Far beyond the reach of day.... (The Lands of Night)

[D20ragon]

Far beyond the reach of day,
Far beyond the sun,
Where secrets dance and shadows play,
And light is scarce or none.
This is the place for me, my lass,
With a ship as black as coal,
And the waves we cross are blacker yet, but blacker still our souls!
Give me not the blazing skies, no clear blue day for me,
But the guttering glow of candle light, and a treacherous, inky sea!

An old sea shanty gleaned from a mariner crossing the Sea of Pitch.


The land of Night is a land that perhaps was much like our own, a land of sunshine and green meadows and wildflowers.
But some time ago, none can say how, night fell, and has never lifted.
Here, the sun is but a dull red memory, and the moon a round, silver coin.
Here, goblins stalk the streets and forests with their markets.
Here, candle-jacks sail the Sea of Pitch, searching for forgotten sunlight.
Here, Fools work magic without meaning to, while Pipers enchant all who listen.
Here, Hell is just downstairs, and the Devils aren't the best of neighbors.
Here, your shadow just might decide to leave you.


Who's afraid of the dark?
Because it's the Witching Hour, and it's time to explore the Lands of Night.

[kreenlover]

"Barbelab sits, and Barbelab sings
Barbelab dos so many things
Won't you stop by for a chat?
I'll read your fortune, just like that.

Stars above and seas below
Round and round my cards do go
Down is up and spades is right
Hearts ran off 'cause of a fright
Diamonds are sitting all but one front-to-back
And clubs are waiting for someone to smack
The dice are ready, the knuckles primed
The cups can be thrown for only a dime

So what say you now oh wanderers?
Seek ye a fortune, a tale of wonders?
Seek ye a truth, curtains torn asunder?
Seek ye a glimpse of what is beyond?

Then I seek a glimpse of coin that bonds"

The small goblin-who-looks-like-a-cat sits on a small stool off to the side of one of the streets. He is a few good steps away from the edge of the goblin market, and all inside eye him angrily and suspiciously. He's used to it though.
"So, any takers huh? Any deal-makers? Any would be heart-breakers? Any takers?"

So, Barbelab kinda looks like an amalgamation of these three images.
1 (http://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/characters/8/224103.jpg)
2 (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/005/5/d/cat_person_sketches_by_dejichan.jpg)
3 (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs41/i/2009/033/b/4/The_Scissor_Cat_by_hibbary.jpg)

Barbelab is an accomplished liar, and an accomplished storyteller.
What hes not so good at though is actually stealing things, or sneaking, although he thinks he is good at them.
And when compared to a Daylighter, he is by far. In the Lands of Night, ehh, its a toss up.

He can sometimes tell what a man is thinking before he thinks it, or know a secret that is deepest hidden (can sometimes read minds), and can sometimes predict where a new star will appear, and what it means (so is a sometimes fortune teller)
He knows to avoid fighting, swimming, being friendly with other goblins, and making an honest living.
But, he avoids none of those so much as he avoids telling the truth. That is one thing he is absolute rubbish at.

[DoctorGlock]

So much for so little, and yet it was a solid lead. More than he had ever held before... a physical trace of what he suspected. A relic of a time before the world was changed. More! More! He needed to go back, but not alone... he would not survive those depths alone again...


***

The chittering was all around him, he could see a multitude of eyes glittering in the torch's fading light. He could sense their palpable hunger.

Not now! So close!

He hung from a rope, braced against the wall of the chasm. Along the rope at regular intervals hung vials blazing with light, distilled and unbound phlogiston. Without them his assailants would surely have cut the rope and sent him tumbling into the depths below. Few men dared brave the Labyrinth, but Cailan was driven.

And so close!

He could go no farther. He was out of vials and they were spaced dangerously far as it was. But before him he could see the dizzying whorls of hieroglyphs etched into the cliff face. It was no language he had ever seen, and he had studied all of them. But as perplexing and alien as the hieroglyphs were, the pictograms were even more bizarre.

In full color they showed a world under a vast light in the sky, an orb of burning fury. He pushed off from the wall and swung along the fresco. Above him the vials jingled ominously and the whispering around him rose to a crescendo.

The fresco showed splintering lines and tendrils of blackness shooting through the sky. Terrified people pointed to the sky and shivered in terror as black rain fell. More jingling as he swung along again.

There!

The orb of fire in the sky again, only this time surrounded, not alone. A writhing beast reached out with tendrils of shadow to cram the orb into its massive fanged maw. Another darkfall myth. But that there was a myth meant that it was not always this way... there was a point of reference to light.

Something glittered in the dark. Not eyes! Thought Cailan. It looked like metal. He swung closer. The light of his torch fell upon a bronze and silver disk set in the stone. Just at the limits of his reach. He reached out to brush away the dust of ages and the disk moved under his hand. Away.

Not set then. Something I can take back.

He gave another push, swinging back and forth as he gathered momentum and managed to push the rope just far enough.

Gotcha! He thought as his fingers closed triumphantly on the palm sized disk. He pocketed it as he swung the distance back to the wall's start and braced himself to absorb the impact.

Jingle. Crack.

Terror flashed across Cailan's face as some of the nearer vials broke loose, falling into the depths below. Darkness reigned.

The whispering chorus became of screaming of slavering and slithering clicks at it rushed in.

No!

Frantically, Cailan grabbed at the spear on his back.

One chance.

He struck it against the wall. White phosphorus worked into the spear ignited, running along to the magnesium tip. The magnesium caught and in a brief moment the spike blazed like the heart of the sun this world did not know.

The howls of hunger became howls of pain as the chasm was thrown into stark illumination. Around him Cailan could see the thrashing of chitinous joints and suppurating maws set in slimy black facets. White knuckled and in terror he thrust the spear point at the hungry darkspawn.

Magnesium burns at 4,500 degrees and emits enough to light to permanently damage unprotected human eyes in short order (thankfully he had devised a salve for that). Creatures birthed in the deepest shadows stood no chance as they fell burning into the deep.

But the noise and light would attract other things. Older things. Hungrier things. And they would not be so easily dispelled.

Cailan ran.


***

No, he would not return alone. He could not. And he needed to know more first. Perhaps a storyteller or a sage would know what now weighed down his pocket. He would find one, lest he be forced to consult a devil, and they charged a terrible price.

Through Antiquity, Cailan strode with purpose.

[Soliloquy]

A young man with medium length black hair in a ponytail sits down across from the goblin.
I hear you're a bit of a shark.
Looking for someone to bite at your bark,
Someone hoping to win with a stab in the dark.
Well if you'll be my conman, then I'll be your mark.
He slaps a coin on the table. Even if he loses, there will be plenty of chances to practice his rhymes.

[kreenlover]

"A shark? I'm offended
I've never pretended
To be a shark.
Although, for a lark
As a shot in the dark
It may be fun.
We'll go for one"
Barbelab leans back and stares at the young man. "Time to do my stuff"
As nimble fingers pocket the coin pointed teeth glint. He pulls a crystal ball onto the table and waves his hands over it as his eyes grow very very wide and stare just past the man's shoulder.
"Young man, you've a future
Yes, it is bright and bold
Young man you've a future
Shining like this coin of gold

"You'll be a king, Wear a crown,
Meet your queen, And never frown
Find the Staff of Raven's dreams
Free the Disk of Thousand Screams

"A bright future for one so young
A bright future not yet begun
It starts today, today my friend
And I think, a hand I can lend

"For a lad like you needs a direction
Somewhere that they should go
I'll let you know whats what my friend
Your direction I will show"
The goblin smiles and looks back down at the man across from him.
"What a fortune eh? So, let me see, a direction for-"

"I can see it all there now
Glimmering in the dusk
You'll be a bright light
Descending through dust

"The Company assembles
And join them you must
Together you shall travel
Unearth the Day of Rust

"The Truth lies slumbering now
It shall soon be revealed
Listen to the man in blue
The world's wounds all healed"
"-you to go in. Let me see, where has my atlas gotten to"
Barbaelab looks up at the man.
"What?"

So this is Barbelab telling the future. Seeing 'new stars appear' is only half of it, sometimes he also just has these moments where he just, you know, spouts things. He doesn't remember them. He really won't if questioned about it.
And, you know, like, half the time its all crap, but sometimes it turns out to be true.


Barbelab is an accomplished liar, and an accomplished storyteller.
What hes not so good at though is actually stealing things, or sneaking, although he thinks he is good at them.
And when compared to a Daylighter, he is by far. In the Lands of Night, ehh, its a toss up.

He can sometimes tell what a man is thinking before he thinks it, or know a secret that is deepest hidden (can sometimes read minds), and can sometimes predict where a new star will appear, and what it means (so is a sometimes fortune teller)
He knows to avoid fighting, swimming, being friendly with other goblins, and making an honest living.
But, he avoids none of those so much as he avoids telling the truth. That is one thing he is absolute rubbish at.

[Soliloquy]

Ardibh closes his eyes and concentrates hard. He commits the poem to memory.
If you are a great liar,
You're a terrible con.
So I'll assume you speak sooth,
And we'll carry on.

I hope you'll stand by my side,
And you'll fight the good fight,
And trek through darkness and rust,
To a new candle light.

He stands up, and offers his hand.

[kreenlover]

"Wait, what? I'm confused
My words were all truth, I made not one ruse
I'm a terrible liar, a fabulous con
Wait, somewhere this confession went wrong"
The goblin looks up at Ardibh and shakes his head.
"Who the heck are you, and what do you mean?
Fight the good fight? We're in Lands of Night!
There is no light ever to be seen
And I don't need to join in another old plight.
"Crap, messed that up, when will this end?
I should have gone running when you came 'round the bend"
Barbelab shakes his head and extends his hand.
"I'm Barbelab. Did I make another prediction?"
His ears droop slightly as he stuffs everything on his table, and then his table itself into a small top hat which he flips around and places on his head.
"What? Hammerspace is common here, at least among us goblins. Lets get going, I know somewhere that we can get food"

[Volcan]

"Ah!" Orcen jumps out from behind an antique throne and watches her whimper in fear, "What terrible monster are you?" the girl asks, "I am no monster, i am a son of adam, like you are a daughter of eave." "You absolutely are not human, you ruthless, wicked monster get away from me this instant!" Orcen comes closer, whispering in her ear, "Ma'am what family do you belong to?" "Whats it to you?" she snarls, but before she knows it Orcen walks away, several new coins jingling in his pocket, he begins to skip toward the market, where he will find a treasure to buy, then eat for he is famished.

[DoctorGlock]

A storyteller? Or a con? Cailan mused as he watched the man and the goblin converse. Immaterial, storytellers always knew one thing or another, and if not they might know someone who did. A coin for a coin then. Cailan strode towards the pair, jingling and clanking softly under the weight of his satchels and vials.

"Barbelab, I heard you say. Fortunes and predictions, knuckles dice and bones, the tools of an uncertain future. But what about the past? How far does your vision spread? A coin for a coin then," the human said, flipping a faded silver piece in his palm. "This for you if you tell me about this for me," he said as he reached into one of his many pockets and picked out a disk of bronze and copper, inlaid with silver and depicting a great shadowy beast devouring the sun. The Labyrinth coin.

[kreenlover]

"Ah, this, this, this coin from the past!
This trinket of the ages lost!
Yes, yes, we must act fast!
Before the world pays the final cost!"
Barbelab nods as he looks up.
"This coin, is old, thats plain to see
But its not that which interests me
Nay, its the sigil, the design, the star
The world etched on as a scar

"This is a World Coin, a gate to what was
Be careful though, for it has jaws
If the past snares you, you'll ne'er escape
You'll be tied down to a terrible fate

"This coin shows the future, yes that as well
The Star in their heavens, the beasts in their hell
You see, the star above, it may yet return
And when it does the hellgates will burn

"If they should burn, with demons we'll flood
And with the demons, well, there will be blood
Not just here, but the Dayside, that too
We'll all be drowned, him, me, and you.

"But there is a way to save it yet
Tale this coin back from whence it get
Place it right back, swiftly you hear?
And only then will there be nothing to fear"
Barbelab nods once more.
"That is the tale of the World Coin, ti's true. Now, I'll need that coin for lunch, or else I'll be blue"
He grins a horrid grin up at Cailan, all pointy teeth and bad breath.

[DoctorGlock]

Cailan raised an eyebrow.

"A most impressive tale, and seemingly fanciful. I wanted knowledge though, not gibberish. You wanted a meal, and I hold the cash. So one more chance to either tell me something worth knowing or point me to someone who can. Or you'll go to bed rather blue."

[kreenlover]

"Come my friend, a rhyme a smile! Tarry here with us a while. More words will themselves in time reveal, especially if they're enticed with a meal"
He smiles again and blinks innocently.

[DoctorGlock]

Cailan stares at the goblin in front of him, then a smile breaks over his face. "Ok then, I'll tarry if you are willing to tell a tale worth hearing. I'll tarry and buy a meal..." he trails off as he racks his brain, trying to come up with a rhyme for the ghastly little critter. "but a story with more truth and less zeal... of the only food ill buy is rotten eel."

It wasn;t much of a rhyme, but goblins were weird enough.

[kreenlover]

"Rotten eel! My favourite treat! Its an aromatic, sweeter meat. And so, lets go, we three we three, and we'll enjoy this fine company!"
He tries to link arms with the two taller fellows, fails, and instead skips merrily off down the street away from the goblin market until he finds a small restaurant run by a Candle Jill.
"Oh Maria, dearest friend, your loneliness is at an end! You see I've brought a handsome fellow, very tall, and skin of tallow. You'll fall in love, yes that I see, and you two will make meals for me!"
He scampers over to his usual table, hops into the seat and spins to face the annoyed looking restaurant owner coming out from the kitchens.
"Maria, love, you know I but jest! You must please, give the strangling a rest. I'm here with coin this time too! Gold and silver, all for you! You feed my friends and I, and we'll pay you so we won't die"

[D20ragon]

A candle-Jill, flame guttering with irritation thrusts a mug of some blue liquid to a nearby sailer, his face covered in tentacles.
"Barbelab. I told you to stay the hell away from here!"
A Devil looks up, his gold owl mask pitted and dirty.
"No offense meant," the woman continues, advancing toward you.
The smoke hovers in a cloud about the low ceiling, making you sputter. She grins, waxy lips glowing.
"Half my customers left because of that false-light you were pushing!"

[kreenlover]

"Hey, hey, its not my fault that they misunderstood what I was saying!
I guaranteed a quality product and genuine craftsmanship at a bargain pricing.
I believe what I said was 'they'll light up your life'
They were supposed to use it to end their strife!
Give it to a foe, send them off to a cavern,
Then come back here, drink in some tavern
Be sure that their foe had wandered off without light
Much to some creeping monster's delight!
Its again, not my fault they didn't know what they were doing
And besides, with the judges all murdered, they can't come a-suing"
Barbelab grinned nervously as he looked to the two humans he had brought along.
"You'll actually pay right? If not, we may be in for a fright (or, she is angry, so probably a fight)"

[D20ragon]

She cuts you off, spitting a glob of wax onto the floorboards.
"I know, I know, "you can't expect a goblin not to cheat anymore then you can expect a weaver to stay away from faeries, what's done is done" but I swear I had enough of your lies!"
She turns abruptly, eyeing those beside Barlebab.
"And what's your connection to this lying bilge rat?"

[Soliloquy]

"I'm just a gambler, your average game player,
Graced by the presence of this goblin soothsayer.
And though we may seem an off-kilter crew,
At the end of the day, we'll do what we do.
A conman whose lies are true every time,
An alchemist warrior, who can't speak in rhyme,
A Candle Jack,
With hair of black,
We'll block the shadows,
And then attack.
But first we'll round off our happy gang
Or else we won't even
Go out with a bang."

[Volcan]

Orcen sits... Contemplating what to do... Where to go in order to find his father... An idea comes to him... I will look in the labyrinth of closets, for he must be there, wondering the endless corridors, looking for his son, me, who he sold to some goblins for a girl, a girl! I will kill that bastard and find my mother! he got up and departed on this long journey to the labyrinth.

[DoctorGlock]

Cailan shrugs.

"I made the mistake of offering a coin for a tale. I should have been more specific in that I wanted one that was true. Neither here no there no more, and a warm meal cooked by another would be a welcome change of pace after too long on the road and in the darkest of places. Worry not about our little liar for it seems my coin buys food tonight, and at a far lesser price than I might pay for my answers before my task is done."

[Volcan]

Walking, walking many miles, orcens feet traverse. looking for entrances, hmmm... perhaps the Scribe will know of one. and off to Scripts went the clunking of Orcens boots.

[kreenlover]

Barbelab looks from the candlejill to the candlejack to the human.
He's not quite sure if the next words will help their case or not...
"They're my customers, yes they are, found me near the Grand Bazaar. Asked me questions, ues they did, to help unveil the truth that's hid.
"Now we'll away on trip most brave, to steal golden treasure from darkened caves, bring all the loot back to this here place, and buy enough food to stuff our face
"s"
He squirms, uncomfortable with the imperfect end rhyme.

[D20ragon]

Cailan shrugs.

"I made the mistake of offering a coin for a tale. I should have been more specific in that I wanted one that was true. Neither here no there no more, and a warm meal cooked by another would be a welcome change of pace after too long on the road and in the darkest of places. Worry not about our little liar for it seems my coin buys food tonight, and at a far lesser price than I might pay for my answers before my task is done."


Barbelab looks from the candlejill to the candlejack to the human.
He's not quite sure if the next words will help their case or not...
"They're my customers, yes they are, found me near the Grand Bazaar. Asked me questions, ues they did, to help unveil the truth that's hid.
"Now we'll away on trip most brave, to steal golden treasure from darkened caves, bring all the loot back to this here place, and buy enough food to stuff our face
"s"
He squirms, uncomfortable with the imperfect end rhyme.

The Jill stares impassively at you, before spitting a stream of hot wax at the goblins head.
A sailer whistles, impressed. The air in the room is so brittle it seems the glass bottles hanging on the ceiling will shatter.
At last the barkeep speaks.
"Yer coin will buy ya drink enough, if you've got plenty.
But the goblin sits in the street."

[kreenlover]

Barbelab frowns, shrugs, and moves to sit in the street. He doesn't seem particularly put off and begins to forage through the gutters for something gnaw on.
After all, one goblin's trash is another goblin's lunch.
All the while he keeps an ear out for rumours, until he hears something about a theft of words.
Ears perking up he dashes after the woman, tugging on her cloak.
"Do pardon me oh lady fair, but I heard a tale floating through the air. Of stolen words and a crime most dire, one that begs for heroes for hire"
He smiles up at her, his catlike face utterly disarming. His fingers that start to reach for her coin purse no less than three times before he reigns them in are not so disarming.

[D20ragon]

The ladies cloak train whips up, uncountable fringes seizing hold of you like tentacles.
"Who sent you, liar?"
She hisses, using the degrading term for goblin kind.
The hood of the garment contracts, hiding her face.
She continues on swiftly, pulling you along by your wrists to the top portion of an abandoned cathedral.
The leather fringes chafe your wrists, and you bang your head repeatedly on gargoyles as she forcefully yanks you into the steeple.

[DoctorGlock]

Cailan raised an eyebrow.

"Good aim," he mused as the goblin went packing. "What did he do to grief you so? All goblins lie, what makes that one so odious to you?"

[kreenlover]

"Nobody dear lady, nobody at all! I simply heard the words that from your lips did-OW! Hey hey stop! Whoa, no, no, no! Do not advance, do not pass go, please, please, slow slow slow! My-"
Barbelab's protests are cut off by a sharp crack, and then another and another as his head bounces off gargoyles.
By the time he finally is allowed to stop he is dazed and woozy.
"I...didn't...whoo. Hoo. Ouch. Umm. I heard you say words. They flew from your lips like birds. And fell into my ears. Lay to rest your fears. I had heard parts of the tale before and wanted to know more"

[D20ragon]

Cailan raised an eyebrow.

"Good aim," he mused as the goblin went packing. "What did he do to grief you so? All goblins lie, what makes that one so odious to you?"

"Eh."
The Jill herds your small group over to the granite slab that serves as a bar.
"I shoulda known better, but he showed up when I was getting the place off the ground and offered some light. I didn't have any, and that had been a concern, so I accepted. Of course, it was all false-stuff, burned out in a few hours."
She pushes her way through the drinkers.
"What'll ya have?"


"Nobody dear lady, nobody at all! I simply heard the words that from your lips did-OW! Hey hey stop! Whoa, no, no, no! Do not advance, do not pass go, please, please, slow slow slow! My-"
Barbelab's protests are cut off by a sharp crack, and then another and another as his head bounces off gargoyles.
By the time he finally is allowed to stop he is dazed and woozy.
"I...didn't...whoo. Hoo. Ouch. Umm. I heard you say words. They flew from your lips like birds. And fell into my ears. Lay to rest your fears. I had heard parts of the tale before and wanted to know more"

"Better men have told better lies and died."
The woman hisses, her cloak pinning you against the wall.
Dust and spiders fall down the back of your shirt.
"Try again. And make it convincing."

[DoctorGlock]

After weeks on the road a solid meal would be a blessing. "Something hearty. With potatoes. And beef." Cailan thought a moment . "And the name of a respected sage or scholar or collector of tales. I had been seeking the sage Zaresso when I struck out for town, but I understand that he has been gone for over a week now and none know where he is. I should also ask where once could get lodging around here. The Academy does not have a house in this city."

An idea struck him. "And perhaps I can solve your light problem. I am an alchemist of the third circle of the Academy of Lughsande. With a flask of distilled alcohol and some charcoal, I can work wonders."

[kreenlover]

"Umm...umm"
Barbelab looks about furiously, completely at a loss.
"Right. I was walking along, when your words gave me a fright. You see my lady, I'm a friend, a friend with a kind ear to lend.
"But when I hear of words a'missing, I cannot help but be annoyed.
"For words belong to everyone, yet they're also a force with which not to be toyed.
"And to hear that someone has stolen these words, it makes me very scared. For if they don't take great great care, they'll wish they hadn't dared. For words if left unchained will fly, and if they fly, then some will die.
"I am an accomplished word-handler, a word-chandler, they get up my dander. And so I hoped to offer help, don't make me yelp, I'm here to help! The words, they need to be chained now, and I'm the one with the know-how!"
Barbelab smiles at that; it was his type of lie. There were stories of words getting loose, but there had been no evidence. He also would have no idea how to handle words if they did get loose. Oh well. It would suffice, and it wasn't like she was actually going to take him straight to a room with loose words.