Tabog maintains a bead on their route out of the forsaken cave, watching for hostiles looking to flank the party, doesn't comment on the room of children. With a glance and a double take, he stares at them but his face remains somber in concentration. Once the group moves on he peels himself away and follows up quickly.
Once the next room clears of the burning smoke, he follows just behind Selgaer to the other end of the room. He moves briskly without sound, bow and arrow in one hand, new vial clenched in the other.
Imedren was annoyed by the complete destruction of the apothecary, there could have been things to use, her powers or clues as to her areas of research.
"At least it was her." was all he said after the fact.
"She's on the run, but she knows this area best, likely there will be other entities to slow us down." he paused after a moment.
"Uruuna, I'm going to speed your time again. You'll be our best offense against her."
His will did not hold back the chaotic buildup but he merely unleashed it against the already ruined apothecary.
"Let's get after her, then."
The secret door Selgaer discovers opens into a large cavern. The cavern contains twelve mirror fragments, displayed on shelves constructed from bleached bones. Another passage provides exit at the far end.
Joy steadies herself, then tries to sense what magic may reside in the room.
Each of the fragments are magical.
As Imedren picks up a mirror fragment, he notices a faint smudge on its surface. A second later, the smudge balloons into a screaming face!
As Imedren grasped the mirror fragment, he was unfazed. He had foreseen this as a strong possibility.
"I am sorry. I will figure out a way to save you all." Then he took a deep breath and began grabbing all the rest.
As Imedren looks at the mirrors, Sel advances forward to see if he can find evidence for the Hag or any other dangers.
Joy does her best to advise Imredren on how to safely remove the...fragments.
Crammed into the back of the next large cavern is the corpse of a mutilated giant. Its belly is torn open, and Toothsome Maera herself crouches inside its rotting womb. Green-skinned and warty, the horrid crone glares at you menacingly. "Ye've done enough damage, dearies. Now, time to die!"
Standing protectively in front of her are two animated skeletons. Clad in mail, they raise their swords, blue light burning in their eye sockets.
Toothsome Maera flies into motion, casting a barrage of spells. She curses Dramm with weakness, but Imedren resists her curse and glance from her accursed eye. "Become as the swine ye are!" she spits as a third spell threatens to polymorph both sorcerers and Joy. Then she turns to Selgaer and Uruuna, snarling words in the Dark Speech. Both faun and halfling are overwhelmed as the forbidden magic wreaks havoc...
* All languages and professions
* Intellect and Will scores (recalculate Perception if necessary)
* Insanity and Corruption scores
• All talents
• All traditions it has discovered and all spells it knows
Imedren watched with a strange sensation that could have only been called a haze as Maera and images of her seemed to act with such overlapping and blinding speed that even he could only barely register it was not a trick of time as she targeted him with a spell.
He realized he had to get on her level and tilt the playing field back to them somewhat.
"No Maera, it's you who is the swine."
Maera's horrifying appearance brings Dramm pause, but it does not overwhelm his mind. The Hag's casting is well ahead of Dramm's own reaction, and the black magics quickly wither his limbs. The spell makes him cry out in pain, but still he shakes off her attempts to warp his flesh.
Dramm's tattoos flare brightly and he pours all of his might into a crippling retaliation. Red waves of energy crackle out from Dramm and wash over Maera and her skeletal host!
The backlash cracks his own skin as if it were marble instead of flesh, and Dramm loses control of the escaping magic.
"Move!" He warns desperately as the magical fire swells.
Selgaer's mind snaps as it is violently ripped from his own body and placed inside a new one. When he gains his senses, at first it feels everyone grew. Or he shrink.
What happened? Sel heard Uruuna ask at the same time he tried to speak. He looked for her, but couldn't see her anywhere. But he did see the hag. He grabbed his spear - where was his spear? Why did he feel so awkward? He looked down and saw he was wearing different armor and storage clothing. God, Thomas would kill me if he saw me wearing something so pedestrian. He couldn't help the thought.
But then he realized - this was Uruuna's clothing. And get armor. And her weapons. Why did he have all this? Why was he wearing all her clothes? How did it fit? And what is that stupid this that keeps brushing against his face? He tried to away it away but he just got hair - his hair? WHAT IS GOING ON?!
His gut tightened as it slowly dawned on him. Fearing the worst, he looked around one more time. The sight of his own body five yards away, looking just as confused as he felt, confirmed it.
Joy is buffeted by the hag's appearance and vile magic but stands unbowed.
She looks the hag straight on and says:
"No."
Then the witch fire flies towards Maera!
The unassuming ferren covering the group's flank sneaks into the room, behind the others. The hag's gruesome display didn't phase Tabog at all, he'd been through these motions before and expected to do it again soon. He recalls the giant eye demon from below the manor and knows that he cannot let this one escape, least he add another name to the list of people who'd like him dead. Tabog looses two arrows at the hag from around his cover!
He feigns in one direction but moves behind cover in the opposite direction with uncanny speed!
Dramm's spell wreaks havoc, making both Toothsome Maera and one of the skeletons fragile. Imedren blasts all the foes with explosive missiles, then Tabog pops out of hiding and fires two arrows into Maera's chest! Augmented by Dramm's spell, the arrows puncture her vital organs, and she blinks in surprise before coughing up blood and falling to the floor!
Joy's witch fire misses the skeletons as they move in on Dramm. They slice into the sorcerer, leaving him badly wounded. Then energy erupts from him, blasting the fragile undead to bits! The other one weathers the blast but is badly wounded.
Joy has no time to appreciate the hag's fall as Dramm is still in danger. She redirects her witch fire to strike the skeleton.
A wave of nausea overwhelms Uruuna as the hag's magic strikes her. She feels adrift for a moment before everything in the cave seems to shift. She's looking at the battle now from a higher vantage point, as if she were standing on a raised platform. Her body feels off--everything seems wrong. Their is less weight on her chest and her thick fur tickles her legs. In a daze, she reaches a hand up and feels horns growing from her head.
"Im! Im, help me..." she groans, but it is Selgaer's voice that comes from her mouth. She stumbles on hoofed feet as she tries to make sense of the situation...
Imedren was astonished to see the devastation wrought by TaBog's attacks after Dramm's spell. As Toothsome Maera fell and one of the skeletons exploded, he thought he heard someone calling for him to help but there was still one threat in the remaining skeleton.
"Hold on, just one left!"
Imedren's first spell blasts shards from the skeleton and warps it away from Dramm. Then the sorcerer incinerates the undead creature, teleporting onto its remains and unleashing sorcerous energy on them for good measure!
The battle is over in a matter of seconds, leaving you to deal with the aftermath...
Toothsome Maera cackles weakly, apparently only just mostly dead. "Fools... Ye have doomed the world by slaying me, but I will not leave ye without a parting curse. I know of the love the faun and halfling shared in the hidden kingdoms. Now the pair can enjoy a new level of intimacy! Eh heh heh..."
The hag wheezes, vomits blood, then collapses again, this time dead for real.
Nutmeg cautiously emerges from his hiding spot, clutching a scroll. "I was going to cast that spell to bury the hatchet but it all happened so fast. We won? Is everybody okay?"
Joy steels herself and commands the witch fire to descend to Toothsome Maera's corpse to start burning it away.
Imedren stared down at the dying hag as she spoke her words. With his enhanced perception and speed in time, the words somehow had an odd normal flow mixed with an echoing slow ring, and each of her rasping laughs had an unerring truth edge to it that cut Imedren.
"No."
Now he looked over at Uruuna and Selgaer, his gaze darting between the two... or was it Selgaer and Uruuna? The staggered, bewildered looks of both of them was enough to show him the truth of Maera's words. He warped in front of Selgaer's body, to help steady Uruuna.
His chest felt tight, his breathing was forced from more than the exertion of combat.
"I... I will take care of this. I promise." he said in a small whisper.
When Nutmeg came out of hiding and asked his innocent questions,
Imedren's emotions got the better of him. He'd tried so hard to forget, to just let it go, he told himself again and again it had been a different life. It had been in a different world even, but now it was here in front of him, that world had come here with undeniable proof. He had to turn his head away.
"The hag's dead, Nutmeg. But no we're not all okay!"
"Stop Joy! You might destroy something valuable that could help us!" he snapped out angrily as he saw the familiar green flames descend to the hags body. He warped over to her body.
The hag doesn't have anything of value on her, nor does there seem to be anything of interest in this cave.
One other tunnel exits this cave, leading to a small room that seems to be filled with objects of sentimental value only. Fancy dresses, masquerade masks, books of poetry, pressed flowers, ribbons, and other worthless trinkets are piled high here. A full-length mirror stands at the center of the area, with the image of a beautiful nymph relected on its surface.
Finally regaining control of her senses, Uruuna breathes heavily. She looks down at her relatively tall body, the shape familiar but not her own. Seeing the red headed halfling woman across the way is almost too much to handle. "I'm... I'm Sel? And Sel, you're me? How is this possible?"
At Imerden's words, Joy stops the witch fire moving towards the hag. It drifts back towards the witch as she replies:
"I wanted to make sure. She came close to striking us all down."
She walks away with her fire in tow, examining the tunnel - and sees the nymph.
Joy blinks and says:
"There's a beautiful nymph reflected in a mirror here. Maybe this was Toothsome Maera before she soured."
Sel, still dazed, backs away from everyone until his - her? - back hits the wall.
As Sel backs away, he drops whatever weapon he's holding and frantically tries to unstrap the shield. The armor feels constricting on his arm and it feels like he's being weigh down. He can't move nearly as fast as he should be able to.
Next he tries to strip the armor off, going as far as pulling a knife to cut the leather straps. This is all so wrong. Why can't he move like he is support to? Why is he so slow?
When he hits the wall, he shrinks down to keep hidden in the shadows.
This entire ordeal is almost beyond the limits of his mind to handle.
Dramm is slowly regaining his strength with the death of Maera. The returned vitality brings him back from the brink. Selgaer and Uruunas conditions were beyond him, but he quickly rushed to the entrance of the cavern.
"The children." he states urgently to the others. He rushes back to the room with the children, not waiting for the others to respond. He slows his stride only long enough to swiftly recuperate some of his more strenuous injuries.
The mist is beginning to clear out of the cavern when Dramm arrives. The eight children are alive and unharmed. The younger among them are crying while the older ones try to comfort them.
One girl of about nine steps forward bravely and looks at Dramm. "Is the mean old woman dead? Can we go home now?"
Dramm looks down at each of the children, counting heads. Seeing that all are safe and unwounded, he nods to the young girl.
"Yes, the woman is dead. We are here to see you home." Dramm gathers them and makes sure they are watched over. He avoids bringing them any deeper into the cave or in sight of any further carnage. He takes turns with the others keeping an eye on the children. When he has an opportunity he speaks to Imedren, Uruuna, and Selgaer. He is paled when he fully comprehends what has occurred.
"Perhaps Ezekia or Caribdus know a way to reverse this. She was far more skilled in dark magic than we had given her credit." Dramm feels a pang of guilt when he finds himself relieved that he was spared such a frightening effect in lieu of his friends. He focuses instead on other solutions. "If it can be done, it can be undone. We won't underestimate our foes again. Perhaps if the souls cannot be exchanged again, the bodies could be reformed?"
Dramm finds himself drawn to the mirror during the search. The nymph was truly beautiful long ago, and her image was mesmerizing. He could feel that unnatural and otherworldly beauty attempting to incite obsession in his mortal mind. He resisted the temptation, but the experience still leaves him shaken. He had the distinct impression that the magic only failed because he already held an obsession. That had never concerned him before, but now he felt Maera's wrath and arrogance at her lost perfection. It resonated easily inside him. He is found several minutes later still staring into the mirror at the enchanting Nymph, and only returns to the others after being interrupted. For one last measure, he tries to destroy the mirror with destructive magic before leaving the cave. Others shouldn't be left to suffer Maera's madness.
Uruuna moves to her former body and takes it in her--his?--strong arms. "Hey! Stay with me, Sel. It's okay. We will be okay. Imedren will find a way to fix this. Stay with me."
When Dramm calls about the children, Joy ceases meandering and rushes after him. She does her best to calm the children, offering healing berries if any are injured.
Imedren shook his head at Dramm's queries.
When he had a moment, he quietly confided in his fellow sorcerer. "I don't know what the answer is, Dramm. This situation has me shook. I've only dabbled in dark magic up to this point and what Maera did was powerful. Displacing souls into another's body... I can think of several uses as it pertains to evil. If either Caribdus or Ezekia can help then great."
At the mention of Dramm's other magical solution Imedren frowned and shook his head.
"I know a little of dark magic, but I fear I know next to nothing of alteration magics. It wouldn't be the same. We need to either discover someone who can perform the same type of magics look for something similar. I just need time."
Uruuna...? What happened to us? says says in confusion.
After a minute or so, his head starts to clear, and he tries standing up. He's wobbly and movement doesn't make sense. Gah! No wonder you can't move fast. Your hooves have been replaced with slabs of flesh! He tries to balance on them like a young girl wearing heels for the first time.
"Hey! At least my legs aren't covered with itchy fur," Uruuna counters. "And let's not mention the tail and the... other parts hanging awkwardly down there."
And all this excess weight on the chest! And I'm missing parts! It's not right!
Sel looks over at everything, trying to take it all in. I thought you said Imedren was going to fix this. What's he doing over there with those spells and not over here fixing this?
"He may not be able to fix it right away, but he will find a way." Uruuna looks away, hiding the worried look on her face. "At least, I hope he will..."
With the children in tow, you make your way down the skull-shaped hill and back through the enchanted woods to your waiting boat. Fortunately, Toothsome Maera's death seems to have removed her fell influence from the island, and no further monsters appear to harry your journey. Joy flies ahead on her broom to get aid from Crossings, and soon several fishermen arrive to help ferry the children back to the city, where they will be reunited with their grateful families.
Mayor Edgerton expresses the thanks of the council members and the entire citizenry of Crossings. The monsters the hag conjured inflicted several dozen casualties, but it would have been much worse if you hadn't put a stop to her ritual. The mayor rewards you each with 10 gc and a healing potion.
Unfortunately, the forbidden spell Toothsome Maera used to exchange Selgaer's and Uruuna's souls remains an issue. The magic is beyond both Ezekia's and Caribdus's power to reverse. The faun and halfling will likely be stuck in the wrong bodies for some time until you can find a way to undo the vile magic.
For now, at least, you've earned a bit of downtime...
You fought to protect your community from an outside danger. You received a shiny medal worth 1 ss for your efforts.
A witch hunter or an inquisitor accused you of trafficking with dark forces. You were imprisoned, tortured, and forced to confess. Somehow, you escaped the pyre, but your captors are looking for you still.
You learned a dangerous secret. Work with the GM to determine what it is.
You worked, earning a bit. You lived the getting by lifestyle and gain 1ss.
You helped save the community from danger and are now considered a hero. During your next adventure, you do not have to pay for food or drink while you are in the community in which you spent your downtime.
You helped foil a foul plot in your community. During the next adventure you undertake, you make attack rolls with 1 boon in social situations involving members of the community in which you spent your downtime.
But - it didn't work. The longbow was too big for this body. His armor didn't fit him. The spear was almost too long, but at least he could carry it. He gave Uruuna her shield and sword back, but had to apologise for damaging her armor. Cutting the straps to get it off in a fit of panick meant it would have to be repaired before it could be worn again. Oh well. They'd be better off having new equipment made for them.
They returned the children, but Sel was withdrawn, unable to enjoy the relief in their parents eyes. When it came time for the mayor to speak to them and award them for their heroic deeds, Sel did not want to be there. It would mean that both Bel and Rena would be there, and he'd have to deal with this embarrassment with them as well.
And that's when he noticed something strange - it didn't bother him as much as it would. That constant fear, that constant urge to run and hide wasn't there. Instead, he felt naturally courageous. Not like before, where he was constantly fighting his skittish nature, but a sort of courage uncommon to him.
And so he stepped forward, ready to face any challenge that may come.
After the formal thank you offered by the mayor, Sel watched as Bel approached his old body. He was about to speak, when he got a mischievous idea in his head, and instead decided to watch and see how it would play out.
"Well done brother," Bel says, clapping the faun he thinks is Selgaer on the shoulder. Uruuna looks at him nervously, unsure of how to handle this.
She glances at Selgaer in her body, who seems to be smirking. "Uh, yeah. Hag slain, city saved. Good stuff," Uruuna says.
"We should celebrate! I hear the Temple of the Gilded Purse is under new management. I bet we can find some women there to suit our fancies."
Uruuna's face goes pale as she looks from the faun to her husband across the way. Sel snickers; looking to see the reaction of any one else in the group.
Imedren walks over, looking dour, and turns to face Bel. "Bel, I don't know you well, but I'm going to tell you right now that any celebrations are going to wait. Something happened on the island, a soul swap the Hag conjured between Uruuna and your brother. So it's going to be a bit before we get them back to normal and have room to celebrate."
Bel's face screws up on confusion. "Wait, what?"
"They were forcibly switched bodies by the Hag." he said, flatly.
"So you're saying this is your wife? And my brother is..."
"Yes, you've grasped the situation now, Bel! Well done. Your discretion and restraint on the matter until it is reversed is appreciated!" Imedren snapped. His anger was starting to rise. Seriously, Bel, if you end up laughing at this situation...
Bwahahahahaha! Sel in Uruuna's body bursts out laughing. Oh! The look on your face, brother! He - she? - says, walking up to the group. But yes, it's true. We've been forcibly switch by more fae magic, the f%$#ers!
Imedren went quiet, clenching his jaw and his fists while closing his eyes. When he heard the laughter, he was ready to lash out but it was coming not from Bel, but Uruuna... and his breath caught. No, it's not Uruuna. It sounds like her, it looks like her, but that is definitely Selgaer, he felt a pang of pain and guilt at the thought of the bastard so casually walking around in her body and making light of the situation. His mind began to race with thoughts and ideas. If this is what he's thinking now, what'll he do in a few days? Weeks? Who knows what he'll do in that time! Maybe I should keep him locked just to keep Uruunas body safe? No, that will be undone the moment I'm not around by anyone. What would they do in each other's bodies if there's no consequences?
Uruuna gives Imedren a grateful look but scowls when Sel comes up laughing in her body. "You changed your tune awfully quickly. I think you're the only one who finds this situation amusing." Bel wisely takes a step back and keeps his mouth shut.
Sel the Halfling smiles. Yeah, I don't know what it is, but I feel like I can take on the whole world. All my worries, all my fears - they're all gone. Or, not gone, but subdued. It'll take a while to get used to this body - these big old feet keep tripping me up. But I've got this feeling like I can handle it all.
Uruuna the faun scoffs. "Big feet, is it now? Just because you're in my body doesn't mean I won't slap you. Maybe I will lay with a whore so you can have a few diseases to look forward to when you come back to your real body."
Sel scoffs. Don't be spiteful. I'm sure your husband will fix this sooner than we all know.
As the conversation continued, Imedren's fears were becoming realized in their mere suggestions. His visions, god damned his visions, were showing him too many realities right now. His breathing started becoming fast and he began to shiver. His eyes darted between the two. What?! Do I have to lock them both away for them to understand the degree of seriousness this situation is? No that won't work, again. Uruuna, why would you even say that? Right, temporal stasis! No time will pass for them and then I... them... what if that just drives them to do the opposite of what I want... what if ANYTHING I do just causes them to rekindle their feelings for one another?! He saw it, sometimes in his visions, and finally, the dam broke and he lashed out.
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP, SELGAER!!" he screamed, as he swung his fist against the body of the woman he loved with all his heart, and against the soul of the man he most hated in the world at that moment. Months of unspoken feelings, "Dark magic has literally ripped your soul out of your own body! Why aren't you taking this seriously?!" Months of pent up anger, "You think you can just laugh this off! You think you can just make jokes about what you might or might not actually do?!" Months of dark thoughts, "You think I can just do this? That I won't fail or have any problems with this?!"
Magic fueled Imedren's punches, red crackling waves of chaos scattered around him, causing them to strike with undue accuracy. His heart ached, and he cried blue tears as he used up whatever magic he had left to avoid paths where his power unleashed. "Why don't you think about someone else for a change and take some responsibility!"
"Imedren! What are you doing? Stop!" Uruuna shrieks. She grabs at the sorcerer's arm, trying to hold him back. The assembled councilors gasp in shock.
Tabog, distant from the situation at hand, snapped to attention at Imedren's outburst and rushed to subdue the sorcerer alongside Uruuna in the Faun's body. Using what leverage he had to grapple with his good friend and taking the brunt of the magical energy that radiated from the man. "Im! Im! This isn't you now! t's the stress, the magic! Relax Imedren!"
From the moment Sel was slapped, his instinct kicked in and he immediately swung back to bloody the sorcerer's nose. Unfortunately, he wasn't used to his new body yet, and the punch misses by a good half foot or more. Once TaBog entered the frey and held Imedren back, Bel did the same to Sel, grabbing the halfling and pulling him away.
At the end Imedren wasn't even sure who he was yelling at anymore. He was brimming with power but he was emotionally drained. He didn't know what to do now after that spectacle he'd made of himself. He saw the world of reactions he'd get from everyone around him and he didn't know which ones he'd get now.
Uruuna spins Imedren around and glares up at him. "I don't know what has possessed you, but I don't like it one bit! I... I need some space. I'll find somewhere else to stay tonight." The faun stomps off angrily.
***
Dramm gave Tabog a nod, and excused himself from the room to follow after Uruuna. He could trust the Ferran to look after Imedren and keep him from crawling back into the bottle. Well... look after Imedren anyway. He catches up to the faun quickly enough and falls into step with her (Him?).
"You can stay at my home tonight if you need to think. Joy would be happy to see you."
Uruuna sighs but nods. "Fine."
For a while Dramm is content to walk quietly. With enough time to consider his words, he eventually speaks as delicately as he is able.
"This fight with Katandramus has strained Imedren. He feels it is his duty to ensure Katandramus dies. His duty to you is stronger. If you ask, I think he may be convinced to stop. Others can fight in his place. You could both leave. Save each other instead of the city."
Uruuna thinks for a moment before shaking her head. "He won't stop, not now. Not after everything he has already sacrificed. He's too damn stubborn to let somebody else take his place."
"Besides which I'm committed to this fight too. After all this is done, we can focus on each other. I there's anything left of either of us."
"Good. I was lying. There are few people as capable as either of you. Replacement would be difficult, if possible at all." Dramm admits to the halfling. "My point is that you mean more to the man than this city, and a great deal more than many other things. He lost you once to Selgaer. He fears he will again. He cant focus until he is certain."
"That distraction is dangerous. Maybe deadly.The cracks are already forming. If Imedren traveled through time to fix something, he did it because you're not in his time."
Uruuna takes Dramm's words soberly. She shakes her head. "The damned fool. One of these days, he's going to go too far with his magics. I can protect him from monsters and murderers, but I can't protect him from himself."
Dramm rubs his knuckles out of habit. The parallels between both sorcerers are uncomfortably close for Dramm. "I think he fears that the future is coming to pass. You've seen how often he pulls back the veil. He's forgetting where he is now. You're his anchor to now. If you speak, he will listen. We might not save him, but he will hear you."
"Very well. After tempers have subsided, I will speak to him. I'll try, at least."
***
"Hey now, big guy, we'll fix this. You can bet I'll be pulling every string I have to help Uruuna get into the right skin. I owe both of you easily twice that much, so we'll call it even."
He gave his friend a cheeky smile and then turned back to the council.
"As you all well know, the stress of battle and devastation can break the minds of even the greatest men. Were anyone here to witness the things found on that island, you'd have gone mad. We have, and continue to, suffer for the sake of this city because of the loyalty and adoration we have for it. The curse that Uruuna and the g-... Selgaer have been stricken with affects all of us deeply, but rest assured, we will come if the city calls."
Tabog bows to the the council and the people before ushering Imedren towards the door. He leans in close to his friend and whispers.
"Let's get the hells outta here. 'bout time for a drink, huh?"
Imedren watched, dispirited, as Uruuna walked away. His anger and jealousy had both colluded to drive him too far at the worst possible time. He wanted nothing more than to take back what had just happened. He wanted to just disappear. But he had done the worst thing.
"You wouldn't understand." he thought to himself.
When TaBaog released him from his hold but then gave him a hug, Imedren nodded his head. "If there's anything you think will help, then please do it."
As his friend turned back to him and offered a drink, he nodded. Though he'd stopped drinking quite so much at home, today had been far harsher than it had ever been for him.
Imedren was on his third drink now. "I'll take care of this. I promised them that... Is that why they could just laugh their situation off, TaBog? Because they thought I could just snap my fingers tomorrow and have it all fixed?"
Tabog had remained fairly quiet, letting Imedren process his feelings as much as he needed to. When he spoke, Tabog was snapped out of his own mind staring into the void. He shrugged, and tilted his head to the side, thinking to himself for a moment.
"Was it they? Or was it just Sel, the might-as-well-be-a-Fae goatman? Uruuna was on your side, remember that."
He takes another sip of his bitter ale and looks at Imedren with one eyebrow raised in question.
"Mostly you're right, but right at the end the conversation had changed." Imedren said, thinking on it. "I saw... no, I'm worried that they might just think that now that they are in different bodies, that it's suddenly alright to do things they wouldn't normally do. If their bodies change too much, the magic gets harder to maintain, already this is unreliable as I'm not even sure what sort of magic it was, beyond the obvious effects."
Tabog nodded along with Imedren, listening to his tone as he spoke.
"The magic bit is a little beyond me... But what I can say is that you need to tell Uruuna what you just told me... After you apologize to her... And make it clear that you were anger at Selgaer for his words, not at her or her body..."
His face contorted as he checked to make sure what he said had made sense. It was beginning to become difficult keeping track of who said what when from whose mouth.
"Anyway, just make sure she knows how much you love her still and all that... She's worried about you, you know? You and Dramm doing all that magic-y stuff is destroying your bodies and literally driving you mad.
Tabog is quiet for a while. sipping his ale and never looking at anything in particular. Eventually he take a deep breath and lets it out slowly. He leans across the table and lowers his voice to a whisper.
"I... I think I can help with, you know, the whole body switching thing? Don't get the wrong idea but... I know a lot of people aaand some of them aren't the most savory types..."
He face was covered in a pained expression from the awkward delivery he was giving Imedren.. He suddenly but slowly sat up straight, and his face went neutral, blank even. He glances around for a moment and leans back in, still whispering.
"Oooh f!!# it... Look, I've been working the Syndicate from the inside, trying to find information about Katty-man-in-duress and the general goings on with the criminal underground... Not important, what I'm trying to say is, I bet I can get you whatever reagents, scrolls, ink, blood, sacrifice, whatever... With enough time. That's the thing though, this will take time, and I need to know exactly what I'm getting. So you need to get with whoever and figure this shit out.... If you want my health anyway...."
He straightens back up and begins sipping his ale once again. He stares at Imedren with a little skepticism, wondering how his friend is going to react to the revelation he just laid down.
Imedren was quiet for a while as Tabog advised him on what he should do next. He began spinning the mug, watching the liquid swirl before he sipped at his drink, thinking slowly as the alcohol had already begun to dull his senses somewhat. There was truth to his words, something he should deal with sooner, rather than later. His last mention of his and Dramm's predicament brought about a new line of thinking, something else they needed to try and deal with soon, as opposed to waiting much longer.
But TaBog's following words drew his attention back to the Ferren. Imedren's hand stopped spinning the mug as he'd just been confided in.
How long has this been going on? he wondered. "It seems," Imedren began slowly, "that I've been far too focused on my own troubles and have not been paying nearly enough attention to the lives of my friends."
It was a strange moment for the Watcher of time as he looked up at his friend, his vision beginning to peek beyond the veil for TaBog. His attention had been thus far inward, directed solely at what happened to himself, or whatever his gaze was focused on. Like tunnel vision, but now his awareness spread to his peripherals, giving him a much wider look.
"TaBog." he said, to his friend. "You have just given me a vital clue that I think I've been desperately missing. Tell me more about what's been happening with you. How did you fall into that? I'll get things moving with what I need later.
I'll be at Caribdus's tower learning what I can tomorrow. But what I need is going to be expensive, and more importantly it will be illicit. Very few will have what I need in any upstanding circles, I'm even afraid to learn more of what I need to know but I have to learn it anyway. I will need your help and your contacts. The first thing you need to start looking into is dark magics that have something to do with Souls.
There's something else you just said that we need to focus on, something we've been neglecting for a while now. You just mentioned Dramm, and how his magic is eating away at him, we need to help him too."
Tabog blinks a bit, clearly and pleasantly surprised by how well Imedren reacted to what he had said.
"Oh, great! Yeah. Well me grab some paper and a quill... Around here somewhere...."
He produces the material out of nowhere and everywhere, as one does when they're always ready to jot something down
"Well, let's start with the magic bits first, um so, do we need to talk to someone first like a consultant, or how much do you not know that you need to know? Okay, bad question, but you get it...... So..."
They start planning their plans and talking their talk. Two decent strategists taking to playing playing their preferred game was always something to behold, and be be-held they could have been.
Uruuna seeks out Imedren the night after the award ceremony, accepting his apology for his outburst. The incident still has put some strain on their relationship, on top of the existing awkwardness from her being in Selgaer's body, and the halfling remains somewhat distant from her husband. Uruuna handles her time as her own former lover stoically, resuming her duties as a Brown Cloak despite the switch. She finds herself unexplainably skittish and has to fight against her body's natural instincts to flee at the first sign of danger. It makes her job more difficult, but still she soldiers on.
Working together with Dramm and Tabog, Uruuna uncovers a group of faeries in service to the Long Mother that have begun to infiltrate Crossings. They had been enacting a ritual to focus their horrid patron's will through the city's faerie spires, intensifying the madness she has been inflicting upon Dramm and Selgaer and seeking new victims through which to sate her hunger. The trio defeats the faeries in a public battle that earns them praise and recognition among the citzenry. But the plot is yet another indication that the Long Mother is a threat that must be dealt with soon.
When Imedren disappears, Uruuna is beside herself. She scours the city for any clues about his fate, but comes up short. She is restless and irritable without her husband. All she wants is some sort of sign that he is okay...
Far to the east and north of Crossings stands Foundry, a large industrial town that grew from the camps of the workers who laid the first train rails across the Northern Reach. Merchants now use those rails to transport goods across the rest of the Empire, making Foundry a major trade hub. The town is now a sprawl of warehouses, workshops for building new locomotives and cars, inns and taverns for travelers, and identical redbrick houses.
In the fifty years since its founding, Foundry has grown along with the number of iron and copper mines in the nearby Iron Peaks, and its chief industry is smelting ore. Chemicals used in the smelting process, as well as thick clouds of smoke coughed up from smokestacks, have resulted in widespread pollution that makes the entire area somewhat toxic. Steam engines carry copper and iron ingots from the town by rail south to Sixton, where they are then transported to the rest of the Empire. A considerable number of dwarfs live in Foundry and are its largest minority.
Several weeks after Imedren vanished, you finally received a message from the watcher telling you to meet him in this city, and to tell nobody else. Thus, you made the week-long journey from Crossings and have finally arrived in Foundry, eager to solve the mystery of his disappearance. With luck, he'll have found a way to restore Selgaer and Uruuna to their proper bodies...
When Joy hears of a call to go to Foundry, she has a sinking feeling, especially when secrecy is requested by Imedren.
Oh no! It surely has to be about the Iron Titans!
She does not hesitate to go however. Especially since Imedren is asking.
Dramm had never been to Sixton. One large city came with enough problems, let alone two. Imedren's disappearance made the matter urgent, however, and Dramm would not be left behind during the Sorcerer's re-emergence. He was thankful for the horses, as his emaciated body easily succumbed to exhaustion when strained now.
The Titans were in Sixton, that was surely no coincidence and it would explain the secrecy.
The Long spreads outside of the village now. I had heard that things were bad, but something has changed. Then there's the creation of the Titans. Maybe there is a war here older than I thought.
Dramm shook the paranoia from his head slowly. Imedren would not lead them into a trap. His mind was playing tricks on him, and he was becoming too exhausted to think these days. Despite it all, Dramm greatly anticipated the reunion of Imedren and Uruuna. If nothing else, the group would feel whole again. Well, almost.
Imedren's letter directs you to a rough-and-tumble bar called the Crusty Beard. The clientele is almost exclusively dwarves, and the swarthy folk eye you suspiciously as you enter. You inquire with the grizzled bartender, who gestures to a private room in the back. Shadows swath the room, but a few flickering candles provide enough illumination to see your erstwhile sorcerous companion seated in a circular booth.
"Im!" Uruuna gasps, tears welling in her eyes. The faun quickly moves to her husband's side. "I looked everywhere for you. What happened to you? Are you alright?"
It may have been a trick of the light, or maybe it was one of those moments that changed due to his magic, but Imedren looked older as he glanced up from the table he was sitting at, a pair of mugs in front of him.
"Uruuna!" he said, beginning to scoot around the table. He'd been sitting at a spot which gave him the most visibility to those coming in, and for just a moment there seemed to be two of him superimposed over one another, but within the blink of an eye the older one was gone and he was back to himself. He wore simple patched clothing which blended in well with the workers around Foundry, though underneath an over-sized jacket he wore his armor.
As he came over to Uruuna however, he did appear to be in rough shape and haggard.
"I'm so sorry Uruuna. I got careless in my hunt for knowledge and while I found what I was looking for, I also attracted the attention of a witch hunter. He declared the information I found was too dangerous for anyone to have, saw himself as a hero who was stopping evil. I was tortured and questioned by him for several days. He was taking me somewhere but unusual circumstances allowed me to escape before he got wherever we were going.
I had to lay low for a while. I couldn't risk coming back to Crossings, so instead I came here."
"Oh, Im..." Uruuna touches her husband's cheek with Selgaer's calloused fingers. "I'm sorry you had to suffer through that. But... Were you successful? Did you find a way to switch us back?"
Imedren closes his eyes and takes a deep, calming breath. "I was. As long as the two of you are here, I can switch you both back."
Uruuna whoops in joy. "Finally! I, or one, am more than ready to get back to my real body. What about you, Sel?"
"Imedren! It's so good to see you.", Joy says as she tries to hug the sorcerer.
"I'm glad that you were able to escape."