Cob watches what's going on in the carriage with a fascinated look on his face.
"This was definitely not what I signed up for," Cob says quietly, wondering to himself if it's not too late to just open a window and fly off from the train. He could just head up to Bast Trench on his own. But, he looks around at the mess caused in the cabin and then at his companions. He probably wouldn't last long on his own out there.
"Maybe it just needs some magic to feed on."
He waves his hands and whispers 'blossom' in the direction of the apparition.
Several brightly coloured flower petals fall in the air around the apparition (from Druidcraft).
Drexon starts to move away, but decides to see what happens and stops, allowing the touch to happen. He is a gambler after all, and it is in his nature to take risks.
Drexon, one moment you are on the train and another you are on a landscape of desolation as far as your eyes can see. A red star shines high in the sky, flaring orange and yellow, burning the land again, and again, and again. Constellations of stars are scattered across the sky as familiar as the night sky of Sabitah. You look to your left and see a rotting figure, flesh rend asunder by fire and ash, raising its hand to the same position as the creature had done back on the train.
You blink your eyes once, and the landscape shifts. The red glaring star in the sky has changed to a white shining sun, and the barren land around you flourishes with verdant pastures. Another blink and the entire landscape is unmade once again. Again, and again, and again, an endless cycle of life and death until the sky becomes barren of lights and the world around you becomes dirt and dust and darkness.
You look once again to your left and see that the rotting figure has become amorphous, spectral dust and motes of light condensed into a humanoid form. It is seeing something that lies a distance away. You look to where the creature is looking and see an open rift in the very air glowing orange resembling a familiar-looking wall of amber that you have seen once before when you try to look into Sego's mind.
The humanoid figure moves toward the amber rift, and as the wall shatters, a shining beacon of light and cyclone of dust steps through from the rift and stands in front of the humanoid figure. The beacon of light and dust raises a crown made of withered thorns and vines, something that is not native to the barren world you are currently in, and from behind it a rolling tidal wave of darkness bursts through accompanied by screams of torment and howls of agony. You turn toward the humanoid figure that you have followed and see it slowly turning into a muted grey dust compacted into humanoid form instead of the ethereal dust and motes of light it previously was.
You blink and you find yourself seeing the familiar sight of the streets of Vortesso. Fires are raging on many buildings and shouts of battles echo all around. You are once again standing beside the humanoid figure that has turned muted grey. You can sense its reluctance as it grasps a soldier and breaks their neck. At a distance, you see the same beacon of light and cyclone of dust wearing a withered crown standing in front of a man standing atop a black ornate box. A moment passes before the beacon vanishes and the muted grey humanoid figure once again turns into brilliant and ethereal motes of light condensed into a humanoid figure.
"The hounds of darkness... brought by the Betrayer who weaves empty promises... a King of their own making... trapped and must not be unleashed... Seek... Find... Intercept..." a voice echoes around you.
You blink again, and you find yourself seeing the interior of the train carriage. The creature before you pull its hand from your forehead and slowly loses its skeletal and undead look. It turns into a glimmering humanoid made of ethereal dust and motes of light before it slowly dissipates. You know instinctively that it has died showing you this vision. You have a niggling at the back of your mind that there is a chance that you have seen that sequence of vision before but before you can think about it further, you feel every eye on the train is staring at you.
The rest of you can see that the creature is touching Drexon and he is letting it. Blackened veins appear around Drexon's eyes and his eyes become a reflection of the creature's own, an endless pit of darkness. Both Drexon and the creature remain still for a few heartbeats before the creature begins to change and dissipates, disappearing once again. Before you, Drexon stands, seemingly healthy and unhurt.
Drexon blinks his eyes and they slowly start to focus, and he realises he is back in the room with his companions. His mind is reeling but he has to put that aside for the moment.
"That was something. I am ok thanks, just a little over whelmed", he says first of all to Cob and Dark. "I think whatever that was is gone for good now. It's like it sacrificed itself rather than hurt me", he adds.
He turns to the other passengers, "It is over I am sure, you are safe. It should be ok to return to your carriages now".
As he makes his way to a seat to sit down, he reaches out telepathically to Cob and then Dark in turn, sending them both the same message.
"There is more, as you might be expect, but not in front of the passengers".
Dvark nods to Drexon, then turns to the conductor quietly saying to him "My friend seems to have resolved the issue but I expect we want to do a quick sweep of the train for any further disturbances. we would be happy to assist in a sweep as needed of course."
"Okay, that's good," the conductor says. "That's good news. Yes, yes, if you would, please do a sweep over the other carriages to make sure. Thank you very much, sirs."
You make your way back to your cabin as the other passengers also begin to leave the dining carriage to return to their cabin. The conductor has returned back to the front of the train while Gustav, Bastian, and the remaining steward whose name you learn to be Faeth have wrapped the body of Stewardess Adaline Harcourt and moved her to an empty cabin.
Karm, on your way out of the dining carriage, you notice that there is a dust residue at the place where the creature has vanished. You look closely at it and realize that it is not just simple scattered dust. It forms into an intricate pattern that has been partially wiped away. You get the feeling that it may be a part of a spell. There is symbolism that speaks of translocating a short distance, something that is hard to achieve on Sabitah since the end of the Third Age messed up with any translocation magic, hence the need for trains to travel a considerable distance. This is a rare finding and you think that this pattern is only one-sixth of a whole, which means that it can be expanded further to add more distance and eventually enable long-distance or even intercontinental translocation magic on Sabitah in the future.
{{Karm, you can add the Spell Pattern for Misty Step in your inventory or notes for now. When you level up, you can add the spell in addition to the 2 you get per level up. I will say that you can do the downtime activity research to get more translocation magic in the future if you want.}}
Eremoz, as the other passengers return to their cabin, the family of three comes to you and thanks you for your effort to protect everyone, not just the rich.
"Thank you for not leaving us behind," the father says. "I am Darna Everhart and this is my wife, Andar, and daughter, Elira. We know that we are not as wealthy as the other people on this train, but we want to give this to you and your companions. We don't have much, but we can only spare this much. If you and your companion need any help in the future, a place to lay low or rest for a while in Vortesso, we have a homestead on the outskirts of the city. Find the Everhart Ranch and we will take you in free of charge. You have helped us and respected us greatly today. Thank you."
Darna hands Eremoz a pouch filled with 375 bronze coins before leaving with his family back to their cabin.
A voice crackles once again all over the carriage. "Ladies, gentlemen, and gentlepeople, we apologize for the scare and inconvenience this journey has brought you. We are twenty minutes out from Erdelun. Thank you for taking the Northern Spine Express."
”I am happy to help. We will see you again, if only to visit. Have a safe journey.” Eremoz puts away the pouch and rejoins his companions to search the rest of the train.
((If I have time after the sweep I'd like to go to swing by the dead ladies cabin and do some sort of rite to the Dusk Weaver.))
"Let's take a walk through the train briefly just to make sure there aren't any more of these guys floating around. Maybe Drexon can grant more of them peace."
Drexon nods, but remains quiet as they walk through the carriages, confident that there will be no more of the creatures.
His mind is racing trying to figure out why the repeating scenes of apocalyptic destruction are so familar. The others might hear him whispering quietly in Deep Speech, trying to aid himself in remembering.
You make your rounds to each carriage and find nothing problematic. You do notice that a few of the carriages are quite unique. One has children's toys and entertainment, another is full of luggage, and another seems to have a large empty circular pool in the middle and nothing else -- probably the luxury bath Gustav talked about that is being renovated. You return to your cabin, waiting for the train to arrive at Erdelun.
Drexon, you didn't know where you have seen such scenes before until you return to back to the cabin. As soon as you enter the cabin, your eyes are drawn to a painting hanging on the wall of the cabin. It is of a man's back standing on top of a black ornate box looking toward a figure wreathed in light and dust, the same sight you have seen at the end of the vision. Looking more closely at the painting, you see the title on the frame: The Braveheart and The-Could-Have-Been-King -- Vorgeris Falls No More.
Dvark, you inquire to Bastian to see to the final rites of Adaline Harcourt, and is taken to a cabin near the dining carriage. The body has been wrapped with white cloth and her personal belongings lay within a bag nearby. The other steward, an albino tiefling named Faeth, sits inside the cabin.
Drexon walks straight over to the picture when he enters their cabin, examining it.
"This scene", he says, "it was part of the vision that I received from the creature. Do any of you know the story behind this picture? Which is The Braveheart and which The-Could-Have-Been-King?".
"In the vision, a being of light and dust came through a portal, and darkness and destruction followed it. The portal, it resembled the amber wall at Bast Trench. This picture is exactly what I saw", he looks to the others, not sure if they would think him mad.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Cob keeps with the group as they search the train but keeps his thoughts to himself.
"What good are voices in your head if they only come when they want to?" Cob says to himself at one point. He can be heard asking a one word question later "Hyrsam?"
Once they get back to their own cabin, Cob takes out the needle he picked up off the ground and takes a closer look at it trying to see if it had any power of its own or if it was really just a pointy wand.
Cob, as you look at the needle, you feel your surrounding changes. This is the first time this has happened before, but you get the feeling that it won't be the last. You see that your traveling companion has vanished, leaving you behind in the cabin alone. However, as you begin to question, you hear music playing from directly in front of you. A lute and a viol are hovering in the air playing a quite nice melody. Sitting nearby is a figure you have never seen before, but recognize when he speaks. He is dressed in fine leather of earthen and green color. A massive goat horn curls around his head, forming a crown. His lower body is that of a goat, and his foot is tapping to the rhythm of the music.
"You are loud, sonny," Hyrsam says. His voice is thick with inebriation, but a big grin is plastered on his face when he looks at you. "There will be a time when you will have to solve this yourself. There are places in the world even I cannot reach. Can't you see that I'm also quite busy? So, what do you need? I got a couple minutes to talk and I see that you are nearing the old fortress. That's good. Be ready for anything, eh."
He squints at the needle you are holding and tilts his head with a grimace on his face. "Eugh, dwarven made. They don't appreciate the finer things. Look at that shoddy runework. No finesse and all business, they are. What are you doing with this thing? You can't even use it. It's blood-locked to the one who made it. Ah, I think I know what this is. It's that Dragonkin thing the dwarves got going or something, where once in a while their patron dragon or something give them power through their bloodline. Dwarf and dragon, not a good combination, thus the restricting rod to prevent some crazy immolation on the dwarf's part due to their own blood rejecting the dragon part."
{{With a 10,}} Eremoz, you know that the Braveheart is a new deity that rose to prominence during the Third Age and eventually ended the War of the Best when the other deities retreated begind the Gate of Divinity. They are always described as a human man, or woman, but sometimes of other races as well, accompanied by a black ornate box of wondrous things at their side. You are not quite sure what The-Could-Have-Been-King is other than its involvement in leading an army of creatures called the Meanwhiles, but you can say that it is probably the figure wreathed in light and dust.
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Cob watches what's going on in the carriage with a fascinated look on his face.
"This was definitely not what I signed up for," Cob says quietly, wondering to himself if it's not too late to just open a window and fly off from the train. He could just head up to Bast Trench on his own. But, he looks around at the mess caused in the cabin and then at his companions. He probably wouldn't last long on his own out there.
"Maybe it just needs some magic to feed on."
He waves his hands and whispers 'blossom' in the direction of the apparition.
Several brightly coloured flower petals fall in the air around the apparition (from Druidcraft).
(Cob still has the needle in his pocket for now).
Drexon starts to move away, but decides to see what happens and stops, allowing the touch to happen. He is a gambler after all, and it is in his nature to take risks.
I would like to ready an action to Cure Wounds if Drexon goes down.
Drexon, one moment you are on the train and another you are on a landscape of desolation as far as your eyes can see. A red star shines high in the sky, flaring orange and yellow, burning the land again, and again, and again. Constellations of stars are scattered across the sky as familiar as the night sky of Sabitah. You look to your left and see a rotting figure, flesh rend asunder by fire and ash, raising its hand to the same position as the creature had done back on the train.
You blink your eyes once, and the landscape shifts. The red glaring star in the sky has changed to a white shining sun, and the barren land around you flourishes with verdant pastures. Another blink and the entire landscape is unmade once again. Again, and again, and again, an endless cycle of life and death until the sky becomes barren of lights and the world around you becomes dirt and dust and darkness.
You look once again to your left and see that the rotting figure has become amorphous, spectral dust and motes of light condensed into a humanoid form. It is seeing something that lies a distance away. You look to where the creature is looking and see an open rift in the very air glowing orange resembling a familiar-looking wall of amber that you have seen once before when you try to look into Sego's mind.
The humanoid figure moves toward the amber rift, and as the wall shatters, a shining beacon of light and cyclone of dust steps through from the rift and stands in front of the humanoid figure. The beacon of light and dust raises a crown made of withered thorns and vines, something that is not native to the barren world you are currently in, and from behind it a rolling tidal wave of darkness bursts through accompanied by screams of torment and howls of agony. You turn toward the humanoid figure that you have followed and see it slowly turning into a muted grey dust compacted into humanoid form instead of the ethereal dust and motes of light it previously was.
You blink and you find yourself seeing the familiar sight of the streets of Vortesso. Fires are raging on many buildings and shouts of battles echo all around. You are once again standing beside the humanoid figure that has turned muted grey. You can sense its reluctance as it grasps a soldier and breaks their neck. At a distance, you see the same beacon of light and cyclone of dust wearing a withered crown standing in front of a man standing atop a black ornate box. A moment passes before the beacon vanishes and the muted grey humanoid figure once again turns into brilliant and ethereal motes of light condensed into a humanoid figure.
"The hounds of darkness... brought by the Betrayer who weaves empty promises... a King of their own making... trapped and must not be unleashed... Seek... Find... Intercept..." a voice echoes around you.
You blink again, and you find yourself seeing the interior of the train carriage. The creature before you pull its hand from your forehead and slowly loses its skeletal and undead look. It turns into a glimmering humanoid made of ethereal dust and motes of light before it slowly dissipates. You know instinctively that it has died showing you this vision. You have a niggling at the back of your mind that there is a chance that you have seen that sequence of vision before but before you can think about it further, you feel every eye on the train is staring at you.
The rest of you can see that the creature is touching Drexon and he is letting it. Blackened veins appear around Drexon's eyes and his eyes become a reflection of the creature's own, an endless pit of darkness. Both Drexon and the creature remain still for a few heartbeats before the creature begins to change and dissipates, disappearing once again. Before you, Drexon stands, seemingly healthy and unhurt.
Cob watches the flower petals he created fall through the ethereal dust of the now disappearing apparition.
"An audience would love that," Cob says to himself.
Then he steps closer to Drexon.
"You okay Drex?" Cob asks, warily, in case the creature's turning to dust happened because it took control of Drexon.
Dvark moves closer with Cob to see if Drexon needs support. "what happened? You alright?"
Drexon blinks his eyes and they slowly start to focus, and he realises he is back in the room with his companions. His mind is reeling but he has to put that aside for the moment.
"That was something. I am ok thanks, just a little over whelmed", he says first of all to Cob and Dark. "I think whatever that was is gone for good now. It's like it sacrificed itself rather than hurt me", he adds.
He turns to the other passengers, "It is over I am sure, you are safe. It should be ok to return to your carriages now".
As he makes his way to a seat to sit down, he reaches out telepathically to Cob and then Dark in turn, sending them both the same message.
"There is more, as you might be expect, but not in front of the passengers".
Dvark nods to Drexon, then turns to the conductor quietly saying to him "My friend seems to have resolved the issue but I expect we want to do a quick sweep of the train for any further disturbances. we would be happy to assist in a sweep as needed of course."
"Okay, that's good," the conductor says. "That's good news. Yes, yes, if you would, please do a sweep over the other carriages to make sure. Thank you very much, sirs."
You make your way back to your cabin as the other passengers also begin to leave the dining carriage to return to their cabin. The conductor has returned back to the front of the train while Gustav, Bastian, and the remaining steward whose name you learn to be Faeth have wrapped the body of Stewardess Adaline Harcourt and moved her to an empty cabin.
Karm, on your way out of the dining carriage, you notice that there is a dust residue at the place where the creature has vanished. You look closely at it and realize that it is not just simple scattered dust. It forms into an intricate pattern that has been partially wiped away. You get the feeling that it may be a part of a spell. There is symbolism that speaks of translocating a short distance, something that is hard to achieve on Sabitah since the end of the Third Age messed up with any translocation magic, hence the need for trains to travel a considerable distance. This is a rare finding and you think that this pattern is only one-sixth of a whole, which means that it can be expanded further to add more distance and eventually enable long-distance or even intercontinental translocation magic on Sabitah in the future.
{{Karm, you can add the Spell Pattern for Misty Step in your inventory or notes for now. When you level up, you can add the spell in addition to the 2 you get per level up. I will say that you can do the downtime activity research to get more translocation magic in the future if you want.}}
Eremoz, as the other passengers return to their cabin, the family of three comes to you and thanks you for your effort to protect everyone, not just the rich.
"Thank you for not leaving us behind," the father says. "I am Darna Everhart and this is my wife, Andar, and daughter, Elira. We know that we are not as wealthy as the other people on this train, but we want to give this to you and your companions. We don't have much, but we can only spare this much. If you and your companion need any help in the future, a place to lay low or rest for a while in Vortesso, we have a homestead on the outskirts of the city. Find the Everhart Ranch and we will take you in free of charge. You have helped us and respected us greatly today. Thank you."
Darna hands Eremoz a pouch filled with 375 bronze coins before leaving with his family back to their cabin.
A voice crackles once again all over the carriage. "Ladies, gentlemen, and gentlepeople, we apologize for the scare and inconvenience this journey has brought you. We are twenty minutes out from Erdelun. Thank you for taking the Northern Spine Express."
”I am happy to help. We will see you again, if only to visit. Have a safe journey.” Eremoz puts away the pouch and rejoins his companions to search the rest of the train.
((If I have time after the sweep I'd like to go to swing by the dead ladies cabin and do some sort of rite to the Dusk Weaver.))
"Let's take a walk through the train briefly just to make sure there aren't any more of these guys floating around. Maybe Drexon can grant more of them peace."
Drexon nods, but remains quiet as they walk through the carriages, confident that there will be no more of the creatures.
His mind is racing trying to figure out why the repeating scenes of apocalyptic destruction are so familar. The others might hear him whispering quietly in Deep Speech, trying to aid himself in remembering.
History (with Guidance): 5+3+2=10
{{I won't make you roll for the search.}}
You make your rounds to each carriage and find nothing problematic. You do notice that a few of the carriages are quite unique. One has children's toys and entertainment, another is full of luggage, and another seems to have a large empty circular pool in the middle and nothing else -- probably the luxury bath Gustav talked about that is being renovated. You return to your cabin, waiting for the train to arrive at Erdelun.
Drexon, you didn't know where you have seen such scenes before until you return to back to the cabin. As soon as you enter the cabin, your eyes are drawn to a painting hanging on the wall of the cabin. It is of a man's back standing on top of a black ornate box looking toward a figure wreathed in light and dust, the same sight you have seen at the end of the vision. Looking more closely at the painting, you see the title on the frame: The Braveheart and The-Could-Have-Been-King -- Vorgeris Falls No More.
Dvark, you inquire to Bastian to see to the final rites of Adaline Harcourt, and is taken to a cabin near the dining carriage. The body has been wrapped with white cloth and her personal belongings lay within a bag nearby. The other steward, an albino tiefling named Faeth, sits inside the cabin.
Drexon walks straight over to the picture when he enters their cabin, examining it.
"This scene", he says, "it was part of the vision that I received from the creature. Do any of you know the story behind this picture? Which is The Braveheart and which The-Could-Have-Been-King?".
"In the vision, a being of light and dust came through a portal, and darkness and destruction followed it. The portal, it resembled the amber wall at Bast Trench. This picture is exactly what I saw", he looks to the others, not sure if they would think him mad.
{{This will be either a Religion or History check for the Braveheart and The-Could-Have-Been-King.}}
Cob keeps with the group as they search the train but keeps his thoughts to himself.
"What good are voices in your head if they only come when they want to?" Cob says to himself at one point. He can be heard asking a one word question later "Hyrsam?"
Once they get back to their own cabin, Cob takes out the needle he picked up off the ground and takes a closer look at it trying to see if it had any power of its own or if it was really just a pointy wand.
Arcana?: 12
Eremoz tries to think of the stories he heard as a child and see if the name is familiar.
History: 9
“Was our specter the being?” Eremoz wonders out loud. “What does it mean?”
History: 10 (rolled in game log)
Cob, as you look at the needle, you feel your surrounding changes. This is the first time this has happened before, but you get the feeling that it won't be the last. You see that your traveling companion has vanished, leaving you behind in the cabin alone. However, as you begin to question, you hear music playing from directly in front of you. A lute and a viol are hovering in the air playing a quite nice melody. Sitting nearby is a figure you have never seen before, but recognize when he speaks. He is dressed in fine leather of earthen and green color. A massive goat horn curls around his head, forming a crown. His lower body is that of a goat, and his foot is tapping to the rhythm of the music.
"You are loud, sonny," Hyrsam says. His voice is thick with inebriation, but a big grin is plastered on his face when he looks at you. "There will be a time when you will have to solve this yourself. There are places in the world even I cannot reach. Can't you see that I'm also quite busy? So, what do you need? I got a couple minutes to talk and I see that you are nearing the old fortress. That's good. Be ready for anything, eh."
He squints at the needle you are holding and tilts his head with a grimace on his face. "Eugh, dwarven made. They don't appreciate the finer things. Look at that shoddy runework. No finesse and all business, they are. What are you doing with this thing? You can't even use it. It's blood-locked to the one who made it. Ah, I think I know what this is. It's that Dragonkin thing the dwarves got going or something, where once in a while their patron dragon or something give them power through their bloodline. Dwarf and dragon, not a good combination, thus the restricting rod to prevent some crazy immolation on the dwarf's part due to their own blood rejecting the dragon part."
{{With a 10,}} Eremoz, you know that the Braveheart is a new deity that rose to prominence during the Third Age and eventually ended the War of the Best when the other deities retreated begind the Gate of Divinity. They are always described as a human man, or woman, but sometimes of other races as well, accompanied by a black ornate box of wondrous things at their side. You are not quite sure what The-Could-Have-Been-King is other than its involvement in leading an army of creatures called the Meanwhiles, but you can say that it is probably the figure wreathed in light and dust.