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Rashid shakes his head at Rangi. "I know little about the history of their society, but I know most of the mortalkind are capable of both great heroism and great depravity. I would not be surprised if they were both, and something economical or external that caused the decay of their civilization."
He makes a mental note to stop by a library and look up cyclopean history at some point in the future.
Glancing up at the darkening light pouring through the pinprick holes in the dome, he says, "Perhaps we should set up camp and continue in the morning. We're out of daylight." He steps out of the dome and looks around for a good place to set up a campfire.
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Rather than sleep in any of the buildings the group have investigated, wary of the ill-omens in the planetarium, with it's extra cosmos, the storage building full of the bones of various creatures or even the amphitheatre with its games of bloodshed. The group decide not to return to the comforts of the Pathfinder camp, but stay in the ruins of the former cyclops city of Min-Khadaim, under the blood-red bruorsivi pine trees.
You set up camp and make yourselves at home in a small clearing the wild forest of pines, with a careful watch the rations make an unexciting and unappetizing meal, Perhaps you should have gone back to camp. None the less, you are left in the trees, listening to the last croak of the toads, the rustling of the branches as a night as black as the ace of spades descends upon the Pathfinders. Nothing moves, nothing is heard, the night is silent, perfect for the silent predators of night. In the distance a wolf howls, as the clouds part to display a myriad of stars dancing in the heavens.
You sleep amid dreams of great cyclops battles, of blood spilt in the arena, you feel heroic, until the cyclops champion enters. You feel your adrenalin rise as the fear takes hold, as you watch the brute raise his double headed axe caked in the gore and dried blood of those he has left on the arena floor. His intense red eyes stare straight into your soul, soon you will meet Pharesma's judgement. Soon you know your blood will seep into the ground of this arena, soon .... you are awoken to take your turn on the watch rota, perspiration cold against your brow. Your watch passes without incident.
Underneath the red pines, you lie and start to dream, looking up at the skies. In your mind you see great stars shine brightly, you are transported upwards, into the cosmos amongst the gods. It is as though you are the blessed, you feel almost a god yourself, worlds are at your command, all life blooms and blossoms at your whim. But you notice a shadow, a mist of darkness that is hurtling towards you across the vast expanse of space. As it grows it seems to spoil the life of the cosmos around it, it is black, not like the absence of colour, but the absence of everything, life, time sucked into it's now gaping maw of desolation. Stars disappear, as it maw approaches you, but you have no where to run, nowhere to hide, only desolation and despair are left .... just then you are awoken to take your turn on the watch rota, perspiration cold against your brow. Your watch passes without incident.
In the cold of the night, you wrap up warm and fall into a sleep and start to dream. The storage buildings are full of life, your muscled arms carry and tarry, working happily alongside the smiling faces of the cyclops. The stores are full, the sun shines from the blue skies on the inhabitants of Min-Khadaim as a cooling breeze brushes your face. All is calm and stores are being used .... they are being emptied, but nothing is coming to replenish the stocks. The skies turn grey, as the temperature falls and the rains start. A rumble of thunder is heard in the distance, and you turn to find an empty facility... an angry cyclops stands above you. You are one of many slaves, as between the lightening the sounds of whips and screams become louder. In turn, the cyclops nearest you has just beaten the back of the halfling red raw, blood streaming from tens of welts across his back, his screams are stifled as his head is torn from his shoulders .... the cyclops smiles as he looks at you, his eyes move between you and the head he holds in his hands ... He drops the bloody head on the floor and says "Now you." with an evil smile. .... just then you are awoken to take your turn on the watch rota, perspiration cold against your brow. Your watch passes without incident.
You start early the next day, slightly shaken but with more rations to fill your stomachs you quickly smile and plan the day. You wonder where to next, either start again from the gate and work towards the ziggurat or straight to the ziggurat and work back to the gate?
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Rangi wakes up and grabs for his club, ready to strike and fight for his life. As he realizes where he is the Orc drops his club and breaths heavily.
He begins telling his dream, feelings, and emotions.
"Maybe one is as civilized as the world let them be? Maybe they lost something precious ..." says more to himself than anyone else. The old Orc sits and looks into the sky
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Rashid wakes with a start, the sweat on his brow almost instantly cooling in the cold pre-dawn air. He rubs his aching muscles absently as he dwells on the dream. The very concept of slavery is anathema to his god's edict of living free of social chains. He dwells on the dream throughout his watch, wondering if the cruelty he saw was real, and if so, if it existed before the society began to collapse. He can't imagine a slave-owning society that doesn't contain the seeds to its own destruction.
After his morning ablutions, he chews mechanically on some dried fruits from his ration tin and nods at the druid's suggestion. "Works for me."
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"Man...who knews that nothingness coulds be so terrifyings?" Pooka mumbles the next morning as the group rises and prepares to break camp. "Maybe it's better I's just me and nots a god or anythings like thats..."
When the conversation turns to talk of where to proceed next, she shrugs and nods as Jak offers his own thoughts. "Yeahs, that sounds good. Probably easiers to maps things too if we use the gate as a startings point."
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After having sated your appetites and spoken of the strange dreams in the night, you pack up camp and Tonraq loads up the pack horse, you are on your way. Oogi rises on his back legs and stretches, showing his bear's claws to you all, then roars a good morning too Tonraq.
Making your way back to the entrance the group can make out what would have been a magnificent broad paved roadway leading from the archway to the great temple in the distance. The edges of the plaza are defined by decorative stone pillars and fragments of statuary. The road surface itself is covered with grass and a thick layer of soil, requiring some digging to expose the original paving stones.
Having mapped the patterns of the paving stones, measuring their size and design you start to look at the statues. Most of the statues are so eroded as to be featureless, but with a lot of work you are able to create a sort of image of the statues.
You recognize that the being represented by the statues are not humanoid in basic design.
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However, when Rangi and Rashid start to discuss the shapes of the statues they are able to to make a startling discovery.
The group clear the path of paving stones clear of rubble, moss and vegetation that is trying to grow over the pathway. The statues themselves, weather worn and featureless are once again able to be bleached by the sun, as the group clean and remove the ivy, lichen and other plants that have made them their home.
You look towards the ziggurat, but your view is obscured as the pathway has been reclaimed by the pine forest. You think about clearing the way and studying this part of the path as you did the previous 100 feet, but it is just impossible. So with just the ziggurat to explore and study, you start to follow the path through the red pine forest.
You continue on until, the bruorsivi pine forest opens into a clearing 30 yards across. Although the cyclopean plaza’s stone tiles are covered by several inches of soil, no vegetation grows here. A pile of large bones sits near the center of the clearing, topped by an immense skull. With its enormous jaws and swept-back horns, the skull is unmistakably that of a dragon. The empty eye sockets stare directly at the only entrance to the clearing.
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Jak
Pooka
Rangi
Rashid
Tonraq
Webny
Tonraq and Webny scan the area, seeing what could be the bones of various creatures scattered around the area, although the biggest pile is under the dragons skull. Perhaps the bones of the long dead civilisation left to the elements as a reminder of the magical prowess of the cyclops. Jak tries to discover the magic that might be here, but nothing seems to react with his spell.
Rangi and Rashid use their training to be ready to defend themselves and their companions. Whilst Pooka skirts the trees around the clearing, discovering nothing of note, before once more joining his companions.
As Tonraq watches he sees an army of ants march out from the pile of bones under the dragon's head skeleton, but nothing else moves. Suddenly there is a movement in the heavens, but it is only a red breasted bird flying across the grey sky above. The area seems quiet, very quiet .... even the wind seems to be holding it's breath.....
Gs Initiative
Tonraq Perception
Oogi
Webny
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Rangi walks slowly, step by step towards the skull. The tension that you feel before combat was unbearable. He remembers it all too well, the fact that he took part in tens of them did not change how he felt. He felt his hands tremble as he tries to calm his breathing.
Just don't die old fool, life is defined by scars that you have. At most add another one to your collection thinks to himself.
He takes another step, as he spots the movement to the sky he raises his shield up trying to protect his head. Not feeling the blow coming he lowers the shield and makes another step...
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As the party creep closer to the skull, they wait and look at each other expectantly .... but the only sound is Pooka's footsteps as she shuffles behind, kicking the occasional white bones away from her. The skull of the dragon, carefully placed on top of the pile of bones just stares towards the entrance where you entered the clearing. It does not move or turn towards you, there is no burst of flames from the dragons mouth, there is no sound at all.
Do you dare investigate, or do give the skull a wide berth .... Are you the Pathfinders that you think you are, or do the hairs standing on the back of your neck make you walk away .... Do you explore, cooperate and report, or just report....
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Rangi moves forward "Dragons, who would have thought they would be here, but then I guess they travel the world over just like us. I wonder what happened to this one, could it be a shrine to a dragon god, best look out for kobolds, they like dragons." He continues to move forward with Webny to investigate, whilst Rashid follows on cautiously behind them. The rest of the party, keep their distance waiting to see what happens.
As Rangi and Webny move forward and get ready to poke the Dragon's skull, something starts to unfold, you all stand mouths agape and in awe....
The pile of bones move and transform into a Large Silver Dragon, while your companions transform into dark, shadowy figures of alien physique. The bones fill out as the shadowy flesh of the dragon rises, standing above the clearing. The dragon’s flesh appears to slowly dissolve into lines of black smoke, which trail away towards each one of you and appears to be absorbed into your bodies. The black essence, as it enters your minds says This is where I, Isythysus, lie a victim of the evil plagues that swept these lands, I who delved deep into the corrupting rot of the of the caverns below. I saw the sunshine one last time ... Once the streams of dark matter has stripped the flesh from the dragon, its skeleton falls and the bones explode in a shower of sharp fragments concentrated in an area around the dragon's skull, Rangi, Webny, Rashid and Oogi take the brunt of the explosion.
As the bone shards reach the end of journey and drop to the ground, you see them start to slowly regroup around the dragon's skull. You notice that the violent explosion of negative energy seems to have agitated the bones that lay around the clearing floor. They too start to shake and arrange themselves, though you are unable at present to determine the areas of greatest disturbance.
The bones adjust themselves into some sort of skeleton, that slowly adapt themselves to their new unlife.
You fling yourself away from the bone shards, rolling away from any damage, you land on your feet.
You take 10 HPs damage as the shards of bone draw blood and bury themselves deep in your flesh
You take 20 HPs damage as the shards of bone draw blood and bury themselves deep in your flesh
You take 40 HPs damage as the shards of bone draw blood and bury themselves deep in your flesh
Rangi arcana dragon lore
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Webny skitters deftly out of the way of the blast of bone shards, her gnomish dexterity combining with her monk training to keep her unscathed… until they don’t. The biting shards dig deep and bury themselves in her skin, and the force of the impact throws her face first into the ground where she lays bleeding and unconscious.
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"Gah! What the hecks!?" Pooka yelps as the bones explode after the chilling vision, only to begin rising again, ready to attack. Her eyes narrow.
Skellingtons...what do we know about them? Think, Pooka!
Upon seeing Webny down on the ground Pooka hurries to interpose herself between the fallen gnome and the remaining Red Skeleton, as she begins to sing...
~Oh baby, your asphalt eater hung ten
The hoedads and gremmies say you reached top end
So do the dead, through the lights
The surfin' dead, ooh make it tight
The livin' dead, now baby, lose their heads
Now baby, doin' the dead~
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Pooka recognises the weapons used by the skeletons and shouts, "They be goblins!! Well dead ones, just the bones."
The first skeleton gets up unsteadily from the ground and walks towards Rangi, a rusty dogslicer held high and aimed at the druid's body. Having only just taken control of it's boney body, the claw has no power and barely even touches Rangi's shield, with no hope of causing any injury.
The next skeleton, rises from it's position and heads for the little goblin making all the noise. It tries to smack the goblin's head with his rusty dogslicer. The weapon manages to broach the bard's defences and leaves a nasty cut.
The third pulls itself together and walks towards Tonraq and in a wide arc, attempts to strike with it's weapon. [ooc]Strike dogslicer With Tonraq's concern more with Oogi than the goblin, he doesn't react fast enough and receives a rusty cut.
Skel 1 - Rise, Stride, Strike Rangi
Skel 2 - Rise, Stride, Strike Pooka
Skel 3 - Rise, Stride, Strike Tonraq
Pooka -
Pooka Religion -
Tonraq -