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Right, so I am officially declaring this game dead due to inactivity. I'll try harder to keep people's interest for my eventual second try at this. In the mean time, however, it is pointless for some of you to pop in once a week to see if something happened. It was a pleasure running this game for you. I'm open for any suggestions for future RP here, and I'm willing to elaborate on the full campaign story for any GMs that come around looking (although I have no idea if any would). Have fun all!
I'll try to summarize here what has happened for each thematic group of you so we have an easier time finishing what we started. I hope it helps each of you in clearing out some short and long term goals and ideas. We are really close to the end of the first part of the campaign and I'd love to finish it so we can choose what happens with this game next. Shirak&Torcet:
You set out to find the reason for the disappearances in the forest north of the town of Karakuru. The Night's Rest inn was a logical place to start. You met the magical silence phenomenon right away. After that you found the remnants of the Blue Gulls living in the forest. They told you about the evil in the inn. You found a tunnel that passed through an ancient dungeon of sorts, leading up to the basement of the inn itself. On the way Torcet found an artifact - a book that helped you "beat" the creature that posed as the innkeeper. With what looked as its last breath it sent you to a spirit realm to rot. In this place thought and will seem to be as important as physical shape. After several encounters you met the spirit of a man who claimed to be the former leader of the Blue Gulls as he possessed Daka's body. He claimed that the priest's deity had gotten him out and he took his place peacefully. He led you to what he claims is the point through which the spirits enter this place. His plan was to destroy the portal and the whole demesne with it. He forgot to mention how to do it... Reyo: You had it a little harder than the rest with all the spiritual journeys and encounters. You'd need to keep the big picture in sight, since I tried to entwine it with your character story and goals. But in short, here is what happened so far:
*Repost from start of adventure*
You start north towards the Crown, a long journey just to confirm the find, but lightened by a side job that you manage to take on the evening before leaving town. A wealthy merchant claims he lost a precious satchel as his retainer disappeared while returning from the forests to the north of Karakuru. Due to the infamy of the Shadowy Wedge - the forested area to the north, the disappearance is not exactly a surprise. The merchant is willing to pay you 50 gold pieces if you manage to find and return the satchel, "without opening it". The last requirement is odd, but you take the job as he is willing to pay you some of the sum in advance (which, in itself, is also odd). He describes the satchel as dark leather, embossed with a crest that closely resembles the sign that the noble described to you (the spiky shield). The merchant obviously does not care for his servant much, as you get almost no description of him. He was supposed to take a less travelled route through the forest when coming back from the inn that allegedly can be found a couple of days north of Karakuru on the road. As you start the journey along the side road that the merchant points you to you do not expect to come across anything interesting right away. However, late on the second day of the journey, you notice a decrepit ruin on the side of the road (which is just a trail in the murky undergrowth at this point). On one of the rocks you find a weathered round carving that, with some imagination, can resemble a round shield with wings. This leads to your decision to explore the cellar-like room under the ruin, which you find to contain almost nothing of interest. As you decide to go up and continue your journey the floor under your feet gives way and you fall through the packed earth to come to rest at a hard stone floor about fifteen feet down, and in complete darkness.
You met the group fighting a golem of sorts, and helped destroy it. In the process you were given a piece of the memory of the spirit that powered the golem, and it looked like a battle between elves and mercenaries. There was also a blue gull symbol. You went on to find a door out of the dungeon and you got your second spiritual sucker punch being siphoned into the coin that was set into the door handle. Inside you met a sorcerer of some kind who'd created a pocket dimension for himself using the image of the country's capital from long ago. He mentioned the brambled shield you were looking for as some kind of organization instead of an item, and warned you against the guardian pf the inn. Then Daka drew your spirit out of the coin just in time to save your soul, but not before you got touched by the evil in the coin (the up or down moment). Later you got extremely negative feelings for the artifacts that the others found while you felt the inn's guardian was on your side. You were caught in the struggle and thrown in the spirit prison along with the others. In this place thought and will seem to be as important as physical shape. After several encounters you met the spirit of a man who claimed to be the former leader of the Blue Gulls as he possessed Daka's body. He claimed that the priest's deity had gotten him out and he took his place peacefully. He led you to what he claims is the point through which the spirits enter this place. His plan was to destroy the portal and the whole demesne with it. He forgot to mention how to do it...
Shirak:
As you swing the phantom blade it leaves a glowing trail in the darkness of the forest. You can barely make out your dagger underneath the image of the broad blade. Suddenly the shrieks of the trees die down to a manageable level. You are filled with a feeling of calm that is not your own, overlaying the mess in your head. A fierce joy streams from the sword and up your arm. It seems happy to be wielded again, even in spirit.
Your eyes flicker to the dancing light of the portal... "It's no use!" Shouts Torcet, his sword flailing madly at the lights. "This is not a physical thing to attack! We must leave, they are coming!" His eyes roll around, the previous madness slowly taking hold of him again.
Shirak's dagger passes through the glowing sword without the slightest pause, but the flames jump onto the druids arm and he convulses in a sudden spasm! Shirak: Your arm feels like it has been dipped into molten lava and frozen solid at the same time. Lights dance in your vision and won't go away whatever you do. As you look at your hand through the veil of pain and flashing stars you think it is now holding the sword that was stuck in the tree, and not your own dagger. The lights and the pain, however, are too much for you to determine if your hand is even operational. You still have feeling in your arm.
Your attempts at stabbing a bunch of fairy lights dancing in the air bring you nothing. The portal does not react or change in any visible way. However, there is a burst of white light from the camp. You turn to see the sword in the tree burning with an ethereal flame! Meanwhile the trees' chorus reaches a crescendo and threatens to make your ears bleed!
Hope all goes well now with your family! I am all for a little ooc discussion if you or any of the others need it. I've been having the feeling that I've piled a little too much in the mystery department lately, bogging you down. You can ask anything you need here, or in a PM if you feel it needs to be kept a secret.
How's the vacation going, guys? :) I assume you are in some way occupied, and not resigning from the game?
You see no engravings, but the swirling lights of the circle hanging in mid air in front of you actually look familiar. "Don't you see? It is about the size of the table back in the inn!" Says Reyo, pointing at the circle of moving light, hanging between you. The fact that her words reach you through the magical silence has barely registered when the screams of the trees start again. The shapes that the branches form look pointier and more dangerous than the waves you've seen before.
DC16 Wisdom check:
You remember that Daka and Torcet were talking about some engraving on the table you had all sat at back in the inn. It feels like ages ago, but there was also something strange about the barman servant's answer when they asked him about it. The portal looks like a moonlit fog, just hanging in the air. It hadn't been shining all along though, or you would have noticed it right away. Something must have caused the effect to appear. The bleeding stops when you go away from the tent and the sword. Shirak's words are lost in the magical silence again. The waving motion of the trees stops abruptly, but there is something wrong with them now. They do not resume their previous, "normal" positions, but become fixed in an array of twisted forms, creating a dome-like structure above your heads!
And suddenly Shirak realizes that they are still in the forest and nothing has changed. He's just standing on the other side of the dancing lights...
Shirak passes through the light without disturbing it at all, and lands sprawling on the other side, Leyafold rolling beside him. Torcet manages to not step on the two, but trips on them instead and goes down too. There is no injury done as the leafy cover of the ground softens the impact, but their dash for freedom accomplishes nothing either. It must have been true that what you are seeing here is the end of a one-way path from the real world. It is not usable in the reverse direction. The trees around you keep shivering in waves, displaying their screams by movement instead of sound.
As the chill deepens you are illuminated by a bright blue glow from the right side. A large circle of light swims about a foot off the forest floor, barely visible shapes moving across its surface. They look like plant vines, but the motion makes them resemble snakes just as well. This must be the exit of the portal into this place! Waves of shouts going into screams start passing through the trees in the area, making them shiver. Then an abrupt silence falls, like a lid has been put on top of every source of sound. A feeling that is quite familiar to some of you...
No worries.
There is no answer to Torcet's request. However, you feel the presence intensifying, and there is a chill than makes your breath suddenly visible.
Read on fail: You feel a little queasy. Something drops from your nose and you realize it's bleeding!
Torcet:
You feel a chill as you approach the tree. The tent's cloth moves slightly from a gust of wind that you do not sense. Shirak:
You see a haze forming around the tent and Torcet as he moves forward. Reyo inspects the fireplace and tries to push one of the stones with her foot. It doesn't budge. She crouches down and touches the ashes. "These are nearly warm." Her hand brushes the stones and she frowns. "The stones are also warm."
The trees here do not form a free space, but are even growing a little closer than usual. The tent is set up close to one of them as if to protect it from the wind, which in this place is almost non-existent. In front of the tent is a cold campfire, bordered by the indigenous stones. There is also a broad bladed sword stuck in the tree above the tent. As you step near you get an oppressive feeling inside. There is some presence in the area. And still, nothing glows, yet.
"It's transparent. And it glows." Galdor's words come muffled as he walks forward, and then suddenly his figure melts into the air like a smear of paint in water. There are no more sounds, except for a sad flap of the tent's cloth in a rare gust of wind. Nothing glows, yet. The grass, as it happens, is not much greener on the other side of the river. If anything, the dead leaves are thicker here and make moving a little hard. There is a light smell of smoke in the air.
"I do not 'fear'. I am merely stating a fact. And no, I will not be bound." He jumps to the ground on the other side and turns. "You still do not do me justice, elf. Would you let yourself be bound for the sake of some strangers?" He then turns his back on you and points to the tent."This is my camp. Next to it is the gate. I'm telling you this now in case we do not see each other again." He starts forward between the trees.
Torcet:
The dark waters splash around your finger, but still do not make any sound. The feeling is strange, you cannot feel anything from the water. No warmth or cold, no movement, no pressure. It's as if your finger does not exist while in the water. "I mean that this body might stop existing when I go near my focus points, which is my camp. Or I might simply lose control of it, letting some other spirit use it, and it might not be as friendly as I am. But then again you are capable of defending yourself, no?" Galdor shoots you a glance over a shoulder as he nears the other end of the tree. On the other side you see a tent set up between the trees. There are also several patches of stone sticking out from the dead leaves.
"Finally some reason," mutters Galdor and proceeds to lead you through the forest. Time stretches again as you are on the move, with the strains and emotions of the last battle getting washed away from you. At moments Galdor stops and listens, then changes direction slightly. You do not encounter any more of the lost souls of the forest, although there are patches of the now familiar rock here and there. Your guide does not acknowledge them, but does not go close to them either. Finally you arrive at the bank of a river. Its existence in this place is a surprise in itself, but the fact that it does not make any sound can only be called worrying. The silent ripples of the dark water flap about with no joy. Galdor turns to you. "I am not sure if my new form will survive the return to my camp. Be prepared for anything." With that he jumps up on a fallen tree that runs across the dead waves and starts walking towards the other side.
Torcet, if you've got any questions about the situation that do not require an IC exchange, please ask them! I'll wait a bit more and then bot Reyo again if she doesn't come around.
Hey, everything alright guys? You've been very quiet lately.
Galdor frowns at the comments of the two, but keeps his eyes on Reyo. "Please tell me that you're smarter than those two, elf. They seem to be oblivious to all but the most direct threats. I mean," he cocks his head at the rapier's blade in front of his face, "that she is standing in my way. And yes, you have to have seen the gateway. It should have been large, with some kind of floral relief. You'll have your guess when get there. Now, shall we proceed?"
"The gulls survive? Are they there in force? Is... Glendo there? No, can't be, he must be a very old man now." Galdor shakes his head. "I've heard the souls coming here. It must have been several decades...
Galdor smirks as the elf threatens him with her sword. "Yes, I was once a leader of the Blue Gulls. I suspect they are long gone, as I've spent here way too much time, as far as I can tell. They weren't the most tight knit of groups, as it went. But I can tell you this," his stare hardens again. "I am way beyond petty swindles, I was far beyond them even before I came here. I came to retrieve the magic of this place, and instead I got a taste of what it really was. It's probably impossible for me to get out, as I don't have a body of my own. But if there's the tiniest chance for that then I will take it and impose swift justice upon the brambled traitor that led me into this." He glances at Torcet's slightly wavering sword. "And put that away, sir. I wouldn't trust you to cut down a tree with a grip like that. Use your stronger qualities, if you have any."
"He was just a free vessel to fill. Also, I am not the worst thing that could have filled the void." Galdor/Daka makes a pause to let the words sink in. "Now, let's not dawdle here any longer. You made quite a ruckus already. Lost souls will be converging to fight for the potential focus location, and I see you've managed to destroy that. You show promise!" He grins and tries to walk away when Reyo jumps in front of him. "Not so fast, bandit. I think I've heard of you before. You were a scoundrel, a good for nothing plunderer that fed on other people's honest work. Deny it!" Her rapier flashes and points at his throat.
Reyo:
You remember a mention of the name in connection to a bandit gang of sorts, but nothing more. Daka/Galdor smiles at Shirak's suggestion with a hint of sadness. "I don't think you would want to be entered into your deity's pantheon. Or would you? A potential eternity in a god's demesne. Unless the god, and you with it, are completely forgotten." He shakes his head. "I wouldn't do it for all the power in the world." A pained expression flashes on his face but a moment later he is all business again. "Enough talk. It's time to leave this godless place the propper way. By destroying it!"
"I am not your friend, Daka, as you call him. I just took over his body as he was leaving it vacant anyway. I think his goddess found him a way out. A way," a smirk appears on the half-orc's face, "that was not for you to take obviously, as you are still irretrievably lost in this foul place, just as I am." He raises his hands high towards the sky along with his voice and shouts the last words, making the trees of the forest echo his voice back. He then looks back at you, with a half-apologetic smile. "I have been silent for too long. Forgive my outburst. Also, now that I have you to help me, we might not be as lost as we were a moment before. Let me introduce myself. I was once called Galdor."
As Shirak reaches for Daka's hand and tries to close his fingers better on the winged ankh the priest drops down to all fours, dragging him along. The charred symbol falls between the dead leaves covering the forest floor and is lost from sight. At that moment Daka takes in a deep rasping breath, his whole body arching. "Finally..." He sighs, but it is not his voice that you hear! It has become higher and smoother, more like a himan's. He looks around, the final shivers disappearing. "Not perfect, but it will have to do. Or should I say, you will have to do." He looks at you as if seeing you for the first time.
"I am not sure I can find it. It's... fuzzy. I don't want to... let go." Daka looks sideways at Shirak, his features in a grimace of hard concentration. "I am afraid that I'll lose it if I move." A slight tremble can be seen running the length of the priest's body now and again. At this moment another round of screams washes over you and Daka shuts his eyes tight, a grunt escaping his lips. He looks to be in a struggle with himself, as he makes to step forward and stumbles down on his knees. The hand holding the symbol of Sarenrae is now trembling hard. "It's... heavy!" He gasps, trying to keep hold of the token of his deity.
If you don't mind in a few hours Shirak finishes his meditation with a somewhat relieved expression. Daka is still standing still, staring in the direction of the supposed camp.
Daka shakes his head, but continues to look like he's about to fall over. "I'm... getting a vision of sorts. It's a camp. And a blue gull is sitting perched on a tent. It's where the screams are coming from. It's... calling us." He shivers. "We're not yet 'converted'. He needs people that are still halfway in the real world." Daka opens his eyes for a moment, and they are filled with anguish. "He's been here so long, he's not sure what is real anymore."
It is unfortunate, but dissertations have to be written :) We won't be taking new people, since we're close to the end of the adventure, unless you have a specific person in mind that wants to play. Everything continues as normal otherwise.
As the scream passes over you, you see Daka sway on the spot. "I, I don't feel so well... The sounds..." The priest closes his eyes and grips his holy symbol hard, his knuckles white on the charred wood.
In a couple of minutes Torcet comes around and, for all the good that does to your present situation, looks a bit more rested than the rest of you. The gloom of the forest starts to weigh down on you, even though any strains from the last event disappear fast enough. As you (probably) ponder what to do next the scream of the trees comes around again in waves, that flow in one direction.
Hey, group, I am about to go to a conference abroad and you may experience longer periods of inactivity from me for the next week. Conversely, is anyone in the Copenhagen area? We can meet in person if you are :)
Reyoris reaches the stone creature a couple of moments before Torcet does. The giant spider-like lute swings at her, but its "feet" are too long to be effective at such a close distance. Then Torcet reaches the stones and lets out a primal scream as he points at the elf. Most of the stone mass just flies away in Reyo's direction, pummeling the ground and trees around and behind her.
As the rocks destroy half the clearing the rest just falls apart and Torcet slumps unconscious to the ground in the middle of it. Torcet: You are asleep, Torcet. In two minutes you will wake and have a patchy memory of what happened as a kind of nightmare that you dreamt of.
Daka and Shirak manage to hold Torcet for the time being, the latter now struggling against them with grunts and mumbles. Reyo's rock hits the flailing crrature and a spray of rocks flies off of its shape. The rocks disintegrate in thin air, and it's probably a good thing, as the creature screams in what looks like pain. The bad thing is that now it finds Reyo a threat and launches a hail of stones at her!
The part of the shifting mass of stone that housed Reyo's "desires" melds into the shape created by Torcet's mind. The creature is huge and its lute-like "head" rises higher than the trees. This helps Daka to dodge its monstrous swipe and smash into Torcet. Both fly off the stone floor that had formed under the detective's feet and tumble down to the ground on the other side. The stone creature roars (although you have no idea how it produces sounds) and starts to crumble slowly. Torcet starts to untangle himself from the priest and scrambles to get back onto the rocks. "No, I must have the answers, let me go!"
The shapes created by Reyo and Torcet clash and spray the vicinity with fragments. For the first time part of the rocks leave the chaotic area and disappear in the dead leaf cover of the forest floor. As the two continue creating shapes and throwing them at one another the available supply of rocks seems to decrease in volume.
As the detective and the rogue dive into the shifting mass of stone-like fragments their presence seems to catalyze the formation of two centers in the chaotic occurrence. One holds the central piece that Reyo was aiming for in her leap. The other has a pedestal with a heavy, leather-bound tome on it, that almost jumps up into Torcet's outstretched hands. In the middle between the two forms a double tornado of flying rocks that fly at each other with lightning speed and produce the sound of two mountains rubbing together. A second later the rocks start producing sparks and seem as real as they can get. Torcet and Reyo: When you touch the items of your desire you feel extreme happiness. At the same time you sharply focus your previous anger at each other.
Obviously you are enemies and only one can exist peacefully here!
Shirak:
You don't see anyone else nearby. You notice, however, that Reyo and Torcet are both staring in a kind of trance at the changing shapes. Daka:
There really are no "free"
pieces of the material. If you touch some part of it it slithers around your fingers to rejoin the rest of the mass. The thing feels like rough leather, or what a rock would feel like if it was soft. You also think that the piece passes as much through your fingers as it goes around them. Reyo and Torcet:
A kind of frustration starts building inside you every time the desired shape of the mass before you disappears. It is undirected, you just start getting mad that it won't stay the way you like it. Torcet's test does not produce any notable result. The stone-like mass continues changing with the same pace. However, there is also a change: the details of the two states start bursting in angry showers of "stone" before reshaping into the alternate form. The two states seem to be fighting one another as some parts of them start appearing simultaneously.
"I need some peace for meditation too, but I don't feel it will be very useful if I have to keep watch at the same time. I didn't know how it is with praying." He eyes Daka and sighs. "I'll take first watch while you rest."
As Torcet and Reyo settle down and Daka immerses himself in silent prayer the silence of the forest presses down on you hard. At some point however a shout raises all of you from your rest. You see Shirak standing with his dagger out, pointing at the ground some distance away. A new clearing has formed, and a writhing mass of stones, or at least stone-like worms, has risen in the middle. The mass seems unsure of what it must represent: one second it is a series of intertwined pedestals holding several ancient looking items, the next it resembles a writing desk with several heavy tomes upon it. Torcet:
When the desk and tomes appear you get the strong desire to go there and study them. They surely must contain ancient secrets and clues to a lot of mysteries. When the desk disappears you feel sadness, but also some strange relief. Reyo: When the pedestals appear you get the strong desire to go there and look at the items. You think you see your desired circlet at the top, and some other long lost elven artifacts you've heard about. When the pedestals disappear you feel sadness, but also some strange relief.
Daka: You don't see anything unexpected. The lute is not some artisan's masterpiece, but looks well made and there are no scratches or other defects that would make you think it does not do its job.
Losing his balance due to his wild swing at Daka, the bard receives several blows and crumples to the rock strewn ground with a cry. The stone tornado that was forming around you dies down slowly, the rocks losing their hitting power and falling all over the clearing. As the bard gasps in pain with his last breath they start reabsorbing back into the leafy cover underfoot. "You... Will die too. Everyrhing dies..." The man's last words draw a sad note from his lute and then he stops breathing. Soon the instrument is the only thing left on the scene: the body too disappears under the dead leaves.
The bard dodges Torcet's sword, which makes Reyo miss with her attack. However, he is not good enough to dodge three strikes in a row, and Daka's morningstar finds him. With a scream of pain he swings his lute around and brings it down on the priest's shoulder.
Meanwhile the hail of stones increases in strength as more and more of the stage goes up into the air. Your footing start to become shaky.
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