Campaign1/session-7
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Charades
Session Date: December 7,1999
Assynt 22, 1022 - Continued
Looking nervous and uneasy, Charlis follows the two sentries down a long passageway, which abruptly changes from packed earth and rock to a worked stone corridor ending with a wide metal and wood fortified door. As one of the guards swings the door open, a strong blast of warm wind hits Charlis. Through the door Charlis sees a small square room with a wide doorway on the opposite wall. The wind dissipates as a thick door lowers to block the opposite doorway, and the guards motion for Charlis to enter. Warily, Charlis follows them into a side room lined with benches, and featuring a firestone in a metal brace. While Charlis provides a convincing performance by huddling near the firestone, one of the guards leaves and a different guard returns a short while later with a tray carrying a bowl of stew and a mug of very hot sweet liquid. After two days of dried meat and fruit, Charlis easily shows his pleasure at eating the meal!
Meanwhile, Rheanon opts to follow Charlis and the two Guards at a safe distance, but fails to reach the end of the passage before the door is closed again. Ever resourceful, she flies back to the surface and grabs a large stone, with the intent of using it to knock on the door. The stone is too heavy, it it slips from her hands, rolling down the sloped passageway and slamming into the closed door with a convincing thud. As the guard is looking for the source of the noise behind the door, Rheanon slips into the small room, and wedges herself above the door to watch what is going on.
Returning from the passageway, the 2nd guard returns to the small room and passes through a door on the left wall. For a brief moment as the door is opened, Rheanon can see into the room and spies Charlis eating near the firestone. A short while later, she observes 4 guards and person wearing black robes and an elaborate black stole enter from a door on the right wall, and depart for the surface. Curious what lies beyond the other door, Rheanon slips through a gap and into a long curved sloping passageway dimly lit by torches.
Outside, the remainder of the group grows restless and cold at the forests edge, and Mazériyan, Max and Telovien decide to creep to the top of the hill to see what has happened to Charlis and Rheanon. While Mazeriyan and Telovien follow Charlis' trail up the dusty slopes, Max skirts around the base of the hill to find a separate approach.
Carefully using the boulder strewn slope for cover, Mazeriyan and Telovien reach the hill's plateau and are confused to find no entrance or guards, just more boulders and dusty ground. For a moment they contemplate the situation, then Mazeriyan begins casting an elaborate magical spell, which allows him to see that a large boulder near the center of the plateau is really an illusion which is hiding the entranceway and a solitary guard. Quietly Mazeriyan describes the scene to Telovien and then both take shelter behind the rock to consider what to do next.
While discussing various options, both are surprised to see Selmoc, Melosia and Sitric climbing the slopes to join them. Telovien and Mazeriyan franticly wave them off, but quickly cease their protest when they spot two guards following behind their friends. All thoughts of overcoming the guards are quickly quelled when two additional guards seemingly materialize from two nearby boulders.
As one of the guards is extending an invitation to the group to follow them underground, everyone hears the sound of the entranceway guard yelling in some foreign tongue, perhaps summoning help. As the group comes into the open, moving towards the entranceway, they spot the other guard stalking a track of footprints leading towards the far side of the plateau. Urged onward, the group descends into the passageway.
Invisible, Max slowly backtracks away from the entranceway, staying ahead of the pursuing guard. Once he spots the rest of the group being escorted underground, he turns and sprints for the nearest boulder, climbing it then leaping to another nearby boulder. The guard quickly pursues the dust cloud formed by Max's feet, and scrambles to reach the top of the same boulder, hoping to grab the unseen intruder.
For many minutes, Max plays a game of cat and mouse with the guard, leaping from boulder to boulder to avoid detection from disturbing the dusty ground. The guard is joined by a second, they continue to search for Max, but with little success. Finally, the situation is forced when a 3rd person arrives, matching the description of the black robed figure spotted by Rheanon earlier, whom Max pegs as a magus of some sort. As the mage joins the other two guards searching the slopes of the hill, Max attempts to elude them by heading back toward the plateau.
Not quite out of sight, Max spots the mage making some sort of elaborate gestures, and guesses that the mage is casting a spell. Slipping from the top of the boulder to the ground for additional cover, he watches intently as the mage begins to scan the field. Max loses track of the guards while hidden from the mage's sight. When he spots them again, it is almost too late!
The mage fingers Max, an the two guards pursue his dust cloud as he sprints downhill, dodging and weaving as he goes. Max manages to elude the attempts of each of the guards to tackle him, and as he escapes, he can hear the mage shout "We have your friends! Its no use running!"
Carefully keeping to the shadows as various figures pass her heading up and down the passageway, Rheanon follows the gently curving passageway for several hundred yards. Walking to avoid detection, her progress is slow and time consuming. Finally, she reaches a window in the interior wall of the passage's curve, and peering through it, she is awed by the vision of a beautiful underground city situated in a vast cavern. Unlike any other city she has ever seen, its structures and roads are organized in large scale elaborate geometric patterns, its breathtaking glamour unequaled by any place in Hebridonia.
Fearing she has been gone too long, Rheanon quickly flies back up the corridor to share what she has seen with the others.
A new guard, wearing more substantial armor and adornments, enters with a 2nd tray of food for Charlis, and offers it to him in thickly accented Hebridonian "Would you like more?"
"You speak Hebridonian? Who are you? What is this place?" Charlis blurts, caught off guard that someone might be able to communicate.
"All your questions will be answered soon." Handing the tray to Charlis, the guard sits down on an adjacent bench. "First, tell me how you got here. You are a long way from Hebridonia!"
Continuing the part of the starving traveler, Charlis begins eating again, pausing long enough to say "I was with an expedition, but I became separated from them about 2 - 3 weeks ago." Taking a swallow of the hot drink, Charlis pauses long enough to consider his next words. "Since then I've been lost, trying to find my way home."
"Interesting... the 'Ring of Fire', as your people call this place, is not very hospitable. How did you survive?"
The ability to think on your feet is an important skill for an actor, one which Charlis has long mastered. "It was difficult! I managed to catch rabbits from time to time..." As if prompted by the memory of hunger, Charlis returned to devouring his meal.
"And you are alone? There is no one else with you?"
"No, as I said, I was separated from my expedition. I don't know where the others are."
"I see." Rising from the bench, the guard watches Charlis for a moment as he devours the stew. "I will bring another tray of food. You must be very hungry. Then we shall see about getting you home." As he passes through the door, the two guards exchange some words, and Charlis is left alone with a solitary sentinel.
Hiding in the woods, Max realizes that the mage was right in at least one regard: they have the rest of the group. Determined to find out what has become of the others, he stalks back up the hill, still hidden from ordinary eyes. Upon reaching the plateau, he sees that the entrance is still visible. Quietly, he enters the passage and begins his descent underground.
Now on his third tray of food, Charlis decides to change his thespian strategy, and sets the tray of food aside. Mustering all his acting skills, Charlis clutches his stomach and begins to moan. The guards exchange questioning tones in their foreign dialect, which vaguely sounds like it may be related to Kyelsoran. Just as his moans become more insistent, the door to the warming room is opened, and looking through to the other room, he spots Mazeriyan and several of the others crowding in from the passageway!
Inspired to improvisation, Charlis yells "Keep them away from me!", pointing a finger at Mazeriyan.
Following Charlis' lead, Mazeriyan returns the cry, "Aha! We've found you! You cannot escape from justice!"
Much to the confusion of the two guards, the group crowds into the warming room, seemingly cornering Charlis, who continues to plea for assistance from the guards. Even Selmoc tries to get into the act, but sadly his skills in this area are incredibly poor and unconvincing, and Charlis internally laments that he must work with such amateurs!
The Hebridonian speaking guard, trying to make sense of the disturbance, is told that Charlis is a fugitive wanted for murder and treason. Naturally, Charlis protests his innocence and insists that they have the wrong man!
The charade continues for quite some time, with each side throwing in new information to keep the guards confused. Charlis manages to get close to the guards, who have taken up position with their backs to the door. Suddenly, a bowl of stew from Charlis's 3rd tray lifts into the air and hovers for a moment, distracting the guards.
"The Ghost!" Mazeriyan yells.
In the instant of utter confusion, the bowl of stew is hurled one of the guards, while Charlis chucks a mug of hot liquid on the other guard. Shrieking from the attack, the guards manage to escape through the door and close the group into the warming room. From the other room, the strange language of the guards can be heard as they yell for assistance.
Trapped, both Charlis and Telovien attempt to force the door open, but with no success. Making a brief gesture, and muttering under his breath, Mazeriyan casts a spell, and a moment later a shriek from the other side is heard, followed by the splash of water. Rheanon returns from the sloping passageway in time to see the guard holding the door become splashed with magically conjured water.
A moment later, she is treated to the impressive sight of the same guard being engulfed in flames. Leaping away from the door, the panicked guard realizes that the fire did not come with him, and he is unharmed. As the door to the warming room is thrown open, the wide entrance in the rear of the room begins to rise, briefly issuing a gust of wind.
Hearing the sounds of the skirmish down the passageway, Max rushes to the door, and after a quick examination, he hurls it open. Through the opening he feels a stiff breeze and sees Rheanon fly across the room and slap into the doorframe near him. As a chainmail armored figure with white hair emerges from the wide doorway, Telovien attempts to prevent one of the guards from retrieving his halberd. The guards assume a defensive stance as Charlis, Mazeriyan and Telovien push into the room. Everyone is caught off guard when the white haired figure begins clapping. The wide doorway behind him closes, and the wind ceases, allowing Rheanon's high pitched voice to finally be heard, "Stop Fighting!"
Max is momentarily puzzled when the white haired figure seems to look directly at him, despite being invisible. Then, to Max's horror, he hears a short word uttered behind him, and his invisibility is dispelled! The others, their attention drawn elsewhere, do not see Max materialize in the doorway, with a dagger ready to throw!
To add to the already confusing scene, Mazeriyan emerges from the warming room engulfed in fire. A lull in the offense arrives, perhaps brought on by the white haired figures continued clapping. Charlis, as he has so many times in the past, takes a bow for his role.
"Bravo! That was quite a performance!" The clapping stops.
"Thank you!" Charlis gushes.
"Perhaps we should start again." The white haired figure stepped forward, his elvish features betraying a sense of amusement. Placing his 6 digit hand upon his chest, "I am Valesco. I welcome you to Ais Tyris, my home."
"What is this place?" Telovien asks while taking a mental map of where everyone is standing.
"This place is the guard post for Ais Tyris. You just came from the warming room." Valesco cracks a smile, as if recognizing that he has not really answered Telovien's questions. "Since you now know my name, I believe it is only proper that I know yours..."
"Renny Goodweather" Charlis bows slightly to Valesco. Each person in turn offers their name, except for Max. When it comes to Melosia's turn, Valesco is surprised to see that she shares the same racial attributes as his people. He is doubly shocked when Sitric speaks on her behalf, and explains that Melosia is mute.
Valesco turns to the doorway, where Max is now turned so that he can face both into the room and also the magus and guard who managed to approach him from behind. Clearing his throat slightly, Valesco asks Max: "And you are"
"Waiting." Max answers curtly.
"I see. You all must have many questions," Valesco gestures toward the right wall door, "but there are more comfortable places for us to discuss answers."
Though reluctant to do so, the group is finally convinced to follow Valesco down the sloping passageway that Rheanon investigated earlier. Along the way, the group stops to view the city from above, and Valesco's chest swells with pride as he points out the layout of the city. The cavern which hosts the city appears to consist of three rough overlapping domes, each successively smaller along a line which ends at a lake bordering one edge of the smallest dome. The largest dome appears to be over a mile across. All the light for the city appears to come from lamps in the city itself, and only the vague outline of the cavern roof is visible from this vantage point.
Valesco leads them further down the passageway, which eventually terminates at the base where two of the domes intersect. By now, everyone in the group has shed most of their outer layers of clothing, since the air temperature feels like a cool summer day. The buildings of the city are unique compared to other places, with design focusing on making the most use of space, without concern for shelter from the elements. Most structures seem to have large flat roofs which serve as gathering places.
The group walks several hundred yards along one of the gently curving boulevards, and enters a 3 story structure with a broad window on the 2nd floor, and several smaller windows on the 3rd floor. Following Valesco down a corridor, with doors on either side, they climb a set of oval stairs to the 2nd floor. Passing through a set of double doors, they enter a large seating area with many feather stuffed chairs.
Once seated, two servants enter with trays of hot drinks and bowls of stew, which after suspicions of poison have been allayed, everyone but Sitric begins to eat.
"The Ring of Fire is such an inhospitable place. I don't understand why your people would choose to live here." Sitric asks, probing for an explanation of wall they see.
"How appropriate that you, elf, are the one to ask." Valesco sneers, setting down his bowl. "Though I love Ais Tyris, for it is my home, nobody chose to be here."
Sensing the tension in the room rising, attention is drawn to Valesco, who continues. "A thousand years ago, your people fought against the Scaryn. You fought a war of genocide, and you did not stop until you thought every last one of us was dead."
"Us?" Max leans forward, "You mean you're..."
"... whats left of the Scaryn. Our seers knew that we could not win the war with the elves. So while our final offensive raged in the Kyelsoran, a fraction of our people escaped to the Ring of Fire, hoping that the Kyelsoran and the Eloshai would not find us."
"But why the hidden entrance and guards?" A look of doubt crosses Mazeriyan's face.
"Because if the elves ever learned that some of us survived, they would come to finish the job."
"After a thousand years!?!" Mazeriyan's look of disbelief grows, "Doesn't that seem a bit paranoid?"
"For a hundred years after the end of the war, a bounty was posted for the heads of Scaryn. It was like hunting wild game for them." Valesco's voice dripping with disgust, "The reward was finally dropped after it went unclaimed for 25 years."
Max, sharing Mazeriyan's skepticism, adds "Yes, but that was 900 years ago. What makes you think they would still do this?"
Valesco snorts. "The evidence is before you and yet you cannot see!" His long bony fingers outstretched, Valesco points to Melosia. "By your bearing and dress, I would guess you were raised in the magelands of the Eloshai. But they saw your hands, and thought of their enemies, the Dargai. Distrust, sown deep in their hearts, made them take your speech and gave you an elven keeper to insure loyalty!"
Melosia winced, as if she had been smacked. Sitric, indignant, yells "Thats not true!".
"You pretend to know a great deal about someone you just met!" Mazeriyan shakes his head dismissively.
"I do not know you, or your life." Valesco looks at Melosia, "I only know what I see before me, and my knowledge of the elves and what they are capable of."
"So you have no contact with other races?" Telovien shifts in his seat, trying to get comfortable, "The Scaryn stand alone?"
"We are not alone. We have allies. But we do not openly deal with races that are under the control of the elves."
Charlis snorts. "Hebridonia isn't controlled by elves!"
"No, you are just ruled by a half-elven whelp who was placed on the throne by his Elven mother!" Valesco shakes his head, seemingly amazed that the truth has never been realized!
"Yes, and the elves did just send a garrison of troops to Kalen..." Max adds, as if thinking to himself.
"I had not heard anything of that..." stroking his chin for a moment, then rising from his chair. "I will leave you here for now to relax and think on what I have said. You will remain here until your fate has been decided."
That last statement was like a splash of ice water on the group. Opening the double doors to leave, Valesco turns back to Melosia, "If you would like, I will introduce you to your people." Beyond the double doors, the group sees several guards armed with halberds.
Melosia stands, and (speaking through Sitric) says "I would see more of this place.". Both Melosia and Sitric move to join Valesco by the door.
"No, you must stay here." Valesco points to Sitric, his contempt for the elf only thinly veiled. Speaking to Melosia, "You will not need him."
Previously: Affairs of the Living and the Dead
Followed by: Hospitality
Campaign 1 Index
