"Oh, it is Anlathi..." Eben says, as he begins reading. "Um..." his features grow both confused and worried as he sums up Anlathi's missive. "I... uh... so... Spiny's run off. And apparently he's gotten bigger. Much bigger. Anlathi's kind of freaked out by it. Says he'll be fine, no predator can challenge him, but I don't know, I'm more worried about the damage he can do now that he's not under control..." His eyes skip down to the second part of the note. "Oh! Huh." His concerned expression becomes a pleased- almost smug- grin. "And... all the rest is for me." he says simply, folding the message up and sticking it in his breast pocket.
"I hope the city doesn't panic and send monster hunters after him or something", Tanith says with a slight frown.
"She doesn't think he's even in the city anymore. She thinks his instincts took over. Maybe he's trying to head back to the Isle of Dread? Well, maybe we can scry on him ourselves when we get a chance."
"Okay, your turn again." Celeste says. "What is all this stuff about the Age of Worms? Eligos is being uncharacteristically mysterious about it all. It's like talking to freaking Mordenkainen."
"Some god...thing called Kyuss wants to infect everything with Kyruss worms and make them become Kyuss zombies and kill the planet or something like that. I'm kind of fuzzy on the fine details, but Raknian's thing and the Ebon Triad were all part of the plan."
"Wait, Mordenkainen? You know him?" Astraden's jaw drops a little. "Damn. I guess it follows, since you're such good buds with Manzorian. But still, damn. Been hearing stories about him since I was a tyke."
Astraden unbuckles her rapier and drops it and her belt pouches to the floor behind the sofa. "Yeah, it's some sort of apocalypse thing, where modern civilizations and I guess life in general will be converted by a plague of undeath. There's this entity called 'Kyuss,' who has some special worms and zombies named after him. He's involved. And has a lot of agents. We've fought wrestlers (Raknian), tieflings, dragons, and crazed priests (in the Ebon Triad), all of them wanting to bring about this Age. Zyrxog seemed to think the Age is approaching. And some non-evil sources sense it too - an ancient druid and a mystical tomb, if memory serves."
Carina nods. "We've also got a scroll that can fill us in on the finer points of the whole thing--that is, assuming you're comfortable with it sounding like someone's REALLY interested in licking your ear with a rancid tongue."
She shivers.
"To be honest we don't understand it very well ourselves. I think it's been mostly luck that keeps putting us in front of the nut jobs that are trying to make this thing happen. It's one of the things we were hoping Manzorian could help us with."
"But since you say the man in charge is gone for now I guess we'll wait. Are there any churches or shrines out here? Maybe I'll start another temple-gym."
"You should go on a promoting campaign. Hand out pamphlets or something."
"Spread the word of Kord, 'The Heavenly Spotter'."
"I bet there'd be interest. Sounds like Magepoint has more than its share of rough folk looking for some societally sanctioned violence."
"Hmm. I like the sound of that."
"Well, if we're going to be waiting around a bit... Rodrigo, you said you can do long distance travel now? We might work in some day trips to the big city, then. Not that Magepoint doesn't have its own share of delights, I'm sure, but, y'know, there's... stuff there."
"In the meantime, I should look into updating my arsenal of extracts and bombs some more." Carina takes out her pistol and gives it a dubious look. "I haven't been using this little thing at all lately--takes too long to load."
"Wait, Mordenkainen? You know him?" Astraden's jaw drops a little. "Damn. I guess it follows, since you're such good buds with Manzorian. But still, damn. Been hearing stories about him since I was a tyke."
Celeste shrugs. "Well, I've met him once or twice. He doesn't think much of meddling celestials, though. Really tiresome guy."
"He's a genius," Cymria says, shrugging.
Celeste snorts. "He's a pretentious—Manzorian agrees with me, you know."
"Of course he would."
"Are you trying to—" Celeste glances toward the party. "Oh, forget it."
This seems to be a recurring argument between them.
Astraden unbuckles her rapier and drops it and her belt pouches to the floor behind the sofa. "Yeah, it's some sort of apocalypse thing, where modern civilizations and I guess life in general will be converted by a plague of undeath. There's this entity called 'Kyuss,' who has some special worms and zombies named after him. He's involved. And has a lot of agents. We've fought wrestlers (Raknian), tieflings, dragons, and crazed priests (in the Ebon Triad), all of them wanting to bring about this Age. Zyrxog seemed to think the Age is approaching. And some non-evil sources sense it too - an ancient druid and a mystical tomb, if memory serves."
Celeste purses her lips. "Wow. That's a real bundle there. I mean, every celestial knows the Ages, but I didn't think the Age of Worms was really a thing. We're more preoccupied with this whole Demogorgon thing." She waves a hand. "Whole other story."
Carina nods. "We've also got a scroll that can fill us in on the finer points of the whole thing--that is, assuming you're comfortable with it sounding like someone's REALLY interested in licking your ear with a rancid tongue."
Cymria seems interested, but Celeste's eyes narrow. "A scroll? That sounds dodgy. I never use a sentient item if I don't know where its loyalties lie."
"But since you say the man in charge is gone for now I guess we'll wait. Are there any churches or shrines out here? Maybe I'll start another temple-gym."
"There's a Kordian shrine around the edge of town, actually. You might want to have a remove deafness ready for after, though. The priest is...loud."
Tanith is suddenly very excited about the party's stay in Magepoint. "Oh? I can't wait to meet him!"
"Her, actually." Celeste points. "It's toward the northern end. Don't say I didn't warn you."
"So... you want to visit the shrine first, Tanith?" Carina asks, inching closer to him.
"Sure!" the big man answers. "What other sights should make a point to see in town?"
"And, what is your exact relation to Manzorian? Are you friends? Did he summon you? Do you work for him, or just collaborate?" Astraden asks Celeste.
"Summon me? Pfft." Celeste shrugs. "Manzorian's a big deal, and he's one of the only big deals not willing to settle for some warped idea of 'balance'." She shoots Cymria a look, but Cymria doesn't seem to take the bait. "I get in on my own effort, but I work for Manzorian as one of his agents while I'm here."
Tanith and Carina head to the shrine to Kord. The place rests upon a hill overlooking the Lake of Unknown Depths, and is built out of what appear to be felled birch trees that have just been sort of propped against each other with a big tarp on top and a bunch of boulders rolled up the hill to hold the tarp down.
"WHO IS THIS THAT I SEE?" roars a voice. Tanith and Carina look up. A wild-eyed elf sits atop the giant tent-like structure, wearing a mess of furs and glinting reptilian hides. She leaps down, bare feet digging into the hard earth as she lands. She looks between Carina and Tanith. "ONE of you IS A KORDIAN," she says, fists clenching, "and the OTHER CARRIES A FHARLAGHN MAILBAG!"
"THE NAME'S TANITH CREED. BACK IN DIAMOND LAKE THEY CALLED ME 'KORDSON'", Tanith finds himself yelling back sympathetically while tapping the holy symbol tattooed brightly across his bulging pectoral.
Recognizing the unnecessary volume, he quiets down as he introduces the undine at his side.
"This is Carina Viera. We're new to town and when I heard Magepoint had a genuine shrine to the Brawler I had to see it for myself and meet the man/woman in charge."
Wary of another impostor, Tanith looks around for familiar iconography.
"Well, ANYONE with a diaphragm so STRONG IS NATURALLY WELCOME HERE!" The priest claps with excitement. The claps are loud, but still something of a reprieve from her hollering. "COME IN! IT HAS BEEN LONG SINCE I HAVE SEEN A FELLOW FOLLOWER OF THE BRAWLER!"
The symbol of Kord is crudely carved into the bark of the felled trees. Inside is constructed a sort of jungle gym going all the way to the top, though it seems slightly more geared towards strength and agility than strength and endurance—there are lots of ropes and balance beams.
The shrine was different from what he was expecting but still familiar enough to be a comfort. "Did you set this all up on your own?" the big man says as does a few quick chin ups on one of the fallen boughs.
"I am QUITE INDUSTRIOUS!" The cleric leaps into the air and settles on a balance beam. She crouches like a gargoyle and looks down. "The Brawler told me to build him a GRAND TEMPLE, and THIS I have done!"
"You certainly have", Tanith says with genuine appreciation. "That reminds me. I should check in with Tigri later..."
"And what should we call you? 'High Priestess' doesn't really sound like a title the Brawler would want used in his holy places", he adds realizing they didn't know the elf's name.
"I AM GORRIM," the elf shouts, thumping her chest, "the REDHANDED! I go by Gorri."
"So you still haven't summed up your smuggling mission against Squidfa... Zyrxog." Eben points out. "And I'm curious, Cymria, what's your role here? Do you work for Manzorian too?"
Carina winces as the elven priestess and Tanith exchange bellows. Ow... my ears...
"Er... hello, Gorri." She says as she climbs up on a balance beam and sits down on it, watching Tanith do his chin ups. She licks her lips.
Gorrim grabs Carina by the shoulder. "WHY are you WATCHING?" she demands. "THE STRONG PROTECT, THE WEAK SERVE! GET OVER ON A BALANCE BEAM, BLUE PERSON, and become STRONG!"
Cymria snorts. "Eh, more-or-less. I mostly just hang around town and get a feel for how things are going. The archmage likes to hear what I read. In fact, I'm here now to gauge what you lot are like.
"I'm actually an adventurer like you guys. Just..." She shrugs. "Walking off some damage right now. Once I'm recovered, though, it's back in the game."
Celeste frowns as Eben asks about Zyrxog. "I actually never ran into the squid guy himself. I was investigating a smuggling network connected to a major band of slavers down south. Zyrxog was one of their contacts. He had his shapeshifting pawns look the other way when something needed to be slipped out of the city. It was a cheap source of income that I'm happy to say has now dried up."
"Er--yes, ma'am! Right!" Carina is visibly bewildered as Gorri hauls her up onto the balance beam.
She starts trying to do an acrobatics routine on it...
...and considering how unprepared she is, it's surprising how she doesn't immediately fall off the beam.
She tries again, but she nearly falls off the beam when she tries to do a handstand. "Actually, hang on a minute."
She hops off the beam and starts taking off her gear, leaving herself in her travelling clothes. "There--let's see if I do any better now."
She hops back onto the beam, and starts doing flips and handstands much more easily now. "Figures--my stuff was getting in the way."
After a set of chin ups, hanging crunches, and lunging swings across Gorrim's handwork, Tanith starts to sweat.
"I think I'm going to spend a lot of time up here", he says to the priestess. "I hope you don't mind the company. You having a good time Red?"
"Down south being Greyhawk?" Astraden asks Celeste. "Odd. I would've figured Zyrxog'd left the city after killing Eligos. Guess it accurately estimated our thirst for vengeance."
The priestess slides down into a more proper sofa-sitting position and props her feet on the table. "So, anything else you want to know? That magical tomb I mentioned - an old Vaati place, with some weird guardians and a ghoul necromancer roaming around. Farrukh here was kinda 'chosen' by the spirit of a dead wind duke noble named Icosiol. Eligos, this is more Allustan's thing, but you might find his swords interesting."
After the hobnob is over, Astraden heads to her new room and takes a few minutes to pray, then pulls out her silver mirror and looks intently into the scratched surface. Holding her mask over the mirror, she chants for a long, long time, cajoling Olidammara to override the flat grey plate's nature with an image of another place. After what feels like an eternity of prayer, a fuzzy image finally begins to form. She whispers, "Spiny," focusing on the dinosaur's essence.
"South of Greyhawk. You know, where the smuggling ring was in." Celeste rolls her eyes. "You know, I explained all this in our first meeting, and it's only been a week or two since. You all have certainly had a lot on your mind."
Astraden finds herself unable to get more than a blurry idea of the dinosaur before he seems to shake the sensor off.
"Damn. Well, I did die. Can't be expected to remember everything," Astraden apologizes.
After a full seventy-five minutes of effort prove to be completely worthless, Astraden grimaces and shoves the mirror off her desk, where it dents and rolls with a crash. "Too stubborn for your own good," she mutters.
Heading downstairs again, the priestess waves to anyone still in the common area. She heads out into the town, searching for a fence willing to buy the oculus demon's evil blade.
Astraden is able to find a buyer without too much trouble. They promise to put the powerful sword to good use.
"You're a godsend!" Astraden tells the trustworthy individual as she packs several thousand platinum pieces into her pack. She heads to a shop for scroll-making supplies, then returns to the inn.
"Yeah, but you died before we met Celeste, it's not like you'd have forgotten it in your death trauma or... nevermind." Eben hushes up before getting smacked.
"So... apropos of nothing, but is there a druid in town that can send animal messengers out like that little hawk?" he asks the people more familiar with Magepoint.
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Astraden is able to find a buyer without too much trouble. They promise to put the powerful sword to good use.
"I think I'm going to spend a lot of time up here", he says to the priestess. "I hope you don't mind the company. You having a good time Red?"
"Oh, ya know..." Carina tries jumping from the balance beam onto a higher one.
And barely manages to get on, her arms waving about wildly to keep from losing her balance. "Whoa-oh-oh!"
"...I think so."
"HAH! EXERCISE! AND RHYMING!"
Farrukh, having nothing to really contribute to the discussion, takes his leave and looks for a library.
...Yes, a library.
Carina screws her face up in determination and eyes the balance beam Tanith's on. She carefully balances her weight, gets ready, and jumps for it...
...and unfortunately, she falls short. She flails her arms to try and catch the beam, but misses and falls ten feet to the temple floor.
She manages to tuck and roll before hitting the ground. "OOF!" Glaring up at the balance beams, she climbs up and starts jumping up the beams again.
"I blew up a giant worm-monster--I'm not going to be defeated by a bunch of wood!"
This time, her jumps are more accurate, and she soon manages to get to Tanith's beam. "YES!"
Farrukh heads to Magepoint's famous library-temple, the most important place of worship in town. Dedicated to several neutral deities, the temple-library's current caretaker is a short old man called Agath of Thunch. He bears a symbol of seven stars in a dark circle, and his voice is very soft.
"Welcome," he says as Farrukh enters. "Welcome, traveler. What brings you here?"
"Well, my profession is...dangerous. I'm what some people call an adventurer. Lots of dark dungeons and horrible monsters."
"Recently, I've been on the receiving end of some pretty nasty stuff. Being eaten, for example."
"Norebo, may his dice always roll sixes, has kept me safe so far, but I'm thinking I need an edge beyond just skill and luck."
"So, do you have any books on advanced combat tricks? Ancient life-saving techniques? Small group tactics? That sort of stuff."
"Adventurer, hm?" Agath sniffs. "Of course. Well, at least you aren't here for a single cheap trick like most of them are." He gestures to a nearby band of vaguely familiar ogres puzzling over a book entitled Ye Tröubles of Trölles. "Small favors.
"A week's pass to peruse these volumes costs two hundred gold orbs, or nothing if you can demonstrate your mastery of a subject." He looks somewhat doubtful. "True scholars are always welcome."
"Adventurer, hm?" Agath sniffs. "Of course. Well, at least you aren't here for a single cheap trick like most of them are." He gestures to a nearby band of vaguely familiar ogres puzzling over a book entitled Ye Tröubles of Trölles. "Small favors.
"A week's pass to peruse these volumes costs two hundred gold orbs, or nothing if you can demonstrate your mastery of a subject." He looks somewhat doubtful. "True scholars are always welcome."
Farrukh focuses just a bit.
"Well, I don't know what you consider mastery, but I can tell you just about anything anybody ever needed to know about caves, metals, oozes, and other Aberrations. Go ahead and quiz me."
Astraden shoots Eben a mock-threatening look. "And since we're all asking about religious organizations, what are the dominant ones around here?" She fishes her mask out of her chainmail. "Any Olidammarans?"
At the All-Seeing Eye, Astraden orders a bath and scrubs off the worst of the road grime. Garbed in her moderately bloodstained vest and trousers, she heads down to the bar to mingle with the "rich and powerful" inn patrons. Should Cymria be around, she orders drinks for herself and the elf. "So, all that business talk was a little impersonal. I wanted to ask - what kind of adventuring have you been doing? Bounties? Explorations?"
Astraden spends some time chatting with Cymria, then strains her etiquette capabilities trying to socialize with the inn's patrons. Eventually, she seeks out Eben. "There's gotta be a few other bars in this town. You wanna go find someplace a little less starched-collar?"
Agath proves extremely impressed with Farrukh's bizarre understanding of dungeon ecology. "Fascinating. We have much to discuss, I see. You want information on fighting techniques? I can introduce you to some." As he leads Farrukh inside, Agath gestures to the klar, still rather battered from the fight with the barbed devil. "You favor a shield-based style, I see? That's a good way to protect yourself. You know, if you can't do magic, I mean." To demonstrate, he waves an arm. One of the towering shelves spins out of the way, allowing him and Farrukh deeper into the maze of tomes and scrolls.
"No druids have a permanent residence, that I know of," Celeste says.
Cymria speaks up. "There's a guy in town right now. Adventurer. A bit broody and very smelly. Mostly hangs out in the bar. Since he's not there now, I expect he's up sleeping off a hangover in his room. As usual.
"As for Olidammarans, aside from a few travelers, not really. This is a pretty peaceful village, and the bar is dedicated to Boccob. If you want a church, the temple-library is a pretty good place for more general worship."
Carina goes to a local glassblower's kiln, musing over her old notes. Many of these scribblings she put aside when she decided to learn to use her firebrand, but now she finds herself somewhat regretting that. She remembers Filge's spellbook, and the notes she took from there concerning his "syringes" and "necroturgons". Perhaps something in there can be adopted into her own work.
The glassblower seems keenly interested in her suggestions, and offers some of his own.
There certainly are some interesting patrons at the All-Seeing Eye. There's a strong love of games here, and Three Dragon Ante and dragonchess are both especially popular.
Cymria joins Astraden for drinks. "Eh, not much. We—I mostly favor dungeon delving. Nothing where I have to make serious moral decisions about anyone's fate except my own and a creepy thing with too many eyes and not enough skin. We did go clear out some ghouls that took over a watchtower recently." She grimaces. "Gutsy move. I mean, the orcs of the Pomarj have never been great about keeping their lands guarded, but they've never been that clumsy."