Session 20: Time in the Darkness

General Summary

The party began by setting watches as they began to rest within the protective magical dome. At the beginning of the fourth watch, Roy saw a strange traveler approach around a nearby corner, they appeared haggard, ancient, clothed in a ragged outfit, and with a belt from which hung numerous strands with several strange crystals on each. The individual seemed to investigate the dome (which appeared as a pile of rubble from a cave-in), rapped gently on it, as though testing the resilience. They then noticed the crystals on their belt light up, half-smiled, then simply disappeared. Roy remained on high alert, expecting some kind of attack, when some time later a tear in reality opened, a blue-lit crack, and another individual stepped out, someone well dressed and carrying an odd staff. They stepped up to the dome, and tapped on it slightly. Roy began to waken his companions, but there was a sudden shift, as though time was reversed and rewritten, and before Roy could act the stranger was inside the dome and held a finger to their lips shhhh, no need to wake the others.. Roy held still and waited for the other to continue.

I am one of a people, you saw another of us earlier (later, have you seen another somewhat like me yet?)

Yes, I saw one like you about a short time ago.

Good, I am like that one, but I have had more time to understand our situation, to gain some measure of control of the situation.

Who are you?

My people had, have, will have? a great empire, but there was a catastrophy. Some of us sought a means to escape, or perhaps to find a means to prevent, the catastrophy. Something went terribly wrong, however. The ritual was not complete, or not correct. We became lost, we found some of what we sought, but could not find our way home. Something else caused us to become "unstuck", lost in time and the multitude of dimensions. We have wandered for untold millennia, something about the ritual sustains our lives, but we suffer still many of the ravages of time. Some few of us, like myself, have learned to embrace our condition and restored our health and vigor. We seek out those who might be able to help, to assist us in our search to find our home. Could you help me? I need a reference, if you can provide such a thing I can repay you with a trinket I have encountered in one of the many realms I have traveled.

Why do you think I can help?

You did not harm that other one, and you may have the capacity to produce the knowledge I need.

How can I help?

I need a reference, I need to find the anchor of this reality. To show good will I will grant you knowledge I have gained about this place you are. The tunnel you entered (will enter?) is/was dug a while ago, perhaps a century, but the realm you are in is far older, from what you call the Dawn Times. There are many dangers, including many amorphous threats, creatures you might call an ooze or pudding.

Do you need something mundane, like a cloak or a shoe? Do you need a special item? I could offer you a void crystal.

Mundane items are simple to gather. I do not require a void crystal, there are others in this place who worship such things, but they are terrible beings and cannot be trusted. I require a reference, a fifth dimensional trans-vector in the fourth order tensor field of the chrono-mystic transform space.

Roy understood very little of the long and detailed explanation that followed, but finally discerned that temporal magic might provide the required knowledge. With a couple of spells of his own specialty, the stranger was able to derive the required "reference".

I have the reference! Thank you, you do not know how much you have done for my people, and how incredibly valuable this is. With this you, once I have shared the reference, have brought our people almost within reach of our pathway home. What is your goal, what do you seek? For your goal do you seek power, protection, utility, knowledge, travel, control, deception, or death?

Roy thought for a bit, several competing voices within his mind urging different choices. Roy finally chose. We seek to create the Iron Tone to defeat the reawakening of the Iron Throne. For this purpose I desire power. The stranger replied

Very well, take this trinket, and may your journey be successful.

The being handed Roy a white ash-wood rod approximately 18 inches long with a steel nightingale headpiece. The being then turned, another blue-lit tear in the fabric of reality opened, and they stepped in, the tear closing behind.

A few minutes later the rest of the party stirred, as Roy completed a ritual to identify this "trinket", finding it was a "Rod of Justice", which he offered to Boris , the Justicar priest. As they awakened Roy again suffered terrible visions of infernal torture visited upon innocents, and suffered great mental anguish and pain, but covered over it and brushed it off. The party prepared to delve further as Roy described to them the strange encounter during the night. After everyone had awakened, Roy began moving further into the tunnels, but Boris quickly managed to move ahead, and was surprised when a blood-red creature of goo, almost like living congealed blood, dropped upon him from above.

Boris suffered harm as the creature fell on him, but he was able to quickly destroy the creature with a spiritual weapon and sacred flame. Boris then moved further, but was caught by another such creature that dropped on him only a few feet further down the tunnel. Roisin Marshfield ordered Roy to attack, and Roy launched a firebolt at the creature, and struck with incredible heat and fury, but it turned out these creatures thrive on flames, and the creature not only grew, but split in two; doubling the threat. With Roisin Marshfield's coordination Boris also struck at the creature surrounding him, and bashed it with his new magical rod. Cigfran switched to a hand crossbow and struck the creature that had split off, and damaged it severely. Jeeves fired a clockwork bolt at the creature harassing Boris , then Quirico rushed in and destroyed two creatures with a rush of attacks from both himself and his echo, but learned that bashing a creature of goo led to goo splashing all over him and his allies, causing even more harm. One of the creatures then struck Quirico , and would have knocked him unconscious were it not for Roisin Marshfield's intervention to spare his life. Roy then launched an orb of cold, which seemed to deal limited harm to the creature still threatening Boris . Boris then conjured spiritual guardians to damage the creatures nearby, and used his spiritual weapon to strike one. Roisin Marshfield ordered Boris to strike further and Boris used a sacred flame to burn one of the creatures. Jeeves simultaneously launched an arrow from his masterwork shortbow, tearing into the creature. Cigfran fired another bolt from his hand crossbow, and destroyed another creature. Quirico again used his morningstar, striking the creature, but also causing it to splash everyone nearby, causing Boris to lose focus and end the spirit guardians magic. Roy then used powerful gravitic magic to cause all three of the remaining creatures on the ceiling to fall, but also causing the ceiling to collapse on top of them. The result was the destruction of all three, but the splashing goo nearly killed Quirico , Roy , and Boris alike. Thanks to Roisin Marshfield Boris remained conscious, barely, and was able to heal Roy while Jeeves helped Quirico recover. Roy also discovered he was gravely ill and something had been causing him terrible harm, leaving him severely reduced in strength and resilience. Cigfran sought the cause, and discovered that both Roy and Roisin Marshfield had tiny leech-like ooze creatures slowly digesting them. Boris , notified, quickly noticed the creatures and brought his spiritual weapon to strike one, Cigfran struck at the other, but Roy and Roisin Marshfield struggled to find these stealthy threats. Jeeves continued to try to heal the injured while Roy used magic to escape his tormentor. Boris struck again with his spiritual weapon, but missed, and connected with the Rod of Justice. Roisin Marshfield finally noticed her passenger, and tried to cut it off, but misjudged the toughness of it's hide in her inexperience with direct combat; Cigfran tried again to cut the creature away, but missed. Meanwhile the creature that had been consuming Roy now attached itself to Jeeves , but Jeeves managed to strike true with his rapier, piercing the creature twice. Roy launched a firebolt at his former tormentor, but his weakened condition limited the impact. Quirico healed himself slightly, and kept touching the back of his neck; checking for his own passenger, no doubt. Boris struck powerfully with both spiritual weapon and Rod of Justice and Roisin Marshfield, managed to strike as well, killing a dangerous creature for the first time in her life; the excitement helping her recover from her grevious injuries. Cigfran then threw a dagger, killing the creature attached to Jeeves .

Jeeves and Quirico healed the group as best they could, then Roy conjured a Rope Trick, where the party rested and bound their wounds. It was during this that Boris realized he was gravely ill, losing agility and reaction speed as some malady attacked his nervous system. Roy used magic to detect poison and disease, finding that Boris , Roy , and Quirico were all ill; Boris more severely than the others. Quirico 's experience in the wilderness allowed him to identify the illness as Seeping Death; a terrible malady that would eventually lead to death without cure, and the dead would birth new oozes like those they had fought. Boris lacked the magic to heal disease this day, and the group was left contemplating other means to prevent disaster.

Rewards Granted

Rod of Justice