Jamilia listens to the information about the various captains.
"The choice of captain could be crucial to our success. While I have a preference, I'd like to hear from each of you as to which you think we should take - or if you managed to turn up any extra information about one of them."
Ember perches above the large air pipes, listening to the cacophony of mephit music as she considers the captains. When a particular unskilled air creature steps up to make its tune, she hurriedly swoops back down towards the group and lands in front of them. "Hmmmmmmmm... Nix sounds like she could be fun! If the gnome's excited about traveling into dangerous territory, we should be able to get our investigation done without any sort of hesitation! I'd like to hear what you guys think too."
As Krakos descends from the tower, he turns to look back up the stairs, his face etched with worry. I hope those youngsters don't displace the stone.... Unable to spend any more time away from his team, he leaves it up to fate and continues down the stairs.
He rejoins the team to hear about the captains they had found who might be willing to take them on the perilous voyage to the center of the anomaly. He listens carefully to the description of each captain, but grumbles seriously as Ember casts her vote for the gnome captain. "I'd be more inclined to travel with someone a bit less...unstable...for such a voyage as ours. What about Rasakim? He owns his ships, so he will be less likely to balk at any dangers we face, especially if we can make it worth his while."
Rhyol raises up in shock when she realizes she's in agreement with the Oread. "RAZAKIM ... DOES SEEM ... THE SMART CHOICE." She gives a thoughtful shudder, "IF HE ... CAN BE ... PERSUADED."
With apparently nothing noteworthy going on with the Air Wysp/Mephit discussion other than bickering, Octarius returns to the others to hear them discuss which airship captain to take.
"I say we start with Razakim and if we don't convince him, we move on to this Sisivel, assuming she can find us an airship. I don't particularly care to have to do any work on the journey while I mentally work out what's going on here, so the gnome is my last choice."
"I too like the idea of Razakim. It would seem the elements have spoken. Let us search him out and see if he is willing to take a risk for the greater purity of air, and his own fame of course."
She approaches the Djinni
"Great Razakim, we have need of a skillful captain..."
"One who is willing to brave the dangers that currently beset voyagers, and who looks to have his name imprinted on the very fabric of history!"
"Indeed, and not only on the history of this plane. Here before you, you see creatures gathered from across the planes, ready to bear witness to the bravery of whichever captain will carry us to these strange currents so we may investigate and correct them. It could be your name that we carry back to our homes. Or it could be the name of some other captain who will be known as the greatest in this realm. Perhaps that captain's new fame will make them rich. Perhaps even richer than you, O great one."
Ember pouts for a moment when everyone disagrees with her, but realizes their reasoning is sound. She takes out her small book and writes in it,
They didn't like the gnome captain. Who doesn't like a gnome? They're soOooo cute.
She rolls her eyes.
But these guys seem really smart, so Razakim must be the best choice.
Closing the book, she flutters along above Jamila. "It's as my friend here says. Together, as the Convention of Elements, we've agreed that you are the most skilled airship captain these planes have known! Only you could possibly take us through such treacherous currents to complete our investigation."
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"IT COULD BE ... LEGEN ... DARY."
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Razakim's first response is to ask you what this "Convention of Elements" is, and as you explain it, he laughs heartily, convinced it is
some sort of joke. Once he calms down, and you explain you are very serious, he seems confused, unsure if this is an attempt to add another layer to the joke, but finally accepts that you are serious, and eventually even commends your idealism for such an endeavor.
Having multiple ships at his disposal, the being a bit of a risk taker, the djinni accepts your challenge, finding an odd sense of glory in such a risky venture, asking you to come view your transport before finally agreeing. Razakim’s ship is a gleaming work of art made of silver and violet crystal with silk sails. Assuming that you find it all in order, , he explains that he will get everything rolling in order to leave, and that you have an hour or two to take care of anything you might need to.
Rhyol watches the team make their purchases, inwardly frustrated that she ate the last of her gold on the trip into the city.
Octarius looks over the airship with a discerning eye for a few moments, then nods, "Yes, this will do."
Jamila eyes up the rest of the group while they wait for the ship to be made ready.
"I know so little about any of you. How did you each end up in the Concordance of Elements?"
Rhyol's head-spike swivels over to face Jamila. "I FOUND ... A SHINY METAL" the thoqqua rumbles, "IT ... CHANGED ME ... AFTER SEARCHING ... THE CONSORTIUM FOUND ... ME." She settles back into her spot, and concludes her tale, "AND NOW ... I AM HERE. I HAVE ENJOYED ... THE TRIP."
The head-spike sweeps to include the rest of the group, "HOW ABOUT ... YOU."
Krakos listens in with interest as the thoqqua explains something of its presence in their group. I've never heard of such a thing as a talking thoqqua. Fascinating...and perhaps something to keep track of. He turns to Jamila and answers her in somewhat guarded terms, "My goals align with those of the Concordance: balance among the elemental powers. My lord Ayrzul judges my cause to be just, and so I am here." He pauses for a moment, then goes on, "That, and the fact that threats to one of the elements can threaten all of them. I have no interest in seeing this danger spread to my home."
"Me? I joined the concordance many, many years ago. But ran into some.." she pauses, looking for the right word. "personality conflicts. So I left and spent time on the material."
She gestures to the small hawk that follows her. "This is Tharlos - named after a...dear friend.. from my time there. Anyway, after he died, I thought I would return and well.. here I am."
Ember calmly floats above Rhyol's head-spike as she talks about shiny metal, waiting for her turn to share. "Shiny metal? Oh wow, you have to tell us how it changed you! Were you always this cool looking?!"
The excitable little dragon perches on Krakos' stony shoulder. "Pyraustas like myself... We don't live very long lives. The volcano where I was born collapsed and so the swarm and I all set off to find a new home. But rather than settling for the very next volcano, we kept adventuring. It was great fun, but I felt I needed more. I needed to tell people of my travels, and to build new, exciting tales meant stepping out of my swarm's familiar comfort. So here I am!" She flaps her tiny wings and buzzes about.
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As you wait for Krakos to return and Razakim to return, fully ready with all preparations for the trip, Jamilla attempts to get to know each of the other elemental representatives within the growing Concordance of Elements.
After a few hours, Razakim returns, ready to depart, and offers to first buy each of you a drink (for good luck) and then to take a full tour of the Air Ship.
The airship’s journey into the open skies proceeds without incident for several days. The captain and crew skillfully maneuver the ship from one high-speed current to another, accelerating it to speeds faster than dragon flight. Past the borders of Armun Kelisk, the city’s artificial cycle of day and night gives way to eternal midday. The ship’s crew uses landmarks such as crystal formations, distant bright spots in the sky, and eternal storms that rage countless leagues away to chart their passage.
On the fourth day, a member of the crew worriedly grabs the captain’s attention. The navigator reports that she has detected substantial irregularities in the currents ahead. The captain nods and orders "Bring her to a halt", declaring that it is no longer safe for a ship of this size to progress further, as they cannot turn quickly enough to avoid unpredictable gusts, and their wide sails are particularly vulnerable. "The site you seek is still another day away, by airship. Travelling there on your own would be substantially longer, and only the best of natural flier should even attempt it."
Thinking over the problem for a bit, he then adds, "I'll tell you what. I can give you a smaller vessel to travel the last bit. We will stay here, waiting for you."
Razakim’s smaller vessel is an extraordinarily sophisticated hang glider with dozens of separate sail flaps and a large, relatively flat platform for resting and storage. The hang glider’s platform bears the cloud dragon figurehead of her mercantile organization, the Thousand Wings. It contains a week’s supply of food and water, a crate filled with sky charts, and an aerial astrolabe capable of detecting air currents in a wide radius, as well as a glass bottle containing a small, very pungent plant. "Make sure you keep that safe and close. It's odor will draw in nearby Sky Serpents, and they are notorious gossips. You get into danger, or get lost, crack that open, and hopefully help might arrive, and if you are lucky, maybe even before it's too late."
Once you have had a chance to get all of your gear onto the hang glider, he points off towards a miles-wide cloud bank in the distance, and a spire of yellow quartzite emerging from the near side of the bank.
“The sky charts show you which currents to use. Pass through the clouds up ahead, then seek out a cloud of purple gas. Keep the cloud on the port side, and don’t go into it, . . . it’s quite poisonous. Once you’ve passed the cloud, keep an eye out for a sea of boulders that ebbs and flows like water. The dangerous skies surround that sea. And remember, take care of the ship and supplies I’m lending you. I’ll be charging more on your letter of credit if I don’t get them back. The food and water are yours to keep, of course. When you leave the area, use the quartzite mountain as a landmark. Set off the signal near the mountain, and we’ll come back to this spot to pick you up. You’ll be able to see us from there.”
Once per round as a free action, an individual can attempt a DC 16 Wisdom check to pick a new direction for gravity. If she succeeds, she begins falling in that direction, moving 150 feet in a straight line on the first round and 300 feet on each succeeding round. If she fails, she can attempt the Wisdom check again the following round. The DC decreases to 12 until she succeeds. Once an individual starts falling in a direction, stopping requires a successful DC 16 Wisdom check to set gravity in the exact opposite direction. If she succeeds, she continues falling 150 feet in her original direction for 1 round, then stops.
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Because an individual in free fall cannot stop quickly, performing actions during the fall is difficult. However, the PCs may ready actions and perform them during the free fall, such as readying an action to grab an object or to attack a creature while soaring past it. Moving past an opponent in this manner provokes at attack of opportunity.
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A PC under the effects of a feather fall spell falls at only 60 feet per round and gains a +2 circumstance bonus on the Wisdom checks to change direction.
The journey progresses smoothly at first. Although the occasional harsh gust of wind blows the glider off course, you are able to right themselves without much trouble. As they pass through the cloud bank, you find that your next landmark, a cloud of hazy purple gas, is nowhere to be seen. There is also no sign of the boulder landmark you are supposed to find next. Instead, hundreds of small storm clouds, miniature hailstorms, collections of pebbles, and heaps of airship wreckage dot the landscape. In the distance, an incongruously dark patch of sky emerges, serving as a canvas for bright flashes of color, like swirling fireworks.
A sudden, powerful wind smacks into the glider, causing it, and you to spin and lurch violently. In an instant, the ship’s aerial astrolabe goes from calmly displaying blue and green ripples, which represent the nearby wind currents, to displaying bright red waves and emitting a high-pitched shrieking sound. The vessel’s equipment flies off in five different directions. You are not spared either, and suddenly left without a solid surface to "stand" upon. Because of their smaller sizes, Octaris is thrown 40 feet, and Ember is thrown 200 feet. Everyone else is simply tossed some 10ft from the glider's supply pad, hitting up against all the supplies as they also go flying. The Glider itself seems to hit a conflagration of intense winds from multiple directions all at once, and crumples in upon itself like a soda can being crushed beneath your boot.
Everything that went flying is travelling at 100ft per round in random directions, (the glass bottle, supplies, the astrolabe, maps, and other gear), each heading towards different potential hazards, or at risk of being lost. Luckily, the subjective gravity of the Plane seems to offer a small benefit, to those that can use it, allowing you to "fall" faster, and potentially catch up to the various things.
Jamilia is more than happy to steer the craft. Looking ahead she notes the tower in the cloud.
"Well, no landmarks, but we kind of expected that. Interesting tower though don't you think"
She tumbles through the air, trying to avoid the debris.
"The map!" she cries
Ember reels as she tumbles along with the blast of wind, but manages to catch herself before anything impacts her frail body. She turns and notices the party's food supply falling and attempts to grab a crate. "Don't worry guys, I've got the supplies!" She shouts out towards the others.
As he begins careening away from the ship, Octarius pulls out a scroll and teleports on the other side of the water supplies, allowing him to easily catch them.
”A TOWER” Rhyol rumbles, her head spike pointing into the dark patch as she is thrown by the destruction, ”THERE!”
As the thoqqua explodes out into nothing, its head-spike pivots to try to follow a tiny object rocketing away … the bottle they need to call the captain. ”THE BOTTLE … IS FLYING AWAY!”
Rhyol, a creature used to burrowing through fire and stone, does something she’s never done before … she tries to learn to fly. Well, fall directionally, anyway.
Jamila gives Thanos a simple order "Fetch", as she points at the map flapping away in the distance.
She herself "run"s as fast as she can in support of the hawk.
As the party emerges through the cloud bank, Krakos spots the white tower the others seem to have spotted, but the words are blown out of his mouth as a massive gust of wind slams into the glider, smashing it to pieces and sending them all flying in different directions.
Krakos, desperate to gain some kind of stability, concentrates on the pull of the air currents around him and shuts them out, asserting his own will over the direction of his fall.
He manages to direct himself to fall after the astrolabe, then draws his longbow and levels it at the wyrds looking covetously at the valuable device. "Don't make me shoot you," he calls out, "Leave the device."
Ember will speed ahead towards the crate and grab it using her tiny body to support its weight.
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Hello. I hope everyone had a good Christmas/Holiday, and made out with some good loot. :)
I figured posting would slow down, but I plan on jumping back in either today or tomorrow and getting things going. Assuming everyone is good to go. I know people tend to travel and have busy schedules right now, so I don't mind waiting a bit too.
I think skipping to the next section will be for the best. It's really when this whole scenario starts to become good, (in my opinion).
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All returning wo what is left of the glider, you find that it has been destroyed beyond repair, and all around you, at a distance, but seemingly moving closer, if not about somewhat unpredictably, you notice various disturbances. Luckily, the dark, poisonous stormclouds part, allowing you a small but treacherous path into the unknown beyond, where some of you had spotted a strange tower. With nothing else to do but risk going from bad to worse, you venture in.
A cyclone rages at the center of this circular atrium. The winds trap the same shifting, colorful mass that emerges from the top of the tower, making passage to the upper floors difficult. The cyclone broadens as it grows higher, from 10 feet wide at the base to around 100 feet wide. Stone doors lead from the atrium to five different rooms, and two small archways lead to small chambers. From within the tower, you can make out that there seems to be three floors, but that the upper two have nearly been destroyed, leaving mainly open floors and empty half-walled rooms. Only the lower floor, where you stand seems intact.
All around you, forming a circle around the center of the room, are multiple rooms behind closed doors.
As you approach, you see that there are two areas, each adjacent to the main entrance that are open. The inhabitants of the palace once used these rooms for private contemplation, meditation, and worship. Their walls are decorated with complicated reliefs. In one room, the walls depict a city made of ice and djinn bustling around a massive spherical building surrounded by dozens of similar but smaller round buildings. In another relief, a group of mephits emerges from a cloud dragon’s breath. The most striking scene depicts an immense being with the body of a serpent spun from storm clouds, the head of a lion with a mane of lightning, and hundreds of clawed feet. His expression is approving and content as he gazes upon the other creatures.
In the past, there where 8 Elemental Lords, sort of like deities over the 4 Elemental Planes. At some point, the 4 Evil Elemental Lords defeated and imprisoned the 4 Good Elemental Lords, throwing things into imbalance. It's unknown what truly happened to the former Elemental Lords, (in most cases), but it is believed that the 4 current Elemental Lords joined forces to defeat them, as prior they had all been evenly matched against their opposite.
Current Rulers (Evil)
Ayrzul, the Fossilized King (Plane of Earth)
Hshurha, Duchess of All Winds (Plane of Air) <-
Kelizandri, the Brackish Emperor (Plane of Water)
Ymeri, Queen of the Inferno (Plane of Fire)
Imprisoned/Lost/Dead Rulers (Good)
Sairazul, the Crystalline Queen
Ranginori, Duke of Thunder <-
Lysianassa, Empress of the Torrent
Atreia, The Lambent Prince
"Wow... This place is ancient. Unless I remember this wrong... This tower was once a part of the palace of the noble djinni Pahwal ijil Ranginori, a glistening landmark of the elemental lord Ranginori’s realm. Ranginori created this palace as a reward for his devoted servant. In the wake of the demigod’s defeat long ago, Pahwal feared his patron’s rival Hshurha might punish him and went into hiding, abandoning his home. It has since been lost to legend and lore."
She thinks. "Since the ascension of the four evil elemental lords, the way is unbalanced. If this place is a clue to where Ranginori is imprisoned... we could do a lot to restore balance to this realm."
Octarius nods his head vigorously, "I agree with your interpretation of the situation. You are quite bright, quite bright indeed. Let us look for clues and see if we can reverse imbalance."
Jamilia smiles at the mephit. "Rumour on the street has it that you are excessively bright yourself Octarius. Let us see if we can solve a puzzle or two together shall we?"
While Jamila and Octarius compliment each other's intelligence, Krakos continues to pore over the reliefs. He recognizes the first relief almost immediately as one of Ranginori in the height of his power. This seems to corroborate Jamila's theory about the tower's previous master. When he moves to thee second room and examines the other relief, however, he is troubled by what he finds. "Ranginori was no friend of the people of earth it would seem," he thinks aloud as he traces his fingers across the image of an earthen creature being flung through the air. He turns to the others and explains what he's found, "This image is of Ranginori also, but it shows him in his wrath. See here, the mane of lightning seems to have grown to an all encompassing aura. And here we see a cyclone that..." Krakos suddenly trails off and stares at the cyclone depicted on the wall, then spins on his heel and looks to the center of the room where the enormous cyclone rises up through the upper floors and out into the void of the Plane of Air. "Could it be? Could it be that the cyclone here and the other disturbances are some sign of an attempt to free Ranginori? Or perhaps its...a kind of effect wrought by the imbalance in this plane. With the benevolent Lord of Air absent, the influence of the malevolent is wreaking havoc on the plane itself. Hmmm...this will require further study to be sure."
Jamilia goes toward one of the unopened doors, having already looked at the open areas.
"Anyone got a preference as to which we go into first?" she asks, and if nobody expresses one, picks the first on the left.
Rhyol grinds around the room, poking and prodding at odd objects as she tries to make sense of anything. Really, every revelation—regardless of how small it is—seems unique and interesting to the thoqqua, though she has nothing to add to the conversation.
Rhyol happens to be nearby Jamilia’s chosen door when the janni moves to open it. ”I WILL … OPEN IT.” she rumble-crunches. Then, seemingly unconcerned about the damage it might do, she drives her head-spike into the floor just in front of the door, burrowing just a bit to get a peek beyond the door before opening it.