Planning, Cadfael Answers
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
Mission stares at Sa'id. The mage dared to accuse him of not watching out for Promise's safety?
Now was not the time to quibble. And the meat of what Sa'id said, that Promise needed to be kept safe, even at Mission's expense, was . . . comforting. Latch to that-- not to the mage's stupid assertions.
But he can't keep the terseness out of his voice, "We're agreed then, Sa'id-- Promise's safety comes first."
After Cadfael had the boy out of the chamber-- then what? Survival laid in one direction-- back the way they came. Mission touches the pane of glass, feels its strength. If Cadfael failed within the chamber, the secret door would be the only way to reach him.
"Show me where the secret door is, Cadfael. If you fail," Mission swallows, "someone will have to go after Promise. I'd rather not have to spend time looking for a doorknob."
From: Matt
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
(You'll have to forgive the brevity of my responses the next week or so, since I dislocated a shoulder and am typing one handed... grr..)
"Do we have to exit by the main gate, or can we leave the way we came? If the dark god doesn't know this entrance, he won't know where it spits out of the mountain. These corridors are far more defensible for a retreat than the front entrance. Especially if friend Farron can ask one of the earth creatures to hold one of these doors closed."
"And, if the attack is inside, that should draw the outside forces inward. When we escape out the side door, they may follow, leaving the front unguarded when we exit the mountain and have to run."
From: Dan
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
Cadfael's gentle rocking continues, it's eerie, were it not for the lack of another person you would swear he was being cradled in someone's arms.
"Pieces rock and fall; the Mission doesn't end, I have a promise to keep. Promises do not just vanish, they do not die."
His eyes flutter close, and though he fights to keep them open it seems he is drifting off to sleep. "All eyes to the altar," he mumbles, "when you first hold your son do you look to the sky or look to the boy? He who would be will be between stone and child and will see nothing until I hold the sun in my hands. And from there, from there..."
He seems to have nodded off, his head rocking unbidden with his motion. The rocking has not stopped.
From: Mike
Subject: Fwd: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
OOC: Ty said he didn't get these, so I'm sending them to everybody just in case. Sorry if you got them twice.
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From: Mike
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
"Once Cadfael has Promise, we'll almost certainly be discovered. We have to slow down whatever forces come after us so that Promise can be seen to safety."
Garyth thinks over Raja's words. They didn't have much of an exit strategy, not that it mattered; there was only one way out of the mountain for them anyway. If they got extremely lucky, the guards around the main entrance would rush inside once an alarm was raised, but it seems too much to hope.
Possibilities for a retreat start coming to mind as Sa'id speaks again, this time questioning the priest. Garyth finds himself nodding. "And how do you plan to get by those guards when the time comes, not to mention Elise and Anileth?" he adds. "Or will Pelor shield you from their eyes as well?"
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From: Mike
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
> Garyth thinks over Raja's words.
OOC: Heh, oops. Oh well, it was bound to happen sooner or later.
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Site Moving
Subject: Site Moving
Hey everyone,
I will be moving sakeriver to the new hosting service tomorrow morning, most likely between 7:30 and 10:00 AM Pacific Time. In addition to the web services being down (main site, game archives, gaming tools, and forum), this also means that the game mailing lists will be down, and I will be unreachable at this email address. I don't expect it will take me a very long time to get things back up and running, but there may be some delay in getting the domain name switched over, so don't count on having the mailing lists until at least Friday. In the meantime, you will have to manually type in all of the addresses to which you want your game turns sent. You can reach me at john.saxon@verizon.net.
I apologize in advance for the inconvenience that is sure to follow.
-Mike
From: Ty
Subject: checking in post sakeriver death.
Is this the list of all the gamers? I think this is complete.
I have Mikes verizon addy too, so hopefully he can stay in touch.
I am just waiting for you guys to complete your preparations and give me the thumbs up to do the next turn.
From: Matt
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
Is the earth elemental still active? It might be best to have him anchor the rope really well in the earth wall so that we may escape down the elevator shaft later. We can always torch the rope behind us when we're down, but Rennik doesn't want to try to make that leap in the heat of an escape.
If not, we should really set our escape route over the next few hours before the battle starts.
Still Not There Yet
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
"Show us the door, Cadfael."
Mission's voice is soft, but his hands are clenched, and his knuckles white.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
I guess I didn't state explicitly, but I did imply, that Farron knotted the rope with a large tight knot at one end and had the elemental bury the end in the floor of the shelf at the top of the shaft. He assumed that when the elemental vanished (after 5 rounds) the rope would be anchored inside the granite by the knot he tied since the granite would have closed over the entrance hole the elemental would have made. Ty, please let us know if any of this is incorrect.
Karl
From: Raja
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
I think we had it leave the rope in the wall, didn't we? Hopefully, we should be able to escape the same way we came in.
From: Ty
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
That is exactly what happened.
From: Raja
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
OK, so we go out the way we came in.
I've memorized both Magic Circle against Evil and Invisibility Sphere. I suggest, perhaps, that I cast both of these spells at right about the time Cadfael is running back our way with Promise. If I cast Magic Circle first, then casting the Sphere afterward doesn't disrupt it (I think).
The problem with this strategy is that I then can't use any of my memorized copies of Command Undead, Scorching Ray, Burning Hands, Halt Undead, or (of course) Fireball.
So I suppose I'll wait to see what happens, and THEN decide which group of spells is more useful given the circumstances.
Since I suppose Cadfael is NOT going to show Mission the door, I'm ready to just while away what's left of those five hours. :P
Raja
Interlude
Subject: Testing, Testing...
Hello everyone,
If you are receiving this email, it means that the sakeriver mailing lists are now up and running. Game on!
-Mike
From: Raja
Subject: Testing, Testing...
Loud and clear!
From: Ty
Subject: so.....
What's up?
From: Dan
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
"Show us the door, Cadfael."
Cadfael continues his gentle rocking and gives no answer.
OOC: I mean, really, what more were you expecting?
From: Raja
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
Let Mission fume while we wait for noon, says me.
From: Ty
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
If that's cool, lemme know and I will right up next turn. I just need a check in from scott, karl, matt, and mike.
Thanks.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
Farron sits and lets loose a long sigh. He is tired but, oddly, he feels safer in this room than he has since the pre-Anileth moments back in the Inn. (And that seems like years ago rather than just a few days. In the quiet of the few hours before noon, he spends most of his time looking down into the chamber where the dark rite supposedly will take place. He wonders at the power and skill that has build such a place as this temple, such skill as he has not seen before and wonders if it has vanished from the knowledge of men entirely.
(Farron will pace, sit, stand, stare out into the chamber, etc, and think these things until something else happens.)
From: Ty
Subject: In the waiting room; Interlude
OODM: Just some stuff to pass the time?
IDM:
The room grows quiet.
The last week of inhuman effort required just to get to this point takes its toll. Farron stares out the window, and occasionally walks around the room to stretch his legs. Sa'id sits in a corner, with a melancholy expression on his face. He has worn it ever since the embalming room. Garyth lies on the floor, and looks like he is actually asleep. Soldiers learn to sleep anywhere. Garyth and Mission started out talking quietly about escape plans, but even they have grown quiet. Rennik chews on the shortened haft of his makeshift halberd, looking like he really misses his well chewed axe handle. Only Cadfael speaks, but his words are a steady mumbled stream, and no one listens.
After a few hours, the light in the room grows brighter. Standing at the window, Farron says a quiet, "Oh!" At the same time, a quiet music begins. The rest of the group moves over to the window, and stares up in awe.
The ceiling of the room is now totally translucent. The sun has risen high enough in the sky that golden light shines down through the shaft cut in the mountain. Above the glass ceiling, previously hidden by the obsidian's smoky opacity, is a huge golden orrery. This massive, yet delicate looking construct is anchored into the walls of the shaft on some sort of sockets, and when the light hits it, it begins to rotate in an incredibly complex motion.
In the center sits the motionless golden sphere representing the sun, the icon of Pelor. All around it the seven known planets dance. Mirene. Helcene. Agea on which you live. Giant and colorful Gamese ,Portua, and Callua. And tiny Fanos, the most distant moving light in the night sky. All suspended on delicate golden circles, and whirling around the center at their own speed and distance.
As they turn, a gentle chiming music is heard. It seems to be coming from the orrery itself. The music is constantly changing, almost randomly it seems. But it is never harsh, or clashing. It is rather delicate, and almost sad. Farron, who has been watching the longest, says, "A giant music box, to honor Pelor?"
Behind, he hears a sob. Turning, he sees Cadfael, who had walked up silently behind the group, and is staring at the orrery with wide tear filled eyes.
From: Matt
Subject: Re: In the waiting room; Interlude
Checking in:
Rennik looks up at the giant sun sphere and can't help but be impressed. The wise ones of the tribes halflings studied the stars and planets and tried to tell the young ones of their significance... it was all lost on Rennik. Perhaps what those elders knew was akin to what these ancients had discovered - but to recreate the natural world in artificial gold and crafted metal twisted a knot in his stomach.
They might as well have crafted a tree of gold, emeralds, and bronze. It was a mockery of the world, twisted by a people who thought they controlled nature and even the heavens. But nature reclaimed its own, tearing down the cities built in their hubris and making what the foolhardy had called "civilized" the most inhospitable place on the island.
The humor of the gods of wood and leaf.
Rennik turns away from the spectacle disgusted, and wraps the handle of the halberd with the strips of well-chewed leather from his axe. He will double check all his equipment and spend these last hours with Tichenor.
Noon, or Shortly Before
Subject: Re: In the waiting room; Interlude
OOC: I'm going to be in class the rest of the week-- very sporadic access to the web. Sorry guys.
Mission feels the press of light against his eyes. But he isn't fooled. He keeps watching the floor of the orrery.
The son he is concerned about hasn't ascended yet.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: In the waiting room; Interlude
Farron tooks intently at the orrery, despite the impending events, he is fascinated by the craftsmanship displayed. Schooled in Divination, he has had much experience with orreries back at the college, but none of them were of this scale and apparent precision. He has always admired these models of the natural world though he has always been somewhat skeptical of their usefulness in Divination Arts. As he watches intently, he notices the alignment of the planets and something from a long forgotten lesson in the movements of heavenly bodies clicks to the front of his mind. Were he not already filled to the brink with dread of the next hours he would likely have felt a chill penetrating to his bones. "This alignment tell us we are on the cusp of a pivotal event in a struggle among gods." Then, realizing he said that aloud he looks at the faces around him, all giving him a look that can only be discribed as incredulous. ". . . but I guess we already knew that, huh?" he adds sheepishly.
Damn Astrology! he thinks to himself. Never was good for anything useful.
From: Mike
Subject: Re: In the waiting room; Interlude
Garyth stares at the orrery. He's never seen anything like it before. He's never even heard of anything like it. When he first came to Overlook from the farm, he had thought it was a very fine, very huge city. Later, when he went to Nesalin, he had smiled at the memory of a slack-jawed child, a farmer's son, and thought himself very sophisticated. But these halflings had built things that no one could even dream of building now. And even with all their power, they had fallen. If people capable of this couldn't stand before Kor Garesh, what hope had this small band?
At that thought Garyth turns away, returning to the spot where he had lain. He sits, closes his eyes, and clears his mind. He waits.
From: Ty
Subject: Noon, or shortly before...
The orrery is fascinating enough to hold everyone for a time but even its wonder wears off in the current black mood and the party drifts off one by one. Garyth goes back to sleep, while Rennik sits next to him wrapping the handle of his cut down halberd. Mission paces the floor, shooting the occasional dark glance at Cadfael, who, after staring teary eyed at the orrery for a while, slumped back to the floor. Only Farron and Sa'id remain at the window, quietly discussing the engineering requirements of such a marvel.
As time passes, the room below grows brighter and brighter. It is possible to see the awesome place of worship this must have once been. Whatever their other faults, the halflings who built this must have worshipped the sun god with great fervor. In the increasing light, the golden throne gleams like a mirror. The marble pillars that ring the throne room gleam as white as snow. It takes little imagination to picture the throngs of faithful gathered around the dais and bowing down to the awesome power of their god at noonday. What does take a great deal of imagination is coming up with a scenario that ends in a demon trapped in a black pillar next to the throne. The awkward placement of the pillar is indicative of sudden need rather than careful planning.
As the day grows closer to noon, Mission seems almost to vibrate in place, his tattoos glowing with barely restrained energy. Down in the throne room, there is more activity. More guards arrive, and are placed around the room. In total, there are perhaps thirty now, with two thirds of them being undead. Sa'id is uncomfortable to note that the undead in this room are not all the mindless and slow moving zombies they've seen before, but include more powerful and more cunning varieties. He notes at least half a dozen wights. The only living things in the room are halflings and a few humans. Only one of the humans is recognizable. It is the disfigured woman last seen outside. She stalks about the room with glowing eyes, looking this way and that in a searching manner, then leaves the room through the main door.
By this time, the activity in the room below has generated enough interest to get the entire party back to the window. Garyth and Rennik note guard positions, and quietly compare. The rest of the party stands watching, silently.
A few moments after the witch leaves, she returns accompanied by a taller woman wrapped all in black robes. Mission has a sudden intake of breath. Anileth? But no, a flash of red hair shows the robe wearer to be Elise. The knight moves slowly to the head of the altar, and stops. Her every action seems purposeful, ritualistic. The time is close.
When she has reached her place at the altar, she signals to someone by the main doors, and they are opened. A flood of halflings and evil men poor into the chamber. It looks like everyone that was outside, and more. Dozens, no hundreds of followers of Kor Garesh flood into the room. They take places all around the dais and stop. Rennik curses under his breath. It would be impossible to fight through that crowd. It isn't jus the Murrkat and their lesser human allies, but the guard in plate mail from the sewers is here. So is the half orc, and the half elven man from outside. It isn't just a small army, but a small army with powerful captains as well. Rennik turns to Cadfael and says, "I hope your god has a mighty trick up his sleeve here, priest." For once, the cleric has nothing to say.
When the room has quieted, Elise raises both hands high above her head, facing the pillar. The black robes slide off of her, and she stands naked before Kor Garesh, her long hair unbound and flowing in a red river down her back. Cadfael looks down at her, and pants in obvious fear. "Oh, Gods. Oh sweet Pelor. The demon of fire and rotten black heart. My soul will burn, it will burn?" Sa'id puts a comforting hand on the priests shoulder, but Cadfael seems not to even feel it. Elise puts her hands down, and turns back to face the altar. From somewhere (Mission briefly thinks, "Madame leggy dame, where were you hiding THAT?") she produces a long dagger of black glass. She raises it on high, and the room erupts in a roar. The yelling goes on for minutes, while she stands motionless, holding the dagger high above the altar. The scene is enough to twist the mind. The beautiful nude woman, surrounded by worshipful undead and evil men, cheering her. Sa'id sighs and says, "I think she may be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." He turns to look at Farron with a lop sided grin, "So why does she scare the shit out of me?" But Farron is not listening. He is staring down at the crowd of worshippers with a terrible look on his face.
"Oh gods," he says in a grief filled whisper. "Look, Garyth, it's Kami. Kami is down there." He points down at a zombie, a little smaller in size than the others. When Garyth sees her, he gives a little cry of pain. "You're right. That's her." Seeing the others staring at him, he says, "Kami was the daughter of the family whose farm we stayed in when we began this task. She and her parents were abducted." He turns back to the glass, his face twisted. "Now we know what has happened to those taken. They fed that little girl's soul to the demon."
In that moment, the reasons for all of this effort come flooding back.
Farron remembers his aunt and uncle, taking him in after his parents died, treating him as if he was their own son. The money they could scarcely afford given to him without question when he decided to attend the college in Nesalin. The many times his aunt sat by his bedside while he cried himself to sleep as a tiny boy. His uncle teaching him to be strong, when he was old enough to learn it. And less than a weeks march away, something that would steal their souls without a second thought. Not while I live, he thinks. Not while I live.
Sa'id, whose reasons for coming have never been as clear, reflects on why he chose this path. He sees now his burning need to DO something. Something that would matter. He remembers holding the hand of his dying mother, and burning with a need to fix it, to make it right. The powerlessness he felt then has haunted him ever since. This, I can help make right, he thinks. I can finally do.
Rennik, less given to reflection than others perhaps, thinks only: You shattered my people like flint struck with an axe. We have been left broken and lost ever since. And you hunt us still; taking our souls like a hunter takes hides. For this, I will hurt you as much as one warrior can. I will hurt you until you can no longer hurt us.
Garyth thinks of his family on the farm near Overlook. On the uncles who taught him to fight, and to be a man. The families who live almost unprotected on the edges of civilization, because they choose to live free on their own land. He remembers the oath he took when he joined the army. One line comes back to him now, "We are the wall around our people." Without even thinking about it, he straightens his armor, and reattaches the insignia of the guard he removed all those days ago. I am the wall around my people. You must pass through me to harm them.
Cadfael pops to his feet like a puppet. "I must go now." He then climbs down the ladder.
[Check in real quick please. Next turn, Cadfael opens the door.]
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Noon, or shortly before...
Karl, what spells does Farron have memorized?
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Noon, or shortly before...
Farron makes to move after Cadfael, then stops. What can he do? This mission has never seen more insane than it does now, sending an insane priest into an army of undead. But he can't see any other way to approach things better. In the midst of insanity, maybe the sane thing to do is to trust that Cadfael knows what he is doing. He watches as Cadfael disappears down the ladder. One last time he checks his pockets for the items he will need to cast the spells he has prepared for the coming moments.
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Noon, or shortly before...
OOC: Ty, that was really good. And I'm not just buttering you up so you let Mission survive. :-)
Mission starts forward after Cadfael-- but he stops himself. What could he do against so many?
Trust the pathless to find his own way.
Passivity. Surrender. Disciplines Mission has never been very adept at. Failure though, he's been a right _vicar_ at that lately. Failing his father and the Path. Failing to redeem Anileth.
Mission presses his fingers on the glass. He can feel the vibration of the crowd shouting below him.
Mockery of the Path. Mockery of Stone. Mission feels revulsion well up within him, but pushes it aside.
Promise was the only thing that mattered, now. His Path was set as always.
A Promise Is Kept
Subject: Re: Noon, or shortly before...
OOC: I agree, that was really good. You guys can feel free to make fun of me--and given that this is being archived for the world to see I'm sure someone will--but I actually got a little choked up there.
Garyth watches Cadfael disappear down the ladder. This is it. He traces a finger idly down the hilt of his sword. Strange... He thought when this moment finally came he'd be nervous or afraid. And perhaps that would still come. But for now, at least, his hands are steady, his breathing regular. He simply feels ready.
Garyth takes up a position near the ladder, ready to descend as soon as it is time.
From: Ty
Subject: Re: Noon, or shortly before...
I just need a nod from Matt, and I can send out the next turn.
From: Dan
Subject: Re: Noon, or shortly before...
Cadfael pops up like a puppet and is ushered toward the ladder. There is no urgency to his step, the urgency is in the ushering. With the grace of a man who has done so a thousand times before he glides down the ladder, fixated on a single point on the bare wall. Compelled, he starts toward it.
OOC- Well, we're almost to something. Game on!
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Noon, or shortly before...
"Cadfael!" Mission whispers softly. He tosses the priest a small pebble from his pocket.
"You asked me which I sun I'd look to, priest. I'd look to my Promise."
Mission takes another pebble out of his pocket, throws it in his mouth and swallows. "Save my boy priest."
From: Matt
Subject: Re: Noon, or shortly before...
OOC: Sorry about the delays... been moving files from computer to computer, and computers from house to house. Lots of disruption. Knowing what the plan is, meaning that we'll exit the way we came and have to slide down that rope fast, I'm going to say that Tichenor would already be down the hole. If we had brought him up, Rennik would have had him lowered down again.
IC: Rennik stands and says a silent prayer to Mielikki for the strength and speed of a cornered beast, for that is what he surely is. Making sure all his gear is set and prepared, taking a few practice swings with the halberd, he'll give a nod that he is ready.
From: Ty
Subject: High Noon; A Promise is kept
Cadfael climbs down the ladder, the rest of the group hesitating in the room above. After a moment, his head pops back into the room and he says, "Be ready." He heads back down the ladder. Back down in the lower chamber the cleric moves to the wall, touches it, and without a sound a small door opens into the room. Looking out Cadfael can see that the door sits exactly in the dark shadow cast by one of the marble pillars. No one in the throne room even turns around when it opens. Standing in the shadowed doorway, he is able to get a partially obstructed view of Elise waiting by the altar.
A hush falls across the room. Men and undead near the main entrance step aside to form a corridor. Through it, Anileth enters the throne room of Pelor with the help of two large wights. The evil creatures half lead, half carry her through the spontaneous path in the crowd up to the altar. Elise watches her approach with dark intensity, and for a moment, almost does seem to be a creature of flame, rather than a woman. Anileth is led up to the altar, and lies down upon it, bathed in the red glow from Kor Garesh's prison.
Cadfael enters the room through the secret door. As he steps out, the party watches in horror from their vantage point as he moves into the crowd, appearing to be wreathed in a visible foul blackness. There seems to be nothing of the dour but faithful priest they knew at the beginning of the journey. Elise's words come back to Rennik. Is it possible that Cadfael came here to join with these evil beings? Would he have come this far with them just to help murder the child? No, it makes no sense. He could have betrayed them a dozen times in the last few days. If his intent is evil, there would be not reason to hide himself from Kor Garesh's allies. Mission almost follows the priest down the ladder, but Rennik grabs him by the shirt and says, "Wait."
Somehow, wrapped in his darkness, the cleric is able to pass through the crowd of undead and evil beings without hindrance. They seem to move aside for him without ever looking at him. He walks through them up to the edge of the dais, and stops.
On the altar, Anileth is giving birth. Her attendants tear her robes from her, revealing her twisted and withered body. Her undead corpse is a stark contrast to the vibrant vitality of Elise standing next to her. But no matter their appearance, for they are just different sides of the same coin, sharing the same evil intent. As Anileth screams out her birth pangs, Elise waits for the child, dagger held at the ready, waiting to cut its throat in the blood red light. It becomes all Garyth and Rennik can do to keep Mission from charging into the room.
Cadfael moves around the edge of the dais to stand less than ten feet from the birthing on the altar, and still no one appears to pay any attention to him. Rennik especially holds his breath. He remembers how Elise spoke so intimately of Cadfael. The accusations she made. Surely she would recognize him, standing half a dozen steps away? But she doesn't even look in his direction.
Anileth screams again and again, a terrible screeching sound that cuts the ears like a knife. The crowd begins to chant, a throaty, heavy counterpoint to her cries. In a move that makes the collective hearts of the party leap into their throats, Cadfael walks up the stairs of the dais to stand at the foot of the altar. And still, no one looks at him. Elise stands across the altar from him less than three feet away, and doesn't spare him a glance. He is actually standing between the wights, and they only shuffle a bit to move aside for him. Mission says, "Something is wrong. That isn't right! We have to go out there!" Amazingly, it is Rennik who speaks for the priest. "He is a madman, but he's not lied to us yet. He stands exactly where he said he would stand on this day. We give him more time to prove his intent."
The screaming and chanting seems to go on for an eternity. And then, one final scream, and Cadfael reaches out and takes a baby from between the lich's thighs. There is silence. Promise is born.
It is impossible to see the child itself from either the observation room above, or the crowded hidden doorway below. The priest's broad back hides it from view, but the effect on the room is instant and obvious.
Everything stops, and for a single moment to short to be measured, everyone can *see*. The power of Promise is revealed. In that instant, Mission knows that his son will never be trained to fight. That he has been born as one of the Kaishin, the holy men wise from birth. They are the teachers sent by the ancestors of the Path to guide the Path during times of change. Not more than seven of them have been given in the thousand year history of his order. They always signal a time of great tumult, and each is born with a different gift. His son's gift is the power to show people, not what is, but what could be. The promise of their futures, if they will only take hold of them. Nor did the moss ground lie to Mission when it called his son's name Redemption. For that is what Promise will be to his father. Redemption. Mission knows that his life from this moment on has only one purpose. To protect his son in his work. To stand by his side while he teaches and guides, and sets the Path on whatever new course it will follow. He sees the man that he can be. Strong enough to help his son bear the terrible weight of his responsibilities, strong enough to protect him from those who would return his wisdom with evil. Bound more tightly to the honor and traditions of his people than he would have thought possible. He can be redeemed both as father, and as servant of the path.
Each member of the party sees what they can be. The potential of their future. All the bright, shining possibilities that await them if they accept their better natures. It makes them weep with the beauty of it, while not hiding the high cost the path to enlightenment will take from each of them. It is truth, but it is the best possible truth.
For Cadfael, this realization is accompanied by his last vision.
He feels his soul lift out of his body, drifting above the throne room. He can look down and see himself, standing motionless with a small pink babe in his arms. In his new spiritual vision, he sees himself as a being of bright and shining light, with a black corruption creeping in located on his ring hand. Even with that corruption, his heart still leaps to see how beautiful his true self is. But, all around are the black and empty husks of those who worship the Garesh. Their beauty lost forever. He sees the incredible power and fury of the being trapped in the pillar, raging at the bonds laid on it by Pelor eons ago.
He sees the past:
The halflings had grown to incredible heights of power and knowledge. One of their foremost wizards, in his study of black mysteries, made contact with the terrible being Kor Garesh. Though it was never his intention, this contact allowed the abomination to enter the world and it wrought havoc on the halflings city, devouring the souls of the fallen and growing ever stronger with each murder. The people retreated to the temple of their god (they called him Kalkin, but Pelor is the name Cadfael knows), and begged for his protection. The priests gathered around the throne, and when the demon entered, called on Kalkin with a single voice. This God heard their cries, and imprisoned the creature in its sheath of glass, forever to be tormented each day at noon when the light in the temple penetrated into its prison to burn it.
But time passes, and memories of horror fade. The halflings came to realize that incredible power pulsed in the black pillar sitting in their temple. Experimentation led them to understand that this power could be tapped. Over time, increasing use was made of the energy available (though they might have been horrified to know that it was the souls of their own fallen that powered their magics). Great wealth was conjured in this way, wealth to fulfill every dream. Their wizards became the most potent in ten millennia, tapping the seemingly inexhaustible power of the pillar.
But, as so often happens, "too far" is not seen until one is past it. One of the halfling wizards, a man named Murkath, tried to bore a tiny hole in the pillar to allow greater access to the power within. The pillar cracked, and a large section fell away, bathing the wizard in the terrible red light. His soul was lost in an instant, though he remained alive as a slave to the abomination. The power granted him by the demon made him the greatest wizard in the kingdom, as long as he continued to bring souls to the altar for feeding. His dark influence shattered the previously peaceful realm, and a war broke out that lasted nearly a century. When it was over, the city lay in ruins. Only Murkath's followers, the soulless slaves of Kor Garesh, remained at the mountain. The rest of the halflings fled into the forest rim, and watched the evil jungle slowly grow up and cut them off from their former homes.
Kor Garesh remained, though the power he had granted Murkath for the war left him nearly drained. Over the centuries, he would feed on the children of the remaining tribe, slowly growing in power until he was strong enough to make another bid for freedom. Kor Garesh has grown very strong again. He calls to those whose evil makes them willing to trade their soul for the small bits of power Garesh gives in return.
All this, Cadfael sees in an instant, and then he is caught higher, up through the mountain, above the world. He sees the billions of souls as tiny sparks of light. Snatched farther away, he sees the many worlds that circle his sun, and then many suns with many worlds, until he feels his mind cracking apart. And then, finally, a place of quiet peace and warm light. His mind sees it as a great hall filled with beings of incredible beauty. All of them serving another being, though of such bright light that it cannot be looked upon. His mind feels a gentle touch, and he looks up to see the face of the Solar who once visited him in a dream. "Look," is all it says, with an expression of sadness on its wise and ancient face.
Cadfael sees himself as Pelor sees him. He sees the noble creature of light that he is in the eyes of his god. He sees the terrible hurt it caused these beings to let him suffer the burden of evil he has carried for so many months. But he also sees the millions of bright beings, like himself, that would be snuffed out. And worse, their bright inner fire lost forever in the bowels of Kor Garesh's blackness if the abomination ever broke free into the world. He sees that a being as terrible as Kor Garesh still has its patrons. Other beings of even greater darkness and chaos, who would love nothing more than to see the slaughter Garesh would bring to the world. Even to see the demon devour enough souls to ascend to godhood itself, and join their foul ranks. Cadfael is also given to understand the complex rules of behavior the gods place on themselves to keep their wars from shattering the worlds, as they did once long ago. He can feel the anguish Pelor felt as he foresaw the coming rise of Kor Garesh, his eventual escape from the prison Pelor had placed him in. Pelor searching for an indirect way, one that will not start a war with the evil gods he opposes, to stop this rise.
And finally, he sees a small ring, bearing some petty but dark corruption, brought into the presence of a good and noble priest. While half a world away, a foolish young monk with a special birthright begins a terrible chain of events by falling in love with a deceiver. In these two seemingly unrelated events, Pelor sees a chance to shift the tide. He takes one tiny action, or, in this case, inaction. He allows the priest to be taken by the corruption that will get him into this room, at this time, with a chance to save this one child.
"Was all of this worth the suffering you bore?" The Solar asks. "Yes. The souls of countless millions make it so. But that does not make your sacrifice any less. When your time has run its course, we await you here in the Bright Halls, with an honored place if you wish it."
The being takes his hand, "We must return now. There are still tasks awaiting both of us. Get the child free, so that his father may return him home to safety. The world will be a better place with Promise in it." It says with a beatific smile.
In an instant, Cadfael returns to his own body, clutching the baby in his hands.
The aftermath of Promise's birth is evident everywhere in the hall. Anileth is on fire, burning with a pure white flame, as the power she intended to sell her son's soul to gain leaves her. Whatever vision Elise was granted has left her on the floor, sobbing like a little girl. All around the hall, the men and halflings have similar looks of terrible distress. Clearly, the vision of what these men could have been, and the terrible price of their short sighted search for easy power, has undone them. The undead look stunned. Those closest to Cadfael have burst into dust, as though he had turned them. Those more distant have been knocked flat, and lie motionless.
Cadfael hears a tiny *tink* and looks down. His ring, split in two, lies on the floor. A thousand pounds of weight, weight he had not even realized he was carrying, fall from his shoulders.
A familiar voice in his head says, "Go."
Even as it speaks, Cadfael can feel the dark fury of Kor Garesh awakening and exerting its power on those in the temple. It screams at them in a soundless fury, the image of all the companions split open on the altar while Kor Garesh feeds on their souls slams into their minds. The undead begin to stir...
From: Ty
Subject: High Noon; The Sitch
Cadfael is holding a small, sort of bloody baby and is standing right next to the altar of Kor Garesh, in the middle of about 200 groggy but angry undead creatures and evil people.
The rest of the group is up in the observation room.
Tichenor is down at the bottom of the elevator shaft, wondering what's up.
Please deliver actions going forward. The DM hand is going to get very light for the rest of this particular quest.
Thanks!
From: Raja
Subject: Re: High Noon; The Sitch
Sa'id watches the ceremony in silence. Pelor, he thinks, it is interesting that you put so much in the hands of men who have so little time for you. If I redeem myself here it is for my own satisfaction, not yours. To dispel my own guilt, and perhaps to accomplish something worthwhile in the process.
He mutters a short prayer, careful not to let anyone see or hear what he is doing.
The baby is born. Sa'id does not move or speak. Then the undead begin to stir, and Sa'id instantly wishes he had memorized his spell of command several more times.
OOC:
Ty, can Command Undead be cast through the glass? In any case, Sa'id will wait to watch Cadfael before deciding what to do.
Nice writeups and subject line allusion, not that it needs to be said. :)
Visions of the Future, Meet Promise
Subject: Re: High Noon; The Sitch
Just so everyone knows, the writeup about what Cadfael knows of Pelor's plan is for color, and for Dan's benefit. None of the other characters actually know any of that stuff.
Sa'id could cast his spell through the window, but at which of the hundreds of undead? :)
From: Scott
Subject: Re: High Noon; The Sitch
Mission will attempt to retrieve his son from Cadfael.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: High Noon; A Promise is kept
Farron watches as Cafael enters the room. As he approaches the altar clothed in blackness, Farron admires the cleverness of the priest. Of course he'd have to disguise himself in some way or he'd be throttled at the door. He almost says as much to the fretting Mission, but Rennik and Garyth seem to have him under control, somewhat.
As the child is born, Farron is hit with a vision of his future. It is a future almost limitless in its possibilities. He sees himself returning triumphantly to Overlook and he sees the proud faces of his aunt and uncle. But beyond that he sees so many paths that none of them reveal themselves clearly. He catches glimpses of himself with power and wealth, fame and admiration. But these glimpses are as if viewing an image of himself at the far end of a long long road. The clearest message he gets from this vision is that whatever he will become it will be because of the choices he makes. But the ends of all the paths show to him, whether riches or fame, or a simple life loved only by a companion and a small circle of friends, are good ends, born of good choices. But all this he already knew on some level. He'd been taught all his life that hard work rewards and good choices bring good ends. The vision ends and he feels a moment of irritation. A feeling very akin to what he felt from the "knowledge" he gained from the orrery.
As the vision subsides, Farron sees that something has taken hold of the room below. Elise is on the floor, fetal, shaking with what looks like sobs. Many of the evil men and undead are on their knees, some tearing at their clothing as if in great remorse. Anileth herself is impossible for him to see as the spot where she lay is now too bright with white flame to look at directly.
But in the next moment, the pillar seems to pulse with unimaginable power. Farron sees beams of red light streaming from the pillar as if searching frantically for something. Where the beams strike those who have allied themselves with Kor Garesh, their mood seems to change from remorse to fury. Farron can see that in a moment the tide will be rushing towards them, bent on the destruction of Cadfael and the child, the only hope these evil beings have that the terrible price they have paid will not all be for naught.
Farron moves towards the ladder and down it in order to be in position to help Cadfael escape the room and, hopefully, them all escape the mountain. As he leaves the secret chamber he first realizes how protected they all were inside, for it is upon leaving that he first feels the darkness that is emanating from the pillar begin to tug at his heart and mind. He struggles against it as he tries to decide which of his prepared spells would best aid their escape.
From: Mike
Subject: Re: High Noon; A Promise is kept
The vision hits Garyth like a wall, and when he comes out of it he is left breathless and blinking for a moment. The motion of his companions bolting down the ladder brings him back to himself, and he follows as fast as he can.
From: Dan
Subject: Re: High Noon; A Promise is kept
The moment of ecstasy is over almost before it began and Cadfael slams back into the familiar weight of his body. He is already smiling and yet smiles brighter, taking a deep, strong breath of air.
And then the ring falls from his finger.
With a painful snap the shards in his mind form a clearer picture, one thought flowing seamlessly to another, so well defined he cannot focus on it. His head spins, he realizes he is still trying to fight off the darkness that has fallen away with the ring. So much of himself set on warding away the darkness and the darkness is lifted in an instant. It's too sudden. His vision goes black. He crashes to his knees. Vomit spills down over his chest, splashes over the babe in his arms. Still unsteady he collapses forward, one arm clutching Promise to his chest and the other desperately keeping him from sprawling to the floor. He thinks, perhaps, he screams. In anguish, in shock, born of frustration. And then the song of the orrery cuts through the chaos of his mind. He is aware of his breathing, the baby in his arms, and something sharp beneath his palm. Shuddering, unable to help himself, he closes his hand over the shards of the ring.
In only a moment his vision begins to clear and he sees his face is not far from Elise's. She writhes in horrors of her own creating; though Promise pierced the veil she had over her eyes and forced her to see. "A demon of fire," Cadfael thinks, "helpless now, as helpless as the infant in my arms. Why not?" Thinking back to Garth, "I've done it before." Forcing himself back to his knees he fumbles for his dagger even as spots fill his vision again.
"Go."
Fight or flight. He jerks to his feet and lurches toward the exit, his vision blacking out again as he does so. Tumbling down the unseen steps of the dais, both hands clutching promise, holding him steady. The body of something... something warm breaks his fall ... not undead. Images of his body splayed on the altar rip through his mind and Cadfael claws back to his feet. Without the ring's protection and unable to see clearly he stumbles over fallen bodies and barrels over those who are just finding their feet in his flight to the exit. Until, wild eyed and frantic, he bursts through it and into the chamber where the rest of the party waits.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: High Noon; A Promise is kept
Are we supposed to go further or are we waiting for a situation update from the DM?
From: Ty
Subject: Re: High Noon; A Promise is kept
I need a check in from rennik and we can move on.
From: Matt
Subject: Re: High Noon; A Promise is kept
Rennik's face is taut as the vision comes over him. Battle, blood, pain... so much pain. He sees himself older, bearded, on a throne of nettles grown into the form of a massive chair arising from a grassy, earthen dais, his face scarred and pitted with the struggles of the past. He rests uneasily on his shoulder on the chair, realizing that the chair of a leader should never be comforting, should never allow him to rest and forget his position. Two large wolves sit alert at either side, and about his shoulders he wears the skin of a third, the inside of which is tattooed with sigils of honor and remembrence for Tichenor, his sign from Mielikki of providence unlooked for.
Around the grassy dais are small, crudely woven banners of leather marking the names of various tribes - an alliance, if not a nation in truth. A pack organized around himself as alpha, holding his place only until challenged by a more cunning, stronger petitioner to the goddess.
He shakes off the vision as he watches Cadfael collapse to the ground, then stagger back the way he had come. Sprinting toward the ladder, he drops into the chamber below, notching an arrow and aiming at the door.
"When the priest comes through with the child, I will hold off any pursuers. With luck, I can pile at least one in the doorway to slow them."
From: Karl
Subject: Re: High Noon; A Promise is kept
Can you have a pile of one?
From: Dan
Subject: Re: High Noon; A Promise is kept
Cadfael was kinda planning on closing the door.
From: Matt
Subject: Re: High Noon; A Promise is kept
And Rennik is *quite* sure that no one will pursue Cadfael, or see him go through the door, or open it behind him. He's ever the optimist. ;) Precautions first, as ever.
As to the pile of one comment, Rennik would be quite happy to make Farron that one if need be.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: High Noon; A Promise is kept
Hold that thought until after my next post.
From: Ty
Subject: The chase begins; back down the tunnels
The moment passes. The awesome and yet subtle power displayed by Promise at his birth fades, and brings the party back to consciousness. Looking out the window, they can see Cadfael now staggering towards the secret door with the naked baby clutched close to his armored chest. The emotions this causes Mission are too complex even for him to comprehend, but in an odd moment of practicality amid the storm he thinks, "Promise must be cold."
Seconds later everyone is flying down the ladder as quickly as they can go. It is all Mission can do to not just leap down the shaft. But soon, everyone is at the bottom, and just as Sa'id follows the group as the last one down the ladder, Cadfael enters the room. He pauses for a split second to touch the door, and it swings shut. Rennik has bow drawn and pointed at it, and says, "That won't stop them for long, now that they know where it is."
Mission pushes to the front and holds out his hands. "Give me my son, Cadfael." There is still a touch of anger in his eyes when he looks at the priest, a bit of challenge. Cadfael looks down at the child, and a brief look of reluctance crosses his face. But then he looks up at Mission with a brilliant smile, unlike any the priest has ever worn in the company of this group. It is an open smile of true joy, though it is possible to still see a shadow of old pain under it.
"He is a fine boy, Mission. Congratulations." He hands the child to his father.
Everyone stops for just a second to look at the object of all this effort. The boy does not look like the savior of the world. He is covered in blood from his birth, with a bit of cord still hanging from his belly, the end charred off when Anileth burned. His skin is an odd mix of pale and splotchy red. On his head is a light smatter of blond hair, very much like Mission's. His eyes are large and blue. The only remarkable thing about him is his calm. A newborn of this age should be crying, and disoriented. But Promise doesn't make a sound as he is handed to his father. He just looks up at him with what can only be described as an interested and hopeful expression.
Most members of the group can't help but smile at the odd mix of tiny child and quiet reflection. Even Rennik stands on tiptoes to get a better look.
*slam*
something hits the secret door like a battering ram, and flakes of stone cascade off of it.
Farron's Struggle
Subject: Re: The chase begins; back down the tunnels
Blood and Stone.
Mission takes off the blue robe he'd been wearing and wraps Promise in it. There. No more chills. His movements are quick, but his fingers tremble on touching the boy's skin. Eyes, so calm Mission could get lost in them.
Mission has never been more terrified in his life. Promise is the end of the Path. This heart, this head, these eyes. . . the Path of Blood and Stone ended here, as it had with every Kaishin in history. Here, was not only born a child, but born the death of Stone, and the Renewal of Blood.
Mission kisses Promise's cool forehead, and tastes Blood on his lips.
The mountain shakes. Mission steels his heart again. retreat?
"This is a terrible place to die in, after all," he says, tucking Promise into his arms. "Let's find someplace else."
OOC: Karl, would it be possible to summon another earth elemental and have it create a wall of stone to block our followers? If so, I'd suggest doing it at the bottom of the elevator shaft, after we cut the rope.
From: Matt
Subject: Re: The chase begins; back down the tunnels
"Somehow I don't think a couple of arrows is going to stop whatever's battering on that door..."
Rennik looks to the others.
"Calling on one of the earth creatures would be wise - perhaps calling one here to hold this door? I do not know how many dwell in this mountain, or how many would respond to you, Caller Farron."
A thought strikes him.
"How do we cut the rope if we're all at the bottom? We could burn it perhaps, unless someone has a better way."
From: Karl
Subject: Re: The chase begins; back down the tunnels
Farron descends the ladder as Cadfael is exiting the door. Within the chamber he can see the black pillar and some of the nearer hoard beginning to snap out of their stupor and confusion. Cadfael pauses briefly to close the door. As it closes Farron could swear he hears the pillar call his name.
Farron holds his head in pain, sharp but not unbearable, which is rapidly replaced with a cold numbness deep in his head. He turns to look at the child in Cadfael's arms, but cannot see him. "Give me my son, Cadfael," Mission says. And then, as if being passed back into the world through some invisible veil, the child appears in the monk's arms.
"Ahh," says a voice of relief inside Farron's head, but strangely the relief does not feel like his own, and the numb spot in his brain begins to hum. He feels himself running through the spells in his head, but now instead of evaluating them for usefulness in aiding their escape, he see each in light of how they could be used to slow the group. "Just a moment is all we will need," says a voice in his head. "And all the power of this world will be ours to take."
Farron sees the group and knows their haste. From behind him he hears a great bang of something heavy striking the secret door. He knows they must flee but his feet feel like lead. "Stop the monk. Show him your power. He has never respected you or your craft. Humble him!" In his pocket Jack begins to scramble around in agitation. "Join me, wizard, and all you desire is yours. All you must do is slow the monk" NO! he screams in his head, but involuntarily his hand reaches into his pocket searching his spell components for the small, straight piece of iron he needs to cast Hold Person, but he cannot find it. His hand brushes Jack and he feels the rod just underneath him. Fingers digging under the weasel, he grasps the iron, his mind racing for the words of the spell to hold the monk. NO! he screams again in his head.
At that moment a sharp pain stabs into his hand and rushes up his arm. He pulls his hand quickly out of his pocket, Jack swinging from it with his teeth deep in the back of Farron's hand. The wizard swings his arm sharply and the weasel flops to the floor amid several large drops of blood from Farron's hand. "That HURT!" Farron yells at Jack, but with the pain comes renewed clarity, the invading voice gone, the unwanted link to Kor Garesh broken.
Farron sees Sa'id glance concernedly at Jack, then quizzically back at himself. "We have to go NOW!" Farron yells to the group. And makes a beeline for the shaft, ashamed to even glance toward Mission or the child.
From: Ty
Subject: Re: The chase begins; back down the tunnels
Nice work! :)
From: Ty
Subject: moving on
Just need a check in from cadfael, sa'id, and garyth and we can move on.
Have a good weekend everyone!
Oh, and by the way?
People taking my bit about promise showing them their futures, and running with it, is why I freakin' love you guys.
Matt, yours was brilliant.