Prelude....
And so it was that Tar-Baphon was cast from the heights of Gallowspire, his
smoldering body still clutching the sliver of the Shield of Aroden as his spirit
retreated to his phylactery somewhere far beneath the dark tower. The great
high-priest Narthoc, most blessed of Aroden, stepped forward past the wounded
General Arnisant and drew down the three great seals fashioned on high, saying unto
his hosts: “Take these seals far from these dead lands, into the world of the living
where the undead cannot venture. May they pass beyond the immortal sway of
this imprisoned tyrant, so that he may never come forth again.”
—Penned recollections of the squire Adolfus Drusilliath, 3827 AR
And so it begins.....
The party's two-week ride from Vellumis had finally reached an end, as you see your destination in the distance: Caliphas, the city on the shores of Lake Encarthan where blood is as plentiful as wine. Thankfully, Zed had some intimate knowledge of the city, and he quickly led you to your destination: The Haraday Theatre. You think back to three weeks ago, when your party closed a portal to the Abyss, slaying demons and shattering the crystal necklace worn by the Glabrezu leader, thereby closing the portal and saving the city. You earned much prestige with that accomplishment. It was only a few days later when you received a sealed letter requesting your urgent appearance in Caliphas. You trusted the contents of the message when it was delivered personally to you by the head priest of the Temple of Iomedae, who vouched for its author: Edjureus Modd. Edjureus
Now you find yourself at the entrance to the theater. You are quickly ushered in once you show the sealed letter, the urgency and concern on the ushers' faces quite apparent. You are seated in a gathering room and offered libations from all over the Inner Sea region. Large bookshelves and heavily draped windows line the walls of this room. A cigar box on one of the bookshelves contains rolled cigars from nearby Molthune.
You do not have to wait long before a tall, somewhat stocky human male dressed in fancy clothes enters the room. He sees the party seated or standing, as you prefer, and nods his head, "Thank you for coming so quickly. The situation we have is...grave. Pardon the choice of words, but I thought that was the most appropriate one." He looks over the party. "I will assume you are not complete rubes and know of the tale of Tar-Baphon, the Whispering Tyrant, his defeat during the Shining Crusade, and his subsequent imprisonment in Gallowspire for centuries under multiple magical seals by long-lost heroes from an earlier age. I represent the Esoteric Order of the Palpatine Eye here in Caliphas, an organization sworn to guard Ustalav and its ancient traditions. We work directly to thwart the machinations of the Whispering Way, a secretive order of undead and necromancers who believes undeath is the truest form of existence and seeks to release the Tyrant to conquer Golarion."
Edjureus pauses and serves himself a drink. "Till recently, my Order had been successful in keeping the Way at bay. Until we discovered a plot, hatched from some ancient writings, to uncover a formula called the Carrion Crown to turn a living being into a lich against his/her will. We hired an adventuring group, the Silver Ravens, to track the Way and they did, from Harrowstone to Lepidstadt to Shudderwood to Caliphas finally. Unfortunately, they were always a step behind and two weeks ago, the Way kidnapped Professor Lorimmor's daughter, Kendra. According to the information we uncovered, it turns out the Kendra and the Professor were, unknownst to them, members of a lineage tied to Tar Baphon. Can you believe that?! Even with all his research, the Professor failed to investigate his own lineage!" Edjureus takes a gulp of his drink finishing it all at once. "Anyway, Adivion Aldrissant, a rich and powerful magus and a leading member of the Way spirited Kendra away to Renchurch, an old fortress-monastery in Virlych and current headquarters of the Way. It appears Aldivion's plan is to perform the Carrion Crown ritual on Kendra, turn her into a lich, and somehow transfer Tar-Baphon's soul from his imprisonment in the dungeons of Gallowspire into Kendra. The Silver Ravens immediately traveled to Renchurch but have not been heard from since. We fear the worst, that they failed and have not survived the ordeal. However, given that the world has not ended, we can assume the Tyrant has not yet been freed so we still have time to save Kendra. And fate, it appears, has dropped you in our laps."
Edjureus takes a deep breath and with a serious and concerned demeanor and looks straight into each of your eyes, noting the elf's forehead tattoo. "What I ask of all of you: Gaelan the holy knight of fey origin, Sola the smooth talker, Aja the perfect mix of arcane and divine, Zed the hybrid, and Roet the dual-minded scientist - I need you to rush to Renchurch and save the world and if you can deal a crushing blow to the Whispering Way by eliminating its leadership, well, damn that would be a great day!" Edjureus claps his hands in excitement, "What say ye?"
Gaelan stepped into the gathering room with the rest of his companions. He ordered water, wanting to keep his head clear. When Edjureus stepped inside, Gaelan nodded, sat down as a sign of respect, and let the rich scholar says his peace. The Whispering Way? They were bad news...nobody wanted a world infested with undead. He knew better than anyone how undeath could ruin that which you held most sacred. Besides, it was the worst perversion possible. Gaelan unconsciously looked at Zed...was he being hypocritical? Zed was a half-living vampire. He could rationalize it all he wanted, yet the undeath taint remained there. But Zed was a good person, an ally, and one who had turned against his kind. How could he judge him for something the dhampir could not control - the circumstances of his birth? Gaelan looked up at the ceiling. He didn't even know his real fey origins or the circumstances of his birth. Who were his real parents?
Gaelan snapped out of his reverie when he heard the Whispering Tyrant's name. Things just got serious! That bastard's evil still influenced the world from his imprisonment. He did not want to imagine what would happen if he ever escaped. Time to focus! The Silver Ravens, he said a small prayer to Iomedae for their poor souls. He would avenge them! They still had time. As their host ended his speech, Gaelan was the first to stand up. "There is no choice but yes. We cannot stand idly by and let Tar-Baphon escape. I say a resounding yes." Gaelan sat back down, feeling a new sense of purpose. He let the others speak for themselves.
The elegantly dressed woman in the midst of the group was seemingly nervous. She stepped from one foot to another while the priest talked and whenever he mentioned the Way und undead she clenched a fist.
"I know the Whispering Way. My path crossed with them a few times, before our current party was formed. Those I encountered were all lost, beyond redeemable. The Everlight's power is at your disposal!"
Her last words sounded powerful and determined. Aja had already made up her mind, obviously.
Sola holds her helmet under her arm as she stands in the waiting room. She joins Gaelan in nodding to the well dressed man when he enters, but chooses to remain standing when the others sit rather deal with trying to find a way to fit her wings in or around the high-backed chairs. She listens attentively, with a tightly clenched jaw, as he explains the current situation. When Edjureus shares the fate of the Silver Ravens the hardness in her face softens and sinks into a frown.
She recoils slightly when the stranger refers to her as Sola rather than Dame Solanis, but chooses to leave the lack of etiquette uncorrected as there are far more pressing concerns at the moment. That distraction, however, leaves room for Gaelan and Aja to speak first. After they give their answers, she offers, "Sir Aenrick of the Silver Ravens was a friend, and an able warrior. I'm saddened, and concerned, by this news, but I agree with my companions: we will not allow this threat to go unchecked. We may need to stock up on provisions before we set out, but we shall make haste for Renchurch. Do you have any idea what route the Silver Ravens took? If we go by the same way we may find some clue as to what has become of them, perhaps even rescue them if any survive... or put their souls to rest if they've been imprisoned in undeath."
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It's Doctor Roet. - says the alchemist, adjusting the glasses in his face. His tone was somewhat pedantic, but he didn't keep it for long.
We will, of course, attend to your quest, Lord Modd. - he finally completed - After all, we are in the business of saving the world. My colleagues questions are appropriate - do you know what route the previous group took? Our mission would be considerably easier if we could rescue them and have them by our side. Or, better yet, swiftly guided through our combined experience.
Lord Modd hand waves Roet's correction, muttering under his breath "Whatever." He looks at the group and smiles, "Your enthusiasm restores my faith in humanity. As to your questions, Renchurch lies some 200 miles from Caliphas, but traveling to the black monastery is not an easy proposition. You see, Tar-Baphon placed a number of dimensional anchors known as witchgates to shield his capital from magical invasion, distorting the magical ley lines that normally guide extradimensional travelers so that they displace invaders toward these gates strategically situated. As I understand, any attempt to cast teleportation magic, such as teleport spells or plane shift will direct you to the closest gate. I believe there are 4 gates between here and Renchurch. That is the path the Silver Ravens took. We provided them with 4 teleport scrolls when last I saw them. I could do the same for you, assuming Aja can cast such magic off the scroll. The other option would be to travel there overland. The blasted wasteland of Virlych sits like a putrid patch of decaying flesh sutured to the western arm of Ustalav. Anchored to the northwest and southeast by ancient, stunted forests of twisted trees and malevolent creatures, these regions grudgingly give way to the Hungry Mountains, which erupt from the plains like rotten teeth on a cankerous jawbone. Game is scarce, but unnatural creatures thrive in the cursed realm. Fell magics still writhe and pulse across the dead wastes, remnants of Tar-Baphon’s bony death grip on the land that he refuses to relinquish even after centuries of imprisonment. Your choice on how you wish to travel."
"Sadly, I've never been to that part of Ustalav. Teleporting to a place you've only heard off is dangerous."
Aja scratches her head and is obviously thinking this through. "There are more accurate teleportation spells, but these require much stronger arcane magic..." She thinks out loud.
"We could try a Scrying ritual, wherein you show me the place you have in mind and I try to familiarize myself with it. But that is strong magic, too, and I don't suppose you have that spell at hand at such short notice, do you?"
"If the witchgates attract people teleporting, wouldn't that actually work in our favor in this case?" Sola asks. "I don't know the first thing about arcane magic, but it sounds like if you can bring us anywhere near there with the scroll the magic that's meant to trap us would guide us to our destination. And, once we arrive at each gate we could look for any signs that the Silver Ravens had passed through that way."
"Am I understanding that correctly, Lord Modd?"
"You might actually be right. I've never encountered it before, but such magic would theoretically be possible, I guess. "
You know, one have to appreciate the thrill of the danger. - says the alchemist, shaking his head positively as Solanis and Aja discuss the possibilities - The best I can think of is that we should prepare ourselves before using these scrolls, especially if they might be pulling us to a trap. And then, hopefully, we will rescue the Silver Ravens and Kendra.
Caliphas. Zed rides grimly up to the sprawling city. He knew he would not stay far from the cities in Ustalav for long, although in Caliphas at least his presence could easily be lost among the throngs.
Zed quietly guides his companions to the Haraday Theater. His hood remains up over his pale, bald head, and he keeps his gaze down at the road. Despite his broad shoulders and heavy armor, he steps fall as quietly as a deer walking on grass.
The concern on the face of the ushers quickly raises Zed's own concern. Between the deliverer of the letter and their emotional states, something must be very very wrong. If the lead of an Iomadaen church had a problem they had to bring to him...it makes one shudder to think.
Zed looms in the back of the room, quietly listening to the stocky human as he speaks. The corner of his lip twitches ever so lightly at the word 'grave'. Despite himself, he was known to use some black humor himself.
Gaelan unconsciously looked at Zed...
Gaelan's glance was not lost on Zed, although he made no sign that he noticed.
If Zed could go any paler than normal, he would when Tar-Baphon's name is mentioned. When he subsequently mentions the Whispering Way, he grips his knuckles white. I thought they had been dealt with...I should have known better.
"I..." He trails off for a moment. "I agree. There is no greater purpose I could serve." Zed looms silently for another moment. "I know of the Silver Ravens, and I know of Tar-Baphon." He begins grimly. "If they have not yet returned, they are dead. At best. At worst..." He trails into silence again for a moment. "...despite flight being the more cautious approach, I agree to go directly through these gates. Those lost to Tar-Baphon and his minions must be put to rest."
The implication of what he thinks has been done to the Silver Ravens is clear.
Edjureus smiles, "Your unanimous consent is admirable. With regard to your question, Dame Solanis, this matter of the witchgates is somewhat confusing to me as well. What I understand is that casting teleportation magic within an certain number of miles will direct you near the witchgate and presumably the gate's keepers or guardians. Then once you find the witchgate, casting more teleportation magic while under the arch of the gate itself will direct you to the next gate and so forth. It's all very random from what I understand."
Edjureus pauses again to pour himself another drink. "Soooo, when would you set out?"
Aja nodded acknowledgingly. "So, are we safe to assume that the gate keepers will not welcome us with open arms? We must be ready the moment we teleport and arrive at the location."
Gaelan chuckles, "It seems both the gates and the overland route are treacherous. We are delving into cursed lands after all where the Whispering Tyrant's malevolence grows stronger. All things being the same, I prefer the teleportation manner. We have a damsel in distress to save and an evil cult to destroy. Though I must admit, I do not know this Kendra Lorimmor. Does anyone here know her?" The elf looks inquisitively at his companions.
”I met Miss Lorimmor at her late father’s funeral,” Sola offers tentatively. ”I’m not certain I could tell her from an impostor, but I believe I’d recognize her among other women.”
”As to the question of when we will set out,” Sola adds, ”I believe we will leave today, as soon as we secure provisions, and perhaps a few potions or scrolls.”
"Guess no one else knows this Kendra. Okay, Sola, will be up to you to point her out for us if and when we meet her. You guys were close?"
”Not at all, no,” Sola answers truthfully, ”I was at the funeral because her late father had taught me a great deal about the undead early in my time in Ustalav. That was the first and only time I met Kendra.”
"Okay, that's fair. She still doesn't deserve to be a vessel for the Whispering Tyrant's spirit. Let's go save her. Ready when you all are." The elf looks at Edjureus and with a smile, "We won't let you down, Lord. We will show the Way the errors of their ways." When the party is ready to leave, he bows and departs.
"It is agreed then, we stock up on some rations and otherwise head out today. No time wasted!" Aja tries to sum up the general consensus.
"Lord Modd, we're new to this town. Maybe one of your aids can assist as with some errants, thus it will go much faster ands smoother."
I haven't met Kendra, though I worked with her father in the past. - says the alchemist, adjusting his glasses in a thoughtful, almost nostalgic way - Lorrimor thought me a lot, too. Regardless, it's now something of the past. I agree, let's make haste in our preparations and departure.
"Well, since it appears that you're off in a hurry, please take these small tokens of our gratitude. We wish we could give you more, but we gave our main treasures to the Silver Ravens." Adjureus opens his satchel and pulls out 5 scrolls of Heal and an ominous looking staff made of twisting wood and topped with a small skull. Adjureus smiles, "Do not be alarmed by its appearance. It is a Staff of Souls and should benefit you in your journeys. Finally, from what the Silver Ravens explained to me, you need to travel a day's journey NE before using the teleport scrolls. That should put you in range of the witchgates. Just picture some place you wish to teleport...it does not matter which, since you will be redirected to the closest witchgate. Any mundane supplies that you need, my valets will ensure to your wishes, be it food, water, mounts, etc. Godspeed heroes! I will await your return anxiously." With that, Adjureus bows to you all and departs the room, never losing his aristocratic demeanor and pomp.
"Staff of Souls, yes. I've heard of those. They're enormously helpful. I'll take it for now, but Zed could make good use of it, too. We'll see."
As the group's resident magic wielder, Aja naturally recieves the scrolls and the staff. She quickly skimms the writing on the scrolls and checks whether they're all readable and then hands two Scrolls of Heal to Zed without further comment.
"It is high noon. We can make at least half of that day's journey today and reach the teleporting point tomorrow."
After quick preparations were made, Aja uses Edjureus' valets' help to store the rations and waterskins in her Bag of Holding. All but Aja mount their fresh horses and the Sorceress rises into the sky. Off we go
Zed tucks the heal scrolls into his pack just as silently as he received them.
Roet adjusts the glasses as he inspects the staff and scrolls, muttering some hm-hms as he goes. At the end, he helps with the preparations to the travel before they get to the site where they can use the scrolls.
"Thank you, Lord Modd," Sola answers, "If you have horses we can borrow, that would speed our trip, and perhaps a few men to ride out with us and bring back your horses, so that it truly is only borrowing?"
Once the final arrangements are made, the knight watches Aja take wing rather then mounting up. She ponders joining her for a moment but decides that one person slowing the whole group down is quite enough and merely flies up onto her horse instead.
"Aja," she calls, "are you sure you wouldn't be more comfortable on a horse, where we wouldn't all have to wait for you?"
Actually, as always, Aja is riding, too.
Lord Edjureus sends a few guards (5) in total with you to bring the horses back to town. With Dame Solanis' banner spurring the riders and their mounts, you cover the required 40 mile distance in under 5 hours, with the sun still out, though it appears the closer you move toward Vilych, the less the sun's rays shine and penetrate the gloom in this land. The guards make some small talk with you during the trip, mostly about how the adventures of the Silver Ravens who recently stopped a vampire serial killer in Caliphas. The four adventurers sure were nice people, they tell you.
The guards await for you to vanish before heading home.
Gaelan clearly looks uncomfortable on horseback and he grumbles a bit about it from time to time. He is glad when they arrive at their destination and quickly jumps off the mount. "A fine creature, but clearly not built for elves." He hands the reins to one of the guardsmen. He stretches his legs and smooths out his thighs. When Aja is ready, he grips his blade, says a silent prayer to Iomedae, and nods that he is ready. He wishes the guardsmen a safe trip back home.
Spells for the day:
. . 3rd—displacement, greater magic weapon (lasts 22 hours)
. . 2nd—blade tutor's spirit, see invisibility, widen auras
. . 1st—bless weapon, divine favor, hero's defiance, shield of faith
Zed throws back his hood and dismounts, landing heavily on the ground. He wraps a leather strip around his wrist, then holds his holy symbol to it. "Pharasma, let me remain unbound. Duul'ssom de' mumbaro." A glowing golden aura surrounds him for a moment before vanishing, although there now appears to be no knot on the leather strip.
Next he draws out some grey powder with spots of glittering silver. "Kyorl lil' velkyn." He tosses the powder in the air and inhales. He shudders for a moment and his eyes glow a piercing white before fading.
Then he draws out a parchment, written on which is a page from The Bones Land in a Spiral. "Kulggen de' eluith'orth." The scroll is quickly consumed by a white fire, and the air faintly shimmers around Zed for a moment.
Finally he places a hand on his upper thigh. "Z'haan queelas" His legs briefly glow a faint green.
Zed retrieves a brick-red potion, holding it at the ready. "Proceed. If there is a welcoming party, we shall shatter it."
------------------------------
ACTIVE BUFFS
------------------------------
Greater Magic Weapon (24 hours)
Magic Vestment (24 hours)
False Life (24 hours)
Freedom of Movement (2 hours)
See Invisibility (2 hours)
Expeditious Retreat (12 minutes) (+30 movespeed)
Shield of Faith (12 minutes) (net +2 deflection)
Enlarge Person (10 rounds) (reach, base weapon damage 2d8, +1 damage)
Just as her allies, Aja dismounts and stretches her arms and body. Her back hurts from the hard ride as well.
She, too, enhances her defenses with a spell and takes out one of the scrolls. "Everyone ready?"
She reaches out with one hand and the party builds a hand-holding half-circle.
the party disappears...
Sola dismounts along with the others. When they begin to cast preparatory spells she interrupts asking, "Is our plan to travel to the first gate and secure it to spend the night? If we hope to attempt to travel through multiples gates quickly, it might be more tactically sound to teleport in the morning when we'll have as much daylight as possible..."
the knight takes the opportunity while everyone is gathered together to explain a plan for clustering in combat in order to bolster each others' defenses.
Aja pictures teleporting to her home or some other very familiar place and the magic of the scroll surrounds the party and you disappear from sight. However, you definitely do not appear in Aya's comfortable home. Instead. you appear in a withered forest, the slumping thin leaveless trees barely alive and though only seconds have passed since five o'clock when you teleported, the sky's clouds have blocked a majority of the sun's rays, causing an eerie twilight feel to the atmosphere. Leaves litter the forest grounds, although it is not the fall season. The eerie silence is also unnerving as no sounds of nature can be heard. Spellcasters and anyone detecting magic can feel the presence of magic in the air and you sense it intensifies as you move north through the dying forest. You sense no immediate threats and the only sounds you hear are the crunching of your boots on the leaves on the ground.
Haha! Of course it would look like it. - said the monstrosity which once was Dr. Roet.
He bumped at the floor with both his fists for moments, as if excitedly commemorating something, then speaks again. The guttural voice actually matches well with the place, and his bat-like wings flap for a brief moment; the spines on the back dance as if they were flexible, and he gestures with the clawed hands.
Heineous care not for where we are, but Heineous is hungry. Puny doctor barely eats... Frail arms and skinny legs. Magic is here, everywhere, but North... North it intensifies. - he pauses briefly - Let's move! There are corpses to put back to resting in the name of the Lady of Graves.
He laughs a little bit, and it feels as if it's constantly regurgitating blood. He isn't a comfortable creature to have around, neither to look at; however, over the years he proved his usefulness and willingness to loyally work towards the party (and the doctor's) goals.
Sola forces a smile for Roet’s other form. “Very well,” she answers,
“north it is.” With her spear in hand, she flaps her wings and takes flight above and slightly behind the creature.
Zed nods to Heineous. Of the party, he was the most comfortable with the nightmare-inducing monstrosity that was the Dr's other half.
Of course that didn't mean he hadn't planned for contingencies in case things got out of hand.
"North than."
Gaelan gathers his bearings, "Anyone know where we are? Definitely not a cheery place." "North, it is then. Be careful getting too spaced out. Evil may lurk around any corner. We are in unknown lands."
Despite the uneasy nature of the forest, Gaelan senses no evil. The party travels forward for about 15 minutes, with no change in the scenery. In the distance perhaps 150' ahead, however, a sight catches you by surprise: a nurtured forest in the middle of such desiccation. The trees are vibrant and filled with leaves and arranged in a circular fashion and the green grass grows fully, clearly demarcating a path through its shrubs. The path is 20' wide through the trees, but the trunks and the leaves make it difficult to see what is at the center. This circle of groomed nature strikes a sharp contrast from the rest of the forest. Gaelan senses no evil.
”Well... that’s unexpected...” Sola remarks. ”It could be the work of a druid... perhaps someone we could establish peaceful contact with and learn valuable information? Although, some kind of trap seems just as likely given where we are.”
Landing, she asks, ”Zed, Heineous, do you want to scout it out first or head in together?”