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04.27.20
One Last Fight
As the Rust-Scale Clan kobold at the entrance sought to "parley", commenting about killing us all, a frustrated Brom called upon the Hollow Spirit to lash out with a hollow touch. Yet, he'd been trying to contain the foreign anger inside him, and the spell goes wide.
"Long time no see," Fathom offered to a dagger pulled from his waist, throwing it with a kiss.
Eragon once again summed his control of water, dragging Brom and Cassandra with him through the first room to scoot past traps and meet up with Fathom and Rohrouk, who had roamed ahead to engage with more foes. The water pulled all of the members of the party through the caverns, diverting to flow right off of a deep cliff. Echoing kobold screams reverberated through the cavern over the sound of rushing water.
As we moved town a tight corridor, one kobold lit Rohrouk and a trash heap on fire before another threated to shove him back down the trench we had narrowly avoided. We fought back-to-back down the hallway, slinging spells and Cassandra conjuring her/Luce's sword while Rohrouk parried the kobold on its last stand.
Seeing a pool of water, Rohrouk ran ahead to dive in and put out the alchemical fire upon him. In his haste, he triggered a tripwire that set off a fireball-sized explosion, killing an ambushing kobold in seconds, diving underwater before he took too much damage. As we caught up, Cassandra put the bone amulet gifted to her to one of the unconscious kobolds (presumably the one in question). She was the first one to move into the next tunnel, narrowly missing a bear trap as she did.
"I don't know why you let the blind person go first."
At the tomb's entrance
Eventually, the tunnels converged on a different-looking cavern, a space hewn expertly from stone and set with an ancient door. With a relief of a ship attacked by a kraken and the words "Wisdom, Strength, Kindness, Courage" eteched above four keyholes, we had found the door to the Tomb of Deltavros.
As we all entered the room, boulders rumbled to lock us all inside, and a kobold threw in a strange metal canister. It began to rattle around before spewing black-green smoke into the room -- poison gas.
Rohrouk killed the kobold thrower, then moved over to Cassandra as the two of them pondered over the door to Deltavros' tomb. He pantomimed the number four before sticking his finger through a circle he draws in the air ("f***ing?"). "We all know what it means, Rohrouk," Brom answered, one of the only members little-affected by the poison.
"Rust-Scale Clan, quickest of all!" was the cry as one-by-one kobolds ran in to attack.
Their end was swift, and uneventful.
The Tomb of Deltavros
The door to the tomb is etched with four words: "Wisdom, Strength, Kindness, Courage". We have four keys:
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With that, the corresponding order we believe is:
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...which we all inserted into the door, as one.
As the Fatecarvers.
It worked, and we entered. Behind us, carved on the door: "With thine shield, or on it."
In the tomb
We pressed one. Through the first archway, we encountered a blue barrier that seemed to impede us, though we could push through -- Cassandra cast dispel magic without wanting to try anything, but to no avail. A low voice boomed to us: "Speak thy name, that you may be known."
"I am Eragon. I hail from the land Tier Shanigray." He passed through without a problem.
"My name is Cassandra. I am from the island of Loscipulus."
"Uh, yeah, door. My name's Fathom, and I'm from the Pridelands." Something prevented Fathom from entering the barrier. "Alright, Alright. My name's K'hari (/kha-har-i/), and I'm from the Pridelands."
"I am Abraham Van Brunt, the last Champion of the Sister Isles." A loud creaking and wind scratching rang out: "And I carry the Hollow Spirit with me."
"Lord Rohrouk Argiid, of Dekeli, true heir of Mahuizo."
A poem
Further beyond the barrier, words glowed on one of the stone walls:
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The wind howls through the mountains, and I am this.
I am wind-eater, many-myth, monomyth,
I am blood-rich beach and roarer of the forest,
In my eyes an archive, in my ears the iron of the world.
I drink the snow of these hills and thirst,
For I am this, the howler, the hungerer, the renowned.
My boast receives the customary answer of the night.
The mountains are silent; call me not them,
Make me not the wind, say I am not a name.
No more than the strength inside my arms is me;
I am the murmur of a moment, the eye of an instant.
I come and go as nought but wind, but now I am a man.
I am this, a howl that is and then is not,
I am nothing that I was, and I am free.
I am wind-eater, many-myth, monomyth,
I am blood-rich beach and roarer of the forest,
In my eyes an archive, in my ears the iron of the world.
I drink the snow of these hills and thirst,
For I am this, the howler, the hungerer, the renowned.
My boast receives the customary answer of the night.
The mountains are silent; call me not them,
Make me not the wind, say I am not a name.
No more than the strength inside my arms is me;
I am the murmur of a moment, the eye of an instant.
I come and go as nought but wind, but now I am a man.
I am this, a howl that is and then is not,
I am nothing that I was, and I am free.
Rohrouk took time to translate the poem into a written-down, literal translation in draconic (as well as the poem in common in his journal).
Sorrow
The next arch had another barrier:
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"When he fell into the water,
I searched three days and three nights,
unable to accept that he was gone.
When I swam to shore, the ship was awaiting me,
but I could not face their gazes.
I sought down the monsters that had dragged him,
but they were gone.
I searched three days and three nights,
unable to accept that he was gone.
When I swam to shore, the ship was awaiting me,
but I could not face their gazes.
I sought down the monsters that had dragged him,
but they were gone.
"There was no one left to punish.
You who would claim my legacy:
tell me of your sorrow."
Cassandra stepped forward, singing the song of losing Luce:
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(Willow Willow)
Willow, willow
I could not go
Where his shadow'd disappear
In the shallow
He's sunk below
While I froze to death with fear
Willow, willow
How could you know
Everything he means to me
And if I could
Know that I would
Follow him into the sea
Willow, willow
Reap what I sow
Will you stand and weep for me
Watch his shadow
In the night glow
Shine back up upon your tree
Willow, willow
I could not go
Where his shadow'd disappear
In the shallow
He's sunk below
While I froze to death with fear
Willow, willow
How could you know
Everything he means to me
And if I could
Know that I would
Follow him into the sea
Willow, willow
Reap what I sow
Will you stand and weep for me
Watch his shadow
In the night glow
Shine back up upon your tree
Brom:
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"I am Brom, the last of the Champions of the Sister Isles. I have lost:
Ianthe, the paladin who led me;
Juliet, the bard who supported me;
Mikael the wizard who kept me;
and Sully, the one I held close to my heart."
Ianthe, the paladin who led me;
Juliet, the bard who supported me;
Mikael the wizard who kept me;
and Sully, the one I held close to my heart."
Rohrouk:
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"I am Lord Rohrouk Argiid of Mahuizo, I have very little to be sorrowful of. My father was murdered before his time, the risk of nobles who wish change.
I lost my lands, but I will get them back.
I share no sorrow, instead only fear. The death of a father who has not seen his child, who fears for her safety."
I lost my lands, but I will get them back.
I share no sorrow, instead only fear. The death of a father who has not seen his child, who fears for her safety."
Fathom:
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"First of all, I want to say this a very invasive door, but alright:
I killed my brother
I've been running for my whole life, because my family hates me. I can't face them.
I hurt everyone around me. I'm too afraid to love -- I let everyone down."
I killed my brother
I've been running for my whole life, because my family hates me. I can't face them.
I hurt everyone around me. I'm too afraid to love -- I let everyone down."
Eragon:
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I hail from a land, Tier Shanigray, that I haven't claimed for a long time. Ravaged by fear, war, slavery, an enemy that seems to never stop. Abandoned when I was young, I rebelled against the kind man that took me in, in time abandoning him. At this point, I'm so afraid everyone will leave me; I cling onto what I have no. In doing so, I lost someone -- Avrios -- and am on this journey to put an end to this war and avenge his memory."
Joy
The next gate held a similar voice, ringing out to us:
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My life was not without triumph. I sailed the vastest ocean any had ever known, and was a part of everything I saw. I witnessed history, watched cities rise, kings and queens crowned. I led my comrades in battles and in song. The greatest battle of my life, I saw the enemy stretched out, uncountable, with the wide-mawed god with teeth and tentacle behind it.
But I knew my comrades would follow me into hell itself. In that moment, I conjured a power in that moment, smiting the god to sink straight down into the depths.
But I knew my comrades would follow me into hell itself. In that moment, I conjured a power in that moment, smiting the god to sink straight down into the depths.
You who would claim my legacy. Tell me of your joy.
With no hesitation:
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"I am Lord Rohrouk Argiid of Mahuizo. Though I have suffered much in the recent past, it is not without recompense. The one bright spot that validates all that we do: I have yet to meet her [my daughter]. And we shall."
Fathom stepped up:
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"I may have lost my family, but finally have friends." Though there was resistance at the barrier, he was able to push through. To Rohrouk: "I am way too sober to talk about this right now."
Cassandra spoke up:
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"Though I lost, it was not long after until we picked up new companions. One was stubborn enough to try and find other lodgings, but now, every night, he will hold me when I need him. Every day he will make me laugh. There is no substituting what has been lost, but I am grateful for him."
Eragon was next:
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"Thought we lost many, I will say, I found family where I now feel wanted. I discovered there is more to life; there is music."
Brom, last but quietly:
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"It has been so long since I have felt happy. In that time I have learned so much. I look forward to the time we are reunited, and when my mistakes are forgiven."
And, more quietly still: "I love you."
And, more quietly still: "I love you."
Deltavros
When we reached at last the stone door, Eragon pressed his hand into the indentation. It slid down, to reveal a circular room. Standing tall in the center was a gigantic statue of a nude man, bearded and confident with a crown on his head.
With locate object, Cassandra picked up on the sarcophagus at the foot of the statue: "The horn is there." We approached, nothing two more hallways leading into the room (though currently blocked off). Together, we pushed the lid off the gravesite.
A white mist spilled out, revealing a plain skeleton, with a spear, a warhorn, and a crown. All three behind to float and rise up with the mist. The room filled with the white smoke, to coalesce into numerous humanoid shapes. Soon, they donned features, faces, clothes and weapons. All stood, watching us, as the mist formed one last shape: tall, broadshouldered, with his crown, spear, and warhorn. Pressing the horn to his lips, the warhorn reverberated in the room to call his men.
Deltavros, to prove our worth.
Continue reading...
-
Brom Van Brunt, Champion of the Sister Isles
01.19.20
-
Recourse for Revenge
01.27.20
-
Nightmare
02.03.20
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Seditiousness, Dereliction of Duty, Impropriety, Blasphemy and Contempt of Court
02.10.20
-
Death Is Inevitable
02.17.20
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The Dead Who Did Not Die
02.24.20
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The Tree & The Warren
03.09.20
-
Test
03.16.20
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Bad Reunions
03.23.20
-
The Enemy of My Friend
03.30.20
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Island Hopping
04.06.20
-
Another Round, We Go
04.20.20
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Calm, Before We Storm
01.20.20
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One Last Fight
04.27.20
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Deltavros, the Champion of the Seas
05.08.20
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The Odyssey Champions
05.08.20
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Ten Weeks' Rest
05.11.20
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Die
05.18.20
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Despite Spite
05.25.20
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Bumps in the Woods
06.01.20
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Once Upon A Witch
06.08.20
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Crossover: Let Fate Guide
06.15.20
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Where To Go From Here
06.29.20
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Loss.jpg
07.06.20
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Replacing Power & Authority
07.13.20
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Question and Answer
07.20.20
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Red in the Woods
07.27.20
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Chasing Ghosts
08.03.20
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Journey's End
08.17.20
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Strong Enough
08.24.20
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01.27.20
02.03.20
02.10.20
02.17.20
02.24.20
03.09.20
03.16.20
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04.27.20
05.08.20
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05.25.20
06.01.20
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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.042 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 12:54, Nov 8 2024