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Akoril feels a need to return to the university; he has his own identity and journey of self-discovery to make, too. You're reminded of his struggles with his elf and gnoll heritages, and his strict elf parents. His words from those first days echo. "I'll never be as graceful as a full elf."
While you know this isn't true, you let your friend go his own way. And after all, the students need to be escorted back to university — there's no one better to take care of them on that road.
Your own way to the hidden city will be long and dangerous. The automatons (if they still exist these thousands of years later), do not wish to interact with the outside world. You will respect that wish. A minimal group of three is best.
----
On a muggy overcast morning, you stand at a crossroad. One way leads back home, and the other into rugged country.
The Maagambyan caravan carrying your students, your mentors, and your friend trundles away down trade road to Nantambu. Long minutes later it vanishes among the trees.
You set off the other way.
Wisps teleports you near the area on the map, and you find yourselves standing on a low mound, looking up at rugged foothills cresting above the treetops. Thir lower flanks are carpeted with ancient treetops. Foliage and shadows fill deep gorges and ravines, cut into the landscape from eons of snowmelt. The Barrier Wall's snowy peaks soar in the near distance.
This is rugged country that would take weeks of bushwhacking to reach — and for what? There should be nothing out here but trees, mud, and insects. But Kiri feels a stronger pull… north, into the maze of canyons.
It's much cooler under the leaves than it is further South. The next morning, while following a dry stream bed, you hear something — or someone — crashing through the undergrowth.
An eerie, forlorn wail sounds through the forest, momentarily filling your hearts with sadness and despair.
And then person emerges from around the bend, running right into the midst of your group! And something else is coming on his heels… something large, or several somethings from the sound of it…
Just now you came across the bodies of two fetchlings, laying at the base of two lush, green trees. You haven't seen anyone in weeks.
Curious.
As you approached, you noticed hundreds of roots and fronds suckling at the corpses. The trees are feeding on these bodies.
Just in time you moved back, narrowly dodging roots and vines that burst up from the dirt at your feet, trying to ensnare you…
Outnumbered and unable to identify these creatures you beat a hasty retreat. Luckily these tree-things are not so fast. But they give chase. They're still hungry, it seems.
The huge plants crashing through the undergrowth, hungry for fresh meat. You follow a dry streamed, hoping to make up more ground once free from the underbrush.
Behind you the one of the trees wails, a strange and forlorn sound. You feel a moment of sheer and utter hopelessness. What does the research matter if you were to die here alone, sucked to a husk by these terrible creatures?
Rounding a bend you almost run face-first into more humanoids: a woman in flowing robes wearing a blazing mask, a plate-and-shield bearing human with stars glittering across his fine armaments… and in the shadows, a catlike metallic creature walking on two legs drops onto all four limbs and vanishes into the undergrowth, likely padding around your flank like a hunting animal…
Before you, moving away from the sound of several large somethings at astonishing speed, is a tall, brown-skinned humanoid clad in green and brown robes with long, pointed ears. Anyone familiar with the peoples of the Mwangi Expanse will recognize them immediately as one of the Ekujae, though without the characteristic white face painting – and the Screaming Jungle is far from any place they call home.
Run! they cry breathlessly in the Mwangi tongue as they approach. They are hungry, and quicker than you would think!
Arcana +17 [T]
Crafting +17 [T]
Nature +25 [M]
Occultism +17 [T]
Religion +25 [M]
Society +17 [T]
...plus any bonus the GM might bestow for the Demonbane Warrior ancestry feat.
As the crashing nears, Chimwemwe raises his colorful shield. He begins to relax and lower his shield as the Ekujae man emerges from the behind the green. When the stranger cries out, he tenses again and braces his feet. "Get behind us, stranger. What pursues you?"
"I think that's a question for after we outrun them, Chim" Kiri says, dropping into a low crouch, ready for action.
”What are they? Can we actually outrun them?”
Wisps moves quickly but also grabs her bow.
The stranger gestures behind himself, and two huge fern trees trundle out from the undergrowth, pushing themselves along on roots.
Fronds whip about them, striking at anything that gets in their way from afar.
Each emanate a dismal wails that fills you with melancholy. Were you closer to these trees, that feeling might become totally overwhelming.
──────────
BOLD IS UP!:
──────────
➤ Alrinkiri
Weeping Fern 2
Wisps
Chimwemwe
Weeping Fern 1
Zadiki
Despairing Presence (aura, emotion, enchantment, fear,
Critical Success The target is unaffected.
Success The target becomes frightened 1.
Failure The target becomes frightened 2.
Critical Failure The target becomes frightened 3 and immobilized until it’s no longer frightened.
──────────
Recall Knowledge:
──────────
Beautiful and dangerous, kilia mwibos appear as lush, green trees with brightly colored and appealing fleshy seedpods that remain attached year round. Over time, these seedpods become hollow and create an eerie, forlorn wail that generates feelings of sadness and despair.
They consume emotions, draining their victims. But if you can suppress your emotions with a stealth check to try and hide them! (Kiri would automatically succees with a stealth check since they have foil senses).
They are weak to fire and slashing!
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"We should be able to, mmm, outrun foliage even as he prepares for battle," Chimwemwe says to Curling-Wisps-of-Smoke even as he prepares to engage. "In theory."
"We won't know unless we try, right?" Kiri weaves a quick spell, causing rocks to tumble from the sky in the path of the creatures, then disappears into the foliage in the opposite direction.
With a gesture, Wisps looks to Kiri and directs them to go the other way and, turning, you flee!
Eerie wails echo through the jungle. At times the supernatural noise hits you harder, causing you to stumble or pause and stare up at the sky in hopelessness for moments, only to be dragged forward by your allies.
Progress is slow. And the trees, while not fast , seem to find you unerringly.
Chim notices the trees cannot sense Kiri when they Stealth, because they’re foiling the trees’ senses. They must have some kind of psychic emotion sense. If you can suppress your feelings long enough, you may be able to give them the slip, becoming invisible to them! Until then, they will be able to find you no matter how well you hide.
Zadiki recognizes these as Kilia Mwibos. These creatures appear as lush, green trees with brightly colored and appealing fleshy seedpods that remain attached year round.
Kilia Mwibos consume emotions, draining their victims if it can sense creatures with its emotion sense.
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"Clear your mind of feeling," Chimwemwe says as he pieces the Kilia Mwibos tactics together. "Place your mind in the state it is in after Mafika made us run laps around Nantambu all day."
For his part, he starts listing the titles in the Archorn Library alphabetically while trying to fall into a measured running rhythm.
Zadiki reminds himelf to ask questions of the star-bearer later, about Nantambu and this name he does not know. Later, when giant trees are not trying to eat them.
He ducks beneath a low-hanging bough and says, I...I have a bit...of magic...to quicken our pace a little...if only for a few seconds. We...we will need to...stay close together...to allow...me to cast it.
Wisps nods gratefully to Zadiki. "I'll see if I can do the opposite to them."
Wisps quickly utters an incantation.
Zadiki times his short-duration spell to maximum effectiveness, demonstrating again his prowess with knowing all things jungle.
Wisps slows one of the trees, reducing the amount of time you spend in their wailing aura.
From the Kilia Mwibos' perspective, four delicious living creatures fade away into the jungle, invisible…
You finally pause distance away, catching your breath in a small gulley with a muddy runnel of water trickles along its sides.
Who is this plant-harried stranger?
Chimwemwe checks the latches on his pouches to see if any of his gear might have been scattered across the forest. "My name is Chimwemwe," he says to the Ekujae stranger. "Who are you that Fate has placed in our path?"
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Well met, Chimwemwe, the elf replies, still breathing a little harder than he might like. I am Zadiki of the Jaguar Clan. My mother was of the Wellspring Clan. Deacon of the Sovyrian Conclave, Devout of the Cosmic Caravan, Friend of the Mualijae, Scholar of the Aiudara. He gives a bow with a hint of flourish. And I daresay I am in your debt.
The kilia mwibo is sentient – at least semi-sentient – and, as you rightly pointed out, Chimwemwe Star-Bearer... here Zadiki motions to the stars glittering across the human's armor and shield, ...they sense emotion. They feed on it, drain their captives dry. When I stumbled across them, fool that I am, I did not recognize them immediately for what they were. I was too taken by the bodies of two unfortunate souls who had already succumbed, husks of themselves, trapped in the seedpods. Fetchlings, I believe they were.
"I am Curling-Wisps-of-Smoke Reliava, the Blazing Spider of the Magaambya. Though my friends typically call me Wisps. You seem like you know this area well."
Zadiki might notice that the tiny gems embedded in Chimwemwe's armor and the brands along his bare arms make constellations--iruxi constellations by their faint linking lines, but the stars are the stars--along with etched astrological and astronomical symbols in the bronze.
"The three of us, yourself, and two fetchlings converged at this point in this vast jungle? Mmm." He ponders, staring off toward the sky. A puzzle box has materialized in his hand as if by legerdemain, which he works absently in one hand. "What does Fate have planned for this moment?"
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You seem like you know this area well."
Well met, Wisps, he says. I am new to the Screaming Jungle – new being a relative term, as I have been here for a number of weeks now – but I am versed in its flora and fauna.
Zadiki turns back to Chimwemwe Star-Bearer, as if remembering something. Friend, you mentioned Nantambu while we were hurrying away from the kilia mwibos. I have many fond memories of the city, although I have not been in a number of years. And once upon a time I attended the Magaambya Academy. I was a teacher for a brief time, too, but quickly found my calling elsewhere.
Kiri emerges silently from the jungle a few minutes after the group pauses. "The creatures have broken off pursuit. I watched them return to their hunting grounds, so I believe they pose no more threat to us."
Waiting for the other to finish introducing themselves, they bow their head slightly to the newcomer in greeting. "I am Alrinkiri, or Kiri for short, Wandering Glider of the Magaambya; it is nice to meet you, Zadiki."
"If I might ask, have you found anything unusual--aside from predatory plants--in this region of the jungle in your time here?"
Well met, Kiri,[/b] Zadiki says, returning the head bow. I fear my sojourn into the Jungle has been altogether fruitless thus far, aside from you folks here, and the unfortunate fetchlings. The rumors that drew me here have proven untrue as of yet.
You accept Zadiki's vague response; many a scholar protects their own research and this is nothing new to you. In the meantime, with the cleric's help you are able to back to the fetchlings. The desiccated corpses lay in the grass like empty leather bags, drained of fluids by the Kilia Mwibos.
They wear black student robes and the featureless, impersonal masks of the Shadow Magaambya's Lore-Takers. One carries 2,000 gp in gems—likely ill-gotten, but impossible to return at this juncture. The other carries textbooks from the Shadow Magaambya:
Archaeology of the Living: The Present Is Merely an Inconvenience
Cultures as Commodities: A Ledger-Based Approach to Appropriation
Monetizing Myth: Liquidating Tradition into Private Property
A Gentleman’s Guide to Plunder (for the Educated Fetchling)
These terrible textbooks are a reminder that while the true Magaambya strives to share knowledge, bridge cultural gaps, and empower everyone, its twisted shadow counterpart seeks to leverage knowledge as a means of control, profit, and power.
Tucked into one of the textbooks is a written assignment… from none other than Lore-Master Ok!
Students,
I have located the region of the fabled Golden City; it is not in the Screaming Jungle, but rather on the other side of the Material Plane from Mwangi. HAHAHA!
For extra credit, you shall scout this place out, finding its exact coordinates so that we can stage an effecient extraction of all goods therein. Likely the city has defenses, so we require reporting opn this as well.
Since you pathetically failed so many classes, even the basic “Historical Plunder 101,” I must remind you: as with many myths and legends, this is not a literal golden city; rather, it is a metaphor of the power held by its people.
What is a metaphor you may ask? It means the treasure is not literally gold, but rather that the gold represents something far more special. In this case, there are many power cores glowing with energy, shining with light like gold, that can be removed from the creatures therein, who have been hiding out of time and history for aeons. Ripe for the picking! Once we capture the city, we shall utilize these power cores in a variety of new and exciting ways to fuel industry and magic.
I tell you this plan not for your own edification, but because I know how greedy and foolish you are. The treasure is something far more valuable than mundane currency, and neither of you have the wherewithal to profit from without the help of the Shadow Magaambya. Your puny brains simply cannot comprehend how to make use of these power cores! Therefore: scout only, find me the lost city’s coordinates, and do not attempt to enter the city itself.
Finally, be wary! You know of Soomdevi and his shadow-dancing friend, Noxolo. These two continue to hamper our efforts. How I regret my association with a certain someone from the Magaambya. Do not engage with these two if you encounter them.
Now, you blithering fools, do your homework and adhere to the high standards of the Shadow Magaambya, or suffer the consequences.
And burn this written assignment after you read it!
— Lore-Master Ok
____
Some of you may remember the notes Binji pilfered from Koride's office. It was so long ago, but one of them seems related…
Koride,
Your little “pet,” Soomdevi, has been pestering our school, interrupting supply lines of repossessed artifacts. Were you not instructed to guide him? Why is he here on the Shadow Plane, disrupting our operations?
He will be disposed of soon enough. Perhaps I’ll send you a piece of his shattered mask to remind you that the Shadow Magaambya is not to be trifled with… or, better yet, send it to Takalu Ot or Learned One Janatimo. Wouldn’t they like to know what you’ve sacrificed to pursue this line of inquiry, hmm? I imagine they have many questions…
In the meantime, we have uncovered rumors of a mythical City of Gold located in a hidden ravine nestled on the edge of the Screaming Jungle. I have searched our archives, and I believe the concept of a “golden city” is a mistranslation; rather, the city shines with a “golden light”—not from the sky, but from within the bodies of the people therein. It is a place of endless and abundant energy. Imagine if one could find this place and leverage this source of power!
My spies have informed me that a delegation is currently traveling to Mzali, no doubt on some fool’s errand to improve the lives of their citizenry or some such nonsense. Join their pathetic delegation, worm your way into the temples, and learn what you can of this Golden City. Do so, and I will consider sparing Soomdevi… or at least not sending pieces of him to the other teachers at your school, exposing you for what you are.
Lore-Master Ok
Wisps picks up a knife and looks at it sadly. "This is a fine blade. It wasn't enough."
"I think Soomdevi is in grave danger."
Kiri sits silently for a moment after reading the letter. "If this is what they're after, perhaps we should have done more to disrupt our shadow counterparts. These two," they say, gesturing to the deceased, "are surely not their only agents."
You know this "Soomdevi" referred to herein? Zadiki asks. And perhaps also this "Lore-Master Ok"? The latter seems an unpleasant sort,
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"The Shadow Magaambya is an unpleasant place, from what we have seen, full of unpleasant people. A dark reflection of our Magaambya. Our companion Soomdevi was unknowingly wrapped up in some plot between this Ok and one of our instructors, Koride. When we uncovered the scheme, he departed our company to dedicate his time to disrupting their plans."
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Recognizing that Zadiki's sabbatical may be longer than Koride's lifespan, he adds to Alrinkiri's explanation. "Teacher Koride and this Lore-Master Ok arranged to interfere with the invitations and trade, mmm, matriculating students for the Shadow Magaambya's purpose in exchange for help with an artifact shaped lije a scaled egg. Soomdevi was meant for the Shadow Magaambya but ended up enrolling with us. He has a good heart. Mm. Troubled past, but a good heart."
In any case, the lost city may be in danger! Nothing to do but find it and hope Master Ok and the Shadow-Magaambya have not found it.
You spend days wandering, but soon Kiri's own power core tugs them deeper and deeper into the mountains, guiding your group like a compass.
After a twist in a winding gorge, the way opens into a massive cleft between sheer cliffs.
Huge burnished chains glimmer high in the air above the treetops, lit by soft yellow orbs woven into the massive links. They are distant still, and must be hundreds of feet high. The late afternoon sky is masked behind a miles-long green latticework of leaves and vines that sparkle with magical lights. This thick canopy seems to glimmer with stars from below, and is likely excellent camouflage from predation above.
The tops of covered walkways, balconies, and cunningly lit chambers can be glimpsed hanging from these chains… but no more. Not yet.
Three creatures, made of metal and stone, slip from the tangle of brush ahead. Each is shaped like something from a menagerie… but with unique modifications that seem designed to serve building and labor. A greyhound with an expandable ribcage that can carry gear, a macaw with hands instead of claws, and a humanoid whose right arm is a built-in traveler's any-tool. In the center of each forehead is a single, alien eye. Much like Kiri's own power core. They stare at Kiri for long seconds.
The plowshare-armed one speaks.
"Αδελφοί... πώς βρήκατε τη Δεύτερη Αναστολή; Θυμάστε τον δρόμο της επιστροφής; Γιατί, λοιπόν, φέρνετε και αυτούς τους άλλους μαζί σας?."
They point the other arm at Wisps, Chim, and Zadiki, one, two, three, accentuating their words.
"Σίγουρα το ξέρεις αυτό. Αυτά είναι απαγορευμένα."
Kiri's mind is nearly overwhelmed with snippets of ancient memory, triggered by the ancient tongue. "Χαιρετισμούς, Αδελφοί. Έχω περιπλανηθεί πολλές ζωές και έχω ξεχάσει πολλά. Έχω μάθει κι εγώ πολλά. Αυτοί είναι η οικογένειά μου. Χωρίς αυτούς θα ήμουν ακόμα περιπλανώμενος, χαμένος. Μάθαμε για αυτό το μέρος μαζί στη χαμένη βιβλιοθήκη ενός αρχαίου ναού του ήλιου στο Μζάλι."
Sensing the other's rising agitation, they add "Δεν θα βλάψουν κανέναν εδώ, ούτε θα κάνουν κάτι άλλο που θα έθετε σε κίνδυνο αυτό το μέρος. Ωστόσο, μάθαμε για άλλους, άπιστους που γνωρίζουμε, οι οποίοι επίσης επιδιώκουν αυτό το αρχαίο μέρος και που εννοούν σίγουρα το κακό σας. Θα έκανα ό,τι μπορούσα για να αποτρέψω αυτό το κακό, όπως και οι σύντροφοί μου."
As an aside to their companions, they add "They say this place is forbidden to you, and seem distressed by your presence. I have explained that I would not have found my way back here without you, and further that we mean to help them against a coming threat. I do not know how they will respond."
"Εσύ... μπορεί να ήσουν κάποτε αδερφή ή αδερφός... ποιος μπορεί να το πει αυτό; Κι εμείς έχουμε ξεχάσει τόσα πολλά. Σε αυτό το μέρος, είμαστε όλοι οικογένεια. Και έχουμε τους Βοτανικούς Κήπους για να μας βοηθούν να θυμόμαστε."
The three tense up as Kiri continues speaking.
"Υάκινθε, φέρε Ντιμάρι-Ντίτζι!"
"Θα περιμένουμε τον Ντιμάρι-Ντίτζι εδώ, στον Μακρύ Νάρθηκα, που είναι αυτό που ονομάζουμε αυτόν τον ελικοειδή δρόμο προς τη Δεύτερη Αιώρηση· αυτό είναι το μέρος για όσους δεν έχουν γίνει ακόμη δεκτοί. Έχετε μαγικά που θα επέτρεπαν στην οικογένειά σας να μου μιλήσει και εμένα?"
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Zadiki asks for Kiri's help in explaining that he can cast a spell that allows all present to understand one another and, with their leave, he will cast translate heightened to 4th level.
Only lasts for an hour, you understand.
”Now we can speak together. But will we understand one another?
I shall do my utmost, pitiful envoy that I am. I am called Hynikon. This is Kyon. Hyacinth is fetching Dimari-Diji. We will wait for him. And while we wait, I will try to help with understanding.”
”We of the Second Suspension,” the automaton gestures to the partially hidden city in the distance, wish to be separated from the world. The oldest stones here contain writings that we ourselves chiseled aeons ago, and that we ourselves forgot. We have seen the constellations in the sky change over the centuries, and in the centuries, we make new memories and forget the old. But the writing on the stones help us understand who we once were: the killers and playthings of a forgotten people. The stones speak of rods of command, used to shackle our souls in the cages they made for us. We do not wish this for ourselves again. We wish to stay hidden.”
”All this is to give you two understandings: first: why we wish to be left alone, and second: that we are not equipped to fight intruders. Our way is to stay hidden, forgotten.
Hynikon taps his any-tool-arm. When I first awoke after my long sleep, this arm was a keen battle-blade. It could do nothing with it but cut. That was how they made me. That was who they told me to be. I have since re-forged that blade into something kinder. This is who we are. And you come here, to say others come who will do us harm. This does not spark joy in my power core.”
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Wisps asks carefully, "May I show you who I am?"
If they do not object, she takes a moment and transforms into a large technicolor spider. She waits a moment and transforms back.
"My people have often hidden too. We are here only to help you. We are equipped to help fight, and we are also learned scholars who may be able to help you understand your history. We would not force our help upon you, but we do offer it gladly, with no expectation of anything in return. If all you will accept is the warning of danger, we will leave you with that."
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"I have spent centuries hiding, sneaking, searching for memories to understand the fragments that your stones speak of. It is only in the last few years that I have cautiously emerged to these people, and to the place of learning and service we call home. I know that these people are no threat to you, but I also know that together we are formidable; not being among you here, I have not repurposed my original design to the same extent, and I have unfortunately had to put my systems to use besides my companions here. As Wisps says, we will depart if you wish--myself included, though I deeply wish to examine your stones--but if you would allow us, we will instead do everything in our power to help and defend you."
Zadiki, for his part, raises an eyebrow at Wisps' transformation but does not otherwise react.
Chimwemwe nods as Curling-Wisps-of-Smoke speaks.
"I wish to help Alrinkiri become what they wish to become, and I would defend you from the danger seeking you so that you may continue becoming what you wish to become," he adds his reassurance. "But Wisps speaks true. I would not force my help upon you."
Hynikon nods. "I am glad you understand. And that you too know what we might feel like. These are the proper words, but we shall see what Dimari—Diji"
A rumbling bellow comes from the forest.
The automatons turn and wave at a massive tree moving gently through the green, greatly relieved help has finally come. The approaching creature looks like a massive old tree, moving at slow and deliberate pace.
The tree-person bears the face of an old man, with hundreds of cracks and whorls about his eyes and mouth. He stands over fifty feet in height, even with his gnarled and hunched posture. He looks down upon the gathering, a slight smile on his face. Hyacinth the automaton perches high in his boughs.
Dimari—Diji lowers his voice, and when his knobby lips move they do not match the words you hear; it's a little disconcerting.
“Well, I am here now. Hynikon, be easy."
The tree-man walks closer and peers down at you for long minutes, his ancient face hovering very close to you in the hushed silence. Whoever this creature is, he emanates ageless power and the power and timelessness of the oldest forests… best to stay still and wait.
At long last, Dimari—Diji nods. "Yes. I see your spirit faces, little ones. I see them in your masks! Even the masks you try to hide! I see them, there is no hiding it. Those carvings tell me of your journeys. They show me exactly who you are. Such things are powerful by way of their paradoxical nature; that's how we designed them in the first place. A mask effaces, but it is a thing we choose make and to wear. As such they are also a ’ reflection of who is underneath, and even a visualization of who the wearer hopes to become.’
"Jatembe taught you fairly well."
Slowly, he twists around to the automatons. "Put aside your worries, my friends." Hynikon relaxes.
"These are friends, and they should be welcome to the Second Suspension. I am interested to hear about these intruders." Dimari—Diji nods at Kiri. "Also, I know one of these guests from before. They one lived here when we first strung the Latticework of Stars across the gorges. They walked the first tightropes high above the canyon, hanging seedlings of vines in the sky."
"Well. Let us walk to the city of the Second Suspension, and we can talk."
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Zadiki is startled to hear Dimari-Diji speak words he heard nearly a century ago in Nantambu – his eyes widen and his mouth actually hangs open an instant before he regains his composure. Of all pasts to break through the foliage, the Attendant Ceremony is not one I would have [u]ever[/u] expected...
Wordlessly, Zadiki follows along on the walk to the city of the Second Suspension.
"Did you know Jatembe, great one?" he asks follows, working to keep his balance as the ground shakes.
"Did you know Jatembe, great one?" he asks follows, working to keep his balance as the ground shakes.
Thre "treant" rumbles, a deep chuckle as you move through the gorge, winding up a gentle incline.
"Of course I know little Jatembe. Did he never get around to telling his disciples about his first learnings, when the dust of the long dark was finally clearing from the heavens above? Well, Jatembe is rather unassuming. Some may say to a fault… but it is an admirable trait, if you ask me." Dimari—Diji winks. "Fret not, I will not share gossip that he would mind you hearing!"
The city reveals itself as you approach. The gorge is miles long; balconies and cunningly-lit chambers are carved into its walls. A labyrinth of walkways suspended from massive chains crisscross above, hanging from a net of camouflage that is speckled with lights that provide the city its only light. Long vines, growing from the netting, drape down hundreds of feet among mezzanines and walkways.
Dimari—Diji leaves the topic of Old Mage Jatembe for now. He waves a massive, creaking limb at the city above.
"Impressive, what a lost menagerie can build, eh? They built it themselves. You helped, Alrinkiri."
"So did you, Dimari—Diji" Chirps Hyacinth from his shoulder.
"As with little Jatembe, I merely provided a little know-how. You had to find your own way, and own it. Everyone here worked hard in service to others… just like our visitors here."
Hynikon nods. "Indeed. At great effort we have made ourselves anew, forged from a forgotten past. I shall provide an instructive example for the edification of these visitors." The automaton transforms his any-tool arm into a teacher's pointer, and gestures at the macaw-shaped automaton on Dimari—Diji's shoulder. "Consider Hyacinth. We believe she was once part of the aforementioned menagerie. Examine, if you will, the colorful rainbow plumage and extremely powerful beak. Our supposition is that she created as a pretty thing whose sole purpose was to perch on some gilded bough in a palace, cracking walnuts for the Inperantike."
Dimari—Diji continues. "This is the story of many peoples of the Second Suspension. These automatons are the refugees of some ancient terror that struck some forgotten place. We know it was a place of extreme decadence and terrible brutality."
Changing his any-tool into a spade, Hynikon continues. "We escaped that place after our masters perished, one and all. We know we were a menagerie of playthings made to entertain. Or kill. We recall little but what is written on the stones, but our original purpose, our masters' intent, is encoded into the very functionality of our bodies. We have learned to alter that purpose, and to find our own way. I have beaten my sword into a plowshare, so to speak."
Dimari—Diji cuts in. "And now Hyacinth soars free, and uses the new-made hands we've made for her, to arrange the very constellations in our sky. Very clever indeed!" Hyacinth proudly preens her colorful wings with a human-looking hand.
You begin making your way up switchbacks, toward the first and lowest terrace. The city of the Second Suspension seems empty. Many of the terraces look unused. Walkways are being reclaimed by the environment, covered in creeping vines and eroding. Only a few automatons can be seen moving about above, far fewer than you'd expect for a city of this size.
"Inperantike? My knowledge of the Jistka Imperium is limited," Chimwemwe asks for clarification.
Noting the natural erosion of the city, he asks, "Time seems to, mm, be undoing your engineering. Have you lost the hands to maintain the city?"
Kiri is stunned at Dimari-Diji's recognition--the most concrete and specific mention of their forgotten past they have yet found--and remains silent for a long while as the party moves through the city. It's not until Chim's question that they seem to rouse from their thoughts. "Inperantike--a title of ancient Jistka; call it emperor or ruler."
As the party arrives at the city, Kiri is once again overwhelmed. Their curiosity draws their eyes in all directions at once, interrupted by flashes and fragments of memory and partial recognition that leave them stunned.
Noting the natural erosion of the city, he asks, "Time seems to, mm, be undoing your engineering. Have you lost the hands to maintain the city?"
Hynikon explains: "Over the ages, certain of our brethren become possessed by an itinerant ghost; they depart to wander the world. Fewer and fewer of these return. Others desire an eremitic existence; they, too leave us, and few return."
Finally, you surely understand that our kind burdened with functional immortality. Some become infected by deep melancholy as the eons go by. A few wish to be put into a long sleep. Others wish to be permanently decommissioned, the magic of their power cores gently undone, freeing the spirit to at long last rejoin the River of Souls."
Chimwemwe nods in abstract understanding. "I wonder if a, mm, regenerative rebirth could be engineered, mm, like the samsaran experience naturally. Or the leshy." He starts tracing runes and equations in the air that only he sees as he starts thinking about a solution nobody asked for.