Belym
a spirit, native to this dungeon. woken from its rest by a practitioner, and angered, and bound to the circle. it is a spirit of imprisonment and death, likely specializing in metals. the prison itself is going to start attacking, until you can put the spirit to rest, or banish it.
Ron
Your friend drops his staff, and throws his spellbook on the ground. No way in hells Belym survived that cave-in, or those things. Either yer a liar, or the dwarf you travel with is. Therain says. when he says "those things", Jera gives him a look of disapproval
an' me, I'm inclined to trust a dwarf more than a stranger. So tell me something that proves you knew Belym, or some other reason for me to trust you? Jera asks
what do you do?
Gods be good, it be the two of ye after all this time! Yer Jera, aren't ye? And that make ye Therain. Belym tells me she been searching for the both of ye since ye be passing through Aled's Crossing, through to Mellon's Camp. I saw yer letter. Ye went to Gilfaldir, didn't ye? And ye made it here to ... This is Bogdoruhl, innit? How'd ye end up on sentry duty? Nevermind, nevermind. I met yer clan. Cailis, Akira, Stonespeaker. Brought Belym ... the real Beylm, back to em. They didn't believe us either, at first. Wait ... the axe. Cailis broke an axe, nay it be a hammer, on his first cave patrol. Named it ... Maintenance. I don't know what ye think I am, but I'm no monster. No monster would know that. Belym is my friend, and she lives, I swear to ye. Survived the rocks falling. She be out there, and I need to get to me friends if there be any chance to save her.
His head drops as the adrenaline that has been keeping him standing since he woke up finally drains away. He looks up at them desperately. Please. She'll die.
Yer wrong. She lives. Survived the cave-in, and eventually made it back to her clan. Akira, Stonespeaker, Cailis ... all of em. She was looking for two dwarves. Took me all over the damn surface looking. Mean bastards as I take it, but of the Felstone clan nonetheless. Wait ... how did ye know of the cave-in?
The room is still as a grave, the party peering into the darkness. Roshan and Cassandra stand, back to back, as the senior inquisitor calls out to the darkness. "I would not mark us easy meat either, death-seeker. We're here for the ones that deigned to wake you, and will see you interred regardless of your stance on the issue, should you impede us. Aside from our lives, what would sate you?"
Belym tenses, waiting with conduit primed to try to deflect the nearby bits of metal.
Ron
'e might be telling the truth. some of tha' was knowledge from the cty itself, well warded against wizard's pryin' Therain says.
Maybe yer who ye say ye are. we can't risk losing another Felstone. Bogdorhule is lost, everyone in there is dead, or worse. Did belym tell ye what happened to our city? Jera asks
In the dungeons
the trail leads deeper into the secondary prisons. Meanwhile, a length of chain snakes toward you fron the official prisons, rearing up to strike Belym, and deeper within, you hear the rattleing of bars and hollow sounds. What do you do?
Belym didn't seem too comfortable talking about it. But Akira mentioned that some calamity arrived and ye all evacuated. Most of yer number were picked off by bandits and beasts, and the remainder set up home in an old mine. The two of ye went to Gilfaldir to seek aid, and here we are. Ye probably haven't heard just why Belym survived the tunnel collapse. The Stonespeaker claimed she bonded to a serpent node, or something, and can now control many elements. Said it hadn't been done since Balin Undermount and ... Kellis Brokehammer? Ye should see her, a sight to behold.
He shifts uncomfortably.
Could ye lower the crossbows? If Bogdorulh is dead, why are ye still here? Why are we still here? Is there anyone else with you? We need to get moving.
Roshan twists on one foot, spinning to intercept the chain. Rather than block it with her shield, she threads the chain through her Chakram and twists. Arcs of crimson static touch the iron and bounce along its length.
Roshan reaches out to attempt to haul in the chain...
Ron
By stone and slate Jera says. A living node. She would be a legend, a guide for dwarves everywhere, if the city had not fallen.
Jera lowers her crossbow. Pick that knife back up. Therain says He stays disarmed. Therain indicates the enchanted cultist. We're going to show you why we're still here.
The two dwarves lead you to a chamber, some distance from where you were. in it is a large, humanoid figure, made entirely from some form of stone. It is glued to the floor, with a strange blue-white goo, not unlike the stuff one of the pale abominations had spewed as a breath weapon. it is trying to break free, but seems unable.
Rohan
the aura of wrath sets the chain to rust, but your Chakram barely damages the chain, which is rather thick.
the chain attempt to clamp the shackle at its end around your left wrist, tearing skin and opening veins as it struggles with you
Roshan pulls her arms apart, attempting to break free of the chain.
"It wants only to restrain us, and is not affected by conventional attacks. We should push through. Time is on their side."
Belym nods at Roshan, and carefully falls back towards the trail Roshan was following.
Once the group's in position to flee the chamber, she launches a barrage of stone at the binding circle, trying to disrupt the ritual, before they rush down the hallway.
I'm fascinated by the spirt, and I defiantly want to kill a ghost, but Roshan probably has a good point. Begrudgingly, I follow along, narrowly avoiding Belym's rockfall.
Maybe I'll kill the ghost on the way out...
Ron picks up the knife, as well as the cultist's staff and spell book. It's ok, they be friends.
As they follow Jera, Ron flips through the spell book, conscious of Therain guarding the rear, or more accurately, guarding the cultist.
Ron starts as he notices the stone golem. He immediately falls into a defensive stance. What is this?
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in the dungeons
You three follow the disturbed dust, the chains from the main dungeon left behind. however, up ahead, you see that there are dozens of skeletons. Only 4 were not in the cells when they died, guards who had died in whatever had caused these dungeon to be sealed. likely a fire, bu the state of the walls. the four lower their halberds, electricity arcing from the metal, grounding itself in the bars of the cells. what do you do?
with the golem
Emote
You cause a person you touch to feel one emotion of your choice,
very strongly, but only for a moment.
Identify Person
This spell tells you the name, cultural background, and occupation
of one person you can see, hear, or feel.
Detect Magic
One of your senses is briefly attuned to magic. The GM will tell
you what here is magical.
Cause Fear ONGOING
Choose a target you can see and a nearby object. The target is afraid of the object so long as you maintain the spell. Their reaction is up to them: flee, panic, beg, fight. While this spell is ongoing you take -1 to cast a spell. You cannot target entities with less than animal intelligence (magical constructs, undead, automatons, and the like).
The Urge
You touch someone and create an urge in them—escape, greed, hunger, sexual desire, or thirst, for example. You choose the urge, but they react of their own free will. The urge fades after a few hours.
Memory Reading
You touch someone and experience one of their memories, as if it were your own.
Dispel Magic
Choose a spell or magic effect in your presence: this spell rips it
apart. Lesser spells are ended, powerful magic is just reduced or
dampened so long as you are nearby.
Revelation
Your devotion is answered with a moment of perfect
understanding. The GM will shed light on the current situation.
When acting on the information, you take +1 forward.
Polymorph
Your touch reshapes a creature entirely, they stay in the form you
craft until you cast a spell. Describe the new shape you craft,
including any stat changes, significant adaptations, or major
weaknesses. The GM will then tell you one or more of these:
The creature’s mind will be altered as well.
The form has an unintended benefit or weakness.
The form will be unstable and temporary.
Prophecy
Name someone who poses a threat to you. The GM will reveal one
aspect of a danger they are involved with. It could be a grim
portent, the impending doom, someone else connected to that
danger, a custom move or some other detail that gives you insight
into how to stop it from achieving its goal.
Dominate ONGOING
Your touch pushes your mind into someone else’s. You gain
1d4 hold. Spend one hold to make the target take one of these
actions:
Give you something they hold.
Make a concerted attack on a target of your choice.
Speak a few words of your choice.
Truthfully answer one question.
If you run out of hold the spell ends. If the target takes damage you
lose 1 hold. While the spell is ongoing you cannot cast a spell.
It's a golem. the same things that overran out city. they're immune to our magic, hitting them hard as a boulder barely slows them. they must have opened a shaft here too. we opened up an ancient tunnel, winding and strange, and these things started coming after us. we don't know why. we don't kow if they will eventually leave the cities. Jera says
yer a wizzard, do ye know anything about these? Therain asks.
Ron slowly backs out of the room containing the golem. Ye stayed here because of this golem? Are ye mad? How many more are there? That goop is the same stuff those monsters spew forth. Which means one of two things. Yer allies with these monsters or yer damned fools. How can I trust ye?
Belym takes aim at the skeletons, trying to knock them out of the group's way.
A smile crosses my face. Something I can hit. The lightning is...distressing, but not unavoidable.
I leap down to one of the skeletons that Belym knocked to the ground.
[ooc]If I still need to do H&S
I ignore an easy opening in place of not getting zapped.
Roshan and Cassandra keep their distance, brandishing their chakram.
The bladed rings bounce off of bones, metal bars, stone walls, and back to their wielders so fast it is hard to keep track of them. The blades converge on one of the standing skeletons with a halberd.
Ron
The golem moves, not in the jerking, algorithmic method of a trapped automaton or mindless slave, but with the heuristic panic of a trapped person.
We're here because we want to know what can stop it. Jera says What monsters? are they something we could safely control?
in the dungeons
Belyms stone powders two skeletons, and Conwall strikes down a third. Roshan and Cassie bind as tear apart. the bars of this prison shake, like the structure itself is furious. in a nearby guardhouse, you hear a growling voice say Damn it all, they're breaching Sarah's wards
Ron looks at the two dwarves skeptically for a moment. I will tell ye everything I know, but know that ye could be killing Belym with this nonsense.
He tells the story of what happened to him since the group entered these tunnels.
Can we go? I've lost me patience.
[ooc]I forgot how much damage you guys could put out, even without fireball.
The scary thing is that I haven’t boosted my damage since level 2...
[ooc]The scary thing is that I haven’t boosted my damage since level 2...
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Ron
Lets get moving. Jera says, after you remind her of the severity Ye can tell us on the way.
Therain leads you through a twisting series of tunnels, by the time you are done you are under starlight, with fresh air in your lungs. exhaustion is creeping into everyone as dawn breaks, however. Damn it all. Therain says. We can't keep goin' like this. Need a few hours rest. the city is 3 days away, unless we can get our hands on some horses. He and Jera curse theirposition a little more, but agree that camp must be made. what do you do?
Ron holds the cultist's staff tightly in his left hand
Prepare yerselves. There be one last thing needs doing.
Ron raises the staff and drops the charm spell. We need to have a quick conversation about yer immediate future. Way I see it ye've three options. Leave now and don't return. Get yerself killed tryin t' kill me. Or renounce yer masters and help me destroy them. Ye've seen first hand what I can do, because my Goddess walks with me. Yer gods would destroy this world and everyone in it. My Goddess brings redemption and purpose, even for ye. He begins to glow with an emerald light. I walk with the Emerald Lady. He holds out an empty hand for a handshake. Will you walk with me?
Roshan hands off her shield to Cassie, and pulls out Hebron's Book of the Third Vance. She quickly pages through, looking for a rite or word of power to quiet a restless spirit.
Belym hones in on the location the voices came from; the stone arm extends to cover the rest of her body, and she dives into the floor, trying to surprise the speaker in the guardhouse when she emerges.
Ron
The cultist staggers as his mind is deprived of dozens of memories. he falls to his knees. no aboleths, no Ron, nothing filling his head. Give me salvations. he begs Give me anything, just make the emptyness stop. he is wreathed in green light, as he finishes.
wait, I though ye were a wizards? are most surface wizards priests? Therain asks after the ordeal is over.
Roshan
To send a spirit to the place of the restful dead, you must find their mortal remains, and give them the last rites. Or, you find an object, and bind them to it, holding them prisoner until such a time as they agree to pass on willingly.
the trick to binding something is to find an object it can inhabit, and convince the spirit that this object is what it should (know it's motivation to do this), and then lace a simple binding sigil on it.
Belym
you appear, surrounded by three guards. all look terrified. [b]Godslayers! it's the godslayers![/]b one yells, as all three nearly fall over eachother as they rush for the exit. what do you do?
Ron has a rare and disconcerting moment of self-reflection about what he has become. He buries it deep.
Its complicated. I'm exhausted. Take first watch and I will explain later.
Ron falls asleep with the Kris in his hand.
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Belym advances on the guards, waving her good arm menacingly, and allowing a small hail of pebbles to fall to the floor from her stone arm. "Think you can escape us? None of you are the one I seek - tell me where Sarah is, and I may let you leave this room, instead of entombing you in it."
Shifting her equipment as she follows the others, Roshan pulls the manacles from her inquisition kit. Maybe the spirit would accept an object of restraint. She and Cassandra work, back to back, watching the jail for a clue about the spirit's motivation.
Ron
You awaken as rested as is possible in troll country. it is a few hours into your watch, almost dawn, when trouble arrives. Four ravagers patrol the hills, half a mile to the east, illuminated by the twilight glow. they may well spot you, unless you distract, or slay them. what do you do?
Belym
The soldiers drop their weaponry. Let us leave, and we'll tell you everything we know. says one, as he and his fellows inch toward the door. what do you do?
Roshan
The manacles grow cold, and you taste copper. Thhe spirit will attack from the manacles in a moment, and a short one at that. what do you do?
Roshan's knife flashes through the air, painting the red sigil across the banded metal.
Cassandra peeks over her shoulder, holding Roshan's shield in both hands.
I approach the scared guards. Tell us useful things and we’ll leave you alive.
Belym raises her voice so it'll carry back to the other two. "You two - leave," she gestures at the two who didn't reply. To the last, she says "Clan's honor - tell me where she is and what she's doing, and you can follow them. "
I let the two guards pass safely. Letting two people go should prove that we'll make good on our offer.
Ron quietly wakes the others, shushing them. He whispers, Reavers. He points.
Pack quickly. I will lead them off and return shortly.
He puts a hand on his chest...
... and disappears.
He moves about halfway between the two groups and waits to see if the reavers notice his companions.
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Conwall and Belym
She's in the fourth cell. the big one with the magebane lock. he says, as his allies retreat. Gathered a bunch of stuff in there, like herbs and bone and gems... don't know what she's doing.. he inches toward the door again, eyes fixed on Catastrophe.
Roshan
the blood sigil holds, though it has occasional sparks for a moment. the bars and chains cease moving, as do the skeletons. for the time being, the spirit is trapped in your manacles... I wouldn't put anyone in them, though.
Your companions have gone ahead, and two guards are fleeing toward the exit. what do you do?
Ron
Your allies are almost packed when the ravagers notice. Ones hand goes to an axe, which has been altered (or perhaps repaired) to have several jutting outcrops of metal. he snarls to his companions. what do you do?
I look to the fourth cell. Is there a mage bane lock like he said?
Ron pulls his blade and waits until the ravages are almost upon him before he drops invisibility. Immediately the blade flashes emerald green.
Green fire erupts within the middle of the group. The moment the flames subside Ron is among them, driving the kris into the gut of the one wielding the hefty axe.
Roshan wonders who she'd want to put into possessed manacles. The list is not short... No longer dancing with the spirit-bound chains, Roshan looks from the men Belym is speaking with to Conwall, who has jogged down a ways to check a cell. "Did you ask them about Sarah?"
Cassandra touches Roshan's hip, and when she turns, the initiate nods to her, and waves her hand, pointing down the hall and tracing a jagged circle.
Roshan pulls down the front of her chain shirt through her tabard, and clears her throat. "Have Conwall break the side wall. It's an old abandoned dungeon, is it not? Never put an iron lock on a wooden door..."
Belym nods at the man. "Get out of here." She rejoins Roshan, and points at the indicated cell. "They said she's in there, with the makings of another ritual of some kind. Think we should all go in together, or should I knock on the door? "
the Dungeons
The fourth cell's lock is magebane, though the seal does not encompass the whole cell. from inside comes the smell of inscence, and other, less pleasant odors.
out in the badlands
The inferno engulfs the group. three of them are incinerated, the one with the axe... gets angry.
Ron spins as he withdraws the blade, ducking under the ravager's off-arm and immediately gaining distance. He flips the kris in the air, catching it by the blade, and prepares to throw.
Ron grins as the blade flashes in a puff of green lightning and returns to his hand. He moves into a defensive posture, and gives the beast the come hither gesture.
Roshan runs a finger along a seam in the masonry in cell 3's adjoining wall. "Looks to me like a matter of leverage." With her ears stuffed with padding, her voice is booming, and lacks the sly tone she intended.
Cassandra stands in front of the magebane seal, moving her bent fingers through the air, trying to trace the knotted energy in her mind...
Ron
you spill the monster's guts with your first attack, but he roars and raises the vicious axe, until you plant the kriss between his eyes. that drops him.
Never seen a wizard do that! Therain Whoops
we need to get moving. that noise will have attracted attention Jera chastises, slinging her pack over her shoulder, and putting the safety catch back on her crossbow
Roshan
Same place... different layer. Cassie mutters Crazy diabolist opened a portal, She's trying to get away.
what do you do?
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The door is mage-locked, not footlocked. I kick the door down before she can get away.