Chapter 5: Going Home
"So boss, what's the call? Stay or Go?" Gareth is speaking to you but you are hardly listening... your mind is somewhere else, in a bar far away over a decade ago...
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"Alright Derryth, repeat my three rules of dungeon delving," you sit in a run down little tavern in the south of the Province, Henry is across from you and like usual is testing you. But this time it is important, tomorrow you will accompany him on your very first expedition.
You take a deep breath and begin, "One: always know your exits, if you get lost you are as good as dead. Two: always go prepared, an empty canteen or bad equipment will kill you just as surely as the undead or the traps."
"Good... good, and the last," nothing pleases the old man more than knowing that you are paying attention, if you get this last one right he will probably pay for your drinks too.
You hesitate for a moment and then continue, "Umm... Three: never get greedy, you can always try again and there are plenty of relics out there but you only have the one life."
Henry positively beams at you, "Good job kid I may just make you into a professional after all!"
Sure enough, Henry paid for all the drinks that night and the two of you set out the next morning...
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Wyrd, you miss the old man...
Gareth is staring at you, looks like he expects an answer, "We are leaving, the relics will still be here later but I am not risking your lives for a few more trinkets."
The veteran nods in approval, seems he agrees with your decision, "Right boss, I will get everyone moving," he spins on his heels and with a confident stride marches off barking orders.
You pack up your possessions, ensuring that the old map is properly secured in a scroll case you keep for emergencies. If this thing is what you think it is, then it could be your ticket to magical power and glory beyond your wildest dreams but it will not be terribly useful down here.
Fifteen minutes later everyone is ready to depart, you decide to slip out the side exit of the building to avoid any potential ambushes by the sightless horrors.
You are the last to leave and as you step though the exit you hear a crash from across the library, something large has just forced its way through the front door...
It is screaming in rage...
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Your group slips out into the city avoiding a few patrols, thanks in no small part to Miosguinn's enchantments, before you re-enter the section of the city held by the shadows.
Amena guides you to the nearest rune path and you begin to cast but you are not alone, the shadows are aware of your presence and they are closing in around you. They move far to quickly. Brigit using her new bow begins to thin them out but there are simply too many to fight. You will have to try and cast the spell Amena taught you.
It is difficult at first but Amena guides you through it. She tells you to take a happy memory, or a dream, or a hope for the future and to focus on it. The warmth of it, the light of it, the shape and sound and feel of it and to project that happy thought, that sense of complete serenity out into the world around you. You stop and try to think of a memory, a face, something to cling to... and he comes to you...
You think of Henry and you cast...
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"Who goes there?" a voice calls from over the tower's walls and a great shadow is cast against the light emanating from the tower.
Sounds like Tyrvard and he has been drinking again.
"Tyrvard? Its me Gareth, we're back! Open the damn door I don't know how much Derryth has left in her!"
The Berserk moves with a predatory quickness and grace and a moment later the doors open as your group runs inside. You can finally stop casting as you collapse against the wall. It was a trial by fire but you have mastered Amena's rune spell, the girl makes it look so easy but it is incredibly draining maintaining a connection with the rune paths.
"Haha, I knew it! Serpent doubted, but I knew a couple monsters would not claim my friends!" the Berserk has embraced Gareth and Brigit, one under each arm and is in the process of suffocating them when he spots you against the wall. Dropping them he runs over and scoops you up, swinging you through the air, "And our brave leader returns as well, this is a good day! Come Derryth have a drink with me!"
"Ah... Tyrvard... can't... breathe..." you are on the verge of blacking out as you swing through the air.
By the time he finally returns you to your feet Serpent and Thaïs have arrived.
"Derryth!" Thaïs rushes forward and throws her arms around you while Serpent takes your hand and clasps you on the shoulder. Seems they are happy to see you as well though you do wonder if it is genuine happiness or if they are merely relieved that you did not abandon them.
"It is good to see you both as well. Serpent could you please take a look at Amena, she was bitten by some sort of spider and anything you can do would be appreciated, Miosguinn can probably give you more details..." you turn, looking for Miosguinn, but he has already left to find his apprentice.
Serpent leads Amena and Ithapi away to properly check the girl, you have little doubt that she will be fine with such a skilled physician on hand.
The rest of your group heads to Tyrvard's quarters for a drink, when you arrive you find it in an even worse state than when you left. Half of the wooden structure has burnt down and collapsed and Tyrvard has set up shop in the remaining rooms.
"Tyrvard, what in Wryd's name happened to the servants' quarters?" you feel compelled to ask as you marvel at the destruction.
"Ah, well Serpent has been helping me with my still. I think we are really on to something but well one of our experiments got a little out of hand... still it made for a great batch!"
Looks like Thaïs pulled it off but you can't have the two of them blowing things up, "Tyrvard, I don't care how good it was-"
The Berserk hands you a jug, and you cautiously take a sip.
Damn, you don't know what Serpent has done to it but it is about the best thing you have ever tasted. If this whole treasure hunting thing does not work out maybe your group can open a brewery instead...
Tyrvard and Thaïs just grin at you, you stand there rendered speechless by the divine nectar in your mouth so Gareth decides to pick up where you left off, "Tyrvard, Derryth is right we can not have you-" you hand him the jug and he takes a sip.
All talk of shutting down Tyrvard's experiments ends right there...
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Two days have passed since you returned with the incantation and Eris has remained locked in her quarters the entire time. This morning Amena finally gained admittance, it seems her mistress will be ready to see you this evening. But first an important decision must be reached.
"Amena, are you ready to hear the answer of this august body?" Thaïs is doing her best impression of a great archmage as your group stands behind a table in one of the side halls. Amena stands before you fidgeting.
You have gathered the Circle together to pass judgement on the girl, you had just wanted to tell her straight away but Thaïs and Brigit insisted on something a bit more spectacular for her first time.
The room is dimly lit and you all wear robes taken from one of the supply rooms in the tower. Brigit has stitched little stars and moons on them and they do not look half bad... from a distance... if you squint...
Brigit chimes in, in an ominous voice, "Are you ready to join the Circle of the Lost? To swear to uphold the traditions of this Circle and follow its laws?"
Amena definitively looks a bit intimidated by it all which brings a slight smile to your face. But this is getting to be a bit much, you give Amena a wink and interject, "Why the hell, are we called the Lost again?" you turn to Serpent, "Is this some sort of jab at my leadership?"
Serpent laughs, glad that someone else thinks this is completely stupid, "Hell you should have heard some of the other suggestions. Miosguinn wanted to call us the Inept," Brigit grunts at the reminder while Serpent turns to Thaïs, "Hey Thaïs, what was Tyrvard's suggestion yesterday?"
Thaïs coughs uncomfortably, "The... ah, Babylonian Whore Queens I believe..."
You have to chuckle at that, "What in the name of Wyrd is a Babylonian?"
Thaïs laughs, "Even he did not know, when the man drinks he comes up with the oddest things. It is like he is channelling another consciousness or something."
As the conversation continues Brigit attempts to reassert control, "We have ta finish the ceremony people!"
"Alright," you turn to Amena, "Kid you're in, if you ask nicely Brigit will even make you one of these robes. Now who wants a drink?"
Brigit sticks her tongue out at you but it is impossible for her to stay mad for long.
Amena is beaming, you don't think you have ever seen her smile so wide. She gives you all a hug and runs off to tell Ithapi, which reminds you, "Hey, what are we going to do with Ithapi?"
"What do you mean, we take him with us of course," Brigit answers, it seems she has not thought through the repercussions of walking around with a Maul in the empire.
Serpent takes a moment to consider your question before speaking, "I don't know, Mauls fought for the Dark in the last war, having him around may cause problems for us."
Brigit pouts, "But Ithapi hasn't done anything wrong, why should we abandon him."
You try and sooth her a little, "Kid I am not saying we just cut him loose or anything but we have to take into account that people will treat us differently if we have a Maul around, they may not trust us..."
Brigit grins, "We're mages Derryth, they aren't going to trust us anyway. Might as well do the right thing, ya know?"
Seems Thaïs is inclined to agree with Brigit, "He would be a very useful ally and he is completely loyal to Amena. It would not be unprecedented, the Mauls are not inherently evil and both the Warlocks and the Trow fought against us in the Great War but Alric recognizes the Warlocks and word is he is attempting to open diplomatic relations with the Trow."
She makes a good point, "Well it is not something we have to worry about in the short term, let's go get a drink and then get ready for this damn ritual.."
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"Welcome back my esteemed guestsss" the Fetch is perched upon her throne with Amena and Ithapi to either side of her.
You stand in front of your group with the incantation in hand.
"It isss time for me to return home, you have my thanksss now please give me the incantation," she gestures for you to place the incantation in her outstretched hand but you are no fool.
"I am afraid we have a number of conditions first," you take a few dozen steps forward so that you are far enough away from the rest of your group.
If she loses her temper and fries you, you do not want everyone else to get hit as well. Of course it seems Thaïs is not getting the message as she remains right beside you as you march towards the throne.
Your refusal has definitely angered the priestess, she stands and raises her arm as if to cast a spell, "You have demandsss? I will give you everything and you have demandsss? I will crush you, I will fry you, I will-"
You stop her in mid sentence as you raise your hand holding the tablet to smash it. You do not raise your voice, instead you speak calmly and with purpose, "You will cooperate, is what you will do. You are not my enemy but you will not get what you want through threats. We will not give you the incantation. We, no I, will not give you the means to open gates to any world you please. You will tell us how you plan to clear the shadows from the tunnels, you will allow us to send you home and if you do not agree then my large friend over there will kill you. Do we understand one another, Erisss?" You stress the s in her name in mockery of the priestess. You look her in the eyes and prepare to be incinerated, Thaïs takes your hand.
She would speak but this is no time for diplomacy.
Both you and the priestess know exactly where you stand.
This is a question of will.
And Eris simply does not have that sort of strength in her.
She drops back into her throne, all of her bluster and fury spent. She is helpless and if a Fetch could weep you are certain she would.
After a moment of complete silence, she lets out a sort of cackle, "Very well human, I will tell you everything."
Eris places one gloved hand on her forehead and rubs her horns, "I do not have to do a thing. The shadowsss would leave their tunnelsss as soon as we start casting the ritual.... They are here for me and the fear that I might escape them will drive them to attack the tower."
The Berserk howls from the back of the hall, "She would betray us, let me cut her down Derryth!"
But you motion for him to be quiet as she continues to explain, "It is my belief that the wardsss will hold and that we will all be fine. I have spent the last week reinforcing the runesss to ensure that the shadowsss will not get past them."
"Why would you take such pains to protect us?" Thaïs asks.
"Not you, I honestly do not care if any of you live or die but I do not wish to see Amena harmed..." she trails off and refuses to make eye contact. You wonder if it is all a show for the girl's benefit or if perhaps Eris really does care for her "child".
"Amena, knowsss how to manipulate the runesss, she can guide you through the city to wherever you need to go. I simply ask that you take her with you, let her see her world, do not leave her in the dark."
"Why are the shadows after you Eris," she has piqued your curiosity, this is such an unusual mystery that you want, no you need, to hear her story.
The Fetch is beaten, she has very little left to hide and yet she hesitates, "Sixty yearsss ago when Balor lost his war and my sistersss and I were hunted by your kind I fled into the dark under Muirthemne with six of my sistersss and in the dark we found the former inhabitantsss of the city. I am sure you have seen them, the blind creaturesss that comb the ruins. At first they wanted to devour usss, but asss we slaughtered their war partiesss they came to see us asss godsss. My sistersss and I trained hundredsss of lesser talentsss amongst them using stolen spell booksss and led them in a grand ritual to open a gate to our world. But we... I... did not know then what I know now. Without an anchor to my world we opened a gate to the space between worldsss and we let something in... and it killed, and it ate, and it killed, and it ate, until it had its fill and then it slept."
"So the shadows are the victims of this thing then?" you inquire, a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach.
"Yesss, it killed my sistersss, and our followersss and the creaturesss took it for a god. They worship it and sacrifice to it and that wasss how I found Amena. She must have been stolen from the surface, I do not know why I saved her. Perhaps I wasss just so tired of being alone... and the rest I am sure Amena has told you already. The shadowsss hate me for I brought this thing into your world, I would say the only thing they hate more than me is the creature itself but it is protected by an entire colony of those creatures while I am alone..." it is more than a little pathetic as the Fetch weakly pleads with you, "Please, just send me home..."
Pity, self-interest, greed, who is to say why but you choose to help her and honour your deal, "Alright, but first I want Amena and Miosguinn to check the runes, we are going to be under siege while we do this and I do not want them to fail."
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Three hours later everything is set for the ritual, the eight of you stand in a circle as you lead the ritual. Tyrvard, Ithapi and Gareth have secured the inner doors and you have applied additional wards in case something goes wrong.
Reading from the tablet you cast your mind into the ether. You pass from this world into the spaces in between, walking a path of jagged, jade and rolling memories and premonitions. You can feel the dark, incomprehensible things watching you, waiting for a mistake to grant them entry into your world, they offer you everything you have ever craved and many things you did not even know you wanted. One of them offers you Henry back and you stop for just a moment.
Miosguinn's presence in the back of your mind steadies you as he whispers cautions though the connection between you. Thaïs, next to you, encourages you to push onward as the circle of mages pours power into you.
You have established the magical structures necessary to locate Eris' world. You reach out to her mind, cold, alien but strangely understandable and she gives you her memories of the place. After thirty minutes of casting you have the location and have anchored the spell there. The rest is up to Eris. You relinquish control of the circle to her as she begins to cast, drawing from the seven of you the power needed to open a gate to her world.
Outside, the world howls in rage as the shadows race towards the tower, Gareth shouts something to Tyrvard and you catch a word... thousands... but you must focus. To break the spell off now would kill half the circle instantly.
Twenty more minutes... at first you had worried that Eris would drain you of everything you had but she shows remarkable restraint, drawing from each only to the best of their abilities. Part of you marvels at her skill as she weaves the spells necessary to create the gate.
Quickly, without anyone really noticing it she opens a gate. It shimmers before you, shades of lavender and lilac. Once more you feel her in your mind, she is passing control of the gate off to you so that she may pass through and you can feel her gratitude. Unable to speak she merely smiles at Amena and steps though.
Eris is gone but you can all see her through the portal, she waves again, but she does not see... does not know that fifteen of her sisters stand behind her. Without any clothes, even the flayed skins of your fellow man, they truly are hideous.
You expect them to greet her but this is no welcoming party. Four of them restrain her while the fifth tears out her heart and the rest make for the portal. Amena screams and you unwind the magics holding the gate together before the spell fails or the Fetch can force their way through. You push the energy from the collapsing gate through to their side triggering a massive plum coloured explosion.
Eris was not your friend but for Amena's sake you hope you killed them all.
The child lies on the floor weeping.
It seems that you can't really go home again after all...
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The shadows assaulted the walls for three days and nights, giving you time to teach everyone how to cast and maintain the runes and giving them a lot of practice to perfect them. You reflect upon the last week and all told things have gone very well for you, maybe too well in fact as you wonder when the other shoe will drop. The tower is yours, as are all of Eris' worldly possessions including the girl and her Maul bodyguard. Now you have some choices to make on what to do next.
1. The Tower: it is not actually all that useful to you at present but there are a number of things you could try based upon what you want to do with it:
A)Loot the Tower: The tower itself does not interest you and you could never hold it against an army of monsters by yourselves but you want to go through Eris' quarters, the library and the vault to see what kind of loot you can find.
B) Destroy the tower: Though Eris was fairly upfront with you she was still an evil sorceress, any treasure she has will also be corrupted and the tower is worthless. Better to just raze the whole thing and be done with it.
C) Keep the tower: you have been playing around with the runes a little and you think you may be able to develop a version that can keep everyone out of the tower except for those you choose. It would take the combined efforts of your whole Circle (meaning you would have to share) but it would make a decent secret stronghold for you all and it would allow you to search the tower completely at your leisure. (if you pick this option then vote for one of the options in choice two.)
D) Do something else with the tower. freeform
2. Get help from the Children: If you chose to keep the tower you could also try and get Miosguinn to cast some illusions on it. Again this would take the form of another ritual with your whole Circle but it would help hide the tower from enemies. They won't be able to even attack your wards if they can not find it after all. (If you picked 1c then pick one of the options.)
A) Yes, get Miosguinn to help improve the tower.
B) No, you do not trust the man enough to ask.
3. Your next destination: Well where do you want to go from here?
A) Back to the library. You still want the rest of the treasure.
B) To the monster colony. You will kill the abomination and lay the shadows to rest just like some sort of hero... hopefully...
C) Onward to the Stone. From the tower you will head back into the tunnels, now that you can activate the rune roads the shadows will not be a threat.
D) A Dwarven Quarter?: According to your maps the tower is quite close to the old city's Dwarven quarter. Dwarves always have the best equipment and it may be worth a look.
E)Run away! Who are you kidding, you will never get to the stone, return to the surface with your tail between your legs.... cowards...
F) Want to go somewhere else? Where? freeform
4. Ithapi: Do you want to get rid of the Maul or keep him.
A) Keep him. He is Amena's best friend and a definite asset, you will just deal with any problems that arise as they come up.
B) Leave him. Amena won't like it but he is a liability.
C) Kill him. Well he is a Maul after all...
5. Your Slaves: Amena and Ithapi are technically your slaves, do you want to do anything about that?
A)Nope, you have no problem with owning them
B)Set them Free, she is already part of your Circle and he is sworn to her service, they are not going anywhere and they would respect the move a lot.
