Session 3-15-09

 

Maia 8, 23CR: Lower Ward, Sigil

Outside the Styx Oarsman, the six adventurers take a few moments to catch their breath and use restorative magic to purge the last of the yugoloth cloudkill toxins from their lungs.  The dead nycaloth Exzireth lies at the feet of Jack and Rockbounder, slowly mouldering into a gooey pile of greasy black slime.  The githzerai scholar Rule-of-Three looks out at them through the Oarsman's smashed wall, tipping his glass nonchalantly as if to say "good show, well done, and excelsior."  Rockbounder, whose sweeping rush slammed the astral stalker assassin, Sledge, into the wall, takes out a platinum coin and flips it to Marilith.  "Sorry about the mess," he deadpans, causing the six-armed demoness to grin widely in approval of the heroes' yugoloth beat-down.

 

Once healed, Acacia insists upon tracking down the two assassins, Slither and Sledge.  After Altaer fails to learn much about the strange metal box the yugoloths were carrying with his arcane talents, the group decides that they need a sage and some scrying services.  Acacia hits the streets and gets a solid tip from some mephits selling cheap souveineers that the "distinguished Planar scholars, Kemet and Gbemisola," would be able to help them.  The over-talktative mephits mention that Kemet and Gbemisola are shapeshifters of some kind.  Conveniently, their offices are nearby in the Lower Ward. 

 

A cold iron shingle hangs over the proprietors' door, reading "Distinguished Planar Scholars Kemet and Gbemisola."  When they knock, a middle-aged gnoll with silver tipped fur in a butler's coat answers the door.  "Argent at your service, he says with an air of polite disinterest.  "The mistress Gbemisola is currently engaged in a deep research project, but I shall inform Master Kemet that you wish an immediate appointment."  Soon they are led upstairs into Kemet's lush chambers.  He is a hound archon with rusty brown fur, and he wears a comforable blue silk kimono.  After gouging the party in a negotiation over the price of his services (over 2,300 gp total), Kemet instructs Acacia on the function and proper usage of the yugoloths' rune-covered box.  It is an arcane trap, combining a burst of poisonous vapor with an ongoing acid fog effect, as well as summoning three or more uncontrolled canoloths to the area.  It is a one-use item, and its timer may be set for between 6-60 seconds (1-10 rounds).  Kemet seems pleased with the profit from his transactions with the group.

 

The hound archon scholar then performs a competent scrying through his large, oval silver mirror.  "Find this one, the astral stalker called Sledge," says Rockbounder, handing Kemet a piece of torn hide and fur from their foe.  The mists in the mirror part and the party sees an image of a massive frost giant barracks, where a hoary-bearded giant cleric tends to the wounds of Silther and Sledge.  Large, frosty grey blocks show off the frost giants' distinctive architecture, and as Kemet pans over, through a window of the barracks several members of the party see a familiar landmark: the towering, fiery adamatine fortress of the baatorian devils, suspended in midair by enormous chains.  Acacia and Ayotunde both recall seeing that fortress on their first trek through the Lady's Ward to the Library.  It stood out against the cityscape along with a frosty grey tower that they now recognize as the frost giants' fortress.  "Ahh, that can only be Icestone Hall," offers Kemet.  The party is confident they can find the place easily now, but getting inside or affecting any sort of assault is another matter entirely.

 

They depart Kemet and Gbemisola's office and return to the Sylvan Glades Inn, where Acacia and Altaer chat with the friendly jaunter Gryfalcon for a time under the leafy canopy of the common room.  Acacia learns a bit more of Gryfalcon's craft, discovering that he has visited many outer planes by various methods throughout his adventuring career.  The subject of frost giants comes up, and he shares a useful tidbit with her: the Iron Wastes of Rime Thuras, where many of Sigil's frost giants are known to originate from, are accessible through one of the portal-branches of Ygdrassil, the World Ash.  "Yes indeed," says Gryfalcon, "those who worship the Norse pantheon have long used Ygdrassil to travel the planes.  Many exotic lands are accessible from its wide branches."

 

Still determined to follow their captors' trail and exact revenge, Acacia slips away while Altaer talks Gryfalcon's ear off.  The chatty sorcerer has decided he needs to recruit some academicians to his cause, perhaps even bringing them back to the Forge on Gaia for extended studies.  However, Gryfalcon isn't sure he can help much with that endeavor.  Meanwhile, Acacia slides through the shadowy streets of Sigil as the light fades into night, arriving at the Styx Oarsman all alone.  After greasing a few of the right palms, she gathers some relevant info on Arbrozzar, the terrible frost giant wizard of Geoff's Barrier Peaks.  She confirms that Icestone Hall in the Lady's Ward is his base of operations in Sigil, and that Lolthblessed drow and demons frequently travel with the giants.  Satisfied with her investigations, Acacia fades away quietly and returns to the Glades.  Altaer and Gryfalcon are still up chatting about esoteric and arcane matters when she returns, but neither of them seem to have noticed that she ever left.  Finding the two still talking - that is, Altaer doing most of the talking while Gyrfalcon listens - she decides to amuse herself by sneaking behind Altaer and making faces and miming his motions while he talks.  She sneaks off before Altaer notices.

 

Maia 9, 23CR:

After a pleasant breakfast of sweetrolls, spun honey and fresh fruit, the companions gather together and prepare for a visit to the Tower of the Prophet.  Ayo is the last to arrive for breakfast, coming down the stairs holding hands with two fair haired elves of Aebir-Toril's Silverymoon.  The bleary-eyed priestess embraces and kisses her new lovers as they part, finally joining her adventuring companions and eating a quick bite.  The group departs the Glades and arrives at the bustling temple district of the Lady's Ward.  They are soon in sight of the Tower of the Prophet, a tall, spiralling edifice of yellow and white stone. The shape of an eye is inlaid into the tower's main double doors on the ground floor, and a golden light shines gently through its many windows.

 

Jack groans under his breath with frustration as he and the others see their self-appointed chaperone Humbart, the bearlike warden archon, approach them outside the tower.  He has two other warden archons with him, as well as a pair of well-armed hound archon paladins.  "Halt," growls Humbart menacingly.  "You have been charged with consorting with demons and trafficking with others of the lower planes.  You must come with me for questioning.  The Eye will judge."  For a moment it seems that violent conflict might be imminent, but cooler heads prevail.  "In fact, we are here to consult with the Eye!" says Ayo with annoyance.  "None of us fear its judgment.  We are only dealing with the demons in service of the greater good."

 

"Be that as it may," rumbles Humbart, "the temptations of demons are hard to resist."  He leads the group up into the tower, and they ascend to the topmost floor where the Eye of the Prophet resides.  The Eye itself is a complex clockwork mechanism covered in copper and gold plates, and Acacia is fascinated by the gearwork and intricate levers and chains that keep it perpetually in motion.  The Eye is, for the moment, closed.  Many scholars and pilgrims pray, fast and study within the tower, but a few words from Humbart clears the top floor.  One of the other archons, a grey furred bear named Grenata, quietly apologizes to the group for Humbart's zealotry.  "He truly means well, but his methods are coarse," she whispers to Kaelin, who grimaces in agreement.

 

Humbart clears his throat.  "So you have come before the Celestial Eye.  None may stand before the Eye who are tainted with the stain of evil or the blight of excessive chaos."  The judgmental archon unerringly assays each of the six adventurers, studying their auras and alignments.  He points to Kaelin, Rockbounder, Altaer and Ayotunde.  "You four have embraced the wild tides of chaos, and are not permitted to stay," he says stiffly.  His body language seems to indicate that he is stretching the truth, however.  "I think you're lying," Ayo says boldly, "and that is most unbecoming."  Humbart stiffens even more.  "It is... true... that you may stand before the Eye," he begins, "but the flames of conscience will SEAR you for your poor choices.  Turn away from chaos and you may yet be saved."

 

All six decide to stay for the opening of the Eye.  Grenata opens an access panel and pulls on a series of levers.  As she does so, the Eye's protective plates begin to open and a dazzling, blinding golden light - like a solid wall of sunlight - fills the room.  Humbart was not lying about the flames of conscience, and those of a chaotic nature are indeed seared by flames of judgment.  Altaer tries to keep his eyes open to study the divine flame and light, but he is blinded and cut off from his sorcerous powers.  Rockbounder is only slightly singed, but he too his blinded by the Eye's rays.  Ayotunde's will is strong, and she stands before the Eye's judgment without consequence.  Kaelin is brought to his knees by the burning agony, and is forced to spend inner reserves to avoid succumbing completely to its judgment.  Jack and Acacia stand tall, unaffected by the light of the Eye.  All six can hear Acacia call out as the Eye opens in fullness: "How do we bind the Spider Queen?"  A quiet scribbling sound, as of a quill on paper, is the only sound in response to her question.  As the light fades and the Eye closes, a slip of gold-leafed paper floats down and gently falls into the whisper gnome's outstretched hand.  The Prophecy of the Celestial Eye has been given, and Acacia reads:

 

'The bow of beasts dissolves the taint of the corrupted,

The bitter ice hides a giant's sword to crack Abyssal armor.

Search The Lady's wisdom and the book of flesh,

Bide your time, and flee when the goddess shakes her web.

 

A pair of keys: a blackened tongue, a golden word,

Pass through three gates: serpent, darkness, stone.

Kill the queen in her black pearl, and find

Near the throne a fourth gate - home.'

 

This riddle seems a strange answer to the question of how to bind the Spider Queen, but the Eye has spoken.  All that remains is to inform Rule-of-Three that the tasks are complete.  "Well," grumbles Humbart, "I see you have all survived the judgment of the Eye, but mark well its effects on creatures of chaos."  Three of the heroes are still blind, but Ayo's restoration spells ensure that the effect does not last.  As they depart the Tower of the Prophet, Grenata apologizes for her cohort again.  "Thank you for not resorting to violence," she says.  "I know Humbart is a pain-in-the-hindquarters to deal with." 

 

After the ordeal, everyone seems ready for a rest break. Too much time around the stuffy, lawful archons and the flames of judgment has lead to furrowed brows and cranky tempers all around.  They head out in search of a more permissive atmosphere, eventually discovering an open-air temple of polished wood dedicated to Olidammara, the Trickster god of Oerth, near the border of the Clerks' Ward and the Market Ward.  A short, olive-skinned priest named Jacen tends the place.  He is gyri, a refugee from the Grand Duchy of Geoff in the lands of Greyhawk.  "Glad to see some fellow Oerthers," he says to Acacia and Rockbounder.  "Stay as long as you like.  I've been marooned here in Sigil since 596CY.  Was a member of an adventuring wolfpack, but I took a wrong turn... well, really a series of wrong turns in the Ways, and ended up here.  Oh well," he shrugs, "just another prank of Olidammara to keep me on my toes."  The party offers a few generous donations to the temple's coffer, and Jacen directs them to some affiliated relaxation facilities nearby.  Acacia and Rockbounder stay with Jacen to trade stories of their beloved homeland.  Ayo and Altaer spend a pleasant hour in a sensual massage parlor, while Kaelin and Jack visit a nearby sensate house, imbibing some mild entheogenic libations and smoking a pleasant mix of gentle hallucinogens.  The attendants in the sensate house craft whimsical and relaxing illusions around the two, and after an hour the ordeal at the Tower is a fading memory.

 

"Enough resting," says Rockbounder after the party has gathered back together, "It has been too long since I last worshipped Kord the Mighty."  He leads the group towards the familiar sound of clashing steel and the sharp clack of wooden practice weapons within Sigil's primary temple to Kord, the Arena of the Brawler.  It is a large, sand-filled ampitheatre, surrounded on all sides by massive stone pillars.  Over a dozen strong warriors are taking weapons practice and training their martial disciplines down on the sandy floor of the arena.  The goliath considers his competition down below, finally settling his eyes on a hugely muscled ogre champion who is busy pulverizing practice dummies with his large heavy flail.  He approaches the ogre, waiting for him to complete his practice kata.  "I am called Rockbounder," he says, "and I wish to honor the Mighty One with a wrestling match.  Care to compete?"  The ogre smiles widely, showing a few missing teeth.  He seems a jovial, friendly sort.  "Sure thing, brother," he grunts, cracking his knuckles in preparation.  "They call me Broadsnout, bro... my ogrish name is pretty hard to pronounce.  Loser buys lunch for the whole lot, right?"  Rockbounder nods his agreement.  "Of course."

 

The ogre towers over the goliath, even considering Rockbounder's powerful build. He is a worthy foe, probably just a bit stronger than Rockbounder.  "Let's do it," he says, and the two wrestlers surge towards each other,  locking arms in a collar-and-elbow tie up.  Muscles strain, and a series of holds and counters ensues, and for a brief moment it seems that Broadnose has the upper hand.  He tries to slip a camel clutch submission hold on Rockbounder, but the smaller goliath turns his leverage against him and slams the ogre to the ground with a hard thump.  He bears down, pinning the larger's shoulders to the sand for the requisite count of three.  Broadnose kicks out, but a split second too late: Rockbounder has won the match. 

 

"Okay big guy, guess I'm buying," says the ogre with a chuckle.  "Your strength comes from Kord himself, bro."  He takes off to acquire lunch for the assembled friends, soon returning with a huge crate full of food - meat kabobs, skewered prawns with roast vegetables, many varieties of Odo's fried potatoes, and fruit pies for dessert.  Everyone eats their fill, but none can match Rockbounder's seemingly endless appetite. They take lunch near a large circular fountain (the water, like most in Sigil, smells questionable at best) in a commercial square near the temples and offices of the Clerk's Ward.  Students and professors file into the local patissieries and cafes for lunch as the party enjoys Broadnose's company at a long table near the fountain square.  A nearby salon run by a bevy of lovely half-elf women, called Crown of Beauty, draws the eye of Altaer, Kaelin and Acacia.

 

"So Broadnose... do you know of other goliaths here in Sigil?" asks Rockbounder through a bite of smoked thunderlizard kabob.  "It would be good to see others of my kind, and we seek allies to help us collect the heads of giants and demons."  The ogre swallows loudly and takes another kabob.  "Yeah, I know a few of those guys, man.  Tough customers.  Kinda quiet types though, real thoughtful.  But they take practice at the Arena temple regular-like.  Sure, I can introduce ya.  Four of 'em, if I remember right.  Leader seems pretty well traveled."  With the immediacy common to the action-oriented worshippers of Kord, he quickly finishes lunch and departs, promising to return with the other goliaths.  "Back in no time, dude," he chortles.  "Most appreciated," says Rockbounder through another bite of meat.

 

While they wait for Broadnose to return, the party splits its ranks for a time and explores the businesses around the fountain square.  Ayo, Jack and Rockbounder head to an upscale weaponsmith nearby - Olabode's Armaments - to sell their spoils from the battle against the yugoloths.  A tall, bald and regal seeming man with dark brown skin purchases their take for a fair price.  He is not Gaian, but has features that seem to Ayo and Jack to be similar to the Malo people of Gaia.  Afterward, they sell some jewelry for its base value at a pawnbroker.  Ayo then parts ways with the two men, attracted by an exotic herbalist's shop - The Desert Cornucopia.  Jack and Rockbounder head back to the fountain square, but when they return only Altaer is still inside the Crown of Beauty.

 

Ayo enters the Desert Cornucopia and finds the interior dry as a humidor.  Jars full of exotic dried cactus buttons, bundles of swordgrass and sagebrush and stranger plants are on display.  The owner of the shop is an Athasian gith, tall and gaunt with rough yellow skin and drawn features.  He is clothed in loose, tan desert gear common to his tribesmen. "Welcome to the Cornucopia," he rasps.  "Only the finest rare fruits of the desert, straight from Athas - world of the Dark Sun - to you.  I am Zarchai, of the Ka-ich tribe. My world is a barren, desolate place, where the very use of magic can leech the life from the soil if proper precautions are not taken.  The herbs are expensive, but dodging the night-hunting terrors of the sands is no easy feat."  Ayo and Zarchai trade tales of their home primes, and the gith seems amazed by her tales of Gaia's verdant, abundant plant life.  She plucks three seeds from her hair and gifts them to Zarchai, who pockets them with a surprised and eager hiss.  "These will grow upon our world indeed, if water enough can be conjured," he says.  "Your generosity is unusual, and welcome.  Please return if you have need of anything, friend Ayotunde of Gaia."  Eventually Ayo departs and meets back up with Jack and Rockbounder at the fountain square.

 

While the others are gone, Acacia and Kaelin enjoy a relaxing forty minutes or so getting makeovers from Hannah,  a straw-haired half-elven beauty in a brown dress with pink flowers.  Acacia dyes her hair and eyebrows snowy white, and spends some time standing before a full-length mirror adjusting her clothing.  Kaelin is lucky enough to witness Acacia's transformation as he undergoes his own at Hannah's hands.  As a paragon ninja, the whisper gnome deftly shifts her clothing and posture, affecting a complete change of identity with uncanny precision and subtlety.  She looks rather more exotic and fey now, with spiky, snowy hair and brows accentuated by swirls and patterns of dark red henna facepaint.  Acacia nods at herself, pleased with the convincing disguise.

 

Kaelin instructs Hannah to powder his skin and take it from olive to pale white.  He dies his sunny blonde hair violet, and accents his cheeks and eyelids with lavender and purple blush and shadow.  When the hair and makeup work is complete, Kaelin looks a bit more feminine while still retaining his androgyny, accentuating the fey heritage, and striking a rather unseelie and gothic profile. 

 

Hannah's sister Ilyana has long, straight black hair to offset her pale, porcelain skin and wears a scarlet and black bustiere and corset with thigh-high boots.  She spends several hours consulting with Altaer in a private, curtained room, working out the details on a flamelike metallic pattern that will semi-permanently overlay his scaly, cracked skin.  The pattern is designed akin to a rainbow of the metallic colors of dragonkind.  Ilyana is calm and professional throughout the several hours of her work, though Altaer is awkwardly embarrassed when she asks him to disrobe.  When the work is complete, Ilyana coats Altaer's scales with a semi-permanent lacquer, giving him a smooth sheen.  Altaer seems delighted with the results, tipping generously.

 

Late afternoon, Maia 9, 23CR - Lower Ward, Sigil:

Kaelin and Acacia depart the Crown of Beauty for an undercover visit to the Styx Oarsman.  They arrive without incident, and none seem to recognize their passing as they enter the Oarsman separately.  Marilith greets the two separately as strangers, even mentioning that "another gnome" has been in recently (this being Acacia herself, of course).  Kaelin sidles up to the bar and brazenly performs a sort of double-blind maneuver, impersonating an Unseelie member of his father's House and earning a free drink from Marilith (a cool, sparkling and refreshing mint liquor).  Acacia heads over to Rule-of-Three's table, where the githzerai scholar sits poring over his everpresent book.  It is a gorgeously bound tome of reflective, icy material - mirror mephit hide, Acacia thinks - and is slightly reflective.  When she gets a second look at the cover, she notices it is adorned by many small rubies inlaid in the shape of an eye.

 

Rule-of-Three seems not to recognize her, so Acacia smiles and makes eye contact.  "Rule-of-Three!  It's me, Acacia... we've done as you asked.  I've brought the words of the Eye back to you," she states, just speaking above a whisper.  Now recognition creeps into his yellow eyes.  "Oh, yes of course.  Acacia, the little one, the mouse-that-darts.  You were efficient, that is, quick, and expeditious with your work indeed."  They arrange a meeting in the back room #3, and Kaelin follows them discreetly a short while later.  When the three have taken their seats in the plush private room, Acacia turns the Prophecy over to Rule-of-Three, who studies it intently.

 

"Yes, yes, indeed... excellent, good work, and well done!  This is precisely what we needed to proceed.  I believe the reference to beasts, animals, and creatures is surely a hint, a clue, an omen that you must go to the Beastlands and recover Thaas.  It is a weapon of power, a creation of ancient and fearsome magic, a demon-killing longbow of the elves.  You must find it, recover it, and restore it to use."  He taps his long fingers on his hide-bound tome thoughtfully.  "Hmm, you could go directly to the World Ash, the great tree that connects the planes, Ygdrassil.  Further, the reference to 'bitter ice hiding a giant's sword' must be Rime Thuras, the realm of Kostchtchie.  The frost giants there are rumored to possess, to guard and to protect a Demon-Quelling Sword.  Both these realms are accessible via the World Ash, if you know where to find the correct portal.  Now listen carefully, mark me, and pay attention:

 

"To reach Ygdrassil, you must visit the Hive Ward, seek out the only tree that grows there, and walk on its lowest branch, stem, or limb while humming the chant of the All-Father, a deity crucified on a tree."  He then hums a familiar tune - a Gaian hymn to Jenoic, in Kaelin's ears, but an old song of Obad-Hai the Shalm of Oerth as recognized by Acacia:

 

'And did those feet in ancient time / Walk upon Gaian (Gyruff's) mountains green?' 

 

They each take up the tune, humming in harmony and surprised that the other is familiar with it.  Neither recognizes the image of the god crucified on a tree, however.  Rule-of-Three clears his throat quietly and ceases humming.  "Well, I see you know the tune.  Follow my instructions, and they will take you out of Sigil, to Ygdrassil and then the Beastlands, far from here.  Seek Thaas yourselves, as a group, a united faction.  Too, recover the Demon-Quelling Sword from the wastes of Rime Thuras.  I wish you good hunting, safe journey, and a quick return."  With the meeting concluded, the three participants leave one at a time and go their separate ways.  Kaelin and Acacia return safely to the Clerk's Ward, whereupon Kaelin removes his makeup and purchases a wide-brimmed purple hat to hide his violet-hued hair.  As they arrive, the two realize that their four companions have made some new friends.

 

Late afternoon, Maia 9, 23CR - Clerk's Ward, Sigil:

"Where'd they go now?" asks Jack as he, Ayo and Rockbounder return to pick up Altaer and the others the Crown of Beauty at the fountain square.  "I have no clue," says Altaer, "I've been inside getting painted all afternoon."  His skin does seem smoother and more contoured after Ilyana's minstrations, and the fiery metallic patterns on his skin glint stylishly in the afternoon light.  They have little time to consider Kaelin's and Acacia's absence, because the ogre Broadsnout has returned as promised.  With him is a weathered, heavily lithodermed goliath festooned with tribal fetishes - stones, shells, petrified wood carvings, and other rememberances - carrying a large greataxe on his back. His trophies and markings identify him as a tribal chieftain.

 

"Well met, mountain brother," rumbles Rockbounder, embracing the older goliath and finding his embrace returned.  "I am called Gorram Rockbounder Ogolakanu, of the Barrier Peaks."  The other speaks with calm, steady and deep tones.  "I am called Akala Fishstringer Kulie-Kamana, chieftain of the Kathaal tribe.  You may call me Fishstringer.  Of our lost homeworld, our prime, we cannot now speak its name without shame, for it was destroyed."  He looks pained as he speaks of this.  "But Broadnose tells me you are in search of allies... warriors with strong backs.  There are four of us, now.  Myself and three others, the last of the Kathaal."  He sighs heavily, looking careworn and yet steadfast.  "He said you were not of Sigil, but from another prime world.  We have long been searching for news of our master, the Exile, but we are unable to secure easy passage from Sigil to continue our search."

 

Ayotunde interjects herself into the conversation.  "A moment, Fishstringer.  You said your master is called the Exile?  We Gaians know of this being... if he is the same one as your master, then you must know that an aspect of our god Jenoic recently appeared to us and warned of the Exile's appearance.  We were told that he invaded our world, attempted to usurp Jenoic's spheres of divine influence, and that he posed a great threat to Gaia.  We were warned to watch for his agents, who would seek to manipulate us in his gambit against Jenoic and our pantheon" (see The Threefold Sundering Session 1-17-09).  Jack, Kaelin and Altaer nod their agreement, looking at Fishstringer with renewed suspicion.

 

The chieftain of the Kathaal is taken aback by the Gaians' accusations.  His body language is easy for Rockbounder to read; he is shocked and appalled that they would believe such things about his master.  "I assure you that my master is a protector of worlds, a weaver of miracles, a merciful preserver of lore and history, and that he offered us a chance at survival and redemption when all hope was lost.  What you say deeply troubles me, down to the roots of my bones.  The one you describe, if he is indeed my master, must be found and the reasons for his actions explained.  Perhaps some evil has befallen him in the time since he disappeared."

 

"Around when was that, exactly?" ask Ayo and Jack, with Kaelin listening intently behind.  Fishstringer replies in his rumbling baritone: "I can count the days exactly, though the longer roll of years is fading from my memory.  It was twenty-three years, five months and ten days since we last had contact with the master."  The Gaians look at each other, and Ayo supresses a gasp when Jack, Kaelin and Altaer meet her eyes.  The Exile, Fishstringer's master, vanished during the very first days of Gaia's Convergence, when a bright meteor - a falling star of purplish light - was seen plummeting to the surface of Gaia.  There is no doubt the goliath is describing the same being that Jenoic's wild hunt warned them about.

 

Rockbounder senses the unease in his Gaian friends' body language.  "Fishstringer, we seem to have much to discuss. Where are the others of the Kathaal?  We wish to hear your tale in full."  The chieftain nods, his mood considerably brighter since hearing word of his master.  "Yes, that would be well and good.  We have a dwelling near the Arena of Kord.  We will sit in circle and speak together through the night."  Rockbounder bows slightly to note his agreement.  "We shall bring dinner for all," he says, and heads off towards the Market Ward to acquire supplies and provisions necessary for feeding eleven mouths (five of which are goliath, and one ogre!).  He soon returns with an entire half moose on his back, freshly caught and dressed straight from the wilds of the Beastlands, and with it a large crate of root vegetables and onions.

 

Night falls as Fishstringer leads Broadnose and the six adventurers back to the goliaths' dwelling.  They live in a wide, broad dome of adobe-like plaster, high atop a heavily populated complex of rising, domed concentric circles.  Dozens or more of the adobe domes glow with cooking fires against the dark cityscape.  The dwelling is crude but clean, and the central pit lies situated so the cooking smoke can filter upward and out through a clever chimney.  The four Kathaal goliaths have the dwelling to themselves, but they share the complex with a vast array of humanoids ranging from skittering kobolds to hobgoblin mercenaries to common human laborers.  This complex seems a last resort of those down on their luck in Sigil, but none are so foolish as to trouble the goliaths at the top of the high rise.  "A good view from up here, but nothing like the mountains of homeworld," says Fishstringer to Rockbounder. 

 

"Allow me to introduce the others of my tribe: This is Skywatcher, our tribe's druid, a woman of the winds and weather-talker.  To my right is Silentbear, my brother's son and next in line as chieftain.  No hunter or warrior is more fierce than he. And here is Firespeaker, who is a rarity among our people... one with arcane and elemental talents."  The three other Kathaal politely greet the party and Broadnose.  The ogre is on good behavior, friendly and jovial as usual.  Altaer strikes up a conversation with Firespeaker, and finds the smallish (for a goliath... Firespeaker is 6'10 and thrice as broad as Altaer) fellow to be a kindred spirit of fire, fascinated with all its wizardly applications.  Jack finds Silentbear's quiet company a welcome change from keeping up with Altaer, and Ayo finds that Skywatcher's calm exterior hides a raptorlike talent for spotting detail.  The moose is cooked on a huge spit over hot coals, and soon a large iron pot is full of oily, bubbling broth.  Ayotunde crushes a handful of dried Gaian spices in her palms, adding the mixture to the cooking broth.

 

"What fragrance and essence," comments Skywatcher.  "It has been... long... since I sensed such vibrance and life from flora."  The smell of savory herbs fills the domed dwelling and seems to mildly intoxicate the goliaths.  Everyone eats their fill of moose meat, while the less choice bits get thrown in the soup pot and devoured alongside bannock rolls made by Firespeaker.  As the night rolls on, tales of gods and homeworlds are shared, and the story of the Kathaal tribe emerges, as told by Fishstringer.  "How long ago was your world destroyed?" asks Ayo, eager to tie these events to her own planet's history.

 

"Our master is a blessed protector and preserver, who gifted us with unnatural long life that we might repay his mercy with worthy service.  As such, I can only tell you we have served a long roll of years.  I am sure the years number in the hundreds now, and others of our tribe were lost to attrition and battle during that time.  Some centuries, I can only guess. We have not aged since we received the master's gift of long life, but we can still bleed and die.  I will tell you the story of our world, which we of the Kathaal called Mavortung... the Mountain Cradle.  For long centuries we travelled through her mountains, drank of her streams and lakes, and communed with the wild places.  The warrior races of our world were never united, and news of many wars in the lower lands reached our ears. 

 

"Yet we kept to the old ways, ever cradled by the mountains, until the master - the Exile - came before us.  He has no other name to us.  A warrior without peer, at first we feared him.  His strength is unmovable, his wisdom deep and vast, but his face appeared as an everchanging death mask, and his voice was of the grinding of a thousand bones.  He warned of the coming of the Spiral God, a being of pure hatred, corruption and destruction.  It had many names, but three of them I heard from the master were Tharizdun, Zeromus, and Khyraundros.  He offered to gather the greatest of our warriors, and those of Mavortung's other races, to preserve our ways and our history in the face of utter destruction.  Foolish and proud as we were, we rejected the master's call.  We returned to our homes, content to disbelieve in the existence of such monolithic evil.

 

"Then, the Spiral God struck.  In mere days, our world was razed of all life, crushed to powder in the fist of the Destroying Hate.  We fought against the loss of hope itself, against forces no nightmare could equal, and we were losing.  Our world was doomed, and we were forced to watch it being consumed before our eyes.  The master reappeared in his mercy, offering one final chance to preserve what little was left of our people.  He said he had watched countless other worlds suffer the same fate, but offered hope and redemption for us.  One hundred of the finest warriors from our world did he save -- eight of whom were proud brothers and sisters of the Kathaal.  Now, only four of us remain.  We were taken by the Exile and gifted with martial prowess and ageless grace, our stories and voices preserved for the wisdom of generations to come."

 

This tale moves the six companions deeply, and even Broadnose sniffs in sympathy.  "But the Spiral God -- whom Gaians knew as Khyraundros, the Devouring Hate -- invaded our world multiple times throughout her history," says Ayotunde.  Jack agrees, adding "Gaians hold that the Spiral God was defeated by the Company of the White Rose and trapped within an artifact: the Umbra Gem.  Our history says the Umbra Gem was destroyed and the last whispers of Khyraundros' essence were dissipated. Surely it is destroyed forever, and no longer a threat to any worlds."

 

Rockbounder and Acacia nod solemnly in agreement.  "Yes," says the sanctified one, "I too have heard of this god.  A very evil god, if a god at all.  On... Oerth, we know Tharizdun's power was broken and his essence trapped in an unbreakable prison.  He cannot harm us, or reach into other worlds... he is gone for good; only mad dreams of him remain in the hearts of evil."  Fishstringer listens with rapt attention to the stories of the Gaians and Oerthers.  "I see in your eyes that what you say is true. With the Spiral God defeated at last, why then would my master seek to invade a world which had previously fought off its predations?  I am most troubled by this news of the Exile's aggressions towards Gaia.  I am honor bound to seek him, as are all of the Kathaal.  If he is now upon Gaia, we must find a way there and discover him, to correct what I am sure is a serious misunderstanding, or else an affliction upon the master.  We were granted a line of credit here in Sigil, but we lack the means to purchase transport to another prime."

 

"Indeed," agrees Rockbounder.  "We have obligations of our own, but what help we can offer is yours."  Fishstringer seems delighted by this offer, and even moreso when Ayotunde informs him that she has the ability to plane shift the four goliaths to Gaia herself.  He directs the others to begin packing their belongings, which they do with practiced efficiency.  "Stay with us this night.  None will trouble our sleep," says the chieftain.  He tells the story of how he gained his own honorific: early one spring, Akala proved so adept at net fishing that he brought back a string of salmon so heavy he could barely carry it.  Bellies full and eyes heavy after a long and eventful day, the six companions sleep by the dying embers of the Kathaal fire pit.  The sounds of Sigil are drowned out by Broadnose's relentless snoring.

 

Maia 10, 23CR - Clerk's Ward Outskirts, Sigil:

By morning, the party has agreed on Ayotunde's suggested course of action.  She, Rockbounder and Acacia will plane shift to Gaia with the four Kathaal goliaths, leaving them to fend for themselves with a portfolio of letters of introduction.  Each of the Gaian landholders pens an officially sealed letter granting the Kathaal passage through their lands (as well as Klar's holdings in the Wyrmsmoke Mountains), and Ayo takes the time to personally write letters of introduction to the Luminous Order of Bahamut (Captain Arim Harreck, Sumberton), to the Taenic family of the Three Vales, the elves of Shul Sennek, and Lord Jaarmath of Brindol in the Elsir Vale.  She easily locates and purchases a forked rod attuned to Sigil for the return trip, and then bids her Gaian companions a brief farewell.  Having prepared two plane shift spells this morning, Ayo is confident they will be gone for only a short time.

 

Joining hands with Acacia, Rockbounder and the four Kathaal goliaths, Ayo begins the prayer of plane shifting, holding an image of her home in Shandae's Furrow in her mind.  The tuning fork hums as Sigil dissolves around the circle of seven beings, creating a feeling of weightlessness in them for a brief moment. 

 

Maia 10, 23CR - Forest of Valharic, Gaian continent of Talirae:

Seconds later, the world comes back into focus, but though certainly back on Gaia, they are far from the Furrow.  The seven travellers have plane shifted into the northern reaches of the elven homeland, the great western forest of Valharic.  Majestic, towering pines dominate the coastal forest, but spring has brought an explosion of tangled green to the forest floor.  Animals and birds abound, and the forest is dappled with the golden light of morning shining green through the leaves.  To the west, not far away the whisper of waves against a shoreline give away the presence of the ocean.  The Kathaal seem completely overwhelmed by their experience.  They drop reverently to the ground, whispering prayers of thanks to the very stones themselves.  Their consciousness seems to have been altered, and their ecstatic reverie continues for nearly an hour.  The sharpness and clarity which Rockbounder and Acacia experienced upon their arrival must only be more intense for the Kathaal, who have lacked a homeworld for centuries.

 

Eventually they come to, and Akala Fishstringer speaks: "I cannot count the years since I last felt the beating heart of a living planet.  I thought the memory lost to me forever.  Our master the Exile would never seek to conquer or harm such beauty as this."  Rockbounder listens and then speaks.  "I have never seen the ocean, but I hear it now.  Let us walk west."  A few miles' hike takes the travellers to the very western edge of Talirae's coast.  As the forest gives way to rocky cliffs, the great western sea stretches out beyond the horizon.  Tall waves break against the white cliffs below, and the sun shines golden and bright across the endless water.  "I promise you here and now," says Fishstringer, looking into Ayotunde's eye, "that I will find the Exile, and I will make right whatever has befallen him since his arrival here.  I can sense that he is closer, and that he is here... somewhere to the east and north.  May all my strength leave me, and my bones fall to ash and blow to the four winds, if this wrongness stand against the efforts of the Kathaal.  If the Exile stands against Jenoic and your pantheon, I promise that the Kathaal will not stand for it.  As soon as you depart, our hunt begins anew.  You have our thanks, for you have restored the possibility of reuinion with our lost master."

 

The high cliffside view of the ocean is mesmerizing, but eventually Ayo feels a tug to return to her compatriots in Sigil.  "It is time," she says, gathering Rockbounder and Acacia to her as the sun reaches its apex in the sky.  A significant choice has been made; the companions have delivered the Exile's own loyal servants onto their home plane in hopes of discovering the reasons for his actions against Jenoic and his invasion of Gaia.  They join hands and Ayo prays again, this time ready for the strange weightless feeling of plane shifting.  Though reluctant to leave the embrace of Gaia, the party has pressing business in both the Beastlands and the Iron Wastes of the Abyss. 

 

Maia 10, 23CR - Sigil, City of Doors:

The return trip to Sigil takes only moments, and Ayo, Acacia and Rockbounder find themselves in a quiet alley of the Clerk's Ward.  They walk back to the Sylvan Glades to rejoin the others, who have patiently awaited their return.  Preparations for the journey to Ygdrassil, the World Ash, are nearly complete, and the heroes are ready to answer the call of adventure.  Many questions have been raised, and much will surely be revealed as they begin the next phase of their journey across the outer planes.

 

The Threefold Sundering