Echoes

General Summary

Introduction

The day wore down into dusk, and a light rain began to fall. Saiylar and Dorian were nearby to Alatsar's new distillery, so they stopped in to see their companion and escape the rain. Colonel Blaster also happened to be nearby, but seeing as how he was having a discussion with his (imaginary?) dwarf friend he ignored the rain and stayed outside. Teju was still back at King Laird's castle; she went into the kitchens to catch up on gossip.

In the kitchens, one of the chimneys seemed to not work, and smoke filled the room. At the same time, Alatsar's brand new chimney also seemed to pump smoke into the room instead of outside. Meanwhile, Colonel Blaster noticed that a thick fog was creeping in.

Teju and Saiylor were each very suspicious of their respective smoky rooms. Both of them were able to perceive that the smoke was not actually coming from a chimney, or anywhere for that matter. It didn't seem to be anything except smoke (or fog in the case of Blaster). However, the haze seemed to be coming from everywhere. 

Teju's spies in the palace reported to her that it was a foggy night, but other than that they could find nothing unusual. Soon, regardless of location, the smoke/fog/haze/mist thickened until all the world seemed to disappear. Saiylor used a protective cypher, but nothing seemed to effect the mist!

In the midst of the dense white mist, sound seemed to muffle and then disappear entirely. So too did the adventurers' fingers and feeling grow numb and then all sense of touch was lost! The smell of the kitchens or distillery vanished, along with any aftertaste of the group's dinner. It seemed that vision was the only sense left working!

The White Paper Tavern

The mists began to thin, and gradually the adventurers could see more than a few inches. All of the adventurers were in a tavern of sorts. However, this tavern was entirley devoid of all color! Everything in the tavern, from the mugs of ale to the benches to the floor to the ceiling to the people seemed to be made of white paper! Printed neatly in black ink on each paper/item was that name of that item. The paper mug of ale said "Mug of Ale" and inside it was a piece of paper that said "warm brown ale". The ceiling said "ceiling" and the floor said "wooden floor" etc. Even the people were but paper cut-outs with names such as "bar-keeper", "servant", etc. written on them!

The adventurers' quickly realized that they could still hear nothing. They could not seem to make any noise whatsoever! In fact, as they looked, they realized that hanging from the ceiling here and there were bits of paper saying things like "ambient conversation", "laughter", "tavern song" etc. Similarly, their senses of touch, smell, and taste were also absent. 

Dorian was rummaging through his pack for a pen, when what appeared to be "thought bubbles" appeared over everyone's head. The group quickly discovered that when they tried to say something, it would appear written in the thought bubble above their head instead! At least they would be spared writer's cramp as they tried to talk to each other!


The actual group themselves still were in color, albeit the color was a very faded, pastel version of their normal self. After a bit of experimentation, they discovered that they all had a profound new ability in this strange world. Simply by imagining it, they could make any item in the tavern any color or combination of colors whatsoever! Colonel Blaster quickly set about restoring all the cabbages in the tavern to their normal color. Alatsar turned a mug of ale back to its normal shade, and then tried to dump it over Saiylor's head! A few bits of paper fluttered out that were the color of a perfectly brewed ale. 

Three Figures

After a short time, they all noticed three figures off to one side who they all agreed had not been present a moment ago. The three were in full color, although they produced no sound. They seemed to take no notice initially of the group.

One figure was an old man in a long robe with a great many time-keeping devices with which he constantly fiddled. Watches were on his wrist, pocket watches around his waist, a sun-dial sat on the table, and he held an hourglass in his hands. All of the time pieces were in perfect sync with each other; even so, the old man continuously adjusted and fiddled with them.

Another figure also appeared to be a somewhat older man, although still appearing to be in good shape. He sat patiently at at table, and a long pair of oars leaned beside him. He simply sat, and one got the impression that he was a man of infinite patience who was waiting for something.

The final figure was of a woman, although she seemed to appear as one of three different ages. When they first say her, she appeared to be a very young woman making thread on a spinning wheel. She pulled the spool of thread off, the spinning wheel disappeared, and she now appeared to be a middle-aged woman sitting and knitting. After a time, she signed, and pulled out a set of shears. The knitting needles disappeared, and she now appeared to be a very old woman. She snipped a thread, and then pulled a spinning wheel out of thin air and again appeared to be a very young woman. This cycle continued without pause.

Curiously, when the woman snipped a thread, the man with the oars stretched out his hand and appeared to accept something from the thin air. He closed his hand around it and dropped it into his pocket before resuming his patient sitting on the bench.

The adventurers cautiously approached the three figures, and as they did so, though bubbles appeared over the heads of the three unusual characters. The old man with the timepieces introduced himself as Kronos. He introduced the man with the oars as Charon, and the woman as Moirai. 

Kronos explained in his though bubble that the three were there to offer guidance and answer questions. He invited the group to ask what they would.

Questions and . . . Answers?

And did the adventurers ever have questions! Their thought bubbles flashed quickly with dozens upon hundreds of questions, all of which one of the three occupants of the tavern endeavored to provide an answer. Oftentimes, the answers provided were not the most straightforward. The answers sometimes seemed more like a prophecy or riddle than a proper answer. Still, it was apparent that the three were doing their best, and after much back and forth, here is what the adventurers finally decided their answers meant.

What is the White Paper Tavern?

• It is a safe place, a world of its own outside of time and all other realities
• It is a backup safety plan of sorts for if Kronos' mists ever malfunctioned
• Nothing can be left in the tavern from the regular world
• Nothing from the tavern (except knowledge and skills learned) will come back to the regular world
• The players can rip the paper, but it just reforms after a few seconds
• The only way the players found to effect the tavern is to change the colors
  
  

Who are the three (really?)

• Here, the font and style of the thought bubble for Kronos changed rapidly, as if different people were trying to all talk at once
• They are "11th level artificially intelligent avatars"
• Kronos admitted he no longer had total control over the mist
• Moirai refused to make eye contact. Kronos commented that many people sought her attention, but few liked her eye upon them
• They seemed rather confused about their age, one of the answers given expressed astonishment that "this thing has been running for HOW long without maintenance?"
• It seemed they have some connection to, or perhaps are a part of the datasphere in some way!
  
  

What is the total history of the world?

• The three were most knowledgeable about events 600 million years in the adventurer's past
• The closer to "present day", the less they knew about events
• Some information they simply commented that the adventurer's lacked the necessary authorization to access
• (At this point, Teju asked for 'administrator level access', and a paper appeared in midair that simply said "password?" After two incorrect guesses, Colonel Blaster yeeted a cabbage at the password prompt, to which it displayed the message "invalid password" and disappeared!

Weighty Questions (and Not-So-Comforting Answers!)

After figuring out that they didn't appear to be in immediate danger, and having finally (somewhat) satisfied their historical curiosity, the group turned to some more serious and pressing questions. The most important question seemed to be, how would they get back? Here, the three occupants of the inn gave the clearest and most complete answers of any questions so far. Here is a list of what the party learned:

• Kronos would attempt to send them back, but he could not guarantee returning them "to the now"
• If he was successful, the group would not remember the tavern.

Here the three seemed to emphasize the importance of their answers (as much as you can emphasize something in a thought bubble anyway!) If Kronos could not return the part to "the now" then:

• They would retain any knowledge or skills learned in the tavern
• The mists would give, and the mists would take away
• They would be visited by the mists every night
• If they did not find a way to return "to the now" then the party would have only 8 nights remaining!
• It might be possible for the characters to "steer" the mist when inside it by focusing on an important event they wished to visit
• The key was to return to the now before 8 nights had passed.

Going . . . Back?

After much discussion, the group agreed to have Kronos attempt to return them to the now. A white mist swirled from Kronos' fingers, and soon enveloped the entire party. As the mists began to recede, their senses of hearing, taste, smell, and touch all returned! They seemed to be in the capital city of Ghan once again. For a moment, everything seemed normal.

However, as they began to look around, all the colors of the world seemed washed out and very pastel in color. When each adventurer looked down, their own colors appeared normal, but their companions colors were muted just like the rest of the world. After a bit of experimenting, the group found that they had retained their ability to color the world around them to any hue they desired!

Within a short range, each adventurer could change the color of any object simply by thinking about it! Apparently, the other people in the world noticed the color changes as well. Some of the townspeople noticed when the grass changed to an unnatural hue, and began to come closer to inspect it. Saiylar quickly changed the grass back to its normal color, and to the party's relief, the townspeople just blinked a couple of times and then went on about their day.

Things That Were (almost)

Nearby, the adventurers saw General Blaze talking with one of his lieutenants. They were discussing an intelligence report about a powerful artefact on some mysterious islands, as well as what to do about a group of miscreants that had just been imprisoned! General Blaze wanted to conscript the ruffians into his army, while the lieutenant suggested sending the group to find the artefact. Apparently, King Laird wanted General Blaze's advice on the matter.

Dorian used his new color abilities, along with his natural talents for disguise to alter his appearance and approach the general. He struck up a conversation, and expressed his hearty wishes that the group of traitors and criminals be sent to the islands, and not conscripted. The General seemed unconvinced. Blaze considered the artefact to be a fairy tale, and said that he did not believe in supernatural superstitions or things that he could not see.

Dorian turned from his conversation, and ordered Saiylor to help him gain audience with the king! Teju decided to follow the duo to the castle, while the rest of the party watched from a distance. Dorian, Saiylor, and Teju marched confidently up to the castle and demanded an immediate audience with the king.

Storming a Castle

The poor guard at the gate was in a hard spot. Here was a group of people, very obviously members of the royal class, demanding he let them in. Normally, he would have bowed and ushered them in, but today one of the kings own dukes had been accused of treason and thrown in jail. There was now an official list of who was allowed in, and Dorian, Saiylor, and Teju (using fake names) were simply not on the list!

The guard even sent a messenger to check, but the word came back from the king that he knew of no such people. The unfortunate guardsman was about to send the group to the nicest hotel in the city (and pay for their stay to boot!) when Saiylor drew her weapon, activated a defensive cypher, and charged into the castle. The guard mentally downgraded his arrangements for the guests from pent house suite to a cold jail floor, and dutifully set about trying to capture the invaders.

Dorian and Teju stayed with Saiylor, safe from all physical harm in the shield bubble of her cypher. Even with a dozen guards responding to the alarm it seemed their plan world work! However, two more guards showed up that had a different symbol on their armor. These guards were armed not with swords, but with a staff. These were nanos!

The nanos' attacks bypassed Saiylor's shield, but the trio was able to dodge the attack. At this point, Teju turned into a beetle and disappeared from the fight. A moment later, what appeared to be General Blaze marched in and ordered the guards to stand down!

Teju applied all of her effort, and was able to make her deception work. She convinced the two very confused nano guards they were urgently needed at the front gate, and the rest of the guards to lower their weapons. 

Saiylor, not knowing that Teju had shape-shifted into the general, used the lull in fighting to shoulder aside the guards with a powerful push and run full tilt towards the throne room, with Dorian right behind her!

Teju (as General Blaze) was not sure what her friends were up to, and just stood there with her mouth open in surprise at her friends attack. The guards looked to their general for guidance, but finding none, they quickly set off after the intruders again! The guards caught up with Saiylor and Dorian just as they were about to open the doors to the throne room.

Suddenly, the doors opened, and Teju (now in the form of King Laird) came out and closed the doors behinds her. The guards quickly saluted and then stood in a circle around the intruders with weapons pointed at them. Teju (as the King) ordered the guards to stand back.

Dorian was not aware of Teju's interference and thought he was talking with his old friend, the king. He began to quickly explain himself. Saiylor however was suspicious. She was able to perceive an amulet the 'king' was wearing that belonged to Teju. Without another word, Saiylor shoved Teju aside and opened the doors to the throne room!

The real king looked up as Saiylor and Dorian entered, and saw his guards standing about in confusion, and what looked like an imposter dressed like the king. The real king firmly and immediately ordered his guards, including now over a dozen of the nano guards, to take the three into custody.

Dorian reached deep within himself and put forth his utmost effort. Using his command voice, honed over years of leading others, he managed to quickly cut through the noise of the court and for a critical moment talk directly with the king. He used a clever phrase to let king Laird know it was Dorian, and not the fake name he had given on entrance. The king very subtly nodded. Dorian used this chance to ask the king to send the miscreants in prison to the islands, instead of letting Blaze recruit them.

I Remember You

With that, Saiylor decided to not press her luck any further in combat, and so Teju, Dorian and Saiylor were taken prisoner and led away. Still in their disguises, the trio were marched into the royal dungeons. Along the way, they passed their younger selves imprisoned and awaiting their sentencing. The jailor locked the three (older versions!) away, each one in a separate cell. 

Some time later, the three heard General Blaze from his office next door talking with himself. Apparently he still intended to recommend conscription!

Report Date

07 Aug 2021