Session 2 - The Plane Option
General Summary
The group gets moved around the city in the dock area. Izzy tries taking them out of the city to the west but they run into the same problem of the characters looping back. Izzy curses and takes them all the way back into some caves on the east side. The group thought they were outside of the city when she drops them off. She's in a rush, she tells them to stay there or not and if they are there when she gets back, she will help. Then she leaves, already talking about several other things she has to do.
The group looks down the passageway to see a disused cave. Well, as they start down the cave, they can tell the left side is used more and Gerold tells the group to stay on the left. At an intersection, they see a room with a lot of crates. Like the hallway, covered with dust but the crates look to be from the past few years as they haven't rotted. They don't want to upset their host, so they keep going. This hallway requires them to walk on the right side. Another intersection reveals more rooms. A collapsed passage shows what will happen if they walk on the wrong side. Getting past the collapse, they find a section of the cave that is covered with water. Looks only three to four inches deep.
Slash slowly makes his way across it. He tests each spot with his foot before he commits. He's over halfway across when he hits something hidden under the murky water. Whatever it is, breaks open, and now he feels something moving in the water. He quickly gets across. The others don't delay and go across. They see leeches in the water now and shudder at them. Turns out, Slash got some slime from on on his boot. When Verrick tries to remove it with magic, there is some resistance. He tries again and this time, the ooze absorbs the magic and eats thru the boot! Slash gets annoyed and pulls off his other boot and throws it in the water with the leeches. They investigate it and get more slime on it, ruining it. Slash and Haela both say they could have fixed it but Slash says they are ruined and continue.
They come to the end of the tunnel. It's obvious now why these tunnels are abandoned as what should be a dry well is instead flooded. The flooding does wrap back to where they had to cross. Further, there is a shaft with a chain in it, to indicate this is where they lifted the goods. It takes some effort, and leech avoidance, but they manage to pull out the wooden platform in the water, still strong enough to hold a few of them, and use mending to reattach the chains. Haela and Gerold go up this by pulling on the chain to raise the platform. They get to where there is a trapdoor and it is barred from this side. They open it and pull themselves into the room. It's a small building, a few crates in one corner, and that's it. Haela sees a way to slowly lower the platform to the other two but fumbles with it and the platform drops!
It splashes into the water, throwing a few leeches around, and Slash is not happy about that! He and Verrick use the platform and get back into the city. They are in a poor section of the dock area of Baldur's Gate. Checking the creates reveals guard's uniforms! Nothing that would denote a cleric or wizard, or even an officer, but uniforms. They grab some and then think about what to do. They want to get to Wyrm's Crossing. They wonder if Kilroy is finding out anything. They decide to change going out the Basilisk Gate.
Haela could feel the build up of energy but wasn't sure what it was. Then she was distracted by when they got to the gate. She could see the dimensional energy in the gate. She would bet several gold, nay platinum, that if she had been looking for this in Izzy's tunnels, it would have looked like this. They split up and she was with Gerold and she motions him to move off to the side, where they might see the others. When they do, they wave them over.
Haela tells them she can see the dimensional energy in the gate. It's not something they can use. Slash still wants to try but there are guards there and several point that if they do get turned around, it will look strange to the guards.
Crack.
Pop.
Shatters happen around them and goblins are there. Well, they look like goblins but they aren't outfitted like goblins! They each have a flintlock pistol! Before this, all of the group had seen one flintlock and it was a showpiece. Now twenty goblins show up and they all have one! The goblins immediately attack.
Verrick strums a nice tune and calms down a group of goblins. However, half of them snap out of it when their companions are set ablaze by Haela burning hands spell! They shoot at the group and they sting more than anything. Still not what they want to have happen to them. They quickly open up a path down a street and head that way. They hear the guards fighting but decide to get away from the gate. After they are away, they do wonder if they could have helped. Several more waves of goblins did appear but so did more guards. The group hoped the guards could handle it.
With the distraction, they decide to head out another gate. A few guards are there but Verrick uses the guard outfit to tell them to go reinforce the rest. The guards leave. Haela again sees dimensional magic in the gate passageway. They don't try it and leave the area. Slash decides to drink as the others go check with some contacts.
Verrick confirms that they aren't well known. There are vague descriptions of them out there but even the stuff from the day before doesn't seem to be as important now the goblins teleported into the city! Verrick has to work to avoid explaining what happened and that it was their group that caused this. Gerold finds out from several guards that while they were wounded, none of the guards at the gate were killed. The goblins were all taken care of. Haela goes and talks to her master. He has no idea what the dimensional magic is that she describes but says he will look into it.
As Slash drinks over the afternoon at the dive bar, he slowly hears that glass cracking sound. Crack. Pop. Over the course of several hours, it gets worse. At first, he couldn't see them but in the third hour, he would catch sight of them in his peripheral vision. In the fourth hour, they were happening next to people, who didn't even flinch, so he assumed they couldn't see the cracks in reality. When the group shows up, he explains it and they decide to leave. They are only a few blocks from the smuggler's building, so go back there.
A few hours later, the cracks again open wide and goblins arrive. Three waves again, running around, with some guns and sabers. The town rallies and helps each other and later they hear no one was killed but several were injured before the Flaming Fist joined and the goblins were stopped. Several goblins were captured so they could be questioned.
The group went over several ideas. They slept restlessly. Gerold thought he saw something happen near the Arcane Academy but wasn't sure what he saw. In the morning, Slash thinks they should turn themselves in. Others point out that when they are all together, the cracking of reality happens faster. Being locked up can't be good for that. However, they see nothing else they can do. Haela suggests they go back and talk to her mentor one last time and if he has no ideas, then they turn themselves in. If nothing else, perhaps the mages of the city might know something.
Thorin does have some ideas. He agrees that turning themselves in is a risk at the moment as there is so much they don't know. Thorin asks the group to give him time to talk to some other mages and see what they know. They agree to it and spend some more time, apart, so no more reality cracks happen. They also keep moving, which seems to help the situation. When they get back, Thorin introduces them to Melia Blackwood, a prominent wizard in town. They found some things and think they know what is happening, even if they don't know who did it or why.
First, Melia uses some tuning forks and finds out each of the group is attuned to a different plane. Gerold to Gehenna, Kilroy to Acheron, Verrick to Baator, Haela to Limbo, and Slash to the Abyss. She thinks this is due to some powerful magics but the group can't think of anything they have been around that would have caused this.
They ask if the group knows what a tesseract is? It's a magical geometrical shape that folds into itself. It's a trap of sorts, or can be. It could also server as a fortress. In this case, for whatever reason, the group was pulled into it with Baldur's Gate being the walls of the tesseract holding them inside. The group isn't feeling better about this. However, the mages explain this is good. They ask if they have seen anything "reaching out to them." They don't think they have. They say that will happen. With magic like this, it creates its own way of opening it. They just have to wait until it reveals itself.
Melia tries to explain chronomancy to the group and that it could be that, due to the tesseract, the incident that joined them in this magic may have joined them at non linear points in time. Perhaps it happened with Haela was studying magic or only recently to Slash. Maybe it had yet to happen to Gerold. The fact that it has happened, means that it is done. All they can do is work to get rid of it and minimize the damage that it will cause.
Slash repeats that they have two days before something big is going to happen. They don't have time to just sit and wait. "Can't you just magically send us back in time to stop it," Slash implores.
Thorin and Melia stare at each other at these words.
"Well, I mean, there is time tunnel"
"They are connected to the planes."
"It must be old magic, or at least powerful, so this wouldn't be breaking any rules."
They talk a bit more before looking back at the group. "Yes, we might be able to do that."
The group looks at the two mages.
"it's going to be dangerous," Melia says. "You will have to go to each of the planes you are attuned to, find the artifact that calls to you, and then join them together. That should send you to whoever did this and you can stop them."
The group agrees. If nothing else, they will be away from Baldur's Gate, so no more goblin attacks or worse. The mages need some time to prepare, so have the group eat. It's a good feast but they aren't too excited about it.
Eventually, Melia and Thorin have something for each of the group.
"Magic weapons," asks Slash, hopefully.
"Better. Amulets to protect you against the environment of the planes you will be visiting." Thorin gives each of them a platinum amulet with a gold chain. "Attune to these and we will finish up with the rest. Oh, you will need these." He gives each of the group the tuning fork that they resonated with. "These will help you find the artifact on your plane. Further, you will be able to use them to go to the other planes once what you have found what you're looking for."
The group nods and accepts the items, putting the amulets on and putting the tuning fork in pouches. Melia and Thorin say they have a bit more to prepare before they open the first portal. They want to know where they are sending them. The group decides to go to Limbo for Haela's part of the artifact. They nod and get to work.
GM Notes
- I made a mistake and didn't go by the minis but the grouping before. So, when the group went to Basilisk Gate, I thought Haela and Gerold were together. A quick switch changed it to that but it wasn't what they had intended. Darn it.
- My idea was that the group would get a feeling or see the things that would allow them to break the tesseract, as was explained to them.
- I was trying to show them that they had time and that it would work out.
- I think the group was overwhelmed, especially with the two day deadline, and wanted it over.
- So, when Thom (Slash) asked if they could be sent back in time, I went with it!
- It will probably be a better adventure, going across the planes.
- The leeches and the caves were funny. So was Slash footwear.
- Now to have Limbo ready for them!
Rewards Granted
800 xp
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