Session 27: Spiders, Clockwork, and Webs, Oh My! Report
General Summary
The intrepid adventurers are in the middle of a deadly combat. Cigfran is on the ground bleeding out, and the others are in dire straits. The mechanical spiders try to attack Boris , and Roy 's spell attacks the creature's mind, but does not seem to have any effect on this mindless machine. Fortunately the creature missed Boris . Another strikes and destroys Quirico 's echo then moves above Roy . Quirico summoned his echo, which struck the mechanical spider creature above Roy , striking solidly, then struck again and in a lucky slip the creature dodged under a wild swing and instead of striking the ceiling the hammer shattered the creature. Another small creature attacked Jeeves , who then rushed forward, unfortunately the creature struck him from behind and nearly killed him, only his indomitable will to live enabled him to survive, sadly he also found that his quiver was destroyed and his arrows scattered on the ground around him. Jeeves reached Cigfran and healed him, bringing him back to consciousness. Jeeves then moved back, and was promptly brought low by another attack from a creature on the ceiling, leaving him paralyzed, unconscious, and bleeding on the floor. Boris then used an angel's chain to expend his own health to heal Roisin Marshfield. Roisin Marshfield stood, taking a stab from the spider creature in the process, and ordered Roy to attack, but his fire bolt went wide and destroyed Quirico 's echo instead. Boris reacted by striking at the creature near him, but missed. Roisin Marshfield traded places with Quirico , and the creature that had been beside her promptly struck Quirico twice and destroyed his lantern completely. Roy then launched a chromatic orb of cold at one of the creatures, and froze some of its gears. Jeeves presence lent some divine blessing to Cigfran as he launched a bolt from his crossbow, which destroyed the thing utterly, leaving little more than small shards of metal in a sparking shower and the crossbow granted Cigfran a small amount of additional strength. The creature Roy had struck tried to attack Roy , but could not, and skittered away to avoid further harm, then struck Cigfran very powerfully, but his added strength kept him conscious. Quirico again summoned his echo and struck the creature near Cigfran , missing once and hitting once, then unleashed his echo to hit once more. The creature near Boris and Quirico attacked Boris but missed twice. Jeeves continued to slowly bleed on the floor, while another small creature attempted to poison Cigfran , but missed twice. Boris then conjured holy fire to burn once creature, then moved between two others and one struck him as he moved past. Roisin Marshfield moved closer then ordered Boris to attack, but Boris ' cantrip was dodged. Quirico reacted by striking one of the creatures, smashing it. Roy then moved up and fired a chromatic orb of lightning at one of the creatures, blasting it to cinders. Everyone began calling him Fungus for some reason after that. Cigfran then shot the creature in the middle of his allies, and caused it to grind its gears to bits and it fell apart. Quirico stabilized Jeeves , and the party took a moment to assess the situation.
Boris asked everyone to gather close, and spent ten minutes praying for the health and well being of his friends, and The Source answered healing everyone present. Quirico used his healing skills and supplies to patch up and bind wounds for the group. Quirico suggested a short rest, and though Roy pushed everyone to move on, Roisin Marshfield agreed that it was time to take a brief rest. Roy spent the time examining the material left when the creatures were destroyed and thoroughly examining the webs. Roy found these were a metal drawn so finely that it appeared to be glass at first glance, also it was strong enough that it cut steel on contact. There was some discussion about what to do, and Boris suggested possibly using magical paper workmen to manufacture something from the web material. After a bit of discussion, Boris finally just directed the magic to construct a pile of simple coins from the metal of the webs. The group then began moving forward, with Cigfran in the lead. They quickly discovered that a cloud of dark mist was expanding into the caverns from ahead, and they barely avoided being engulfed. Jeeves tried to use light to beat back the cloud, but discovered it consumed magic, to such extent that Jeeves forever lost all spellcasting ability. Roy cast a Rope Trick at greater power, providing them a place to wait out the cloud in hopes it would dissipate. Inside the sanctuary Roy felt a powerful pull upon his backpack, attempting to drag the backpack, and it's Void Crystals, out into the cloud, which Roy described as a Void Cloud, explaining that contact between the crystals and cloud would result in massive destruction in a radius of perhaps up to an hundred miles, the entire area being consumed by the Void, leaving behind only a Sphere of Annihilation. The group discussed who should use the powerful ring that Jeeves no longer had the ability to use, and in the end Roy chose to wear it. Four hours after the cloud emerged, it finally receded and the air cleared. Roy conjured another disk for Roisin Marshfield to sit upon (for her strength was still drained from her encounter with the shadows), and the party prepared to move forward. Moving to the room where the void cloud arose, they saw some mining tools scattered about, and a deep pit with a ladder. Cigfran entered carefully, and saw that everything was trapped with shiverstone. The entire south wall was solid shiverstone. The ladder down, fortunately, was normal and not trapped. The party discussed many options to get down, but before they enacted any, Roy attempted to pour an Orwinia's Oil on a large boulder of shiverstone. Unfortunately he tripped and set off the entire south wall. Only a divine boon saved him from complete destruction, but he still lost his magic lantern, leaving him in darkness. The party reentered the room, now cleared of anything other than Roy and about a foot of shiverstone needles. The group climbed down the ladder, and an hour and a half later reached the bottom. On the way down they passed a few branching passages, through which they saw vast pools of void clouds, slowly growing. They surmised that the clouds here rose up and filled the rooms above on a regular basis. Arriving at the bottom, Cigfran snuck ahead and observed some empty passages, then returned to describe the area. The group moved ahead, somewhat noisily, and made camp on a large ledge where Roy conjured a dome camouflaged as a pile of boulders. The group prepared to sleep, and Roy took first watch. While on watch, Roy took out a Void Crystal, and began to contemplate it, still somewhat surprised it was not instantly consuming his life, like it had in the past.
Roy began to hear a voice.
Ah, about time. Welcome Roy .
Who is this?
hahahahaha, You can call me The Void Master, or just Master, as I am your master.
Sorry to inform you I have no master.
hahahahah I have always been your Master.
What makes you say that?
When you were a child you sought power, and I gave it to you, on the condition that you serve me. As you grew older, you met me, and volunteered as my apprentice. When you signed that contract, you agreed that I would be your Master. There was no end to that contract. I am your Master.
As the voice spoke, Roy experienced two threads of memory, simultaneously. Roy saw the memory he'd always, or at least he thought he'd always, had of an uneventful childhood normal parents, a couple siblings, in a small town near a forest where most of the people are woodsmen. But overlaid with that, making that memory appear ghostly and insubstantial, he saw another memory that seemed to be more real. He remembered a more difficult family life, a father who drank too much, a mother who engaged in affairs, rather frequently, and seemed to be, looking at it with adult eyes, seemed to be paid to do so; covering his father's gambling debts, which were frequently more than the family could pay. He remembered wanting to change things, wishing he had the strength to make his father stop drinking, stop gambling, stay home; make his mother not do these terrible things, with these terrible men. He remembered a kind old man who appeared almost in a dream, saying I can help you. Simply agree to serve me, and I will make it possible. He remembered his youthful, teenage, self agreeing, foolishly in retrospect. His mind was suddenly filled with knowledge, knowledge he did not entirely comprehend, but he knew he could do something. He stepped outside into the common room of the small home where he lived. The room where the children slept, where the parents slept, and then this central room. The parents were still up, arguing, he saw his father strike his mother, something he had done many times when he was drunk. Roy spoke a single word, and both parents froze, turned and looked at Roy . Roy ordered his father, never drink again, never gamble again, work hard and stay home at night. He ordered his mother, never, ever, give yourself to another man again. They both nodded and went to bed. Roy returned to his room, he wasn't sure what had happened, but after that his parents behaved, his father stopped gambling, stopped drinking; his mother stopped taking men to her bed. Two years later there was a terrible accident. Roy was out with some friends and on his way home, when he saw a bolt of black lightning strike his family home. He rushed forward and through sudden tears he saw that there were no survivors, and he heard the old man It's time for you to leave home. Come, you know where to go. Roy realized, then, that this was a consequence of his deal. He traveled for many days, he always seemed to know where to go. He arrived at a tower and fortress, where he met an old man who seemed both familiar and unfamiliar. The old man looked at him and said Welcome. If you would pursue the path of the Wizard, the path of Power, then sign this contract. The old man offered a contract in which Roy would be an apprentice, and the old man would be his Master. The old man directed Roy to prick his finger with a silver needle, and sign in his blood. Roy did this, he had no family, there was nothing else for him in this world. He might as well achive the power he hoped for. For 50 years he served this Master, 50 years of learning just the basics of The Weave. After 50 years the Old Man sent him out into the world and said It is come time for you to leave. You must learn of the world, you must become what I intend you to be. Go. In time we will meet again. As Roy left the tower, he turned back only to find there was nothing there, just trees in a forest. He traveled to the east, many days; he almost died again, and again, and again from the dangers of the wilderness, but his magic was, just barely, sufficient. He eventually found himself in a small town at the base of the mountains, north of a vast plain filled with farmland, and he settled there. Roy was always cognizant that his Master was still waiting out there, somewhere. The stress drove Roy to begin drinking, heavily, and then he began gambling. Within a few years he was destitute, the town drunkard; everyone laughed at him and said "he claims to be a wizard, but cannot even manage to drink without spilling half the cup". Roy could not even manage to conjure minor magics anymore. Then Roy met her, a beautiful halfling woman, and he couldn't understand why she would want anything to do with a washed up loser like him. She took Roy in, and helped him get clean. He couldn't quite give up the gambling, however, and the two fought over that many nights. She loved Roy , however, and Roy came to love her in turn. Then one day she told Roy that he was going to be a father, and he was terrified. Roy went out and spent the whole night gambling and drinking. Roy hadn't had a drink in ten years. Well, it turned out that was a mistake. Roy woke up in another city, far away, and found out it had been 50 years since that night, and he had no idea what had happened in between. Roy was convinced he had lost everything, that the child must be old, if it lived, and the woman was perhaps alive, as halfling lives are long, but would never want to see him again. Roy returned to a live devoted to drinking and gambling. He had no idea how long he spent. There were times he went on a bender and woke up decades later, or a century earlier. Something was manipulating time around him, and he couldn't understand what it was. Eventually he realized it was him. When he got drunk enough he would recklessly tear at the weave, and it always shifted him in time. He could not control what it did, but he would move. Eventually he began to gain some control. He still struggled with drinking and gambling. Then one day he woke after yet another bender when he thought he'd gotten past it, and it was only 20 years since the day he left. Roy thought "You know, there's a chance. Maybe I have a chance of meeting my family, at least knowing that they're alive and well; maybe she won't hate me." Roy started heading back to that town, Schädelgräberhafen. He found himself in the town of Marshfield, only a week away, and he saw a halfling, a noble everyone around bowing in deference. The noble looked at him, and smiled. Roy 's new memory replaced the old with that look; he was Roy , he was maybe 40 years old. He'd had a temporal disruption, but it wasn't a big deal. He'd only recently left his master's apprenticeship. Nothing of his youth, nothing of his many years of wandering, nothing of his wife or his son, all erased. He was here to answer an advertisement, asking for someone to guide the Princess, and so he did.
Now he remembered the truth, what really happened. Roy , now older and more aware of temporal magics, also began to realize that there was a field of deception in that first 50 years, and it must have been over 300 in reality. He knew that his son was in the clutches of the same monster who took his memory from him. He knew that his wife killed herself because that monster made him forget her. The Duke has a lot to answer for.
Roy shook his head, and asked his Master "What is the Duke to you?"
He got an answer.
Why do you think I sent him to you. You're going to help him kill the princess, but first you're going to make sure she's properly corrupted. Rest well, my apprentice.
Roy came back to himself, screaming in anger and rage. Jeeves asked what was the matter, and Roy simply said "have you ever had a bunch of memories shoved in your head all at once?" "Um, I think so, but I think I was also dead." "It's a rather unpleasant experience."
Roy took to his bed, and Jeeves took over the watch as Roy sat down looking shocked. Quirico looked at him and said "yeh, told you you were gonna kill 'er too, didn't they?", then returned to sleep.
Jeeves watch was uneventful, and he woke Roisin Marshfield for her watch. Roisin Marshfield sat and kept close watch, and half way through her watch, she saw lights in the tunnel to the north. A procession began to travel down the corridor. She guessed, having seen Roy 's Void Crystals, that it was probably a quarter pound. Roisin Marshfield thought of waking the others, but realized even the most quiet voice would alert them to her presence. The head of the procession looked right at her, and said to an individual next to them.
Looks like we've had another rock fall. Make a note, we need to send someone to clear the rocks again. Maybe we'll get lucky and find another Crystal. This is the largest one I've ever seen, and it would be nice to have something a bit larger. We're running a bit low on the shards we throw to feed the sphere. You're mak? Did you forget to bring the notebook again?
They looked at the much smaller individual next to them.
Yes.
Well, it happens, don't worry.
They reached out and touched their void crystal to the individual now quaking with terror. As the Void Crystal touched them, they were instantly slain and consumed by the crystal, and the leader gestured to someone further back to come forward and they rushed forward.
Do you have a notebook with you?
nod
Make a note, we need to send someone to clear the rocks again.
This new note taker quickly wrote down what was said.
Excellent. You are my new assistant. Never forget your notebook.
The procession continued. A few looked at the pile of rocks, some seemed to shake their heads as though thinking "Great. I'll have to come back to clean all that up.". Several minutes passed when a van came into view with a stone ring upon it that seemed to have many magical sigils engraved around it's circumference. Above it, suspended by magic, was a black sphere, 5 feet wide, that hurt the mind to look upon it. This must be the Void Sphere the leader mentioned. At the very end, the last person in the procession stopped, thought a moment, and threw a rock at the pile. It bounced off and they looked curiously, then climbed up and touched the dome. They said "Shoot! This is magic!" and prepared to run. Roisin Marshfield woke Roy who immediately screamed, and the cultist said "Shoot!" and jumped off the ledge. Cigfran took aim, and shot the man in the back, killing him instantly. Cigfran then climbed down, dragged the body behind some boulders, and spent the next ten minutes watching for others while absent mindedly piling rocks on the body. Eventually Cigfran decided there were no other threats coming, and went back to sleep. Roisin Marshfield woke Boris , and he took watch. Boris woke Cigfran , who spent the last watch expecting more danger, but finding none.
As morning came, Roisin Marshfield described the procession to the group, and Roy realized this "void sphere" was a sphere of anihilation. Roy also realized that if a large enough Void Crystal was thrown into the sphere, it would go wild, expand to many times its size, and consume everything in a large area, perhaps hundreds or thousands of feet in radius. Roy had a flash of memory.
Roy stood with his Master among a crowd, watching the coronation of a good prince in a good kingdom in the presence of thousands, mostly nobility or merchant classes. The old man drew forth a talisman from his sleeve and gestured with it. A small black sphere descended from a hidden nook in the ceiling, down a few feet, and the old man then threw a one pound Void Crystal at the sphere, which was perhaps eight inches in diameter. The old man instantly teleported himself and Roy away while the crystal was still in the air. They appeared on a hill overlooking the city from some distance. A black sphere suddenly erupted from the castle and expanded to a half mile in radius. It retreated quickly, leaving nothing whatsoever within that area, save a perfectly clean circle of ground, with even dirt and dust removed, down to bedrock. Even the sphere itself seemed to be gone.
Roy mentioned to the group that the sphere might be a means to eliminate the cult, but they'd need a very rapid way to get away, or something like time step to "skip over" the short time the sphere would be destructive. The group then spent some time discussing various options as they considered how to accomplish this mission without losing a companion.
