Tree 14, 5043
(8:35 am)
There is a general surge from the sidelines, and Zora finds herself surrounded by an exuberant and congratulatory quartet of Zim, Jolene, Ralf, and Falco. Nobody wants to shove themselves in through those people, so they are also acting as a barrier against Zora being swarmed by dozens of well-wishers. All four are talking excitedly over each other. When Zim realizes that Zora is looking lost amidst all the chatter, he holds up his hands for silence and then points at Jolene.
Who takes your left hand in both of hers. “Lady Zora, that was so exciting. So forceful. I know these men will want to talk about the duel with you. So I’ll just say that we will hold a celebratory banquet tonight. And, as soon as they let you go, you and Lady Bearidahnwen must come to my chambers so we can have my couturier and seamstresses make dresses for you for tonight.”
“Um, Ok,” says Zora.
Then, to the other three: “do not detain her for too long.” And she leaves.
Zim points at himself. “That was a most remarkable feat of swordsmanship. Or should I say ‘swordswomanship’? Male-only fighters is a custom, not a law, which makes it difficult to revoke. But I will instruct my Champions to be more open to the idea of women wanting to become champions.”
After a brief, almost embarrassed pause, “You know, when Dreamer first told me about your group’s quest, I had considered sending a Champion along with you, to keep youall safe. Now I suspect that the four of you would be keeping him safe, which seems like rather a waste of time.”
About this time, everyone notices that Platt’s followers have picked up his unconscious body and are taking it away with them.
“As for Platt,” Zim continues, “I doubt he will want to stay around Dun Add and be ridiculed. I expect he will be petitioning me for a task to send him on that will take him away for quite a while.”
By this time, the rest of you, including Dreamer, have come close.
Zim points at Ralf. Who says, “I salute you, Lady Zora. Rarely have I seen such an outstanding feat of arms. At the end, you took Lord Platt out with a single blow. While you are here, and if you have time, I would love to go a few rounds with you, as a practice bout. I rarely find anyone to skirmish with who can challenge me into exerting myself. Let alone learning new tricks, as I have never encountered anyone using a sword in the manner you did. I think it might be extremely useful for me to be able to use a non-Ancients sword; it would certainly be a surprise to any opponent; and that might be a life-saving surprise. It undoubtedly took years for you to reach the level of skill you have; but anything you could show me in a few hours would be greatly appreciated. I salute you,” and he does: right fist banging his chest above his heart twice.
Zora responds that, “We could do that.”
Lastly Zim points at Falco. “Lady Zora, is it permitted that I might examine your sword? Because aside from your undoubted, and delightfully demonstrated, skill with it, even from a distance I could tell that there is something extraordinary about it. You do not use a shield, yet you were still able to strike at Lord Platt. And I suspect it embodies other strange enhancements. May I?”
Zora hands her sword to Falco.
Falco goes into a trance, almost exactly like the one you saw Dreamer go into Everyone else pretty much just stands around for the four or five minutes he is away. Lord Ralf gently takes hold of Lord Falco’s elbow; it looks like this is something he does a lot.
When he comes out of his trance, Falco continues to stare down at the sword held in his two hands. “This, this is nothing like anything which has come to us from the Ancients. I have never encountered anything like this before.” Still not taking his eyes off Zora’s sword, he raises his voice and almost yells, “Dreamer! I know you’re here! How much of this did you already know?”
Dreamer steps into the group around Zora. “I examined Lady Zora’s sword last night, so I think it is safe to claim that I already knew all that you now know. Furthermore, having watched the duel with the viewpoint of that knowledge, I can state that Lady Zora’s easy victory over Lord Platt was not dependent upon any ability of her sword – beyond that of permitting her to interact with anyone using their shield to side-step outside our reality.”
Falco looks at Dreamer and seems to be thinking. “No doubt you are correct,” he says, as he returns her sword to Zora. “Do you see… Oh, of course you do: how great an advantage it would be for our Champions, if they could wield swords with that ability. But thinking up new uses is not something that I or my team are good at. On the other hand, you excel at doing that. Do you think you could incorporate it into any of our weapons?”
Dreamer responds immediately, “No. There is nothing about Lady Zora’s sword, or about any of the other weapons or devices of the rest of the group, which corresponds with anything with anything that has been handed down to us from the Ancients. For our Champions, your weapons and shields are going to continue to be the absolute best we can give them. But, let’s the two of us go off and discuss what we’ve learned – perhaps there is something else we might benefit by considering.” The two of them bow to Zora, bow to Zim, and wander off, already talking with animated gesturing.
Several ladies in waiting now capture Zora and Beari, saying, “Come with us, please.” And leading them off in the direction that Lady Jolene went.
Ralf will ask Ben if he is also a fighter, like Lady Zora; and if so would he enjoy going a few rounds?
Ben tries to explain that he fights for the honor of Pelor; states that he is a Cleric.
None of the three of them know what a Cleric is.
Falco: “So, you Gods are like our Ancients? You never see them but they provide the sources of your weapons?”
Ben, with help from Arden, point out several differences between long dead people and very much alive deities. It isn’t clear that they are believed.
“And you, Lord Arden, are you also a cleric?”
Arden double-talks his way out of admitting to being somewhat less bound to rules than clerics.
Beari and Zora: Jolene’s ladies in waiting take you to a large room inside the castle where Jolene is waiting with seamstresses and her couturier and lots of fabrics. The couturier then spends the next several hours selecting fabrics which will compliment you, taking measurements (Zora is requested to remove her weapons and armor), and handing combinations off to seamstresses. There is a break for a catered lunch, plus drinks and snacks are available at all times. In mid afternoon the seamstresses begin to return with gowns to be tried on, critiqued by both the couturier and Jolene, and final adjustments assigned.
You each end up with half a dozen elegant gowns, and Jolene “helps” you select which one to wear tonight. This has taken all day, such that there is barely time to return to Dreamer’s rooms and get ready for the banquet.
When you reach the door to Dreamer’s suite, the woodpecker in armor demands, “Who passes?”
The banquet has Zora sitting up between Zim and Jolene, with Falco and Ralf also at the front table, up on a dais. Beari, Ben, and Arden, along with Dreamer and a couple of other nobles are seated at a table immediately in front and below them. And there are perhaps a hundred other people and couples in the banquet hall. The food is fresh, good to excellent, and occasionally exotic. There are a number of wines being offered along with the courses.
Everyone is somewhat careful with how much wine they drink.
After the dinner is over, everyone moves to a ballroom. A small string quartet is setting up. Several young men converge on each of Beari and Zora, and ask them for a dance. (For purposes of this environment, and with these gowns, your Charismas are at +4 for the rest of the evening.)
At the same time a couple of Jolene’s ladies in waiting come up to Arden and suggest that he might like to ask them for a dance?
And a half dozen of them, giggling among themselves, descend upon Ben and tell him that he simply must decide which of them he will first ask for a dance, and which second, and which third…
The dancing lasts until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning.
Luckily, youall need very little sleep.
Tree 15, 5043
Breakfast is much less classy. Dreamer takes you to a cafeteria. It is on a lower level of the castle, and seems to be attached to a barracks. Dreamer tells you that aspiring Champions live in these dorms while training and testing.
Dreamer then takes you up to a high level of the castle, at the far end from Zim’s and Jolene’s rooms. Going through a large wooden double door, you find yourself in a large library. Dreamer says to the first person he sees, “Please tell Madam Hinst that I’m here, with interesting visitors.” “At once, Lord,” he says, and strides off.
At a more leisurely pace, Dreamer leads youall through the stacks and, through more doors, out onto a large porch. Madam Hinst is sitting at a very large desk, covered in books and scrolls and inkwells. She is facing the outside edge of the porch, which is several feet across, has a curved edge, does not have any sort of guard rail, and looks a long way down to the ground. The young man who preceded you is busily arranging chairs around the front of the desk: five of them plus a sixth off to the side for himself.
Madam Hinst rises to greet youall. “It is nice to see you again. I hope you have had a pleasant time in Dun Add.”
The young man stifles a snort of surprise, which Hinst looks at questionally. He shakes his hand to indicate it is nothing.
Madam Hinst continues, “I hope none of you suffer from a fear of heights. I find I am so much more comfortable from not being in a stuffy room, but instead able to look out across the countryside. And after Dreamer made me this most wonderful Ancients artifact to keep the wind and rain out, I do not need to fear for my papers.”
Arden goes over to the edge to look down: the ground is several dozen feet below; but when you get close to the porch’s edge, you bump into an invisible wall.
“Please, have a seat. Dreamer tells me that you are searching for something, a rather exotic something. I’ll be happy to help. But, as a quid-pro-quo, and also to help me understand what you are searching for and how best to find it, would you please start by telling me about all of your experiences since you entered this world. Gregorio will take notes.” The young man nods at you and arranges a pad of paper, an inkwell, and a brush by his side of the desk.
The group relates their adventures in this world, after Arden begins with a preface explaining why they are traveling between worlds:
Beune
√
1. Lizardmen
attack
√
2. Cube
√
3. Weapon --
Dreamer: “It is a shame you couldn’t have brought
it.”
√
4. Nooses – Dreamer starts but
then doesn’t say anything.
Between
Beune and Haxfort
5. experiments with Waste
6. overnights in pockets
√
7. Not Here chaos pocket -- Hinst: “Can
you tell me exactly … no, that can
wait. Please go
on.”
8. Dimensional Rooster
√
9. Beast
Haxfort
√
10. Rescue mission to Beune
√
11. Request to take out bandits
√
12. Taking out bandits
13. Booty
Marielles
√
14. Lord Chain
15. Relief missions
Between
Solerne and Holheim
√
16. Lady Catherine, on pilgrimage
Between
Holheim and Dewbranch
√
17. Beast & Shade – both Hinst
and Dreamer start to speak, catch each others’
eyes, and stay quiet
√
18. Beast-delivered token –
Dreamer deliberately sits on his hands
After
Dewbranch
√
19. Not Here
Before
Catermole
√
20. Shortcut jumping up to Carvahal
– Hinst:
“What!!? No, please, go
on.”
Dun
Add
Hinst and Dreamer look at each other. “You first,” says Dreamer with an arm wave.
7. Hinst: can you tell me exactly where the entrance was?
Dreamer: how did you even find it to begin with?
>>> discussion on Valenthe’s abilities versus ordinary Here and Not Here domestic animals – discussion on what a “familiar” is – conclusion that it is the mindlink between a wizard and their familiar that makes the difference.
Hinst: “Back to my question. Can your Valenthe read maps?”
Maps are sent for. While waiting for them,
Dreamer: The beast spoke to you?
[[Digression into minimal instances of non-fatal interactions.]]
… and a few minutes later there is a knock and then a clerk enters, presents map scrolls to Gregorio, and then leaves again. With some help from convenient weights from her desk drawer, Hinst spreads the three scrolls out on top of her desk as a continuous, very detailed, map of North of Dewbranch to past Beune. Valenthe and Beari do their best to pinpoint both Not Here entrances.
Beari is somewhat distracted by hearing the village of Dewbranch as being named “Dude Ranch”. Somehow that gets coupled in her mind with the lizard attacks in Beune, resulting in the mental image of a cowboy lizard.
17. Hinst: How did you know it was a “Shade”?
Zora talks about the “memory cards” she was “gifted” with. Hinst is immensely interested, and obtains Zora’s willingness to come back later and talk with her about everything those memory cards have told Zora about Hinst’s world.
18. Dreamer: “May I see the token the Beast gave you, please?” He carefully examines all sides of it, then goes into a trance for several minutes. When he comes out of it, he first turns to Hinst. “This is remarkable,” he says. “Is it unique? Do we have records of anyone ever having, or even seeing, an item like this before?”
“Not that I know of,” she replies. “Should I start a full library search for it?” “Yes, please. It is tremendously important.” Then, to Beari: “Lady Beari, this token is a kind of passport into Not Here lands – or at least those controlled by the Beast types you have encountered. If you show it to a Beast It will treat you as a guest – at the very least It will not attack you unprovoked. But also, if you make a request, It will do Its best to fulfill that request, including bringing in other Beasts to help It. This token is tied to you: I can feel an essence of Lady Beari-ness when I examine it. Nobody else can use it; and I suspect if someone tried they would be torn apart.”
Then, back to Hinst: “I was right to save that question for last – if I had started with it I would never have gone on to the others. Your turn, I think.”
19. Hinst: “You say that this Not Here node had a landing, similar to the ones in occupied Here nodes? Did the first Not Here node you entered also have a landing?”
There is some discussion among the group, eventually concluding that a stone shelf which drifts away from the entranceway is not a landing.
20. Hinst: “Now, please, tell me more about this shortcut. In all our years, noone has ever reported such a thing. And for it to have been so close to Dun Add, thousands of people, and their dogs, cats, woodchucks, must have gone past each end of the shortcut, and never noticed them.”
“Six steps, but definitely IN the Waste for those steps?”
Yes, with the other three in the Portable Hole. Digression while Portable Holes are described, and then demonstrated.
“Why is your Valanthe able to find these things that have always been hidden from us?”
Back to the explanation of being a familiar, thereby being more intelligent than ordinary animals, and having a mindlink with Beari.
“I know it is asking a lot, but could I possibly talk you and Valanthe into going back there, along with a couple of our best route mapping human&hound pairs? I would very much like to find out if our road walkers can learn from your Valanthe, and become able to search such shortcuts out themselves. Or, at the very least, be able to use this one shortcut; and hopefully teach that trick to other road walkers.”
Arden says, “I was just about to suggest that we do that.”
Finally, Hinst leans back, says, “Thank you for being so patient and helpful. Now: your turn: how can the library help you?”
We relate our story of travel, key&portal, expanding on the brief “prologue” Arden provided at the top of the meeting.
Dreamer: “May I examine this key, please?” Goes into a trance. It is a very long trance. When he comes out he looks dazed. Handing the key back to Arden, he says, “Of all the wonderous devices youall have shared with me, this is by far the strangest. It goes… Let me start over. When a Maker examines a shield from the Ancients, we see it having not only the three dimensions of north-south, east-west, and up-down, but also a kind of sideways next-door dimension: which is where the shield places its fighter when activated. This key also has sideways dimensions, but so many that I could not count them all. It is as if it existed in all those places at the same time. I truly have no idea how that involves its working with these portals – although I suspect that they also will turn out to be – let’s call them “trans-dimensional”. Nor do I see any use of this knowledge towards telling you where to go to find your portal.
“However, I think I could Make a detector, a sort of compass, which would point you at a portal, if you and it were close enough to each other I’ll need to think about this. Would you like me to try?”
There is a resounding “yes”.
“Allright. I will need a couple of weeks, possibly more, to really analyze the key, deduce from that what the portal’s characteristics must be, and then Make something that will resonate with the portal. Can you stay here that long?”
Arden, “We are in no hurry to be anywhere; are on not schedule beyond a desire to get home.”
“I am going to ask Zim to find you your own suite and, um, kick you out of mine. I don’t mean to be rude, but I work much better in uninterrupted solitude.”
“Hinst, can you search for any references to a portal/key pairing?”
Hinst replies, “Yes, of course. It will take about twelve days, based on previous full library searches. But I can conduct both this key&portal search, and the Beast token search together, having my staff look for either in their readings. Youall have given us such a wealth of new information, that I feel fully justified in suspending all other tasks and research, and placing everyone to work on this. It will take me the rest of today to organize it, and shut down ongoing work gracefully, and we will begin tomorrow.”
Hinst sends a messenger to Ralf, requesting that he select his two available champions with the most affinity with their dogs, to go on a short – week or so – exploratory trip. And a second messenger to Falco, requesting that he lend one of his Makers for the same purpose.
The group discusses who among them should go: decide that Zora and Ben will stay in Dun Add; Arden will accompany Beari and Valenthe.
Tree 16, 5043
Zora begins “training” Ralf in non-Ancients sword fighting.
Ben begins daily attendances at the hospital. Also, he is meeting with some of Falco’s Makers to try and explain how healing spells work, to see if they can Make artifacts to duplicate that – a long shot, which indeed turns out to not succeed.
Tree 17, 5043
Arden, Beari, and Valenthe meet with the two Champions, the young Maker, and their dogs to discuss the particulars of the trip. They discover that Valenthe is pretty good at talking to the dogs directly: this should be helpful.
Tree 18-20, 5043
Travel to Carvahal.
Tree 21, 5043
Walk to the shortcut.
Dogs can see it. As can Maker’s woodchuck. Maker can also understand it.
We need to go through it. Beari, Valenthe, two dogs, woodchuck, and Maker go through; with Arden in the Portable Hole.
On the other end, the dogs and woodchuck can see the entrance. Arden suggests a way for dogs (and woodchucks, etc.) to communicate with their humans when they faind one.
Go back and get Champions. As long as the shortcut places us so close to it, do the Champions and Maker want to go try their companions out on detecting the entrance to the Not Here node? Yes. We all go through the shortcut, then travel a couple of hours to the nearby village.
Tree 22, 5043
Two hours to the Not Here entranceway.
Valenthe shows the (to her) rainbow curtain. Dogs and woodchuck can see it. Maker and Champions do not see it. We wonder if the animals can teach other animals to see them. We go back to the village and find a couple of volunteers who bring their dogs, and we all trudge back to the Not Here entrance. We are all delighted to find that companions can teach other companions.
Tree 23, 5043
Back through shortcut and spend night in Carvahal.
Tree 24-26, 5043
Back to Dun Add.
Tree 27, 5043
Passes.
Tree 28, 5043
Hinst sends a clerk to tell you that they have finished the library search – but that if youall do not mind, she would prefer to wait until Dreamer has re-emerged from his Making. (This doesn’t sound so much like a request as it does a polite statement of fact.)
She also sends a request to Zora to schedule a discussion of Zora’s memory cards.
Cygnet 4, 5043
Dreamer sends a page to invite you four to meet in a conference room. The page escorts youall there. Apparently Dreamer sent pages to Hinst, Zim, Falco, and Ralf as well, because those people are in the room before you get there.
Dreamer hands the key back to Beari, and then also hands her a small metal box. It is about 4” by 2” by 2”, with rounded edges and corners, and seamless. Along one side are a pair of 1” diameter circles, covered in glass. One of the circles has something akin to a compass needle balanced on a shaft and free-spinning.
“Of course I have not been able to test it,” Dreamer says, “but I believe this will be of assistance to you. If you are in the same node with a portal, the back button should begin to glow, and the front button’s arrow should point in the direction of the portal. It will not work across the walls of a node, so I am afraid it cannot be of help in finding the correct node. And I did think about making the glow vary by how close the portal was – but I found that trying to incorporate that enhancement would have the side effect of limiting the distance at which the detector would work – and that seemed like a bad thing to do. But with this you could, at least, pop into each node, wait a minute to see if there is a glow, and then either explore the node or move on to the next one.”
Arden completely agrees that no-limit-on-distance is better than glow-is-brighter-when-closer. Beari thanks Dreamer for the device.
Hinst says, “You might not need to search every node. My clerks have found something which could prove useful. It is a very old, handwritten diary of someone who never named himself in the writing. We have no record of how we obtained the manuscript, and therefore no hint as to which town or village the diarist lived in. But from context we are fairly sure it was in some backwater, far from Dun Add. And some unknown generations ago.
“Most of the diary is a boring recitation of crops, repairs, and other mundane daily life in a small village. However, our diarist was also a Maker. Some of those ‘repairs’ were to bring Ancient tools back into usefulness. And he also went searching in the Waste himself for Ancient artifacts.
“And started trading with a Beast. At some point in the Waste he would lay out a set of items he was offering for trade, some working tools, some incomplete Ancient artifacts. He would come back a week later and find a row of other things, some lined up with his offerings. From the matchups, if something caught his attention, he would take the Beast’s offering and move his into the other row. Then, if any of the unmatched-up items looked interesting, he would place new items across from them. They traded in this way for many years.
“Then one day they both arrived at the trading spot at the same time. And began learning to talk with each other. Only he writes that it wasn’t ‘talking’, because he was not using his ears or mouth.
“This part I’ll read to you verbatim.
“Today the Trader told me a story about another of his kind. The other was said to have gone to another world, one where Here and Not Here did not exist. Nor did the Waste. It sounded like paradise. I asked the Trader how one might travel to this world, but he did not know.”
“I know it isn’t much. But it does show that there have been peaceful human & Beast interactions in the past. And this ‘other world’ did sound like it might have been a portal.”
Everyone is very appreciative. We start a discussion of traveling back to the Not Here where Beari and Valenthe were just training companions – as being quicker than wandering the Road randomly looking for Not Here nodes
Falco: “I know that our visitors have no use for our weaponry, but would they perhaps like to take some shields with them? For so long as they are on this world, being able to step sideways – either for defense or else to be able to strike back – could be quite useful.” And then to us, “These shields are not cure-alls – as Lady Zora so dramatically demonstrated for us. Most brutes in Here and Not Here, and all monsters in the Waste, can attack side-stepped people. Thus these shields are less of use as defense, and more for letting you strike back at those monsters.”
Arden says this is a wonderful idea, and we schedule a training session that afternoon so we will all know how to activate the sideways-stepping. Arden talks with Falco about making shields-as-bucklers, so we can wear them without interfering with our usual fighting or spell-casting actions.
Dreamer: “Zim, we have had blinders on. There is so much we have overlooked about our world. Ralf, allow me to suggest that we tell all Champions to respond peacefully to any Beasts they encounter – except for self-defense, of course. If, eventually, we can establish an alliance with them, then perhaps together we can rid the world of its real vermin.”
Zim responds with, “This will need thinking about. Let us help our guests on their way first. I know Jolene would flay me alive if I allowed them to depart without a farewell feast. I’ll go tell her and get everything started on that.”
There is another fabulous banquet (farewell) that evening, and another long night of dancing.
Cygnet 5-8, 5043
Travel back to Carvahal.
Cygnet 9, 5043
Leave Carvahal, walk a little over a mile to the shortcut, arrive outside the rainbow curtain about 1:00pm.
Once again surrounded by Beasts.
Youall (except Zora) hear this in your minds. (Someone will need to pass what is said along to her.) “So you are the one who saved our youngling. We are deeply grateful, and in your debt. You will be welcome in any of our Nodes.”
Beari says she was glad to be of assistance, and brings up the search we are on for a portal and a way home. And the hint of a story from a Beast who was trading with a human.
“Portal? Travel to Other Worlds? None of that sounds familiar. However, trading with a human does. Let us try to remember.” Two of the Beasts, not initially adjacent to each other, meet and merge into a single Beast. They are shortly joined by a third, whom you think was not one of those surrounding the landing. The merged Beast does not look any larger than the others.
After perhaps half an hour, this combined Beast thinks at everyone. “Yes, many seasons ago, one of ours did trade and converse with a human. Neither of them is still alive, of course. But we can give you directions to the Not Here node where our cousin lived then. Perhaps the current residents can remember more than that.”
“Go back outside and turn right. At the second branch turn right again. Follow this road until you come to a crossroads. Turn right again, and then take the second left. The node you want will be the only Not Here node on that segment of road.”
Cygnet 14, 5043
Reach the Crossroads.
Cygnet 18, 5043
There have not been any villages since a couple of days before the crossroads. You are overnighting at a pocket of Here with a small lawn of clover and weeds, plus a large pond.
Init Order: Arden, Zora, Ben, Beari
Round 1:
We see a wave of water.
W1 misses Ben; W2 hits Arden for 16; W3 hits Beari for 22; W4 hits Zora for 20;
Arden hits W2 with dagger for 48 including electrical;
Zora move 8, hits W4 for 37;
Ben hits W1 with morningstar for 12;
Beari casts Fly defensively and goes up.
Round 2:
W1 hits Ben for 46; W2 hits Arden for 32; W3 misses Beari; W4 hits Zora for 28;
Arden steps to and hits W3 for 7;
Zora moves 10, hits W4 for 43;
Ben hits W1 for 15;
Beari shoots a maximized Lightning Bolt through W1 and W2 for 60.
People with good Spots notice that the pond is empty.
Round 3:
W1 hits Ben for 25; W2 hits Arden for 35; W3 hits Arden for 18; W4 hits Zora for 21;
Arden hits W3 for 10 then tumbles away;
Zora hits W4 for 45;
Ben hits W1 for 15;
Beari shoots a second maximized Lightning Bolt through W1 and W2 for 60.
Round 4:
W1 & W2 combine into W12, grow twice as tall, hit Beari for 31; W3 moves towards Arden; W4 hits Zora for 28;
Arden spring attacks W3 for 8;
Zora moves 15, hits W4 for 50;
Ben hits W12 for 13;
Beari casts Ice Burst for 40 cold & 10 bludgeoning to kill W12.
Round 5:
W3 hits Ben for 19; W4 hits Zora for 27;
Arden spring attacks W4 for 9;
Zora spring attacks W4 for 50;
Ben hits W3 for 14 (W4 AoO misses Ben);
Beari casts Ice Burst on W3 & W4 for 28 cold & 10 bludgeoning, kills W4.
Round 6:
W3 moves;
Arden spring attacks W3 for 10;
Zora spring attacks W3 for 50;
Ben misses W3;
Beari casts Magic Missile on W3 for 16, kills.
Beari excitedly tells everyone that “I Killed Them All!!!”
Ben does a modest amount of healing.
XP: 840
Cygnet 19, 5043
Ben loans his Metamagic Rod of Greater Energy Substitution to Beari while we travel.
Cygnet 22, 5043
We reach the second left branch and take it.
Cygnet 24, 5043
Valenthe says that, even though it is only early afternoon, there is a village curtain up ahead on the left. Do you want to stop early and overnight there?
When you step through the curtain onto the landing, there is nobody on watch. Several people are going about their chores – they look at you with no curiosity and continue with what they were doing. A better-dressed, extremely charismatic man come striding up from the village buildings. “Welcome, welcome, welcome travellers. Thrice welcome to our village. I am Edwardo, the mayor of this node.” By now he has arrived at the landing. “We are so happy to see new faces.” With his two hands he shakes the hands of Arden and Ben. “We will feast you tonight, and eagerly listen for what you can tell us of the outside world.” He then shakes hands with Beari and Zora. (Beari tries to avoid him, but he easily succeeds at a Touch Attack.)
Edwardo says, “And now, if you will please divest yourself of all your weapons and then armor, and lay them down on the ground.”
Zora is astonished to see all three of her companions complying with this. “What are you doing?” she asks. And then, recognizing this as a persuader, she lops off his head.
Arden, Beari and Ben come out of their persuasion. Before they can reach to recover their weapons, the villagers leave off their chores, which they had been continuing throughout the encounter. They cheer, words to the effect of, “you have saved us”. And they crowd around the four of you.
The crowd contains more Persuaders, who touch and freeze Arden, Beari, and Ben. When Zora does not succumb to their touch – thanks to her thoughts-protecting foil helmet – all of the crowd draw work knives ant attack her. Using Great Cleave, Zora takes out four villagers at a time. When all the other Persuaders have been killed, the remaining villagers back away:
Someone yells, “Back away!” and they all do – throwing their daggers on the ground. One of them says, “Mistress, there is no reason to believe me, but you’ve killed his four sons and that was the last of them. All of us are truly freed, now. We can stop being their slaves. But if I were in your position, I would leave here rather than risk there being any more Persuaders hiding among us.”
Beari says, “We don’t believe you. Just to make sure, we’ll kill you all.” At which the villagers run away.
XP: 315
We leave, find a pocket to spend the night.
Cygnet 24, 5043
Mid-afternoon, Valanthe says there is a rainbow curtain up ahead on the right.
We go through in line, shields activated, and Beari holding her tablet.
This Landing is rather small. The land beyond is not acting like an ocean made of dirt; rather there seems to be little if any concurrence as to where the surface of the land is, or even whether it is right-side-up or up-side-down.
Youall (except Zora) hear this in your minds: “Ho, brothers, we have a visitor with a cousin’s token. Gather, and let us learn what they have to tell us.”
Half a dozen Beasts come to the edge of the Landing. “Be welcome, strangers, and please: tell us of how our cousins are fairing in the outside world. And also, if you will, what you have done to be recognized with one of our tokens.”
Beari tells them about rescuing the young Beast, hunting for a portal, being informed by the other node of the Beast & Human trading in this node, and of the greetings from that node.
“Trading with a human? Yes, we remember that. It was a prosperous exchange, and a welcome difference from the hunted way most humans treat us. But that was long ago.
“A trip to another world? We will have to search our memories.” Once again you see individual Beasts merge with each other, this time you think there were a total of five. A long time passes, over an hour; youall might want to sit down and rest. Finally, “Yes, we remember that, but only vaguely. It happened to a cousin of ours, in another node, and thus we have no direct memories of it. But It did go to another world, and experienced its differences, and came back to tell Its brothers what It had seen. To the best of our knowledge, that Gate is still in that node; although for reasons we do not remember it has never been used again. This Gate is possibly the Portal you are looking for?
We agree that seems possible.
“We can give you directions to that node. But we must also warn you that going there may be futile: years ago that node was taken over by a cocoon, and none of us dare travel there any longer.”
This is indeed not welcome news.
“You came through a four-way intersection on your journey to our node, did you not? Go back to that intersection and turn right. On that segment of the road there are no other side branches, no villages of Here, and only the one node of Not Here: the cocooned one.”
“We wish you the best of luck, and thank you for your rescue of our cousin, and for the news you bring us of all our outside cousins.”
We leave, start walking back to the crossroads, discussing possible strategies while we walk. Zora recites to us her memory card about Cocooned Nodes.
We add daily Wisdom Buffs to each mornings’ buffing for Beari (+4) and Zora (+3); in anticipation of possible Wisdom losses from the Cocoon.
Mountain 10, 5044
We arrive back at the crossroads and turn right.
Mountain 14, 5044
Overnighting in a small node of Here.
Initiative Order: Beari, Ben, Arden, Zora.
Attacked by creatures which seem to have multiple, disconnected, parts to their bodies. “Dimensional Grabbers,” Zora says, “they can reach around armor and magic defenses.”
Round 1:
Beari defensively casts Fly and goes up;
DG1 hits Zora for 38; DG2 hits Ben for 27, then bloopers and loses next round; DG3 hits Arden for 43; DG4 misses Beari;
Ben stands up and casts Magic Circle Against Evil, captures all four, yells at the rest of us to “Get Out!”;
Arden activates his shield, tumbles out, hits DG3 for 10;
Zora moves 5, hits DG1 for 32.
Round 2:
Beari casts Magic Missile on DG4 for 16, activates her shield, flies away;
DG1 hits Zora for 19; DG2 is out; DG3 hits Arden for 29; DG4 hits Ben for 17, bloopers loses next round;
Ben activates his shield, moves, casts Sound Burst and stuns DG2 & DG3;
Arden sneak attacks DG3 for 58;
Zora moves 10, hits DG1 for 43.
Round 3:
Beari casts maximized Fireball on all four for 60;
DG1 hits Zora for 23; DG2 is stunned; DG3 is stunned; DG4 is out;
Ben casts Sound Burst on and stuns DG2, DG3, and DG4;
Arden criticals on DG3 for 42, kills;
Zora moves 10, attacks DG1, kills.
Round 4:
Beari casts maximized Lightning Bolt on DG2 & DG4 for 60;
DG2 is stunned; DG4 is stunned;
Ben casts Searing Light on DG4 for 30, kills;
Arden reserves for Zora;
Zora attacks DG2, kills.
XP:840
Ben heals everyone.
End of Run
