Session 84 - A Bridge to Nowhere

General Summary

22nd Planting

The party had been up late the night before discussing the little they had learned and trying to divine why no one ever left. The letter from Helena Crowcaller had mentioned the need for a strong will and stout mind, but beyond that all they had to go on was rumor and speculation...and not a lot of that.
As the team gathered for breakfast Jilken opened the conversation. "So I was thinking," she said, "your ancestor mentioned the need to keep strong mental shields...do you think it would be good to find some sort of potions for improving willpower or wisdom? I know some of us have been particularly susceptible to mental attacks and control and I would hate for any of us to start attacking the others."
"Well," said Denye, "I could easily get us to Aubergine if we wanted to go shopping. The trick is going to be figuring out how to get back. It's the same problem we had getting here. Without a local teleport circle I don't have a way to get back in a timely manner."
"Isn't there another type of Teleport that doesn't need an anchored circle," asked Janora.
Denye nodded, but grimaced. "There is, but it's a seventh circle spell and I'm still working my way up to handling those spells."
"Maybe there is something here in town," suggested Ell, "I'll ask the innkeeper. Is there anything else we want to find? I was thinking if there was a library in town, we could do a bit more research about the Castle. Both Primrose and Clariee were quite sweet last night, but they didn't have a lot that was helpful."
"I don't know about that," countered Janora, "finding that letter was quite helpful and I'm fairly sure we can use this bowl and ball of yarn to help navigate once we're inside."
Now it was Ell's turn to grimace. "Maybe," he admitted reluctantly, "but it didn't really help that last party get out, did it?"
"We don't know that," bristled Janora, "there could be other dangers...we just need to be prepared." After a thought she added, "We're also almost twice the size of that last group, so that ought to count for something."
With that hopeful thought, the conversation slowed for a bit until Denye started to tell the others about what she had learned regarding the locomotives. That kept everyone's attention through the meal and Ell excused himself to speak to Primrose. He returned a few minutes later to report that there was a library. There wasn't any sort of real magic shop, but there was a herbalist who occasionally had some potions.
Janora was quite interested in visiting the herbalist and Jilken offered to join her while Ell and Denye were keen to explore the library. Tear surprised everyone by saying that he wanted to do a bit of exploring on his own...if nobody needed him for anything. That seemed so the team broke up to see what could be found, promising to check in around lunch.

---

Armed with directions it did not take Ell and Denye long to find the library. It proved to be a neat building with a stone foundation and mud and wattle between stout beams. The doorway was a bit low but inside the roofs were much higher...to allow for the shelves. It wasn't nearly as large as the Wayfinder's Library or even Secret of the Bluff's but still it was neat and well lit. It was also quiet, but as Denye led the way inside, they were met by a smiling gnome with blond curls who introduced himself as Kary Quillbush. Dressed in a light blue robe, he stood about 4 ft high, thanks to some fancy platform boots.
Kary wasn't all that phased to hear that the visitors were interested in the Glass Castle...at least until Ell mentioned that they were planning on going inside. He was more than happy to help them by gathering books and scrolls, but his discourse was peppered with comments about how dangerous it was and how coming back out has never been done.
The librarian was able to supply them with town records as well as a few natural philosophy texts focused on the magical phenomenon. They weren't able to find out much more than the innkeeper had told them. The Castle appears four times a year, when both moons are full, always in the same spot and always looking exactly the same. That spot was a plateau high in the mountains and was marked by the half arch of the bridge. Made from an alloy of five metals (platinum, adamantium, mithril, gold, and silver) it bore no signs of tooling or even construction. There was a path to the bridge, with a trailhead only an hour or two outside of town.
There didn't seem to be a concrete origin for the castle, although it was obvious that it was some sort of magical construct. The two primary theories seemed to be that either it was created during the War of the Undead for some unknown reason or it was created by worshippers of a forgotten moon goddess. One text even suggested that it was a prison for some ancient threat, describing the sense of welcome and desire emanating from the open doors of the Castle as a type of lure.
Denye also asked about any disturbances, problems, or even monsters that bothered the village when the Castle manifested. Kary couldn't find much, it seemed that for many years it had simply just existed, far enough away that it wasn't visible from the town as more than a soft blue glow on clear nights. She did learn that it was something of a game for teens to go up and sleep on the plateau or even occasionally step inside on a dare. Or rather it had been...beginning 80 or 90 years ago, those who did began to have strange and eldritch nightmares. Even worse...those who actually entered would often report having these same nightmares every time the Castle manifested.
While Denye was occupied researching the Castle, Ell went looking in more of the town records looking to see what he could learn about the Inventors Guild and other possible trade markets. He found quite a few things that he made notes on, but got caught up in the tale of a mad inventor about 100 yrs ago. It seemed this Lacra Cackerdank managed to open a passage into another realm and these strange metal creatures began pouring out. Most of them were circular with arms, legs, and a single eye, but for every dozen of these troops there were other creatures who were two blocks stacked on one another, and even a few who were made of pyramids with six arms and legs. These forces spilled from the rift and began consuming everything within reach. Even worse, they proved to be difficult to destroy and it took the entire town to rise up and push the creatures back and close the portal. Cackerdank died in the explosion that closed the rift and has become something of a cautionary tale.
Eventually Ell's stomach announced that it was hungry and the young man realized they had been at the library for the entire morning, with the midday bell having rung an hour ago. Gathering up their notes, he and Denye said goodbye to the librarian and left the library to find their friends at the inn.

---

Janora was in no hurry and took her time over breakfast. She was interested in learning more about this herbalist but a cold front had moved in over night and she wasn't looking forward to going outside. After the third cup of fortifying tea, Jilken suggested that she could go to the herbalist by herself, but Janora would hear none of it. After collecting her cloak and the heavy walking stick, the pair headed to the other side of town.
The herbalist's shop was a snug building that looked to be half house and half shop. Surrounding the house were clearly gardens, with rows of cones protecting the more vulnerable plants under the layer of snow. The shop side seemed to be built for humans and as they stepped inside, they were greeted to a warm chamber with shelves on the walls and a roaring fireplace along the inner wall. A small table and chair were set by the fire and a younger looking gnome with green hair, shaved on the sides, was enjoying a book and a cup of tea.
As the door opened, there was a soft tinkle of a bell and the gnome woman looked up and greeted the party members, "Well hello, welcome to Nature's Bounty, I'm Abigail, what brings you in today."
"We're passing through town," said Janora, "and I always like visiting the local herbalists, always curious to see what services and wares are on offer."
"Mostly a bit of this and a bit of that," said the shopkeeper with a shrug, "A lot of burn cream, hair regrowth, other things like that. As you can imagine, with the number of artificers and engineers in town, there are a lot of accidents and injuries. We've got our own House of Healing. I still work with them part time, but all of this was my great-grandmother's dream and so I like continuing the tradition. I think I have a few healing potions and even a fire resistance potion on the shelves still. Was there something in particular you were interested in?"
Jilken nodded, "I was hoping you might have something that could give boost wisdom or help resist being magically affected by things that can attack your will."
Abigail thought for a few moments before turning to one of the shelves and bringing back a small paper box. "I don't think I have anything that will block mind-control," she began slowly, "but I do have these, they are called guma sticks." Opening the box, she displayed a short, dried root. "They can be dangerous if you use too many," she warned, "but when chewed will sharpen your mind and focus for an hour.
Jilken nodded, "That sounds quiet helpful. I'm going to want to be super-alert when we go into that Castle."
"Oh my poor dear," exclaimed the green-haired gnome, "don't do it. Life can't be so bad that you should kill yourself."
Both Jilken and Janora looked shocked by that statement, but the Aiel was the first to speak. "Oh no," assured the Aiel, "we've been in much more dangerous places and we've always come out. I'm sure we will make it out of this as well."
"Don't worry, my dear," added Janora, "we are quite resourceful, but we are on a mission and we have to go inside."
"If you say so," said Abigail skeptically, "the Castle only creeped me out."
"So you've seen it?" asked Janora shrewdly, "My elder sister and I went up one day and waited for it to appear. It was very pretty, all glowing with spiraling towers and sweeping arches. But then the doors opened and this music drifted out...it was pretty, but it made me want to go inside and I ran away."
"That sounds like it was the right decision," agreed the witch. Changing the conversation, she asked, "Now, these guma sticks what kind of plant do they come from?"
That set the young proprietress off and the three of them spent the rest of the morning discussing various plants and even moving into a few recipes. Eventually the sound of the noonday bell sounded and the pair of adventurers realized they had been at the shop for several hours. Purchasing a pack of the guma sticks, Jilken and Janora bid goodbye to the shopkeeper and made their way back to the Tipsy Bell.
They were the first back, but Primrose was more than happy to provide another pot of tea. Before Jilken got too restless, Denye and Ell appeared in the doorway, discussing the locomotive and some of Denye's ideas for improving it. Greeting the others, they settled at one end of the larger tables. Over lunch the pair of researchers shared what they had learned while the other pair shared the relevant bits from their conversation with the herbalist.
As they were discussing what the afternoon might hold, Jilken asked, "Denye, did you ever look at those magical items we found on the island? I feel like we were so busy over the last couple of weeks that we never got around to it."
"I don't think we did either," replied Denye, after tossing her head from side to side in thought. "I didn't memorize the Identify spell today, but it's in my spell book. I'll have to do it ritually so it will take a bit longer."
No one else seemed to have any pressing business so the four party members headed up to one of the rooms for a bit more privacy. While Denye began setting up her ritual circle, Jilken pulled out the heavy iron comb and the star-like amulet, while Ell and Janora also pulled out a few more of the items they had found.
It took Denye almost an hour to identify all the items but they were all interesting. The iron comb required attunement, but could grant the use of the Disguise Self spell. The star amulet on the other hand seemed to channel wild magic in unpredictable ways and could be used once a day. The metal kazoo that Janora had picked up was able to produce a Thunderwave once a day and the earring in the small box were known as Earrings of the Eclipse and they allowed the wearer to hide in dim light and shadows.
Ell also had a couple of items. The necklace with the carved moonstone was called Artax's Oubliette and was enchanted with a pocket demi-plane that could hold a willing large (or smaller) creature. He had also saved a cute little ragdoll that had been in the secret treasure room. Janora was instantly on edge...and when Denye announced that the doll was not-magical, the witch immediately destroyed it with a Firebolt.
"What was that for?" asked Ell in shock.
Using a bit of Prestidigitation to clear the smell of burnt hair and fabric, Janora shrugged and replied cryptically, "You can't be too careful." Pointing at the burnt remains she added, "Things like that are often cursed, why else would it have been stuffed with hair and teeth."
Denye just shook her head and turned to the last two items that had been collected. One was a small stone jar with a waxed stopper, this proved to contain Black Dragon oil. A potent acid and poison, Jilken was instantly interested in being able to apply it to crossbow bolts, but agreed that it should be saved for a big battle. The last item may have been the most interesting. Not magical in and of itself, the twisted spiral of crystal radiated an other-planer sense. While she hadn't yet learned the spell, Denye recognized this as a shard from one of the Abyssal planes, and could be used as the anchor items for a PlaneShift spell.
Satisfied that they had identified all the new items, the party split up to pursue other projects for the rest of the afternoon. Jilken decided she would take Ironheart out for some exercise and went out to find the trailhead up to the Bridge to Nowhere. Janora on the other hand decided to spend the afternoon going through the Crowcaller Book of Twilight to see if she could learn anything new or useful.
Ell took the opportunity to write a handful of letters and catch up on some of his expanding network of business. Feeling drained from all the magic, Denye decided she would do some code-breaking and pulled out the notes from her work with Everoim the Athling. After a few hours of work, she was able to crack the Abyssal code and discovered it was partial descriptions of some sort of device, a description of something that could pound on the walls of reality and serve as a homing signal from beyond…powered by souls. Not really knowing what else to do with it, Denye wrote a quick note explaining that she had gotten this info from Everoim and this was the translation…something that should probably be looked into, but not something Denye could do at the moment.

23rd Planting

The next morning the party met up for breakfast. Most everyone appeared well rested, although Ell looked as if he had tossed and turned all night. Getting a moment to take him aside, Denye asked concerned, "Are you doing okay?"
The young man shrugged, "I'm fine...just had some disturbing dreams last night. It seems the Voice wants that giant sword. I'm not sure why, but I doubt its anything good."
"Yeah," agreed the wizard, slowly, "that doesn't sound like it would be great. Well let me know if she persists...maybe we can find a temple to give it to, then it will be out of our hands."
Over the meal the party discussed what else needed to happen before they left for the Castle. Jilken confirmed that it was about an hour's ride to the trailhead and according to Denye's notes it was a 5-6 hour climb. There didn't seem to be much of anything that needed doing, so after the meal the party packed up their bags, collected their animals, and headed out of town.
It was a cloudy and gray morning, but that did help cut down on the snow glare. Jilken took the lead and by midmorning the team was standing before the standing stones that marked the beginning of the trail up to the bridge.
"We'll have to leave the mounts here," announced Jilken, looking up at the icy and snow-covered trail. "I found a cave just a little further where we can leave them and they will be safe. Ironheart will make sure that they stick together."
Janora was also giving the trail a measuring look. "Is there a reason we have to climb?" she asked, "Forest and I could easily fly up and find this Bridge and then ferry everyone up. Might take a bit of time, but seems like it would be safer than risking our necks climbing icy rocks."
"Perhaps," said Denye slowly, "give me a few minutes to look around here and make sure this isn't one of those magical places where if you don't start at the right spot, you can't actually get there."
"That's actually a really good idea," agreed Ell, "while Denye is checking the arcane fluxes, Janora can take Tear and they can go scout for this Bridge and see if they can land there."
That sounded like a good idea and Tear was more than willing to hop off his mountain goat and scramble up in front of Janora on Forest's back. Forest immediately let out a playful bark and took off at a run. As he ran, the dogesus spread his wings and tilled them so it propelled him into the air and with strong wingbeats he climbed into the sky.
Well before the flying team spotted anything, Denye reported that there didn't seem to be any magic embedded in the standing stones or the path at this end. Using Denye's map, Tear was able to spot the trail and they followed it higher, he pointed out several large red worms that seemed to have shiny black coats and long feelers just gliding over the ice.
Based on the descriptions, Denye recognized them as rimeworms, one of the local threats she had read up about. She happily began filling the others in on their odd behavior; born of ice and stone, they were attracted to heat and would often spit shards of black ice at their victims to blind them.
Jilken was instantly interested in hunting them, but both Ell and Janora argued that avoiding them was a much better option. That was about the time, Forest let out an excited yip and started diving. He had spotted the bridge, thanks to an opportune beam of sunlight glinting off the construct. Circling in he landed on the open plateau and both Janora and Tear dismounted. After confirming that there were no immediate threats, Janora left Tear to explore while she went back for Denye.
By the time the witch and wizard returned, Tear had discovered a small pocket carved into the rock where it looked like others had camped. "This will be a good spot to stay out of the wind," he said excitedly, "it's barely noon, we've probably another 5-6 hours before moonrise."
"That's actually a really good idea, Tear," said Janora approvingly, "I should be able to do something about that as well." With a pat for Forest, the witch sent the dogesus down to fetch the others. Before Forest reappeared with Ell, Janora had called up a Tiny Hut over the area that Tear had found. This provided two benefits; first it hit the flames of the small fire that Tear built and perhaps more importantly the interior was as warm as a day in late Blooming.
After everyone had gotten up to the plateau and had a chance to warm up with a cup of fortifying tea, the party went to examine the Bridge itself. It was beautiful, in a kind of eerie way. It arched 50 feet into the air before cutting off suddenly, made from a silvery metal that glittered in the weak sunlight, revealing swirling patterns etched into the surface of the bridge itself to provide traction. A 2 ft blatrade ran along both sides, supported by a set of swirling, swooping arches echoing the design of the bridge. What was most disturbing was that there was no sign of seam or other construction. It was almost as if the bridge had been pulled from the earth itself.
Denye was also overwhelmed. Beyond the physical, the bridge rang with a symphony of magic that swelled and moved in a hundred different sub-currents. It was old magic and seemed to have almost formed channels within the Weave itself. "This has to be pre-Cataclysm," she muttered to herself, "how did it survive?"
No one replied, but the more she looked over the spells embedded in this artifact, the more she realized that it hadn't survived, at least not unmarred. There were easily hundreds of different strands of spell-chain bound into at least three major spells and many of these had become tangled or fractured. There were gaps that should have held spell-chains, spells that had been broken and refused as part of another spell. Surprisingly, even with the damage the overall spells still seemed to function and as the day progressed Denye could tell that the artifact swelled with power in preparation for manifesting the Glass Castle.
Eventually, the sun set and Tear passed around the stew he had been making for the last few hours...along with some toasty rolls he had whipped up. As Rilar rose, the party began preparing, with many of them lost in their own thoughts or meditation.
As the fire began to die down, Ell stood and surveyed his friends before addressing them. He spoke of all the ways he had found himself changing for the better since meeting them and how much he cared for each and everyone of them. He reminded them of some of the unlikely situations they had faced before and how they had come out by trusting each other and working together. Once again they were walking into an unknown, he told them, but he had the others back and was confident that they would come out again so long as they stuck together.
The words were inspiring and the entire group found themselves energized with lifted hearts and renewed vigor. As the young man finished his speech, he turned with a flourish to face the bridge. When nothing happened for a moment or two, he dropped his arms and scowled.
"What?" asked Janora with a laugh, "were you trying to end your speech with the Castle appearing?"
"Yes," muttered Ell, but he was interrupted by a couple of gasps as Arini rose and the Glass Castle shimmered into being. Almost as if it formed from moonlight combined with a white phosphorus mist that seemed to emanate from the end of the bridge. The castle was large...easily four or five stories with multiple towers and roofs visible and seemed to be made of a blue-white glass that glowed with a soft internal light.
A mirror image half-arch of the bridge now connected the floating castle to the earth and led to the front doors, enormous slabs of glass that glittered with every color of the rainbow, even one or two that Denye wasn't sure if they others could see. Flanking the doors were large statues; one was a rampant lion and the other was a rearing dragon. As the party gathered at the stone side of the bridge, the doors swung open and the sound of soft, enticing music drifted out.
The party took a few seconds to gird their loins before they approached the misty span of the bridge. All of them stopped and tried to take it all in. Janora announced "This is a projection of a demi-plane."
"Will it hold us?" asked Ell warily, "I'd rather not fall to my death."
"Only one way to find out," said Jilken, putting one foot on the translucent bridge. It held her weight and the party slowly made their way toward the beckoning doorway until they reached the doorway and peered inside. What they saw was an ornate open hall with pillars around and a staircase leading to another open doorway. What there wasn't, was any sign of people. Everything was sterile, peaceful, and soothing.
Denye asked, "Janora, do you want to tie that string to something out here."
"Can you rig it so it goes tense when the doors start to close?" asked Jilken.
Janora took a moment to think, but shook her head. "The doors open outward, if I tie it to the door it will just go slack."
Ell shrugged, "I think the string is for us to find our way out, not to notify us that it's time to get out. Don't forget, we have a timer on this run."
That seemed like good advice and Janora tied it off on a one of the door crenelations and the party started stepping inside. Ell was first and passed through without issue. Denye was next and found that there was a sense of pressure around her neck. After stepping back and looking at the doorway in thought, she lifted a hand and Helenwye crawled up her arm. Stepping forward she tried again, but Helenwye was unable to pass.
Sighing, Denye turned and looked at Janora, "I think there is a filter on this gateway and only advanced sentiencents are allowed past."
"What do you mean?" asked Janora, "are you trying to say that Forest isn't smart enough to enter?"
"Well, yes actually," said Denye surprised, "but it's probably a matter of capacity, not of actual ability. Either way, I think both Forest and that egg are going to have to wait out here."
Janora scowled but dismounted. Patting Forest on the nose she said, "Well, we don't have time to find a way around it. Helenwye can stay with Forest and they can keep an eye on things out here.
Ell stepped back out to join the others. "So we can leave," he said, "that's good to know, here's hoping it stays that way. I do have a bit of bad news though, I don't think the earrings work inside."
"Don't work at all?" asked Denye sharply, "or don't work across the threshold of the gate?"
"I don't know," replied Ell with a shrug, "I was the only one inside, but I couldn't talk to you out here."
"That might be a problem for my connection to Helenwye," muttered Denye, "I'm going to have to carry light to see." Looking at the others she ruffled her feathers and said, "Let's get this over with...we're burning moonlight."

Character(s) interacted with

Kary Quillbush - A middle-aged gnome scrtibe with blonde curls at the Bircoler Falls Library
Abigail Bronte - A young to middle-aged gnome woman with bright green hair, shaved on the sides and spiky on top, proprieter of Nature's Blessings

Report Date

17 Nov 2024