Adventure Three, Session Four

"Was it all a dream?"

THE DREAM OF A LOST AGE
Wait… Something’s… Something’s different. How did we… How did we get here??
You stand together atop a hill overlooking a city both completely strange and eerily familiar. Around you the grass of the plains have begun to turn to desert. The land has been ravaged.
The city is simple, yet elegant. Even from this vantage you see it as a paragon of civilization. A settlement amongst settlements. Colorful. Vibrant colors, from rooftops to awnings, even the micronized forms of people going about their business. All dressed so colorfully.
Your memory. There are gaps. You went to bed in a small farmhouse outside of Last Harvest. You don’t even remember waking up. You’re just here. Not teleported. You FEEL like a series of events led you here, you just cannot remember what.
The form of a man, clad in the rags of a commoner, crests the hill, approaching you. A stranger to your eyes, but somehow you know who he is. A name. You all have it. Pontiff Blackwell. The spiritual leader of the unknown city below. He's is disguise. You remember the normal fineries of his garb. You know in this moment that you’re supposed to be here, on this hill, waiting for him. He is not alone. One step behind him walks a man in robes of deep crimson. This man is a true stranger to you.
The pontiff carries something. Something rolled up, like a rug or bolt of fabric. Soon the pontiff is upon you.
“The others said you wouldn’t make it. But I, I knew you would.” He speaks in a language you’ve never heard before, yet perfectly understand. Somehow, you now know something new about yourselves. Whatever brought you here, whatever time elapsed since your memory went foggy, somehow in this time you became known as traders. Traders of rare and powerful spices. You are sometimes only referred to as the Spice Traders. But today, you have no spices with you.
The pontiff brings forth the man in crimson. "I have brought Seer Vistanos. Elder Arcanist of the Circle of Seven. He will explain the plan..."
The pontiff’s eyes travel to the east. As you follow his gaze you see it. At the edge of your vision. An army massing on the horizon. An invading force. That of the "Emperor Raizen Diatrassi," per the pontiff's words.
Vistanos speaks, "You will hide with the tapestry. You must hide within sight of the city. This is key. The city must be in view when the ritual commences."
When you open your mouth, the words that fall out are also in this mysterious tongue. "Why us?"
"It must be an outsider. The emperor has already marked us all. He will know if any of us survive the battle, and will use this knowledge to hunt the survivors down. And the tapestry. He cannot ever get the tapestry."
The pontiff is impatient. He interrupts.
"There's no time. Here..." He hands you the bundle he carries. You now know it to indeed be a bolt of fabric, the color of sand. You inspect it, but somehow you already know there's not much more to it than that.
Vistanos adds a final note, “Do not engage the enemy. Do not enter the fray. If you are spotted, you must destroy only those who saw you. They cannot be allowed to report your position to their masters.”
There are several places to hide. In a small cave, cut into the rocks of a hill opposite your current position, but a good distance away. One could attempt to dig into the fields, away from the presumed entry point of the battle. The farmers outside the city limits already lit their barns ablaze, so they cannot be taken or raided. One might hide near the fires.

EXT. HILL OVERLOOKING CITY IN A STRANGE LAND - DAY
The passage above is all the characters know about their situation. They all stood upon the hill, wearing the same clothes and holding the same equipment as they had just before. The only thing that stuck out was Temerity. Her eyes. They were now SOLID BLACK. She insisted that she felt fine, however. The party decided to keep an eye on her (as she was prone to being possessed).
As to their memories... they went to bed in the farmhouse belonging to the parents of the children they rescued from Hedda and her hag sisters. And then, they were just HERE. But where is here? And why are they there?
Is it a dream? Somehow it feels like it's really happening.
Did they have their memories wiped? They certainly have the impression of having done a great many things that they now cannot remember.
Did they perhaps travel backward or forward in time? The language of the Pontiff and his arcane ally certainly hint at a lost era. And one of the final things Vistanos mentioned was that Xanalanthi Xanaloth was amongst the "Emperor's" invading force. But Xanaloth is dead? Right?
Unfortunately the party had little time for contemplating their existential crisis. The army on the hill was about to strike. After some deliberation, the PCs decided to use the cover afforded by the burning farm houses as their hideout. Using several methods, they came down from the hill and made, stealthily, for the burning homes and barns.
Soon after they took their defensive positions they heard the battle horns blow, and with it, the army upon the hill charged down towards the unknown city.
The party held their ground, waiting for a sign that the "ritual" had commenced. They were told that it would be triggered when the army was practically upon the city, but that moment had come... and yet no sign.
Oltorf was restless, especially when it became clear that the invaders had breached the city walls. He couldn't tolerate just standing by while (allegedly) innocent people were being slaughtered. But their instructions were clear. None must see them, with or without the tapestry. It took all his will to remain in position.
And then a loud CRASH! The outer wall of the city (rear side), the one directly before them, was breached. From the inside. And from the newly formed rent, a group of roughly ten people emerged, charging towards the party. Oltorf and Teffa (who adopted the form of a tiger) took positions to intercept the incoming runners. A few moments later, they could clearly see that these were not enemy soldiers, but refugees!
Behind the terrified group of survivors was another figure. One chasing them. His livery made it clear that he was a soldier of the city (rather than the invading force). How the party knew this, they could not say. They just seemed to intrinsically know. That being said, Oltorf and Teffa allowed the refugees to pass them, and once the pursuing soldier was upon their position, Teffa the tiger POUNCED, pinning the soldier to the ground.
Oltorf rushed over and questioned the man, who screamed that the refugees must be stopped. "They cannot leave the city." Oltorf argued that they'd be murdered in the fray, but the soldier countered that they'd die regardless. The party remembered then what Vistanos said. That all the city's residents were "marked," and as such they could not escape the emperor's forces. And beyond that, they'd bring those forces down upon the party... and the tapestry.
Teffa allowed the soldier to rise and continue his pursuit. In fact they then made to assist him. The rest of the party circled in front of the refugees, effectively surrounding them. And that's when a giant shadow formed from above. A great bird, the size of a house (later identified as a "Roc") was nearly above their position. It seemed to be following the refugees... and it was carrying six soldiers on its back.
The bird wheeled around and landed in front of the open path (in the direction the refugees were running). The six soldiers jumped to the ground. They consisted of two "savage" men, wearing leather and carrying battle axes, three orcs in splint armor, and a leader wearing black plate mail. Upon looking at the leader, Oltorf immediately had the feeling that whatever this enemy's identity, he seemed to be the polar opposite of a paladin. He felt this in his marrow.
Oltorf yelled to the men, commanding them to stand down and leave. The leader simply laughed. And then the enemies charged forth. The two sides met in battle. The PC's remembered their orders to allow no survivors from the enemy, as they would bring down greater numbers upon them. The battle raged, and eventually it seemed the party was gaining the upper hand. Meanwhile, Guy and Mangy were tasked with defending the tapestry.
The Roc took to the air, in order to apparently return to its forces in the city. Teffa managed to successfully cast "Animal Friendship," causing the bird to return. She leapt on its back and they took to the air. She circled back, in an attempt to help her friends. Temerity was taking heavy damage, and the others were still indisposed dealing with pockets of one-on-one combat.
And that's when it happened. A Thunderous BOOM! A blinding FLASH of light. And a high pitched squeal. Portends of the "ritual" finally commencing. And when the blinding light faded, the battlefield had changed...
Where once the mysterious city stood, now there was simply scorched earth. It was GONE. Completely. Along with all its residents. The enemy forces and the bodies of their dead, however, still remained. They seemed more confused than anyone, standing in the midst of an empty lot. Then, as foretold by the pontiff, roughly half the enemy forces turned on their companions and began the fight anew!
In the confusion, the party managed to best their remaining foes, and Oltorf, on a hunch went to see the tapestry. Sure enough, were once the fabric was completely blank, now it displayed a colorful IMAGE. A perfect, full color, depiction of the city, dyed directly into the weave.
The group didn't have long to contemplate the implications of this development, for suddenly a secondary BOOM and FLASH of light burst out right behind them. When the swirling smoke cleared, there stood Xanalanthi Xanaloth. Alive and well. Not a mummy, rather a living, breathing creature (a mind flayer in this case).
The party prepared to engage their old enemy. But they never had the chance. From Xanaloth's finger tips a storm wave, replete with lightning, erupted. It barreled out and struck the majority of the party, mortally wounding most of them. The party fell, dying. As they began to fade into the great beyond, they saw the mind flayer float over to them.
Xanaloth hovered over them. His disgusting, three-fingered "hand" reached forth, not to finish anyone off, rather to reach the tapestry.
It's at this moment that another FLASH of sorts occurred. And the world once again turned upside down...

EXT. THE KING'S ROAD - DAY
The gentle jostling of the wagon along the somewhat bumpy road rouses the party. Everyone was there. In the carriage on the road to Angleport. It was as if nothing had occurred at all. Did they dream it afterall? If so, how did they all have the same dream?
They all seemed "normal" once again. Even Temerity's eyes had returned to their natural color. Everyone felt fine, too. All save for Temerity, who was suffering from a pretty intense headache.
The carriage driver turned back to the party, informing them that they were pulling into Angleport! An entire week (or more) had indeed passed. The party had no memory of waking from their beds in the farmhouse, let alone getting into the carriage or any of the resulting trip.
They asked the driver if anything eventful happened upon the King's Road. He mentioned that they were nearly waylaid by bandits, but managed to escape. But were they really bandits? And could the driver's words be trusted?
Regardless, he let them off in front of the Blue Flame tavern. Here, with a day to kill before their ship would be leaving from the harbor, the party decided to split up and run some errands. Teffa had a page summon Lewellyn, as she greatly desired to see him. Their new companion, Sendry, set about looking for money purses to fleece. He found a rotund merchant and managed to steal his coin purse.
Temerity went in search of a magic shop, and found a place that sold curios. She asked if they had anything that could help with magical detection and non-detection. The shop keeper didn't have what she desired, but gave her the name of a person in Varuumae Corona (their eventual destination) who might be able to help them.
As Oltorf found the temple to his god so he could pray, Teffa went back to Lewellyn's estate with him. The rest of the party rented cheap rooms in a local tavern (one cheaper than the Blue Flame) for the night. In fact, Sendry managed to convince the tavern owner to allow him to perform his "act" in exchange for room and board.
And with this, the party ended their long trip, preparing for what would come the next day. The trip to Varuumae Corona...