Session 42 - The Gods are Dying Report

General Summary

Evening of 74th Moonshine   Panser, Akio and Elxis congregate in the forests, hidden from the Orcs and the Wargs searching for them.   Meanwhile, in the outpost, XIV has declared himself a god before Tufele, the warmage of the outpost. Tufele is unconvinced, and after an argument requests that he prove his power. In the meantime, the orcs of the outpost have formed a circle around the two.   A great ogre, carrying a massive wooden club, comes forth, eager to fight. The orcs part for him. Tufele steps aside, and XIV strikes him, nearly killing him and shattering his armour. Tufele rises, wounded and insulted, and says XIV can have his greatest soldiers, as long as he leaves them alone.   But as Tufele assimilates back into the crowds around him, the ogre comes forth, and strikes XIV with the club. It merely glances off of XIV's armour, and XIV commands the ogre to kneel, imbuing his word with magic. The ogre obediently kneels.   Terrified, the orcs part, allowing XIV to leave unharmed, taking Aarkatus with him, who is wounded and greatly shaken. XIV walks away just as the bamboo prison behind them, engulfed in flame, collapses.   XIV and Aarkatus regroups with Akio, Panser and Elxis. There, they discuss what just happened, and console Panser despite his terrible mistake (Blowing their cover in an attempt to rescue them). The group make their way off into the forest, finding a clearing near a small stream, guided by Aarkatus.   There, Panser sets up the dome, and Elxis uses Alarm to guard the clearing. Elxis goes off to bathe in the stream. Akio, XIV and Aarkatus split off to talk among the trees, XIV talking of how the war around him was worse than he could have imagines. Akio and Aarkatus console him.   They all sleep in the dome. XIV, for the first time, properly sleeps instead of using his sentry sleep. In his mind, he sees vague memories, of regiments marching in a grassy mountain pass in a distant land, and of an armoured companion with "Strange lenses on his eyes", gazing over the horizon. He also understands that while in combat, his brain entered some strange "alternate state", in which he could only comprehend logic.   75th Moonshine   The group all slowly wake up. XIV talks about his strange dreams, and his "combat mode". The conversation shifts to their plans - whether to go to the Rhokata temple, or to deliver the message first. They decide to deliver the message, and to go to the temple afterwards.   They make their way to the city of Eutrakha, reaching there in the late afternoon. They reach the strange hill at it's centre, in which the houses and temples of the city are carved. They pass a procession of priests, who seem confused and disturbed by what they had just witnessed in the temple above.   The group go up to the elder's quarters, finding that the elders of Eutrakha are in frenzied conversation.   The oldest of the elders in the city turns to them, and is instantly horrified by the presence of XIV. He is convinced that XIV is an avatar of their god Khator, and quickly leads them up to the tomb carved into the top level of the hill.   Stepping inside, they speak with him, the other elders following. They eventually realise that Khator is simply the goblin name for Kaldar, which explains the strange Kaldaresque decorations and architecture of the hill. They learn that today, and only today, Kaldar spoke to them, saying that he is dying, and that a great war is approaching.   They soon realise that within this tomb is the supposed coffin of Kaldar himself, engraved with a carving of him. The carving itself is actually a channel, through which blood can run into a central orifice. Panser uses detect thoughts, and senses a presence below the tomb.   Frenzied to make the proper sacrifice, the oldest of the tribes' elders impales his hand on his knife, letting his blood flow into the depression and into the tomb, awakening the being below.   The being speaks, proclaiming himself to be Kaldar, though XIV is estranged by the voice. He casts zone of truth, and the being admits it is actually Kuhi, the goblin god of trickery. He says he is desperate, and that the gods are being forgotten, and are dying. He talks of some project which was begun to cast away the power of the gods.   He talks of a golden age, when the gods shaped the worlds and mortals lived under their power, and how without the gods, all magic will die.   The group speak with him, terrified and confused by this proclamation, and unsure what to do. Meanwhile, the other elders are horrified, after their eldest killed himself in sacrifice only to learn that the god they revered was just the trickery god in hiding.   They leave the tomb, Aarkatus tossing the message into the elder's commune as they leave and thus completing the mission. As the group leave the city and return to the forests, they discuss what to do in the wake of this revelation. They further discuss how this relates to the uprising, and what Iaidar will think.   They all agree that they do not trust Iaidar, and wish to interrogate him under a Zone of Truth. Eventually they find a new clearing to set up the dome and sleep, all exhausted from the day.   1st Sungleam, 66,501   The new year begins. Only XIV is aware of this change, and as he wakes up a few hours early, he goes foraging, finding a bush of spicy moonberries to bring back to the group as a kind of "new year gift". He wakes them up, giving them the berries.   They all speak of their plans, and set off to find the temple of Rhokata.   On the way, while Aarkatus navigates, Panser uses Sending to speak to Ila. Ila speaks hurriedly and confusedly, but tells them of the Null Wardens, the Apocryphite and the Chronoract. The group discuss the link between the Chronoract- which according to Ila, "stops magic", and the "project" of which Kuhi spoke.   Aarkatus forges ahead as they continue, but suddenly stops, in awe.   He turns back to the group. "I don't know how I did this - it's right there - I found the temple."   Aarkatus, without knowing it's location, simply found the temple.