Session 108: Infinite Cosmic Power, teeny tiny living space. Report

General Summary

After completing a couple years of crafting and respite within the strangely temporally disconnected demi-plane, Roy informed the group that he would not be traveling with them for a while, as he had researches to complete, and was "bored" with adventure. The strange environment of this demi-plane seemed to be having a deleterious effect on the wizard's personality, and the others were a little grateful to be away from the increasingly arrogant and condescending demeanor. The group was given incentive to exit quickly as the weather of the demi-plane grew violent and lightning struck a short distance behind as everyone rushed to the planar portal, now reopened, and quickly passed through. As Jeeves, last in line, touched the portal, instantly appearing back on the Prime plane in the Celebryth Vale, the portal to the demi-plane suddenly disappeared as Roy closed it again from inside. After exiting, Roisin suddenly remembered something and gifted Jeeves a very large blanket made of some sort of naturally red cashmere material; unusually fine and perfectly matching the color of the Princess' hair. Jeeves was a bit confused, but thanked the small woman for the gift.

Squeezing carefully between other planar portals, Jeeves activated his Healer's Sight to see the normally invisible portals all through the vale, and with about an hour of searching found one he believed to be Arborea, the realm they needed to complete their next quest and continue to prepare the materials needed for the Iron Tone. Bastion volunteered to enter the portal, to see if it was the correct location, touched the portal along with Boris, and almost immediately both reappeared, Boris having thrown himself back. Bastion, however, was smoking and arcing with the remnants of the massive blast of lightning energy that nearly killed him. "Ouch, help, help, help. Lightning strike. Unable to reset. Help." Jeeves quickly stepped up and healed the partly mechanized artificer, using a combination of magic and his chirurgen's skill. Choosing to continue searching, Jeeves soon found another portal that seemed familiar. Boris called upon The Source to grant Jeeves a gift of luck, and Jeeves touched this new portal. An instant later Jeeves reappeared, terribly burned and covered in dirt and dust. Jeeves explained that this portal led to the elemental realm of magma, and it took every ounce of fortitude he posessed to reach back to the portal to return as the sudden crushing and burning force of tons of magma engulfed him. Boris called forth a beacon of hope, and Jeeves welcomed the holy assistance that empowered his own efforts to heal the damage, mostly restoring his strength.

At Bastion's suggestion, the group took a minute to quietly rest and recover from the two encounters with deadly elemental realms before continuing on. Near the end of their rest break, they saw a bipedal bear walking by, and the creature stopped to ask "Why are you just sitting there, next to magma?" Jeeves answered "To feel better?" "The magma makes you feel better?" "Laying here makes me feel better." Boris added "It definitely helps after the magma burned one of us." "Oh! You were hurt. That makes more sense. Are you looking for something?" Jeeves again responded "Arborea" "Oh, you're in luck, that's where I live. Come with me." The bear then walked ahead, carefully staring at the ground looking for some sort of signs. "Ah, here we are, next to lightning. It will be good to be home, it has been a very long time. Well, fare well, planar creatures, I hope you do well in Arborea." The creature reached out to touch the barrier, and disappeared. The Roses looked at each other for a moment, then Roisin stepped up and touched the barrier. Roisin instantly found herself standing in a forest clearing, among ancient oaks and aspens, looking at the bear creature a short distance away. The bear creature waved, and then spoke again, "My name is Trinket, an ancient family name from a famous ancestor. If you ever need me, just ask for Trinket." The creature walked into the forest as the other three companions appeared.

Everyone took in their surroundings. They found themselves in a clearing with a large stone sunken in the earth near the center, and the portal off to one side. The brilliant night sky above flickered with the ethereal greens and blues of aurora; ribbons of dim light weaving from horizon to horizon across the sky. Bastion said "I think I understand now. Who has the Mithril Rods?" Roisin answered "They are in the purse." "Ah, we will need to retrieve them, you might need to go back across the portal to open the purse..." Roisin promptly stepped back across the portal, retrieved the rods from her magic "purse" (truthfully, a portable magic pit that could be lifted like a thin cloth and folded up for storage or transport), then stepped back across the portal. In the meantime Jeeves asked Bastion "What, is it dangerous to open the purse here?" "Not necessarily, but it probably wouldn't work. Extra-dimensional access from outer planes (such as this region of the Houses of the Holy) is weird. Try your pouch." Jeeves responded "O...K..." and reached into his magical pouch; finding it to be a simple empty pouch. Jeeves said "Yeah, I don't like this place." then suddenly jerked back with a loud exclamation as some force tried to drag him fully into the pouch, only losing a hand as the unstable magic flickered in and out, leaving a sealed stump. The experience was strangely painless, but highly disturbing. Roisin returned, and, with Bastion's help, laid the rods on the stone. Bastion then focused his arcane knowledge and a beam of blue and green ethereal light flowed from the aurora above into the rods. Bastion scattered a large quantity of Greenwood Crystal into the beam. The crystal shattered to crystal dust which slowly, over the course of an hour, magically embedded into the rods; this left the rods slightly glowing and sparkling with a fine coating of the green dust.

Shortly after the ritual completed, a large troop of what appeared to be bipedal crocodiles arrived, heavily armed. Deciding this appeared inauspicious, the group rushed out through the portal, and Bastion again focused arcane energies to turn the portal so that as the Crocodilians appeared from the portal they instantly transported into the plane of lightning. None returned from that deadly plane so the group assumed all were destroyed by the lightning. After a minute Bastion returned the portal to its normal arrangement, then collapsed in exhaustion. Everyone agreed that leaving this dangerous valley was wise at this point, and began the arduous journey between the many invisible planar portals. The group dodged a troop of fiends, encountered a suddenly-appearing pit, and Roisin found herself feeling oddly strengthened. After a few hours, they finally exited the Celebryth Vale, returned to the same secluded cliff face they had used before, and Bastion conjured a Wilderness Ward to provide a somewhat safer place to rest. As the night closed in, the group gathered in the small space, laid out bedrolls, and prepared to rest.