Thanks for running! It was fun while it lasted.
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That is a good idea. I'll be camping for the next few days, so I won't be able to post.
Calxakti, having finished his seance, feels his mind return to himself, at least as much as it can for the mad old man. He makes his way to where the group has met, able to navigate surprisingly well despite his blindness. Once they begin sharing opinions on going to Oppara, Cal relays the information he learned, critically that the dragon intends to return within the next three days. He then says, ”I shall stay here, as well. If Horronath is to return, I would prefer to be here when he arrives. Ildemni the Far-Seer knew her foes actions, but faltered when Ubdan needed her most.”
I suppose I hadn’t taken teleportation into consideration. I had also thought that the party would be gone longer than the three days that the dragon would return within. I will go to Oppara with the rest of the party, as I don’t want to split up the party. Given that the dragon will in all likelihoods return within the next three days, I’d rather not be own when it does.
Though Cal thinks it's a better idea to stay an engage the dragon when it returns, he wants to stay and face it on his own even less.
"Can we kill Eldran Tath with the means we have available?" "Does the dragon intend to return within the next three days?" "Is there a reason that both Tath and the dragon are drawn to Dalaston?"
I've got to say, I'm a bit stumped with what questions to ask. Anyone have some ideas?
"Is Eldran hiding within the town?" "Is Eldran connected to the dragon?"
”Will our current course of investigation bring us answers?” ”Does the dragon intend to return?” ”Is there a way to make the dragon come to us?”
"Will investigating the sacrifices and undead lead us to the dragon?"
Calxakti then asks the beings, "Does the mayor know anything about the dragon's whereabouts?" "If he does not, is there anyone within town that does?"
@DM Divinity, I made my post before I saw your response, and ran it as asking questions of other beings he saw the fates of and helped to gain power, is that alright?
”Powers that be, those that are in my debt, those that shall listen to me, answer my questions in this time of need. Chintzin the Everwatcher, Serpent of Eyes, Mulmurn the Flayed, I made your destinies, now I take what I am owed.” He waits for a moment, before saying once more, ”I seek answers. Are the sacrifices here connected to the dragon which ravaged this town? Are they meant to ward off the beast, or did they draw it here?” He waits for a response.
@GM: I was waiting on you for some prompting on commune, because I’ve had different GMs run it differently.
"There are still powers that I have sway with. My ways of seeing go farther beyond sight than you could know, young man. Give me some time, and I will be able to answer questions with some...clarity." With that, Calxakti strides out of the inn to find an area of relative seclusion. With that found, he pulls a censer and several sticks of incense from his pack and lights them. The incense was old, dating back to his time as a wandering seer. He smiled at the memories of those simpler times, when the world seemed so bright and the future so sure. He began to chant in the same ancient Arcadian tongue, his words echoing through the eddies of the astral plane and beyond. There were still beings who knew the future, beings that would be able to give him some answers.
”Our greatest threat is certainly the dragon. Wyrms are concerned in countless prophecies, and there is ruin in nearly all of them. Grim as the matter of sacrifice may be, there are many who have given sacrifice to forestall the end of all things. It would indeed be wise to find what connection, if any, the dragon may have with the sacrifices, but the wyrm is still our gravest concern.”
"Though charging into his room in the brothel and taking him unawares is quite enticing of an idea, I believe we should take a rather more measured approach. The Tears did not fall upon Udanta without ample thought."
"At the center of the storm without end, shall rise a city of ashes. I cannot say I have heard of this...Hyraeatan, but it does sound quite interesting."
”Sounds a plan.”
I think that Adol’s presumption of his authority is an interesting narrative device, and contrasts well with his rashness and, at least in Cal’s perspective, youthful naïveté. Though posting slightly less frequently and, by that extension allowing others more opportunities to post, I think personality-wise Adol is fine. Mortals are imperfect, and we’re still fairly mortal.
"Indeed, Muuzrildan the Bound was made stronger by his chains. We bring them without any malice in our hearts."
"Hmm, I do not belive the objects I bring to life are tremendously intelligent. It may, however, be able to open itself."
Calxakti launches into a strange and erratic tirade, "Friend, have you heard the story of Ulbullantiarman? He was a lord of an ancient realm, long, long ago. He ruled fairly and wisely, and was beloved by his people. But one day, a stranger came to his court, bringing with him the Seven Flies of Zkyrr, and with it, ruin to the realm. It was this omen that brought the end of Ulbullantiarman's realm..." The story continues, Calxakti trying to create as good a distraction as he can for Ulliaza.
Calxakti chuckles at the undead’s helpless state before saying, ”Worry not, I can take him far. far away from here. Besides, I’ve no need for the payment that would be due to our transactional friend here. If we want him around though, we could hog tie him and chop his limbs off as they grow back. Pilpilli the Endless shall grow for eternity, and his seventy-seven fingers shall feed the faithful until the next cycle.”
Calxakti touches the two pews near him with his staff and the pews seem to...shudder. Crude wooden wings sprout from their sides and carved wooden eyes reveal themselves. An odd chortling and chuckling begins to emanate from them as they slam into the undead next to them.
GM, how would you feel about using this table of 10,000 random magical effects for wild magic? It makes wild magic feel very wild. The events can get fairly far-reaching at the higher numbers, so we could limit it some.
Calxakti begins to chant in a long-forgotten Arcadian tongue. First, the air around him begins to ripple, as if his presence upset the reality around him. He then raps his staff against the ground and the area around Eldran warps and shifts as an odd violet light emanates up from the floor. A ball of the light shoots up and envelops Eldran’s head, beginning to cloud his eyes and ears.
Sorry for not posting. This game’s been moving a lot more quickly than many of my others and it’s a bit tough to keep up. I meant to post last night, but the site ate my post and proceeded not to work for the rest of the night. I’ll have my action up later today.
”If the creatures have ties to the lawful planes, built of the divine latticework of Urm-Thuk, I have magic I can work against them.”
Calxakti lightly hits Adol on the shoulder and says, ”Put me down, damn you! Your grip crushes like the coils of Uamnan!”
Calxakti huffs but allows Adol to carry him. He grumbles the entire way there.
Calxakti raises his eyebrows at Adol’s abrupt attack. He then grumbles, ”Suppose I ought to help out.” With that, he hobbles to within 30 feet of the undead and says a few words in a language that none can understand as the air begins to warp and ripple around him. He then raps his staff against the ground. The obsidian pendant on his neck briefly turns white as a swirling nimbus of radiant energy shoots from his hand towards the undead.
Calxakti groans and says, ”Depending on how this turns out, I may have failed at my goal to keep Adol from doing anything too stupid. The Blind Idiot God roils in the firmament and children of Yuln-Igganoth shall weep tears of dust.”
"Hmmmm, this is mildly concerning. It is quite possible that the sacrifices are being made into undead." He turns to the girl and says, "Why is this so? Is egress anathema to your purpose?"
Calxakti, having been lost in thought until Adol mentioned him, shakes his head and says rather indignantly, ”Gah, don’t startle me like that! I’ve not the foggiest clue about such a prophecy.” With the discussion of where to go he says, ”I’ll go along with Adol. Make sure he doesn’t end up in more trouble than he can get out of.”
My limited resources are: Mythic Power 15/15
Spell Slots
Psychic
I think that's everything.
”Might as well help sort this whole situation out. The Fourteen Asps of Wulduk may have manifested above central Arcadia, but fifteen thousand prophecies before it did not go through, and I do not suppose fourteen snakes appearing for as many minutes a hundred feet above the ground would be the one to break that streak.”
At Ulliaza’s proclamation of Calxakti being fun the old man chuckles, ”Fun? Can’t say I’ve been termed that since the Flesh Jester tried to steal my face on the eve of Mulra’s Folly.” Calxakti shrugs and says, ”Six, seven, eight, whay difference does it make. The prophecy has not yet occurred and with things as they are it never might. Now, if you young folks are quite finished with trying to woo each other, I believe there’s a dragon to deal with. There’s a reason that Saalqit the Wymbreaker was called the Wyrmbreaker and not the Flirter.”
Calxakti returns Adols's stunned look with a wild stare, somehow locking eyes with the man despite his blindness. Compared to the others, especially Adol, Calxakti is quite out of place. He is a small, withered old man, his bony frame held up by a long, gnarled walking stick. His eyes are blind and cloudy, and his worn, threadbare clothes hand loosely around him. Indeed, it would not be difficult to mistake him for an old vagrant if not for the strange presence he exudes. "I am, as he says, Calxakti, the Sightless Prophet. I am afraid we are not the Twin Prophets as my young companion says. There are many truths that have failed since the death of Aroden. I do not remember if they were to meet again." He is quiet for a moment, as if thinking about what he just said before pointing a knobby finger at Ulliaza and saying with increasing intensity, "You speak of a dragon? Do the Scales of Xotek rise from the Ashes of Yil? Or was it Yokolash the Thousand-Winged escaping his labyrinth? Do you know how it was foretold, young lady?" Before he seems to reach a fever pitch he suddenly exhales sharply and says, "Whatever the case, it seems we have a...shared interest. Six shall meet, upon the ruins of Anguar-Strun, and the reckoning dark will find itself wanting."
Calxakti continues along, paying the undead guards little heed beyond briefly stopping to ponder them. He heads into the town and says to Adol, ”Come on, haven’t got all day to find out what’s going on.” Upon seeing the four others in the town square he says to Adol, ”They might be what is going on.” With that, he calls out to them, ”Are you the ones that brought the ruin and undead to this town? The Queens of the Corpse Legion of Xothar shall ravage the land, and none shall survive but the Children of Zond.”
”A prophet of prophecy of course. Or, perhaps, it is what I once was. I served the people of Razatlan as a soothsayer before Aroden’s demise. After that though...” He is quiet for a time, as if remembering an event he would’ve rather forgotten. ”You refer to how I speak, like the Trumpeter of Arlwyn above the Peaks of Summer. I speak of the countless broken visions of things to come, the never-truths left when the Last of the First died. I am sad to say, young Adol, that it might be impossible for you to learn all of the prophecies I once knew. Indeed, I cannot quite remember them all. Perhaps the people of your Akiton would be better off without them. It is, at least, my burden to carry.” He smiles at Adol, ”Another prophet you say? The Twin Prophets of Yulla will meet, and the skies shall tremble before their radiance. That may have been what I foresaw of you. No, they met centuries ago. I am certain you were once foretold. However you may have been, it is good to meet another Prophet.”
”I can handle myself, young man. Do not worry for my sake. I’ve persisted since Aroden died, a few rocks on the ground won’t kill me. By Xibalba, I was even prophesied to die at the hand of Tlicalhua the Seven-Armed and he ended up being eaten alive by Camazotz. I’ll tell you a bit about my home on the way over to the town.” As they set off Calxakti says, ”I nearly forgot. I am Calxakti, though some know me as the Sightless Prophet.” Along the way to the center of town Calxakti describes parts of Arcadia to Adol, ”I come from Razatlan, a nation to the south. It is alright, if you like structure and stability, the peace of mind that a firm society brings. There’s Valenhall and the Avistani colonies, of course. Valenhall is great fun, if you like to drink and carouse. The others are rather dry and stodgy for my taste. The Grinding Coast and the Land of Northern Lakes are rather odd. Full of strange, arcane technology, in the case of the Grinding Coast and skymetals galore near the Northern Lakes.”
Calxakti laughs heartily, a rich baritone that seems remarkably unsuited to the small man it comes from, ”Young man, you are the second person I have talked to since I came through the Realm of Shadow from Arcadia to mistake me for a vagrant. The innkeeper in Absalom was entirely less kind about it. Though I find your generosity worthy of the coming of Umbi the Giver, I am not the promised King of Beggars. Rather, I believe I am here on matters of an entirely greater sort. Matters I believe we share.” He is quiet for a moment, lost in thought before saying, ”I am well aware that I am blind. Just as the mind is not the only way of knowing, so too are the eyes not the only way of seeing.”
One note, next tier I’ll take Inverted Spontaneous Casting, allowing me to also cast Cure spells at a level higher than the spell. However, it doesn’t have quite the utility of a dedicated healer oracle who can pump out those heals.
Calxakti looks Adol up and down and says, ”Has the prophecy come true? Has the beastlord of Dulhuth come from his dark bower? Or no, was it the winged son of Ulbuan shattering the diamond worm of Muur? I know there was...something about you.” He looks about the town and says once more to Adol, ”I would take it you are not here simply to visit?”
GM, is my teleport to the city all good and if so, what do I arrive to?
Calxakti takes a swig of the ale, the large mug seeming almost comical in the small man’s wrinkled hand. He smiles and says, ”Like the barley fields of Ulthos were to be under the light of the three suns. I believe I shall find someone to teleport me to my destination. See if my old bones can handle it.” With that, he finishes his drink and hobbles out of the inn. He feels another prayer, Prophet...aid us...Dalaston burns. He wanders about Absalom, asking about anyone who might be able to teleport him to Dalaston. With the information likely secured and a mage negotiated with, Calxakti readies himself for what might await him in Dalaston.
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