Of Rituals and Honor
Party:
♦ Alvana (deva avenger)
♦ Barrus (bugbear rogue)
♦ Sergo (half elf warlord)
♦ Rhakka (tiefling warlock)
♦ Oshul (longtooth shifter warden)
♦ Elessar (goliath barbarian)
♦ Fredegar (dwarf runepriest)
Alvana, Elessar and Barrus headed into Dr. Caerniv’s Laboratory, the door which the undead creatures were trying to tear down, pushing it open with ease after it had been assaulted by the enemies. Inside they find Dr. Caerniv who, wanting to keep her knowledge from reaching enemy hands, had shot an explosive bolt through her head, and surrounding her, a wall of fire cast around the desk. Dr Caerniv was one of the most important associates within GEARS, who helped create the warforged. In the room, we also spotted a false wall, and beyond it a control console which could open the other room in Laboratory A51. It was however beyond repair, and we needed to short-circuit the whole system in order to make way into the other chamber, where Rhakka was kept in stasis.
Alvana phased through the wall to get past the runes infused with fire, and deactivated the security in the room from the desk. After a bit of research and a lot of intuition, Barrus and Alvana realized that short-circuiting the system needed to be done by reversing the positive and negative charges. By doing so, the safe in Dr. Caerniv’s office opened, and inside we found an experimental warforged model, TX-DA-00, which was in prototype stage, and notes about Rhakka’s condition. It seemed that the ritual on Rhakka was a real breakthrough, a means to control a warforged without sentience, through remote circuitry. There was a great question mark about the specifics of this ritual though, and it was the main research of Dr. Caerniv.
The short-circuitry awoke Rhakka, who was in the adjacent room. Although he was otherwise naked, there was a thin layer of ghost-gear on him. He was however, it became apparent, possessed by the war-chief. In his mind she appeared, mocking him, controlling him, but ultimately fighting him for dominion over his body, while Alvana, Barrus and Elessar fought to restrain Rhakka in the real world. Alvana realized that by dealing psychic damage with The Banisher, she could perhaps aid Rhakka in his struggle to regain control over his mind, and cast blow after blow with the Githyanki Silvered Weapon, until Rhakka himself addressed us, in control of his being once more. It was apparent however that should we not perform the ritual soon, she might return to his mind, once she gathered her strength.
We left GEARS and found Sergo looking for us, who told us to quickly leave the city for the elven encampment, where the ritual could be performed safely.
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Meanwhile Fredegar and Aalana had returned to the elven encampment with Oshul, an important member of one of the Lost Tribes, specifically the Tribe of the Golden Fang. They had been on a mission to enlist the tribes’ aid, but where they expected to find a force ready to unite against The Shadow, they found only war and strife. The Lost Tribes were a group of people who had broken off from the former Salronta Empire, during the Dark Ages, before the forming of The Eight Duchies. Each of the human tribes made a pact with a Druid of the Fang, who were lycans, to gain strength and skill and defend themselves in the absence of imperial patrols. The heirs of these people, became shifters, and the Duchies drove them over the Dragonspine Mountains, in their attempt to expand across the lands of the former Empire. There is also one tribe of rogue bugbears, which came to Endallion after facing oppression in the Northern continent of Karaz-Kor, known as the The Tribe of the Bloodied Bite.
The Shadow saw an opportunity with these people, and sent “advisors” in the midst of the tribes. As a result the tribes became corrupted, one by one, all but the Tribe of the Golden Fang, and were at war. Aalana’s diplomatic plea fell on deaf ears among most tribesmen, but Oshul and his father, the tribe chief, saw wisdom in aiding the elven war-effort, and sent Oshul as a sign of good faith.
Oshul recognized Barrus as a childhood friend, and explained that he was a prince among The Bloodied Bite, but that The Shadow’s envoy, had killed his father and poisoned his brother, who now ruled the tribe.
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In the rush to perform the ritual on Rhakka quickly, Sergo diplomatically asked the king for the necessary components, and Alvana rushed to a ritualist’s tent to requisition them. A young looking elven girl, who seemed no older than 12 by human standards, could tell Alvana was struggling with Hell Fever and asked Gloaming Guards to hold her down and keep her in bed until she could be cured of the disease. Despite some serious protests, Alvana soon realized that everyone around wanted to help her, and relaxed when she saw the ritual’s components taken to Fredegar. She also warned that others suffered from Mummy Rot (namely Elessar and Barrus) and they too were given the same care she benefitted from.
All rituals performed, including Rhakka’s, which purged the iron from his bones, and lifted the runes to the surface, as tattoos, the party gathered their strength and resources thus far. Fredegar inspected the Book of Ervaril to find that inside it there was a small piece of an Iocaric Key. In order to understand it, the runepriest copied it onto a tent, but, realizing what it meant, that it was part of the means to enter the Forge, tore his drawing from the tent and asked Rhakka to burn it. Better there be a single copy of the key, and better it stay with us, than end up in the hands of The Shadow.
Soon afterwards, Alvana found herself locked in a discussion with Rhakka regarding the God he served, Asmodeus. Alvana knew that souls are a commodity in hell, a type of currency, and was startled to understand that all the creatures under Rhakka’s Warlock’s Curse ended up enforcing the evil god. She tried to point out that there are threats in the Multiverse beyond The Shadow, and that, while she understood that Rhakka’s powers came from a pact, one which he did not choose for himself, he should try to free himself of it, rather than remain a lackey, and thus just as guilty of evil proceedings as those they try to vanquish. Fredegar defended Rhakka, saying that his allegiance was clear from his actions, having always acted with our party and not against it. Alvana had however quite a narrow and harsh perspective on the matter, but before she could argue further, out of the corner of her eye she spotted a tiefling whom she recognized clearly. She even remembered his name – Zebron. He was a war-prisoner, chained by the elves, but when she exited the tent and he saw her, he pulled the entire column of prisoners closer to her, in an effort to face her and he bowed. “Milady Clarick of Winter!” he said. He wore the symbols of Bane. Alvana, somewhat startled and unsure how to respond, declared that she indeed once bore that name. Seeing Zebron reminded her of a collaboration with a Tiefling House, quite powerful and warlike, from the times when she swore faithfulness to the God of War. Alvana asked the Gloaming Guard what the fate of the prisoner was, and they explained that they were to be executed. She asked to interrogate him first, and they agreed, although they positioned ten guards with her as she did so. Zebron looked towards Alvana with admiration at first, and asked her for an honorable combat. He wanted to die at the hands of an Angel of War, and wanted to remind her of her conquests while she served Bane. When she declared that she now serves the Goddess Ioun, he was disappointed, and called her weak. He mentioned the traitor who poisoned her, and when she would not fight him he was truly spiteful. She wanted to find out the name of the traitor who gave her the lover’s confection though so she asked Zebron if he’d speak the name, if she decided to fight him. He swore by his position as a paladin, a warrior’s pledge, that on his dying breath, he will speak the name.
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| A random but clearer portrait of Alvana. |
Alvana asked the others of her party to not intervene, although both Barrus and Elessar had been all too eager to step in and “help” with the interrogation. Alvana demanded respect for her curiosity towards her past and did everything to ensure honorable combat. During the fight she felt all the forces of her past lives whispering that she should pray to Bane, that it would bring her luck. She adamantly refused to be tempted, fighting for Ioun’s grace, and trying to keep her focus and her accuracy. It was symbolically a duel between the honor of culture and the triumph of waging war, a fight doubled by her inner conflict between the two deities. Even though Zebron tried to tell her she was weak, he ultimately conceded when he realized that her belief was not to be shaken. He stopped fighting, and told Alvana that the name she sought was “Korevar”, known among their cult as Korevar the Betrayer. “He is Korevar the Redeemer, to me.” said Alvana, who then saw the tiefling drive his sword through his chest. She prayed intensely for the soul of the lost one, and felt comfort in the belief that it will end up somewhere good.
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Soon afterwards Elessar was spotted by a goliath in the Elven camp, who went to salute him. When Elessar introduced himself as former chief of the Chimera Clan, the other was shocked, and said that he too is from the Chimera Clan, now positioned to the north of the Elven encampment, and that if he is truly the Elessar of Legend, the Shaman will have to speak with him. Elessar called for his black griffon, which greatly impressed the young goliath, and together with Fredegar flew north swiftly.
The Shaman was incredibly ancient, and through withered eyes recognized the chief. He was just a child when Elessar left, but throughout the years had gathered enough wisdom to know the truth of Elessar’s words.
Fredegar was initially not allowed passage into the tribe, but was accepted at Elessar’s command, and passed the rite of fire, wherein the runepriest and the blacksmith both held hot coals in their unprotected hands for a duration of time. Having succeeded to match the blacksmith’s prowess, he was welcomed to craft with him.
The Shaman asked Elessar to undertake the rite of blood, to regain control of the tribe. He and a challenger cut wounds on their bodies with a ritual dagger and bled to show their dedication to the tribe. Elessar managed to remain standing longer than his opponent, and the rite of blood was complete. Elessar was now once again leader of the Chimera Clan, though the situation he had inherited, of the goliath tribes of Karaz-Kor was still cause for much concern still.
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At dawn the following day, everyone had gathered together again. We saw Calrethral, having returned from a secret mission, covered in lacerations and stab wounds. The High King told us that The Lost Tribes were at full-out war, and asked us to go on a diplomatic mission to enlist their aid, hopefully to find out more about the situation than Aalana and Fredegar had understood alone. Oshul was sent back with us as a guide of sorts. When entering the Howling Pass on canoes we had to maneuver ourselves, we were attacked by werepeople – wereboars, werewolves and weretigers. After a swift combat the majority of our party found themselves infected with Moon Frenzy, while Oshul had contracted Moon Tusk Fever. Luckily, help was, supposedly, just beyond the pass…
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