Legacy of Fire SoP/SoM/PoW IV: With A Vengeance (or 2 if they're on sale)

[digiman619]

LEGACY OF FIRE, BOOK IV: THE END OF ETERNITY

It's been about two weeks since you raided the One Source warehouse and rescued Reyhan. In the intervening time, he has been busy in his research, aided by Makak and Shaharazad. When you wake, you notice a note affixed to your doors. It seems that Reyhan had a breakthrough late last night, but he wants you all to be present when he activate the scroll. While most of the party has been so informed, it seems like one of your number is missing; the Water Prince said he was going out to "visit old friends" the day before and had not yet returned. While Reyhan is irritated by his absence, he still is anxious to test his theory and wants to press on without him.

What have you been doing in the intervening time?

[pfm1995]

Not especially welcome in the more respectable areas of Katapesh - misconceptions about past business dealings and taxes owed, you understand - Alssariq spends the majority of his time in Reyhan's mansion. When he does leave, it's late at night and with heavy purses that are empty upon his return. Kelmarane, that bastion of civilization so far from the Pactmaster's clutches, will have a sudden influx of trading caravans in the near future and their arrival will be profitable indeed. If the oasis holds, mayhaps even a pesh plantation could be established - the future held so many possibilities.

[lostsole31]

"Fascinating," Khwaja Malak will muse out loud while referencing some of Reyhan's more esoteric materials in the study of the Scroll of Kakishon. At a minimum, Reyhan and Shahrazad would be there, but so might Akaash and even Rowan, given their expertise (at least relative to the Khwaja Malak's own) to planar matters. "Yes, my drawings seem to make sense now..."

When those there prod him, he answers. "Constellations. It was the ancient, wandering Varisians that devoted themselves to Desna and the night sky, and the names of those constellations were taken from Varisian traditions. It was through the observation of celestial bodies the Varisians would guide their wanderings. Anyway, we thank these nomads for the names we might know today: the Animal Mother; the Caravan; the Dancer; the Goblin; the Jackal; the Mantis; the Owl; the Rose; the Salmon; the Sea Wraith; the Snakefang; the Stair of Stars; the Stirge; the Twins; and The Wyrm. There are also the minor constellations of the Owl King, the Prophet, and the Wagon.

"Of course, the world sees the sky differently in southern Garund and the southern parts of the world, and they have their own constellatory view based on the sky they see at night.

"Astronomers have used constellations for a variety of matters. Navigation, tidal research, even charting and accurately predicting eclipses and the occurrence of what are called 'comets.' Constellations are aids for being able to visually 'break up' the night sky for use so as not to be overwhelmed by data."

Somebody will invariably ask for a point.

"Ah, yes. So, constellations are scientific nomenclatures for groupings of the heavenly bodies usually readily visible in the sky. There is a whole other way in which portions of the sky are viewed: the zodiac, more commonly referred to as the 'Cosmic Caravan.' Here, let me show you..."

Khwaja Malak unrolls a beautiful chart from Reyhan's collection.

Spoiler: The Cosmic Caravan

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"Astrologers believe that a person's birth date, and the position of heavenly bodies at the time - or rather, the position of the Cosmic Caravan at their birth - tell much about a person's general personality, proclivities, and even relationship issues. Whereas astronomers have learned great insights into the working of physical knowledge, astrologers have likewise gleaned many great metaphysical insights from the manner in which they view the heavens.

"The reason I mention what some of you may even scoff at is to dismiss it out of hand. Some of the forumlae we've used for cosmology are derived from astrological assumptions viewing the Cosmic Caravan, and I think we have to rethink our maths when dealing with non-Prime planar phenomena. You see, the Cosmic Caravan is a function of our world, and ours alone. The stars, the heavens .... as vast as it all is, it is only endemic to our world - the Prime Material Plane as we know it. I know we are using a variety of different means of trying to better understand Kakishon, but these formulae - that we don't even question because they were ancient when I was young - are fundamentally flawed in this research. For that reason, 'Cosmic' Caravan is a poor name. It should merely be the 'Celestial' Caravan.

"What we need is an understanding of the resonances, conjunctions and temporal re-occurrences that guide the Great Beyond. We've only ever learned of the Great Beyond as some static nesting doll, but we know from the simplest physics that while the illustrations of the Great Beyond are useful for a general didactic look at the worlds beyond our own, it fails to capture the fact that all creation is in constant motion. For these vast super-agencies to keep from colliding and causing a chain reaction that would destroy all of known creation and universes, we have to look at all of the worlds beyond our own as operating in sort of a truly-Cosmic Dance.

"And that dance, I believe," he says, slowing to more dramatic speech as he comes to his maddened point, "is what gives rise to what I call the Omniversal Zodiac. It is a means of looking at the groupings of the known worlds of the Great Beyond as they pull away and come closer together in their Macro-Minuet."

He pulls out a series of books with dubious titles ... Climax of Dusk ... Inspiration of the Universal Solstices ... Companions Without Sins ..... and several others of equally questionable scholarship.

"Each of these books seemed to have hit on some sliver of the things I have slowly put together. You are all smarter than myself; I merely have the long life and perseverance for what I do know."

He then unrolls a long scroll with several panels of various conceptual positions of the worlds of the Great Beyond that he appears to have made himself. "In these panels, we see the Astral worlds - the worlds of philosophy. And since we understand the nature of duality and the universal constant of action/ reaction, we know that the Inner Planes - the worlds that are the fundamental building blocks of reality ..... different from the Astral, which deals with meta-reality .... we can logically assume their positions based on the tangents held between the two ... at the point of our world, the Prime."

He points to latter panels which now attempt to include the Inner, Ethereal, and transitory planes in relation to the Astral, Energy, and quintessential planes. Just looking at the scroll seems wrong, as if somehow his manic drawings are an affront to reason. His drawings are full of optical illusions and paradoxes and hurt the eyes with too much study.

"This!" he shouts in a waking fever-dream and a sense of exultation, with the sweat of a frenzy that has built over a few minutes, "THIS is how we get to Kakishon! Study the spherical transactions!"

At that point, the Khwaja Malak, who has been leaning far too often on his ring of sustenance to cover the needs of sleep and food, is overcome by exhaustion and passion and faints. He is a bright man, and learned, but he is an investigator, and not nearly as dedicated a scientist as Rowan, Akaash, and even his assistant Shahrazad. It seems that he has pushed himself a little too far to try to keep up with the more capable scholars, much to the ruin of his mental health.

[stack]

Akaash sighs, catching Malak before he can hit the ground. The outcome was not entirely unexpected. He looks over at Goma, "Help me carry him over to the couch. Should be fine after a rest."

Akaash has spent most of his time in aiding the research project. The commerce of the city holds little interest to him. While he is less swept up in the enthusiasm for the project than his compatriot, the academic endeavor has had a delightful lack of things trying to eat or stab him, though if they enter Kakishon that may well change quickly.

[bcool999]

Rowan

Rowan also assists in the research of the scroll. He understands little of what Malak said and fears that the ravages of time may have caught up to Malak in his mind if not his body.

When Rowan awakens and sees the note, he quickly pulls out parchment and pen of his own quickly penning a letter home to his wife and daughter telling them that he should be home soon with tales and treasures to last multiple generations if he is lucky. After entrusting the letter in the care of Reyhan's servant, he leaves to join the others at the lab to see if the breakthrough is a boon or bust.

[lostsole31]

The Khwaja Malak, after his episode, will have lost a massive amount of his vigor, doing little to further investigate Kakishon - leaving that in more capable hands. Instead, he starts to throw himself into quiet study with some of the strange books in Reyhan's collection, including one that becomes something of a workbook he constantly refers to, a book entitled Chain of Nights.

Spoiler: OOC

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That is it for KM's downtime.

[SwordChucks]

Goma returns from a from a visit to his childhood home and old friends about town. He has a warm sense of nostalgia about him and is often lost in thought while at Reyhan's. Around the time he starts dreading the inevitable meeting of his family and Lark, the Khwaja has his eureka moment.

"I, uh... Didn't catch a lot of that. I never put much stock in star signs." He says as he helps Akaash move Malak. "But if he thinks 'spherical transactions' are the key, I'll bet he's right."

[digiman619]

Reyhan rolls his eyes at Malak's eccentric performance, but decides to press on. He draws an end table to the center of the room and places the Scroll upon it. Then, speaking in a booming voice, he touches each major island the map, naming each in turn. "Serpent Isles, Khosravi, Khandelwal, Ismaizade, Isles of Night, Kakishon"

Yet as he does so, it's clear something is wrong. Smoke starts to curl from the corners of the map, and the smell of sulfur starts to fill the air. For his part, Reyhan either does not notice or simply does not care, as he has his life's work validated before him. As he speaks the final name, an incredible eruption of fire erupts from the Scroll and you feel yourselves inexorably drawn in. In the split second that she had before being pulled in, Shaharazad touches Reyhan and teleports him to safety, but she doesn't have enough time to save herself, as she and the rest of the party are drawn inevitably downward.

You feel incredible heat, as if you were falling into an active volcano. The pain tears through your flesh, as the howling wind growls around you. A sense of vertigo overwhelms even the fire and noise, and the sensation of falling grows into a tempest of burning wind. And then, in the flaming clouds and firestorm around you, shapes begin to emerge. Men and women made of fire and smoke-adorned with glittering jewelry and wielding scimitars made of flame; their faces twisted masks of glory and cruelty- rise up through the firestorm that you are rapidly descending through. A few of them notice you and mock you with vulgar gestures as you fall before they surge upward out of sight. And then comes the last of them, a towering, burning warrior with great horns and a cruel, curves sword. The immense figure notices you as well, and even takes the time to mockingly bow at you with a sardonic smile, as if thanking you for the service you provided. And then, with a flash, he is gone as well, trailing behind a noxious plume of burning ash and searing cinders.

And then, as suddenly as it began, the vortex of fire is no more. For a moment, you can see nothing, hear nothing, fell nothing. But then, the sensation slowly returns. The sound of waves crashing on a shore; the feel of a warm breeze and the grit of a bed of sand; the smell of salt air and strange exotic flowers- all these and more slowly fill the world. As your vision holds, you behold an idyllic tropical bay. Behind you rises a hilly junglescape rife with birdlife and strange flowers. Across a shallow inlet, more of the island rises, its slopes covered with jungle as well. Above, the sky is cloudless and blue, while some distance down the beach stands a pier and a small stone hut-the only sign of civilization. Of the vortex itself, there is no sign.

All of you seem to be changed slightly, your apparel more appropriate to the more humid climate, or having other minor variations of appearance. Other than that, you appear to be in the same condition as you were an hour previously.

Well, most of you, anyway.

[stack]

Akaash looks around briefly. "Nice place, trip could be smoother though." Noticing the adjustment to his wardrobe, he raises an eyebrow. "Convenient."

[lostsole31]

All of you seem to be changed slightly, your apparel more appropriate to the more humid climate, or having other minor variations of appearance. Other than that, you appear to be in the same condition as you were an hour previously.

Well, most of you, anyway.

Akaash, during his scan, will note that that the Khwaja Malak must have taken the brunt of the fiery heat that roared through the scroll-portal. The left side of his face and chest that you see are badly burned. And then he stands ...

The entire left side appears almost ruined - marred, charred, and scarred. Small arcs of electricity run about his completely singed leg; his entire torso and face is smoldering, sometimes with bits of flame and smoke; his left arm from the elbow to fingers appears to be frozen and cracked; and his left fingers are severely chemically burned and sometimes his ever-regrowing, blackened fingers release small scales of skin that are actually caustic (and evaporate quickly).

The right side of his body is no less dramatic. In life as a human, he was a classic brown-skinned Garundi human who later became a golden-skinned shabti. Now, his skin is alabaster white, almost luminous even, from some unknown energies underneath the surface of his skin. His handsome face far exceeds his base charisma for the quality of its almost sculpted design. So beautiful is this side of the face, that with the wreaked energies on the left side they effectively cancel out to make a strangely fetching, otherworldly (and possibly terrifying) creature.

The two features that are unaffected by the dichotomous right and left sides are his hair and eyes. His hair is not only white, but a practically glowing white. His eyes are blue, brimming with unknown and elemental energy.

Spoiler: Malak's Visual

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He picks up his quarterstaff off of the ground, and it appears similarly blasted on one end (though still whole), and a white on the other.

[pfm1995]

Alssariq was falling into a world filled with fire. Pain lanced up his legs, his back, and his eyes cried out for moisture but the heat stripped the tears from his face. He opened his mouth to scream, and felt his throat blister. All around him through the haze he could see the wavering shapes of glorious creatures, laughing at his misfortune when they deigned to acknowledge him at all. The last of them, greater and crueler than those preceding him, managed to rouse some ember of spite in Alssariq's heart and he managed a single rude gesture before passing out.

Before the world had filled with fire, he'd been leaning against a wall half-asleep. It'd taken the Kwaja all of two sentences to lose him; all of this talk of astrology and astronomy was both beyond him and uninteresting. He'd known caravan leaders who planned their journeys by the starts, and had never known them to be any richer or luckier than anyone else - as far as he was concerned, it was all a con and, while he appreciated a good con, he wasn't inclined to contribute. So, when Reyhan began to speak and smoke began to pour out of the scroll, Alssariq was leaning against the wall cleaning his nails. He didn't make it three steps towards the door before it drew him in.

He woke up with his face buried in the sand and a throat filled with pain. The sand wasn't so unusual - Alssariq had learned to walk in the desert - but the throat was new, and very painful. And was that... waves?

Slowly, he raised his head. He could smell salt water and burnt hair and flesh, and after a few blinks he could actually see his surroundings. His first thought? "Where am I?" His second? Oh gods, what happened? The source of the burning smell was obvious and horrific. "Malak?" He asked, his voice rough and raspy. "Gods, man... healing potion!" He tried to shout, fumbling about in his pockets. "Did anyone have a healing potion on them?!"

[bcool999]

Rowan

Examining his surroundings after arriving, Rowan looks at where they fell from before addressing the others. "So umm... how to we leave now that we are in here?" He will then notice Malak's state and exclaim, "Malak are you alright? I thought it was pretty warm coming down here, but maybe my heritage protected me from the worst of it. Do you need healing?"

[lostsole31]

Seeing Alssariq still laying in the sand, calling for healing, Malak rushes forth to Alssariq while shaking his head at Rowan.

He reaches out, his white hand beginning to glow a bright golden light and he touches Alssariq's forehead. Healing energy surges forth, healing the minor abrasions of the sand (and any more serious, unseen wounds), while at the same time reinvigorating 'Riq and removing any fatigue he might feel from his great tumble.

Spoiler: OOC

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I know that he isn't wounded, but if Alssariq was, he heals (4d6+1)[17] and the fatigue condition, if it exists, is removed.

Spoiler: For those that have Knowledge (Arcana)...

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Roll it.

[SwordChucks]

Goma's body responds well before he does, automatically going around and checking on the group. "Khwaja, you don't look so good. How do you feel?" He checks his armor and weapons are present and secured.

"Have we just swapped places with prisoners? You all saw them too right? I wasn't hallucinating?"

[lostsole31]

Even Malak's voice is different. Not as mellifluous and rich, but more vibrant and resonant. "I feel..." and that is when he looks at himself, and his golden glowing hand, definitely not expecting to see that. "...different."

"This is strange. I don't feel in pain, but I see this oddity about me. Does anyone have a mirror?"

[stack]

Spoiler: arcana

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(1d20+18)[25] + (1d6)[2]

To Goma, "It seems that way. I do not care to contemplate the chaos in the city right now. The items we acquired on our last outing may help us escape, if we can employ them correctly."

He thinks for a moment. "I believe we released the efreeti warlord Jhavhul, who apparently was imprisoned here. Lovely."

[lostsole31]

Malak looks around to see if Shahrazad came with, and to make sure she is alright.

[digiman619]

Shaharazad is indeed there, her ensemble shifting slightly as well. Most notably, the facepaint she wore as a tribute to Nethys also looks cracked and burnt, but it's clear that the disfigurement applies to the paint and not the face, as her natural skin tone is visible under the wider cracks. She pats herself looking for a mirror, and not finding one, she pauses for a few seconds and creates one for him. After her has a few moments, a screech is heard from the jungle and out comes a six headed quadruped, apparently irritated that you are in its territory.

FIGHT!

Spoiler: Map

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If anyone wants to RP before the combat starts, use the new channel in the discord (off camera roleplaying) to do it.

[lostsole31]

"Hydra!" Malak calls out. "Shahrazad, stay screened by warriors. Alssariq, Goma ... sever the heads if you can. Rowan and Akaash, hit the body; it heals, dependent on how many heads it has remaining."

Malak drops his quarterstaff, clutching his chest. His left arm, which is an arm practically of ice, claws at the part of his body that is not a pyroclastic ruin but just pure blackness. Something is there, and he plunges his hand into his chest to grab something, pulling out a greatsword of the darkest matte, reflectionless black. It almost hurts the eyes (and the mind) to gaze upon it.

Malak looks at the massive sword in his hand, a weapon that for the whole of his life would have seemed entirely out of place for him, given he was never a strong man. He looks to the extreme opposites arrayed on him .... the sword composed of the madness and death found between the stars, of pure blackness; and the gloves on his hands of the cleanest, most unspoilt white.

Malak looks to the monster ahead of him ... and in most un-Malak fashion, he charges.

Spoiler

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SwA: Discovery! 4E into voidblade.
FRA: Charge across the sand to sunder one of the hydra's heads.
* Sunder attempt (incl. charge) (1d20+12)[21], damage (2d6+1)[7] slashing + (4d6)[9] cold damage.
* If hydra takes damage, it suffers a -2 on all attack rolls for 1 round ... including AOOs when it is not its turn.

Because of charging, AC is now 21.

Spoiler: Knowledge (arcana)

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Those with Knowledge (arcana) may roll to try to understand what Malak just did.

[pfm1995]

Alssariq moves forward as well, though not nearly as enthusiastically. Instead he stays out of reach of the creature's heads, studying how best to approach it.

Spoiler: Actions

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Using Barroom Brawler to pick up Improved Sunder

[SwordChucks]

Goma reluctantly drops his tower shield, draws the recently aquired adamantine greataxe, and sends a wave of air pressure at a neck of the hydra.

Spoiler: Combat

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Move action: Remove and drop tower shield.
Swift action: Use Death at 10 Paces.
Standard action: Make a sunder attempt on a hydra head with the axe.

Sunder: (1d20+13)[33], (1d12+6)[15]

[stack]

Akaash maneuers for a clear shot, sending a focused lance of air into the creature.

Spoiler

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arcana(1d20+18)[24]

move south and west as needed for a clear shot

attack w/ destructive blast (1d20+11)[27] vs touch

damage (7d6)[26] nonlethal

bullrush (1d20+21)[37]

"Heads OR body Malak, doing both is a waste of effort! I am not good at butchery, so we should focus on the body."

[bcool999]

Rowan
AC 23
HP 66/66

Rowan takes a step to the side to take in the beast. It is quite impressive with it's size and many heads, but that is all it is. impressive. Rowan grins as he begins to pull off the new trick he learned, gestures spring forth from his hands to channel the power called forth from the chant on his lips. Fire flickers into being coiling around Rowan like a pet seeking attention from his master, Rowan levels his staff towards the Hydra and the fire leaps at it showing it's primal ferocity.

Spoiler: OOC

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5ft step to the right.
Full round action: Gathered Energy Penetrating Searing Primal Blast (Add ALL the Adjectives!):
Ranged Touch: (1d20+10)[25] (Luck aura, soft cover not included)
DAMAGE: (13d8+18)[81] Fire Damage that overcomes 21 fire resistance, and treats immunity as fire resist 19 (after reductions).

[digiman619]

Between Malak's forward assault and Goma's air pressure, two of the six heads were severed. However, Rowan and Akaash's direct approach proved more effective as the beast fell to the ground, its chest rising and falling the only thing that gave away the fact that it was still living.

What now?

[lostsole31]

Malak switches the handedness of his voidblade, feeling the pyroclastic power in him grow hotter intuitively. The icy aspect of his arm and the corrosive section of his hand gives way as bursting forth from his left hand is an eruption of flame brought forth from some unknown place, reaching out as a jet of heat to then explode when it hits the hydra.

Spoiler: Malak OOC

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Planar Detonation, burn 2E - 1 for higher damage, 1 for AoE effect. Target just back enough on the huge creature so Malak is not hit by blowback.
Attack roll (1d20+8)[15], damage (9d6+4)[29] fire damagein a 15' radius.

[pfm1995]

Alssariq sheaths his blade. "Where did that thing come from? And, more to the point, where are we?"

[digiman619]

As Malak finishes off the hydra, 'Zad notices a sea turtle approach the party. It shuffles closer until it is ~15 feet from you and looks at each of you soulfully in the eyes before coughing up a small scroll case. With that it turns to go back to where it came.

What do you do?

[lostsole31]

His black sword no longer visible (no E in it), he goes over and opens the scroll tube. If anyone beggars caution he simply says, "Never look a gift sea turtle in the mouth."

[SwordChucks]

Goma slings his axe on to his back and slowly walks alongside the turtle. "Uh, thank you friend turtle. I don't suppose you know where we are or better yet, how to leave?"

[stack]

Akaash raises and eyebrow. "That was unusual, but I suppose we out not be surprised in this place. What is the scroll?"