A Wellspring of Regret

[Exile_Jeane]

"'f thes Daid King is one ye feel needs a good kicking, 'm in," Marida responded with a chuckle at the paladin and a respectful nod at the spirit. The forest she was raised in had it's share of them, aligned both with and against her kin, and if someone with a good head for such things like Kathra trusted this one... Well. The world would be better off without someone barmy enough to let themselves be called 'The Dead King'. 

 

"And ye, mae Lady?" she fired off with a sidelong look at the fae elf, the faintest trace of mockery in her tone.

[SalmonMax]

Maighan's attention was focused on the phantasm. She Who Watches Over.

 

"I have a lot of questions," she said after a moment. "But you're not She Who Exhaustively Explains Herself, are you? No." The elf took a deep breath. "There are few things that deserve trust...but I have put my trust in the guidance I was given. That guidance has led me to this group, and to this calling."

 

"To turn back now is to abandon hope." Her jaw worked silently for a moment as she wrestled with feelings that were not allowed onto her stony face. "And even in the grip of deepest winter, I will not do that. I will not buckle, nor bend. I will stand as a mountain, bearing all the ice that unkind fate heaps upon my shoulders."

 

"So...you who watch over...set us our path, if it has not already been set. I will see it done."

Edited July 19, 2023 by SalmonMax

[Nina]

"The children will show you the way..." and the ghostly figure faded from view.

 

Everyone was silent for a moment, looks were exchanged and then the adventurers approached the girls.

 

Yameesa came forward , "There is something I am to show you. Pleas follow me."

 

The young girl led them deeper into the copse of wood. there the tress grew thicker and the underbrush wilder as if nature were forming a barrier. The girl, Yameesa seemed to be able to find a path which was hidden to the eye until the foot set upon it. The tangled wood soon gave way to what had once been a clearing but was now over grown with bush and vine, the grass was knee high and the sun barely peaked through the over hanging canopy of the trees which surrounded the glade.

 

In the center of the glade stood an obelisk. It was made of some sort of stone that resembled marble but was green of varying shades. This four sided structure was as tall as seven tall men and each side was as wide as two. Each side was carved with symbols which the elven believed were Runes, but not any she had ever seen before. Brarga thought that the things shape was like that of the  Travel Columns but those did not have the strange symbols nor were they usually this tall.

 

Yameesa once again faced the party. "This is where the journey begins. As Master Brarga and Mistress Maighan have surmised, the column is part of the great network, but unlike the normal Travel Columns, this one is the master lost until now. Each of these runes corresponds to a single column along the network and activating that rune will take you to that column."

 

Yameesa then begins walking around the column studying it then she stops and points. "That is the rune I was shown. It will take you to the key that will open all. Gain the key and return and I will show you where we need to go to save our mother."

[SalmonMax]

Maighan was very quiet as she absorbed that information. That there was at least one, maybe more, 'master' columns, which provided access to a multitude of subordinate columns. That was incredibly valuable information. It was the kind of information that could start or end wars, or empires...with the right circumstances, and the right person. Moreover, veering into speculation, suppose these 'master' columns had other abilities as well? Say they could shut off or activate other columns? Intercept traffic? Reprogram links?

 

This key would answer all those questions and more. Even if it was 'just' the ability to use the network without restriction, that was already incredible. Anything more was just sweet honey drizzled on top.

 

"Anything unusual about activating the runes on this one?" she asked Yameesa, then looked at the others. "Everyone ready to go? I'd be prepared for opposition. Something as important as this key wouldn't have been just left unattended."

[Shameless]

This all sounded far, far too easy.  Brarga was already suspecting a trap,   That they could so simply be shown to a master Travel Column, which would take them to a key to unlock the rest, which would enable them to save the person they wanted to save, all so easily, it was just to perfect.

"Be ready for anything."  He drew both of his axes as if to emphasize this point.  Even with his limited understanding of magic, he quickly grasped the tactical and strategic value of the Master Column, and what a fully unlocked one might be capable of.   Still he said nothing more, He knew Kathra would be suspicious, indeed, he expected everyone to be so.   Part of the way of beating a trap was knowing it was there, and so he stood ready, trusting in the abilities of comrades old and new to make up for his shortcomings, and in his own strengths to do the same for them.  "Ready, and you're right.  We're going in blind, but as prepared as we can be."

[Asarasa]

Kathra eyed the towering obelisk, wondering how she had not seen it before, despite the trees. She yet carried a Hearthstone for Land's End, though she did not know if it still worked. And if it did, it would most certainly lead into a trap designed by the Dead King. Most of her travels had been by foot and war ram, but she too well understood the value of a Key that could unlock all Travel Columns. If the Dead King got his skeletal hands on such, he could send his undead hordes to every corner of Tellus.

Kathra looked over at Yameesa and her sisters. "You and your sisters will be safe until we return?" she asked the eldest girl. Yameesa gave the brawny dwarf a deliberate nod. Kathra sighed, then readied her shield and unlimbered her warhammer, slipping her hand through the loop and spinning the warhammer several times to tighten it. "Very well, friends. When we retrieve the Key, we must make sure it does not fall into the wrong hands." There was no doubt in Paladin's voice that they would acquire the Key. "Evil can move in most subtle and duplicitous ways. This may be a foul plan by the damned Witch to get her hands on that which we need to reach her." 

Kathra stepped up to Master Column. "Let us go and start on the path to ending the Witch and freeing these girl's mother."

[Nina]

On 7/24/2023 at 8:06 AM, SalmonMax said:

"Anything unusual about activating the runes on this one?" she asked Yameesa, then looked at the others.

 

Yameesa looked at the fae and shrugged.

 

The horses were tied and food was left with the girls since none knew how long it would take them to accomplish this task. Kathra left Anvil untethered so the great ram could watch over the children and the mounts.

 

The party gathered where Maighan indicated, and she approached the obelisk. She stretched up her hand to the indicated symbol and concentrated calling on her inner power and channeling the raw magical energy into the symbol.

 

The symbol glowed brightly, and a deep thrumming sound vibrated from the base of the column. The symbol grew brighter so much so that it hurt to look at it and then while it stays glowing solidly the rest of the symbols began to glow and darken in a cascade from one to the other. Then the glowing symbol seemed to expand into a glowing sphere, the light blinding party momentarily…then it faded.

 

The party found themselves standing on a dais resting at an angle on a barren plain which was covered in obsidian sand. Poking out of the dais was an obelisk identical to that which they had just been standing at, except this one was shattered at the last third of its length. The rubble was strewn about the dais buried in the dark sand.  

 

The plain stretched away in all directions, unbroken, in the distance lightning flashed but there was no thunder. The sky was a mass of roiling grey clouds which seemed close enough to touch. A hot dry wind blew.

 

East of where they stood barely discernible in a distance which had to be many miles a thin finger stretched up form the horizon toward the clouds, the only feature in all this crazy place.

[Exile_Jeane]

The Grugach warrior gave their surroundings a once over, fixating on the only obvious landmark and gave a shrug that resulted in a faint clatterinf of her many weapons. As unfortunate as this terrain looked, their course of action seemed clear.

 

"East thain," Marida intoned with the finality of a prophet, "Hope one 'a ye can magic 'ep food 'an water should thae land nae provide."

 

And with that, she let her impressive walking pace be a silent argument why she should take point on this march, senses alert for any potential prey or sources of less than suspious water.

 

Spoiler

speed 50 default, yo. 

  

[Asarasa]

Kathra had mostly traveled through the mountains and foothills and the Elven Woods of the Western Leaf. She'd never been to the Eastern or Southern Leaves. But she was pretty sure there was no place in all Parrella like this. The black sand and too close tumbling grey clouds were more than foreboding.

Catching her footing on the angled dais, Kathra gave the broken topped Travel Column a glare as she returned her warhammer to the loop at her belt. Not satisfied with a glare, the obelisk earned itself a kick with a metal shod and capped boot. The sound was oddly dull, lacking in vibrancy.

"I hope this thing will still work to get us back," Kathra said as she walked off the dais in Marida's wake. The hot dry wind felt gritty on her cheeks. "Already starting to regret a bit leaving Anvil behind to look after the girls and horses, though he doesn't like sand." Kathra looked around the endless, featureless desert. With nothing for contrast, it was hard to guess at distances. "Leastwise, we should see anything coming long before they are a threat."

As the rest of her companions readied themselves to follow the Grugach warrior, the she-dwarf glanced over at their newest ally, the fey elf, bard and spellmaker. "Have you heard tell of any land like this, Maighan?"

[Shameless]

Brarga let out an irritated snort.  This was not going to be pleasant.  Still he'd commit to it, so, like the others, he began walking.  "One would hope we'd see an enemy coming, or feel them, if they came from below."   They had some provisions, yes, but he doubted they had much for a long stay in a  land such as this.  "Be glad that there are clouds, if they weren't blocking the sun, this would be a very harsh march."   The hot winds did little to alleviate the conditions.   "Be alert for any changes in the terrain, and let's stay together.  Wandering alone in a desert is not an honorable way to meet your end."

 

[SalmonMax]

As the rest of her companions readied themselves to follow the Grugach warrior, the she-dwarf glanced over at their newest ally, the fey elf, bard and spellmaker. "Have you heard tell of any land like this, Maighan?"

 

"On the far side of the Fangpeaks, there is the Sea of Salt and Bone," says Maighan, shading her eyes as she squints off to the horizon. "An endless expanse of fine-grain crystals and bone shards ground up by the wind and rocks to be no bigger than sand. Devouring the world from horizon to horizon for a week's journey in every direction, and deep enough for a kraken to give birth in." Her tone was sepulchral, grim, but there was a savoring there as well couched in the smirk on her lips. The cadence of her words was of a seasoned storyteller.

 

"It's said that the gods entered these worlds from beyond, unlocking and opening a great door in the sky with a Key. Once inside, they locked the passage and discarded the key, where it fell to the ground so heavily that it made a great basin around it. Immediately the power thirsty and the mad set forth, seeking to claim the Key of Worlds. They set to fighting, and as more joined, they began bringing armies, until the land was awash in bodies living and dead, and the basin of the Key's fall was foul with blood and bodies."

 

She chuckled darkly at that. "The war was the First War, and there were whole peoples that twinkled like stars, created by the gods and doused in that violence never to be seen again. It raged for years beyond counting, for time was new in those days, and age a distant stranger. It ended long after the Key was buried in corpses, and had been so buried for so long that no one fighting still remembered exactly what they were fighting for. The bodies had rotted to bones, and the bones trampled underfoot until it was as dust. The rivers of blood dried, leaving only the salt in thick crusts...broken by wind and feet to mix with the bones. All over just a fragment of the gods' power, carelessly left within reach. Most people, their greed exposed, were cast out of that land and made mortal."

 

Maighan turned her head then to look at Kathra. "So, no. I have not heard tell of a land like this, because this land is nothing like the Sea of Salt and Bone. There are no stories here. No passions. No legends. It is a dead, dry place full of tiny stones. Our passing through it will be the closest it gets to being noteworthy for the next ten thousand years."

Edited August 2, 2023 by SalmonMax

[Nina]

On that gloomy note the Questers walked and walked, mile after mile, for what seemed like hours except there was no way to tell. The sky remained a ceiling of roiling cloud and the light never changed their shadows what there was that they cast in the odd light as if it were noon, never changed position. The tower which was their goal never seemed to get closer.

 

Once or twice, they stopped to rest and eat and drink. Their mood was glum. After the last rest when they started again suddenly the tower appeared closer as if all the walking they had done had just occurred. But not only the tower but now the lightning off to the sides flashed closer than before.

 

Twice more they repeated this, they walked and rested and after the rest the distances changed but not before.

 

The tower now was only a couple of miles away and could be seen clearly now. It was not solid but rather looked like a tall, tapered framework which twisted as it rose. So too was the lightning closer instead of just flashes they could now see individual bolts shooting from the clouds to strike the ground. Lightning flashed but there was no thunder.

 

Uneasiness began to grow among the adventurers.

 

The closer they came to the odd tower the closer the silent lightning came to them. Soon it looked as it the three would converge.

 

Spoiler

even after the day long march you have rested enough to not be fatigued. everyone HP are at full and all spell slots and feats and abilities are reset as if after a long rest.

those of you who need to choose spells should do so now

 

[Shameless]

Brarga felt uneasy, Thankful for the clouds opposed to blistering sun, but still there was decidedly something "not right" about where they were.  They made no progress, or so it seemed, until they rested.   "I don't suppose anyone has a means of handling the lightning?   The few times I've seen someone struck  by a full on bolt were very unpleasant for them."   

He had no intention of abandoning the quest, but he held out some hope that amongst all the arcane knowledge possessed by the spellcasters in the party,  someone knew something.    He knew with their armor, he and Kathra would likely have the roughest time of it, if their only choice was to simply run through and pray.    The thought brought a light smile to his lip.   At least with Kathra praying someone might actually be listening.

[Asarasa]

The power of Kathra's Vow throbbed through her soul as she made her daily preparations. This was an uncanny place, where distance and time grew more ephemeral by the moment. Perhaps not evil, not like the miasma of the Dead King's presence when Land's End fell, but it was... unwelcome. She had played her drum the previous 'day' but not for long. It had sounded dull, empty, lifeless. Unwanted in this place.

 

The Stone Father had made the dwarves from the bones and meat of the world. The Forge Mother had breathed the fire of life into them. This place was as Maighan had claimed. It wasn't dead. It had never known life or creation, and resented any such potential, as it resented their intrusion into this place.

 

The big dwarf woman stood up from her morning meditations, clashed her gauntlets together, then once again checked the straps of her armor. She nodded up at the dragonborn. "Should it prove necessary, I can bless the lot of you to resist all many of ills and help your blows strike true. And if you remain close to me, my Vow will protect you."

 

Spoiler

If you are with 10 feet of Kathra, you may add her Charisma Modifier (+4) to your saving throws.

 

[Nina]

The tower once so far away was near now. They could now make out details that were obscured by distance before. For one it was not really a tower, at least not like they were used to.

 

The body of the edifice was made of four legs each which appeared to be made not of stone but of bones. The legs themselves were unconnected and unsupported; the interior of the ‘tower’ was empty space. The legs were planted far apart and as the rose they spiraled making the whole construct twist until the legs met at a height of about 200 feet. Each leg was built of the aforementioned bones forming four twisting stairways leading to a platform at the top.

 

The height was another strange anomaly for when they had be far away and the tower had stood on the horizon it had to have been much, much taller for them to have seen it.

 

Surrounding the tower was a solid shelf of ebony stone some three feet higher than the surrounding land. The sand they had been marching on collided with the shelf like waves against a lone island in an otherwise empty sea.

 

The lightning had grown closer as they neared this object, so close that the flashes were blinding and almost constant and they could no longer see individual bolt.  The only sound was the blowing wind  which blew this way and that, there was no thunder.

 

Spoiler

The party has arrived but is still upon the sand. to get up onto the ebony shelf which holds the tower you will have to climb up onto the shelf.

 

[Asarasa]

Hands on hips, squinting against the actinic incandescence of the lightning, Kathra glared up at disturbing tower. This place may be empty and unliving, but that seemed no less the work of a foul necromancer to her. She grunted, then waded through the loose sand and planted her hands on the top of the black stone shelf, chest high to her burly figure.

 

"No point in delaying our ascent of this fell structure," Kathra said, too loudly, unconsciously trying to speak over thunder that wasn't there, muscular limbs bunching and flexing as she pulled herself up onto the shelf of dark stone. "All there seems to decide is whether we each take a leg or all climb the same one. If we are attacked going up, we won't have much room to maneuver and our numbers may be more hindrance than help."

Kathra hadn't considered particularly concerned about heights before. But now, out in the open, it suddenly seemed far more precarious. And she just knew, once they started their ascent, the tower would appear to be far taller than it already was... if it didn't instead appear squatter.

[Nina]

Suddenly the lightning flashed again and again great sheets of lightning surging around the edge of the shelf the members of the party that were not on the shelf were picked up by fingers of electricity which tingle and made their hair stand on end, and they were deposited upon the shelf alongside Kathra!

 

Before any could react bolts of lightning shot out from the sheets and struck the surface of the shelf and at the point of the strike figure of air and lightning rose, seven in all each armed with two long curved sword which crackled with electricity!

 

 

Spoiler

The ew are spaced in a semi circle about 35 feet away from the group there is 15 feet space betwen  sperating themt and the party roll initiative!

 

[Exile_Jeane]

Well, impossible geography and wild magic aside, here was something simple. Marida grinned and unsheathed her greatsword, exhaling and uncoiling the strength of the giants that nestled deep in her core. Her sword burst into flame, illuminating a space around her with the promise of violence. The Grugach warrior immediately capitalized on this promise, charging the left most elemental spawn, enlarged blade roaring out, once, twice, promising fiery death and destruction each time.

 

Spoiler

Rolling to hit for 1st Hit.

Whelp, Dice Maiden is MIA, so to not hold this up, I've got 2 swings of 1d20+7 that'll deal 2d6+6 Slashing Damage with a toasty bonus of 1d6 Fire Damage.

 

[SalmonMax]

There's a shrill wail as Maighan is whomped into the air to land unceremoniously on the stone shelf, then a girlish giggle. In the handful of seconds that she'd spent sailing, a change had come over her; somehow both subtle and profound at once.

 

It was still clearly her. Her features were the same, if perhaps a bit rounder, less dominated by straight edges and angles. Like a picture of the same person painted by a different artist. She looked younger somehow, despite still keeping that 'hard to place' air that elves tended to have, agewise. Fuller cheeks, larger eyes. Her white hair had turned...pink? And her skin was still fair, but now also had a healthy flush to it, in contrast to the deathly pallor she'd had before.

 

She popped to her feet and looked at her hands. "Oh...that just...happened! Right NOW! I'll explain right after we keep these guys from hurting us!"

 

And the strange elf reached back behind her to where a stringed instrument was secured to the side of her backpack. Maighan the Mad's fingers strummed across the strings...and everything seemed to pause for a moment. The steady approach of the lightning monsters, the crackling of thunder overhead, even the wind. The world waited...and she sang.

 

A wordless tune, set to a beat that matched the heart. It crawled into the arms and legs, demanded movement. Then the lightning flashed again, and the bolt zigzagged in midair over the creatures, creating a rune-like sigil that blazed momentarily, then was gone.

 

"Don't hurt the ones that are caught in the spell!" Maighan urged. "It's hold is fragile!"

 

(Hypnotic pattern on the 3 creatures on the rightmost side; they make DC 16 Wisdom saves at disadvantage or become Charmed for 1 minute. During that time they are also Incapacitated and cannot move.)

[Asarasa]

Music didn't belong in this place, but Kathra welcomed it, especially the effect it had on the restless dead. If the Bard's fey change was of concern, Kathra was willing to push it to the side for the nonce while they dealt with the dead. Far more compact than the Grugarch, the Dwarf followed in Marida's wake, though aiming for the center of the arc of foes so she could support any of her companions who needed it.

 

Kathra raised her hammer and smiling with joyful ferocity, Marida and Brarga felt the power of her Vow wash over them, strengthening their resolve and confidence.

 

Spoiler

Skeletons too far away for Kathra to reach, so she moved forward as much as she could and cast Bless on herself, Marida, and Brarga, letting add 1d4 to Attack Rolls and Saving Throws, for a minute (10 combat rounds)

 

[Shameless]

The creatures weren't closely bunched up sadly, but still, having three of them removed balanced the odds abit closer for Brarga and his comrades.  For his part, he simply charged ahead, careful to heed the Elf's warning, targeting one their foes that hadn't been ensnared by her spell.   His axes ready, he moved with practiced ease, his slashes tearing at the enemy with a level of fury the group had come to expect from the Dragonborn warrior.

 

Spoiler

Brarga connects on 3 of 4 attacks (unless a 23 misses)
Damage was 13, 13, and 11 (the 23)  for a total of 37 damage.
 

 

[Nina]

 Marida arrives at the still unmoving elemental creatures but as she swings her sword the one she faces slips to the side and attempts to parry her blow with some measure of skill but the barbarian bashes through the elementals twin sword and lands a solid blow.

 

The blow surprises Marida when it sends a shockwave back up her blade. The creatures body is unyielding and now she can see clearly that the form within the swirling mass of air is stone!

 

The Atronach spins around and lashes out at Marida with it twin Blades and though she tries to parry one of them slips past and slams into her side. The swords are also stone and not sharp but still the blow is solid. But even worse when the stone blade hits Marda there is a loud clap of thunder and a bolt of electricity leaps from the blade onto the Barbrian!

 

Brarga heard the crack of lighning as his own blade pummeled his target and felt the same reverberations as his axes hit stone-flesh. The Atronach responded with its own flurry of blows and try as he might Braga was unable to fend all of them off and he to was rewarded with a bolt of electricity when the elementals weapon landed.

 

Ren watched the first stage of this battle and grsped her holy symbol and mouthed a prayer as she pointed her drawn sword at the Atronach fighting Brarga. There is a sound of a tolling bell around the Atromach, Brarga hears this and watches as the creature recoils a bit and the minor wounds his axes inflected on the elemental bubble and crackle as they fester from necrotic energy!

 

Spoiler

#1 has taken 14 points of damage, #3 has taken 25 total.  Marida takes 18 points and Brarga takes 23 Both must make a con save DC 12 or be stunned until the end of the elementals next turn. don't forget the blessing Kathra put on you

 

[Exile_Jeane]

Spoiler

65/83 HP left.

Swing #1

Exile_Jeane Request: [1d20+7] Roll: [16] Result: 23 23 to Hit...

Exile_Jeane Request: [3d6+6] Roll: [6, 6, 4] Result: 22 18 Slashing and 4 Fire Damage...

Swing#2

Exile_Jeane Request: [1d20+7] Roll: [18] Result: 25 to Hit

Exile_Jeane Request: [3d6+6] Roll: [3, 2, 2] Result: 13 11 Slashing and 2 Fire Damage...

 

"Tough 'un. Give ye that," Marida grunted as she fought off the surge of lightning and then swung back with her burning blade. She was told of the elemental lords of giantkind in her training and subjected to the most basic destructive forces of the world. So it wasn't surprising. But it did sting, and she didn't want to leave it to chance one of these things got to one of her more squishy allies. 

[SalmonMax]

Maighan in her Spring regailia surveys the field, and realizes that much of her spellwork will undo the fascination she'd wrought upon several of the creatures...or risk injuring her allies. So she draws her sword; a silvery steel rapier with an ornate hilt cast in the form of a serpentine dragon that winds around the hand of its wielder. Then she carefully swings it down to lay the blade flat against the strings of her bandore; the musical instrument she'd used to weave her spell. With a quick, practiced motion she draws the sword against those strings, as if it was a violin bow.

 

A wailing discordant shriek builds in the air, but is cut off abruptly as she finishes the draw. But a sharp eye can see the air around her sword's blade shimmer and waver. A cacophony contained, waiting to be unleashed. The lute she then swings back over her shoulder, easy at hand should she need it again, as she charges in!

 

Marida finds herself joined in her battle, and any words she might have about the effectiveness of a fencing sword against a stone hide wilt at the explosion of sonic energy that is triggered by Maighan's strike, blasting away chunks of rock from the impact point!

 

"To battle then, eh?" the elf asks, a fierce gleam in her eye to match the wide grin on her face.

 

(Casting Booming Blade and attacking; rolled a 20 to hit, for 11 piercing and 6 thunder damage on Marida's opponent)

[Asarasa]

With keen battle awareness, Kathra noticed the mundane weapons of her companions didn't seem to cut into their foes as fiercely as they should, though magical energies seemed effective. With a grunt, she pulled her Blessing from her friends and focused it into her warhammer, runes on its head beginning to glow with a warm, orange luminescence.

 

The fey elf rushed in to support the Grugarch, so the big she-dwarf charged in to join the Dragonborn warrior with a bright snarl. Her first blow was deflected by a crackling stone blade. Kathra felt the electric tingle all the way up her arm. "Oh, no! Not today! Not that there's a day or night here anyway!"

 

Kathra's second blow smote it squarely in the hips, the orange runes on her hammer flaring into yellow-white incandescence as she roared with the power of her Vow.

 

Spoiler

Bonus Action: Cast Magic Weapon (Warhammer is now a magical +1 weapon for the next hour, with concentration; Bless ends)
Move Action: Move up to join Brarga
Action: Attack

Asarasa Request: [2 1d20+ 9] Rolls:
[4] Result: 13 - Miss
[17] Result: 26 - Hit

Damage: Asarasa Request: [1d8+6] Roll: [7] Result: 13 damage [Magical Bludgeoning]
Smite (1st level spell slot): Asarasa Request: [2d8] Roll: [4, 3] Result: 7 damage [Radiant]

HP: 80/80
Spell Slots: 1st - 1/4, 2nd - 1/2