Shakur just stands there, awkwardly.
“Name’s Bubz,” Boodiddly answers glibly. “And I didn’t catch your name…?”
”Oh, is that what you call yourself now? At least the ‘B’ is consistent. And I never told you my name, which is rather rude of me; I am the Yellow King.” He emphasizes his introduction with a deep bow.
Jevar's expression continues to be utter dubiousness at this fellow.
So, why did you not expect that you would never see us "again"? Did you think we'd be locked up at Briarstone forever or some other reason?
”Briarstone? Briarstone…Briarstone…Ah yes, Administrator Losandro’s facility. Though I haven’t the slightest of inferences as to why you would be there, much less indefinitely; memory between the two of us isn’t properly doled out. I was merely referring to the sheer difficulty of coming to my humble caravanserai, particularly given its deterioration in recent years.”
”I suppose my proclaiming ‘once more’ was rather misleading given that we have not properly met in actuality. A subconscious slip of the tongue, I’m sure you understand.”
“The two of who?” Boodiddly inquires, one eyebrow raised.
“The two of who?” Boodiddly inquires, one eyebrow raised.
”’Two of whom.’ And myself and Haserton Lowls, of course.”
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“But that doesn’t rhyme, silly.” Boodiddly puts his hands in his pockets and smiles broadly. “And why would you call yourself the Yellow King? You’re not very yellow.”
The Yellow King blinks a few times and motions to his very yellow attire. ”Is this not sufficiently yellow? Though, truth be told, I refer to myself by that moniker due to the fact that that was my first thought upon manifesting into being: ‘Yellow King.’ Surely that must be my name, so I made it so! Yes, it is also just as likely a reference to an ancient entity within the Dark Tapestry of the Material Plane, possibly one that Haserton Lowls was researching, but I nevertheless went with the self-identification of the Yellow King. After all, continuing to refer to myself as 'Haserton Lowls' would be absurd; you wouldn't call yourself 'gnome,' for example.”
"So, you're a 'Haserton Lowls' in the same way he's a dwarf, he's a human, he's a gnome, and I'm a half-elf? Were you created by The Haserton Lowls, then? Or did something else manifest you into existence? You know, like parents? Creators? Dark masters?"
"So, you're a 'Haserton Lowls' in the same way he's a dwarf, he's a human, he's a gnome, and I'm a half-elf? Were you created by The Haserton Lowls, then? Or did something else manifest you into existence? You know, like parents? Creators? Dark masters?"
”Intense psychological trauma. You see,” Suddenly, with a snap of the Yellow King’s fingers, the light in the area dims significantly, and an image projection appears on the nearby wall as the Yellow King starts to give a Powerpoint presentation. ”I am a splintered fragment of the greater whole known as ‘Haserton Pragmus Lowls IV,’ and I manifested into being following Lowls-proper, if you will, learning something, or somethings, so psychologically straining that fragments of his psyche were left behind here in the Dreamlands. Those fragments melded together into an independent entity: yours truly.” With another snap of his fingers, the room returns to how it was previously.
Kolgradd has been content to watch the exchange, part fascinated and part horrified at the exchange.
"You seemed to recognise us, please- who am I? Where am I from? Did that happen to me too, the fractured psyche? Are my memories around here somewhere?"
He looks desperate.
Kolgradd has been content to watch the exchange, part fascinated and part horrified at the exchange.
"You seemed to recognise us, please- who am I? Where am I from? Did that happen to me too, the fractured psyche? Are my memories around here somewhere?"
He looks desperate.
”Oh, it seems I was correct. My sincerest condolences, Kolgradd, but I, myself, cannot sufficiently tell you who you are. But I do know of someone who could.
“I was deconstructed from a greater whole, but that process can be reversed with you. You’re already deconstructed, I posit, and seek to be reconstructed in the inverse of my experience. In short, you can retrace Lowls’s steps to regain your memories and your whole selves. I can’t recall all of those steps—that was ‘after my time,’ so to speak, but I know the outcome: Lowls spoke with an ominous yet perspicacious prophet called the Mad Poet. This Mad Poet— an apt appellation, I assure you—has unimaginable power here in the Dreamlands, but he is fickle. Approaching the Mad Poet without the proper collection of gifts provokes his ire; worse, he might have nothing to do with you. Lowls learned some great truths from the Mad Poet; some truths so mind-shattering that I came into being as a result. I deem it serendipitous that I do not know what these truths are.
“Good gifts for the Mad Poet are scattered throughout the Dreamlands. They are rare, esoteric, and never easily gained. Lowls identified six or seven of these gifts. I recall writing them down on the flyleaf of Dichotomous Translations of Aklo Syntax, but I can’t recall what they were. Lowls painstakingly scoured his tomes to research each gift, learning where to find it in the Dreamlands and then dreaming of that location. I recommend you do likewise. Some of the gifts required trickery or guile to obtain; others, delicate negotiation or brute force. I don’t know the minimum number of gifts the Mad Poet will accept, but Lowls acquired all the gifts on his list. If you want to make do with fewer gifts, or if you have some problem acquiring them all, the Mad Poet might condescend to converse with you anyway. That’s up to you.
“Once you acquire sufficient gifts, return here. I’ll escort you to the Mad Poet’s oasis—after all, it resides in this desert—and you can petition him for the answers you seek.”
Jevar's eyes light up.
Deconstructed?! Does that mean there are more fragments, or splinters of us running around in this realm?
He then thinks on the mention of the title.
Dichotomous Translations of Aklo Syntax... we found this tome in the study.
Kolgradd looks a little disappointed by not immediately hearing the answers to his questions, but as the King speaks he seems to perk up, nodding along with the clinical language and list of instructions.
"Well alright, that sounds like something we can work with!"
When Jevar recalls the book title, he exclaims in delight, relaxing further and slapping Jevar in the small of his back, perhaps a little too hard especially with his gauntlet.
"Ha! You have a keen mind my friend" he starts rooting through his large pack to see if it's on him.
"Though even if it is in here, isn't it just our memories of the book? So if I don't recall the notes, they can't be in here? This dream stuff hurts my head"
"Though even if it is in here, isn't it just our memories of the book? So if I don't recall the notes, they can't be in here? This dream stuff hurts my head"
”Well, yes, that would be correct if this were your dream. However, the Dreamlands is a much more persistent dreamscape of one or more primordial dreamers, and are thus composed of their memories and experiences. You four are merely ‘hitching a ride,’ so to speak. My tangential aside aside, though, I was referring to a publication of Dichotomous Translations of Aklo Syntax in the waking world, not one here in the Dreamlands.”
Deconstructed?! Does that mean there are more fragments, or splinters of us running around in this realm?
”If there were fragmentary personalities of you four much like myself then I am surprised that I haven’t met them in the years since my manifestation; I would imagine that such personalities would manifest from the same mind-shattering revelations that conceived myself from Haserton Lowls, and if that were the case then we fragmentary personalities would initially manifest in the same general vicinity. It is certainly possible, but I’m more than a little skeptical; it is more likely that such fragments of your minds failed to amalgamate much like myself, and are, at best, simply lying about or, at worst, assimilated into the essence of the Dreamlands.” The Yellow King then strokes his beard in deep thought. ”Curiously, though, you four certainly appear to have had large fragments of your minds deconstructed from your selves—certainly more than the fragments Haserton Lowls lost that would inevitably conceive myself. With such large fragments, the lack of an amalgamation of the fragments is…curious. Hmm.”
And I have no better idea than you if there are fragments of me that exist. What we do know is that the four of us haven't recovered everything. So, all the same... we are broken down somehow.
Jevar looks down, frowning and pondering this. He digs around in his pack to locate their copy of Dichotomous Translations of Aklo Syntax.
And I have no better idea than you if there are fragments of me that exist. What we do know is that the four of us haven't recovered everything. So, all the same... we are broken down somehow.
Jevar looks down, frowning and pondering this. He digs around in his pack to locate their copy of Dichotomous Translations of Aklo Syntax.
Jevar searches through his pack and is disappointed to find that Dichotomous Translations of Aklo Syntax is not in it—nor is it among the gear of the other amnesiacs. It seems that only items that he had on his person when he fell asleep transitioned from the Material Plane to the Dreamlands.
”Oh! Before you go, I recall some items Lowls used in his exploration of the Dreamlands: a mirror and a staff. I believe he kept them in a false bottom in his trunk. They may be of use to you.”
*
*
Sure enough, as the Yellow King described, the trunk has a false bottom that contains two items: a mirror of sleeping vigil, and a staff of the Dreamlands.
Uncommon Illusion Invested Magical Sleep
Price 300 gp
Usage worn; Bulk L
This jeweled mirror grants you gain greater control over your dreaming self. While invested, you can watch over your sleeping body from the Dreamlands, letting you see your own body and a 5-foot emanation around you, though you can’t hear, smell, or use other senses from your dreaming self. You do not take the –4 status penalty to visual Perception checks in that area or gain the blinded condition from being unconscious against creatures in that area. As long as you fell asleep voluntarily and not from a sleep effect, you can automatically wake up from sleep if there is visible activity around you.
Uncommon Enchantment Magical Staff
Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk 1
hear, smell, or use other senses from your dreaming self. You do not take the –4 status penalty to visual PerThe carved night hag’s hand at the end of this sandalwood staff clutches a rough gem. The staff of the Dreamlands makes it easier to navigate and survive in the Dreamlands and recognize its denizens. When wielding the staff, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Survival checks while in the Dreamlands and to checks to Recall Knowledge about creatures with the dream trait.
Activate Cast a Spell; Effect You expend a number of charges from the staff to cast a spell from its list.
Type staff of the Dreamlands; Level 6; Price 250 gp
• Cantrip daze
• 1st alarm, déjà vu, sleep
• 2nd phantasmal treasure, silence
More importantly, though, is that the amnesiacs find Dichotomous Translations of Aklo Syntax. The amnesiacs quickly find a bit of marginalia that looks very out of place for the book on linguistics:
Feline tail (blue and purple mottled fur)
Skull of ghoul royalty
Green stone idol of a water lizard
Night hag ambassador’s heartstone
Captain’s tricorne
Red webbed foot
Count Lowls, being the frustratingly vague man that he is, left only this, meaning that in order to get better specifics, the amnesiacs will have to retrace Lowls’s steps in his research.
Research Checks DC 21 Genealogy Lore, DC 21 Heraldry Lore, DC 23 Occultism, DC 25 Society
Research Checks DC 23 Nature, DC 25 Arcana, DC 25 Occultism
Research Checks DC 23 Occultism, DC 25 Arcana, DC 25 Religion
Research Checks DC 23 Religion, DC 25 Occultism, DC 28 Society
Research Checks DC 23 Occultism, DC 23 Religion, DC 25 Society
Research Checks DC 18 Sailing Lore, DC 23 Occultism, DC 25 Society
Research Checks Aberration Lore DC 21, Occultism 23, Medicine 28
Day 4 - Day 10
==============
Count Lowls’s Journals: 8 RP
Signet Ring Research: 0 RP
Feline Tail Research: 0 RP
Royal Ghoul’s Skull Research: 0 RP
Green Stone Idol Research: 0 RP
Ambassador’s Heartstone Research: 0 RP
Captain’s Tricorne Research: 0 RP
Webbed Foot Research: 0 RP
==============
Back in the "real world," Jevar sets out to research two of the topics from the "Dichotomous Translations" marginal notes which he believes to be accessible via the study of Arcana.
Days 1-4:
Days 5-7:
Maybe it's some manner of hangover from the dream travel, but the subjects are slow for Voron to clarify.
Boodiddly focuses on the secrets of the webbed foot.
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Upon awakening, Kolgradd is as excited as an apprentice smith on his first day at the forge.
"We're close to learning about ourselves, maybe even getting our memories back. Let's hunt down these gifts!"
He digs into the research with gusto, doggedly looking for mentions of the Ambassador's Heartstone
Shakur, hoping this ghoul is long dead, researches the Royal Ghoul's Skull
8 RP
Day 11 - Day 17
==============
Count Lowls’s Journals: 8 RP
Signet Ring Research: 0 RP
Feline Tail Research: 1 RP
Royal Ghoul’s Skull Research: 7 RP
Green Stone Idol Research: 0 RP
Ambassador’s Heartstone Research: 5 RP
Captain’s Tricorne Research: 0 RP
Webbed Foot Research: 9 RP
==============
Boodiddly can’t take his face out of the book, resulting in a bit of a burned soup for dinner one night. But after a few more days, he grows bored and shifts to research about a fancy hat.
With his head (hopefully) more clear, Jevar continues his application of the arcane toward the feline tail research.
When they're comparing notes after dinner with some drinks, Kolgradd muses on the heartstone he's been reading about.
"Heartstones are powerful magic items, but they lose their magic after being separated from the hag that formed them. Apparently this one Lowls was looking for was special and lasted for a month. It might already have expired though, I need to keep looking"
When Boodiddly reports on the webbed feet, and Shakur on the ghouls, he muses about another of the Heartstone's properties.
"Apparently they are also a potent ward against disease. Could come in handy if we got that before the others maybe"
Despite his voracious appetite for fortified alcohol , his hardy dwarven constitution has him back at the books early the next day, keen to learn what he can of the heartstone.
He makes steady progress over the course of the week, but finds putting the last pieces of the puzzle together eluding him on what he hoped had been the final day
After getting distracted for a few days chatting with the other scholars on the boat, Shakur digs back into research on the Royal Ghoul Skull before exhausting all information and moving on to the green stone idol.
7 RP
9 RP
Coming up for air on the 7th day, and looking frazzled, Jevar declares his cumulative discoveries so far.
Okay okay, I've figured out some things about the feline tail.
According to a naturalist’s papers, felines with blue and purple tails are called pards, and they can be found the Dreamlands’ Enchanted Wood.
One of Lowls’s diaries indicates his intent to seek the advice of zoogs, a race of intelligent rodent-like creatures native to the Enchanted Wood. Zoogs are carnivores and particularly enjoy feline flesh; Lowls assumed the zoogs would know where to find pards.
He looks around at the others.
It sounds like you found some great leads as well. Into the dreaming again?
Kolgradd nods.
"I don't think I'll be able to sleep without magical aid anyway so close to that piece of the heartstone puzzle, and with Boodiddly unearthing the phrase to take us to a necropolis with some of these web footed wamps, I say we go tonight."
He checks his pockets and his pack, reminding himself of everything that's in there
"If you have anything good for diseases, make sure you remember it during the ritual"
Day 18 - Day 21
==============
Count Lowls’s Journals: 8 RP
Signet Ring Research: 0 RP
Feline Tail Research: 9 RP
Royal Ghoul’s Skull Research: 9 RP
Green Stone Idol Research: 1 RP
Ambassador’s Heartstone Research: 11 RP
Captain’s Tricorne Research: 4 RP
Webbed Foot Research: 12 RP
==============
The first day after the failed ritual Kolgradd finds the last piece of the puzzle regarding the Heartstone, and turns his attention to assisting with the Tricorne research after each additional failure. Kolgradd feels an affinity for headgear, though he feels like nothing would suit him and would never admit it.
Boodiddly passes Kolgradd a few of his notes on the slaver captain’s tricorne and helps divy up the remaining books between the two of them.
I don't remember the ritual being this hard last time... no matter. Maybe I can finish up work on the feline tail...
"Sorry everyone. I wasn't whistling those last few nights. Let's try again, but I'll be sure to whistle along." Continuing Green Stone Idol:
As it seems one gets to the Enchanted Wood by accident, perhaps we make for the Heartstone? Jevar asks as they sit in the circle, about to commence the ritual.
Kolgradd nods emphatically.
"I agree. If it wards against disease it may help us with the ghouls and the wamps."
He strokes his beard thoughtfully.
"Though I just had a thought. The heartstone only has a month before it turns into a mundane stone. That gives us a time limit on finding the others, and worse still the gift gets less valuable as we go. Perhaps we should save that one for last?"
"As much as I can help with diseases, I'd rather our best shot at not contracting any of these. Not quite sure what would happen if you turn into a Leng Ghoul in the dreamlands, but I sure don't want to find out."
Kolgradd considers some more and waves off his earlier concerns.
"No, I think with the way time passes it shouldn't be a concern. You're right Jevar, let's start with the Heartstone"
*
*
Dylath-Leen is a massive port city, bustling with activity. Despite this, though, the city is dark and rather uninviting, as thin angular towers made of black basalt line the streets, towering overhead.
The amnesiacs make their necessary preparations and ask around about the night hag Quaveandra.
The people of Dylath-Leen are suspicious of the amnesiacs, and so it takes a few hours for them to finally coax the necessary information and arrive at the current location of the night hag ambassador: a high-class drug den.
This spacious, round room has a vaulted ceiling barely visible through a haze of blue smoke. Soft round couches cover the floor along with several golden braziers, ornate hookahs, and small tables. The curved wall is pierced by curtained archways leading to small private chambers. One such chamber has black smoke inexplicably billowing forth from behind the curtain.
It is very difficult to miss the outsize presence of a particular woman in the room—a woman that the amnesiacs recognize from the strange visions they endured at the caravanserai. The elderly woman’s body is covered in warts, and curved ram’s horns grow from her head. Her body is draped in various expensive fabrics, and around her neck is a pearl necklace that ends in a jewel pendant that gleams the reddish-orange of a golf-ball-sized jacinth. The woman’s most prominent feature, however, is her elaborately coiffed beehive hairdo atop her head. Indeed, this is Ambassador Quaveandra.
Quaveandra eyes the amnesiacs curiously as they enter the room. She pulls aside a nearby servant—a masked, bloated human woman whose skin seems to be rotting away from her flesh —and whispers something to her. The servant then makes a beeline for the amnesiacs. She bows deeply and says ”The ambassador of Abaddon wishes to meet with you posthaste.”
The amnesiacs approach the night hag, as they get closer the various warts on her face becoming more and more visible. Quaveandra takes a deep puff from a nearby hookah as she motions for the amnesiacs to sit on the couch opposite her. She blows out smoke from her mouth, then swirls her sharp, manicured nail into the smoke, causing it to coalesce into a vaguely avian shape that flies off, then ultimately dissipates into the rest of the cloying smoke in the room.
”Hmph. You four are quite a sight. You do not seem to be the usual dissolute addicts that frequent this establishment. No…You have another reason for being here.”
Boodiddly bows before scootching up on the couch. "Your wisdom and insight shame us, Madame Ambassador. We are visitors, seeking both pieces of ourselves and the one who came before us. In each of these endeavors, we must appease the Mad Poet of these Dreamlands. I'm certain one so knowledgeable and influential as yourself would know much more about them than us."
”Your flattery will not work on me. And I know nothing of the Mad Poet, but to attempt to appease the hermit? You must be the mad ones.”
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Kolgradd is in acute distress. Being the centre of any kind of social attention is the stuff of nightmares for him, and being in the actual dreamlands he's expecting his clothes to disappear at any moment.
He fidgets awkwardly, managing an incoherent mumble and half a bow in response to the hag's statement. He's torn between feeling like he should say something for propriety's sake, and knowing that if he says anything he'll give away his nerves and ruin the negotiation.
He settles into a wide stance, planting his feet firmly and showing off his strength as he stands aside his allies. He gives Boodiddly an emphatic nod, encouraging him to broach the topic of the Heartstone.
Jevar, nervously but deliberately wades into the interaction to see what sort of information she is willing to offer.
She seems a proud type...
Of course idle flattery would not work on someone of your power. No, we are not mad. We understand how to be careful with the hermit. That is why we prepare. As for you, where does your power in these realms reside?
"If you must know, I am an ambassador from Abaddon." Quaveandra stops speaking, clearly refusing to elaborate further.
“An ambassador from Abaddon to where?” Boodiddly asks innocently.
*
*
“An ambassador from Abaddon to where?” Boodiddly asks innocently.
Quaveandra looks condescendingly at the gnome as she takes an inhale from the hookah. ”To Dyath-Leen.” She pinches the bridge of her nose. ”This is far from important. You say you are journeying to appease the Mad Poet, and yet Dyath-Leen is quite a ways from the hermit’s desert. So I ask you this:” The hag leans in close, her words puffing out smoke from her mouth. ”Why. Are. You. Here?”
Jevar points at the striking gem hanging from her pearl necklace, and remarks That's quite a jewel you have there. Something tells me it isn't just for show though, is it?