A passing bolt of lightning, painfully loud and crackling, sets the air aflame in this rich atmosphere. The cool, distant air now sears your lungs, close and smothering.
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As they approach the hellhound Gabe prepares to simply eliminate the weakened foe. Pity stays his hand long enough that Samen begins a dialog. Feeling his words wouldn't compare, he lets the mind mage negotiate. As the dog leaves his wards, Gabe gathers the bones together in a bundle to bring back to the surface. Before leaving though he asks the dog a question, "You no longer have a place in the world with the dawning of Sun and the return of sky. What will you do now? Will you waste away with the waning of Volcano?" "Old dog. No new tricks." The old guardian spell-creature lays its head to rest. You sense that this hound has been at its post for not just years, but centuries; it is ready to be rid of its burdens.
The dog creature whines plaintively at the thought of rest. "Clear out old obsidian Temple. It will crumble, likely tomorrow morning. Goodbye." It uncurls from around the human bones. You feel the ancient, airless feeling lift from this deep root system, and more natural air currents begin to flow in.
Samen smiles peaceably at the hound. "I know you can understand me. Nothing non magical could survive down here in this drab locale this long. What is your charge, most loyal one? I would prefer a peaceful resolution, but I assume you've determined why I'm here based on what I am." In a low growl--tired, not threatening--the words come out, "If this last Relic is lost to Volcano, what happen? Will Temple fall? Will Volcano go out?" It curls protectively against the bones.
I won't be checking this thread for the time being -- everyone should be reporting in to Mercury Morn, or PM me if you'd like!
Ok, Gameplay for "Mercury Morn" is open to you guys! Please check in at the Discussion either here or there LINK and let's have some fun!
Hi All, It's been over a week since I've heard from some of you -- please let me know for sure if you will be able to post consistently going forward. No big deal either way, I'd just like to know for certain. Please see the link in the post above -- posting in Discussion today or tomorrow would be ideal, then I can introduce you in Gameplay this upcoming week.
Thanks for the update! Haven't heard from Ibinu or Sequoya in about a week. I think we'll have to roll on Monday either way. I'll introduce you over here
Feel free to post in Discussion.
That would basically be ideal when fighting the intangible illusions and dealings with Moon-creatures.
Cool, thanks for the update!
No replies for four days is making me a little nervous - if I'm bringing 'new' PCs into an existing campaign, I'd prefer a small dedicated group. Please confirm you will be able to follow roughly a daily (bare minimum every other day) schedule. No big deal either way, I just need to know before we take the plunge for real.
We should all be level 9 at this point -- double check: 1) that you know the basics of your character 2) That the character tagline is up to date And Please let me know when you will be ready to begin posting. This week would be ideal, but it should be next week at the latest.
--Moonrise is the main problem --The Fey are an unknown --Dragons and other creatures from the Plane of Fire are likely allies --The Watches and the Council are the main elen factions in Hearth (and the Blessed are on the Council!) --We'll get into more recent events soon! :)
**** And before that, the biggest event in Hearth was dealing with the new Quiet Elder (on par with a demigod of Forest) that grew in the middle of Hearth, in the former Steam Slums. The Fey found within were not exactly hostile, but they were far from friendly: Sequoya, a quick trip, almost a slide, down the round ramps of the interior staircases of the Young Elder. Down the trunk. Down to the huge taproot, a hollow tunnel spiraling down. The taproot tunnel drips with moisture taken from the surrounding soil. Round and round, echoing drips in the gloom...
**** Before you went to Light (and the year-long hiatus we just had) You were mostly consolidating your power in Hearth. 1) Inam was spreading the word of the Warrior, and introducing a new way of forging through faith rather than a hammer. 2) Ibinu was...well, murdering quite a few traitors to the Cauldron Lady, including a treacherous captain of the Ardere Watch, and a rogue sylph alchemist who challenged Ibinu to a physical duel (and got killed) 3) Kallik lost her mind for a bit when that very same Ardere captain attempted to kidnap Egret as blackmail/extortion. Ibinu in a very real sense saved Kallik from being an outcast (as murder by a Fey-wild oread would be viewed VERY differently than the righteous justice of Ibinu the Sorceror of the Lady himself) **** As you head back up the stairs, the wailing and chaotic sounds continue. There are a dozen guards running around, and many more on the floor, wounded or dying.
I think I'll start at our "ending", then go backwards, and see what sounds familiar. --The last thing we did was go to the city of Light, which had been overtaken by the madness of Moon (the god you knew as the Smiler for the majority of the campaign -- a god on the rise who had the tendency to rob elens of their free will) --A LOT happened, but the two main things are --
2) A feat of alchemy and engineering, the city of Light is constructing a series of lenses for the express purpose of focusing Moon and destroying the Dark. I think I'll find some good quotes from the Campaign Diary too. I'm very glad for having it as a reference now! -- You are disoriented for a moment; Volcano is in a completely different place, although it appears to be the same candle as when you...did whatever you just did. Took a step. You are close to Forest proper now, a northern chill in the air.
Does anyone need help recalling all the ins and outs of your character, mechanically and RP-wise? I'm happy to talk, as it will help me remember details from the far past as well :)
I'm happy to hear the good news (in recovery) and happy to have Sequoya back! So we have 3 new PCs to help against Moonrise...
Yes, absolutely! I'm sorry, all I remembered was that last time you had to drop out even before we ended in 2021, so I didn't think you'd be available!
Shall I introduce you at the other table? We could be posting together again as soon as this week!
And keeping your previous level 8 status is perfect, because that just so happens to be where the other PCs are at too :)
Cool, I like the idea of option 3 as well, and yes ideally you would come back to play Ibinu and Kallik (the Blessed are known figures in the world these days!)
Got it! Well I sent Inam a PM at the same time I did the two of you, so that's about all I can do. SO! In total I see our options as: 1) Bring the old table back 2) Have you both as long-term recruits to join the current table, "Mercury Morn" 3) Have you both as short-term recruits at that table -The real "magic" for the table came when it was the 3 of you, so I don't see 1 as a real option -The difference between 2 and 3 is simply timespan. There is an eminent threat of Moonrise coming to the city of Hearth, and it would be great to have the two of you for the battle at least. If longer, then great! -Finally, I want to be upfront that the player you had some friction with (the inquisitor Agazi Faustino) is a PC in this current campaign (he's a friend IRL). This time I would be upfront with expectations about how PCs treat each other, and I would ask more frequently in Discussion how everyone is doing. It will also help he's not a murderous inquisitor with a chip on his shoulder! ---- Let me know your thoughts!
I hope Ibinu posts too -- I have not heard from Inam though.
Somehow, it is already nearly March of 2022. I only have one other active campaign going right now, so I have room on my plate for a second. The question is, how many of us are still around? Sound off if you dare!
It feels like we had trouble consistently posting at approximately the beginning of the pandemic (about this time 2020, in fact). So,
Planning on deactivating tonight. Good dim to you all!
"Would you believe me if I said you are most welcome?"
Planning on final post on Sunday night. I'll deactivate after that.
One of the several doors in the passage opens smoothly, an attendant in white garb peeking their head out. Sounds escape from inside. Elen sounds. Pain? No, something different. The attendant looks at Ky La, who nods. "May we come in?" the inquisitor asks sardonically. A small room, with more elens in it than is strictly comfortable. All sylphs, all reclining in cushioned chairs, eyes blind to the world, wires attached to their skulls. With your various magical Sights, you catch glimpses of the illusions that dance before their eyes - food, drink, dance, pleasure, love, and more, all cavorting before them, enchanting them and binding them in ecstasy.
...In worship. Worship of the self, of pleasure, and the instruments of pleasure. Worship of smiling, and the Smiler. Blue celerity, dark and rich, arcs out of the wires now and again, as the sylphs shudder and convulse and grin and drool. This goes on for a few seconds before any of you react. Surprisingly, they seem none the worse for wear- a few sylphs even get up and leave. Ky La smiles congenially at them as they go. "Do you see now? Worship more pure than any of your barbaric altars or loud songs could ever hope to produce, eh? And do you see the real beauty of it? That we are just making their dreams come true?" He sniffs the air, savoring the ozone odor of fresh celerity going down the heavier wires. He sighs contentedly. Those sylphs have now found their way to an exit of their own, to waning peaklight in the dim afternoon. Back to gray lives. Thinking of when they might dream again. Walking indifferent ceramic streets. Back to gray jobs. Under a Waxing Moon.
And as we come to a close over the next few days, let me just say it has been a pleasure RPing with all of you. This is easily a contender for my favorite campaign of all time. I will likely be reading through the campaign log for this after we are done, just to remember some of the best parts.
Inside, it is quiet. Sterile. White, polished floors. The corridors you walk are well-lit by incandescent bulbs powered by celerity. A medical facility of some kind, but without the stench of death. It is a clean place. Muffled noises come from behind the iron-braced doors on either side of the hall. You see several sylphs, doctors perhaps, pass by. They all give deeply respectful nods as they pass Inquisitor Ky La, scuttling down a side passage without a glance backward. The inquisitor breaks the silence. "Did you know they lost their own way of making celerity, right at the same time that Hearth lost its steam?" Ky La laughs woodenly. "But we found a different way, a better way, you see?"
You walk around the Spire at least twice, the ugly music from the southern part of town now fading, now rising again. You suddenly come upon an arched doorway, lately appeared by either magic or mechanism. "You see?" says the inquisitor. He goes in, smiling robes swishing.
Away from redbrick houses of alchemy, the Inquisitor's sure footsteps take you from cobbled streets to smooth ceramic. Gray sylphs wearing gray clothes go to and from their gray jobs. A few more blindfolded orators walk the streets, blathering nonsense poetry. The alabaster Spires have some kind of aura, or field, about them, something that puts the teeth slightly on edge as you approach. You see red celerity traveling down the wires high above, sylphs the size of ants crawling about on insulated ropes that parallel the wires, repairing the lines as they go. The true height of the Spire finally becomes real as you draw adjacent to the structure. Ky La begins to walk around the circumference. There is no apparent entrance.
I think I will shoot for this weekend. You are both interested in celerity, so celerity you shall see.
Hi All! It's been quite a while since we've had regular posting from more than one player at a time. I think it's time we think about finding a good finishing point. It won't be anything earth-shattering or campaign-ending, but I'll try to send us off nicely. All -- Let me know if you can be around for a final post or two in the next week.
In the tone of light conversation over scrambled brains, Ky La asks, "Isn't it interesting how readily all of these sylphs succumbed to our sweet Madness? How hungry they were for a god that considers them more than kindling for a cauldron?"
As to the question of cuisine, the answer is: brains.
You are in a restaurant with glaring celeric lights and smooth ceramic seats, strange and sliding to sit in. Everything is polished and clean, and done in shades of off-white. Disembodied sylphan voices--three female singers, pleasant enough harmonies--sing from a ghost sound player, powered by the intrusive wires that seem to come from every wall of every building in Light. "Do you like it?" The inquisitor asks. He takes small, intermittent sips of his water, complete with a smiling wedge of starfruit, imported from southern River.
You look back at a phoenix, somehow frowning with his beak. "We are not amused, Champion."
After fifteen or twenty minutes of estimates and explanations of estimates, the text gives a range of two to three rites required for construction.
Ky La is basically saying that one of you have to give up a secret bit of knowledge if you want to know more about this -- what Moon knows about the Dark is especially guarded/treasured.
The text says that the answer to Ibinu's question is unknown, but the focus beams of light will be high in the air for the first five lenses, only coming toward the ground the action by the focus of the sixth and final lens.
Coming up on 5 solid years of playing this campaign in a few months :0 And I'm still reminded in so many posts of how much I love this campaign - Etrah and the playful rivalries between so many members of the party being the most recent example.
Suddenly bursting into flaming plumage, Etrah's buckaws become "-other servant of Volcano ever suffering such indignities, I've certainly never heard of it!" He pauses. "Ah, good. Now, remind me what we're doing here again? I cannot focus quite as well in that...other form."
Inam, you are treated to a lengthy exposition on the harmonics and other properties of peaklight and moonlight, and how existing slightly out of phase with one another, these combined forces--like waves during a storm--can combine to a strength greater than merely additive; this effect, magnified by the precise curvature of the lens...etc...
Ibinu, you are shown a map of the construction plans - an elegant arc of six building sites, each roughly 250 miles apart; the path starts at the base of Volcano, arcing up and north, then to Light, then steeply down, south and east, directly to the heart of the Eastern Front.
The text goes into great and boring length about the creation of the lenses, which seems to be more mathematical than sacrificial. Details about coarseness and granularity of the sand ground and melted for the glass...the equations for the curvature, concavity, thickness of lens...and an exhaustive calculation of the candles of elenwork it will require, including transportation of the lenses to a proper altitude for optimal focusing.
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