Session 16 - Are We There Yet?
General Summary
Cruising on the Iron Arrow
In the aftermath of the battle, the group debates what to do with the bodies as Arkyn recalls that they "get back up again". Teagan suggests finely chopping them... or at least putting them in enough pieces to facilitate burning. With bodies burned, Milo moves the Iron Arrow a little ways down the tracks before stopping her once more. After that debacle, the group sets up a new sleep schedule and shifts from a 2-pilot regime to a 3-pilot one.
As Arkyn pilots the Iron Arrow, Cadence notices something massive approaching. After Teagan clarifies and refines the reading... it seems to be rows upon rows of identical and evenly spaces blocks. Curious, Arkyn slows the Iron Arrow down to "school zone speed" as a small subgroup step just outside the train to get a better look. Stretching far beyond the scope of anyone's vision are identical rectangular silhouettes neatly arranged. They appear to be crudely and perhaps hastily carved gravestones. Time has obscured all name and inscription – if there ever was one. Various pieces of rusted metal lie about: scraps of weapons and armor. Bones litter the ground among the graves. Yenush uses the scope on his gun to attempt to get a better look. There are clearly symbols on some of the graves, though he isn't able to make any details out. However, he does get a momentarily wave of nausea that is familiar and reminiscent of the recent time underwater.
Teagan, meanwhile, gives in to the press of the miasma.
Your anger initially surges; a rage that is not your own. Yet, one by one, as the bodies are laid to rest… that rage is replaced by lethargy.
Returning to the Iron Arrow, Teagan is a bit shaken. Arkyn passes the mantle of pilot to Cadence who connects to the Iron Arrow for the first time. With help from Quill and Aiaoue, her piloting shift goes smoothly. Meanwhile, Arkyn pulls Teagan aside and sits down for a conversation over Jin. Arkyn's been feeling this fear. He's just been craving Jin's fear; he never knew fear tasted so good. Teagan expresses that it's okay to HAVE those thoughts, but ACTING on them is when you cross the line. As they both resolve to suppress and bury such thoughts (typical "men"), Aiaoue cuts into the conversation to offer advice based on one of Arkyn's smut books. That's one thing that will definitely register in Arkyn's mind.
Milo takes over the task of piloting with assistance from Yelkin and Jin. Halfway through his shift, Jin notices something approaching directly on the tracks right before an alarm starts blaring. An alert appears: "Track Disruption". The alarm is loud enough to wake a portion of the group. Vendetta is roused to escort people to the track disruption. About 100 feet ahead of the Iron Arrow, the metallic prongs that support the levitation have been bent and warped. The arcane runes on the tracks have been scratched out by what seems like claws. With Yelkin's aid, Arkyn is able to do a "quick fix" of the arcane runes. It would make Ironborn cringe, but it'll get this stretch of tracks working again. Poking around, Cadence notices humanoid footprints in the area.
Back on the Iron Arrow, Milo gets moving again. Meanwhile, Teagan has a dream... slightly differnt than the miasma-induced dreams. This one seems more personal. When morning rolls around, Teagan considers finding Jin and just going back to sleep for awhile.
Once again on Arkyn's shift, Cadence notices something large on the radar approaching. This time, the Iron Arrow is brought to a halt and Vendetta roused. A small excursion is made to the multiple stone rings. Crude blocks of stones have been arranged and each stone has at least one hole drilled through it of varying sizes. Within the rings the ground seems to dip... and there is the impression of a root system... of a tree. With her skills in weaving, Aiaoue is able to follow the pattern of the holes in the stone. Perhaps once, when there was a tree here, its roots and branches were woven through this stone to create whatever structure was once here. With the aid of Locate Object, Aiaoue is just able to find the faint trace of a seed.
Allowing the miasma to briefly embrace them, a few people see a vision. Laughter rings all around and the blurry silhouettes of people move about. Although blurry, the world is full of vibrant and exuberant colors. The sun shines across open pasture and field and through the canopies of massive trees that stretch upward within rings of stone. Their roots are woven through the stone that winds up multiple levels around the trunk. Fruit glows in the canopy. And then the vision fades, leaving only the stone rings and the impressions of the trees that were once here.
With their excursion complete, everyone reboards the Iron Arrow and the journey continues. When Aiaoue next crosses paths with Evandra, she shows the Eladrin woman the seed. After a moment of looking it over, Evandra seems perplexed. It's not exactly the same, but it seems somewhat reminiscent of the seeds they keep stored in the House of Life. Evandra is very pleased that Aiaoue found this.
As Cadence takes over piloting, the trip goes smoothly, save for one bout of concentrated miasma and one mitigated MWD malfunction. With the MWD's surged, the worst of its influence passes over the train without effect.
The view from the Iron Arrow changes. The moon is out, yet the clouds obscure most of its silver light. Amidst the darkness, the silhouette of something moves. As the Iron Arrow charges forth, time slows. The silhouette of some creature walking on four spindly legs is visible. Atop it, you can see the silhouettes of at least 4 humanoids. Their eyes glow an eerie yellow in the night. They move slowly towards the coast; towards Legacy.
Milo once again takes to the helm with Jin's support. As the night progresses, Jin seems alarmed. There's a LOT of things APPROACHING us. Milo urges the Iron Arrow to move faster and, with Yelkin supporting the engines, is able to do so. Aiaoue, just to be safe, puts a flaming sphere out on the front of the Iron Arrow. A moment later, the Iron Arrow crashes through what sounds like multiple bodies. Thankfully, none of them manage to grab a hold of the metal behemoth and the Iron Arrow continues along her way.
In the morning, Aiaoue makes tea and biscuits, offering some to Yenush. Now you can't intentionally lie to me. Do you normally accept bounties without knowing what the accused did? Yenush notes that it's not a bounty, per se, and he knew Yelkin was charged with the Pursuit of Ignorance. Yenush didn't want the water to be "muddied" with additional details so to speak before he heard the story from Yelkin himself. Aiaoue asks that, when the time comes, will Yenush choose Nacheevi or his brother? It'll be a tough choice. Well, nice talk! CLINK.
As Arkyn pilots once more, a concentrated patch of miasma washes over the Iron Arrow.
The view from the Iron Arrow changes; the miasma is replaced by dark gray clouds. The Iron Arrow races past a stream of silhouettes, trudging alongside carts or carrying nothing more than a small satchel or gourd pouch strung on rope. Their faces are full of sorrow and loss, but a few show expressions of resolve and hope. Far in the distance – where the line of people came from – you can see the start of orange haze.
Arkyn decides to try and commune with Moon god (if he's Moon Boy, that's the logical extension, right)? And he goes catatonic. Teagan and Aiaoue look him over. He's... fine? But there's nothing behind his eyes. Arkyn remains that way for 4 hours before waking up to find a very disgruntled Sayah. Perhaps you should consider NOT poking the bear? What bear?
Aiaoue spends some time with Vendetta. Can you talk to Eight? Or communicate with her? Aiaoue relays varying levels and types of danger to Vendetta who seems to meditate on it. It's unclear what degree of detail Vendetta can convey, but the behemoth still has some level of connection with Eight.
With Cadence as pilot, the Iron Arrow's alarms blare once more, signalling a track disruption. As the Iron Arrow halts, the radar reveals another sprawling area of ringed structures, stretching far into the miasma and up to the riverbed. The party moves to investigate the disruption, sticking close to the tracks. There was once a bridge with tracks over the riverbed here, but that has been destroyed. Aiaoue finds similar humanoid footprints around the area. This was intentionally destroyed. The group resolves to take the Iron Arrow Off the Rails, which Cadence is able to do. And so, the Iron Arrow leaves the ruins and long dried riverbed behind.
In Pursuit of the Void Maiden
During Milo's shift, the Iron Arrow reaches the end of the tracks. Aiaoue makes one last potion and ensures they are properly distributed to the group. Cadence waves goodbye to Quill. Yenush says goodbye to Yelkin after he points out the direction the previous expedition went. Arkyn drapes his cloak around Sayah and tells her he'll be back for her heart. Sayah pulls him in for a kiss and not-so-stealthily slips him one of her daggers, Raven. It might not work in the miasma, but if things get dangerous... you might be able to teleport to me. Aw, you like me.Walking alongside Vendetta, Aiaoue seems HYPER aware of everything in the miasma. She, and others, note the following:
- Tracks – The most notable are a set belonging to a dragonborn. They lead both away (older) and towards (more recent) the Iron Arrow.
- Bodies – About a 20 minute walk away from the Iron Arrow are the warped, twisted and half-mummified bodies of a tabaxi and half-orc.
- Signs of a Scuffle – Scorch marks from spells, the ground-stained with dried blood, broken rubble and broken, already rusted, weaponry and armor.
- Broken Bracelet – The clasp is broken and half the beads are missing, but the pendant of a crescent moon and stairs remains, albeit cracked down the middle.
- Flesh – A small pile of sloughed flesh that has a faint pull. Wisps of black and violet dirft off it and it is cold to the touch. This flesh has not decayed.
Cadence takes the bracelet and, although worried, is reassured that is is perhaps better that only her bracelet is here... given the other bodies. With the trail located, the group splits in half and takes shifts hanging out with Vendetta in the miasma (versus the comforts of Eight's pocket dimension). During one of the shifts, the MWDs are surged only moments before a concentrated pocket of miasma washes over Vendetta.
The view from around Vendetta changes; the sun peaks out from behind clouds, revealing an open expanse of meadow and a cluster of tall trees in the distance. A powerful buzz echoes over the rhythm of Vendetta running. There’s a shout from the left… and you see a massive bee keeping pace, a figure atop its back. The figure looks like an Eladrin, but not quite. With a grin, they snap the reins and surge forward on their giant bee mount.
While in Eight's pocket dimension, Yenush practices fiddle and works on a project, which he later presents to Aiaoue. The small statue can be attached to the music box and will change form as the gears turn. The first form is of a bird with its wings out wide. It shifts to 3 figures: one of Aiaoue, one of her husband, and Omen circled around both of them. Aiaoue finds it delightful, but for Alcide's sake, might request Yenush add Elis to it.
After a few days of uneventful travel, Aiaoue, Teagan, and Milo begin to note a change in the landscape. They stop to explore a "hobbit hole" and find a few items that have persisted: a child's toy, a mead horn, broken stone tools. Above the interior doorway of his "home" is a magical rune that seems mostly inert. Aiaoue, with Detect Magic, is able to note the faintest traces of Abjuration. As they progress, other symbols appear on stone blocks: a tree surrounded by flame, etchings in indents that once held something else, and cornucopias, alongside other abjuration-like runes. And slowly, a massive blurry blob in the distance begins to resemble a tree as the miasma starts to thin. You swear you can just make out the outline of the sun.
The landscape suddenly rises with a narrow channel cutting through the sheer cliffside. At the entrance to the old "root channel" lies a body. Approaching, Teagan and Aiaoue immediately feel as if they are being watched. From a slight distance, the body appears to be of a larger humanoid, curled up to almost intentionally seem smaller. It seems to have been recently killed. Retreating back with Vendetta, the entire group discusses what to do. Everyone feels as if they are being watched and Teagan feels as if he can sense a familiar emotion embroiled in that: rage. This is clearly a chokepoint and whatever is watching is also waiting. After much discussion, Arkyn offers to Vortex Warp Vendetta (with everyone else in the pocket dimension). As Arkyn gets to the body, at least two dozen figures rise and prepare to attack, their red eyes filled with hatred, malice, and a bit of odd lethargy. Arkyn, however, is able to Vortex Warp before they can act and then HAUL ASS.
Welcome to Grand Aetheria
As the group moves quickly in the direction of the blurry tree silhouette, they are suddenly encased by fire. Five figures stand blocking the path. The one in the center stands as tall (if not an inch or two taller) than Teagan with face obscured by a skull. She approaches and speaks in a language that has vague elements of what might be old Sylvan and Giant. Aiaoue slowly approaches and offers salad. The skull mask figure takes it, inspects it, and returns it before motioning for the group to follow. As she returns to her group, Milo uses Comprehend Languages to understand what she says. She seems to be issuing general commands as she sets a brisk pace.As you exit the miasma, the orange haze attempts to cling to you – trying to pull you back into its clutches. For the first time in weeks, you feel the sun upon your skin. You hear birds chirping and smell flowers and fruit. Everything is vibrant, colorful, and alive. You stand at the base of a massive tree, stretching far up to the edge of your vision where it sprawls in a glorious canopy that glows with a faint golden light. Among its roots and along the trunk, you see balconies, homes, and other structures have been almost woven into it. Everything here is vibrant, colorful, enticing, warm, and grandiose, existing in natural harmony. Yet up the trunk you can see a ring of dark, black roots twisting around the tree. A Blight.
Another figure approaches with a broad smile. She converses with the skull-masked figure and then casts a spell. The younger woman introduces herself as Mya. She's so excited to meet people from beyond the Mind Blight! Welcome to Grand Aetheria! Before departing, the skull-masked figure removes her mask and instructs Mya to take the group to the Hall of Seasons as she goes to find the girl's father (seemingly very unhappy about that). Before departing, the stern woman gives a subtle threat to the group to behave while they are here.
Mya begins to lead everyone through Grand Aetheria. You are all so small (except Teagan)! You are from beyond the Mind Blight? Mya has never known anything besides Grand Aetheria, but seems delighted by history and stories. Why does this place exist? Do you have MWDs? Do we have what now? The reason Grand Aetheria persists is because the Evads live... well, kind of. The Evads are the Spirits of the Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... Eden, Chasca, Saffra, Vale. Haven't we heard about "seeking spring"? Arkyn mentions seeing a statue of Eden underwater. Mya seems delighted as she recalls that Eden once extended his protections to the coastal towns against the bad fish god. Arkyn notes his boon and Mya stops. She casts a spell. Oh, perhaps we should see my great-grandfather first. She points to Arkyn and Teagan, you both seem to have a nasty thing somewhat attached to you.
Mya brings the group up through the massive tree and across a pool of water to the Aetherian Archives. Inside, Aetherians move back and forth across the living Library. Many of them appear to be transcribing the knowledge into clay and stone tablets. Mya leads the group to a very old Eladrin, hunched from age. Fannar mentions that the Abyssal Lord was known as the fearmonger and delighted in fear. He played a role in the Storm Wars that ravaged the Western portion of the continent. And Teagan seems to have a relic of the radiant purge... that did, in the past, lead to death. Regarding the items, he will let his granddaughter decide what do do, including killing them. WOAH, wait a minute.
At the outcry, Fannar remarks that Mya will be the last. She will be the last Spring, the last Summer, the last Autumn, and the Last Winter... Without a renewed blessing of the Evads, she will be alone in the end. In the hopes of something better, they must be careful with what they allow into Grand Aetheria. Hence the potential extreme measures. In his lifetime, he has witnessed the advance of the Mind Blight and saw the fall of Idyllis, the City of Spring. Teagan is caught off guard by the number of nouns the old man suddenly hurls about. The group asked about giant bees that they had seen in the miasma and Fannar immediately notes that they have Buzzburs here, if that's what they refer to.
Moving towards the Hall of Seasons, Arkyn asks about Otsana. Fannar immediately remarks that she was the goddess of the full moon and lycanthropy. Wait what? Fannar gives a simpler explanation with exaggerated hand motions. What does it mean to be a Child of Otsana? Any lycanthrope would be a child of Otsana. Arkyn asks about shifters and Fannar seems perplexed. As Arkyn shifts, Fannar surmises that a diluting of the bloodline could lead to such a... reduced bestial form. Otsana once held a set of wildlands to the South of Grand Aetheria... though based on the last reports Grand Aetheria received before the Roots closed, she was dead.
Reaching the top of the trees, the old Eladrin approaches a set of doors. Everyone feels an intense pull on their inner sense of being. The Void Maiden lies beyond.
Report Date
03 Jan 2025
Primary Location
Secondary Location
Related Characters
Sending Responses
To Milo:“Well, hi there messenger. Hi love. Broken? Whatever do you mean, hun? Rumor from whom? Still, am I your sidekick reporter now? Stay very safe!”
To Arkyn:
“Strong bonds ensure loyalty, a natural defense against peril. And it seems peril awaits. If that’s true… Are you prepared to kill a god, Arkyn?”
Teagan's Dream
As you sleep, you suddenly find yourself... aware, lucid. Aware that you are in darkness and in silence. In a place devoid of warmth... pulsing with a single emotion. Rage. The hairs on the back of your neck stand and your muscles tense. A presence manifests behind you, the source of that emotion. Red hot anger, focused into a piercing strike. The blade sinks into the ground next to you; the glimbs of a dark, gauntlet-covered hand.
If your attacker is walking, you do not hear their footsteps; nor do you see them move. From the darkness, a ring of towering, dark refined stone armor appears... surrounding you. Perfectly still, like statues.
How dare you. Accepting so blindly that vile radiance.
The voice echoes from all around... and then red eyes flash in one of the armor sets and a familiar armored figure lunges forward. Again, the blade lands in the ground, but this time, the armored figure remains. As you strike, the armored figure's helmet melts away, revealing Liam's face. His face covered in dirt and soot, faintly copper red. "Was I not your brother, Teagan?" You feel your fist connect and sense the body hit the ground.
A light pierces the darkness. A radiant figure with a glowing blade, stained crimson. The body of a large figure lies at their feet. Screams of agony echo from the stone figures. They draw their weapons and bring them down upon you.
"Unburied. A brother unburied... Why... Why didn't you bury him?"
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