"I think we have to spread the word to all and sundry that this bounty on kobolds is swelling the ranks of the true enemy. Gathering our own forces is one thing, cutting off the supply of troops to the enemy has to be done as well", Vin replies.
"Oh, and you know what I think. Give Gewyn the book", he adds, then turns as the door opens. "Speak of the devil".
As Gewyn returns, Elthana is glad to see him in his changling form. She doesn't want to address the book yet, "Hang on with the book, Gewyn.. you were in there quite awhile, learn anything good?"
"And as for back home, that's true, but I don't know about you - I would still like to know."
"Hey, paleface!" Sam cracks as this version of Gewyn emerges from the library. "Guess maybe that's what had Morris confused, eh? He wasn't sure who you were... You shouldn't play tricks on Morris. We're guests here!"
Sam then leans into Elthana and whispers a question in her ear. She pauses for a second to consider then whispers back. Sam nods in acceptance and motions Gewyn over.
"How'd it go with Morris? He have anything interesting for you?" Sam asks. Assuming a none too shocking answer which would throw things for a loop, Sam listens politely, nodding where appropriate, and then afterwards says "Sure, sure... So, we were planning next steps strategy..." and waits for Gewyn's thoughts.
"...of the Devil. Nice. I see what you did there. Well, to be fully transparent about what I gained..." Gewyn says, before vanishing. A stool by the bar tilts and drags across the floor to rest beside Vin and then creaks with the addition of some weight before Gewyn reappears atop it, back in his tiefling guise. "Sorry. Bad joke. I learned some things about the Shadowfell-" He holds up a hand to forestall Muir's questions. "Not of history or facts so much as of memories. Of the feel of the place. Once a kingdom of death, now a prison of undeath. The vacancy of the throne echoes through the streets. But I am better equipped now to deal with the perversions from the other side." He gives the others of the group a subtle look that indicates there is a bit more to be said, but perhaps not in the presence of the locals.
"Now why don't you guys get me caught up on the strategizing." After hearing the brief summary about next steps, he says, "Here's how I see it. Unless there have been some hiccups, the imminent threat in Marblestead is resolved. We are likely to return, however, soon facing crises in need of addressing from portals to other realms. However, the sickness here still remains as well. We have applied a salve, but the wound may still fester without further treatment. What we do know is that time favours us while we are here. Inversely, if we return home now, things here will be able to deteriorate quite fast indeed. So I believe we are all on the same page with seeing things through here. I agree with Vin that stemming the tide of dead kobolds is a priority. Both in terms of military logistics, and in terms of saving lives."
Vin looks a little sheepish as Gewyn corrects him slightly.
"Of course to save lives as well, I don't want any more innocent kobolds killed and turned to undead either", he says.
"And I can certainly use a rest before we head out. The whole time moving differently here is a great point too Gewyn. We really have to do everything we need to do here now, there is no coming back later, events will have overtaken us if we do. And the sickness, do you know what that is, Morris?".
"I also don't trust Sergor at all. He is a vampire and sibling to Nivara. Who is to say he won't take her side in all this if he finds out what is going on?".
Muir wonders what sickness Vin is talking about but figures he's worry about that later
"Gewyn good to see you made out well with whatever you chose to see in there. Let me repeat for your sake what I said earlier. As for next steps, we need to tread carefully. We should first travel with Serafina to speak to the elders and Hector. Hopefully they will take kindly to our words. From there our harder challenge of convincing the Djinn. If they refuse to see then this realm is doomed. We will need your silver tongue to convince them. I can lay out as much factual evidence to them but you will need to really do the convincing. With that said, I think Sam is correct that we can't really start this leg of our journey without Sergor and home doing their part. I believe Sergor should be doing a lot more once the treasury is secured. Perhaps if he does not see the error of his ways then we tell the whole council how this is all his doing. Apparently there is more leverage to be had over Sergor than I realize, but to be honest I hate to be underhanded but he is not an honest, forthright person....he is an undead who has created this whole mess for 1000 years, our time. If he can't be reasoned with well then.....perhaps we tell everyone he is a vampire who with Nivara created the mess here.....just a thought"
"Nivara isn't Sergor's sibling, she's his wife." Elthana interjects.
"Now that everyone is together are we taking a rest? I am itching to get back to see Hector and I'm sure Serafina is as well. I want to know how he is going to take this news."
"Hmmm, a man with everything to lose can be a useful tool. A man with nothing to lose can be a dangerous enemy. I agree we have leverage. We have the ability to knock down the whole life he has spent centuries working on. But we can only spend that leverage once. And the thing about leverage is you don't actually gain anything in the spending of it. It's only in holding onto it that it has value. So we should be consider out moves with Sergor carefully"
(Heh, we just need a Elthana family tree so we can keep track of everyone...)
Sam hears Morris question about sickness and shrugs. "I think he means the whole djinn following an undead god and making more undead?" he replies absently.
After Muir fills in Gewyn, Sam reminds "The FIRST next step is getting the bone back from Sergor. We're trapped here until we do. By our word to Lumithor that we would return it if by nothing else..."
"Sibling, Spouse, either way I don't trust Sergor not to take Nivara's side if he finds out the scale of her power here", Vin replies. "And Gewyn mentioned a sickness, I assumed it was something I didn't remember", he adds with a smile.
"I refer merely to the deviation from natural order present in the Shadowfell, as it was in the Faewyld. My language takes a certain artistic liberty, I apologize, dear Vin. But that is how the place feels. Unwell. By the way... Where did we land on the matter of the book. Casually asking for a friend"
“It seemingly forced its attunement on me while it was in my possession. I wanted to see what would happen if someone else held onto it. I saw zombies crashing into the gate from the shadow realms while it was in my bag and outside with Serafina.”
Discussion on the book wears on, the group calls a vote and Muir relinquishes possession of the item to Gewyn. The group then begin to wind down for a sleep on Morris' comfortable couches once more.
Upon waking you all find no Morris in the tavern, feeling better from the wounds and aches of the fight the previous day a hunger sets in.
Oddly with Ratosk's time bending trickery, both Griff and Serafina wake at the same time as you all having not needed much less or much more sleep than the group comparatively.
A side door swings open and Xazgan enters carrying a tray which she sets in the bar. The smell reaches you before you see what it is. A hot dough smell mixed with fried meats, eggs, some chopped greenery and onions. You see that she has made some rounded bread risen to give a cavernous inside which has been stuffed with the culinary breakfast delights that you can smell. She picks one up and jumps upwards an impressive height, catching her free hand on the rafters above where she deposits the one breaded delight.
To everyone else she merely gestures toward the tray and grunts, "choke on it for all I care" before leaving out the same side door she bust in through.
After a hearty breakfast, of which there was more than enough food for everyone twice, you make your way outside and find Morris in lumithor's resting place talking with the grand crystal facsimile of the dragons face. As soon as Elthana steps outside a weight suddenly drags on her shoulder as a large item appears in the portal bag, it displaces her center of gravity so much that she falls flat on her ass, sprawled out in front of the tavern door like a common drunk (crit fail Dex check)
At your arrival Morris and Lumithor abruptly stop and look to you all, Morris wearing his trademark old man grin as he gives you a wave, "just chatting with my trusted gatekeeper, one has to make sure that the door remains shut even if the one I made the deal with is now undead. Poor Vox Tontritor..." He lowers his head in respect for a moment before wrapping up his conversation with Lumithor.
Serafina thanks Morris emphatically, and promises lumithor that he will get more visitors, before she gathers her things and makes ready to be off.
Handing over the old stolen bone of Lumithor, your deal done, you say your goodbyes and make your way back to the broken isle capitol.
The lightning fields are crossed similarly to the way you crossed them before, a little difficulty, a few close calls and Gewyn's rubber hat and boots proving as useful as ever as he avoids the brunt of damage when he unfortunately gets hit.
Your way through the spore growth fields is long and would have been brainrottingly boring if it hadn't been for the views as you make your way along the shattered side of the isle. Upon your exit of the spore growth fields it has been a whole day of trekking and Serafina stops the party at a small farm style crystal carved building, which descends into the ground, she speaks to the owner of the building and makes some arrangements before returning to the group, "I know the farmer here, Griff and I need to sleep before we progress, if only for a little while. There's room for you all to sleep too but from the looks of you and the weird time dilation stuff you mentioned, you may as well hang around for a bit." And with that Griff and Serafina find a place for themselves to settle down within this building and leave the group to their own devices.
"Thank you, Xazgan," Sam replies to the demon with obviously forced sweetness. He does indeed appreciate the food but figures they'd rather have sarcasm than actual appreciation...
Sam picks at the good but goes through at least twice as much as usual. The doughy and vegetable bits just aren't appealing to him much so he tears in and picks out the meat and egg bits. If anyone takes not he frowns, shrugs and makes a show of trying to eat some of the rest but doesn't make much of a go of it.
"You ok?" Sam calls out and is right there to help Elthana to her feet after she falls. doing his best to hide another smirk. He can't help it, she's usually so graceful and dextrous, seeing her just flop on her butt like that is amusing! Two days ago he'd have been laughing uproariously.
Sam thanks Lumithor and Morris both in his reserved, restrained manner. He does much appreciate all they did but he's just not so much good with the words and the emotions and crap...
Sam has more than one close call going through the lightning, his inevitable over confidence and attempts to show off. It happens but he manages to not get too electrified.
As Griff and Serafina set off to take a nap, Sam draws forth one of his animals. He likes the company and likes to constantly be working with them, training them how to respond to his subtle clues and movements, be it just having around or in the heat of battle... It's just Hootie this time but even Hootie can be a valuable companion if properly trained. Otherwise he just chills with the others and relaxes.
Vin tucks into the breakfast with gusto, making sure Neferox gets whatever she wants if she is so inclined. When it comes to taking their leave of Lumithor and particularly Morris, he feels quite emotional. Especially after his conversation with Morris the previous day, or before the rest if the day has not changed. He really does hope he will see both again.
He is happy Gewyn is given the book, but does keep an eye on the bard just in case he notices any changes in behaviour, or skin colour. Although the latter would not be unheard of seeing as though he is a changeling.
He tackles the lightning field much the same as on the way, zipping through on his broom and then summoning Neferox. There was one close call, but no harm no foul.
As Serafina and Griff take their leave to sleep, he looks at each of his companions, wondering if like himself they have been holding things back whilst amongst outside company.
As Muir hands the book over to Gewyn, he shudders. His skin starts to change where it touches the book. Blackening flesh snakes up his arms. "Ahh, ahhhh, AAHH- naw I'm just messing with you," he says, skin changing back to normal. He holds the book up and wags it in the air. "But worry not. I will be careful with it."
When the next morning comes, Gewyn smells the breakfast and immediately begins to salivate. "Why does it feel so godsdamned long since I've had a good meal?" He then promptly summons a magical hand to grab one of the delights and place it on the rafter above, taking down the one Xazgan had placed up there. He sniffs at it to see if it smells the same as the others, unsure whether it's safe.
Once Serafina and Griff leave, Gewyn addresses the others. "Okay, I appreciate your patience with me. I want to be open with you, but not necessarily with the locals around. I did not merely receive memories from the Shadowfell. I also have some control over its unique energies. Shadows, death, memory, basic stuff. The invisibility is one example. So, nothing earth-shattering, but I figured I should still lay it out on the table for you."
"Hmm, Morris seems timeless beyond definitions of 'old' or 'new'. And I certainly don't have his power or mastery. I have simply learned a few notes from a new land, you could say. In the same way I can play with the energies of the Mortal realm, the Faewyld, the Ethereal, and to a lesser extend, Theair, I could perhaps play a song of darkness that hides you from death itself for a brief time. I don't know. I'll need to spend some time with the new melodies to really get a feel for what I can do."
Gewyn floats up to the ceiling and sits down and says, "Now let's recap what we know about Nivara while we wait. Elthana, since I gave you that ring to shield your mind, have you felt anything or had any intrusive visions from her?"
"Morris showed me a wizard, one of my professors in fact, in his youth. He was learning to control the flow of magic, manipulate it even", Vin adds. "I haven't tried yet, but I think I learned with the professor, by being present in his memory".
"I can understand why Morris is so keen to protect that place. In the wrong hands...", he trails off for a moment.
"Gewyn, Morris asked me what he could do to help me. He showed me what I asked for. Did you ask to understand the shadowfell and control death and shadows?", he asks, just a tad concerned about the answer.
"I think we have to spread the word to all and sundry that this bounty on kobolds is swelling the ranks of the true enemy. Gathering our own forces is one thing, cutting off the supply of troops to the enemy has to be done as well", Vin replies.
"Oh, and you know what I think. Give Gewyn the book", he adds, then turns as the door opens. "Speak of the devil".
As Gewyn returns, Elthana is glad to see him in his changling form. She doesn't want to address the book yet, "Hang on with the book, Gewyn.. you were in there quite awhile, learn anything good?"
"And as for back home, that's true, but I don't know about you - I would still like to know."
"Hey, paleface!" Sam cracks as this version of Gewyn emerges from the library. "Guess maybe that's what had Morris confused, eh? He wasn't sure who you were... You shouldn't play tricks on Morris. We're guests here!"
Sam then leans into Elthana and whispers a question in her ear. She pauses for a second to consider then whispers back. Sam nods in acceptance and motions Gewyn over.
"How'd it go with Morris? He have anything interesting for you?" Sam asks. Assuming a none too shocking answer which would throw things for a loop, Sam listens politely, nodding where appropriate, and then afterwards says "Sure, sure... So, we were planning next steps strategy..." and waits for Gewyn's thoughts.
"...of the Devil. Nice. I see what you did there. Well, to be fully transparent about what I gained..." Gewyn says, before vanishing. A stool by the bar tilts and drags across the floor to rest beside Vin and then creaks with the addition of some weight before Gewyn reappears atop it, back in his tiefling guise. "Sorry. Bad joke. I learned some things about the Shadowfell-" He holds up a hand to forestall Muir's questions. "Not of history or facts so much as of memories. Of the feel of the place. Once a kingdom of death, now a prison of undeath. The vacancy of the throne echoes through the streets. But I am better equipped now to deal with the perversions from the other side." He gives the others of the group a subtle look that indicates there is a bit more to be said, but perhaps not in the presence of the locals.
"Now why don't you guys get me caught up on the strategizing." After hearing the brief summary about next steps, he says, "Here's how I see it. Unless there have been some hiccups, the imminent threat in Marblestead is resolved. We are likely to return, however, soon facing crises in need of addressing from portals to other realms. However, the sickness here still remains as well. We have applied a salve, but the wound may still fester without further treatment. What we do know is that time favours us while we are here. Inversely, if we return home now, things here will be able to deteriorate quite fast indeed. So I believe we are all on the same page with seeing things through here. I agree with Vin that stemming the tide of dead kobolds is a priority. Both in terms of military logistics, and in terms of saving lives."
Vin looks a little sheepish as Gewyn corrects him slightly.
"Of course to save lives as well, I don't want any more innocent kobolds killed and turned to undead either", he says.
"And I can certainly use a rest before we head out. The whole time moving differently here is a great point too Gewyn. We really have to do everything we need to do here now, there is no coming back later, events will have overtaken us if we do. And the sickness, do you know what that is, Morris?".
"I also don't trust Sergor at all. He is a vampire and sibling to Nivara. Who is to say he won't take her side in all this if he finds out what is going on?".
"sickness?" Morris inquires.
Muir wonders what sickness Vin is talking about but figures he's worry about that later
"Gewyn good to see you made out well with whatever you chose to see in there. Let me repeat for your sake what I said earlier. As for next steps, we need to tread carefully. We should first travel with Serafina to speak to the elders and Hector. Hopefully they will take kindly to our words. From there our harder challenge of convincing the Djinn. If they refuse to see then this realm is doomed. We will need your silver tongue to convince them. I can lay out as much factual evidence to them but you will need to really do the convincing. With that said, I think Sam is correct that we can't really start this leg of our journey without Sergor and home doing their part. I believe Sergor should be doing a lot more once the treasury is secured. Perhaps if he does not see the error of his ways then we tell the whole council how this is all his doing. Apparently there is more leverage to be had over Sergor than I realize, but to be honest I hate to be underhanded but he is not an honest, forthright person....he is an undead who has created this whole mess for 1000 years, our time. If he can't be reasoned with well then.....perhaps we tell everyone he is a vampire who with Nivara created the mess here.....just a thought"
"Nivara isn't Sergor's sibling, she's his wife." Elthana interjects.
"Now that everyone is together are we taking a rest? I am itching to get back to see Hector and I'm sure Serafina is as well. I want to know how he is going to take this news."
"Hmmm, a man with everything to lose can be a useful tool. A man with nothing to lose can be a dangerous enemy. I agree we have leverage. We have the ability to knock down the whole life he has spent centuries working on. But we can only spend that leverage once. And the thing about leverage is you don't actually gain anything in the spending of it. It's only in holding onto it that it has value. So we should be consider out moves with Sergor carefully"
(Heh, we just need a Elthana family tree so we can keep track of everyone...)
Sam hears Morris question about sickness and shrugs. "I think he means the whole djinn following an undead god and making more undead?" he replies absently.
After Muir fills in Gewyn, Sam reminds "The FIRST next step is getting the bone back from Sergor. We're trapped here until we do. By our word to Lumithor that we would return it if by nothing else..."
"Sibling, Spouse, either way I don't trust Sergor not to take Nivara's side if he finds out the scale of her power here", Vin replies. "And Gewyn mentioned a sickness, I assumed it was something I didn't remember", he adds with a smile.
"I refer merely to the deviation from natural order present in the Shadowfell, as it was in the Faewyld. My language takes a certain artistic liberty, I apologize, dear Vin. But that is how the place feels. Unwell. By the way... Where did we land on the matter of the book. Casually asking for a friend"
“It seemingly forced its attunement on me while it was in my possession. I wanted to see what would happen if someone else held onto it. I saw zombies crashing into the gate from the shadow realms while it was in my bag and outside with Serafina.”
Discussion on the book wears on, the group calls a vote and Muir relinquishes possession of the item to Gewyn. The group then begin to wind down for a sleep on Morris' comfortable couches once more.
Upon waking you all find no Morris in the tavern, feeling better from the wounds and aches of the fight the previous day a hunger sets in.
Oddly with Ratosk's time bending trickery, both Griff and Serafina wake at the same time as you all having not needed much less or much more sleep than the group comparatively.
A side door swings open and Xazgan enters carrying a tray which she sets in the bar. The smell reaches you before you see what it is. A hot dough smell mixed with fried meats, eggs, some chopped greenery and onions. You see that she has made some rounded bread risen to give a cavernous inside which has been stuffed with the culinary breakfast delights that you can smell. She picks one up and jumps upwards an impressive height, catching her free hand on the rafters above where she deposits the one breaded delight.
To everyone else she merely gestures toward the tray and grunts, "choke on it for all I care" before leaving out the same side door she bust in through.
After a hearty breakfast, of which there was more than enough food for everyone twice, you make your way outside and find Morris in lumithor's resting place talking with the grand crystal facsimile of the dragons face. As soon as Elthana steps outside a weight suddenly drags on her shoulder as a large item appears in the portal bag, it displaces her center of gravity so much that she falls flat on her ass, sprawled out in front of the tavern door like a common drunk (crit fail Dex check)
At your arrival Morris and Lumithor abruptly stop and look to you all, Morris wearing his trademark old man grin as he gives you a wave, "just chatting with my trusted gatekeeper, one has to make sure that the door remains shut even if the one I made the deal with is now undead. Poor Vox Tontritor..." He lowers his head in respect for a moment before wrapping up his conversation with Lumithor.
Serafina thanks Morris emphatically, and promises lumithor that he will get more visitors, before she gathers her things and makes ready to be off.
Handing over the old stolen bone of Lumithor, your deal done, you say your goodbyes and make your way back to the broken isle capitol.
The lightning fields are crossed similarly to the way you crossed them before, a little difficulty, a few close calls and Gewyn's rubber hat and boots proving as useful as ever as he avoids the brunt of damage when he unfortunately gets hit.
Your way through the spore growth fields is long and would have been brainrottingly boring if it hadn't been for the views as you make your way along the shattered side of the isle. Upon your exit of the spore growth fields it has been a whole day of trekking and Serafina stops the party at a small farm style crystal carved building, which descends into the ground, she speaks to the owner of the building and makes some arrangements before returning to the group, "I know the farmer here, Griff and I need to sleep before we progress, if only for a little while. There's room for you all to sleep too but from the looks of you and the weird time dilation stuff you mentioned, you may as well hang around for a bit." And with that Griff and Serafina find a place for themselves to settle down within this building and leave the group to their own devices.
"Thank you, Xazgan," Sam replies to the demon with obviously forced sweetness. He does indeed appreciate the food but figures they'd rather have sarcasm than actual appreciation...
Sam picks at the good but goes through at least twice as much as usual. The doughy and vegetable bits just aren't appealing to him much so he tears in and picks out the meat and egg bits. If anyone takes not he frowns, shrugs and makes a show of trying to eat some of the rest but doesn't make much of a go of it.
"You ok?" Sam calls out and is right there to help Elthana to her feet after she falls. doing his best to hide another smirk. He can't help it, she's usually so graceful and dextrous, seeing her just flop on her butt like that is amusing! Two days ago he'd have been laughing uproariously.
Sam thanks Lumithor and Morris both in his reserved, restrained manner. He does much appreciate all they did but he's just not so much good with the words and the emotions and crap...
Sam has more than one close call going through the lightning, his inevitable over confidence and attempts to show off. It happens but he manages to not get too electrified.
As Griff and Serafina set off to take a nap, Sam draws forth one of his animals. He likes the company and likes to constantly be working with them, training them how to respond to his subtle clues and movements, be it just having around or in the heat of battle... It's just Hootie this time but even Hootie can be a valuable companion if properly trained. Otherwise he just chills with the others and relaxes.
Vin tucks into the breakfast with gusto, making sure Neferox gets whatever she wants if she is so inclined. When it comes to taking their leave of Lumithor and particularly Morris, he feels quite emotional. Especially after his conversation with Morris the previous day, or before the rest if the day has not changed. He really does hope he will see both again.
He is happy Gewyn is given the book, but does keep an eye on the bard just in case he notices any changes in behaviour, or skin colour. Although the latter would not be unheard of seeing as though he is a changeling.
He tackles the lightning field much the same as on the way, zipping through on his broom and then summoning Neferox. There was one close call, but no harm no foul.
As Serafina and Griff take their leave to sleep, he looks at each of his companions, wondering if like himself they have been holding things back whilst amongst outside company.
As Muir hands the book over to Gewyn, he shudders. His skin starts to change where it touches the book. Blackening flesh snakes up his arms. "Ahh, ahhhh, AAHH- naw I'm just messing with you," he says, skin changing back to normal. He holds the book up and wags it in the air. "But worry not. I will be careful with it."
When the next morning comes, Gewyn smells the breakfast and immediately begins to salivate. "Why does it feel so godsdamned long since I've had a good meal?" He then promptly summons a magical hand to grab one of the delights and place it on the rafter above, taking down the one Xazgan had placed up there. He sniffs at it to see if it smells the same as the others, unsure whether it's safe.
Once Serafina and Griff leave, Gewyn addresses the others. "Okay, I appreciate your patience with me. I want to be open with you, but not necessarily with the locals around. I did not merely receive memories from the Shadowfell. I also have some control over its unique energies. Shadows, death, memory, basic stuff. The invisibility is one example. So, nothing earth-shattering, but I figured I should still lay it out on the table for you."
"Just what exactly did you lay out on the table?" Sam asks with confusion. "You can control shadows now? Death? Memory? Are you the new Morris??"
"Hmm, Morris seems timeless beyond definitions of 'old' or 'new'. And I certainly don't have his power or mastery. I have simply learned a few notes from a new land, you could say. In the same way I can play with the energies of the Mortal realm, the Faewyld, the Ethereal, and to a lesser extend, Theair, I could perhaps play a song of darkness that hides you from death itself for a brief time. I don't know. I'll need to spend some time with the new melodies to really get a feel for what I can do."
Gewyn floats up to the ceiling and sits down and says, "Now let's recap what we know about Nivara while we wait. Elthana, since I gave you that ring to shield your mind, have you felt anything or had any intrusive visions from her?"
"Morris showed me a wizard, one of my professors in fact, in his youth. He was learning to control the flow of magic, manipulate it even", Vin adds. "I haven't tried yet, but I think I learned with the professor, by being present in his memory".
"I can understand why Morris is so keen to protect that place. In the wrong hands...", he trails off for a moment.
"Gewyn, Morris asked me what he could do to help me. He showed me what I asked for. Did you ask to understand the shadowfell and control death and shadows?", he asks, just a tad concerned about the answer.