A Tiny Part Of The Dimension Wars (Interdimensional Spy Follies

Game Master GM Hansj

Rollo applauds Gift's gift!
Spades Market deep in the Red District of Sigil or interview this Darceus the Dance or research this Mardus The Arranger.?

The dhampir seems to be excited for each!

Gift stops once they have what they needed.

::"Good, we have something."::

She then joins Meina playing with her puzzle.

Punishment? Your punishment is to never speak of this again, and contact us if you are ever called upon by this shadowy figure again, Terexaltherin says.

Turning to the party, he 'says', I'll take a nap now, so I'll be fresh when this is over.

Then he vanishes into his library and... does actually take a nap. A couple hours later Terecho wakes him (then goes to sleep himself), and the little dragon returns to the rest of the group to hear the results of the reading.

Let's do a bit of research first before deciding on a next step, he suggests. See if we can find anything on these people.

As the party analyzes the various foci and discusses how to approach the situation, Rosheen messages the group (a message spell, out of earshot of Jhonir), "Is it possible you will simply letting us go free? (sigh) I have to warn you - Jhonir will never give up seeking strange and otherworldly planes! Not destroyed by this trouble, he will like find others. I don't exactly know the nature of the evil that we've done but if there is any kind of quest you can send us on to undo it, it would be good. Jhonir is my love and I will follow anywhere but my wishes would be to find a way to keep us out of trouble"...

Meanwhile, Minna and Gift reassemble the metal pieces into two sphere, demonstrating the Banach–Tarski paradox.

Armaund comments "Naturally, we should report these discoveries to Bethia and Cordelia, our current contacts in the organization. Perhaps they would have a place for these two also"

I'll leave things with you deciding what to do with Jhonir.

But things to investigate:

Gray-white focus: A focus to Xonox or another plane where the Xonox material was taken.

Silver gray focus: Supposedly a focus to the Caves of Kalos, where the dark traders apparently deal.

Golden red focus: Possibly to Morphosano or a way-point to Morphosano, the hell-Galaxy, a Dark Trader stronghold

Mardus The Arranger - apparently occasionally uses the Spades Market deep in the Red District as well as using the Caves of Kalos.

Darceus the Dance - apparently found in the sort-of "raves" you witnessed this evening.

Rollo nods his head in the direction of Armaund.
Makes sense. Let The Organization deal with them.

The dhampir will research the remaining evening.
Knowledge Planes (Int): 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (14) + 21 = 35

That is true, given Jhonir's obvious talent for planar travel, he could be an asset if he's kept honest, and working for the Organization would certainly be the closest he could come to undoing the harm he's caused, Terexaltherin comments to the party.

Turning his thoughts to their semi-prisoners he says, It would be a shame to waste your talents, however. There is a way you could use your abilities for better causes. Go here at this time and one will meet you with more details.

He gives them a location and date far enough in the future that the Organization can arrange something, but not too far in the future.

So at approximately 4 am, after analyzing the foci and discussing the options, the party teleports to the Receiving Area of The Spire (a locked, damped room that's the only part of the building not sealed against teleport), where the Organization's Operations Center is still located (it moves regularly but hasn't moved since your return).

After scanning the party and unlocking the Receiving Area's thick Adamantite gates, Bethia take Rosheen and Jhoniar and has everyone get some sleep and return the next the day.

When you return, Bethia and Cordelia are attempting to analyze the three foci with the Organization's transplanar machinery (which they invite the party to observe Knowledge planes or engineering 35 to get some insight).

Then she stops and speaks to the party: "It is good that you observed this transaction but unfortunate that it was able to happen. No doubt there are another dozen star fleets headed to another dozen worlds as we speak. Despite this, we most be careful in our investigations if we are to put an end to this. What are your ideas?"

As the party describes various lines of investigation, Cordelia comments.

Gray-white focus: "This may lead to Xonox proper but I think probably not - probably it leads to a half-chaos world that the material is transported to. If you feel ready to deal such a world, where all is bizarrely contradictory, find who is transporting the material would be very useful. Alternatively, you could take this to the Planar Consortium and try to convince them they have a problem. "

Silver gray focus: "Yes, this lead to The Caves of Kalos. I suspect if the Traders are present at all, they would be very wary unless a contact is arranged beforehand. Taking Jhonir would help since they have dealt with him. But without proper arrangements, this would require supreme bluffing I think. Not that it's impossible. "

Golden red focus: "This certainly lead to Morphosano (the Dark Trader stronghold) but I think each time they do a transaction, they leave the area. And if not, the destination is likely as well guarded as our Receiving Area. Still, the simplest would to be to send this to Ari and Kargal who are having some success in Morphosano. "

Mardus The Arranger: "He is a key figure it seems. You say he may occasionally use the Spades Market deep in the Red District? Not much of a lead - unless you perhaps discover something he wants and claim to sell it there. Still, certainly worth investigating, cautiously... and what would he want? Perhaps a better way to mask his shipments? Just a thought."

Darceus the Dancer: "This one's significance is to lead you to other, I think. One way to find him is simply look around. Otherwise, you may have to cultivate a reputation for planar manipulation and desperation in the fashion of Jhoniar"

Looking tired, she ends with, "More than enough leads or directions. I leave it to you and go to get rest myself."

Gift says something about getting a mud bath, and leaves the others when they rest. How ever when she comes back later that day she has a slight smile on her face and a spring in her step.

When they start to transplanar analytics machinery, she studies it hard.

Kn Planes 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (3) + 15 = 18
Kn ENG 1d20 + 24 ⇒ (15) + 24 = 39

Some of the planes links she is not 100% about but the machinery she knows, She asks Minia about the bits she is not sore of.

When they talk of which leed to follow Gift is keen on the Spades Market deep in the Red District.

x

Arlo didn't contribute anything to the Underbelly, because I assumed the new father would be at home, helping his wife with the newborns. But if you wish it, I'll add to the previous post.

Knowledge (Planar): 1d20 + 21 + 1d6 ⇒ (17) + 21 + (5) = 43

Terexaltherin nods soberly. We have to balance not overplaying our hand with the knowledge that every shipment means more death and misery. That said...

He broadcasts the sensation of being deep in thought for several moments. We should send the gold-red focus along. Our part of the job is to stop things from getting this far, so it will be more useful to Ari and Kargal. We might be best off following the gray-white focus--if we can arrive stealthily and gather information, we might well be able to get enough information to identify another shipment in time to sabotage it, assuming they have a staging area or something of the sort there.

Spades Market deep in the Red District. Mardus The Arranger seems to be the linchpin here. Turn him and the cards begin to tumble
.

Spades Market deep in the Red District. Mardus The Arranger seems to be the linchpin here. Turn him and the cards begin to tumble

.

True, but how would we find him? I'll bet he wouldn't be going by that name, and if it were too obvious we were looking for him he'd get suspicious quick.

::"Leave that to me, I will need 8 hours but I will find them.":;

mindhunter

So consulting with The Organization's experts, the party begins researching further the various leads. Mindhunter seems like a reasonable try but it turns out they are not on the plane of Sigil when Gift attempts her search - Bethia suggests that he most likely resides on Morphosano, where one powerful wing of The Traders has moved to (with the traders having great success in The Hell Galaxy, there is something of a power struggle happening between their factions but not enough to slow them). Gift could travel to The Hell Galaxy to discover Mardus' lair but it might be better to lure them to Sigil where they'd be less guarded and where they apparently go. His lair on Morphosano could be an entire planet of humanoids reduced to undeath and devoted to guarding his person.

Red District itself is an extremely "exclusive" district, a large portion of the buildings are clubs requiring introductions and it seems that for the Market of Spades, a series of such introductions may be needed. Still, this is matter of money and persuasion, a task the party has accomplished before. Another factor is the Red District is a district very aligned with the undead.

Also, Gift remembers that in object reading, she discovered the previous owner of the silver-gray focus was Otho of Otho And Kimanke, merchants of the Market Of Spades (who bought it from an adventurer). They could be useful to contact and turn to your use.

Finally, noting her interest, Bethia gives Gift and Minna an exclusive tour of some of The Organization's planar machinery. Gift gets a glimpse, a bare understanding of the complex mechanisms involved.

In researching the silver-gray focus, Terex is convinced it leads to "half-chaos" or "near-chaos" lands. These are bizarre and contradictory areas - Towns, cities and kingdoms like normal human worlds but a constant series of seemingly arbitrary changes to life. Some towns may charge vast sums to allow one to sleep. One town may be ruled by mice and another by cats and they may fight endless battles. Think the worlds of Hieronymus Bosch or Peter Breugal only with all levels of tech.

Rollo looks to the group.
We have plenty of leads. Which one do we start with?

The dhampir grins at Gift.
Want to take a holiday? The Hell Galaxy to discover Mardus' lair sounds fun!

"It dose sound interesting"

The dhampir grins at Gift.

Want to take a holiday? The Hell Galaxy to discover Mardus' lair sounds fun!

"Sounds lovely", Arlo grumbled.

I still think we should go to the near-chaos lands. We want to figure out where they're getting the material from so we can sabotage it or at least cut if off--if we poke into the Hell Galaxy right now, we're risking revealing we're on their trail before we've nailed down their supplier, they'll just shift their supply lines and we'll lose the trail. We should go for that first, then we can look for Mardus.

"Terex has a point", Arlo grumbled.

"The moment we make a move they will know, dose not matter where. sorry Terex"

Blue frowns, his brow furrowing. "I'm not sure about that. They'll know something happened to the supplier, sure, but that doesn't give them any detail about the who or how or why of the disruption. They'll know something happened, but they won't know it was us, or why we're after them, etc., so it could still be a viable option."

During this discussion, for a moment Bethia looks uncharacteristically annoyed but regains her calm composure and says: "Of course you have to stay hidden, all our operations depend on this. You have succeeded in operating secretly so far and I expect that to continue. Certainly a direct assault on the Traders would be suicide"

Some time later, as the discussions continue, she returns and says, while holding up a beaker of blue liquid, "I mentioned earlier the possibility of not stopping but sabotaging the shipments. We, the various beings working on The Organization's Mechanism, have created a substance that can do just that if applied to Xonox materials. If we can inject ourselves into this supply chain, we can inflict a bit of a defeat on the Traders network and make them leery of trusting any shipment. That elf, Miguel, who you recruited earlier (captured in the hole with the devils), actually provided great help on this."

Rollo grins.
Ok. First we dirty up the supply chain. Then we discover Mardus' lair.

The Sage then interjects
It would be quite beneficial if he also got the blame. That would certainly get him out of hiding.

Yeah, that would be good! But it would only work if he's not only the one to transport it but also somehow implicated in how it got contaminated... we'll have to see if we can plant some 'evidence' of some sort, Terexaltherin 'says' thoughtfully, ideas whizzing just beneath his words. I guess it depends on how they're staging things through the near-chaos plane. Since it sounds like we're leaning towards going there first, are there any preparations we want to do before heading there? Maybe some protections against chaos, and maybe some disguises since we might be recognized if we show up as we truly are? I was thinking raven for myself...

He turns his thoughts specifically to Bethia. Speaking of Miguel, I was thinking of having him and his team examine <Shimmer>. How... trustworthy have they been since starting work for the Organization? <Shimmer> is... well, a possible temptation for those who might not like their current circumstances.

Because you're just too cool, he adds, speaking to the sapient stone alone.

Gift waits for the others to play catch up. Rollo seem the only one who matched her mind, but he was also deep and complex. It did not help that she had a rule not to scan or look into the minds of the team. Her Dad, no no no, she shuddered at the very thought. Terex was smart and fast and like Rollo would know soon as she tried. Blue was too sweet to mess with, Minia was an open book so there was no point, and big Dragon, well she did not think she could even if she tried. Best all-around not to bother.

So she sat and waited for them to get there the long way.

As she did she worked on a little 11-dimensional puzzle.

So, the party sits in a lounge in the Spire, outside the Central Mechanism of the organization, looking out over Sigil, through huge glass window in the 50th floor of this mostly deserted office building in the industrial zone of the Ghetto. The cityscape is stunning and ever-changing, airships and flying carpets passing over crag-like buildings. The couches are marvels of luxury and comfort, combining fur, wool and embroidery. Pizza, curry and dishes from a thousand worlds can be quickly obtained. Coffee, herbal elixirs and other beverages are on offer. Bethia and Cordelia come in and out, ready to answer questions as the party's plans come together but also working on their projects. Still, knowing more shipments will go out, the pressure is on.

As the night goes on, Armaund first asks Bethia if she could estimate about how often shipment seem to go out based on how often armadas seem to be leaving Morphosano. After some gymnastics with interplanar time conversion, she guesses roughly once a week but very roughly. And he comments that this means The Traders may be finding dupes such as Jhonir on a weekly basis (which may mean more visits to the Market Of Spades).

He then says telepathically:: "Aside from the strategic part, jumping directly to Morphosano might tread on some toes in the organization since that seems to be Ari and Kargal's post currently. Let's go if we must but investigating things closer might reasonable." and then says out loud, "Well, these foci should give us some immediate information if we plane-shift with any of them and everything else will take some time. And I'm hearing the near-chaos as most plausible. Let's go but be prepared for immediate trouble - maximum magic aids, maximum stealthiness, and so-forth." and the conversation goes on...

By means of Hexqils network she sends to the group

::"Well seems we have a plan, time for some protection. While you are in Hexqil mind-net he can buff us a little. I can also help, shifting powers to you as you need them."::

So, with the plan approximately set, the party prepares itself for whatever half-chaos world awaits and moves to the "launchpad" of The Spire. Here, Gift can use the Gray-White focus to plane shift to ... where ever exactly it leads (you're assuming this is where the Xonox material is coming from).

So the effect is attempted ... and fails. You feel the way is blocked but Gift's careful attention to the effect makes the blockage feel temporary. And so, after a few hours of probing the gateway, Gift feels the way can open and invites the party to assemble ... and the effects hurdles you through wild dimensions. And as you arrives, <Shimmer> provides a slight delay and view of the area outside of the exact spot will arrive at. The area you're targeting appears to be the inside of a large barn, where packing materials are scattered about, with large desk on one side and a block-and-tackle at the center. But the view of the general area gives a distinctly different impression - from the outside, barn appear to be doll-house size and set inside a play with a number of other small buildings. Inside the "play room", there are variety of toys as well as a black cat several times larger than the buildings and an animated doll even large than the size (the cat is 30 feet tall and the moving doll about 70 feet). There are larger doors leading out of the play room at the scale of the large doll ( 90 feet tall). The black cat is looking intently at another small building, like a fort where it seems some group of primitive tribespeople have taken refuge - you can see one of the tribespeople is lying wounded or dead outside the fort.

You're safe inside the barn and can investigate it (roll perception). All the barn's windows and doors are closed but you know what lies outside. You hear desparate shouts and deep, deep growl. One thing you notice inside the barn is a ledger and dimensional-magic runes on wooden panels that are on hooks around the room. One of the tiles has fallen down and this is apparently what lets you plane shift into the location.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 21 + 1d6 ⇒ (10) + 21 + (6) = 37

Well, this is pretty strange... Terexaltherin comments, But nothing less than we should expect from a chaotic plane like this. Say, <Shimmer>, do you feel that weird dimensional spell? Can you help us do something about it?

Given what we saw as we were coming into here, though, we might need to focus on what's going on outside before we spend too much time on this. Unless this dimensional magic is what's making this area help all of you feel how I feel most days. I might be able to paralyze the cat temporarily, assuming it has a mind, which could give us time to see if that person can be saved.

You can use <Shimmer> to attempt to dispel the effect on particular targets. You wouldn't want to dispel it on everything because ... everything would expand and not fit in the current space - and a "destructive dispels" usually doesn't work by the general principles of magic (and pathfinder rules generally). Still, roll a caster level check.

Gift did not suffer Physical exhaustion but this did not mean she did not get tired, there was a lot of strain and stress getting here.

As they finally arrived she rested a moment to regain her force then went and studied what was around them.

::"There that tile has slipped within this dimensional-magic runes locking this place to size and space. That is how we got in. powerful stuff what do you think Rollo?."::

She then looks out.

::"Well that is something you don't see everyday"::

::No kidding.:: Blue agrees.

Armaund also peaks out a shuttered window and shakes his head. ::This seems a death trap. Mostly likely why they did their deeds here. Sniffs. :: I smell humans and a kind of creature I'm not familiar with - insect or something. They were here about 24-48 hour ago. But why are those warriors there? Perhaps they sought our villains and got caught. Perhaps our villains hit bad luck? Looks through another window. It appears this effect, unlike normal magical reduction, reduces one's vitality. I'd not want to face that doll this way. On the other hand, enlarging would give things away...

Minna is looking around and playing with some of her gears and puzzle pieces. ::Perhaps we shouldn't enlarge, perhaps enlarge a thing for them to play with...

Of course, you've only just begun to investigate the room itself... Rolls, descriptions, etc.

Rollo smiles as they begin to understand the rules here. The Sage wonders about the dollhouse a bit looking to see if they have been its only occupants recently.
Perception (Wis): 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (15) + 13 = 28

The sorcerer also begins to delve into the magical energies here to figure out the rules for that as well.
Spellcraft(Int): 1d20 + 32 ⇒ (7) + 32 = 39

The cat is about 250' from the barn the party is in, the wounded warrior is about 200' away, the fort-thing with the other warriors is 250' in a slightly different direction. The doll is about 1/2 mile. (All this "your scale" - which would be inches if you expanded - though there'd be drawbacks to that also, obviousy)

:;"yer best go save him then, let me get rid of that cat"""

The dwarf paladin draws The Arlosword, and marches his way to the cat, determined to not be lunch for the feline creature.

You know, this would be my chance to be the *big* dragon around... Terexaltherin informs the party, mischief sparkling in his thoughts, but he quickly sobers. [b]Hey, Rollo, Shimmer, think we could do more than undo the size-warp? I'm thinking, if we could transfer it from one of those balls to the moving doll. If we're lucky--and if Gift's powers don't disable the cat--the cat will get surprised by the ball changing size and investigate it, while shrinking the doll will make it less dangerous.[/c]

He applies his knowledge of magic with his psychic powers to the problem, channeling the effort through <Shimmer> to try to swap the shrink effect around.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 21 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + 21 + (5) = 28

As Arlo proceeds out of the barn, the enormous black and white house cat freezes in fear, closing it's eyes and putting paws over them. It will be a couple round before Arlo closes the distance with the cat, if he chooses to. . As the cat panics, the giant doll says something like "What's the matter kitty?" in a vastly deep, booming voice and begin slowly moving toward it.

Terex analyzes the dimensional effect ... he quite possibly could reverse the effect ... once the doll get reaches long spell effect range, which will take another couple rounds (then you'll have to still overcome the things "natural resistance" IE, it will get a saving throw). Alternatively, Terex could remove the effect on something right now.

Rollo looks around - this seems like an impromptu "staging area", similar to what The Organization maintains but with the most crucial parts removed (naturally). One thing he notices is a place where a log book would likely be located.

Analyzing the dimensional effect ... ("there are no rules here, only guidelines"), Rollo's guess is that this effect extends to large doll house of similar composition as the doll houses scattered around the large room here). The break the effect, if that was the wish, all the small doll houses would have to be removed from this large house. But you don't much reason to break the effect entirely now.
Extrapolating, this plane likely has a pattern self-referential dimensional distortions scattered around it.

Arlo hustles to meet the cat in melee.

Rollo watches the overeager dwarf charging out to play with the kitty.
Don't hurt the poor kitty, Arlo. It is just a cat. I could have just Dimensional door over and brought the injury soldier back.

The Sage does cast a spell still.

Telekinesis Combat maneuver

Cmb to grapple vs Cmd: 1d20 + 32 ⇒ (9) + 32 = 41

He holds the kitty down.