Liliana Idril
Liliana is the only child of Lorsan Idril and Farryn Idril. Her family saved up to send her away to learn magic.
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Accidentally landing in an ambush....
5575
After hyperfixating on her books for a long time, Liliana shook herself and realised that the sled that had been transporting through the desert (that Shadow had chosen as the best place to start hunting for Aglethal's people) had reached a point and stopped for Shadow and Emin were nowhere to be seen.
Kasemir looked up from spooning with Shelley and they two of them decided to follow the trail left by Shadow into subterranean tunnel and found them looking rough having just engaged in a battle!
They felt a tremor around them and the tunnel behind them disappeared in a cloud of dust and debris.
"Oh, hello friends." Said Shadow.
They decided they may as well head down the corridor Shadow had been planning to head down prior to the collapse. The corridor seemed to have arrow slits along it, but they were carved as if the arrows would come from outside the corridor in at them.
A voice warned them not to proceed or they would be shot and Shadow tried to engage them in conversation and they heard a little bickering from behind the wall. The female voice who had warned them said she had been told not to let anyone through, on instructions of her god. The conversation continued and Emin and Kasemir explained they had killed an elf lady named Mord, who was an enemy of the warning voice and she threw a gold piece through as thanks but still wouldn't let them through, even though they couldn't go back.
The group decided to just dimension door through the door whereupon they immediately found themselves surrounded and attacked. Emin went invisible, Shadow got mind controlled and Liliana fireballed a group of them shouting, "are you sure you want to do this? We could still talk?"
Shadow turned to attack Kasemir, looking confused at his actions saying "does not compute!" and Liliana silvery barbs him so he missed, as lightning struck Kasemir and him at the same time. Raging Kasemir dotted forward and felled one of the people manning a ballista with a few swings. Shots were fired from guns and ballista, Liliana cast shield, as others dodged, Emin cast eldritch blast. Casting another fireball, Liliana pointed out that this was an act of war against dignitaries from another empire and maybe they should rethinlk. Her fireball killed the one controlling Shadow and he was able to rejoin the fight and help his friends. Pulling out a heavy cross bow he said,
"I've got a big thingy too," and shot towards one of the elves manning the ballista. As it missed he cried, "that was a warning shot!"
Another shot missed Liliana and she heard swearing in elvish, from someone who was clearly regretting their life choices.
Emin rushed in to finish off one of the charred victims of fireball as more shots were fired, and he began to sing a song about how great Kasemir was at beating people up to inspire him, as Liliana tapped Shadow and said,
"I am going to make you go quickly, but do not be too hasty uh? Pick your moment."
As Shadow felt himself power up, grow faster and more hardy he mildly said, "well how about that" and turned his attack on the one who had just tried to shoot him, and blasted into the magician, an (arachrnomancer) with his crossbow. Blows continued to be traded and spells zapped across the field of battle. Liliana got fed up and swung the staff of the magi, utterly frying the two attacking Kasemir with a lightning bolt.
Shadow used his warlock powers to use lightning to painfully pull a creature into his reach where he could attack him with his rapier.
Despire Liliana's best efforts to change the course of time, Shadow was knocked unconscious, absolutely fuming Liliana cast a high level fireball on the wizard, while out of sight of the others Kasemir was both taking an delivering a beating. Emin called out a healing word to pop Shadow back up, but in doing so he opened himself up to an attack and was knocked unconscious. Liliana responded with a wither and bloom to drain the wizard and restore Emin.
Shadow pushed himself to his feet and moved over to the wizard, as Emin looked up at him, Shadow said,
"No one kills the wizard but me." And thrust straight into the wizard with his rapier, practically slicing the mage in half. The light went out from their eyes.
Kasemir continued to whale on his opponent with brutal blows, lightning crackling from his weapon.
Emin laid a hand on his chest and cast cure wounds on himself, as Shadow downed a healing potion, hit Emin with cure wounds by clapping him on the shoulders with his powerful metal hands. Liliana went in search of Kasemir and seeing him fighting someone, she hit them with a shatter spell crumbling the earth under them and sending them stumbling down to the ground. Kasemir jumped down after him, paced a foot on his chest and swing his club like a golf club, smashing into the head. He pulled the mangled head from the shoulders and stagged back up waving it.
"Are we done?" He cried angrily, "That was a long one."
He then remonstrated with Shadow over his attacking him and Shadow said he would do research to see if he could enhance his resistance to magical control.
"Yeah, don't listen to voices telling you to stab people, unless it is me!"
No more oppression, a panic room, a conga and an assassin or two.
5575
After spending days working on the delicate task of successfully transcribing the newly found spell scrolls into her spell book, Liliana triumphantly looked up from her work to find no one around her.
She went in search of Shadow, and gets confused when someone agrees to take her to the Emperor... she is ushered into his august presence and introduced to the emperor, who was none other than Shadow, the former emperor having been shot in the head by Shadow, (to appease Umber Lee) which immediately promoted him to the position of emperor, a position he now had to hold until his own death, as part of his pact with Umber Lee.
Liliana stared at him in confusion. She looked down at her book the same way someone might look at their empty stash after a week long bender...
"How long was I reading for?!?" She asked incredulously.
“It’s a whooooole thing…”
Shadow can’t cry, but he looked like he wanted to.
Liliana cocked her head in confusion, then laid a hand on his metal hand. She shrugged.
"People in power have powerful enemies, but they also have," she smiled like a cat preparing to hunt, "powerful allies. I'm sure we can fix whatever this is together and if not..."
Fire danced in her hand and her eyes sparkle.
Liliana spoke with Kasimir and Shadow and learned that they now had access to teleportation circles that could take them to many locations on the surface. She also learned that Kasimir had stolen a senator's wife (Shelley) along the way, who had decided not to go home to her husband and was happily following along with Kasimir. A form of Barbarian groupie. DUring fights, she'd stand at the side and fan herself was Kasimir's muscular form did what Kasimir does best, their morc like muscular form looking epic with their strange halo horn combination.
Shadow has also inherited thirty eight wives and fifteen husbands.
With a whole world at their disposal in terms of travel they discussed where to go next, whether to try and continue their original quest, when they had investigating rumours of the hag in the Tolmech empire and they found her, Aglathol and she had asked the adventurers to find out what had happened to the people of the Tolmech empire promising them a king's ransom in return. They discussed going back to visit Lady Emma and tell her what they had found and then set off on the job for Aglathol, meanwhile somewhere they had left a ship behind when they descended to the underwater world. They had sent a message to the ship to let them know where they were, but had no way of reaching said ship....
Shadow was also wondering if he could argue his way out of his role as emperor by arguing that he wasn't really alive.... He found a civil servant and they began to argue their case but were told that the sacred rites of Umber Lee stated that a sapient creature, a thinking creature qualified for the position.
Shadow expressed his frustration that he couldn't do anything as emperor and a civil servant named Geoffrey pointed out that he could just sign whatever he wanted into law. He started with a law that simply stated 'No More Oppression'.
"Geofreey you're no longer oppressed. No more executions. No more murders. No more jumped up prison sentences."
"No more defenestration?" G asked sadly.
"Why would we stop that happening? We'll make it willing of course, but it will be an Olympic sport for the willing participants."
The lights suddenyl turned amber.
"Your highness, take cover, find somewhere to hide. we are under attack, those lights signal an attacker in the palace."
Lilinaa immediately tapped Shadow on the shoulder and cast Greater Invisibility on him.
"Quickly, you must take the Emperor into the cellar!"
Kasimir eyed Geoffrey who seemed sincere and with much grumbling they followed Shadow's voice into the cellar. It was a simple store room with shelves full of food items, including flour. Liliana scooped up a small bag of flour in case she needed to make an impromptu bomb. Meanwhile Emin had discovered a honey jar and was tasting its contents while humming to himmself. Kasimir found a stash of protein bars and began to fill his pockets, his own honey Shelley was back in her bower, so he took comfort in the chances that she was probably safe, but if she encountered danger, he knew she had two sickle shaped daggers.
Also in the room was an empty animal carrier box for a very large sized animal, it bore scratch marks on it.
There was a door on one side of the room, so out of mischief, Shadow opened the door open so it creaked. It revealed a black and white tiled floor. Emin left a honey trap by the steps in a home alone style, in case they were followed while Shadow investigated the hallway.
Because he was invisible, Kasimir had to place his hands on Shadow's shoulders to avoid bumping into him and the party began a strange conga into the room, which seemed to be an art gallery. Emin noticed sticky fingers on the paintings. Shadow found a wine cellar that had spirits too. Everyone followed him in helped themselves to the booze. Lilinaa found a correctly stored 20 year thornleaf, a red and a one hundred year old bottle of scotch in a crystal bottle with a wax seal intact, and an average bottle of brandy.
Meanwhile Kasimir had found lots of weapons and was sifting through them, looking at what might be useful to him.
Emin felt as if he was being watched. He checked the paintings but there were no eyes cut in them, he glanced around further, and felt the sensation of being watched the more he moved to the north of the room. Suddenly he got struck by an attack and yelped, a shady creature at his elbow. Another shadowed assassin appeared by Kasimir and he too felt the pierce of a blade before the assassin seemed to fade out of existence.
Kasimir turned to the only assassin he could see, the one beside Emin and he launched himself at it. Liliana cast mage armour on herself, as Emin engaged in combat with another. Using the invisibility to his advantage, Shadow made a vicious attack on the only visible assassin leaving it smoking. A momentum later something struck Liliana, wounding her heavily. Kasimir felled the assassin they had been attacking and moved to stand by Liliana's side who was swearing profusely. As Emin healed himself, Liliana began to cast wither and bloom, ready to release it when the assassin reappeared again. It appeared to attack Shadow and she released her spell but the effect was too far from her to allow her to benefit and so as she drained it of necrotic energy, she gifted the bloom to Kasimir, who healed to almost his full strength.
"You wouldnt' attack someone in glasses?" Asked Kasimir who responded with a brutal attack.
As blades continued to flash, Liliana cried,
"Ok, I am really pissed off now." and cast fireball, singeing the creature, very badly.
Shadow rushed to Liliana to try and heal her, "You can drop invisibility if you need to." He said, but she gritted her teeth.
Emin loosed an eldritch blast, forcing the assassin back against the wall until it exploded in smoke.
Kasimir ran over and placed a huge hand on Liliana to squeeze a drop of healing into her.
Glancing around as a strange heady scent of cardamom and cinnamon filled the air from the smoking assassin.
A conversation began and Shadow confessed that while he had been trying to get deposed he chose to destroy several of the emperor's underwater ships, forgetting that there was people on them. Liliana tilted her head at him and reminded him that several of the emperor's wives were on the ships. They'd been sent to the deepest part of the abyssal trench and this decision likely had not been popular. This led to an argument as Liliana was furious that Shadow was being so reckless in the hope he would get killed, as none of them had any way of bringing him back., especially as due to his nature Liliana knew they would need a true resurrection spell in order to bring him back if he died.
Angry with each other they sat to take a breather and rest for a short while.
A new travelling companion and a sexy octopus.
5575
Everything was silent for a moment and then, a female merfolk walked in. She introduced herself as Emry and said she lived in the city above, she wore basic army and looked like she was good at sneaking around. She explained she had broken out of jail and followed a oath of devastation and destruction that led her to Liliana, Shadow and their new found travelling companion, Emin the elf looking human bard.
"Blessings of Stevie be upon you."
Liliana recognised Stevie as one of the traveller dragons that saved the world from catastrophe around a century.
"By the way, I'm telepathic but I try not to use that without permission." Emry said.
"I do not give you permission." Liliana said immediately.
"You'll find nothing in mine." Emin said.
"I'm not even sure I have a mind." Shadow added.
Shadow looked around and found a spiral staircase.
"So, Emry, the bottom line is we're going to kill the emperor. Are you on board with that?"
At Emry's silence Shadow said: "I will take your silence as yes."
They began to ascend the stairs until they reach what appeared to be a defunct dungeon. Emry recognised that they were used to housed human prisoners, who were sacrificed for Umber Lee. There was also a sign of an autopsy table. Shadow noticed broken bones of long dead prisoners to suggest that they had simply been thrown up and over the walls to land in the prisoner. They continued on into an enormous cavern with a central pillar of rock and a river flowing around and through the cavern.
"I would like to try something stupid." Shadow said and when they others didn't stop him shouted, "hello?"
Holding their breath to listen, they heard the cry echo only once and Emry heard what sounded like a giggle. She reached out with her telepathic abilities, detecting thoughts. Nothing. Except light music and horny thoughts from Emin.
They followed the curve of the cavern round, it felt as if they were walking underwater as the marine plant life looked like coral and flowing seaweed.
The cavern felt old, as if this was where the first chapel of this complex had been hewn into the rock. Old blood stains were still visible on the rock.
To the north, Emin heard the sombre sounds of a cello, humming with vibrato in Bb minor. "I can hear music to the north," he said turning to the north.
Shadow pulled Liliana back and asked quietly, "This new one who just showed up, do you trust her?"
"I do not trust anyone," Liliana said with a smile that did not reach her eyes, "so no, I do not trust her." She moved to walk forward and then stopped, "I do not trust anyone... except you. You are the exception to the rule. "
Shadow looked at her and was surprised by the emotionless truth in her eyes, he filed this information and they moved on to join the others, Emry pointed out that Umber Lee was known to play cello music and to proceed with caution. Shadow questioned the wisdom of whether they should move forward but Emin found himself oddly drawn to it. He kept moving toward it, spying doors ahead while Shadow and Emry advised caution. Liliana observed the proceedings with curiosity, she had no connection to Emin and was not afraid of harm coming to them but she was curious.
Following the sound they crossed the water, walking on the surface, thanks to a spell of water wlking by Emry. They approached a temple door with a huge relief depicting the octopus like face of umber lee, the outside of the door was wreathed in gold. They looked to the west and saw wooden pews, smelly and mouldy, they all began to move towards them to investigate but Liliana once again heard the compelling music, and felt drawn towards the doors back to the west. Curious at what was compelling her she examined the doors, they were unmarked by age, uncorroded and perfect, designed in the style of old Paxander.
Emry approached and offered to mage hand the door open for her. Liliana looked at her as if to say, 'bitch please' and opened the door with her own mage hand. Shadow peered into the room to scout ahead. Emry's mage hand flipped Liliana off and then was dismissed. She clutched her holy symbol as she entered the temple, moving towards the alter to take a look.
A large church like room with an alter, an exquisite statue of Umber Lee in her human form at the northern end. Columns ran either side of the room, with stone pews and the story of Umber Lee being protected on the prime material plane by the grand and heroic hero. Liliana followed in at Shadow's call and looked at the images. She vaguely remembered a black sword wielding hero, the champion of Umber Lee. Hero to their sect, villain to others.
She spoke out loud what she was thinking, a strange glint in her eyes as she spoke of how this figure was a hero or villain, depending on your perspective.
"Yeah, I think his name is, Boragg, 2 gs." Emry said.
Shadow spoke to Emin out of boredom, commenting on how Emin was clearly trying to hide that he was human. Emin seemed awkward and tried to shush Shadow.
"What? No! I'm trying to NOT look like a human."
"Oh, you're not doing a very good job. I can tell and so can other people. If you want to tell us what is going on?" He left a moment of silence and then when Emin did not respond he said, "Good talk."
The pull of music drew Emin back in and he found a mesmerising sweet spot in the room, standing to listen to the musical perfection. As he swayed ecstatically, Emry moved closer towards the alter and saw the book was more like a recipe book on how to cook humans.
The door slammed shut.
The statue moved to life and moved towards them.
"Hello my darlings. What a pleasure. Please have a seat." She said in a smooth voice.
The others sat nervously, but Liliana not wanting to be told what to do simply leaned against a pew, furthest form the statue, in their heads everyone heard Emry's voice, commenting, "She's so dramatic."
The statue began to offer a proposition, suggesting they make a bargain. That they would do something for her, in exchange for her giving them something in return. She already knew Shadow's name, which disconcerted him. She knew a lot about him and spoke of his new friend Emin, his recent acquaintance Emry and of his friend Liliana, pausing to describe Shadow as Liliana's only friend. She did not bat an eyelid, after all, it was true. She spoke knowingly of all of the people there, offering them a deal, though the details were not offered. Shadow, impulsive s ever agreed straight away to make a deal once he realised one was being offered but Liliana was more cautious. The statue noticed her expression and asked her straight up what her opinion was.
"I am more cautious than my friend. I would know what the terms are before I made a deal."
"In return for doing me a service, what would you want?"
Somewhat saucily, Liliana replied, "If you know me as well as you say you do, you already know what I want."
In her head she heard. "I am in your head darling."
In her own accent, inside her head Liliana replied in smooth low round tones, "Then you know what I want."
"Oh and I can give it you and more besides."
Liliana did not reply but her eyes flared. It was clear she was interested.
The statue of Umber Lee spoke of the empire above, of the emperor that he was a traitor, everything his wealth and prosperity was thanks to her. She wanted him destroyed and offered to help in the endeavour.
"You won't succeed without me."
"We could be persuaded to kill this person. It wasn't on our plan already." Shadow deadpanned.
Liliana chimed in, "Yes, we could be persuaded to change our plans."
"What will you offer us to convince us to do this thing that we definitely weren’t already planning to do." Shadow said.
Umber Lee spoke of her need for representatives on the surface world, of her disdain for good and evil of her chaotic place in the world, describing their relation of give and take. Wanting a team who would work for them, the role of that of a patron.
In her head Liliana replied in her own voice, her tones firm and powerful. "I have no intention of walking that particular road again." Liliana felt the avatar's knowing shrug at her response, and responded out loud in the accent of her speech, "Respectfully I must decline."
She watched as Umber Lee turned to looked towards to the others, images of power offered to them flashed through their minds.
Shadow agreed and Umber Lee drew an image of his soul from his body. It signed the book at the alter, turned a shade of brown and returned to his body. Umber Lee looked extremely sexy to Emin and he stepped forward confidently.
"Come on you sexy Octopus, let's get this over with." His soul surged from his body, and moved not to the book, but to Umber Lee, who sealed the pact with a firm kiss on the lips, his soul returning to his body.
Emry said. "I'm afraid I already serve someone."
"Ah yes, the dragon, he is untoward...." Umber Lee said.
She turned to her newly recruited warlocks and directed them to the docks they would need to rise to the surface. Shadow gave an approximation of a bow, though it was not entirely correct and they left Umber Lee behind, Emry quickly and sneakily scrawling some dicks and 'Emry was here' before departing.
A powerful staff and a green eyed monster
5575
Leaving Liliana to investigate her scrolls, Shadow investigated a nearby wall and found it wasn't solid, so they smashed it down and released someone called Casseiopia who said they needed their help to rescue her husband, by killing another mummy, she said she would reward them with a wish.
Joined by someone called Emin who liked like a human trying to be an elf, carrying musical instruments. Shadow was happy to set about doing this, and did so, revealing more scrolls, they also found a treasure room and a staff and various bits and pieces. They went to fetch Liliana to check out everything they had seen. The more they saw, the more it reminded Liliana of Paxander, pre the elven purge.
Shadow introduced Emin to Liliana, who greeted him briefly then went to investigate a staff that Shadow pointed her too, inside the sarcophagus they had discovered. On investigation, the staff seemed to have leaves and branches craved in it in an arcane elvish script that came together in an eldritch gem. Unable to red the language, Liliana immediately sat down and began to ritually cast comprehend languages.
Shadow did a backflip. Emin played a tune, a captivating performance that impressed Liliana. She hummed along as she cast.
With her spell finished, Liliana stared at the staff and a smile stretched her face, her eyes glowing as she felt the arcane flow through her. Moving to look at the scrolls she found:
Potion vial within coil of scrolls animal friendship
A rope that seems to coil itself. Innocuous yet intriguing. A rope of climbing, which she offered to Shadow.
A potion of hill giant strength.
Oil of slipperiness attached to a scroll of pass without a trace which she gave to Shadow
A potion of water breathing
Another potion of hill giant strength, which Shadow took
A potion of growth which Emin took
An immoveable rod which Emin took
A scroll of water walk
And finally a scroll of haste which Emin took.
Looking up from the haul, Liliana realised that Emin had made a moustache using a disguise kit and had slapped it on his face.He also spoke in a deeper voice. Shadow was confused.
Shadow showed a sword to Liliana that had a script on he couldn't read. The text seemed to move and dance into him. She suggested he try to connect with the sword. After a little confusion, she got Shadow to sit still and focus on the sword and attune to it. Emin attuned to an instrument she had found.
Once they had all done this, they realised they had gained the ability to communicate telepathically with each other.
They moved to the treasure room to see what loot lay there. Plenty gold, a chest and a plaque. The chest turned out to be a mimic, which grappled Shadow, Emin rushed to help him. Recognising mimics of old, Liliana rolled her eyes, as if to say 'not this shit' and firebolted it. Shadow and Emin both stabbed at it and it glooped to the floor, dribbling in its death throes.
Emin tried to degloop Shadow and Liliana joined, using her mage hand to throw the gross gloop on the floor with hideous wet sounds. As the mimic sloughed off, a chest was revealed inside it. When Shadow investigated it he found it trapped and locked. Emin played a ditty to inspire Shadow as he set to work on the lock, even though his thieves tools were damaged he made light work of the trap. Liliana suggested Emin play, then silvery barbsed him in order the magically enhance Shadow and he picked the lock effortlessly. The box began to glow, so Shadow said,
"Move back, move back!"
When nothing happened, Shadow flipped open the box but in his edginess he didn't lift the lid properly, it dropped closed again. Emin stepped up to lift the lid, flung it open and then darted back, seeing only a satin pillow inside. Relieved nothing had happened he moved forward to see a huge crown inlaid with blue and green seaglass like gems, jewels of the sea. Five gemstones connected by platinum silver gold, white gold, electrum all in filigree. He tapped it with his rapier but nothing untoward happened. He touched it with his finger gingerly. He felt a thrum of arcane power coming from the crown. He raised it to his head, but it was huge, so he lowered it over his head intending to sit it on his shoulders. Immediately his mind felt enclosed as if the walls drew in and the others were rushing away. The crown contracted in size to fit his head. He felt suddenly very charismatic.
"How do I look guys?"
"Shiny." Said Shadow. Emin's eyes were glowing, faceted like crystals. Liliana looked on jealously.
"I look fabulous." Emin said.
Under the cushion the crown had sat on Liliana found 600 electrum pieces but they were clearly from an ancient civilisation, showcasing different rules, over many different decades. Nosing through the chamber Emin also found several jewels that seemed to be valuable.
Loot, loot, and a mummy made of loot
5575
In Nicola's absence....
The adventure continued including fighting water elementals masquerading as versions of themselves, which they killed.
Some sneakery by Shadow, a statue and more elemental attacks later, Shadow shot some crystals in the statues eyes and discovered that was a good way to get rid of the water elementals.... AN investigation of the statue showed it to be Ukotoa, the satue itself was in an old old map.
Our adventure now continues....
Looking around the cave Liliana saw lots of crystals raising form the ground made of gemstones made of emerald, agate, rubies, and diamonds. Several looked like they had been harvested before and they would easily meet the cost of a monarch’s ransom.
The cave itself was worn down, eroded as if ancient and floodwaters had carved at and smoothed the stone. The Umberlee statue was really smooth too, its tentacles worn down in many places. Umberlee was a gender fluid, vengeful, spiteful and mean creature, the king of krakens, the queen of krakens, lovers of storms, queen of death.
Liliana decided that she was going to get herself some gemstones. She tried to pull them out of the rock. Then started smashing at them with shovels, as she got a fist sized ruby and a head sized diamond and a shard of emerald green, Shadow gave one of them a kick and dented himself. The wheel that replaced his leg was now bent and pulled a little to the right. He stood and watched Liliana continue to twat at the gems.
Shadow moved on to look at the statue and realised there was a hidden entrance, Liliana had a look and finding a depression that she could fit her hand in. She shoved her hand in the hole, found a lever and pulled it and a door clicked open on the back of Umberlee. Inside were four helmets that seemed to be made of glass, spherical in design, like fish bowls. Liliana wondered if it could be used to breathe underwater and put one on her head, it fixed to her body and seemed to envelop her, the coolness of the cave faded away and the shimmering veil from the bowl seemed to descend and coat her skin, creating a field between herself and the outside elements. Liliana told Shadow what she was feeling and recommend he try one. Shadow put one on and felt immediately…. Dry. Liliana took the other two for their friends for later.
Liliana dunked her head underwater to test and after a couple of oddly panicked breaths found she could breathe under water. Shadow said that breathing was not something he needed but the protection from wet was desirable. Liliana smiled and high fived Shadow.
Liliana mused on the helmets and the cubby hole inside the statue and came to the conclusion that these items were stored here as items worn by the priests of Umberlee for ceremonies, or loaned out to air breathers who wanted to come worship Umberlee. Liliana told Shadow what she knew of Umberlee as she learned.
Liliana hopped from stone to stone so as to keep her dress dry. Shadow watched with bemusement as she made her final landing, nearly missing and tearing her dress before reminding her,
“Liliana this will keep you dry.” After which he plunged into the water and pirates of the Caribbean walked across the bottom of the pool to the other side.
The cavern narrowed to a corridor carved by a stream, and they set off down the winding path, splashing through the water until the corridor widened out into a cave. On the other side of the body of water lay a large building, castle like but seemingly no rooves. It was built in the Paxander (an ancient elven city pre purge) style and was in great shape for a ruin but had clearly been left for thousands of years. However, as a testament to the engineering of whoever built the place, the lights came on as they entered. They didn’t give off here, and were arcane in nature.
Shadow looked for life and saw golden fish in the water. He used his laser pointer and got them following it like a cat, which entertained him for several minutes.
“Liliana, Liliana, look at this… weeeee!”
Liliana smiled in spite of herself as the school of fish swarmed after it. They followed his laser right up to the shore. Shadow was a little put out at how big the fish seemed to be and put his laser away.
Liliana looked at the lights and saw that they were in a jar shape, removable, like an oil wick lamp but arcane. She lifted one out and found twisting it one way turned it off and twisting it the other turned it back on, like a dimmer switch. Both she and Shadow took one each. Something told her (sky voice) it was called a cerulean lantern. It gave ou no heart and illuminated even when under water.
Shadow assessed the water and decided it was quite shallow, after a quick discussion, they decided to enter the water and walk through it to the ruins. Even dipped below the surface she could talk to Shadow as normally as if on the surface.
Shadow looked around him and listened but didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary.
They arrived on the other side and a blue glow could be seen coming from the inside of the door. Shadow checked the doors and with Liliana’s help determined that this door was one to welcome people at the end of a pilgrimage, which could be told by the iconography around the door frame. He decided it was safe to proceed and they pushed the door open.
Inside a blue dome glowed. Perhaps it was even a sphere embedded into the floor. The hairs on Liliana’s hair stood up and Shadow felt magnetic. Inside the dome on the floor was a many pointed star with intersecting lines. Shadow peered at it and as his hand reached out towards it, his hand stopped as if magnetically repelled. He made a humming noise to try and convince Liliana that the sphere was making the noise, but when she reached her hand forward he didn’t make the noise. Liliana was distracted and fell for it, assuming he was making the noise and she wasn’t because he was metal and she flesh, inspecting the globe, she came to the conclusion that it was like a wall of force but a ball of force. When they reached for it, the magic seemed to respond as if drawn to their suit. Liliana thought the dome was protective to keep people out, rather than to keep them safe from something.
Around the dome were decorative broken column and chunks of stone. However inside the dome, there seemed to be a sarcophagus, which seemed to be shimmering as if not always on the same plane.
Liliana looked at the dome, knowing that only a disintegrate spell could bring it down and knowing that that spell was far beyond her, (in fact even as a warlock, she had never been able to access that spell) so she began to look around for a way to bring it down.
On a mural in the centre chamber, Liliana saw the words, bend your knee and kiss the toe.
They walked through the chambers and found an eastern chamber and a western chamber leading off the central section. The decoration made of the bones of people, as was the custom, and hologram like depictions including a beautiful lady to the west and a regal and handsome man to the east. They discussed if the holograms were a form of a headstone in a family mausoleum. Remembering that they were saved by the grateful dead on the island tomb, they decided to proceed with respect throughout the tomb and bend the knee and kiss the toe of the eastern statue. Liliana was not impressed with the idea of abasing herself, but swiftly realised that what she was doing was having no effect. On impulse, while on bended knee she kissed her own toe.
Suddenly the holographic statue revolved and revealed a pile of scrolls. Liliana began to hyperventilate at the site of all the spells scrolls. However, the spell scrolls to reveal a mummy made of parchment, the spells written all over its form. It looked confused for a moment. Its eyes focused on the pair of them and a sense of malice passed over its face.
Subtly preparing a firebolt behind her back, Liliana said, hopefully.
“Oh, we are sorry to disturb you, we’ll just be taking those scrolls and leaving now yes?”
Shadow also readied his crossbow.
Liliana noticed a line of text winding its way around the parchment mummy which was disappearing, as it did. Liliana realised it was casting a spell, arcane energy manifested around them, and it felt baaaaaad. At this, Liliana unleashed her firebolt and it immolated, its dry parchment igniting. Great for killing it, less good for her desire to get those spells. She glanced at Shadow, whose eyes were tiny and spinning in spirals, as if hypnotised, the mummy’s spell having taken hold, while she had shook it off.
Casting Tasha’s hideous laughter. Liliana knocked the mummy prone with hysterical laughter and shouted, “do not burn the parchment, I want those spells!” While Shadow regained control of himself she cast shatter and shouted,
“Quick, hit it before it gets up”
“Eat it?” Shadow said, misunderstanding her accent, then added, “Ohhh, hit it!” and proceeded.
Shadow stepped forward and stabbed at it, piercing into it like a kebab on a skewer. He leaned around the check the blade had emerged on the other side and the mummy collapsed into three distinct coils of paper.
Liliana immediately surged forward to look at the scrolls, falling upon them like a starving person at a feast. The spells were:
Timestop (9th)
Blight (4th)
Dimension door (4th)
Divination (4th)
Raulothim Psychic lance (4th)
Ego whip (4th level)
Counterspell (3rd level)
Haste (3rd level)
Incite greed (3rd level)
Air bubble (2nd level)
Alter self (2nd level)
Nathair’s mischief (2nd)
At the end of the scroll was a prayer to Umberlee.
Several of them were a magic far beyond her skills at the moment, but the future possibilities that now lay ahead of her…..
Gibbering her excitement, she rushed to hug Shadow, then pulled back from him abashed and returned to look at the spells.
Fried fish and surprising self sacrifice
5575
Liliana got picked up by the golems, deposited on their transport and was eventually joined by the others.
They moved onto another city and gradually get closer step by step to meeting the emperor.
An ancient temple lay under the city, which would give access to the emperor. Liliana had thought they were planning to talk with the emperor but gradually began to reveal they were out to assassinate him. Kasimir had been intimate with a politicians wife, Shelley and used this to get the information they needed.
They decided to mock up uniforms, which were a little bit too skimpy, rather like a fancy dress or stripper policeman’s outfit. The seams stretched on Kasimir’s muscled form, while Liliana was confident she was rocking the look. Shadow decided to make a paper mache head, so he would look like less like an automaton but ended up looking like Frank Sidebottom.
They made their way to the temple, where the pad for the emperor’s ship was.
They tried to send Shadow’s companion, who said his designation was DB (which stands for Dis Bitch) through to scout ahead for them. Liliana used magic to understand it and off it went. They learned there was water, so Kasimir threw him over the water, but he didn’t get fully across and splashed into the water, and sank. A little while later, he crawled up out the water. He called back that there was more water and creatures living in the water, which seemed to splash about as if whipped by a sourceless wind.
Creatures in the water with piscine anatomy looked vacantly at them. Liliana turned to firebolt one of them and her flames caught her robes and all of the polyester went up in flames, burning her until she nearly fainted. Shadow took a creature out effortlessly while she beat out the flames. And as Kasimir jumped in the water and whaled on one she magically withered one of the fish like creatures and healed herself with the necromantic energy. Liliana took one hit but despite wavering on her feet cast shield to deflect a second and span around casting thunderwave to push the creature away, while it shook with the force of her magical thunder. Meanwhile the others continued to trade blows, dodging needle like teeth laced with poison.
One by one they took the school of fish people out, Kasimir throwing one of their bodies into the distance. After electrocuting one to death Liliana looked at its fried piscine form, says "Well that was more like it" and span to firebolt one of the ones approaching from the far part of the cavern. She blasted through it, nearly taking it out in a devasting display of flame.
“C’est magnifique.” She said.
After more firebolts and attacks, Kasimir started to get serious and began to radiate radiant light, damaging everything in his aura. Kasimir got badly fucked up and Shadow began to get frustrated at the constant swarm of attackers. Within seconds he was knocked unconscious, and Kasimir finished off the last creature, his own consumptive radiant finishing themselves off in the process.
Liliana rushed forward, knowing she had no healing potions. She waded into the water and dragged Kas out, struggling to manage their large form with her lack of muscles. She used what little medical knowledge and mechanicial knowledge to stabilise them and Shadow and then stood looking at them.
Knowing there was only one way she could bring someone back softly she said, “Oh, fuck, am I really going to do this.” She looked around, “I could just walk out of ‘ere and leave them. Why should they matter to me? Why should I help?” She looked to the exit and then quietly said. “Oh shit.”
Her hands described geometric shapes in the air and she cast wither and bloom on herself. The necromanctic magic drew life from her, more than she had bargained for but as she dropped unconscious, she directed the flow of energy into Kasimir and daw them revive.
Coming to and seeing Shadow resting peacefully and Liliana crumpled and pale, Kasimir lay on hands and brought Liliana back to consciousness.
She looked up woozily. “It worked, that's good. That really hurt. I need a rest.”
They found a place to curl up in and head and fell into a much needed sleep.
Sea fascists and golems
5575
Another person rose up on the platform, (which was known as a Podicum) giving a speech on fish and the political implication there.
With no one seemingly bothered by the murdered senator the group were largely confused but responded with a gallic shrug and decided to ask more questions to locate the Emperor.
This being the capital city, he apparently spends some time here, but the nameless politician didn’t seem to know. He said they should go to Old Cerulo. The senator then spoke about how family designed this city and it was so much better than Old Cerulo which didn’t have any protective magical dome to protect from falling from debris. He had clearly never seen a hard day’s work. He also attempted to come on to Liliana but she wasn’t interested. He asked if they had an advisor.
Zimori said they had loads of different advisors.
“Do you support the Garrum or the Worcesters?”
This lead to a conversation about the parties and the lack of a centrist party. He seemed to be digging to find out who had put them up to giving the speeches and learned they’d been approached by people from each party.
They also became away that they were looked at with dislike by another person. Clearly not a fan of drylanders. He said some unpleasant things to them from a distance.
Liliana used mage hand to slap the racist repeatedly around the face while Kassemir invited the person to come over and ‘say that to my face.’ He walked away still shouting.
More conversation took place during which Ziomori and Kassemir said they needed to ‘talk’ to the emperor. Liliana didn’t know that they actually had been hired to assassinate the emperor and so she believed what Z and K were saying and so she thought, ‘Yes! Right, ok, we have a clear objective now!'
The group discussed amongst themselves (and above table!) that the end game was to get back to the surface as the route the others used to get down was broken. The emperor would have keys and info on this, so Liliana was fully on board with the idea of finding and talking to the emperor.
Someone called Emry had joined them, she was merfolk but also seemed interested in finding a route out and so joined with them to try and escape. She asked some locals and learned that he hadn’t been seen for a month or more. And that he was heavily into feathers and piercings.
The racist zealot reappeared with a dagger in his hands and friends in tow.
“A look, my favourite piss-boy is back, what do you want?” Kassemir called.
They approached intent on attacking, so Kassemir swung his mace and one shotted the leader, As the others turned to run, Liliana hit one with a firebolt and Ziomori hit another with eldritch blast. Emry used her crossbow to kill the one Liliana hit and Kassemir threw a javelin at the only one left standing, skewering him dead. Kassemir set about looting the bodies. The crowd looked scared and occasional murmurs of ‘drylander’ reached. Within minutes the place was empty except for the person giving the speech who was so absorbed in their own words they didn’t notice.
Emry said a protective golem was likely to be here any moment and we should move.
“Ok, let’s skedaddle.” Said Ziomori and Emry cast past without a trace on them all. They snuck away from the approaching footsteps of the golem into a beautiful park nearby, lit by chemically created lighting. Couples lay under the trees, people practised music, and played games, it looked like everyone was having a very lovely time. The golem’s footsteps still approached. They continued to run on, reaching a neighbourhood of pleasant dwellings with garden surroundings.
To evade the golem they dived into a nearby house.
“House inspection!” Cried Ziomori and Liliana in unplanned unison.
The family tried to engage them in conversation about what life was like above the sea but they barrelled through, “There are some improvements to be made, but you pass, paperwork will be in the post.” Liliana bluffed as they stepped out the back door. They ran through the back garden, the footsteps audible on the other side of the house.
They burst into another house, found a scared family hiding in the basement, who they left there. Liliana looked around the room, saw a chest that must have come from a sunken ship, she checked it was not a mimic and opened it but found nothing useful inside. The golem smashed the window of the house next door to peer inside for them, so they decided to keep moving, slipping once again out of the back door, scrambling over a nearby hedge and into another house, where another family cowered in fear. A fake dragonhead was mounted on the wall and the deco had a real geeky vibe. Unfortunately, a golem saw them through the window and moved in their direction.
Ziomori ran, Emry slowed one golem down with a gust of wind, Kassemr ran to distract a second one that they saw coming, taking some heavy hits, and Liliana magnified gravity around the golem, hitting it with magical force damage and slowing its speed.
“Run!” Liliana shouted and followed Xiomori.
Kassemir swung to attack as they tried to run, missing completely, the golem made a strange motion with its left hand and a rune on its forehead glowed, as it cast the haste spell on itself and swept forward to attack Kassemir once more. Liliana hit the golem with wither and bloom, necrotic tendrils wrapping around the golem whilst restoring Kassemir, she turned to run. Xiomori aimed an eldritch blast at the golem attacking Kassemir, hoping to distract it enough to allow him to run. Emry channelled divine magic to invoke duplicity, sending the duplicate in to go distract the golem, sending in a spiritual weapon on the shape of a whoopee cushion to bash the golem with.
Kassemir got in some hits before Ziomori’s hit gave him the opportunity to flee. Its face caved in it moved to attack Emry’s duplicate, when it’s attack swing through it moved on through it. Liliana ran out of the house and cast reduce on the golem, to make it half its original size. Ziomori hit it with an eldritch blast and shouted.
“Run!”
Everyone obliged.
A rectangular garden surrounded by mosaiced streets lay ahead….
But... are we going to get paid?
5575
Liliana has spent 6 weeks in a terrarium after getting sucked into a chest with a portal in it. It took her to the under water Cerulean empire, far deep a mile below the surface in a deep, deep, trench, where she was kept in a zoo. The urge to shout ‘do you know who I am’ a thousands times a day was killing her. They even put her in the human enclosure, rather than the elven enclosure. The shame!
A mild amnesiant. was used on all the inhabitants but Liliana’s previous life rendered her immune. Realising she was trapped beyond her means to escape, with the crushing pressure outside this dome inescapable without a craft, she quietly studied, meaning to gain in power and effect her escape in full and take her revenger.
The others met Gaius Politanus AKA Gil – a politician like merdude who asked them to give a speech on his behalf . The granite in the zoo was from Paxander, which was raised to the ground during the elven purge and then pilfered by the seafolk, the way we took antiquities from classical cultures. The Cerulean empire is basically the British Museum of elven culture.
Hearing and seeing them through the door, Liliana cast mage hand to tap Shadow on the shoulder.
In annoyance she attracted his attention and engaged in conversations with his fellows. One of them was a masked and hooded, hench orc 6 ft 8, runic symbols in black paint covered their forehead and armed, they wore a chestplate and carried a maul. Their name was Kasemir (they/he). Ziomori (she/her) was 5 6 thick curly black hair. Humanoid (also known as elvenoid), gold skin, dressed like a flashy adventurer in very fitted clothes with a scimitar on each hip. They wanted to know why Liliana hadn’t used magic to escape, she explained she was biding her time to get out because she needed to be powerful enough to escape the trench. Ziomori mentioned they had a sub marinous vehicle offered to them.
Politanus entered and started to talk to them, he mentioned the warden and Liliana’s blood began to boil. The Warden from the Zoo is on her list. He wandered off to get the warden and Liliana turned to Ziomori and said.
"Get me out of here. Get. Me. Out. Of. Here."
Kasemir began to try and pull the bars away to free her. She couldn’t quite the bars enough so Liliana cas reduce on herself and squeezed through and then at Kassemir’s suggestion, climbed into her rucksack, though she looked mortified to be doing so. She hid just in time to escape the notice of Politanus’s return. He led them to their craft.
One minute later, Liliana returned to mornal size in Kassemir’s back pack, he flung his cloak over his shoulder to cover her, looking like he had suddenly grown a hunch back. Liliana tried not to groan despite being suddenly very squished.
They approached the transport, which was known as a Pluaspede. The captain was called Scully and he didn’t seem impressed with Politanus though Politanus didn’t seem to even be aware of Scully.
Once Politanus left and they set off, Kassemir let Liliana out of the bag, she was stiff and had a real crick in her neck but grateful and surprised that Ziomori and Kassemir would go out on a limb for someone they didn’t know. She told Shadow it was good to see him again and expressed her surprise that two people who didn’t know her would help. K said breaking people out of prison was always fun.
“Even if you did call me a piece of shit.” Ziomori said.
“Ah. Yes. It was stressful there.”
Later they were called up to the bridge to watch a beautiful display of boil luminescent jellyfish dancing. It was beautiful. But Liliana was more interested in her books. The journey took 24 hours, during which Liliana asked the others to fill her in on how they had come across Shadow. It turned out Kassemir had been on the ship the whole time (and seen Liliana Mind spike Mike!) but Liliana had never registered this. Awks. Kassemir made Liliana aware of Mind Spike Mike’s issues. Apparently, he could no longer eat soup unaided, liquid food was difficult for him since the mind spiking, which really upset him as he used to love soup. He’d started writing odes and poetry to soup, but they weren’t great. Liliana added a note in her book of people to kill/get revenge on with ‘Help Mike enjoy soup again.’ It was the first time she had been confronted with the repercussions of her actions for something like this and it was an interesting experience for her.
They arrived at their destination, a pressured dome containing the Mezzofathom. The entrance to the city of Mezzofathom, where they wanted to raise their profile to get the attention of the Emperor. Scully said Politanus is the head of the Garren, and would want the bag o dicks to get on the emperor’s good side. The other political party is the Worcesters, who spread the word of Umba Lee, ‘the way the word of Umba Lee is meant to be spread,’ She is the goddess of the sea. Sailors make little sacrifices to her, burning tobacco making little alters etc, they are afraid of her. But down here, this society treat her as the saviour.
Shadow filled L in on what had happened to him since she last saw her including a near death experience, a hag, a lighthouse, a door with water pressure, a tunnel, an airlock a city and someone who said ‘will you infiltrate this emperor bastard person.” She asked what had happened with their two quests:
"Are we going to get paid?
And learned that Aglathal had ‘fucked off’ on their return and that Lady Emma 'wasn’t there' when they got back ‘there had been a mushroom cloud but don’t worry about it’. Liliana did know what to make about this and became annoyed about not getting paid. She added Lady Emma to her list, in case she was still alive and had run off without paying, and added Aglathal too, as both of them owed her A LOT of money. She asked what they were doing now and if THAT paid and learned that Politanus had said he would pay them handsomely for racketeering for him. She was utterly perplexed and infuriated by the whole thing but wanted to get paid, agreed to go along with it.
Her head bursting with all this news, she heard the sound of many voices, families having picnics. The park was beautiful, and dedicated to Umba Lee. The park was framed with many arched concentric walls in squares, everything beautiful but looked like the material was looted from Paxander, including two ornamental fountains. At the centre was a giant shell and a podium at one end elevated speakers to speak to the masses, the current speaker was Gauis Tophim. Someone approached the group informing them that they had been told they were speaking and that the Bago’dicks were expected to speak next.
Gaius’ speech went as follows:
Your attention here is so ordered! Listen to the will of the tempestuous Umberlee! Four thousand two hundred and seven years ago, Hando and Mandollo Cerullo brought forth in this trench, a new nation, conceived in obedience, and dedicated to the proposition that all merfolk are the subjects of Umberlee. Now we are engaged in a great war against turpitude! Testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for the lies and misdirection told so that others may live gilded lives. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. Only Umberlee, the tempest herself, could consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget the lies constantly told here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who spoke here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great Umberlee -- that rather for these plain Aquans to take increased control of that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these deceivers shall not have plainly fooled us all -- that this nation, under Umberlee, shall have a new birth of strict pious devotion -- and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, while not perfect, is far superior to a bloviated windbag in a toga. We need to rise up in solidarity, and overthrow the apostate. Umberlee demands it! Amen.
Before they knew what was happening Kassemir found themselves ushered up to speak next, being pulled away looking very reluctant about it. They found themselves lifted into the air on the platform. They stood there awkwardly. They tapped the magical amplification device.
“Uh… hello.”
The crowd cheered.
“You are easily pleased people. Wow.” They then spoke about the Emperor as ‘the guy to go to if you want to do things’ but also said ‘I’m not entirely convinced about democracy as a concept’
After the speech, the platform lowered, people clapping politely. Kassemir said,
“If I did a speech, then you all have to too. I will carry you over there myself if you like.”
Liliana went up and stood there, Evita style, greeting the crowd whilst getting the lay of the land. The light was blue, the vibe was downtown, this was clearly the entranceway to the city, the popular hang out, defined spaces for worshipping Umber Lee, an ancient nautilus shell surrounded by chained pillars clearly it meant something to the Ceruleans. She made a speech of rhetoric, speaking of more that unites and divides, saying nothing at all while saying a lot, speaking of the emperor in such a way that people would think, ‘yeah she’s got a point!’ getting swept along with the vibe she was giving out, even though she was saying very, very little. She ended her speech with a grandiose:
“And I look out at you all, and I am so inspired!”
Shadow stepped up next.
“Umba Lee. The Emperor. Why choose? Kill them both.” And shot the most important person he could see with his crossbow.
Ziomori looked like the wind had been taken out of her sails, so ready to have put on the performance of her life for these people and now seeing that this wouldn’t have happened. He loosed the crossbow bolt and just decimated a Cerulean senator, the man with the clipboard who had invited them to speak, the leader of this event, with a bolt to the head.
"Well shit," Liliana thought. "Now we will not get paid."
“Seize the power of the day. We don’t have to be ruled by these people.”
He set the platform to descend amid the sounds of screams. The body was removed. No one seemed to know what to do.
“It’s your turn now.” He said to Ziomori.
Someone ascended the platform to give a eulogy.
“Yep. Fine. I can follow that. I can make this work.” Ziomori said. She ascended the platform.
“Mefolk, Cerulean, People of the trench we are here as representatives of the dry landers You have seen many aspects of us during these talks. Do you truly know the person who is telling us what to do. Your leader is no longer here, and you have lost yourself. Do you know if the Emperor is helping you or not?”
Liliana looked confused, she thought they had been intending to big up the Emperor.
A politician and his body guards approached. They looked they had once been gladiatorial.
“Excuse me, could you please not kill any senators?” He asked calmly.
“I can’t make any promises.” Shadow said.
The politician started to offer them ‘women, men people’ and Ziomori started to see if he was down for an uprising, he asked if she meant an orgy.
“Like that but more violent.”
“Ooh I like that. Who brings the sharks?”
Liliana tried to ask Ziomori what was going on and Shadow said by starting unrest the Emperor would notice them and invite them for a meeting. He then tried to persuade one of the body guards, Marius to stab his boss, looking at him he realised that Marius already had the inclination to stab him.
Liliana stood there utterly confused.
“I have gone mad,” she said, “I am in the terrarium still and I am sat there with all of them looking at me, gibbering.”
The door that wasn't a door but was actually and the hoard of gold
5575
As they descended the quietness of the tomb descended. The art on the walls told of the good things the rulers had done and that the ziggurat was built on top of a well spring, named Tolmech which means sacred waters, the whole empire is named after this well. Anything the water touched became blessed in some fashion. Everyone was thriving, everyone had enough of what they needed. A socialist utopia. This was the story told on the walls.
They found themselves in a room faintly humming with machinery. They stood on a platform with two sets of steps down into the room. The machinery was humming and working as intended, un pitted, no rust. There were large drains in the room, large enough to walk into. Liliana was worried that the drains might flood the room, but the room looked completely dry.
The limestone staircases however showed sign of erosion by liquid.
Shadow waxed lyrical about the room, or at least as lyrical as he was capable of doing so, appreciating how everything moved in harmony. On the right hand side of the room there was door. Still uncomfortable at the erosion and drains and concerned that the room might fill with oil and drown them, Liliana asked Shadow to check for traps, we he did so and found nothing. He walked down the steps and find the drains were shut with bars.
Shadow surmised that the drains were art of a storm overflow, Liliana wondered if it was pumping water from the well. A series of numbers and letters were stamped onto the machinery but Liliana couldn’t work out why.
She moved around looking at it noticing that the pipes were all different temperatures some disappearing into the wall, some in the ceiling with no discernible rhyme nor reason that Liliana could find. However, she was certain that this machine showed several upgrades, with distinct periods of development. She drew a piece of paper out and drew what she could see. Shadow moved to the door. Liliana took the hint and moved to join him. Shadow tried to open the door but it was locked. He kicked it. They both tried to lock pick it and when they couldn’t, decided it wasn’t a door.
Liliana looked around and found one of the barred gates on the drain open, so it looked like they could get in. They decided to enter the drain, though Liliana was worried as she had no magic should liquid flow it, so Shadow promised to lift her up above any water. They entered the drain and found it dark, Liliana brought out her dancing light cantrip. They followed the pipe as it curved, seeing pipes leading in from above until they saw light up ahead coming through a barred door. The hinge was on the outside, as was the lock. They realised they were looking back into the same room they had left. They turned back into the room and Shadow suggested talking to the machinery and addressed the machine. Liliana only heard the hum of the machine, but Shadow heard words from the machine.
Shadow and the door exchanged lots of machine based jokes, he then asked the machine which way to go and discovered that it was not a fake door. They then spent 90minutes working on opening the door.
When it finally twists open, a corridor lay ahead of them. Liliana pulled out a wine skin and took a sip to steady her anger at being bested by a door for 90 minutes.
The corridor ahead was rough, the walls unfinished, unpolished. Down the corridor they heard footsteps that faded away. They turned a corner and saw the high roof getting lower as the corridor stretched away. Shadow decided to make his own louds footsteps. Liliana went to cast silence, then realised she did not have that power yet. They moved forward and realised that the lower corridor seemed to be another corridor passing over head, the corridor going back to normal height before. Continuing down they heard multiple voices singing in deep harmony in dwarvish, which was interesting as dwarves were very rare, they lived in their own caverns WITH their god Moradin. They headed towards the sound, up a short set of stairs, rising 6 feet to enter into a chapel. As they entered the chapel the sound swells. Lights in the chapel were lit, two brazier, a candelabra in a corner and two torches.
Using a pinch of salt and soot, Liliana cast comprehend languages on herself and heard voices asking Moradin for blessings upon ‘your servant, as they rest here with our king’. She translated this for Shadow and then moved to the altar where she saw two statues that looked like imps. Liliana mused that from the chant it was likely this king was dwarven which was very unusual given dwarves never normally left their homes.
The construction of the room was very dwarven with quality stone architecture and fluted columns, very different to anything else they’d encountered.
Liliana pulled Bob out for information. He said there was a dwarf out of the east who helped to save many people on one of the islands form a volcanic explosion, he was seen as a hero and after his sudden death he was buried here with great honour. His name was Dergarr. Bob waxed lyrical about him and his shiny axe.
Liliana then asked about the machinery and he said the well spring was a couple of levels down and the machinery takes the blessed water and distributes it though the homes of everyone on the island, so everywhere gets blessed. Aglathal came up with it. Her first husband Teotach the first started implementing it, his step son Teotach the second then implemented it fully. Incest, fun for all the family.
Under the alter was the tomb of Dergarr.
Liliana made to leave and Shadow suggested they pray for the souls in this place. Liliana would normally have said no but touched by Shadow’s offer to lift her up should they get flooded, she agreed. As they sat down respectfully, he started laughing and said he was just kidding. Liliana looked distinctly annoyed and her mage hand slapped his face. He continued to laugh.
“I deserved that but it was worth it. You should see your face.”
Liliana was distinctly unimpressed. They set off and followed the corridor to a room with a very small sarcophagus, perhaps a child, surrounded by four fluted columns. There were no doors, just open archways, one in and one out. Liliana felt a strong impression of evil, which came from down the corridor. Shadow felt nothing.
“I feel something malevolent down the corridor, the presence of a predator.”
She looked back to the room, and realised that this tomb was for a human royal child and on the tomb was a coatl. Liliana cocked her head at it, that was most unexpected. There were also books. One was ‘Warforged through the ages’ an instruction manual for celestials to warforged. It contained instructions on how to make healing potions for warforged. The other was a book by a historian who called himself Pliny the elder. He wrote about a time during Queen Aglathal back in the beginning of the empire. Liliana added these to her now bulging backpack.
They moved into the corridor where they senses evil, on high alert, Liliana redy to cast mage armour at a moment’s notice. They followed the corridor to a room with three plain sealed sarcophagi, runes of protection filled every surface of this room.
Liliana pulled out Bob.
“Hey Bob, was this a thing in your time? Or this a new development.”
“The necromancers kings,” He said in a low voice, “is there treasure handy?”
He spoke of a time when people stopped having children, so the necromancers came along and kept ‘the population moving’ but demanded a lot in the way of tribute, hence his thought that maybe there might be treasure around here. Bob seemed greedy to find the treasure.
Liliana looked at the symbols of protection and realised they were meant to keep things in as opposed to out. They were not here to protect the tomb but to keep those in the tomb. She also thought they may protect against them leaving also. Liliana wondered if they could turn off the symbols but that if doing so would unleash whatever was in the tomb. There were four doors leaving the room in total, including the ones they entered through. But there were no symbols on the doors.
Liliana looked around and found a sealed book on the necromancer king, with a closed eye worked into the leather bound front cover. Two locked clasped sealed it shut. She showed it to Shadow and he attempted to unlock the book. He unlocked the first but his lock pick broke in the second one as the lock twisted of it’s own volition.
He turned to Liliana and titled his head, intending to express what the fuck but his face was expressionless.
“Are, you upset?” She asked slowly,
“It is frustrating.”
“I am sorry your thing is broken. That is shit.”
“We could try smashing the lock.”
Liliana clutched the book to her chest and put it in her back.
Shadow decided to try a door and stepped into a room full of gold,
“Holy shit, Bob! Get in here! You could have eyes for day!” He called in in his robotic voice.
As well as gold there were wooden weapons, lacquered weapons, and something that looked like a spiky cricket bat hanging in a rack. A Macuahuitl. Everything in the room looked like offerings. Shadow glanced around saw no traps and pulled the Macuahuitl off the wall. To be abbreviated to Mac.
“Liliana you are to books what I am to this, look how fun this is.” He swung the bat on repeat. “Wow I feel cool.”
An unusual expression crept across Liliana’s face as she watched Shadow. She was not used to feeling pleasure at other’s pleasure but seeing Shadow like an excited child, a genuine smile spread over her face.
Looking at the rest of the hoard, they realised all the gold coins were stamped with a unified kings of a Craysilt king, which was very unusual. King Justinian. There were far more than they should carry, but they agreed they should take some to show Aglathal and some more for ‘research’.
Shadow stared to fill up the empty cavities of his leg with golden coins (while the dm tried to work out how much volume that equated to!) Shadow put 125 gold in each leg.
Liliana filled her backpack with gold, sticking it around all of her books. She took as much as she was physically ableto carry. Roughly 2000gp!
They decided the vault was defensible and was a good place to rest. Liliana read her books for several hours, then sat down to trance on a pile of gold, like a dragon on its hoard.
Burning books, Bob and a family reunion.
5575
Liliana and Shadow continued to explore the Ziggurat, leaving the room with the gnomes behind to move through corridors, of packed earth and stored bone. It seemed this giant structure had been constructed and in some cases, rather than stone walls, they had simply filled the cavity with packed earth.
As they moved on they encountered several doors, which Shadow shrewdly identified as trapped. Liliana waved her hands in the air* as they got to the first one, then stopped, looking really put out and admitted, “I don’t have a spell for this”.
They decided to try opening the door with mage hand from a safe distance and Liliana dropped lucky with her mage hand and completely fluked picking a lock, though she pretended that it was all by design but could not work out how to disable the magical trap and so set it off by having the mage hand push open the door, whilst standing back to avoid the blast of what turned out to be a fireball. The smugness of besting the trap faded somewhat when she realised that the burial chamber they had entered had contained some books which were now incinerated. They did this to a second chamber too, in which Liliana found the traces of a book entitled Queen Aglathal, though only the spine remained legible, the pages were scorched and burned away. Liliana was bereft over the loss of books, telling Shadow that sometimes books were more useful than people.
Finally, they entered the burial chamber of Lord King Tenoch himself, after working out that there was a panel on the wall where the skulls could be rearranged to slide the door safely open without triggering the trap. Shadow also got chatting to the door, which seemed to have sentience and be made of a similar technology to him, so they decided they must be cousins.
Entering this room Liliana found and picked up two large books, one a medical journal bound in crocodile skin, which contained embalming details and teachings to assist with medicine. (Proficiency, if a person spends 15 hours reading it). The other was a history of Tenoch, the first in a line of self-described ‘good kings’. The 7 generations of people who built his tomb were granted the honour of being entombed with him, where their graves would be blessed by the priests who blessed Tenoch’s own resting place. While Shadow scouted around looking at the wall panels, which told of Tenoch’s good deeds, Liliana skimmed through the book, reading about his work in sorting irrigation, stamping out starvation and getting his people thriving.
On the floor they also found a skull, which when picked up introduced itself as Bob, who had been an advisor to Tenoch and had died 3,124 years ago. Bob was a fairly chatty soul, who did not wish to remain in the tomb and – in exchange for information – the others agreed to take him with them. Bob explained that they ziggurat had been built in stages, each ‘step’ of the pyramid its own separate building as more and more generations built this giant mausoleum.
They moved on leaving his sarcophagus sealed and grave undefiled. Doubling back a couple of rooms, they turned to the south, and found a room that they investigated to find had, at one point, been the vestry for this layer of the temple, but had been taken over and as Liliana described it ‘been bastardised’, to be repurposed by a necromantic cult.
Bringing Bob out, they looked at the room, which had a skeleton on a table, a diagram like a butchers diagram and embalming equipment but also two tanks full of green goo, that were joined by an electrical current that sizzled through the air like a Tesla coil.
Liliana pulled Bob out to ask him if the technology was familiar or if it looked futuristic to him. He said it looked like a futuristic, altered version of the cloning technology Queen Aglathal used (which she herself had ‘borrowed’ from somewhere). At one point he explained, cloning was the only way to sustain the population. He spoke of Queen Aglathal as a hero, who saved his people from the volcano, fed people from her own kitchen, built homes for the homesless, started collectives for farms, “It was really something”. He presumed she must be dead, and Liliana had the spine of a book that had perhaps laid in her tomb, but when she described the Aglathal they had met, Bob said she sounded similar enough that there might be a connection. Was this the same Aglathal? A descendent? Who knew.
Liliana found a lever to shut off the electrical current and they wandered the room, perplexed but morbidly fascinated by the operation and it’s purpose. Who was the necromancer and why had they repursued this room.
They resolved to return to the stair case they had entered by and descend to the next level.
Algathal's Island - AKA a good place to put Shadow's finger
Aglathal sat on a log and greeted them,
“How are you doing? It is such a good morning isn’t it?”
She offered a pipe of tabacco and Shadow pocketed it, not knowing what to do with it.
Liliana approached, “I commend you for the trick you played on me and are still playing on my friend, it is very impressive.”
“Thank you it is my middle name. Well it’s Irma. Take a seat we’ll have breakfast.”
“I would be happier if you would take the trick off my friend so he can be himself rather than this lovelorn puppy.”
Shadow seemed confused at being called a puppy. Aglathal said she had a story to tell them and moved to another log, Shadow seemed disappointed at her moving away from him.
She told the story of an empire that existed around the empire they were travelling to. The Tolmmech people, fierce and loyal to their gods and rulers. They were builders and the campsite they were in was amongst the ruins of one of their own buildings. The empire had been enormous and this was merely the outskirts. She spoke of good people, bad, necromancers, megalomaniacs, war, destruction and and an ensuing peace when their cities were abandoned. She said she had a job for them, she wanted to know definitively where they went, to hire and fund a research mission.#
“I want to know why the cities were abandoned.”
Liliana had been raising an eyebrow at Aglathal but said, “I will not deny it does sound a little interesting.”
She spoke of water courses and Shadow said if here was running water maybe they disappeared because they were vampires.
She continued to speak of the large pyramids, ziggurat, settlements of 20,000 people, cities of 250,000 people. “Where did they all go? Why did they go? The jungle came in and reclaimed them all. They’re still there, the jungle has just overtaken them.
Liliana explained they were already under contract, so she would have to accept that before they worked for her, and that Shadow wasn’t signing anything until he was in his right mind. Aglathal smiled, the effect on Shadow had already been fading for the last minute and he looked about in confusion.
“Memory banks – do – not – sync – up.”
“Do you accept the job?” She asked, holding out her hand to Shadow, he looked at it in confusion, “You shake my hand. It is an implied contract.”
Shadow shook her hand and she told them that they were already on their way to one of the Tolmech ziggurat’s that was the genesis of their civilisations.
Liliana turned the conversation to negotiating money, aware that Shadow had no really concept of money. Haggling for 100gp per week plus 500gp upon completion. Aglathal offered a sweet little bonus for the more info included and the faster it was returned to her.
“So, more information = more money.” Shadow said.
“A shorter amount of time, also equals more money.”
Shadow took off, ran and grabbed info on the sand, delivered the information and asked for payment. Aglathal laughed.
Liliana suggested they should fuck off and get going. Shadow agreed that they should fornicate away. Aglathal got into a canoe and rowed up river. Up the river, under a palm tree, looked sign post of sort, cairn like, but made of arranged bones, Liliana was unsure if what she was seeing was right and not willing to be made a fool of she moved closer before she said anything. The closer she got, the more she convincerd that it was a signpost made of arranged bones, with vines growing up and through it. Another one beyond and another one further down, all pointing up the left hand side. She pointed it out to Shadow,
“Interested structural use of expired organisms,” Shadow said.
They decided to use the boats, Liliana getting into the bed and Shadow volunteering to walk in the river and pull the boat along, he said she should pull the rope when she wanted him to stop. Liliana agreed.
Shadow jumped in the water and set off, moving the boat up river at a decent pace. Along the route they noticed claw marks on the trees and catlike shit along the banks, suggestions of something large and feline.They reached a point and head the sound of a huge waterfall, list rising up in front of them. Liliana tugged on the rope and he pulled the boat to the side of the river, they agreed to go on foot. Liliana, girded her loins, making her dress an untidy mess but more practical.
They climbed up and around the beautiful waterfall, rainbows rising in the mist. At the top they saw ahead a pyramid rising in the middle of a large dell, an enormous flock of birds rising from around it, twittering deafeningly, like a thousand people playing a piccolo at the same time. A lake lay nearby. It was approximately half a day’s travel away and the sun was near setting. A little hut lay nearby.
“We could ask them if we could stay the night and if they say no we could kill them and stay the night anyway.”
“Sounds good to me.” Liliana said.
She approached, hailed the owner, who invited them in. Liliana opened the door with mage hand. The old woman’s hut was full of cookie jars, her hair was thin and hands aged spots, she wore spectacles and smiled at them.
“Would you like a cookie?” She asked.
Liliana glanced around and noticed a large baker’s over with a batch of croissants inside. She handed over warm cookies. Shadow took one and tucked it in his armour, like a badge.
“I’ve been around so long and I haven’t had company forever.”
She offered food and Liliana tried to lie her way out of eating it by saying she was lactose and gluten intolerant but to no avail. Shadow got confused about Liliana missing toes.
The woman bought out her best tea pot.
“It is ok, I do not think we will need to kill this one.” Shadow said.
“Oh, good, I’m so happy you don’t feel the need to end my life?”
“Yes, we will disengage all kill protocols.”
“We have not introduced ourselves, my name is Liliana.”
“My designation is Shadow Ironbound.”
“And your name?”
“My name is Linetter. Of course”
Mai oui, of course,”
“You know this place is on no maps.” She said, “there’s an old witch who owns the island, she pays the merchant and sailors guild in gold, she’s very rich.”
“Yes, I think we might have met her.”
“Is she nice?”
“She um…”
“She is very, very, very, very, nice.” Shadow interjected.
“Oh good! I can’t wait to tell my mother.”
“You mother?”
“Oh, never mind.”
They discussed what to do, deciding to burn the hut to the ground if she tried to kill them in the night. Shadow took first watch, while Liliana set herself down to trance. 4 hours later, he heavily shook Liliana awake. She nearly firebolted him till she realised who he was.
“I see you are not a morning person.”
On Liliana’s watch she saw a charcoal black squirrel in the rafters eating an acorn.
“Hello little squirrel, are you a familiar? Stop eating if you are, keep eating if you a dumb shit of a squirrel.”
The squirrel kept eating.
Liliana got up and started walking around the hut being nosy. It was fascinating in that there was not a lot of cohesion to the thematic décor. No feng shui, herbs hung from the rafters, the roof was made of thatch, strange brass or copper mobiles hung from the ceiling with sea horses, mermaids etc. She sat back down and began reading her books on magic.
The sun rose on an overcast and misty day, the wind coming from the north, barely any breeze, just enough to move the tops of the trees. They couldn’t find the old lady as they were leaving.
“I hope she has not died in the night,” Liliana said, with very little care.
“She did say it has been a while. Maybe she put it up over the river and it fell down and she got swept away. In the absence of any other information, we must assume this to be the case.”
Strangely the house seemed much older in the day, strewn with cobwebs, like no one had been to it for ages. But Liliana didn’t care about this woman, so she didn’t bother to investigate further. She and Shadow set off. The morning continued wet and miserable. As they continued, visibility was poor but they reached the bottom of the ziggurat. And saw radiance emitting from it, a platform at the very top, four ten foot columns with a flat platform on, underneath that platform was an ancient alter that looked like it hadn’t been used for millennia. They climbed up and noticed several points that had once been entrances but were now blocked off with stone and topsoil. Continuing to ascend they saw that the radiance seemed like, throwing a pebble into a still pond, like drops of sunlight were hitting a still pond despite it being a cloudy day. Liliana put her hand between the light and the sky and cast a shadow, the light was definitely coming from the sun, yet the cloud was in the way. They deduced it was the key to getting inside this pyramid.
Liliana conjured dancing lights and played with casting their light onto the platform to try and see if she could unlock it or reveal glyphs. During her investigations she began to realise that the stories of the hierarchy of kings were written around the walls and alter. Some of the stories told of good kings, some told of evil. A depression in the alter was stained red. There were depictions of all the Tolmech gods. Liliana pulled out paper and began to take rubbings of everything and everything while Shadow did shadow puppetry. The light was trippy, like a silent rave, but the energy wasn’t bad.
From the readings, they suspected there were hundreds, if not thousands of bodies buried in state.
Shadow noticed a mirror behind the alter, he pointed it out. A beautifully polished silver bowl with ne’ery a spot of dirt on it.
“There is an upside down tobot creature in it!” Shadow said.
Liliana explained what a reflection was and Shadow said it was the first time he had seen his face. Liliana suggested they use the bowl to catch the light.
“You cannot catch light.”
“Well technically…” Liliana launched into a description of reflection and refraction as the bowl filled up with the light of the rippling sun. She reflected it around and it rolled around like a liquid. Shadow put a finger in it and it felt warm, comfortable.
“Sensors indicate this is a pleasant place to put my finger.” Shadow said.
Liliana tried to pour the light into the depression in the alter. It didn’t fill up the depression fully and she realised that actually the depression was shaped as the bowl. So, she placed the bowl in. As it filled up the alter sank into the floor and a spiral staircase rose up out of the floor.
They headed down the staircase, the top of the pyramid closing up behind them. They found themselves in a square room with water pipes, a pool of water, surrounded the platform that the spiral staircase led down to, a well-made stone bridge leading off a platform. The walls were made of the bones and skulls of hundreds of sapient creatures. Elves, humans, gnomes etc etc
Shadow examined the bridge,
“There are no malicious devices of any iteration. The bridge is sturdy.”
Liliana nodded and swept over the bridge. She found herself in an earthen worked trench that made a tall hall way. It was well construction but lacking in decoration. Liliana peered around the corner and mistakenly thought she saw something moving, she dived back behind Shadow, he peered round and saw nothing. Liliana cast dancing lights so that they could see and they followed the corridor into a square chapel like room. Old fashioned, full of interesting looking shit. Including braziers on the altar and statues in the middle that at first glance looked like imps but were in perfect almost perfect representations of ancient gnomes. Bigger ears, big eyebrows goofy smiles, specs on one, in contrast to the solemnity of the rest of the room, like the gnomes were being burned. The figures were lifesize. A font that would have held sacred water was broken. Four stone columns carved with the story of an ancient Tolmech God, the god of war. A door lay to the south. The room was silent.
Liliana felt like she was missing an important piece of the puzzle and voiced this aloud. Shadow sat on one of the chairs in the room and found it uncomfortable.
“This is deliberately uncomfortable to keep people awake during boring services.”
Liliana placed her hands on the statues and they felt like they were mind of stone, they were carved to perfection, even down to their gnome hairs. Liliana was worried that these were real gnomes turned to stone and voiced this to Shadow, saying she wasn’t sure if lighting the braziers was good as it might harm, them.
Shadow lit a brazier and Liliana heard,
“Why have you summoned me?”
“Uh… bonjour! Who are you?”
“Who are you?”
“Liliana Idril”
“Of the Shadow Fey?”
“I am from the City of the Lights. Who have we summoned exactly?”
“My name is Professor Nathan Nathans the first of the Nathaniel Nathans.”
“Quick question, are you a gnome?”
She learned that it was a bronze statue imprisoning his soul and that he could not return to his body, it had been hundreds of years. They learned lighting the brazier hurt the gnomes but still lit the other brazier so they could speak to him.
Shadow heard screaming, while Liliana heard the voice of another gnome. Liliana asked what they knew about the end of the Tolmech civilisation. They said they hadn’t seen anyone in 2400 years. Liliana passed onto Shadow what they were saying. He said he had been made, then experienced a period of silence for 100 hundreds till a potion awakened him but those two moments felt to him like they were back to back.
Shadow then turned to try the door at the south end of the room. It opened up and he peeked through. A corridor stretched away but this time smaller with 8 foot corridor…
From frying pan to (well paid) fire
5575
They followed the wealthy woman over the bridge, bellowing gondoliers belting out opera as they pass underneath. They headed towards an enormous forge, metallurgical laboratory for jewellery making.
Shadow peered in the forge window and stood there, like a dog with his head cocked in confusion. “There methods are archaic but efficient.” He lifted up his small automaton companion to look through and they made a series of beeps in reply.
She took them into a library come office and gave them tea.
“So. Have we a taste for adventure? I know it was not you that pulled off that ghastly murder, it was the pale people in the dark cloaks, and I hate to say it but my word is going to carry all the weight that you need to get your trial thrown out, I’m a noblewoman you see but I have a proposition for you and I think you may be the perfect people for it.”
“Go on” Liliana said.
“Let me show you,” she went in and started rummaging in her desk pulling out a long, well-worn scroll ancient scroll. It seemed three times longer than expected and she announced it was a diary from a research fellow at the bardic college. It’s written to the Dean of the
It spoke of an archipelago. Below are fractions of the contents:
Arrived at the archipelago after many adventures. Lost 14 hands to storm and 4 to sickness. One died of a bee sting.
We arrived in a tropical paradise. Time to be a scholar once again.
Not slept a wink the ship dragged an achor and ran aground on rocks, took hours to fix. Two research fellows were missing then we got back. Two piles of entrail found atop crude cairns overlooking a ziggurat.
Crew have all gone mad. Building a stockade. The more trees they cut down the more crew members die.
Expedition is a disaster. No help will come.
16 of 75 left. Not enough of us to sail away. Some hear drums. Their madness is complete. No one will go ashore.
It is no use, we have dwindled to 6 in to days. Shrunken heads now decorate our ship. All is lost.
The writing ran into a bloodstain and a different, bolder hand takes over.
He was a good lad but our scholar Norman didn’t make it last night. Just two of us now..
Another elegant hand takes over.
I am alone for the historical record if this is ever find the crew of the endeavor were slain and eaten by – the words cut off.
“This is all very interesting but what has it got to do with murder.” Liliana asked.
“Nothing. This is a job offer.”
She explained that once the trial was thrown out of court, she had a job for them to take, ifthey wanted it. She pushed an old, flimsy map over.
“We’ve had this for some years now, but we can’t find out where this is, everyone says that this is a blank spot in the ocean. Now here’s the rub,” her eye glinted,
“The Tolmerch empire that lived and thrived in that area was the richest empire this world had ever seen or known. Volcanic islands flush with gold. The zig mentioned in this missive here is the one to Quetzalcoatl himself.”
She pushed a contract in front of them. Liliana said she would only accept if she could have her own cabin and also take all her books on studies on route. She bashed the bardic college and her various students and asked Lady Emma to provide more books to sweeten the deal. She agreed and Lady Emma said she would send people to get their stuff for them. Liliana agreed, as a noble she was used to servants handling her possessions.
The two adventures separated for the evening, Liliana to her room to read over a glass of wine. Shadow to look in at the forge window.
The following day they met at the courthouse. Lady Emma testified that a fireball was sent from a robed individual on a boat, explaining that it was strangely quiet. This was corroborated by lots of people and the pair were let off, with an apology. Shadow asked for compensation for the ‘stress and inconvenience’. The judge got pissy and Liliana left in high dudgeon.
On their walk to the boat, Liliana got robbed by a cut purse by Shadow saw him and shot his foot. The kid was an annoying little shit and Liliana got dark, her eyes right in his face as she threatened him and left.
They arrived at the ship, seeing a warehouse that had been burned to the ground, boarding the ship they sailed off with the tide.
The first few nights were sailing through well-travelled waters. On the fourth day, the whole sky turned a brilliant shade of bright orange, predicting a stunning day.
The following day on the horizon they say a strange thing on the horizon, a boat that was the mirror of theirs, like their own boat, but… backwards. The closer the boat got, the more they realised it truly was a mirror image, complete with mirrored Liliana, Shadow and crew, even reflecting what they were saying to each other. Shadow suggested turning away so their mirror image would do the same, but the captain clearly had the wheel hard over, yet they still kept going straight.
“Believe me when I say I have read a lot but I have never heard of anything like this.” Liliana said
Lightning flashed in the sky. Shadow braced for impacted. Liliana sent the mage hand over to test a theory, it grabbed a rope which proved the ship was at least not an image, it seemed real and solid. Liliana backed away to the opposite railing, casting mage armour on herself, as the two boats smashed into each other.
Suddenly the boat swung to starboard.
A frenzy of confusion ensued as the party gradually realised that whatever they did to the other boat, the opposite happened to themselves, Liliana casting a psychic spell on a sailor on the opposite ship cause one on this ship to get necrotic. She tried it in reverse, mind slivering the sailor on this ship and seeing the other sailor get necrotic damage, Shadow shot a crossbow at the other ship caused his counterpart to pull out a boom gun. They were equal and opposite reactions though, as the damage always seemed the same. Pooling their information, Shadow made a suggestion and Liliana shouted to the captain to steer towards the other boat. They did so, and at the last moment, before they would crash together, they passed through the other boat, it disappeared, and they found themselves on a becalmed sea. Utter silence around them. Liliana announced her intention to read in her room but noticed an old lady she had never seen before. She accosted her,
“I do not recognise you.”
“No, that was the most amusing thing I have seen in centuries.”
“I am pleased we could provide you gratification” Liliana deadpanned, “Who are you?”
“Aglethal, perhaps you’ve heard of me.”
“I have never heard of you.”
Aglethal’s hair was made of kemp, but she looked more wholesome than hag, and though her dress was scaly, shimmering blue, feet poked out from underneath. She was older but attractive. Liliana found herself strangely taken with the charming beauty of this woman. Timeless not aged. She sat down beside her.
“Enchante” Aglethal said, Liliana repeated the phrase with a smile. Shadow came to join and shook Liliana by the shoulder. Liliana smiled and introduced Aglethal, as ‘charming’. Shadow found her strangely fetching.
Aglethal said they should come to her island and charmed by her they instructed the captain to follow her directions, and they turned seven hours off course till they reached her island. A beautiful paradise, which Shadow and Liliana both regarded with heart eyes. She told them to take their rowboat to the beach, and camp under the moonlight, which they did, the crew all in a daze.
The following morning, Liliana woke up very confused, remembering last night as if it was a dream, expecting to be in her cabin. Shadow still looked around misty eyed. Liliana had a crisp and clear memory of Aglatha, a shining beacon, perfect in her memory, too perfect. She knew something was wrong, particularly when she saw Shadow still enamoured of the woman.
She tried several times to snap Shadow out of it by mind slivering him, hitting him with the hilt of her dagger and even silvery barbsing a crew member, so she she could help Shadow break free, but the charm held and at the sound of Aglatha’s voice, he turned and started to walk dreamily towards her.
+1 crew score.
Mysterious Beginnings
20th Day of the 4th Month 5575
20th day of the fourth month
Liliana woke in a cage, clean straw, mouth dry, don’t remember anything after dinner the night before. Liliana’s head pounded with a massive hangover but she didn’t remember drinking just sitting in Raythanya’s, eating her meal of duck with dauphinoise potatoes and a glass of red. She had studied while she ate, the last thing she remembered was going to attend to the call of nature then…. Waking up in a cage.
The cell doors were wide open and she could see a guard at the top right of the room. Liliana spoke to the guard who said this was the drunk tank and they’d brought her in until she sobered up, as she’d been standing on the top of a building saying she could fly.
A warforged stomped over,
“I do not understand, repeat what you said. I do not drink.”
The guard said that the warforged had been proclaiming himself to be a pigeon.
Liliana and the war forged spoke and they learned they had both eaten at the same place the night before. The warforged was short and stocky, his outerskin dark shiny blue, bright in places, his eyes neon blue. A mono pod on a single tank track like roller trundled out behind him at ankle height and spoke to the warforged in beeps and bleeps. He was painted in the same colours as the warforged. Liliana and the warforged exchanged names, he introducing himself as Shadow.
The guard mentioned a noble woman had been in but she had left already, her Felicity was her name, Felicity Fry, a human. Liliana knew them as good people, making their money in lumber, owning a lot of the land out on the frontier, including all the land that Hamningburg was on. It was built on the sight of what was once the city of Paxander. ( https://www.worldanvil.com/w/tellus-harldawg/a/paxander-settlement?preview=true) Once an elven city but destroyed in the elven purge, now humans are rebuilding it trying to undo the harm and atone for the atrocities committed in the elven purge. A man called Hamish was responsible for some of this but he is now long dead.
This led to a conversation about nobility where Shadow believed if he could physically get the blood of a noble person that would make him noble and Liliana could not sway him form this viewpoint.
“Oghma have mercy” Liliana said.
They left the building walking into a big square around a fountain made of giant fish spitting streams of water, on the other side was a bridge over the canals, the city being built on a myriad of islands on the Wutjorn river. As they reached this and crossed the bridge they heard a voice shouting,
“Hey stop them,” and saw guards from the drunk tank sprinting towards them, the same guards they had left behind.
“You said we could go!” Liliana cried impatiently,
“Murderers” they cried, "stop them!"
“This is taking the piss uh?” Liliana said to Shadow.
Shadow looked confused, taking her statement literally.
The guards approached and quickly a fight broke out, Shadow refusing to attack while Liliana cast thunnderwave and firebolt, annoyed at how pitiful the damage was, she was quickly knocked unconscious. As the guards closed in on Shadow, a warbling high born voice cut them off and strode past Liliana who groggily opened her eyes. This was none other than Felicity Fry. She bought the guards off and after they left, she told Shadow and Liliana that it seemed all three of them had been framed for murder.
A warehouse containing exports including coffee, rugs, all manner of things had been burned down and 17 people died inside, the building had burned to the ground, it was clearly arson (Liliana regretted using a fire bolt on the guard). Footprints of two small people in the dust around led away to the canal.
After more discussion, it turned out all three of them had eaten at Raythanya’s before. Felicity said she had an investigator working on it but had only bought them a brief reprieve of an hour or so before the guards would return to arrest them....
Liliana's Backstory
Up to 5575
Liliana Idril is from the continent of Taisha.
Growing up in the City of Lights at Watertown to parents Lorsan Idril and Farryn Idril. She showed magical premise from an early age and her parents saved up for decades to to send her away to learn magic. Her mother is a seamstress and her father a binder of books, so she was able to read a lot even though they couldn't afford books of their own, she just helped her father at his work and read the books he was binding, which is how she discovered an interest in magic.
When it came time to send her away for her education, they had heard of people crossing the sea to Pax where a great college of education, the bardic college. As they had waited so long to be able to afford her education, the family agreed that if this school's fame had reached Taisha it must surely be great indeed. And so Liliana set off on the arduous journey from the City of Lights to Greynor there to learn magic and forge a new path in life!
The Legend of the God Punchers
5525
The legend of the god punchers has reached Liliana, and she has heard tale of their exploits....
Too also she has heard of other weave walkers and their legendary exploits.
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