Current Game: 12/15/1308

At the Invisible School, we are told that the school has embraced a variety of magical skills and teachings that in years past, they would not have. For example, they are taking advantage of practitioners of “wild magic,” who have learned some ways to speed up spell recovery for magic users and clerics. So, over this week, while we are planning strategy and setting some political, infrastructure, and diplomatic missions in motion, Ethan and Ivy are taught how to study for spells at the rate of 10 minutes per level.

The school is set to work for us on several projects.

History and Lore: The locations and powers of known crystals.

Spells: An improved or specific spell to create roads.

The school also answered some questions we had about the Eaters of Wisdom. The Eaters of Wisdom were the fighting unit of the Invisible School, and would travel around the countryside in their War Wagon in the old day, after the Cataclysm. They were teachers and fighters, and generally gathered as much magical knowledge as they could. However, over time, likely caused by BH, the EOW were soon branded as “witches,” and along with all things magical, were banned or ran out of most places they attempted to reach. Over time, the mission changed, and the EOW faded away. Malfor, from the previous party, resurrected the EOW after long research into their history. He fixed the War Wagon, and this time around, silently, quietly, found surviving magic and surviving magic-users who practiced underground. Malfor did more in the last 20 years to re-establish the EOW than anyone had in hundreds of years. In a bold move, Malfor took the War Wagon and his EOW into Zorn. That was a few months ago.

While we had some time, Rabbo asked some God questions to pass information on to the School about the EOW.

12/18/1308

1. Are the EOW in trouble? Not currently.

2. Is Malfor alive or dead? Not quite either.

3. Where are they? In the Nightmare Mountains, NE of the Mouth Pass.

4. Do the Faeries from Elfland still have a stronghold? No.

5. How much oil of permanency does Garson Longtree have? Enough to cover his bones.

We set our party: Rabbo, Eyar, Ivy, Ethan, Shardinzar (a magic user from the School), Topaz, the dragon (still small) and two blink dogs (progeny of Polaris) Ursa and Moonface.

The School gives each of us a variety of things:
Mundane items: Everyone is pretty much outfitted with non-magical weapons, armor, supplies, etc.

Ethan: Several scrolls (knock, 2 locate objects spells), 2 jugs of healing draughts (25 hp value each), potion of levitation, access to his full complement of first level spells.

Ivy: allowed to borrow a +5 warhammer by a cleric at the school, 2 jugs of healing draughts (25 hp value each), 3 scrolls (raise dead).

Eyar: sword (magical?), 2 jugs of healing draughts (25 hp value each), potion of Invulnerability, potion of gaseous form, scroll (protection from air elementals)

Rabbo: + 1 Whip (coated the tip in a potent sleeping poison), 2 jugs of healing draughts (25 hp value each), and arquebus and some poof oil, potion of flying, scroll (protection from cold), some oil of fumbling.

Other stuff: Shardinzar also was given some magical items, most notably some scrolls. We were all given phials with Continual Light placed on the contents.

After setting Alexander, Adam Kelly, and Peter on diplomatic/military missions to Immer, Shucassam, and Muetar, respectively, we decide to try to find Gorson and get some oil of permanency.

We begin the current adventure on 12/23/1308. In case we need to call on him, we remember the name of Shababadoo, the Ki-Rin, whom the old party rescued many years ago.

First we open the Well of Many Worlds. Hundreds of years ago, Gorson had permanently set it to open to this particular cloudscape world. We determine that time moves at the same rate in the cloudscape world as it does in ours. As the talk of our younger party members stayed in the gutter, we have our quote of the game early on: “Assume the fecal position!” which we do as we cross over into the cloudscape world. There are lots of clouds all over the place, making terrain and other features. Light shines across a beautiful blue sky, but not light from a sun that we can see.

As we pass through the Well, we see a mountainous region, made of clouds, to the West. There is a smaller hill to the East, to the North, a valley, and to the South, the end of a valley which we are currently in. Walking is easy, but the cloud we are on is kind of squishy. We decide to climb the hill to the East, to get a better vantage point, We see there is an edge to the cloud we are on. We walk towards it, but as we get closer, we begin to sink in the cloud we are walking on. We walk back to the top of the hill, and from there, we see a shadow cast by something out of sight (from behind the foot of the mountain at the bottom of the valley). As we approach the bend, we notice a white stone tower in the distance, but because all the terrain looks similar, it is difficult to ascertain the scale, other than it is big and looks fairly far away.

We walk towards it. As we walk, we see it is a massive building, with a tall tower, a long wall, and a shorter tower. Part of the castle is built directly into the mountainside. After walking for approximately four or five hours, we can get a sense of scale: The wall is 2000 feet across, the tower is about 1000 feet wide at the base. The wall is approximately 350 feet tall, and the tower is about 700 feet tall. The doors, which we can now make out in the wall, are about 100 feet tall. They are closed. We are about a mile and a half away. The scale, we learn later, is 12 times our size. Everything we will encounter is 12 times our size.


As we walk closer, Rabbo notices a faint path, then loses it, Ethan notices it, then Eyar, and eventually, we follow it around the huge tower, and see the path lead to a hole in the cloud which appears to go under the wall behind the tower. It looks to Rabbo like it is probably a rat tunnel. We walk in the tunnel, and notice the smell of rats. No surprise here, we have a GIANT RAT FIGHT!

In the course of the fight, Ethan and Ivy jostle each other to get to the front so they can get in on the action. Ivy gets knocked down by Ethan, and Ethan also bumps one of the blink dogs as he was getting ready to blink (which throws off his concentration, and allows him to be attacked as he materializes by a rat). Ivy takes her turn to hit Ethan, and actually hurts him in the process. Eyar fights and kills rats, so does Ethan, and others. Rabbo is bringing up the rear and keeps his eyes open for rats from behind, which come, and he skewers them. Rabbo kills two, Ethan kills one, injures several, Eyar kills two, Ivy wounds one. The blink dogs, Eyar, and Ethan are hurt. All but Ethan are healed via healing draughts.

After the fight, Rabbo and Eyar lay down the law. No bullshit in-fighting among the party while we fight. It jeopardizes everyone. So, Rabbo requires that Ivy spend a spell to heal Ethan from her damage, and requires that Ethan fulfill Ivy’s god’s holy ritual when we get back to the School (he must throw a party and revel in her god’s honor). If either of them jeopardizes the rest of us again, Rabbo will knock em out and leave them.

While searching the lair of the rats, Rabbo finds a beautifully embroidered pillow and a finely carved ivory snuffbox (human sized, and giant-sized, respectively). Rabbo tries an object reading on the objects, but doesn’t get useful information from them. Party notices that the cloudscape of the tunnel they are in gives way to dirt, and then the tunnel opens up into a steep deep ditch, covered in grass several feet deep. We ask Topaz to fly up to the top of the ditch and look around. He comes back, happy, and reports that he sees a huge field of huge flowers. While we are getting organized, Ivy looks around and finds a brass ring, with an embossed hand on it. The ring is very magical, and the magic from it emanates from the sphere of thought. Rabbo does an object reading, and discovers that this ring was once worn by a student of the Invisible School.

Ivy tries to put the ring on and can’t. Ethan puts it on and it blinks red. Suddenly, his spells seem clearer to him. It is possible that this is a magic-user specific item.

Rabbo carries Ethan’s rope. We climb, (Rabbo pulls) everyone out of the ditch. We are in a huge field of flowers, inside the castle walls. The huge tower is still our destination. We can see it, even though most of our view is blocked by flowers and grass. Along the way, we come up to a dirt path approximately 20 feet across. We decide to stay in the grass and still move toward the tower. Eventually, we come across a black effervescent pool, which stinks of refuse, garbage, so kind of rotting and sickly sweet, too. It is somewhat magical. We decide to skirt its edge, as it is between the tower and us. On the way, we are attacked by 23 GIANT ANTS!

Shardinzar roles out a fireball and toasts most of them. Ethan kills one in an attempted spell, but hit it with his hands while gesturing, and killed it!

As we approach the door to the tower, it opens, and a 25-foot tall woman comes out, in an apron with cloth. Her skin has a slightly bluish tinge to it. We all hide, except for Ethan and Shardinzar, who were kind of taken aback at the sight. The giant looks at them, but luckily, they ducked before she really took note of the two. We run to the door after she passes. As we get close, we notice a small hole worn in the wood and stone next to the edge of the door. Another rat hole. We take it, and are in the room.

The room itself is huge, more than a few hundred yards across, and is over 120 feet tall. It appears to be a storage area for gardening supplies. While we investigate, we find a large crate, that we can squeeze in which provides cover. It is now approximately 6 pm, and we notice that it is still bright sunlight out. We decide to camp for the night. During that evening, Rabbo asks his next set of God questions:

1. Where in this castle is the oil of permanency? In the Treasury.

2. In which part of the castle is the Treasury located? In the caverns.

3. From where do we gain access to the caverns? Through the root cellar or prison cell.

4. Where is Gorson or his remains? In the study.

5. Where is the study? In the second level of the tower.

The next morning, we decide to climb, have Rabbo and Eyar pull everyone to the top of the stairs. When we reach the platform on the second level, we are attacked by GIANT ANTS!

Ethan hits ants with magic missile, and discovers that even though he cast the spell, it stayed memorized in his head, and he could cast it right away. Rabbo notices that there is an element of probability at work, and also sees that every time Ethan casts a spell, the right flashes red. Ethan and Ivy both kill ants. Once the fight is over, we talk about the ring, and then Ethan reads the knock spell. The 100-foot tall door opens. The room is not occupied. It is a study, with a bed, desk, and books in a large bookcase. We each explore different areas, with the dragon and the blink dogs flying or blinking around the room to look higher than we can. Moonface blinks to the desktop and barks. Topaz tells us that Moonface hears something from inside the roll top desk. Topaz ties off the rope on the desktop, and we all climb or are hauled up the desk. While there, both Ivy and Ethan cast detect magic. Magic is detected in a drawer and inside the roll top desk. The magic in the roll top desk is of the necromantic variety. First, in the drawer, Rabbo muscles the drawer open, and finds a large silver plate, pitcher, and mug. When he touches them, they shrink down to regular human size. He stows them in his backpack.

Back up on the desk, Eyar and Rabbo open the roll top. Inside, we see inkpots, a scroll tube, and a chained skeleton in a cage with eyes and a tongue, pulling at its chain. We take a moment to look at the scroll---it contains three speak with dead spells.

We figure that this sad skeleton is Gorson, but Ivy reads the scroll and asks:


Who are you? To which it replies: Gorson.
Why are you here? Betrayed.
How do you get to the Treasury? Release.
Are we in danger from your betrayer? Please.
If we release you, will you betray us? Mercy.
Where is your captor? Death.

Rabbo snaps off the hand of Gorson, but then figures it out---the only thing that this fragment of Gorson can possibly want is to be released from this horrible fate. Rabbo asks Ivy to try and turn Gorson. Ivy tries, but cannot. Rabbo asks if we have a dispel magic between us, and Shardinzar says that he has a scroll. We decide to let Ethan read it. Ethan reads it, and the magic holding this pathetic creature together dissipates, and Gorson is released from 800 years of hell.

Then, something special happens. In what appears to be outside of time, a shining beam of light appears around Ethan, and we hear a voice: “To release this poor creature which has been suffering for so long, the God of Mercy will grant you a wish, a wish for you.” Ethan tries to use the wish to solve the money problems at the keep, and the voice says, “True to your nature, you tired to give your wish to another’s use, but this wish is for you. Make it personal.” So, Ethan decides to wish for a special ring of regeneration. It works as a regular ring of regeneration, which will regenerate a whole person even from a fragment of bone, but this ring will also regenerate damaged non-magical items in his possession.

At this point, we took a break.