Chapter 15: Tsovayin
The covenant woke up early the next morning and set out towards the ruins. Shortly after leaving, they were surprised by a loud thundering sound followed by a large cloud of smoke in the shape of a raccoon. The cloud introduced itself as "The Great Sugoi, the Great" and claimed to be a god from the island of Yamato. He also claimed to have lost his divine powers and traveled for a long time in search of them. The cloud dissipated and revealed a large talking raccoon dog (tanuki) carrying many bottles of alcohol it called "sake." Sugoi offered the group some, and Tar'Kanis tried it. Though the group did not at first trust Sugoi, they accepted his offer to travel with them to the ruins.
As they traveled, the mist thickened and made navigation more difficult. As they traveled along the coast, Sivald lost sight of the sea and guided them in the wrong direction for half a day. Eventually, they reached the ruins without incident. As they approached, they found a small guard house near the entrance and the ruins themselves--a brick walled camp with several ancient stone buildings inside. A large metal sign nearby read "Tsovayin." They left Gaerald and Sivald outside and entered the ruins through a gap in the wall. They spotted several undead milling about the central square of the ruins and snuck around to ambush them. They slew two wights with ease, and though a third spirit assaulted them with waves of psychic energy its efforts were for naught and they were largely unharmed before dispatching it. Sugoi proved adept at magic, blasting the undead with beams of frost and repelling blasts of eldritch energy.
After destroying the undead (who wore dilapidated military uniforms), they investigated the square and found 4 wooden posts with crumbled skeletons at their base, shackles still attached. Two of the skeletons were much larger, at least 7 or 8 feet tall and with elongated skulls and a 3rd eye socket in the middle of the forehead (like the statues of the masters). These had tattered remains of the same uniforms as the wights. The other two appeared human, but all 4 showed signs of piercing trauma through the skull. The posts also revealed ancient blood stains and holes, inside of which Dox found small projectiles like musket balls. They deduced that these 4 had been executed by some firearm. The party went on to explore the various buildings. They found that the structures were built of strange uniform stone, with metal bars inside revealed where the walls were damaged. Inside the first building, Tar'Kanis tried to open the door quietly but failed as the door came off of its hinges loudly. A horrible stench overwhelmed him as two ghasts bolted towards him. He retreated to the outside, and the group quickly dispatched the undead. Inside, Tar'Kanis was assaulted by an ooze seemingly made of living blood. It tried to enter his scrapes and wounds, but ultimately failed and was destroyed. They explored the structure and found that it must have been a barracks of some kind, or living quarters for the inhabitants of the facility.
They discovered another barracks nearby, and slew two worm-ridden undead inside, finding not much else in this structure. But as they explored, Tar'Kanis discovered a large wreck of some vehicle nearby. Thrain inspected it, and found it like the previous vehicle they'd found on the road but larger and more heavily reinforced. Atop this vehicle was a large, cannon-like device. Thrain and Tar'Kanis spent time dismantling the cannon, and managed to bring it down in one piece after ten minutes. Thrain deduced it was powered by some arcane crystal, which still had charge enough to fire. Meanwhile, Rasper explored the rest of the garrison, finding two locked structures (behind which one could hear moaning sounds), one of which was locked from the other side. Thrain and Tar'Kanis readied the cannon outside one door while Dox picked the lock. As Dox opened the door, the group readied itself for battle. A crazed warrior spirit came at them from inside, and Thrain fired the cannon. A solid beam of sun-like energy shot forth, piercing the spirit with radiant energy. The spirit answered the attack by calling forth 3 more spirit warriors, all of which resembled Tuhka and spoke in the Tuhka tongue. After exchanging blows for some time, Rasper suddenly found themself next to another spirit-this one dark and mist-like. It assaulted the group with psychic energy, manipulating them to attack each other. Finally, all of the spirits were slain. Those that had been manipulated by the dark spirit found themselves obsessed with a place called "Epikentros," not knowing why or where this place was.
As they entered the structure, the warrior spirit returned with a peaceful demeanor. As it spoke, Sugoi used his magic to allow it to be understood and understand the group. It revealed itself to be Brynolf, the Tuhka legend who led the revolt against the masters before the fall. He said that the revolt had been supported by some of the more progressive masters, but failed despite their aid. He and his men were captured, tortured and executed here along with the master dissidents. The commander of the camp was a cruel, evil man who conscripted Tuhka as soldiers at the garrison. He kept Brynolf's spear as a trophy, hanging it in his office. When the mists came, he forced them to remain and defend Tsovayin to the bitter end. When he died, his spirit was taken by the mist and twisted into a demonic form. His cruelty continued as he raised the dead soldiers, denying them the respite of death.
When questioned about the masters, Brynolf revealed that they were evil creatures who came from "beyond the stars, beyond reality" and took the Tuhka from their homes, bringing them to this world as slaves. Before fading away, the spirit of Brynolf told them to "Seek out Tuonela." Those who had been manipulated by the dark mist spirit instead heard the word "Epikentros" instead of "Tuonela." They found it difficult to stop thinking about this place.
With this knowledge, the group prepared to enter the commander's quarters after a short break to mend their wounds. They readied the cannon once more, and Dox began to try to look for traps set on the door. But as he did, a large winged creatures with smooth, purple skin and large golden horns appeared from the ground behind Rasper and Sugoi. Sugoi reacted by teleporting himself and Rasper away in a flash of thunder, blasting the creature. The demon raised its staff (in the shape of a shepherd's crook), trailing shadowy mist. As he did, 6 shadows appeared near the group and began assaulting them--draining their strength with necrotic magic. Thrain turned the cannon about, firing at the demonic commander and blasting him with radiant energy. He seemed to absorb some of the beam, but was damaged nonetheless. As the shadows attacked Tar'Kanis, Thrain and Dox, the demon focused on the weaker members of the party. He flew behind Rasper and Sugoi, and attacked with claw and crook. Before long, both were laid low and bleeding to death. Thrain and Dox rushed to their aid with potions and magic while Tar'Kanis battled the shadows and demon. Back in the fight, Sugoi blasted him with eldritch energy and Rasper unleashed psychic lances that proved most effective against him. As Tar'Kanis and Dox dispatched the last of the shadows, Thrain finished off the demon with a slam of his thunder gauntlets. But as he perished, the demon collapsed in on itself and then exploded in a wave of necrotic energy that brought the already badly wounded group to the ground. With the help of Thrain's artifice and a few potions of healing, the group was restored and saved from death.
Inside the commander's quarters, they found the ruins of strange devices and unusual luxury. While the commander had his own bath inside his quarters, it proved to be his final resting place as he took his own life inside of it in the final days of the fall. Documents inside his desk and cabinets revealed project notes on something called “The Ascension Project” to create a device called “the god engine.” The notes were heavily redacted, and mentioned something called “the god frequency.” According to the notes, all further documentation of the ascension project had been moved to the great library of Mets Gradaran. The commander’s personal journal detailed the last weeks of the garrison before the fall (including the failed revolt, imprisoning the rebels and executing them). Also in the desk was a strange metal key (somehow both hot and cold, light and heavy) and a small metal box with a dial on one side, a circle with holes inside of it and sliding back plate revealing tiny arcane crystals. Thrain studied the metal box and discovered the dial could be used to "power up" the device, which emitted a barely audible whining droning static sound. Hung above the commander's ruined desk was the spear of Brynolf, displayed as a trophy for all to see.
They grabbed the spear and left the office and decided to explore the remaining structure (which they deduced must be the brig). Sugoi turned into a misty form and entered the building via cracks and crevices in the stone, then lifted the bar blocking the way. Inside, they found 4 spirits of Tuhka warriors who were chained to the walls and left to die. The spirits were at ease now with the commander dead. When asked about "Tuonela," they answered that it was "the place they were leaving for." When asked about "Epikentros," they said it was a "place of great evil." They faded before they could answer any more questions.
The group gathered and prepared to return to the Elk Tribe.
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