RttToFC/Session2

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Kuros: Now where is Caran...

Gavane: he still has one minute ;)

Gavane: ... now he's late :p

Kuros: And subject to summary termination!

Kuros: loads his laser gun.

Alyssa: send for the next clone... wait, wrong game

Kuros: Better dead than infrared!

Kuros: OK, well, we'll start without him

Return to the Tomb of Five Corners - Session 2[edit]

Kuros: When we last left our heroes, they had mercilessly slaughtered all the bandits, and were touching the dias in the middle of the room.

Kuros: Unfortunately, nothing happens as you touch it.

Gavane: "So, what does the glowy text say, Son?"

Gavane: "There's a vague resemblance to Low Realm, but nothing that makes sense to me."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "It says these different entryways are the Gates of Auspicious Passage. They operate automatically in the presence of the reincarnation of the solar buried in the tomb beyond it."

Alyssa: "Automatically?"

SonoftheMetalFlame: "That's what it says."

Gavane: "Ah. Then our mysterious letter writer probably already passed through her gate."

Gavane: "I found tracks leading through the gate with the symbol of - what was it again, the Eclipse?"

Alyssa: "A circle in a circle. The only caste not represented among the four of us."

Gavane: "Yes, that one."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "I imagine that we just need to touch our respective gates."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Touch activation is pretty common for First Age technology."

Gavane: "Interesting locking mechanism."

Alyssa: "True... although sometimes it required essence as well."

SonoftheMetalFlame pulls his hand away from the dias and makes his way to the Twilight gate, placing his hand upon it once he reaches it.

Gavane follows "I have no real preference about where to start and since you seem to know how this thing works ..."

Kuros: Nothing happens to the dias. As Son touches the metal of the Twilight gateway, it flares with golden light, and the stone within the golden arc of metal ripples.

Alyssa: "My goodness!"

Kuros: You stand knee deep in skulls. The gate platform

Kuros: is a charnel heap. Before you is a cathedral of gold and

Kuros: brass and ivory, but it’s been overgrown by trees and

Kuros: other greenery to the point that the underlying architecture

Kuros: is almost completely obscured. Notably, the

Kuros: entryway is blocked by the trunk of a huge redwood.

Kuros: More trees surround you in all directions. Above, you

Kuros: can see a village has been built around the tree trunks,

Kuros: with houses and connecting bridges raised 40 feet in

Kuros: the air. There is a single rope ladder hanging from one

Kuros: walkway nearby. You see no activity within the village

Kuros: and hear no sounds of life. There are no birdsongs, no

Kuros: animals rustling in the foliage and no wind. The forest

Kuros: is totally, unnaturally silent.

Kuros: (That is what you see through the gateway)

Kuros: (As the stone fades away)

Gavane: Gavane quickly closes his eyes against the flash, then looks again. "Huh. You don't see that every day."

Gavane: "And a strange manner of grave, too."

SonoftheMetalFlame: enters the gateway and heads to the rope ladder. He looks at it carefully for a moment and then tests it to see if it's able to support his weight.

Kuros: (The ladder is quite sturdy. For a rope ladder.)

Gavane: "I suppose the door opens in the other direction as well," he adds eyeing the heaps of skulls.

Gavane: follows, eyes open for trouble as always

Alyssa: "Best not to tamper while you explore," stepping away from the dais. "Don't want to trap you inside there."

Kuros: The temperature on the opposite side of the gate is at least ten degrees cooler, and the air is more humid.

Alyssa peers cautiously through the doorway at the cathedral

Gavane: In his right, hidden from sight inside his wide sleeve, Gavane keeps a knife at the ready. Paranoia doesn't pay off often, but when it does it's big.

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Well, up looks like the logical direction," Son says, climbing up to the top.

Kuros: The entrance to the cathedral is blocked by a huge, fallen redwood tree.

Gavane: "Seems like it, we may be able to enter that building from above."

Gavane moves a few meters ahead on the ground, trying to see if there is any other way up

Caran follows behind, eyes and ears open in this strange place

Alyssa: Alyssa steps through the gate and then turns to look in the other direction

Kuros: Alyssa: You see an arch outlined in gold light leading back to the chamber.

Kuros: Gavane: You could try to climb a tree trunk, but the rope ladder is the only easy way up.

Gavane: Having found no other way up or anything otherwise interesting or dangerous Gavane returns to the rope ladder in a wide circle.

Caran: "Well, the ladder then? Seems the best way up?"

Gavane: "Apparently."

Alyssa: "Then you gentlemen will lead the way, since I'm wearing a skirt."

Gavane climbs up with considerable speed

Kuros: As you climb the ladder, you join Son on one of the wooden walkways. You see various huts and houses, all in various stages of ruin. From the branches, you see a great many corpses hanging upside down by their feet.

Caran grins at Lady Alyssa comment, but says nothing as he climbs

Gavane: "Charming place."

Kuros: Many seem to have gaping wounds on tier faces and torsos, but there is no blood.

Kuros: On the trunks of the trees, you see Old Realm script.

Caran: "The decor here is a little ... off for my tastes."

Kuros: THe forest and walkways between the trees stretches over the top of the ruined cathedral, as well.

Alyssa: "Agreed. And why were they here anyway? Are we suddenly a great distance to the East simply by passing through that gate?"

Kuros: And from this height, you can see what looks like a gaping hole in the ceiling.

Gavane: "A strange way to construct a tomb, if certainly impressive ..."

Gavane: "Or at least it would be, if everything wasn't in ruins here."

Gavane: "Son, can you make any sense of those writings there on the tree?"

Caran: "Portals to other parts of the world? Anyone ever heard of such things?"

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Yeah, I can read this. They apparently awoke a Solar and the Dragon-Blooded came and sealed it back in. I'm assuming the Dragon-Blooded had something to do with the deaths of these people."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Or something like that. It's not terribly clear."

Gavane: "Awoke?"

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Yeah."

Alyssa: "I don't think that the Cathedral alone would seal anything, with that hole in the roof."

Caran: "Maybe that came later?"

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Well, there's only one way to find out."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "This is clearly a factory cathedral. For making artifacts and such things."

Alyssa: Wide-eyed. "A what? That's... I've heard of those. They're impossibly rare."

Gavane: "Indeed, so let's find out."

Kuros: A large branch network extends over the roof of the cathedral.

Kuros: Difficulty 1 if you want to walk out on them

Alyssa: Hang back and watch the branches uneasily as the others stand on them.

Kuros: As the three of you walk out over the hole, you see that it is almost perfectly circular. However, just below the roof, you see a section of a green energy dome rippling and swirling.

Gavane: "Are you coming, Alyssa?"

Kuros: Through the haze of the shield, you see a woman sitting in the room below, dressed in white robes with long black hair.

Kuros: As you look down, she looks up, and smiles. Golden light bursts around her, and her Twilight caste mark begins to glow.

Alyssa: "I don't think I trust myself on a bridge that thin."

SonoftheMetalFlame smiles back and shouts down, "Well, hello there! We meet at last!"

Kuros: She seems to say something, but no sound passes through the barrier.

Alyssa: "Is someone there?"

SonoftheMetalFlame makes an attempt to climb down to the glowing shield.

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Yeah, Alyssa, it looks like we've found the woman that sent the letter."

Kuros: The glowing shield is solid.

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Except... wait a second." Son looks closer at the caste mark. "Huh. Looks like there's two of us. Twilights, that is. That's odd."

Kuros: You could stand on it, if you want. Or you can jump down to the roof surrounding it.

Kuros: (For clarification, the barrier is a dome beneath the roof)

Kuros: (The barrier blocks the hole)

Caran: "Lady Alyssa, do you require some help traversing the branches?"

SonoftheMetalFlame climbs down to the roof and stands next to the barrier.

Alyssa: "That would be appreciated, yes."

Caran hops back to where Alyssa is and offers her his arm.

Caran: "Hold tight m'lady, and I shall not let you fall."

Alyssa lets Caran guide her across the branch

Caran guides Alyssa to the others

Alyssa: "Thank you. You'll have to teach me that charm some time. It seems quite handy."

Caran: Caran smiles. "It is indeed."

Gavane: Gavane meanwhile is standing on the roof of the building beside the hole plugged by the strange dome

Gavane: "Twilight ... so not our mysterious writer of letters?"

Alyssa: Look down the hole at the woman. "I wonder how she went through this... or did she..." Pause. "Is this the 'sealed in' Solar perhaps?"

Kuros: The woman is still looking up at you, sitting perfectly still, the caste mark glowing brightly.

Caran approaches the dome, reaching down to touch it with his fingers

Kuros: The barrier feels like slick glass.

Caran: "Hmm. Any ideas how we get through this?"

SonoftheMetalFlame studies the barrier carefully for a moment before setting his hand on it and saying a few words. His anima flares up brightly, cascading fractal patterns of a silvery-gold light shedding off of his caste mark. (Emerald Countermagic)

Kuros: The barrier ripples, and golden-green cracks spread through it. With a deep crack, the barrier flares and then disappears.

Gavane: "Like that?"

Caran: "Now that is a useful trick."

Alyssa: "Sorcery, Son?"

SonoftheMetalFlame looks at Alyssa and nods.

Alyssa bows head respectfully towards him.

Kuros: Below, the woman stands, the golden aura fading. She snaps her fingers, and points at you all.

Kuros: Five spots in the air ripple with red-brown light around you on the branches, and the woman below vanishes in the same ripple of color

Kuros: The ripples fade into figures that are four feet tall humanoids, and composed of a dull, reddish flame. Waves of heat emanate from them.

Caran: "I don't like the looks of this."

Kuros: Each of them have talons that are nearly half as tall as their bodies.

Gavane: "I'm taking this as a sign of unfriendliness ..."

Alyssa: steps back half a step "Demons!"

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Uh, this is really bad. Demons."

Alyssa: "She must be a sorceress!"

(Battle is Joined)

Gavane moves a few steps back trying to get an overview of the situation and possibly locate the sorceress (Aim)

Kuros: Tick 1: Demons. There are 5 of them, all within melee range of you all.

Kuros: 2 of the demons growl, and slash at Caran with huge talons.

Caran: Caran leaps back, swaying around the claws (Dodge DV is 8)

Caran growls as his skin burns

Kuros: Their claws leave burning gashes across your chest.

Kuros: Two more of the demons jump towards Gavane, thier claws outstretched

Gavane feints a counterattack but quickly skips backwards out of reach of their talons and bringing the hole in the roof between him and his attackers. Having seen Caran badly hurt he heightens his speed to an inhuman degree with his Essence.

Kuros: The demons miss, stumbling around on the branches.

Kuros: The remaining demon moves toward Alyssa, taking a swipe at her.

Alyssa: Alyssa snaps her staff around at the back of the demon's wrist.

Kuros: You deflect his talons, and they claw a gouge in a nearby tree, setting it alight

Caran: Still feeling the burns on his chest, Caran roars as he leaps in the air, driving his essence encased hands towards the burning men as he flips over them, landing in a croch behind him

Caran: Carans caste mark glows as he channels even more essense in to his hands

Kuros: The demon shrieks, and dissolves into a mass of fire that fades away.

SonoftheMetalFlame quickly moves across the roof away from the demons and stops, planting his feet firmly on the ground. He begins making gestures with his hands... (Shape Terrestial Circle Sorcery, speed 5)

Gavane: Having studied the movements of the demons Gavane slips through in between the demons, his speed still superlative, then abruply wheels around to attack the creatues with a series of knife thrusts to the back.

Kuros: The attacks shred two of the demons, and they disappear in a swirl of fire.

Alyssa: Alyssa frowns at the Demon facing her then draws the staff back and aims it like a pool cue, a flicker of essence running along it as she thrusts smoothly at the being of fire, the staff driving at it below the arm it used to claw at her. (Spirit-Cutting Attack)

Kuros: The demon shrieks in what sounds like real pain, and vanishes in a burst of heat.

Alyssa: "Don't wave those claws at me, demon."

Kuros: The remaining demon growls, and launches itself at Alyssa.

Alyssa: She whirls, interposing her staff

Alyssa: "Aah!"

Kuros: The demon bats away your staff, and the claws open a gaping wound in your stomach.

Caran: Without any subtlety Caran charges the remaining demon, his fists clenched as he unleashed the most powerful blow he can manage

SonoftheMetalFlame: Son's anima glows brighter, his hands slowly forming into long, twisted claws of gnarled oak.

Kuros: The demon discorporates into a swirl of flame.

Kuros: ALyssa and Caran, roll Stamina + Resistance, difficulty 1 ((both succeed))

Kuros: Both of your wounds have stopped bleeding.

Gavane finishes his demon-killing pirouette with the grace of a dancer, frowns briefly at the blackened blades of his weapons then looks at his wounded comrades in dismay and icy, detached anger. Where might the sorceress be hiding?

Kuros: Per+Awareness, Gavane ((he sees nothing with 8 successes))

Gavane: "Everybody ok? Or at least alive?"

Caran: "Damn flame demons, and damn the one that summoned them."

Alyssa leans heavily on her staff and touches the wound gingerly

SonoftheMetalFlame runs back to join the others. "Yeah, I'm alive. Sorry I wasn't much help there."

Alyssa: "Crude but apt. Whoever she is, she is no friend of ours... and doubtless raised that shield to keep us away from her."

Caran: "Alive, at least for now."

Alyssa: "I'm in too much pain to be dead."

Gavane: walks closer to his Circlemates and in a lowered voice continues. "Worse, I at least can't see her anyway. She might have fled or she might prepare for a new attack."

Gavane: "Pain can be your friend, if you use it for focus."

Kuros: The fire the one demon started is slowly dying, and the hole is now unguarded.

Alyssa: "I'm very focused. I want to find that sow and take the price of my dress out of her hide."

Gavane: "What are our priorities then?"

Gavane: "Eliminate her as a threat or continue here?" He waves towards the hole in the roof.

Alyssa: "Either she will head for the gate or she is still within," Alyssa reasons.

Gavane: "Due to the manner of her disappearance it's probably hard to predict where she might have gone - Son, what do you think about that?"

SonoftheMetalFlame thinks carefully. "I think she's going to be gone. Like, very gone."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "That sort of magic could mean she's anywhere."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "And I don't just mean anywhere in this building, of course."

Gavane: "Mmh. I'd suggest we keep all our eyes and ears open then and put her on the black list."

Alyssa: "Going back to the gate surrenders the initiative. And she might not need it, as you say Son. We should go on."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Agreed."

Kuros: The drop is about 40 feet.

Kuros: But no, no ladder.

Caran: "Well, I'm not sure I can make that drop. sadly I'm not cat."

Gavane: "I can, but that probably doesn't help the rest of you."

Gavane: "Has anyone brought rope?"

Alyssa: "I did not."

Caran shakes his head

SonoftheMetalFlame looks around for a vine or something sturdy that might serve in place of a rope.

Caran: "Well, I can try, and then we could catch the others?"

Kuros: (There's quite a bit of rope available from the various walkways)

Kuros: (You could dissassemble a few)

Caran begins colleting rope from the walkways, trying not to leave them completely useless

Gavane: "I'll go take a look around down there, maybe there's something helpful down there."

Gavane stretches for a moment, then drops down to the floor below

Alyssa: Alyssa looks around the interior of the building to see if there is anything interesting, or moving, down there

Gavane does the same from the inside

Alyssa: "Son, I know little of sorcery. Is there any means to banish those demons? It might prove more efficient than having to batter them to death."

Kuros: The interior of the building is pretty much ruined. It is huge, and filled with broken shelves, devices, and even the walls have holes in them.

SonoftheMetalFlame: "If she had actually summoned the demons, I might have been able to, but it appears that she actually transported them in. I don't know how to stop that."

Caran shambes down the rope, then looks around behind Gavane

Gavane appears beside Caran, returning from a brief tour around the large room

Alyssa: "Ah well, it was only a thought."

Kuros: (A large corridor stretches back, and you see various smashed doors leading off it.)

SonoftheMetalFlame follows down the rope after Caran.

Kuros: (Most of the destruction appears to be wanton, the result of someone very angry.)

Gavane: "Several doors, one large corridor. Nothing immediately interesting."

Gavane: "Though Son might want to look at those ruined devices."

Alyssa: Alyssa drops her staff, careful to miss the others, then slides carefully down the rope to join them, crouching rather than bending when she retrieves her staff

SonoftheMetalFlame continues addressing Alyssa. "She also appears to be much, much more powerful than myself - at least in the ways of sorcery."

SonoftheMetalFlame drops down from the rope and paces around, smiling. "Huh, feels like home."

Alyssa: "I am sure that your other talents more than counterbalance the issue. And there are four of us after all."

Gavane: "Issue?"

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Yeah, I think she'd be hard-pressed to stopping all of us."

Alyssa: "The issue of her sorcery."

Gavane: "Ah. Outside my range of expertise then."

Caran: Caran chuckles. "Though, that would depnd on how many of those burning friends she can bring along."

Alyssa: Alyssa goes to where the other Solar was standing and looks around

Gavane: "So, seeing as this is probably your - well, your predecessor's - tomb, how do we proceed, Son?"

SonoftheMetalFlame looks at Gavane and then closes his eyes. He concentrates for a moment and then opens them again, moving to the back. "This way."

Caran follows Son without question.

Gavane: Gavane follows as well

Alyssa: Alyssa turns and takes up the rear position, wincing every now and again

Kuros: As you walk down the hallways, you pass what looks like workrooms, and massive, empty, darkened rooms full of ruined piles of equipment.

Kuros: You reach a flight of steps, with a set of ivory double doors with the Twilight mark chased in gold on it.

SonoftheMetalFlame walks up to the doors, placing his hands on them.

Gavane: "Using that symbol never gets old, it seems."

Kuros: The doors open easily, revealing a large room. In the center is a large, orichalcum coffin with a smashed lid sitting on a raised section of the floor.

Kuros: Next to the coffin, on the floor, lies what looks like a small book.

Alyssa: Alyssa leans on one of the doors, not entering the room but eyeing the coffin distastefully. "At a guess, she has been here."

SonoftheMetalFlame approaches the coffin carefully, examining it for inscriptions or signs of what smashed it.

Caran: "She didn't seem very happy."

Gavane follows Son a few steps behind. "Robbing someone else's grave doesn't seem polite."

Alyssa: "It's very traditional, if you like the risks," Alyssa sniffs.

SonoftheMetalFlame reaches into the coffin, pulling out a pair of bracers. "Hm. Unusual that she would pass these up if she wanted to rob it."

SonoftheMetalFlame delicately pulls a hearthstone out of his satchel with his oak claws and places it in the bracers, which he then adorns.

SonoftheMetalFlame then walks over to the book, picking it up and examining it.

Gavane shrugs. "But it is our prerogative - or Son's I guess - to call it impolite, surely?"

Alyssa: "I suppose the Wild Hunt is also traditional, and impolite, so the two can certainly both be true."

Gavane: "Oh, bracers. Those things are useful."

Caran laughs

Caran: "I've never heard the Wyld Hunt called impolite before."

Gavane nods at Alyssa's words and grins

Gavane: "What else would you call it?"

Alyssa: "Pack of scoundrels. And priests. Hmph."

Caran: "Psychotic fanatics in thrall to a damaged empire?"

Caran: "Remind me some day to introduce you to my sister."

Gavane: "Well, to them we're the pychotics. And demons."

Caran: The difference being, we're right, they're wrong."

Gavane: "Right or wrong, those are just words, labels used at political convenience."

SonoftheMetalFlame stares at the book, stunned.

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Well. This might have been good to see before we entered the cathedral."

Alyssa: "What is it, Son?"

Gavane: doesn't approach the coffin to closely, figuring that is something for Son to do for himself

SonoftheMetalFlame: "That woman was a demon that killed my previous incarnation and stole the body. She was the one that killed everyone in the village."

Gavane: frowns. "Oh."

Alyssa: "...that's not good. Can she get out of here?"

Gavane: "And now she's on the loose?"

Caran: "Say again Son. She stole a body?"

Kuros: (Centuries ago, the demon killed Son's previous incarnation and took his place)

Kuros: (When you guys found out, or rather, your previous incarnations, they imprisoned her in what was to be Son's tomb)

Kuros: (Figuring that was a fitting punishment)

Kuros: (Over time, after the Usurpation, the village grew up around it and they accidentally let her out)

Kuros: (She slaughtered the village, but a DB managed to imprison her with that spell inside the cathedral)

Kuros: (So she's been sitting there for a really long time, waiting to be set free.)

Kuros: (And she's really not happy with any of you.)

Alyssa: "We must really be somewhere in the east then. These gates are a treasure!"

Gavane: "Ok, I figure that puts her higher on the black list than the reborn Barrow King?"

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Yeah. This looks very bad."

Caran: "... that is terrible."

Alyssa: "Is there any indication of how our predecessors captured her?"

SonoftheMetalFlame: "The book doesn't mention that."

Gavane: "But asked the other way around, can we do anything about this but wait for her to get in our way again? If she wants to disappear it seems she just disappears ..."

Caran: "Unfortunatley I agree. I don't think we currently possess the skill or power to handle one such as her."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "I cannot think of any way to find her. She was apparently powerful enough to kill my previous incarnation on her own, so... I'm at a loss."

Gavane makes notes in a small black book

Kuros: ("TO KILL: By Gavane"))

Gavane: (pretty much)

Alyssa: "Well, then we can do very little for the moment. If she comes at us... or if we find any clue to her whereabouts though... something permanent will be necessary."

Caran: "So at the moment all we can do is carry on, and plan for the future."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Well, I don't think that there is going to be anything else here. Perhaps we should try some of the other tombs."

Gavane: "Once more the only option for us seems to be to continue as we were doing."

Gavane: "It seems we are agreed then."

Caran: "Ah yes, the other tombs" Caran chuckles. "Hopefully they all don't contain such surprises."

Gavane: "At least she left you your predecessor's artifacts. That's something."

SonoftheMetalFlame nods in agreement.

Alyssa: "Who knows? Perhaps we will find a way there to deal with this... demon."

SonoftheMetalFlame: grabs as much of the orichalcum scattered on the floor as possible and fits it in one of his pouches.

Alyssa: Alyssa looks around. "One day, perhaps, all this can be restored."

Gavane: "I'm guessing that would be a bigthing?"

Alyssa: "If this is really one of the famous factory-cathedrals... well, it is said that there is one in Lookshy. One of their greatest advantages."

Gavane: Gavane's face becomes thoughtful. "In that case we should make certain that this place as well as the tomb stays under our control."

Caran: Caran nods in agreement

Alyssa: "The Gate would allow easy access if we can ensure control of it. And if only Son can use it, then that seems likely."

Gavane: "Indeed, and fast transportation. An enormous advantage."

Gavane: (assume we're already discussing this on the way back to the gate)

Kuros: (Son also found a small golden key in the coffin.)

SonoftheMetalFlame: (Okay. Nifty)

Kuros: The gate is still there, and as you pass through, it fades out of existence. You stand back in the chamber with the slew of dead bandits.

Gavane: "Eventually the Realm or other forces will oppose us and then we'll have to decide whether to stay mobile and give ground or to secure a position and fight back. Metaphorically speaking, though possibly military as well."

Caran: "But as long as we keep the portals secret we should have a great advantage."

Caran looks around the chamber

Alyssa: "Having a supply route... or an escape route... Oh yes. That would be priceless," Alyssa agrees.

Gavane: "Yes. Although we probably should take care of the corpses in that case."

Alyssa: "Indeed. Who volunteers?"

Gavane: "Your golden fire?"

Alyssa: "Pardon?"

Gavane: "Like you did with the two zombies up top?"

Alyssa: "Oh, the bandits?"

Gavane: "Yes."

Gavane: "Maybe not now, though."

Gavane: "In case there are more 'surprises'."

Alyssa: "A few at a time won't hurt." Alyssa touches two of the corpses and they are consumed in golden fire, reduced to white ashes in instants.

Gavane: "An amazingly useful power. No hungry ghosts to make trouble ..."

Caran watches Alyssa with wonder.

Alyssa: "The Unconquered Sun is not a miser towards his Chosen," Alyssa agrees a little smugly

Gavane: "So it seems."

Alyssa: "Would you like to go next, Gavane?"

Gavane gives a slight shrug. "We will explore all of them in time, I have no preference as to the order."

Gavane: "Although if there are no other suggestions, we might spare the dice that decision and just go."

Caran: "So be it. Gavane, lead the way."

Gavane goes ahead and touches the Night Door with one gloved hand

Kuros: The arch glows with golden light, and the stone ripples and fades..

Kuros: You see a raised stone platform

Kuros: surrounded by ocean. Ahead of you, many carved pillars

Kuros: and platforms rise out of the water at roughly the

Kuros: same height as this one. In the distance, perhaps one

Kuros: hundred yards away, a grey stone structure descends

Kuros: below the waves. Around several of the pillars, some

Kuros: detritus or storm wrack has accumulated. As the vista

Kuros: comes into focus, it becomes clear this isn’t random

Kuros: debris, it’s a settlement of some sort, lashed to the

Kuros: sides of the pillars.

Alyssa: "Have all our tombs been colonised?"

Gavane steps through the gate and onto the platform

Caran: "I hope not."

SonoftheMetalFlame steps through the gate as well. "It's certainly looking that way so far."

Gavane: "If I understood the timespans involved right, it was maybe inevitable."

Alyssa: "After the Contagion, we should hope that they are all still within Creation."

Gavane: "Where else would they be?"

Kuros: (There is no land in sight, and the wind is calm.)

Kuros: If you can jump 15 yards somehow, you can take a direct route to the pillar with the tomb on it.

Kuros: If you can't, you'll have to take a more circutious route which will seperate you.

Gavane: "Mmmh, the distances here might be a problem. I have a technique for that, but ..."

Caran: "... No, I can't reach those. Looks like the long way for me."

Gavane: "Or you could go that way, yes. That should be possible."

Alyssa: "I would not dare even were I uninjured," Alyssa admits. "The long way will be more manageable for me."

Kuros: You see one pillar that is taller than the rest, with the Night Caste symbol etched into it

Kuros: You notice creatures swarming out of the barnacle like structures floating in the water at the base of various pillars.

Kuros: Humanoid, but squatter, and they have blue skin, and no neck.

Kuros: They look like a human/frog hybrid, and carry primitive wooden spears.

Kuros: Looks to be about...40 of them.

Caran: "Damn."

Kuros: They are heading for the base of the pillar you guys are standing on.

Gavane sighs. "Seems like the problems are coming to us instead of us going to meet them."

Gavane: "Any sorcery for that sort of problem, Son?"

Alyssa: "Perhaps a diplomatic approach?"

SonoftheMetalFlame: "I wish I had a spell that could just kill these things, but... nope."

Kuros: They move easily through the water, and will be at the base of the pillar in a few seconds.

Caran: "Should we break for the top?"

Gavane: "That might work, Alyssa."

Caran: "Give it a go if you like." Caran say, body tensing for a fight.

Gavane: "Meanwhile I can go ahead and see if we have to stay here for long - if not the whole problem is sidestepped already."

Kuros: The creatures begin climbing the pillar, moving up it quite easily.

Kuros: They are burbling at each other, and they don't sound happy.

Alyssa: Alyssa steps forwards to the edge and her caste mark glitters as she stares down at the nearest of the creatures. "Do not think to inconvenience four Chosen of the Unconquered Sun!" she snaps.

Kuros: (What are you trying to do? Scare them off?)

Alyssa: make an impression that we are far too dangerous to attack

ExBot: Alyssa rolled 10 dice and achieved 10 successes. [ 10 1 3 10 6 10 5 10 7 8 ]

Kuros: The creatures climbing suddenly look up, and stop climbing. They burble at each other, and then drop from the pillar and back into the water.

Kuros: They remain there, silently watchingl

Caran: "Impressive."

Caran: "But I think it best we still hurry."

Alyssa: "I probably shouldn't bully people like that, but it's kinder than massacring them."

Gavane takes off at a run and in a number of impossibly far jumps reaches the pillar nearest to the tomb

Gavane: He makes the last jump an especially high one, landing directly next to the tomb.

Kuros: THe tomb is made of the same grey stone as the pillar, and sealed tight.

Gavane tries to push the lid off, preferably in a way that it can be set back on top

Kuros: The lid moves easily

Kuros: Inside, you see a skeleton that is remarkably free of dust or cobwebs.

Kuros: Around its neck is a golden key identical to the one Son found

Gavane examines it with a mixture of morbid curiosity and genuine respect

Kuros: The frog people are still watching curiously, but make no move to climb back up the pillar

Gavane takes the key, briefly weighs it in one hand, then lets it disappear in the folds of his clothes.

Gavane: From the platform you see Gavane moving the lid back in place after maybe one or two minutes and quickly return to you the way he came

Alyssa: "It would seem that he found something."

Gavane: His expression is serious and a little absent.

Gavane: "That was ... interesting."

Gavane: "Not everyone gets to look at his own corpse or ages-old skeleton."

Caran: "It seems the key wasn't all you found."

Alyssa raises an eyebrow. "I begin to dread facing my own tomb, the impression that you and Son give of the experience."

Gavane: "Yes, another of these golden keys."

Gavane: "And ..." he looses a piece of blackened rope from where he had bound it around him like a belt.

Gavane: "It's a weapon of sorts."

SonoftheMetalFlame: raises an eyebrow. "Of sorts?"

Gavane: "I'm not entirely sure yet how it works, but I had vivid memories of using something like this in battle. I suppose the closest approximation possible through mortal crafts would be the bladed rope you might have seen me using."

SonoftheMetalFlame nods. "I think I know what you're talking about. Sounds very familiar, actually."

Alyssa: "Keys to what, I wonder?"

Gavane: "We have two already. It stands to reason we might find more."

Alyssa: "True. But Keys suggest Locks. And locks are often very interesting."

Gavane: "But let us not dawdle here. It would serve nobody to massacre all those frog people."

Gavane: "And we may be forced to, if we stay too long."

Alyssa heads back for the gate.

SonoftheMetalFlame follows Alyssa.

Caran: "Yes, let's leave these folks for another day."

Kuros: The gate takes you back to the hub.

Alyssa: Alyssa looks at Caran. "You or I?" she asks.

Caran: "I'll go first if you want. I'm a bit curious to see it at this point."

Alyssa: "By all means."

Caran approaches the Dawn symbol and lightly touches it

Kuros: The arch ripples and shimmers, revealing this view:

Kuros: The sun is bright, here, and the heat is sweltering.

Kuros: Aside from the gate behind you, desert stretches to the

Kuros: horizon in every direction but one. Half a mile before

Kuros: you, a rocky outcropping juts from the sand, stretching

Kuros: perhaps 200 feet into the air. At your feet is a path of

Kuros: white stones, 10 feet wide, leading to an opening in

Kuros: the rock’s side.

Gavane nods, absently handling the piece of rope

Caran: "A desert? I've never been to a desert before..." Caran says idly.

Gavane: "For me on the other hand, this feels more like home." Gavane grins.

Gavane: His Cloak is suddenly of a bright white and he draws up its hood to protect his head from the unrelenting sun.

Caran follows the white stone path

Alyssa: "Well, this should at least be warmer than the damp of Gavane's tomb."

Kuros: THe temperature is much hotter here, at least 30 degrees, and the sun beats down mercilessly.

Gavane: "Mmh. Although there's something funny about this road."

Alyssa: "Oh?"

Gavane: grins. "You aren't getting the real desert experience here. Try stepping of the road and see what the sun tries to do to your body temperature there."

Alyssa: Looks at him. "I think I'll pass for the moment, thank you."

Kuros: The opening at the front of the tomb is 15 feet wide and

Kuros: 50 feet tall, fl anked on both sides by identical statues of hewn

Kuros: rock, as tall as the doorway, made to look like men in armor

Kuros: carrying swords plunged point-down into the sand.

Caran: "I hope these statues are friendlier than the last ancient statues we found."

Caran continues towards the tomb

Alyssa: "If they arent then I'm running for the gate," Alyssa admits, looking up at them.

Gavane nods. "Yeah. I've had my fill of unfriendly stone statues."

SonoftheMetalFlame laughs. "Yeah, definitely."

Kuros: The inside of the Tomb of the Dawn is a circular expanse,

Kuros: 100 feet across. The fl oor is the sand of the desert. The path of

Kuros: white stones stops at the entrance to the tomb, but inside, the

Kuros: air is cool and a pleasant relief after the heat of outside.

Caran: "This... this was a dojo. We trained here."

Caran walks slowly inside

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Whew, that must have been some pretty intense training. I'd hate to be fighting in this heat."

Gavane: "That's one big training area. And protected from the heat as well."

Caran: "I'm not sure how, but it is impressive."

Kuros: As Caran enters the tomb...

Kuros: A rumbling sound fills the air,

Kuros: and from the sand in the center of the floor ascends a spiral

Kuros: staircase wrapped around a pillar, made of the same rock as

Kuros: the walls. When fully extended, this staircase spans the full

Kuros: 75-foot gap from the fl oor to the ceiling, connecting to a

Kuros: hole that leads into a second room above the fi rst.

Caran: watches in silence, then cautiously begins ascending the atairs

Gavane: follows with a bit of distance, still a bit absent

Kuros: The second fl oor of the tomb is circular like the fi rst, but

Kuros: only 80 feet across, 50 feet from fl oor to ceiling and fi lled with

Kuros: vertical pillars. The pillars are three feet wide, spaced three

Kuros: to six feet apart in an uneven, somewhat random pattern,

Kuros: dense enough that from the center of the room, where the

Kuros: staircase meets the floor, it is difficult to see the walls for all

Kuros: the pillars in the way

Alyssa: Alyssa sits on the stairs and leans on the pillar

Gavane: "Stairs that move on their own. That's impressive."

Caran walks towards the center, touching the pillars as he goes

Alyssa: Alyssa tilts her head, trying to see round the pillar

Alyssa: "Son, there's a body on the other side of the room."

Caran suddenly rushes towards one of the pillars

Gavane: Finally regaining his focus Gavane takes in the room and frowns. Useful to someone like him, but for the same reason dangerous.

Alyssa: "Over there." Points around the pillar,

SonoftheMetalFlame moves deliberately toward the body Alyssa mentioned.

Kuros: The mummified bodies, I should point out, are standing upright without any apparent aid

Gavane comes along with Son

Alyssa stands and moves to watch him without going closer herself

Kuros: All in all, you all find 4 mummified corpses standing upright, and one more that has a set of golden claws on its hands, and a golden key around its neck

Caran: steps to the last one, staring at it intently

Alyssa: "Your past self?"

Caran: "So it would seem"

Gavane: "And another of those keys."

Caran: "Though I'm unsure why it simply stands here. Why no coffin?"

Gavane: "Air burials are not uncommon here."

Gavane: "If done with the right ceremonies they leave no Hungry Ghost either."

Caran: "... I see. I had no idea of such ways."

Gavane: "Though I have never seen a body so taken care of just standing there."

Gavane: "More commonly a person is left on a high platform, close to the sky and the sun."

Gavane: shrugs

Gavane: "But I'm no scholar."

Caran summons enough essence to make his caste mark glow, then looks the body in the eye

Kuros: The eye socket is empty, and the body makes no response.

Caran: "I have no wish to disturb your rest, but I have great need of your key. Please, rest peacefull and forgive my tresspass."

Alyssa: "So long as it isn't moving I don't feel I can complain." Alyssa whispers.

Caran then carefully lifts the key over the odies head

Kuros: As you touch the key, the body suddenly shudders, and a faint golden light begins to emanate from the eyesockets

Kuros: It reaches up to grab your arm, but you manage to jerk away in time.

Kuros: The 4 other dessicated corpses begin to shuffle towards you all.

Alyssa: "I shouldn't have said that, should I?"

Kuros: The one caran touched looks at him.

Kuros: "Are you worthy?"

Alyssa: Ready staff to defend herself.

Kuros: The voice is raspy and dry.

Gavane: "No, probably not." Gavane sighs.

Caran: "Blast!" Caran smirks, 'Seems my previous self left a trap behind. Figures."

Caran: "Yes, I am" Caran calls out.

Kuros: "We shall see."

(Join Battle)

Kuros: OK, the 4 zombies

Kuros: Two of them lunge towards Alyssa, and the other two at Son, swinging mummified fists.

Alyssa: Alyssa whirls her staff vigorously to block them, fighting defensively

Kuros: You smack both of thier fists away

SonoftheMetalFlame deftly fends off the zombies, his claws weaving about gracefully.

Kuros: (You parry both, Son)

Kuros: Caran's predecessor moves forward, much more fluidly than the shambling zombies, and cuts at Caran's face.

Caran: Caran launches himself backward out of reach, flipping backwards and bounding off his hands to land in a crouch.

Kuros: The attack misses, the claws whistling through empty air.

Kuros: The zombies press forward, repeating thier attacks on Alyssa and Son

Kuros: The fist glances off of Alyssa, doing no damage.

Gavane: Striking from concealment Gavane is among the zombies in a flash, his rope flickering back and forth between them, leaving cuts as if from an impossibly sharp blade where they hit. After that he disappears behind another pillar

Kuros: The zombies fall to pieces, dismembered bo your flashing rope.

Caran: Caran charges, hands ripping at stone as he tears through the air. He begins to glow as he leaps, ripping and clawing at his predecessor with a torrent of blows

Kuros: The corpse jerks to one side, attempt to dodge

Kuros: Your blows send the corpse flying backwards. It slams into a pillar, and tumbles to the ground like a ragdoll. "Excellent..." it whispers, as the golden glow fades from its eyes.

Kuros: The sole remaining zombie falls over, once again dead.

Alyssa spends a mote to burn it

Caran stands motionless for a bit, letting his anima fade

Alyssa: "No more surprises, please."

Caran: "Leave it to me to leave a test for my next self."

Gavane reappears from behind one of the omnipresent pillars. "At this point, is it even a surprise anymore?"

Caran: "Not really I suppose."

Alyssa: "Well, perhaps you have a point there."

Gavane: "And demons below, this thing is powerful." He shakes his head, amazed at his artifact's performance.

Caran approaches where the body falls and picks up the claws.

Caran: "Seems I've always favored the way of the Tiger."

Gavane: "There seems a tendency for us to pick similar paths as our predecessors."

Gavane: "Or maybe that's how we're chosen."

Alyssa: "Possibly. It's troubling in a way. Where do I leave off and this predecessor of mine start influencing my decisions?"

Caran: "Similiar, but hopefully not identical," Caran says as he fits the claws to his hands.

Gavane's expression is troubled. "I have often thought about that. It is a difficult question - how would you notice if there was an influence?"

Alyssa looks troubled as well. "I don't have an answer for you Gavane. But I do know that the Unconquered Sun did not exalt us to be his slaves. It wouldn't make sense for our past lives to take over entirely."

SonoftheMetalFlame shrugs. "I do not think there is any easy to way to know if there is. It would be almost impossible to seperate changes to our personalities from our specific reincarnations or from the nature of exaltation."

Alyssa: "And... well, there is probably more than one past life. No one I know of is sure exactly how long the First Age was, but probably thousands of years."

Caran: "Well, at this point any worry we have is for nothing, as it's beyond our control. All we can be is who we are."

Gavane: "Well, maybe not the previous incarnations. But if you're fighting a war it is a very seductive thought to make certain of the ways your soldiers' thoughts run in."

Gavane: "To shape their souls to be what you need, not what they want to be."

Alyssa: "Perhaps. But then, with all the men and women in Creation, surely he could simply chose those who are already what he wants."

Gavane: "But what if at a later point those intentions drift apart?"

Gavane: "And given the state the world is in, do we have reason to believe that the Sun is better than all the other figures of power in Creation?"

Alyssa: "If we live long enough, perhaps we will be able to ask him directly."

Caran: "Heh, that would be interesting to say the least."

Gavane snorts. "And would we know, if he lied?"

Alyssa opens her mouth to speak, pauses in thought and then shrugs.

Alyssa: "In any event, it is my turn now, I believe."

Gavane: He shakes his head. "Indeed, let's not keep you from recovering your own panoply."

Kuros: You make it back to the hub without incident, and only the Zenith and Eclipse doors remain.

Alyssa: Alyssa walks to the Zenith door and lays one hand against it

Kuros: It shines and ripples, and reveals th following:

Kuros: you see all of Eastern

Kuros: Creation spread out before you. In the distance, the

Kuros: River Yanaze pours into the Inland Sea. You see this as

Kuros: clearly as you see how, 200 miles up its course, it is fed by

Kuros: River of Tears, and 300 miles beyond that it, the Gray

Kuros: and Yellow Rivers merge to form the Yanaze itself.

Kuros: There is only one place in the world you could

Kuros: possibly be standing. You are 300 miles above sea-level,

Kuros: halfway up the slope of the Imperial Mountain, in the

Kuros: center of the Blessed Isle, at the center of Creation. In

Kuros: all directions on the slope around you lie the ruins of

Kuros: a shattered city. To your left, stairs lead up and around

Kuros: the gate.

Caran: "... Well I'll be. Center of the Realm itself..." Caran says quietly

Gavane: For the first time since this adventure began Gavane can only stare.

Alyssa: "Oh... my..." Alyssa shakes her head and steps through. "I never thought I'd risk being here."

Gavane: "I ... I never thought I'd ever get to see such a sight."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "I certainly didn't expect to see the ruins of Meru anytime in the near future."

Gavane: "And is this ... Meru?"

SonoftheMetalFlame nods. "Without a doubt."

Alyssa: "Meru?" Alyssa asks. "I thought that that was right at the top?"

Gavane nods as Son confirms his thought

Caran: "Meru? Heard of it, never thought I'd see it."

Alyssa follows the stairs around the gate.

SonoftheMetalFlame follows behind Alyssa.

Gavane just looks over the ruined city and the incredible spread of Creation below him

Gavane: After a minute or two he catches up.

Kuros: As you climb the stairs, you reach a plateau. On it are two giant, golden feet, each one over six feet all.

Kuros: The rest of the statue appears to have been torn off at some point

Caran: "Well, what was this suppose to be?"

Alyssa: "I think it must have been -" Alyssa says, then breaks off. "This was a statue of the Unconquered Sun. I remember it now."

Alyssa: She walks up to the feet whispering prayers to the Unconquered Sun under her breath as she does so, barely aware that she is voicing them.

Caran stands silent, looking sadly at the ruin

Kuros: The massive feet flash with a golden light, and you all feel a warm tingling sensation. (All of you regain all of your motes.)

Gavane catches up with the others

SonoftheMetalFlame takes a deep breath, closing his eyes.

Kuros: The earth begins to quiver, and a section of the nearby cliff wall rolls away, tearing away centuries of earth and roots, revealing a passage way.

Kuros: Unfortunately, golden bolts of energy are arcing across the passageway.

Kuros: They snap loudly

Gavane watches the barrier for a few second, then gives Son a questioning look.

Caran: "So what manner of trap is this?"

Alyssa: "I think I was a touch paranoid here as well," Alyssa sighs. "Then again -" She looks around at the ruins. "Maybe I wasn't wrong to be,"

Alyssa: (spend a mote to light my caste mark)

SonoftheMetalFlame: notices Gavane's look and shrugs. "I just know that they're gonna hurt - no clue how to stop them."

Alyssa steps into the passageway, her caste mark glowing

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Maybe if we could figure out a way to drain their energy supply...?"

SonoftheMetalFlame grabs Alyssa by the arm before she can go in. "Whoa there! That's going to end very poorly. I can assure you, those are VERY powerful."

Gavane: "Maybe if I'm fast enough I can get past and see, if there's a way to stop this from the inside?"

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Maybe if you protected yourself, but without any defenses at all, those will fry you."

Gavane: His expression becomes doubtful. "I can be nigh untouchable if I want to, but maybe this isn't the best way to test that."

Alyssa nods. "You're right. Sorry, I wasn't thinking."

Alyssa: (activate Iron Kettle Body)

Alyssa: "Wish me luck."

Caran: "Good Luck."

Gavane: "Good luck."

Kuros: As you descend into the blazing bolts of Essence, one slams into you, briefly blinding you.

Kuros: No damage, but you are certain it would have done tremendous damage had you not protected yourself.

Kuros: As you descend deeper and deeper, 3 more bolts slam into you, doing no damage. By the time fourth bolt is finished, the passageway is clear for the others.

Gavane: "Are you ok?"

Kuros: At the bottom of the stairs is a simple room painted

Kuros: with frescos portraying the glory of the Unconquered Sun. In

Kuros: the center of the room is an altar, upon which rests a simple

Kuros: white robe, a pile of ashes, and a plain wooden alms bowl.

Alyssa: Alyssa examines the frescos one at a time, almost visibly hesitant to approach the altar

Kuros: Also on the altar is a golden key and a plain, ivory mask

Gavane takes Alyssa's silence as a positive sign and follows

Alyssa: finally Alyssa picks up the key, pockets it almost without thought and wraps the mask in the robe to carry it away. she leaves the bowl where it is

Gavane: "So now we have four of these keys ..."

Caran: "And one more door."

Alyssa: "It occurs to me that the rest of the Circle must have been able to access Son's tomb without him."

Alyssa: "These keys may be the method."

Gavane: "That makes sense."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Very interesting thought. That seems to make sense."

Alyssa: "Of course, none of us tryed the other's door. Perhaps they'll open for anyone, but somehow I doubt it."

Caran: "I have a feeling there is some form of protection of the doors."

Gavane: "Most likely our mysterious author of letters has already taken her artifacts from her own tomb. But it can't hurt to test your theory, Alyssa."

Alyssa: "Agreed. Although if she has not... then nor should we."

Gavane: "It would be impolite." Gavane grins. "And we need all the allies we can get, especially others like ourselves."

Alyssa: "Let us by all means be polite."

Kuros: (OK, this is a good stopping point.)

Kuros: Oh, yes XP

Kuros: 8xp

OOC discussion after the game[edit]

Kuros: Hopefully we'll finish this adventure next week.

Gavane: 4 tombs down, only 1 to go ...

Caran: And then we take over the world, right?

Gavane: indeed

Alyssa: yes.

Alyssa: 'look down from Meru' all this is ours

Kuros: Start smaller, I think. =)

SonoftheMetalFlame: It's only a matter of time.

Gavane: start small, think big ;)

Caran: No, see, all we have to do is that the Imperial Manse, and then it's cake :)

Gavane: they'll never expect us coming from the direction of the Imperial Mountain :p

Alyssa: attack under cover of daylight, across a minefield

Alyssa: that's what it sounds like (damn siddies)

Kuros: The Imperial Manse...yeah...

Caran: And if the Empress can use the Sword of Creation, we should have no problems

SonoftheMetalFlame: Totally.

SonoftheMetalFlame: Get the defense grid going and open fire.