it's inside a hollow in the tree. That's why he's trying to knock the tree down.)

(This is going to be a wild empathy check. This seems like a pretty important roll, so I want you to make it. Your wild empathy bonus is +7. Go ahead and roll it and let me know what you get.)

The bear turns and looks at Micah, shifting back and forth on its hind legs as it tries to decide what to do about him.

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Micah:

(rolled a 15+7 = 22)

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GM:

The bear decides Micah is not a threat, and goes back to pounding on the tree.

(He began with the attitude "unfriendly." The DC to make him "indifferent" was 18. Making him "friendly" required a 23. So he is now indifferent. I figure that means he'll basically ignore Micah unless Micah gets all up in his business. What now?)

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GM:

Aeschildr comes forward and joins Micah, spotting the bear as she does so. It ignores her. "Oh," she says looking at the key swinging from its collar. "Well ... it did say that one key would be a bear to get."

She smiles wryly. "This is clearly Rhodos' handiwork."

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Micah:

If the bear wants the honey that badly, Micah would look around to see if there is another source he could potentially get for the bear.

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GM:

He does not see any other hives in the area.

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Micah:

He attempts to move into that tree, above the bear, and to try prying the hive out for the bear.

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GM:

(I think we're having a fundamental miscommunication about what the hive is like. Take a hollow tree and fill it with honeycomb. That's the hive. Getting it out requires you to basically crack open the tree. It's not really a separate thing that can be pried out.)

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Micah:

I rolled a 13 for wisdom (don't have his modifiers in front of me) to figure out what the heck he's supposed to do. OOC, I'd say just kill the bear. In character, I have no idea. Micah wouldn't want to kill it.

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GM:

There's nothing in particular he's "supposed" to do. I didn't have a particular solution in mind. I just gave you a bear with a key on its collar. Wild Empathy was a good thought that didn't work out quite as planned -- though since the bear is not concerned by your presence that opens up some non-combat options.

It's also reasonable to try and get the honey for the bear; it's just not easy to get, especially while the bear is right there. The hive is inside a hollow tree because that's a pretty common place for bees to build hives. It does wonders for keeping bears out.

Since you're looking for ways forward, here are some ideas. You could:

- kill the bear (as you mentioned)
- wait till it goes to sleep and steal the key
- go find another hive someplace else and bring back honey for it
- wait till it gives up, then harvest the honey and offer it later
- offer it candy
- go fishing and bring it fish
- root through your inventory and see if there's anything else it might like
- provoke the bees into stinging it, then try and make friends by salving its wounds
- leave the closet and come back with a spell cast on you that will help in some way
- try a Handle Animal check to get it to let you take the collar off
- shoot the key off the collar with an arrow and run
- ask Aeschildr if any of the spells she has running might be helpful

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Micah:

(I don't think he ever replaced his bow? He'll try fishing if there's water nearby, and offering that! Then try slipping collar off)

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GM:

(There was a bow and a bunch of arrows at the last challenge. But fishing it is! I don't think there's any need for a Survival roll or anything -- fishing is a task Micah would succeed at, it will just take a bit of time.)

Micah scouts around until he finds a creek winding through the forest. Lacking a fishing line, he fashions a fish spear out of a sapling, splitting one end and holding it wide with a twig so that it will snap shut when thrust around a fish.

A bemused Aeschildr sits on a nearby rock and watches as he kicks off his boots, rolls up his trousers and spends the better part of an hour stalking through the shallows, attempting to spear fish. It proves challenging at first, as the water distorts where the fish actually are. But he soon gets the hang of it, aiming slightly down and to one side of where the fish appears to be to compensate.

In the end a rather wet Micah emerges from the waters, triumphantly bearing three silvery fish.

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Micah:

Using the same calming tone, he heads back over, setting the fish down for the bear, encouraging him to come get it. If cooperative, he'd then try to get the key from the bear. If uncooperative, he'd use the time to I don't know, maybe use his blade to pry out some of the honeycomb? And then try again.

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GM:

(Okay, this is another wild empathy check. The DC is the same, but you get a +5 bonus for giving him fish, for a total bonus of +13. If you roll a 5 or higher he will be friendly and let you get the key.)

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Micah:

Rolled a 7

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GM:

The bear immediately shows interest in the fish. After eating the first one, it approaches Micah and noses after the next one. While it's eating the last two fish, he is able to undo the clasp on the collar and slip it off, along with the key.

After finishing the third fish, the bear examines Micah, in case he is hiding a fourth; but then gives a huff and wanders off into the woods.

The key has a note attached. As Aeschildr approaches, Micah reads it. It says: "My love -- don't."

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Micah:

He gives her the note. "Now what? What'd the other one say again? Where's this other path we need?"

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GM:

(The first one said: "If you must. But no sooner." Micah can remember that easily enough, it's only been an hour or so.)

She reads the note. "Oh, Rhodos," she says, her face a mixture of regret and affection.

"I don't think there is another path," she says, tucking key and note away. "The lectern said that one key waits at the base of the ascent. We have to head for the mountain. My tuning forks are on top, and it sounds as though the last key is at the bottom."

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Micah:

He sets off in that direction.

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GM:

It is not difficult to find the way. The mountain is clearly visible. Aeschildr hums softly to herself as you walk -- a soft, lilting tune you've never heard before.

The terrain slowly begins to slope upwards. The trees grow steadily more sparse. As they reach the base of the mountain, their destination becomes obvious: just at the base, a cliff has been smoothed away to a flat surface. The stone is fine marble, gleaming white in the sun.

In the center, the key they need hangs from a peg driven into the rock; and above, words have been carved into the surface:

"I trust your judgement. If you are here, then you are already sure. I shall see you soon, my friend."

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Micah:

He steps up onto the flat surface and takes the key. He rereads the words a few times, then slowly turns to look at her. "...This is going to finish you, isn't it? You'll die."

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GM:

"Yes," she says. "I intend to send you home, put my house in order, and then go see a real sunrise one last time. However briefly."

She sweeps a hand at the landscape around the. "I always knew that one day I would decide that it was time to be done. But I wanted to be sure -- REALLY sure -- that I was certain. And so I locked away my tuning forks here, and had my three friends Ilvani, Rhodos and Hyram design challenges I would need to overcome if I really wanted them back." She rests a hand on the words carved into the cliff face, a fond smile play. "I guess Hyram thought I didn't really need them. He always knew me better than I did myself."

She looks back at Micah. "I never anticipated having company on this last adventure; but don't think you have caused this, young man. I have been considering it for quite some time now. All this means is that I get to do one last bit of good before I move on."

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Micah:

He hopped down, looking at her for a long moment. Then he nodded, giving her a hug. "I'll make sure to pass on your name." In typical Micah fashion then he grinned. "Not sure I'd give your name to a kid or anything, but you'll be remembered." He motioned for her to lead on... then grabbed her arm. "What about the cat?"

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GM:

"Pumpkin has been with me a long time, and he's a good deal smarter than your usual cat," she tells him. "He's coming with me, to the end. He understands what that means, and he agrees that it's time. It's good of you to think him, though."

"Shall we?"

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Micah:

He followed along, a little frown tugging at him, but understanding

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GM:

The two of them climb the mountain. It is, all things considered, not an especially tall mountain. At the summit, they find a chest made of dark wood, bound with titanium and locked with three titanium locks. One lock bears the image of an arrow, one a sword, and one an open hand.

Aeschildr opens the locks one by one and lifts the lid. Within lies a small ebony box with silver hinges and clasp. She opens it to reveal a series of silver tuning forks seated in niches lined with blue velvet; each one labeled with the destination plane. There are twenty of them.

As she opens it, a peal of thunder rolls across the landscape, followed by hush. "The anti-magic effect has lifted," she tells Micah. "I can cast spells again. Do you have anything else to say before I send you back where you came from?"

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Micah:

"Good luck won't work. How about... Goodbye?"

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GM:

She chuckles. "I prefer, 'farewell'," she says. "Death is just one more adventure. But I'll wish you good luck. It sounds as though you may need it."

After asking a few questions about exactly where he came from, Aeschildr withdraws one of the tuning forks from her box. "All right. Go well, young Micah. Do what you need to do. May your life be long and full of joy."

With that, she taps the tuning fork on the chest. It hums a note he has never heard before yet recognizes on a deep, instinctual level: home. The note swells louder and louder as she casts her spell. She presses one hand to his chest; and everything dissolves into light.

The last thing he sees of that place is her green eyes and faint smile before he is forced by the brightness to blink.

Even before he opens them once more, he can feel it: the chill of the ancient city in the wind-swept mountains.

He is back.

Back, in Xin-Shalast.

He opens his eyes, and there they are: Zoey and Skrag, Wren and Ronia. His friends.

(And that concludes the Long Walk Home.)