[Below is an account of the 16-Nov gaming session.]
The party meets with the local leader, a Sidhe elder who relates to them the plight of the Sidhe. Four hundred years ago, the Sidhe noticed that they began aging and subsequently, dying. They did not know the exact cause of their malady, but they were able to discern that it was magical in nature. Their solution was to create a gate to another existence where this malady was not present. It worked. Now, they had time to try and find a solution to their problem and be able to return to their homeland. This pocket universe, as it were, possessed some strange phenomena, the most noticeable being that the perception of the surroundings tended to mimic the feelings of the most willful person in the area. For example, the first area was “ruled” (for lack of a better word) by a Sidhe that was previously a skilled alchemist. He was always optimistic and certain that a cure would be found. As such, the area within his domain appeared to be a vibrant and busy alchemical lab, with all people in the area (regardless of their actual skills) appearing to be apothecaries, doctors, and assistants working in lockstep to find a solution. In reality, the Sidhe in this domain ran the gamut of experiences and skill sets (warriors, gardeners, carpenters, fishermen, etc.) but they all appeared outwardly to be workers in a laboratory environment.
In an adjacent domain, the strongest willed Sidhe is a man who, back on Arnur Soghal, was a skilled naturalist. The years away from Arnur Soghal began to take a toll on his spirit, putting him in a state of perpetual despair. As such, the appearance of his domain was one of darkness and gloom. The Sidhe here outwardly appeared to be sentient plants that would attack intruders by spitting thorns (Sidhe archers) or slashing with barbed vines (Sidhe soldiers).
Being a proud race, it is not within the nature of the Sidhe to ask others for help. However, in this case, after 400 years, they are beginning to get desperate and have beseeched the party to aid them in solving their problem.
The party, continuing through this Plane, traveling from domain to domain, finds Y’lora’s parents, discovering that they are her foster parents; her biological parents left Y’lora for dead at birth. Her foster parents have been calling to Y’lora from this existence through her dreams. They were apprehended by the Sidhe several years prior, thinking that they were the biological parents of a Severed Soul, and hoping to study them for a cure to their malady given that the Sidhe believed there was a link between a cure and Severed Souls. Finding out that her foster mother is barren (and thus, not the biological mother of a Severed Soul), the Sidhe left Y’lora’s foster parents on their Plane, determining that finding a cure and returning to their beloved homeland could be hindered if the other races of Arnur Soghal were to discover too soon the true reason that the Sidhe had disappeared from the land.
Y’lora’s foster parents had not been held as slaves by the merchant from Cloie. Rather, he was a philanthropist and had bought Y’lora’s foster parents from a slave trader in order to free them. Being miles from their (now destroyed) home in the Eastern reaches of the Tiarnach Forest, the merchant provided employment for Y’lora’s foster parents. When the Sidhe apprehended them, the merchant of Cloie assumed them dead after they had not returned for several years. Y’lora’s foster parents, being older than their appearance would indicate, began to die due to old age. Their souls, however, lingered on the Plane of the Sidhe, tormented until they could see their long lost daughter one last time whom they had not seen since her childhood. Now they could pass on to the afterlife.
After Y’lora’s foster parents fade away, everyone in the party begins to experience vertigo, with their surroundings beginning to blur. After a few moments, everything goes dark. The party members open their eyes and find themselves in their beds in the inn in Cloie, and it is morning.
Except for Alexis. She opens her eyes to darkness.
The party members go down to the common room to check on each other. Siglan awakens to find himself blind once again. When he gets out of bed and prepares to go to the common room, he picks up his staff and his eyesight returns.
In the common room, the party members (minus Alexis) talk of their dream; all of whom experienced the same thing. Outside the inn, Thain is engaged in a heated conversation with a noble and his two aides. The noble is Alexis’ brother, Vincent Gastoni. Vincent is demanding to know the location of Alexis. Thain explains that he has no idea as to her whereabouts. Vincent demands that until she is found, Thain is to remain in Vincent’s custody. The party comes to Thain’s aid, words are exchanged, and a fight breaks out between Vincent and his two aides, and the party.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
The Sidhe
[Below is an account of the 02-Nov gaming session.]
Beyond the door leading out from the large prison room is a hallway that leads into darkness, stretching as far as torchlight will reveal. Traveling down the hallway, the mages notice a step change in the mana level; it is now higher. Ahead in the distance, the party can see the hallway ending, opening into a room that appears to be a laboratory of sorts. Inside the room, there are three individuals who appear almost human, almost elven, but not the same as a half-elf. They are wearing smocks and appear to be carrying out some sort of alchemical experiment. The party attempts to engage in conversation with them. The three alchemists, instead, attack the party, trying to apprehend Y’lora. The fight ends with two of the three alchemists dead and the third captive.
Questioning their captive, the party finds out that:
1) the people here are in fact Sidhe,
2) the reason the Sidhe left Arnur Soghal several centuries earlier is due to the fact that they began to suffer a malady that caused them to age,
3) Arimas is in fact part-Sidhe.
When the party asked why they were so intent on capturing Y’lora, the person said that he did not know, and that he was only following orders. Demanding to see whoever was “in charge”, the party paraded their captive in front of them, having him lead them to his superior.
En route to see the Sidhe’s leader, the party passed through several more rooms, each of which having something to do with performing alchemical experiments. In one room was a bed with a Sidhe lying upon it who had several lesions about his body. Two other people were attending to him, applying various pastes and elixirs to his body.
Beyond the door leading out from the large prison room is a hallway that leads into darkness, stretching as far as torchlight will reveal. Traveling down the hallway, the mages notice a step change in the mana level; it is now higher. Ahead in the distance, the party can see the hallway ending, opening into a room that appears to be a laboratory of sorts. Inside the room, there are three individuals who appear almost human, almost elven, but not the same as a half-elf. They are wearing smocks and appear to be carrying out some sort of alchemical experiment. The party attempts to engage in conversation with them. The three alchemists, instead, attack the party, trying to apprehend Y’lora. The fight ends with two of the three alchemists dead and the third captive.
Questioning their captive, the party finds out that:
1) the people here are in fact Sidhe,
2) the reason the Sidhe left Arnur Soghal several centuries earlier is due to the fact that they began to suffer a malady that caused them to age,
3) Arimas is in fact part-Sidhe.
When the party asked why they were so intent on capturing Y’lora, the person said that he did not know, and that he was only following orders. Demanding to see whoever was “in charge”, the party paraded their captive in front of them, having him lead them to his superior.
En route to see the Sidhe’s leader, the party passed through several more rooms, each of which having something to do with performing alchemical experiments. In one room was a bed with a Sidhe lying upon it who had several lesions about his body. Two other people were attending to him, applying various pastes and elixirs to his body.
Prison of Desolation
[Below is an account of the 26-Oct gaming session.]
Arimas calls out to the people speaking in what he perceives to be the Sidhe language. There is no answer. The party begins to approach the building. When they get to within a few yards of the nearest building of the town, the scenery changes. Now, instead of the village of Cloie lying in front of them, the party sees a vast landscape of rolling hills and sparse vegetation. There are few trees, some scattered boulders, and no signs of inhabitation, save one: a lone, run-down shack the size of a tool shed. Vyn notices that his super-human strength is still present, even though the magical gauntlets are not.
After a few moments, two individuals emerge from behind some boulders several yards from the party. They speak to the party in elven (appearing to be elves themselves), and insist that the party accompany them so that all their questions will be answered. The party, refusing to go anywhere before their questions are answered, resists the two elves’ persuasion. The talk escalates to a fight whereby one of the elves attempts to drag Y’lora by the arm. In the end, the party fends off the two elves, who tuck tail and retreat to the run-down shack. After several minutes, no one emerges from the small shack, so the party investigates it. Looking through the windows and eventually through the front (and only) door of the shack, the interior appears to be very non-descript with no visible exits within. Vyn, Arimas, Alexis, and Y’lora venture into the shack. When they cross the threshold, they disappear.
Siglan stays behind and prays, hoping for insight and direction. Instead, after half an hour, four robed individuals appear from over the nearby hills. They are dressed in the raiment of the Holy Order of Lady Ygnasia. They beseech Siglan to come along with them and all questions will be answered. Siglan speaks to them in six different languages, all of which they understand. He assumes these individuals are other-worldly (I mean, who would actually know six different languages fluently... right. Like that would ever happen... unless they were blind, perhaps). Figuring that they may actually be members of HOLY, and therefore trustworthy, Siglan accompanies them into the shack.
Upon crossing the threshold, Siglan finds himself back with his comrades. The inside of the shack has transformed… instead of a 15’ by 15’ run-down shack, the party now finds themselves inside a large cut-stone building with iron bar cells down either side of the enormous room. It appears to be a well-kept prison with no windows and a single door located in the middle of the opposite wall of the cavernous room. The doorway through which they entered is now gone. The HOLY members no longer appear as the robed humans they did earlier. Now, they appear to be similar to the two elves the party had encountered earlier (which are also within this large prison building). All six individuals are clad in leather armor and wielding weapons. They insist that Y’lora come along with them. The party (most of all, Y’lora) refuses to budge until it is explained to them what their intent is. A fight breaks out, with two of the elves attempting to apprehend Y’lora. In the end, the party is victorious, killing or severely wounding several of the elves. Those that are wounded or otherwise begin to flee, heading to the only door in this room. Arimas cooks one of them from the inside out.
During the fight, a bell is heard in the distance. Figuring it is an alarm, the party barricades the lone door with anything they can find (mostly consisting of cots and benches from within the empty cells). Alexis puts the ring back on, hoping that it may activate a portal out of this location. It does not. After an hour, the bell stops. After the second hour and having no one enter the room, the party decides to venture through the door.
Arimas calls out to the people speaking in what he perceives to be the Sidhe language. There is no answer. The party begins to approach the building. When they get to within a few yards of the nearest building of the town, the scenery changes. Now, instead of the village of Cloie lying in front of them, the party sees a vast landscape of rolling hills and sparse vegetation. There are few trees, some scattered boulders, and no signs of inhabitation, save one: a lone, run-down shack the size of a tool shed. Vyn notices that his super-human strength is still present, even though the magical gauntlets are not.
After a few moments, two individuals emerge from behind some boulders several yards from the party. They speak to the party in elven (appearing to be elves themselves), and insist that the party accompany them so that all their questions will be answered. The party, refusing to go anywhere before their questions are answered, resists the two elves’ persuasion. The talk escalates to a fight whereby one of the elves attempts to drag Y’lora by the arm. In the end, the party fends off the two elves, who tuck tail and retreat to the run-down shack. After several minutes, no one emerges from the small shack, so the party investigates it. Looking through the windows and eventually through the front (and only) door of the shack, the interior appears to be very non-descript with no visible exits within. Vyn, Arimas, Alexis, and Y’lora venture into the shack. When they cross the threshold, they disappear.
Siglan stays behind and prays, hoping for insight and direction. Instead, after half an hour, four robed individuals appear from over the nearby hills. They are dressed in the raiment of the Holy Order of Lady Ygnasia. They beseech Siglan to come along with them and all questions will be answered. Siglan speaks to them in six different languages, all of which they understand. He assumes these individuals are other-worldly (I mean, who would actually know six different languages fluently... right. Like that would ever happen... unless they were blind, perhaps). Figuring that they may actually be members of HOLY, and therefore trustworthy, Siglan accompanies them into the shack.
Upon crossing the threshold, Siglan finds himself back with his comrades. The inside of the shack has transformed… instead of a 15’ by 15’ run-down shack, the party now finds themselves inside a large cut-stone building with iron bar cells down either side of the enormous room. It appears to be a well-kept prison with no windows and a single door located in the middle of the opposite wall of the cavernous room. The doorway through which they entered is now gone. The HOLY members no longer appear as the robed humans they did earlier. Now, they appear to be similar to the two elves the party had encountered earlier (which are also within this large prison building). All six individuals are clad in leather armor and wielding weapons. They insist that Y’lora come along with them. The party (most of all, Y’lora) refuses to budge until it is explained to them what their intent is. A fight breaks out, with two of the elves attempting to apprehend Y’lora. In the end, the party is victorious, killing or severely wounding several of the elves. Those that are wounded or otherwise begin to flee, heading to the only door in this room. Arimas cooks one of them from the inside out.
During the fight, a bell is heard in the distance. Figuring it is an alarm, the party barricades the lone door with anything they can find (mostly consisting of cots and benches from within the empty cells). Alexis puts the ring back on, hoping that it may activate a portal out of this location. It does not. After an hour, the bell stops. After the second hour and having no one enter the room, the party decides to venture through the door.
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