The Ancient Stones - Part 1
Session 32 Recap
General Summary
Unsure of how to proceed, but unwilling to leave their companion at the mercy of his condition, the Outkasts agree to treat Morgan Greyson as best they could first, then decide his fate once he was able to explain himself. Fortuneately, Bara is able to stabilize Morgan with her skills and the discovered supplies, though he does not regain consciousness.
Eventually, Qas suggests that while they wait for him to recover, they should search the village and perform what rights they can for the dead. Bara and Rayne agree, and take several hours to collect the dead and lay them to rest, cremating the remains. The fires burn long into the night, and the Outkasts take their turns watching over their comatose ally, but when dawn breaks over the village and Morgan remains unresponsive they begin to look for other options. Fearing that his condition will not improve unless his shadow is restored to him, they finally decide to consult Bara's ancestors for guidance on how to find the fey culprit. Also, knowing that trying to carry Morgan with them will not only slow their pursuit, but also increase the likelihood of attracting dangerous attention, the adventurers make the hard decision to leave their unconsious ally behind in order to track down their quarry as quickly as possible.
As Bara starts to commune with her ancestors, Qas and Rayne busy themselves with camouflaging their unconscious ally in the chief's hut, leaving him with some food and drink in case he wakes up while they are away. Eventually, Bara recieves a revelation directing her to a great temple to the south-west — both giving her a general idea of its location but warning her to be wary of the "ancient evil" responsible for the village's destruction. Steeling themselves for the hunt, and bidding their sleeping ally farewell, the group gathers up whatever useful supplies remain in the village and set out, venturing as quickly as they can travel towards the lost lands in the south.
Despite already being familiar with the deep woods of Darkbough Forest, they find the trek to be especially grueling as they try to rush forward with no easy path, but grit and determination to save their ally bolsters the Outkasts and drives them to push on harder and faster. Navigating blindly through the choking darkness of the forest floor, and relying on Bara's intuitive sense of direction to reach the lands, the group finally breaks through the treeline and finds themselves in a vast, open plain unlike anything they've seen in the Union. Finding evidence of ancient stone walkways and trenches, the Outkasts quickly realize that these fields are likely yet another remnant of the lost civilizations of Coralous and decide to make camp to discuss how to proceed further.
As they are preparing their evening meal, they notice a figure rushing out of the forest where they had emerged, and moments later, Bara recognizes that it is Morgan, weary and worn, but concious once more! The group quickly conspires to keep their concerns about his affiliations secret until they are in a better place to discuss such heavy matters, and rush to greet their stumbling ally.
Morgan, upon reaching the group, expresses his complete confusion and dismay. While choking back tears, he asks them why they abandoned him back in the village, continuing their mission without him.. The Outkasts exchange a few conspiratorial glances before Qas steps up to explain that they were worried he might not wake up with his shadow stolen, so they were trying to track down the malevolent fey as fast as possible. Morgan eventually calms down and accepts their apologies, but he can tell that there is something they are holding back, and while he makes a good effort of cheering up, a distant sullenness starts to overtake him throughout the remainder of the evening.
Taking time to bring Morgan up to speed on the events since his collapse, the Outkasts make sure to keep quiet about the orange scarf found in his belongings, and their concerns about his connection to Verant. Instead, they focus on the revelation about the local area, and suspicious that they may be very close to the ancient temple where the shadow fey escaped back to. In return, Morgan tells the group that since waking up, he has felt a stange hollowness about himself, as if he is missing part of him, and like he is, himself, a mere shadow of who he once was. At first, he didn't know why he felt so weak, but upon hearing about the fey's theft — and being able to see his strange condition for himself — it all starts making sense.
Resolving themselves to track Lyukikyoth to her lair the next day, the party finishes their meal and sets up watches for the evening. On guard for the ever present dangers that seemed to haunt these lands, they are still quiet relieved to once more find themselves looking up at a star-filled sky instead of the black canopy of the dense forest.
The following morning, after some blessedly good sleep, the party once more takes to the chase, using the ruined stone pathways to try to find where this ancient temple may be. The day of travel eventually takes them through the last crumbling vestiges of old buildings, past the remnants of ampitheaters and overgrown pillars, and eventually leads them to the foot of a great, towering ziggurat. Taking in the sight, Bara suggest that the structure, one of the only standing remnants of the ancient people that once inhabited the land, must have once sat at the center of a long lost town or market, but looking around, the group see instead that millenia of unchecked growth has now found it nearly swallowed up by the encroaching Darkbough forest. The Outkasts start to circle the temple, looking for a way inside, when a familiar voice calls down to them from an overlooking balcony. Looking up, the group sees none other than the tricksome fey, Lyukikioth, giggling and greeting them to her home.
The group calls up, demanding that she turn over Morgan's shadow, but the fey girl simply laughs again and says that she rightfully stole it, and that she plans to keep it, since she is very fond of the shape. The Outkasts are enraged at her callous display, though Bara does point out that capricious though they may be, most fey aren't actually cruel on purpose, but simply lack empathy. The oracle calls up to Lyukikioth and attempts to bargain with her, but the fey becomes quickly distracted with something inside the ziggurat and starts leaping and climbing around the ruined balconies, replying that she might be open to a bargain, but only if the group is able to make it up to the top of the tower alive. Before the group is able to respond, Lyukikioth ducks into a crack in the wall, and disappears inside the ruins.
With little choice remaining, the Outkasts continue their circling of the temple until they eventually find a great staircase leading up into the ziggurat proper. Steeling themselves for the unknown, the group ascends the crumbling steps and peers into the inky blackness where Lyukikioth and the answers about the lost tribe await them.
Eventually, Qas suggests that while they wait for him to recover, they should search the village and perform what rights they can for the dead. Bara and Rayne agree, and take several hours to collect the dead and lay them to rest, cremating the remains. The fires burn long into the night, and the Outkasts take their turns watching over their comatose ally, but when dawn breaks over the village and Morgan remains unresponsive they begin to look for other options. Fearing that his condition will not improve unless his shadow is restored to him, they finally decide to consult Bara's ancestors for guidance on how to find the fey culprit. Also, knowing that trying to carry Morgan with them will not only slow their pursuit, but also increase the likelihood of attracting dangerous attention, the adventurers make the hard decision to leave their unconsious ally behind in order to track down their quarry as quickly as possible.
As Bara starts to commune with her ancestors, Qas and Rayne busy themselves with camouflaging their unconscious ally in the chief's hut, leaving him with some food and drink in case he wakes up while they are away. Eventually, Bara recieves a revelation directing her to a great temple to the south-west — both giving her a general idea of its location but warning her to be wary of the "ancient evil" responsible for the village's destruction. Steeling themselves for the hunt, and bidding their sleeping ally farewell, the group gathers up whatever useful supplies remain in the village and set out, venturing as quickly as they can travel towards the lost lands in the south.
Despite already being familiar with the deep woods of Darkbough Forest, they find the trek to be especially grueling as they try to rush forward with no easy path, but grit and determination to save their ally bolsters the Outkasts and drives them to push on harder and faster. Navigating blindly through the choking darkness of the forest floor, and relying on Bara's intuitive sense of direction to reach the lands, the group finally breaks through the treeline and finds themselves in a vast, open plain unlike anything they've seen in the Union. Finding evidence of ancient stone walkways and trenches, the Outkasts quickly realize that these fields are likely yet another remnant of the lost civilizations of Coralous and decide to make camp to discuss how to proceed further.
As they are preparing their evening meal, they notice a figure rushing out of the forest where they had emerged, and moments later, Bara recognizes that it is Morgan, weary and worn, but concious once more! The group quickly conspires to keep their concerns about his affiliations secret until they are in a better place to discuss such heavy matters, and rush to greet their stumbling ally.
Morgan, upon reaching the group, expresses his complete confusion and dismay. While choking back tears, he asks them why they abandoned him back in the village, continuing their mission without him.. The Outkasts exchange a few conspiratorial glances before Qas steps up to explain that they were worried he might not wake up with his shadow stolen, so they were trying to track down the malevolent fey as fast as possible. Morgan eventually calms down and accepts their apologies, but he can tell that there is something they are holding back, and while he makes a good effort of cheering up, a distant sullenness starts to overtake him throughout the remainder of the evening.
Taking time to bring Morgan up to speed on the events since his collapse, the Outkasts make sure to keep quiet about the orange scarf found in his belongings, and their concerns about his connection to Verant. Instead, they focus on the revelation about the local area, and suspicious that they may be very close to the ancient temple where the shadow fey escaped back to. In return, Morgan tells the group that since waking up, he has felt a stange hollowness about himself, as if he is missing part of him, and like he is, himself, a mere shadow of who he once was. At first, he didn't know why he felt so weak, but upon hearing about the fey's theft — and being able to see his strange condition for himself — it all starts making sense.
Resolving themselves to track Lyukikyoth to her lair the next day, the party finishes their meal and sets up watches for the evening. On guard for the ever present dangers that seemed to haunt these lands, they are still quiet relieved to once more find themselves looking up at a star-filled sky instead of the black canopy of the dense forest.
The following morning, after some blessedly good sleep, the party once more takes to the chase, using the ruined stone pathways to try to find where this ancient temple may be. The day of travel eventually takes them through the last crumbling vestiges of old buildings, past the remnants of ampitheaters and overgrown pillars, and eventually leads them to the foot of a great, towering ziggurat. Taking in the sight, Bara suggest that the structure, one of the only standing remnants of the ancient people that once inhabited the land, must have once sat at the center of a long lost town or market, but looking around, the group see instead that millenia of unchecked growth has now found it nearly swallowed up by the encroaching Darkbough forest. The Outkasts start to circle the temple, looking for a way inside, when a familiar voice calls down to them from an overlooking balcony. Looking up, the group sees none other than the tricksome fey, Lyukikioth, giggling and greeting them to her home.
The group calls up, demanding that she turn over Morgan's shadow, but the fey girl simply laughs again and says that she rightfully stole it, and that she plans to keep it, since she is very fond of the shape. The Outkasts are enraged at her callous display, though Bara does point out that capricious though they may be, most fey aren't actually cruel on purpose, but simply lack empathy. The oracle calls up to Lyukikioth and attempts to bargain with her, but the fey becomes quickly distracted with something inside the ziggurat and starts leaping and climbing around the ruined balconies, replying that she might be open to a bargain, but only if the group is able to make it up to the top of the tower alive. Before the group is able to respond, Lyukikioth ducks into a crack in the wall, and disappears inside the ruins.
With little choice remaining, the Outkasts continue their circling of the temple until they eventually find a great staircase leading up into the ziggurat proper. Steeling themselves for the unknown, the group ascends the crumbling steps and peers into the inky blackness where Lyukikioth and the answers about the lost tribe await them.
Missions/Quests Completed
- Locate the ancient temple ruins
Character(s) interacted with
Rayne
Bara
Qas
Report Date
26 Mar 2020
Primary Location
Secondary Location
Comments