Session #25, parts 1 and 2
Their battle over, and with Lt. Slade out of their reach, the group quickly decided upon a plan to foil the evil lieutenant’s plan. While they were formulating tactics, a messenger came running up. He was a sergeant under the High Regent, and had important information on Slade! Slade was a lieutenant hailing from the Cloudcrystal Skyfields far to the north. There, she commanded the mystic division of their army due to her extensive training on numenera from the aeon priests. She was known for both her intelligence and penchant for causing chaos. Her actions in the south were believed to be the fore-runner to out-right invasion; an attempt to soften the southern countries defenses before the main army moved in. The High Regent very much wanted Lieutenant Slade captured or killed at all costs.
After hearing this news, Tobeon borrowed a teleporter cypher from Bane and teleported nearby to his long-time friend and teacher, Dr. Breck. Ephyra used her wind riding and followed Tobeon as quickly as she could.
Dr. Breck greeted Tobeon, and was interested in his news about an imminent attack of the Yellow Swarm. Dr. Breck told Tobeon (and Ephyra who had just arrived) that the group would need to find a way to shut down the inter-dimensional gates which brought the yellow swarm. The doctor had some theoretical knowledge of the devices, but pointed them towards his old friend Gwydeon as having much practical experience.
Tobeon then asked if Dr. Breck had any method of fast travel to Gwydeon’s workshop. Indeed, the intellectual doctor had a teleporter, but it did not have enough range to reach Gwydeon. Instead, Dr. Breck suggested a raster stable in the region, which just so happened to be owned by Ephyra’s Uncle Rigsby. Ephyra and Tobeon thanked Dr. Breck and teleported to the raster stables.
Meanwhile, Kae scouted the area around looking for any sort of a mount to capture which might aid the group in the confrontation sure to come. After a search, and guided by his instincts, Kae eventually found scorched tracks in the ground. Kae followed the tracks and finally found a ferno walker. Facing the enormous beast, Kae did not hesitate but drew upon all his experience and focused his mental abilities into a strong command which he directed towards the creature. Kae was surprised how much resistance the ferno walker offered to his mental command but in the end Kae overpowered the creature’s will and so brought the beast under his control. From now on, he would have a formidable mount indeed to ride into battle! Kae then rode his new mount back to the meadow where Bane waited.
While Kae was searching for a mount, Nilsa used a teleport cypher to go all the way back to Northam and warn the city of the impending attack. She used the messenger service and told the man to move at top speed as her warning was dire and urgent. Nilsa then went at top speed herself to Gwydeon’s workshop with her grim news in hopes he would have some solution for the group.
Gwydeon was pleased to see Nilsa again, and inquired how the Jade Colossus trip had gone. He was surprised to hear the colossus had once again disappeared, and he was disappointed the group had not finished his shopping list. Nilsa then quickly informed Gwydeon about Slade’s impending attack, and begged the tinkerer for his help. Gwydeon agreed that a yellow swarm attack such as the one mentioned in Slade’s journal was indeed a serious matter.
While Nilsa was talking with Gwydeon, Bane waited for Kae to return. Once Kae was back, Bane eyed the ferno walker suspiciously at first, but Kae soon explained that he had the beast under his mental control. Bane and Kae then dragged Hester on the back of the ferno walker and delivered her back to the warden in Ballarad. The warden was very happy to have someone else to throw in jail! To him, the crime was of secondary concern; his one delight in life was in adding to his collection of prisoners. Kae then warned the warden of the coming attack, and the warden promised to discreetly spread the word to the authorities to prepare.
Suddenly, a blue glow appeared and a note materialized “Nilsa here, urgent, come at once –Gwydeon”. Bane and Kae were delighted that so far their plan was working and stepped through the portal into Gwydeon’s workshop.
Meanwhile, Tobeon and Ephyra had taken Dr. Breck’s transporter to her Uncle Rigsby’s raster stables. Tobeon’s eyes widened a bit at the sight of the enormous flying mounts with people on their backs. Ephyra led the way through the stable to where her uncle stood talking with one of the riders.
Ephyra’s Uncle Rigsby was happy to see his niece again, but less so when she informed him of her need for rasters. Rigsby reminded Ephyra that this was not the first time she had ‘needed’ a raster to ‘save the world’; indeed the last such time she borrowed a raster, it ended up at a competing stable in payment for one of Ephyra’s gambling debts! Ephyra was chagrined about losing the last raster, but begged her uncle to give her another chance. She promised that she was a different person since leaving the pirates. Finally, reluctantly, her Uncle Rigsby agreed to loan her and Tobeon rasters.
As Rigsby led the two toward the rasters, Tobeon suddenly realized he was not a fan of heights. He did his best to not show it, but Ephyra noticed his hesitation and teased him about it anyway. He grimly mounted up and grabbed the reins in a death grip, his knuckles turning white with the strain.
Suddenly, a blue glow appeared and a note materialized “Nilsa here, urgent, come at once –Gwydeon”. Tobeon was secretly relieved at not having to fly all the way back to their settlement, and quickly dismounted his raster. Ephyra wanted to take both rasters through the portal, but Tobeon countered that perhaps that was not the best idea. After a bit of back and forth, Ephyra agreed to leave the rasters behind (much to Tobeon’s relief!) Ephyra and Tobeon stepped through the portal and into Gwydeon’s workshop.
With the group all back together again, Gwydeon showed them a device he called a Void Transit Nullifier which should be able to counter Lt. Slade’s gateways. Gwydeon said that he could make most of the device quickly, except for the central crystal which powered it. He did not have any, and had not seen one in a long time. The group asked Gwydeon where they might find one, and he said the last known ones came from a strange cave in the world ship cliffs. The party then asked if Gwydeon could teleport everyone directly to the cave. Gwydeon explained that something was very odd about the cave which prevented teleporting with a mile’s radius or so. Nevertheless, he opened a portal as close to the cave as he could.
The group quickly ran through the teleporter and jogged the mile or so to the cave. When they arrived at the entrance, the group noticed the vegetation surrounding the cave was twisted, as if the plants did not know which way was up and instead grew pointing in all different directions. The group was cautious, and decided that Bane, with his invisibility cloak should enter first to scout the cave.
Once inside, Bane strode confidently onwards, his eyesight allowing him to easily see in the near total darkness. He noticed a glow coming from the back of the cave, and was about to head towards it, when suddenly he felt a strong pull from his left. Gravity had shifted and the left wall was now the ground! Thanks to his excellent conditioning and training, Bane stayed on his feet through the gravity shear and then called for the rest of the party to come in the cave.
The entire party then came in, and after a gravity shift or two, approached the glow in the back. They saw a large group of chance moths clustered around something with a glow coming from it. Ephyra remembered the last time she fought chance moths, and exclaimed that she did not want green eyes again! Ephyra then fired off a blast of electricity at the group of moths, destroying many of them!
The chance moth swarm then flew up, and the party engaged their attack. Despite a couple of gravity shears, during which Ephyra stumbled and lost her footing, the group quickly dispatched the moths. They then examined where the moths had been and saw a panel seemingly powered by a group of crystals.
Nilsa went to work on pulling out the crystals, which caused the gravity to shift again. Kae was caught off guard, and fell face first onto a chance moth’s stinger! As the poison entered his veins, he felt it suddenly imbue his mind with a connection to the almost mythical data sphere! Thinking quickly, he queried Lt. Slade’s whereabouts, and for a fleeting instant saw an aerial view of Slade and her soldiers half-way between Northam and their settlement!
Kae quickly told the group about his insight while Nilsa finished removing the crystals. When the last one was pulled out, the panel stopped glowing, and gravity returned to normal. Gwydeon then opened a portal and the group teleported back to his workshop. Gwydeon was able to use the crystals the group had found to create 5 Void Transit Nullifiers. Fearing the worst after Kae’s vision, the group quickly left Gwydeon’s workshop and ran to their settlement.
With a sinking feeling, the party saw that Slade had already arrived! She, her soldiers, and an area of jet black nothingness which absorbed all light were about 200 yards from the settlement and seemed to be setting up some kind of device. Her evil plan was now fully in play!
The group asked everyone in the settlement if anyone could help them fight, and 5 (formerly) bandits stepped forward with their bows. 4 of them would stay atop the walls and volley arrows, and 1 would accompany the group. With that, the group marched out and the epic showdown with Lt. Slade began!
The fight raged back and forth for a long time, Bane activated Gwydeon’s device, which caused the entire group to feel nauseous, but seemed to prevent Slade’s device from working. Ephyra activated her volcanic heart, which pulsed with heat, damaging friend and foe alike. Bane was able to eliminate the shiverns, dissipating their darkness and making targeting easier for everyone. Much effort was expended, many hard blows were landed and avoided, and the situation began to grow desperate. Kae and Adaelia finally withdrew to some distance due to how injured they were. Finally, after an intense and epic fight, Lieutenant Slade was rendered unconscious. The party had triumphed!
After hearing this news, Tobeon borrowed a teleporter cypher from Bane and teleported nearby to his long-time friend and teacher, Dr. Breck. Ephyra used her wind riding and followed Tobeon as quickly as she could.
Dr. Breck greeted Tobeon, and was interested in his news about an imminent attack of the Yellow Swarm. Dr. Breck told Tobeon (and Ephyra who had just arrived) that the group would need to find a way to shut down the inter-dimensional gates which brought the yellow swarm. The doctor had some theoretical knowledge of the devices, but pointed them towards his old friend Gwydeon as having much practical experience.
Tobeon then asked if Dr. Breck had any method of fast travel to Gwydeon’s workshop. Indeed, the intellectual doctor had a teleporter, but it did not have enough range to reach Gwydeon. Instead, Dr. Breck suggested a raster stable in the region, which just so happened to be owned by Ephyra’s Uncle Rigsby. Ephyra and Tobeon thanked Dr. Breck and teleported to the raster stables.
Meanwhile, Kae scouted the area around looking for any sort of a mount to capture which might aid the group in the confrontation sure to come. After a search, and guided by his instincts, Kae eventually found scorched tracks in the ground. Kae followed the tracks and finally found a ferno walker. Facing the enormous beast, Kae did not hesitate but drew upon all his experience and focused his mental abilities into a strong command which he directed towards the creature. Kae was surprised how much resistance the ferno walker offered to his mental command but in the end Kae overpowered the creature’s will and so brought the beast under his control. From now on, he would have a formidable mount indeed to ride into battle! Kae then rode his new mount back to the meadow where Bane waited.
While Kae was searching for a mount, Nilsa used a teleport cypher to go all the way back to Northam and warn the city of the impending attack. She used the messenger service and told the man to move at top speed as her warning was dire and urgent. Nilsa then went at top speed herself to Gwydeon’s workshop with her grim news in hopes he would have some solution for the group.
Gwydeon was pleased to see Nilsa again, and inquired how the Jade Colossus trip had gone. He was surprised to hear the colossus had once again disappeared, and he was disappointed the group had not finished his shopping list. Nilsa then quickly informed Gwydeon about Slade’s impending attack, and begged the tinkerer for his help. Gwydeon agreed that a yellow swarm attack such as the one mentioned in Slade’s journal was indeed a serious matter.
While Nilsa was talking with Gwydeon, Bane waited for Kae to return. Once Kae was back, Bane eyed the ferno walker suspiciously at first, but Kae soon explained that he had the beast under his mental control. Bane and Kae then dragged Hester on the back of the ferno walker and delivered her back to the warden in Ballarad. The warden was very happy to have someone else to throw in jail! To him, the crime was of secondary concern; his one delight in life was in adding to his collection of prisoners. Kae then warned the warden of the coming attack, and the warden promised to discreetly spread the word to the authorities to prepare.
Suddenly, a blue glow appeared and a note materialized “Nilsa here, urgent, come at once –Gwydeon”. Bane and Kae were delighted that so far their plan was working and stepped through the portal into Gwydeon’s workshop.
Meanwhile, Tobeon and Ephyra had taken Dr. Breck’s transporter to her Uncle Rigsby’s raster stables. Tobeon’s eyes widened a bit at the sight of the enormous flying mounts with people on their backs. Ephyra led the way through the stable to where her uncle stood talking with one of the riders.
Ephyra’s Uncle Rigsby was happy to see his niece again, but less so when she informed him of her need for rasters. Rigsby reminded Ephyra that this was not the first time she had ‘needed’ a raster to ‘save the world’; indeed the last such time she borrowed a raster, it ended up at a competing stable in payment for one of Ephyra’s gambling debts! Ephyra was chagrined about losing the last raster, but begged her uncle to give her another chance. She promised that she was a different person since leaving the pirates. Finally, reluctantly, her Uncle Rigsby agreed to loan her and Tobeon rasters.
As Rigsby led the two toward the rasters, Tobeon suddenly realized he was not a fan of heights. He did his best to not show it, but Ephyra noticed his hesitation and teased him about it anyway. He grimly mounted up and grabbed the reins in a death grip, his knuckles turning white with the strain.
Suddenly, a blue glow appeared and a note materialized “Nilsa here, urgent, come at once –Gwydeon”. Tobeon was secretly relieved at not having to fly all the way back to their settlement, and quickly dismounted his raster. Ephyra wanted to take both rasters through the portal, but Tobeon countered that perhaps that was not the best idea. After a bit of back and forth, Ephyra agreed to leave the rasters behind (much to Tobeon’s relief!) Ephyra and Tobeon stepped through the portal and into Gwydeon’s workshop.
With the group all back together again, Gwydeon showed them a device he called a Void Transit Nullifier which should be able to counter Lt. Slade’s gateways. Gwydeon said that he could make most of the device quickly, except for the central crystal which powered it. He did not have any, and had not seen one in a long time. The group asked Gwydeon where they might find one, and he said the last known ones came from a strange cave in the world ship cliffs. The party then asked if Gwydeon could teleport everyone directly to the cave. Gwydeon explained that something was very odd about the cave which prevented teleporting with a mile’s radius or so. Nevertheless, he opened a portal as close to the cave as he could.
The group quickly ran through the teleporter and jogged the mile or so to the cave. When they arrived at the entrance, the group noticed the vegetation surrounding the cave was twisted, as if the plants did not know which way was up and instead grew pointing in all different directions. The group was cautious, and decided that Bane, with his invisibility cloak should enter first to scout the cave.
Once inside, Bane strode confidently onwards, his eyesight allowing him to easily see in the near total darkness. He noticed a glow coming from the back of the cave, and was about to head towards it, when suddenly he felt a strong pull from his left. Gravity had shifted and the left wall was now the ground! Thanks to his excellent conditioning and training, Bane stayed on his feet through the gravity shear and then called for the rest of the party to come in the cave.
The entire party then came in, and after a gravity shift or two, approached the glow in the back. They saw a large group of chance moths clustered around something with a glow coming from it. Ephyra remembered the last time she fought chance moths, and exclaimed that she did not want green eyes again! Ephyra then fired off a blast of electricity at the group of moths, destroying many of them!
The chance moth swarm then flew up, and the party engaged their attack. Despite a couple of gravity shears, during which Ephyra stumbled and lost her footing, the group quickly dispatched the moths. They then examined where the moths had been and saw a panel seemingly powered by a group of crystals.
Nilsa went to work on pulling out the crystals, which caused the gravity to shift again. Kae was caught off guard, and fell face first onto a chance moth’s stinger! As the poison entered his veins, he felt it suddenly imbue his mind with a connection to the almost mythical data sphere! Thinking quickly, he queried Lt. Slade’s whereabouts, and for a fleeting instant saw an aerial view of Slade and her soldiers half-way between Northam and their settlement!
Kae quickly told the group about his insight while Nilsa finished removing the crystals. When the last one was pulled out, the panel stopped glowing, and gravity returned to normal. Gwydeon then opened a portal and the group teleported back to his workshop. Gwydeon was able to use the crystals the group had found to create 5 Void Transit Nullifiers. Fearing the worst after Kae’s vision, the group quickly left Gwydeon’s workshop and ran to their settlement.
With a sinking feeling, the party saw that Slade had already arrived! She, her soldiers, and an area of jet black nothingness which absorbed all light were about 200 yards from the settlement and seemed to be setting up some kind of device. Her evil plan was now fully in play!
The group asked everyone in the settlement if anyone could help them fight, and 5 (formerly) bandits stepped forward with their bows. 4 of them would stay atop the walls and volley arrows, and 1 would accompany the group. With that, the group marched out and the epic showdown with Lt. Slade began!
The fight raged back and forth for a long time, Bane activated Gwydeon’s device, which caused the entire group to feel nauseous, but seemed to prevent Slade’s device from working. Ephyra activated her volcanic heart, which pulsed with heat, damaging friend and foe alike. Bane was able to eliminate the shiverns, dissipating their darkness and making targeting easier for everyone. Much effort was expended, many hard blows were landed and avoided, and the situation began to grow desperate. Kae and Adaelia finally withdrew to some distance due to how injured they were. Finally, after an intense and epic fight, Lieutenant Slade was rendered unconscious. The party had triumphed!
12/25/2019?
Comments