Steve Miller

November 7th - 10th, Albanus 1

The trip down the Madreponas took a mere two days.  The first morning out of port was a little nerve-wracking.  The crew of the Skipping Stone had been up all night, smoking unorthodox pipeweed and chewing strange jungle vines.  A number were still drifting about dazed when Captain Chops gave the order to set sail.  But the captain wasn't worried about hallucinating sailors.  "They do fine," he said.  "Though if they start going on about water-lizards climbing the riggings, just ignore 'em."

In the city of Madreponas, they reunited the captured Altanians with their tribe.  Then they paid a call on the "king's house", a small stone building in the center of the city, and requested a talk with King Tal Parev.  (The Parev family of Madreponas is descended from the old royal family of Altania, and retains the title of king -- even though Madreponas is primarily a democracy.)  King Tal was a mature man, muscular for an Altanian, with a long black mustache and pony-tail.  When the band was announced to him, he wandered out to chat with them, with far less formality than even a minor Rostillan merchant would insist upon.

Tal was extremely pleased that someone actually bothered to "arrest" and deliver slavers.  Technically, slaving was illegal in all of Altania -- as "king", Tal forbade it in all his "kingdom".  But he didn't have the power to enforce this law;  and many Altanians, especially in the north, ignored it entirely.  (As a side note, no one except the Altanians of the city of Madreponas recognize Tal's kingship.  And even for them, it's more a ceremonial title.)  Tal assured the party that the slavers would receive a hearing and appropriate punishment.  Before they left, he gave them a small box of presents in gratitude:  a grass-weave basket that contained 10 pearls (worth about 100 gp) and blocks of raw myrrh and frankincense, worth perhaps 400 gp.

From there, the party wind-walked back to Viridistan, where they found Sir Marcus teaching young squire Cavallius how to curry a horse.  The old knight was quite annoyed to hear that his grandson had disobeyed his orders and remained in Surrexus.  Yes, he admitted when pressed, the boy had done a good, honorable and loyal thing in defending the Surrexus mausoleum.  But he still deserved to be tanned for disobedience.  Severus paid a quick trip to the College of Mages.  He picked up his new crown which Oshan made, then stopped by the rooms of Ambassador Anat to deliver the information he had promised her.

The next morning, once their prayer bead had refreshed itself, the party wind-walked once more and headed northwest to Damaskina, the great city of the Elves.  Or, rather, in that general area.  Gaius found it a bit challenging to locate one lake in the midst of the great Northwood.  After they circled for a bit, Titus realized that they were flying over southern Verchmai -- they were too far to the north-east.  Gaius corrected that mistake... and pretty soon Leyna exclaimed that they were cruising over the Barony of Aurelius -- too far to the south-west.  Third time was a charm, however, and Gaius successfully located their target.

Damaskina was a great wedge of land, floating in the air above a crystalline blue lake.  Flowering vines trailed down its sides;  flocks of white doves circled around it.  Four streams poured down from the floating island, cascading in feathery rills to the lake below.  Enormous trees, circled by wood platforms, housed the elvish city itself.  The Surrexi landed below, at a greating site, where three elves awaited them:  a man riding a black stallion and two women who rode unicorns, silvery, delicate war-steeds whose fur shimmered with pale light.  "Can you fly?" the male elf asked.  When they said no, one of the women sang a summons to six pegasi, who consented to take the party to the aerial land.

A brief sail brought them to the central square of Damaskina.  On the way, they noted two unusual things.  First, there were a handful of robed humans wandering about.  Second, Severus caught a brief glimpse of a brown-skinned woman -- paler than a drow, darker than an Altanian -- in one of the arboreal houses.

Once they arrived, the elves escorted them to a lily-filled pool, beside which the King and Queen of the Elves held court.  (No one, they realized later, told them what the monarchs' names were;  they simply called them by their titles.)  The humans began by relating all of the visions the Gods sent them, during the eclipse.  Eboricus' threat to the Elven Lands, the King said, was disturbing -- but not unexpected.

What did the elves know about Eboricus and his plans?  Very little, the King had to admit (and damn, doesn't it pain elves to admit they don't know something...)  Two thousand years ago, a man named Tennex threatened the Elven Lands.  Tennex is a Vestran name and this man matches Eboricus' description.  The Elves believe he was a Vestran magus who somehow survived the Fall.  Two millenia ago, he appeared out of nowhere, blessed with magic and power far beyond the capabilities of the primitive humans.  He quickly united the scattered tribes and -- for reasons the elves never fathomed -- launched an assault against the Northern Woods.  Eboricus/Tennex was aided by the Aegis Antiquorum (a group of vampires in Altania Inferior... whom, the Surrexi were disturbed to find, most humans knew nothing about).  His attack also coincided with an invasion of orcs from the western mountains.  With the aid of the northern human tribes, lead by Tarakinos (Tarquin the Tyrant, in modern Rostillan/Viridian lore), Tennex's army was destroyed.  He himself was beheaded.  Or, something with a soul, that looked like him, was killed.  Since Eboricus appeared to still be alive, the Elves were puzzled about who or what died in Tennex's place.

What happened in the Fall?  The worshippers of the Sleeping God succeeded in summoning and somehow binding their deity to this plane.  Normally demons cannot remain in this world long, the Elves explained.  While they did now know the details of the unclean rituals the Vestrans used, clearly the ritual went catastrophically wrong.  The Elves believe that the Vestrans warded their own lands and intend to sacrifice the rest of the world to empower their God.  Instead, the sky above their own realm shattered;  they, not their enemies, were destroyed.  Still, the core was a success:  the Sleeping God came to this plane and awoke.  He was slain by Queen Loviatar of Altanis (Altania -- the kingdom that Vesterix warred with), who was aided by the last of the Knights of the Rose (an old order of paladins, like the woman whom Leyna saw in her vision).  But while the demon could be killed, his soul remained on this plane against all natural law.  Unable to banish him back to the Hells, Loviatar finally severed the demon-lord's soul into seven parts, which she bound into seven items.  At first the allies intended to keep these items widely separated;  however they discovered that the power of the Sleeping God's soul warped these containers (in the Sebetu).  Worried that they would corrupt weaker beings, Queen Loviatar agreed to watch over the Sebetu for eternity;  passing into Unlife, she became the Watcher.

Where could the party learn more about the details of the ritual that summoned the Sleeping God?  Probably in the Library of the Arch-Mage Holex.  Holex was a Vestran wizard who, it was said, collected the greatest gathering of lore the world has ever seen.  The elves remembered where he made his home, and marked it on the party's maps.  Alas, it was deep inside the Fallen Lands and would be extremely difficult to reach.

Corvina's vision suggested that the positioning of the Sebetu was critically important.  They knew where several of the Sebetu were placed, fairly exactly.  Could the Elves use this information to predict where the last few would need to be?  Yes -- though not immediately.  The calculations were too complex to be obvious.  However it was also possible, they said, to predict the purpose of the ritual from the pattern.  In almost no time at all (a few months, say?) a great deal could be uncovered.

Gaius' vision seemed to annoy the Elves faintly.  The thin dryad-like creature he say, they said, was a Way-Spirit, a being from the First Forest.  The roads she spoke of were the Green Paths, which linked the seven great woods of Terra.  But those roads, the Elves assured Gaius, were only open to the Elves.  And the Vestrans, worried that the elves would prevent them from summoning the Sleeping God, had closed several of these roads by binding enormous earth elementals to guard them.  Humans could not walk these roads, without elvish aid;  the ranger had clearly misunderstood what the Gods said to him.  The elves were familiar with the woods named in his vision.  Elsenwood and Dearthwood stood beside Viridistan and Rostilla, respectively.  The Northwood was the Elvish forest.  Tarshwood lay east of the Dulsanian city of Tarsh, and had been polluted by the demon Pazzur, who resided in a temple nearby.  Deadwood mouldered at the mouth of the Valley of Ancients, home of the Liche-Kings.  And Alarwood surrounded Altaris, the old capitol of Vesterix;  it was, the party believed, where Theodosius made his home these days.

And what of the last wood, Hallowood?  South, the elves replied.  Yes but where south?  Could they point it out on a map?  Far south, was the only answer the band got.  The elves steadfastly refused to give the location of this final wood.

After the discussions, the band was given the liberty of Damaskina and encouraged to enjoy themselves.  They immediately shot off to interrogate the odd people they'd spotted on the way in.

The humans proved to be mages.  Most were shy and reclusive, but one named Mortimus was quite chatty -- in Middle Rostillan.  He explained that he'd lived with the elves for oh, about a thousand years.  Once you got to be a couple hundred or so, it paid to withdraw from human society.  Your thoughts slowed, became deeper... but this left you easily startled and confused by the petty hurry of humanity.  Life was more peaceful amongst the elves.  Severus asked Mortimus if, by any chance, he had grammarians of Infernal and Lillendi that he'd be willing to borrow.  The old wizard seemed surprised that they'd need such basic texts -- but cheerfully agreed to let them borrow his old texts.  If the elves admitted them to Damaskina, they must be alright!

The second creature -- the strange half-drow -- proved a bit more reclusive.  While Leyna and Titus examined some pegasi, the rest of the family trotted up to the house where Severus saw the woman.  There was no answer when they knocked... just a odd snuffling at the base of the door.  "May we come in?" Severus asked.  "Go at outside!" someone replied in broken elvish.  "Alright," the Count said... and he immediately opened the door and stepped in.

The creature turned out to be fully human -- but the oddest human they'd ever seen.  Her skin was a dark chocolatey brown, her hair an almost fleece-like mane of black curls.  And as soon as they stepped into her room her form melted.  A moment later a panther stood before them, lashing her tail furiously.  The band cycled through all the languages they knew, but the cat didn't appear to comprehend any.  Not even Altanian.  After sniffing each of them closely, she shifted back into human form and pointed at Severus and Corvina.  "You stink!  Out!"

At that point, Gaius remembered some odd tales about female paladins from the far south who could shapeshift into jungle cats.  The band gathered up Leyna and Titus, and told them to try to speak to the cat-woman in lillendi.  Success!  She was indeed fluent in the divine tongue.  Leyna's scent put her at ease, as well.  However when she sniffed Titus she began to make an odd whuffling-chuff noise;  when she reverted to human form, they realized she was laughing hysterically.  "I have never seen a... husband of Jaguar," she explained to the baffled Titus.  "I did not even realize Jaguar took men!  But his scent is strong upon you."  

Through their paladin translators, the band learned that the woman's name was Tiotikane, and she was from the lands of Lenape (pronounced:  leh-NAH-pay), a country to the distant south.  While her people worshipped twelves gods, only one -- Jaguar -- created paladins.  The women he chose were called tekare (teh-KAH-ray);  they were Jaguar's wives.  The Lenapans had no male paladins.  In fact, because of the "marital" connotations of their bond with Jaguar, the very idea of a "tepare" (literally, a 'male "wife" of Jaguar') brought no end of amusement to the cat-woman.  Though not to Titus.  Tiotikane explained that her people were forbidden from having contact with outsiders.  The outside world was evil, she said;  Lenape kept separate.  In return, Leyna told the strange paladin about the tribulations of the Order of St. Cavallius, and how they refused to accept that women could be paladins.

Unfortunately, time was fleeting.  Bidding the elves, tekare, and mages goodbye, the party used the last remaining hours of wind-walk to skirt along Bendigroth's northern coast to Harrans, arriving as dusk fell.  Count Harrans told them what news he had of Rostilla.  The king, he believed, was trying to move troops east -- perhaps to Molossus, perhaps (the party thought) to aid an attack on Benobles.  However the capitol was still too unsettled for it to leave, and thus the one mobile unit of the army was effectively pinned in place.  Count Galens had not arranged Counselor Innocens Harrans' release;  in fact, King Albanus announced his intention to marry Galens' daughter, come Mother Night.

While the rest of the family took dinner, Severus pulled Leyna aside and asked her to come with him to speak to Sir Lucellus.  They found the knight nearly berserk with boredom.  Could Ancilla, Severus asked, speak to Severillia and ask her to consent to be teleported?  It would not be abandoning Theodosius;  in fact, it might be the only way she could save his soul.  Puzzled, Lucellus passed the request on.  When Severillia agreed Leyna asked Lucellus if Ancilla could bless what she was about to do.  "Here," said the knight, stepping behind her.  "She can stretch her wings over you this way."  Taking a deep breath, Leyna attuned one of the charms on her bracelet of friends to Severillia, then tried to summon the lost Council Blade.

The dark outline of a greatsword appeared in the air before her, limned with inky black.  A thick iron chain, crusted with gore, wrapped about the hilt, binding Severillia to her scabbard.  Leyna grabbed the sword's shadowy form with her left hand and struck her sword sharply across the chain, snapping it.  Yet even once it was broken, the Council Blade seemed frozen in mid-air.  Worse, Leyna suddenly felt a freezing, skeletal hand close about hers -- as if some creature, on the other side of this rift, sought to yank Severillia back.

"Pull!" Leyna yelled.  "Pull NOW!"  Severus threw himself at her, to no great effect.  Lucellus, however, grabbed the young paladin bodily and yanked, hard enough to bruise several of Leyna's ribs.  The sword slipped through the grasp of the ice-cold hand, and both paladins toppled over into a heap on the floor.  With Leyna holding a filthy, scum-encrusted -- but whole! -- Severillia.

Much cheering and rejoicing ensued.  Though Titus did chastise his younger brother.  Severus should have told everyone what he was doing and let them help.  He was getting careless -- running around by himself in Viridistan, doing things like this without consulting people.  "Yes, but I didn't know whether or not it was going to work," Severus replied.  Why that precluded family assistance, no one was sure.

With Leyna's last bead from her bracelet of friends, the band tried to summon Camilla, the Council Blade lost (they believed) in Viridistan.  Alas, nothing happened.  Camilla apparently could not hear Ancilla's voice, or would not consent for some reason.

Unfortunately, the celebrations were suddenly interrupted by the clarion of alarm bells.  Assuming the worst, the band quickly convinced Sir Lucellus to agree to one day's parole.  Then they ran back to the main castle...

...where their fears were confirmed.  The watch tower had spotted a great black dragon -- with a rider upon its back.  Out by the mountains but coming in fast.  Theodosius, it appeared, suspected where his missing Blade had gone.  As the party took up defensive positions, Leyna hurried to the Temple of Legis in the center of town to summon Abbot Micarius.  Then they too ran back to the castle and prepared for the worst.

As the black swooped down towards Harrans, Corvina loosed a fireball -- focusing on the dragon's saddle.  The mystical flames seared through the leather in the blink of an eye, sending the fallen Grand Master toppling off his seat.  Theodosius, however, managed to grab one of the dragon's scales.

And, alas, time froze to a halt as the dragon closed, Theodosius dangling at its side.