Falling Ishtar ep06 : Dungeon World

07/28/2013

Falling Ishtar
Episode Six

"In the End of it All"

Dungeon World

Chaos.  That turned out to be the root of it all.

Cairre has a fitful dream as he recalls his foster parents.  Even in his dreams, they warn him.  They beg him to be wary.  He awakens feeling angry of having lived a lie all this time.   With Lady Unisa still in the Eternal room, the Necromantic Dagger continues to lick at her life, waiting to be unleashed with the Ritual that Cairre had prepared.  Cairre knows that he must maneuver to Roderick soon.  He must use the Dagger to trap his former master within himself as a vessel.  It was the only way to defeat the Lich.

Roderick visits.  In a dream, Cairre sees his former mentor calling for him.  The Lich tells him it is not too late to save his friends, and in the vision, Cairre sees his adventuring companions all defeated on the ground.  Cities burn.  The sky is darkened by smoke.    Cairre swears to himself he will defeat the Lich.

Bjorn finds the orb of smoke which Cairre had once shown him and sacrifices it to Bob for some guidance on the matters at hand.  The Divination he receives shows the massive epic creature known as the Tarrasque rising as an undeniable force of supernatural danger.  Orbs of light illuminate the Tarrasque in key places.  Mountains crumble as the thing walks.  And a poppy flower blooms.   Bjorn realizes Bob is confirming their suspicions that the Tarrasque is indeed beneath the City of Flowers.  Melisande's story about the thing supposedly being forced asleep by its poppies seems to now ring true.

Hob inspects the orb Bjorn sacrificed and realizes it was a commonly used prison for spirits and demons.  He quickly surmises however, they would not be strong enough to hold a Lich.  A Lich, unlike spirits and demons, was still more man than spirit, and thus benefited from free will.

Gil and Cedric discuss the coming fight and Cedric admits he thinks it was time to head back home.  After nearly dying when they fought Voarex, Cedric realized that given the world may be ending, his deepest desire was to be with his family.   "A life of an adventurer, I guess, is not meant for me."   Gil tells him he was brave nonetheless and should go home proud.  Gil offers him back the potions his mother had given Gil, but Cedric admits, "You may need it more than me."  Cedric leaves for home, and the ranger merely watches him go.

Melisande considers finding possible allies in the City of Flowers.  Knowing it is the largest Church of Bob, Melisande realizes that title once belonged to Gonol before it fell.  She visits Unisa, who sadly does not have much to share.  Melisande relishes seeing the Dark Elf in her pitiful state, however.  The Dark Elf sneers at how the Sun Elf had clearly fallen from grace and become one of the Wood Elves instead.

“The beast from the depths. It comes from beneath!”    Bjorn wakes from the Divination.  Hob and Melisande join him as he tries to explain, “The City crumbles as it rises.”  The dwarf can barely be made to relax.  It is clear he feels the time to act is now.  “There are the end of days.”

Hob tells them they will go better suitably armed.  He spent some time in the Endless Room and ransacked it for items that may prove useful.  Hob found some priestly vestments crafted from stone in a tomb at the altar.  With Bjorn's new divine manifestation of being made of stone, it seemed fitting to let him wear it.  He found a hat with multi-colored feathers which suited Melisande.

Melisande shares with them the stories about the mark and convinces the group the urgency to go to the City of Flowers.  None of them, however, realize Cairre is getting a big push to do that as well that same moment.  Adon manifests infront of Cairre as a disembodied spirit.  Adon tried to use a Power Word to escape back to Cairre, but his imprisonment holds his body fast.  Roderick's Ritual keeps him trapped.  He tells Cairre the fightening truth:  Roderick has used the Magi themselves to become the very "strings" that allow him control over  the Tarrasque.    Panicked, Cairre rushes down the tower to find the others and realizes no one is there.   As rare as the moment is, he focuses on the task at hand and finds Gil outside (having just returned from bidding Cedric goodbye).  Cairre opens the Portable Hole and Gil hands him the hair he had received from Bridgette as a means to contact her.  "Tell her the Silver Lance is calling."  Rather than jump inside as well, however, Gil closes the Portable Hole behind Cairre.

Cairre arrives at the Eternal Room and the others are surprised to see One-Eye shapeshift into a humanoid form.  The two embrace as a bond now exists between them given their having survived the battle against Voarex.  As the group discusses how they plan to deal with Roderick, the topic of heading to the City of Flowers is once again raised.  Bjorn insists his interpretation of the vision Bob sent him is correct, but Unisa does question them on whether or not their actions may "free" the Tarrasque from Roderick's control.

Hob hands Cairre a dark Cloak which seems to be made of panther hide.  Its displacement properties were hopefully to help him in the coming battle.  And Hob has the Ion stone which Cedric found from the treasures activate and spin around him.    He holds on to a bow carved from Dragon Bone which he plans to hand eventually to Gil.  As the group considers their plans, they do not realize that outside the Eternal room, time passes far much more quickly.

*

Outside, Gil stalks the towering monstrosity known as the Tarrasque.  With Illuray carrying him in its talons, Gil spies the remnants of the City of Towers that has been lodged upon the back of the epic thing.  It seems its rising from beneath the City resulted in the city itself being torn from the earth itself and carried along with it.

It has been three days since Gil had rolled up the Portable Hole and made his way towards the City while the others were inside.  As the thing continues its relentless tread towards the City of Towers, Gil dodges the wave of debris that crashes in all directions.  Though he had no idea why Roderick would direct the thing towards the City of Towers, Gil knew it had to be stopped before it got there.  However, he was certain that there was no way he was defeating this beast alone.

The two swoop past the Tarrasque unnoticed and find that the remnants of the City of Towers remains inhabited!  As the city's inhabitants struggle to survive their crumbling home, Gil finds as well corpses of strange distorted things.  To his surprise, he finds the Silver Lance present!  Bridgette has become the woman in charge of the City's defenses and she quickly reports to him that prior to the Tarrasque rising, they were assaulted by twisted winged things that used to be elves.  Gil studies a corpse and realizes they seemed to have been elven-draconic hybrids - a sad sign that Melisande's mother was abducted to create these things.  As Bridgette admits there's a need for assistance, Gil unrolls the Portable Hole to allow the others to emerge.

Bjorn asks if the City still has a Temple to Bob and the others seem surprised that of all the deities, it would be Bob whom these heroes would look for.  Melisande tries to calm the people down with her songs.  But then the whole city... leaps.

As it becomes frighteningly clear, the City of Flowers is precariously balanced upon the epic monster.  And though its immensity is enough that its step does not cause the city to bounce off, when the Tarrasque actually moves beyond just walking the city's inhabitants are jolted out of place!

Outside, two massive armies from the City of Towers and other nearby farms and villages close in upon the Tarrasque.  Catapults and Seige weapons are unleashed, and while they all are dwarfed by the singular force of destruction, their assault does not go unnoticed!  The Tarrasque feels the impact upon its knees and stomps one of its many feet in response.  The earthquake that follows downs almost half of the armies before it.    On the City of Flowers, however, things fare less favorably as hundreds are flung away from the city and into open air!  Melisande fails to properly polymorph into  Roc and in the chaos, the stone-formed Bjorn slams upon her.  The others try to hold on to anything in the landscape.  If anything, the group knows they have to bring the fight to the beast.  And they have to do it now.

Each take to the sky in one way or another.  And Roderick reveals himself, standing upon the Tarrasque's head with the massive beast following its urgings.  Each of the Magi serving as a focal point for his Ritual to direct the Tarrasque -- for the beast is actually still asleep! All its movements have been through the magical urgings of Roderick's Ritual.  Cairre considers the act of killing the other Magi as unthinkable, and tries to challenge Roderick directly.  The two trade spells, and parry with their respective Dispel Magics.  Melisande struggles to retain her Elven thoughts in her Roc form, while Bjorn casts Sever to separate one of the Tarrasque's arms!

Hob and Gil struggle to think of what they can do to best the Tarraque, given the thing's immunity to be hurt or defeated using the same method twice.  Hob comes up with an idea so crazy it just might work.  Roderick planned this all.  His actions have been so meticulous that even Cairre's whole life was mapped out to serve some darker purpose - that he had to be raised thinking Roderick was not his father.  The Tarrasque was heading to the City of Towers, the same city which Roderick had - for months - prepped for the Ritual which affected all First Borne.   The only place Hob could think of as the Tarrasque's target was the City of Towers... until he realized also in the route were the Ruins of Gonol.

"The Eternal Room.  The Portal.  They lead there."

Gil agreed.  Hob  asked for the Portable Hole, and when Gil handed it to him, Hob asked Gil not to let go of the other end.  With a leap, Hob held on to his end of the Portable Hole, and the impossible thing began to stretch like a gigantic black net.  

"This thing cannot be killed by something that has killed it before.  But perhaps we can trap it.  Somewhere it has never been.  The Eternal Room! The Hole!"

Gil understood, and the two maneuvered closer to the Tarrasque's head.

Bjorn leapt onto the Tarrasque, and with a massive act of sacrifice, shattered the Monstrance of Bob to see if Hob's plan would truly work.  In his vision, he sees the heart of the temple in the Ruins of Gonol.    Roderick and Cairre trade more spells, and when the Portable Hole covers them all, they are all shunted into the Eternal Room.  Cairre stabs the Necromantic blade deep in a bid to finally rid the world of Roderick.

*

The Tarrasque sleeps.

Cairre and the others are alive.  As was Roderick who now triumphantly congratulates Cairre for doing everything he had hoped he would do.  As the other Magi, now free from the ritual, come close, Roderick blabbers about how everything was meant to push Cairre to become the embodiment of a new Seat for the Magi: the Seat of Evil.  Roderick exposes the chaos of his plan and how in its ashes, Cairre was forced to rise into prominence as the one who defeats the Tarrasque.  "Imagine, you have defeated an Epic Beast that none of the Magi could stop!  And in your heart you were willing to kill anyone to make it happen!"   The mad ramblings of a man who knew no true way to be a father.

The other Magi demand the others to stand down, citing that Roderick now will have to be punished as one of the Magi.  Cairre angrily accepts that he now is part of the Council and has a vote on the matters.  The others do not deny it.

Gil trains an arrow at the Council, warning them all of what their choices may lead them to do.  He challenges them to step away.  To no longer interfere with the lives of men.  The Council turn to Cairre.    The challenge is accepted.

*

Years have passed.  
Very many years.

Magic has long withdrawn from the world.   Though stories still are sung of great wizards, of magnificent beasts, of spells and rituals and strange artifacts of power.   But no, magic is but a myth, people say.

The Church of Bob stands proud.  A stone dwarf in penitence kneels at the temple.  Some whisper it sometimes seems to move.    People whisper of strange people living in the woods.  Not human, they whisper.  Not quite.  They don't realize the ones they speak too are such people as well.  Inbred enough to look like a mix of both.

Blood mingled together.

There are no dragons now.
No tomes of spells or hammers of stone.

But sometimes, a falling star streaks across the sky.
Leaving silver in its wake.

THE END

I lost my notes.  But I recall mostly this was how the game went.  Am sure certain things have changed from the actual game.  But that's okay.  Sometimes, it is how the story is told that matters more than the truth.

*winks*

Falling Ishtar ep05 : Dungeon World

07/28/2013
Falling Ishtar
Episode Five

"Marked"

Dungeon World

The presence of the Mark upon people brings the rise of fear and tension.  Through a magical ritual, Cairre reaches out to the populace of the City of Towers to try to calm them down, but acts of violence erupt as rumors spread about what the marked people happen to be.  Gil decides to try to reach out to the people, and addresses them through the same ritual that Cairre had created.  “Subdue them, but do not harm them. They are not aware of what they do”  But given the destruction of the tower and the death of the Duke himself, the City of Towers was now ungoverned and needed someone who would rise to take his place.

“For the first time, you are now truly free. Free to do what you will.  Free without the burden or rule or taxes.  What do you with your freedom will determine how history and all others of our kind will view you from here on out.  But remember, everyone will be watching.”

Gil's words reach out.  But with them, he shares a warning.

“And.. guard your freedom jealously.  Others will come to seek to take it from you in a variety of ways.”

The group gathers at the tower and discusses their options.  The Lady Unisa wants to Gonol as she believes that was where Roderick was staying.  Melisande suggests however that the evil Wizard was at the City of Flowers.   She recalled the smell of flowers in the air.  And the cavern-like chamber they were in which seemed organic.  There were legends of a great epic monstrosity, the Tarrasque, having been felled in Gonol during the Age of Myth.  Was the enemy encamped within?  “Bob says to Gonol,” Bjorn's words are spoke with conviction.  The visions he had been receiving from the God of Stone were, as far as he was convinced, undeniable.  “I owe Bob a favor,” Melisande admits, and the vote is cast to head to Gonol.   Given the limited time left to prepare, Hob starts going through the magical cache of Roderick with Melisande's help.  She notices that he identifies items faster than her.  She gets curious to how he is doing it.  

“I just know when I see a magical item,” he admits, not wanting to share the truth that his uncle was the Magus of the City of Flowers.  His family was one touched by magic, but unlike the rest of them, he opted to learn the path of the sword.

Hob finds the following items for the group.  A Cloak of Elevnkind for Gil, which would allow him to blend in any surroundings.  A Gauntlet of Giant Strength for Hob, which would allow him to Messily separate a body part of his opponent with the right move.  The Monstrance of a Saint of Bob for Bjorn, which granted him greater ability to protect those close to him.  A Circlet of True Sight for Cairre, which would strip past all illusions and allow him to see beyond normal sight.  And finally, the fabled Bardic treasure known as the Torc of Echoes, which allowed Bards to magnify their voices for greater effects.   These new treasures, plus the Ring of Patterns they had recovered from way back, would give them an edge against their opponent.

Visions reach Cairre.  The Magi of the Council are trapped.  Each try to send a warning to the others. Lodin manifests as eldritch talons rip at him.  Adon appears as a spinning coin that arrives and informs him that they have been betrayed.  The coin shatters.    Annika's message is through a fluttering feather of light.  She blames the humans for the folly, and reveals the Homelands are burning.    Incensed, Cairre pours through the tomes for a ritual he wants to use.  The ritual is to allow himself to become a vessel for Roderick's spirit as the Lich is virtually immortal unless somehow trapped.    Cairre realizes the necromantic ritual will need the blood of an elf, taken viciously with a mortal wound.  He finds the ritual he wants, an ancient one written by an archbishop named Lazarus during the Darker Ages.  The archbishop had used his ritual to trap a demon that had escaped the spiritual prison it was in, so he trapped it within himself to save the world.

Gil approaches Hob and hands him one of the Silver Lances that he had acquired from his journey with Bridgette.  He teaches him the key words for Greatsword, Warhammer, Spear and Lance.  Hob accepts the weapon, but focuses on the task he had decided to do for the day:  Gather the objects in the tower and help Bjorn discern which ones were evil.  Bjorn's Detect Evil is cast over and over again, as they segregate the magical items to two piles.    After intoning to the God of Stone, Bjorn sacrifices the evil items and gains both guidance and a blessing from his deity.  He sees the vision of six towers of stone rising around them, and a seventh tower of Silver piecing the eclipsed sky.  "This place is protected from the dark spirit Roderick's touch," he intones.

Melisande gathers the city's musicians and starts teaching them the songs that she uses to counter possession.  She uses her Torc of Echoes with a Mirror Image spell to hold a concert for them all to hear her song.  She knows that only Bards can truly weave their songs into magical spells, but at least she is giving the people hope.  When she returns to the tower, however, she finds an unexpected visitation.  The four elven students she was teaching have come to visit her.  They bear bad tidings.  The Homelands has been offered a chance to be spared of the impending doom, so long as they withdraw from the mortal lands.  And the Elven Council has agreed.  "We want to come back with us," the eldest, Ganymede, implores.  But Melisande chooses to stay with the group.  And as she, "turns away from the Sun" the magical nature of the Elves responds to her decision.  She changes, and her Sun elf features fade away as she becomes one of the Moon elves (the kind of elf that Gil is of).  "No wonder the Moon Elves age so quickly," Melisande realizes and bids the four farewell.

Hob sacrifices the Silver Lance in his possession, using its metals to start creating a whole new signature weapon.  As a blacksmith, he creates a massive war hammer that is stained with his own blood.  Bjorn smiles at the sentiment, clearly seeing how the fighter has truly embraced his faith in Bob.

Illure is sent into the portable hole to check on Cedric, who had once slipped inside.   Gil worries that the boy had gotten into more mischief.   The four guardians of the chamber seem to be dragons.  Young ones.  But dragons nonetheless.

Kirin has a discussion with Melisande, and she learns the druid seems to view everything with a lens of having a price, or an exchange.  The obsession towards value and wealth interests her.  "I am not used to thinking of things without a price," he admits.  And she tries to explain the concept of friendship to him.    By the time Kirin has opted to leave, Gil realizes that the four young dragons in the portable hole are of the color of the scales that mark Kirin's tell.

Morning comes.

Cairre speaks to Bridgette and tells her the truth he has uncovered.  They are siblings, and Roderick, as it turns out, is their father.  The Paladin is shocked, but realizes that would explain why she was not touched by the Mark even though she believed herself to be the first born all this time.

The group enters the Portable Hole and prepare themselves to face against the four dragons.  The four menacingly make their approach, but the group stands their ground as they attempt to parley with the great beasts.  When one charges forward to strike, Hob smashes at it with his warhammer, flinging it upwards to reveal its less armored belly.  He then lops off its head with a timed swing that messily splatters the body away from the head.  A second one looms closer, but Gil pins its head down against the gold with the silver lance, transforming it into a mancatcher with a single word.  Illure distracts the wyrm enough for Gil to position himself perfectly to trap the dragon.  That close, he notices the dragon has a scar over one eye.  He notices the intelligence in its stare.

The group resumes discussions, explaining that the man who trapped them inside was the evil Roderick, and that they were hoping to free the dragons to the world outside.  None of the dragons, however, have any concept of a world "outside".  And it seems, none of them feared the touch of death. Magical energies in the chamber resurrect the felled dragon.  "In here," One-Eye growls, "We are Eternal."  As the dragons resume their assault, the heroes kill a second one as Hob once again crushes a dragon's skull with a blow from his hammer.  A second dragon is fried when Cairre unleashes a spell.

"They are being brought back to life," the wizard realizes and traces the magic to the four statues that line the walls of the chamber.  Each statue represented one of the greater deities of the land:  Stone, Coin, Luck and Darkness.   Cairre considers trying to deface the statues to break the magic, but worries that it might not work.

The dragons change tactics however, and dive into the coins and treasure, striking like predators beneath the tall grass.  Melisande is caught by surprise by one assault but manages to strum the Silver Lute fast enough to raise a sphere barrier to protect herself.  Cairre is struck as well by another dragon, but a Silver Arrow launched by Gil stuns the dragon long enough for Cairre to cast a fireball into the wyrm's maw.  Illure swoops in, as directed by Gil, to lift Cairre away from the dragon while the ranger runs across the treasure to snatch back the Silver Arrow.  Hob grabs Bjorn and flings him upwards towards the ceiling.  From above, Bjorn uses the momentum to crash into another dragon below.  "For Bob!"  Melisande nearly bursts her vocal chords as she unleashes another sonic strike at the Dragon that dragged her through the treasure.  Had it not been for her protective sphere, she would have suffered the same injuries it did.  Her voice, does however, blast away enough of the treasure to allow her to clamber back atop the hoard.

But the battle seems to rage without end, as the dragons are raised from death by the magics of the room.  The Eternal Chamber seemed to live up to its name.   “We came to search for the Fallen star.  We moved to the depths of the earth.  There is no way out, the labyrinth is eternal," the markings read on the walls. Cairre ponders on how to deal with things.  At the bottom of the treasure room, Bjorn touches the stone floor and once again communes with Bob.  "Bob's guidance is clear," Bjorn calls out as a quick petition for guidance shows him where to go.  "The hole," he points at the distance, "Go to the hole."

They rush off out of the Eternal Chamber, and lose the dragons in the maze-like winding tunnels.  Soon, they find a cul-de-sac to set camp in and try to recover somewhat.  Wounded and exhausted the group tries to recover from the dragons' assault.  But even while camped the group finds no solace.  Shadows stalk them in the darkness, and sadly, dealing with these spirits draws the dragons to their location.  

The fight resumes, and the group is forced to find a way out.  As Bjorn casts Sever to disable one of the closest dragons, the others barrel through until they find a strange room with arcane traps.  With the exit in sight, the group tries to traverse the trap-laden room.  But miscommunication within the group causes the room to unleash its eldritch punishment, and the group is forced to exit at the far room.

No one expected that from that very doorway they were rushing towards, the Lady Unisa would emerge.  Cairre sees it as the opportunity he was waiting for, and thrusts the necromantically prepared dagger into her stomach.  But the words that follow from her lips catch them all even more off-guard.

Outside.  Roderick was not outside.
It wasn't even the City of Towers.

Cairre talks to the dragons, with one-eye seemingly becoming their spokesperson.  Cairre tries to convince them of the truth, of Roderick's evil nature, and of the freedom that awaits them just outside.  One-eye and one of the dragons agrees to accompany him outside.

Unisa bleeds from the necromantic wound.  Melisande and the two other dragons bring her to the Eternal Room under Cairre's words.  Unisa must remain alive long enough at least until Cairre succeeds in stabbing Roderick with the knife.  Through Melisande's songs, Unisa's wounds heal.  But through the necromancy, they never cease to bleed.

As the others pour out of the doorway, they discover that they are already at the Ruins of Gonol.  The underground city with its fallen temple to Bob had a doorway to the labyrinth maze.  And that same maze was linked to the Eternal Room which the portable hole opened to.  The group was at the destination they hoped to head for.  And the dragon Voarex was already there.

Illure and Gil leap into battle, with Cedric in tow.  The goblinoids charge forward, swarming to strike them down.  But Voarex had the upper hand, and the heroes were forced to act quickly to gain an edge.  As Cairre and the two dragons step out, Voarex howls and prepares to attack.  Cairre realizes the four dragons were not the children of Voarex.  In fact, Voarex relished at the chance to kill them at last.  They were children of Kirin, it seemed, and Voarex had been searching for the perfect opportunity to finally destroy the spawn of his rival.

As Voarex prepares to breathe upon them, Hob and Bjorn rush to stop it.  As Bjorn uses the monstrance to protect Hob, Cairre casts a fireball to try to deflect the deadly breath.  The backblow of fire, however, still injures them.  Frustrated, the dragon decides to end the fight.  It camps down its fanged maw upon Hob in a bid to swallow him whole.  But Hob strikes, thrusting his weapon deep into the wyrm's throat to kill it from the inside.  But the dragon's massive bulk falls upon them all, and very things quickly take a turn for the worse.  Cairre is pinned under the monster's bulk and while trapped is kept from being completely crushed by the Great Sword which holds the dragon's weight away from him.  He sees the younger dragons crushed and watches as One-eye transforms to a humanoid form to reach for his hand.   Bjorn is pulled free from the massive corpse by Gil and the two then pull Hob out from the beast, who happens to hold a stone war hammer in his hands: the very Artifact of Bob which was long buried in the temple's ruins.

As the dragon blood threatens to drown Cairre and One-Eye, the two feel the blood drain away.  A hole in the ground drains all the blood away, and as Cairre checks what the hole was, he finds it to be a strange feature built upon the very floor.  A feature on one of the stone tiles that still holds the sigil of the Temple of Bob.

But the dragon Voarex is dead.
And the heroes are alive, with possible new dragon allies.

"Five days," Unisa admits, "We have five days to stop the Lich Roderick."

Hob considers staying at the Eternal Room to watch over Unisa, and to gather possible magical items that the group can use.

Falling Ishtar ep04 : Dungeon World

07/07/2013
Falling Ishtar
Episode Four

"Firstborn and Only Child"

Dungeon World


The First Month since the Dragon Plague.

With the Duke Thomin dead, the group realizes they may have to consider their actions very soon.   With Cairre stuck having to recover, he instructs Bjorn and Melisande to work together in separating the magical items into two areas:  Good and Evil items.  Lady Unisa is given the position of Seneschal, a position she gains thanks to the Magus' backing.    There's no denying that Cairre has started to approach things with much more confidence now, almost as if his life as an apprentice is far in the past.

Hob is helping out in sorting the magical items and finds himself recalling his family.  He had come from a family of Wizards, but unlike them, he found the passion behind wielding a blade.  There was no denying that they, however, could help in identify the items.  The others had no idea that the Magus of Goodness, Brother Lodin, was actually his uncle.  He knew it would mean sending a messenger to the City of Flowers and that they would want some form of service in return.

Adon gains a new respect for Cairre, who embraces the the role of the Magus well even if he is still currently bed-ridden as he recovers from his broken bones.  Bjorn's magic as well as Melisande's songs have healed him of his injuries, but have not relieved him of his tortured condition.  As a gift and show of confidence, Adon removes his own Ring of Wizardry and offers it to Cairre.  "It is only as strong as you are, but when you are strong, he is greater than you realize."  They discuss more about the other Magi and Adon admits that Barbarians have been attacking his region.  The wildmen claim to serve under the Banner of the Green Wing.  Adon has to leave and protect his own territory.

Melisande and Gil discussing payment of debts.  Melisande realizes that many of the bags of coins she had gained from the Elves have transformed into acorns, leaves and seeds.  While valuable to the Elves, these clearly were not real money.  Just Glamoured objects.

Gil makes plans to leave within the second week.  Determined to get out of the suffocating city, Gil decides to invite Cedric to go with him.  He also considers asking Bridgette to go.  She berates him about being too trust worthy of elves, and reminds him of The 100 Year Wars.  In that story, the Sorcerer class was wiped out by jealous elves that did not desire a line of humans who could cast magic at will.    The Council of Magi was born to protect humans who practiced Wizardry.  The Dragons, however, whose blood that had mixed with humans to become Sorcerers, oddly sided with the Eleves.  Bridgette tells him she wants to visit a Silver Lance Armory in the North.  To prepare themselves for a battle with dragons.  Cedric bemoans his frustration that the Ion Stone doesn't work and throws it as he complains.  That's when it activates and spins around him.  "Maybe you had to insult it to make it work," Gil teases.

Cairre, finally healed, takes the chance to return to the Tower.  In his absence, it seems Bjorn and Hob have transformed the tower into a "Temple of Bob".     He overhears as he walks towards the tower the rules of the temple:  No shoes must be worn inside, No money can be carried inside either (all coin is to be left behind in a box outside), and No windows or lights can be brought into the Temple.  Darkness must remain. Fed up with the temple being commandeered by others, Cairre casts a Light spell to illuminate the Temple's ground level, but the Ring of Wizardry empowers the effect to cause every stone in the temple to shine with light.  As he steps inside, he sees that every brick in the ground and second level of the tower had been marked with the symbol of Bob.  Using Presdigitation, Cairre "wipes" away the symbol and warns Bjorn, "If you displease me..."   Bjorn and Cairre quickly come to an agreement, and Bjorn clarifies that only the first two levels of the tower have become a temple.  When Cairre realizes this means his kitchen in the second level has been removed, Bjorn quickly explains the food has been all moved to the attic where Gil used to stay.

Bridgette, Gil and Cedric arrive, and the Paladin speaks with the Magus while Gil preps for the trip.  Bridgette and Cairre exchange promises to be allies, with Cairre carefully wording it for the Paladin to be forced to protect even the elves in the group, given her racism towards them.  Bridgette however gets Gil to also swear to "Do whatever is necessary to make sure she does not lose her vow."

Bjorn intones on Bob through the next few days to separate the Good and Evil items in the tower.  Melisande, learning from Cairre's tutorials on being a wizard, eventually successfully identifies a magical armor which legends called The Carapace.  A silver bug-like chest plate is pressed against a person's skin, and it erupts into an armor that shifts and reallocates to conform to the wearer's needs.  Hob is given the Carapace to use.  They also identify a second magical item: The Forester's Friend, which allows one to endure the dangerous environments that a Ranger might encounter.  Melisande decides to let Gil have it.

All the evil items are then gathered on the balcony roof deck on the tower.  Hob pours mineral oil over all the items while Bjorn communes with Bob to sacrifice the items in his glory.  Worried that strange energies or powers may be unleashed in the destruction of such evil things, Melisande hurries downstairs and retrieves the Silver Lute.  She plays a song to envelope the items in a protective bubble.  And the items are lit up.

In the distance, Gil, Bridgette and Cedric exit the city.  They see the sudden bright flash of light coming from the city and consider this to possibly be from the Magus' tower.  "There is something i wanted to tell you," Gil starts as he tries to talk to Bridgette, but the Paladin shushes him, "Duty must come before personal interest."

They do not see how the powerful energies are gathered by Cairre to serve as a ritual to wrap the Magus Tower in a protective barrier.   Or how Bjorn gains Bob's attention, and the Tower is blessed with his protection as well.

The Second Month.

With the tower's protections, dozens of dead imp bodies now litter the tower's vicinity.  Rumors have also spread in the City of goblins sneaking around in the shadows.  Cairre starts to worry how long these imps have been sneaking into the tower, and how much has been stolen under his very nose.

Hob is bothered that his family has still not replied to his request.  He later learns that the messenger owl he had sent with the note was inadvertently eaten by a hungry Druid.  Kirin admits he did not know the owl carried a message.  And adds it was delicious.  Kirin, however, seems to have a penchant for making deals and accepting challenges.  So Hob offers Kirin a deal "Deliver me safely to my family, and in return, I will owe you."  Kirin agrees.

Cairre demands for the head of the Temple of Coin to show up.  There were events perpetrated by members of that Church which were no longer acceptable.  More and more, Cairre slipped easily into the role of the city's Magus.  Given the Coin refused to honor Lady Unisa's role as the Seneschal, Cairre had messengers sent to inform the head of the Coin to meet him at the Magus Temple.

Gil talks to Bridgette about the vision the green dragon had given him.  The three continue their journey to the Armory of the Silver Lance.    As they find it, Gil is puzzled why the Armory looks like an Elven Sanctuary.  He learns from Bridgette how in the 100 Year War, the Silver Lance would capture Sanctuaries and convert them into Silver Lance Bastions against the Dragons that allied with the Elves.  She asks Gil if he had ever met "a Good Elf" and when Gil dodges the query, Bridgette shares how she was once was contemplating suicide when she noticed at the cliff a massive crack suddenly in the landscape.  Water poured out, like a silver line in the darkness.  She took it as a sign.  Cedric admits he cannot find a way into the Armory, and that's when Bridgette smiles and explains, "To open it, we need to spill some Elven Blood."  She talks about using a vial with elven blood to open it.  But Gil cuts himself a small cut to use his own blood.  It opens the Armory.  Bridgette does not seem to notice (or pretends not to).

The Coin Headpriest arrives, accompanied by a throng of followers.  Defiant as expected, the Headpriest questions even Cairre's authority, and suggests that he should summon the Late Master Roderick to speak on these matters.  The Headpriest, it seems, knows some Necromancy.  As he begins to cast Speak to the Dead, Cairre prepares to Dispel the Magic if need be.  But the spell fizzles.  Cairre's eyes widen in horror:  Speak to the Dead would only fail... if the target happened to still be alive.  

An old man visits the temple grounds, accompanied by two middle aged but not that sightly daughters.  The old man asks about the possibilities of salvation and offers to donate his many lands for the Church of Bob to use as they see fit.  Bjorn is overwhelmed at the support and strength the faith is gaining.  He accepts the donations and realizes this may mean moving out of the Temple eventually!

Kirin and Hob are flying across the landscape, making their way to the City of Flowers.  They talk about things and Hob draws out from Kirin how alien he seems to view the world.  For Kirin, the world is such a massive living thing that thrives in such an expanded lifecycle that humanity is almost unimportant.  "Man are tiny things with such short lives.  The cocks and pussies of the wild," was Kirin's description of them, almost equating them to mere flowers that are pretty to look at, but irrelevant to the greater picture of the system.    "If that's how you view us, you're the one with a problem," Hob retorts and he finds himself wondering if Kirin is an Elf that is pretending to much to be a Dragon, or a Dragon that has truly embraced pretending to be a humanoid.

Melisande left the tower, hoping to find any truth to the rumors of the goblins, only to see one which happens to be overjoyed to find her!  "Goddess!" it yelps then leaps upon her, and upon touching, the two vanish from the City of Towers.  Melisande comes to and finds herself back in the Dragon's presence.  The chamber is strange, almost ribbed, and organic.  And the scent of flowers fills the air.   The Green Dragon Voarex does not threaten her though.  Not when another guest is present:  Melisande's mother.  She welcomes Melisande to the gathering and shares the story to why she is allied with the Dragons.  She shares how when she was young, and Melisande was but a child in her arms, the Silver Lances had cornered her and Melisande's father.  They prayed to Bob but he did not answer.  They prayed to the Coin, but it did not reply.  Finally, as the Lances slew the father, she prayed for the Dragons to help.  And Voarex did.

Melisande is told to remove all her items and clothing, a direction the elf takes very wrongly.  She fails to pick up on her mother's attempts to steer her to do something.  Melisande realizes the goblins have been gathering things from the City of Towers.  Her mother admits, not just the city of Towers.  But from all the cities out there.  Melisande realizes the whole thing.. it is a ritual.  Melisande's mother tells her that the ritual will target all the first borne children in the cities.  Melisande realizes she is a first born child.  When the Mother uses Telekinesis to hold her daughter in place, she telepathically tells her the truth:  That while she is honor bound to fulfill her side of the bargain, she hopes Melisande can try to stop the dragon to regain their line's honor.  Melisande is shunted back to the Homelands.

Gil and the others are in the Armory and more and more Gil is starting to realize something is very wrong.  As Bridgette proudly shows the Silver Lances, the main armament of the organization, she talks about how the Secret Language of Silver is used to make the weapons more effective.  With a word, she shifts the lance to a dagger.    Gil realizes the word Bridgette spoke was in his homeland's language: the language of the Silvan Elves.  He wonders if the Silver Lance never knew that there were three kinds of Elves: the Silvans of the woods, the Soltari of the High and the Quani of the Dark.    He stares at a portrait of Athena, the first of the Silver Lances, and realizes the woman's ears cannot be seen as they are hidden by a silver head-dress.  The woman's eyes, however, are slightly almond shaped.  Just like his.

The Ritual is unleashed.

If you are a firstborn/only child, then you must roll +Con.
*10+ you have cheated Death.  You remain marked but it's effects are far weaker than expected.  Or you realize you were not truly the firstborn child in your family.  Choose one: You are currently Weak, Sick or Scarred.
*7-9 - You have escaped death, but are Marked by the Ritual.  The effects are pronounced when they are unleashed.  You are currently Weak, Sick and Scarred.
*6 - You die a horribly slow and painful death.

All around the land, people drop to the ground in intense pain.  Many die, but surprisingly many others survive.    Kirin hears Hob howl in pain, and the fighter falls off the Dragon.  Kirin catches him and gently brings him to the ground.  Many are Marked and survive.  To Bjorn's happiness, those within the Tower/Temple of Bob when it happened are unscathed.   Cairre rushes to the Seneschal and learns that Lady Unisa herself is panicking over what has happened.  Cairre prepares a Ritual as fast as possible to address the City as a whole.

The results make the following weeks terrifying.    Many of those who are unmarked begin to grow suspicious or frightened by the ones with the Mark.  Acts of violence erupt as someone seems to have started the rumor that those with the Mark are servants of the Dragon.

Gil, Bridgette and Cedric make their way back as soon as they are able.  Bridgette is surprised that she was not struck by the Mark, given she is the only daughter of Roderick the Black.   They pass a few burning towns and can see people literally attacking others as a mob, hoping to "kill those who are marked" before they cause greater trouble.

Hob finds himself lost in a dreamlike state.  He hears the mountain speak to him.  He sees glimpses of the Ruins of Gonol.  Of a massive Stone Hammer in its depths.  He awakens to find Kirin looking at him worriedly.  He had been struck midflight, and Kirin had decided to bring Hob back for his own safety.  The City of Flowers was not welcoming visitors.  They too were struck by the Ritual.

Melisande awakes at the edge of the City of Flowers.  She cannot recall what transpired when she arrived at the Homelands.  She vaguely recalls being Exiled by her Elders.

The violence gets worse all over.  A messenger from City of Flowers brings Cairre and Unisa word that 27 deaths happened at the Ritual's zenith.  Brother Lodin's brother was among those who died.  Cairre realizes that man was Hob's father.  In the City of Towers, 28 deaths were noted.      Cairre casts the ritual, and through it, every person in the City of Towers sees his manifestation as a three-dimensional illusion.  Cairre reassures the people that he is doing what he can to stop this.  He warns them that the Dragon may be involved.  He asks them to remain calm and let the guards do their jobs.

Bjorn is in the tower when Melisande and Hob return.  Kirin is forced to fly away when some people begin stoning the dragon, thinking it to be allied to the dragon threat the Magus had mentioned.  Melisande annoyingly tells them how her own mother is behind the ritual.  The group soon is together and Hob is devastated to learn about his father.   Cairre gives the messenger from Flowers a massive recount of what had transpired, and Hob adds his own message to be sent.  Bridgette offers to accompany the messenger.

"He may be alive," Cairre admits.  With Melisande's mother working with the Dragon, and possibly behind the Ritual, they have yet to resolve how Roderick fits in all this.

In the nights that follow, the streets grow dangerous.  People gather with torches and despite Cairre's words, become violent mobs that seek out those with the Mark.  Many of the Marked begin to come to the Temple, asking for sanctuary.  While the others try to determine where the Dragon may be, given how Melisande's description does not match the ruins of Gonol, Hob heads down to the lower floors and uses the Looking Room.  Inside, he asks to be shown, "One of the Dragon's Servants," and the True-seeing abilities of the Looking Room show him an ally of Voarex:  Lady Unisa.  The shock stuns him from speaking.

A stranger steps into the Looking Room.  The stranger, seemingly knows the riddle answer, and upon entering mutters something peculiar.  The stranger does not recognize Hob.

The alarms go loud as the Sanctuary of the tower is disturbed.  The group hurries down to find Roderick holding Hob by the throat.  Bjorn is forced to a stop, the undead causing him to delay.  Gil and Melisande move to strike, but Melisande's song goes awry and strikes even her allies down!  Finding an opening, Gil distracts Roderick long enough for Hob to see the necklace around the undead wizard, and grab it to rip it off.  But the blade which nearly decapitates "Roderick" slices into a woman's throat instead!  The woman drops, near death, as the others realize the Roderick they saw was merely possessing a vessel!

Melisande thinks the enemy is hiding in the gullet of a sleeping Tarrasque, buried under the City of Flowers. Legends talk of a massive monster called a Tarrasque brought to sleep by the  poppies growing around the City of Flowers.  The group enters the Looking Room to try and trace Roderick, but what they see is a confusing constant shifting image of various people instead.  The common trait, they all have the Mark.  When Cairre sees a citizen with the Mark tempted to draw a blade and attack the dwarven family they had met before, Cairre panics and launches a Fireball.  The Fireball erupts in the Looking Room!

The group rushes out, gasping for air and smothering flames on their clothes.  Cairre is barely done apologizing when Gil suddenly turns to attack Bjorn!  Unable to control his own motions, Bjorn attempts to Turn Undead in his panicked state.  The turning works! Gil is freed from the possession, and interestingly the mark even vanishes from view.

The Looking Room, however, has been damaged.

As the group gathers outside, Kirin arrives with Unisa in tow.  Roderick begins to confront them all, leaping from Marked to Marked, as he taunts them in the discussion.  Bjorn and Melisande attempt to dispel the magical domination but neither succeed.  The people of Towers nearby, however, now undeniably see that the Mark does allow Roderick to possess them.  And in many ways the fears and hate of the Church of Coin towards the Marked has suddenly become a valid concern.

"Give me Hob," Roderick sneers, "And in exchange I will offer you a single week of peace in this City."  Cairre and the rest are ready to say no, but the gathered masses of people cry for yes.  Clearly, being non-adventurers, the fear and panic has them thinking only for themselves.

Unisa confesses to having been party to the Dragon.  She admits she was not aware of Roderick's hand in all this.  When accused of selling out to evil, she defends her choice telling them the Dragon wanted thousands, yes, but in exchange the rest would be left alone.  It was a hard choice, but a better one.  The group starts to surmise that Melisande's mother may have corrupted the Ritual to work for Roderick.  The Dragon might just be as much a pawn to Roderick as he was before - he just does not realize it.

Angered by the events, Unisa clamors that the group strike immediately.  She stresses how the Dragon and the others are still reeling from the Ritual's misfire.  To strike now is to embrace the advantage they have.  Cairre offers they stay one day to complete some other plans before they leave.    Cairre does not explain what, but the other suspect it may be related to both the magical items, and the other Magi.

Gil realizes Cedric, once again is missing, and heads off to find him.  He finds Cedric in a house in the slums.  He had gone off to check on his family, worried the Ritual had Marked them as well.  He discovers those in the slums use their own kind of magic, a strange quixotic kind.  And have used it to hide from the Looking Rooms all these years.  He talks to Cedric and his mom about their upcoming quest against the Dragon and possibly a Lich, and she shares a story about her old adventuring days with her husband.  He was a thief, it seems, and she was a bard.  The boy, Cedric, however, was not their son.  Instead he was the son of another man, a halfling thief.  She knows Cedric would never forgive her if she kept him home.  She reminds Gil to watch over her son and gives them three potions to take for him.

Melisande's mother stares angrily at the Lich.  Roderick grins his eternal grimace and reminds her that she has a huge role to play in the coming war.  "My armies shall need a Mother of Monsters to bear them.  And you have just been chosen."  In the further chamber, Voarex growls in frustration.  Her vengeance will have to be stalled once more.  Her old master, Roderick, has returned.

Falling Ishtar ep03 : Dungeon World

06/24/2013
Falling Ishtar
Episode Three

"There be Dragons"

Dungeon World

With the new session, I had the players update their Bonds to both get glimpses of what scenes or opportunities they sought to tackle, as well as to throw them some additional experience points.

Gil WIllowisp, played by ERICH, was an Elven Ranger.

His bonds:
Guided Melisande before, and owes me for it.
Cairre does not understand the wild, I will teach him.
Doom will befall the world, so I must convince Bridgette of the danger.
Work with Hob to resolve the plague crisis.
Protect Melisande from herself.
Guide the group to resolve city problems to leave.

I wish to get to know Cedric.

Make sure Cedric does not end up as Melisande’s pet.
Find Bjorn’s worth or willingness in impending doom to come.
Maybe tell group of impending group.

Hob, played by URIM, was a Human Fighter.
His bonds:

Melisande is soft but I will make her hard.

I worry about the ability of Cairre to survive.
Convince group to return to Dragon’s Lair.
Convert Cedric to the ways of Bob.
Find a worthy weapon for Bob.

Find a cure for the plague with Gil.
Test the fighting prowess of the elves in the dungeon.

Bjorn, played by ROCKY, was a Dwarven Cleric of Bob.  

His bonds:
Cairre is good and a faithful person.  I trust him explicitly.
Melisande is in constant danger. I will keep her safe.
Gil has insulted my deity. I don’t trust him.

Demonstrate the strength of Bob to Gil.
Find a worthy weapon of Bob for Hob.
Purge cave of the Dragon with the group.

Forge Hob’s divine symbol when he’s worthy.
Instill Melisande with the strength of Bob.
Inspire Cedric to an act of generosity.

Welcome Bob into the tower of Cairre.

Cairre, played by Rachel, was a Human Wizard (Magus of Chaos)

His bonds:

Gil will play important role in events to come.
Melisande is keeping an important secret from me.
Hob is always getting into trouble, so will have to protect him.
Gain Adon’s respect by becoming the Magus of the City of Towers.
Bjorn seems like a strong warrior, but I don’t trust his magic.
Cairre trusts Melisande and Gil for advice. They’ve seen more of the world.
Melisande’s magic is strange.  Teach her the right magic.
Cedric has spent more time with me.  Keep him in the party.
Gain control of the tower.

Melisande, played by MAHAR, was the Elven Bard.
Her bonds: 

Cairre is often the butt of my jokes.
I am writing a ballad about the adventures of the Adventure Five.

Bjorn trusted me with a secret:  The dead creep me out.
I sang stories of Bob long before I met him. 

Cedric is more trouble than he is worth.  Get him out of trouble.
Learn magic more formally from Cairre.
Prove to self I deserve Dragon Singer title.
Show Hob and Bjorn I am more capable than they think I am.
I will repay Gil for saving my life.
Girl power shall be respected by this party of men.
Show Bridgette the joys of being a woman.

The scene opens with Cedric and a few others still down the Portable Hole which the late Magus Roderick seemingly has used to store all his treasures.  Hills of golden coins and mounds of treasure almost filled the room to capacity.   As the others debate on whether or not to try exploring the area, Cairre demands that everyone step out of the hole and leave the treasures alone.  Deep down, he still worries that Roderick may have hidden or stored some powerful artifacts in there, and these may be dangerous or fall into the wrong hands.  At first the others complained, but when they noticed the four large shadows not too distant, the idea of having to face four known guardians was enough a reason to step out for the nonce.

Cedric snagged a small blue green stone however.  And Melisande recognizes it to be an Ioun Stone.  Though she is not certain what kind it is, she does tell him that once attuned to a person, the stone can give magical benefits.  But as they argue over whether or not the place should be explored again, Illuire notices something outside and alerts Gil to it. The Ranger peers out and sees the gathering at the tower's base, of twelve soldiers and what looked like two officials in formal garb.    As Cairre heads down to check what that was about and learns that the Duke has sent Julius, his Righthand, to call for the "Soon to be Magus".  Details were not shared, but there was mention that Adon would be there as well.  Cairre agrees to go, with Bjorn and Melisande accompanying him.  Cairre tells Gil and Hob to watch the boy.  Melisande shows Cairre the spellbook she has been studying, a tome which the elf admits she had taken from the Tower given her interest in learning magic.   Cairre feels frustrated everyone seems to be grabbing stuff from the Tower indiscriminately, but for now the city seemingly needs her.

As the others follow suit, the two groups notice the lines of fire that have been ignited to segregate pathways from the gates to one of the Accountancy offices.  The bodies of those affected by the "plague" have been carried to the office for inspection, and the lines of fire seem intended to "contain" any possible infection from spreading.

Cairre's group meets with Adon and is asked to prepare to use his ability to speak to the dead to learn more of the plague.   Cairre realizes the way the people talk to him, it almost seems as if they have all met him before, which is impossible given his being locked in the Tower all these years.  Has Roderick been using Mimic to assume his likeness in the past?  Cairre learns that the Magus also has two other properties in the documents, the Dungeons and the Watch Tower.   Cairre finds it a shock to learn there have actually been four apprentices before him as welll.  Where are they now?  Bjorn takes the opportunity to Commune as well with Bob.

Hob's group arrives and the guards question them before letting them pass.  It takes Cedric offering to stay outside to convince the guard to let them through.   Hob and Gil see Melisande outside and learn the elf is "composing in her head" while the others prepare.  Gil decides to look for the Paladin, while Hob makes the mistake of touching one of the stretchers used to carry the plague victims, which forces the guards to segregate him as well to one of the upper floors.

An hour later, Cairre and Bjorn head upstairs, intent to learn what they can of the plague and see Hob among the victims.  Hob tells them to do what they can and considers waiting it out, confident that the others will find a way to get him out.  Melisande leaves the others to do their thing and heads down to look for Julius.  She does not realize her curiosity was about to uncover something larger.

Gil  visits the tomb to look for Bridgette, and finds her still praying over her father's grave.  As a member of the Silver Lance, she  has devoted her life to purification and the destruction of evil.  Gil learns that the Silver Lance actually once embraced the duty of cleansing the world of Dragons, and were said to have wiped them all out.  Gil asks her to accompany him and she agrees to.

Cairre and Bjorn are at the top most floor where the body of the furthest victim was found.  According to the guards, the body was that of a Priest of the Coin who was found dead in the outskirts of the Cit of Flags.  Cairre silently casts the Necromantic Spell to speak to the dead and at first it seems like nothing had happened.  But then a dark shadow begins to expand from where the body is lain and a presence nearby starts to be manifest.  Bjorn senses something is wrong and starts to dig through Cairre's things for something that may help once he drops to the ground in a state that is almost akin to being dead.

Death itself emerges and questions Cairre for being in its realm.  Cairre focuses on the priest and asks his questions, learning about how the Priest was killed by something in the sky.  The green mists that descended upon him were the cause of his death.  But even as these precious notes of information are gained, Cairre realizes that Death has not come for just the Priest!   Bjorn senses something is wrong, and starts praying to Bob for guidance.  Bob realizes something is definitely wrong, and finds a small "Almond" from Cairre's things.  Deeming it important to Cairre, Bjorn sacrifices it and calls to Bob for guidance.  He starts seeing images of the Green Dragon, of the ruins, and starts to find meaning behind the images.  The ruins of Gonol once held a massive temple to Bob.  The Magus.  The Green Dragon once more prominently was in the visions.  Bob wanted the dragon slain!  And then Bob mentions the presence of an Artifact beneath the Temple called the Foundation Hammer.  Bjorn realizes this must be retrieved as well.

As Gil and Bridgette make their way back, Gil opts to head to the Questing Tent and posts an invitation for those who might want to help out or have information on the plagues.  Though many seem interested, none quite grab Gil's discerning eye.  That until a Druid approaches him and offers a very intriguing viewpoint regarding the plague.  The Druid suggests that it is an attack by a darker force, that perhaps a Dragon gently releasing its horrible gas breath in small does might be able to simulate a plague.  And how spreading fear would work in its favor.  The Druid talks about his last party being decimated by a Green Dragon, and that the only other survivor was a Halfling thief who was swallowed by a Tyrant Lizard.  Gil wonders if that would mean Adon (and suggested Adon multi-classed) and asks for the Druid's name but he explains he would rather not give it.  "Names hold power," the Druid admitted.  The Druid easily pegs Gil an Elf, a fact which ironically slips past Bridgette who's racism is expressed when she remarks, "Other than being an Elf, he shows promise."  Gil isn't sure what race the Druid is nor what gender, but does note the scales that hint of its Tell in the area around the eyes.

A soldier slowly inches towards the segregated Hob, and accuses him and his deity, Bob, for having brought the plague upon them.  To the soldier, the plague is Bob throwing out its long gathered anger for having been unable to gain respect in the city.  The old temple of Bob existed in the city of Towers, but the Magus had it destroyed.  Hob sees the soldier draw his sword.  Hob plants his hand on his sword handle, ready to draw it if it seems necessary.

Cairre feels the coldness of Death wrapping around him.  He leaps into his own body to escape Death's grasp.  Cairre does not realize that the hands of Bob catch him as he spiritually leaps, and pulls him back through to the land of the Living.

“Price is a natural consequence in order," the soldier growls.  Hob draws his blade, and etches the ground with the symbol of Bob.  He warns the soldier NOT to cross the symbol.

Melisande had returned downstairs to ask Julius some questions, but instead overhears him talking to someone thorough a magical window in the air.  They discuss plans and Julius worries the group might be getting too close.  Melisande steps in, hoping to sound open and sincere, and tries to ask Julius about his allegiances.  Julius answers her, but not in the way she had hoped.  The body of the man distorts as he suddenly gains an impossible amount of mass as he transmutes into something else...

Gil, Bridgette and the Druid hear an explosive boom.  A sudden dark rush of smoke rises form somewhere in the city.  The roar of a  bestial monstrosity can be heard.  Gil and Bridgette realize they have to rush there.  And to accommodate them, the Druid transforms into a Warhorse.  They bolt towards the scene to see the beast itself.

A massive Green Dragon emerges from the falling tower, and its glistening green body shines against the dust and smoke.    The dragon's movement to grow larger from human form tore through most of the tower's lower floors.   The soldier closing in on Hob was crushed to a pulp as the dragon's wing ripped through the very ground he was standing on.  Hob does not hesitate.  He rushed towards the green blur and leaps upon it grab a hold on whatever he can.  Though his hand is secure and he maintains his hold on his signature weapon, the force of the rise and crashing through the debris pounds Hob through a wall of pain. The tower's highest floor, the very room where Cairre and Bjorn were investigating the dead priest's body shifts to its side as it rips away from the shattered foundation.  And Melisande is flung through the debris as the Dragon effortlessly flicks its tail at her.  She awakens among the ruined temple's rubble, with her left arm severed from her body.

Gil and Bridgette draw their weapons as the Druid breaking into a full charge.  Bjorn realizes there's no way to safely stay in the tower.  He quickly runs to Cairre, picks him up, and drags him with him to the opposite side of the falling tower.  They clamber out the window, and slide down the shifting side to safety even as th debris cloud erupts outwards.  Melisande knows she can heal her wound, but with her arm torn off, the healing song would seal the wound and leave her limbless.  She closes her eyes and petitions to Bob for help.  As debris crash all around her, she opens her eyes and watches in amazement as the clouds part to reveal her severed arm literally just on the ground in front of her.  She gazes upwards and sees that a massive chunk of the debris from the upper floors had crashed a few feet from where she knelt.  The mark of Bob is on the chunk, etched upon the very stone (Yes, the same one which Hob earlier made).    Melisande grabs the arm and presses it against the torn arm and sings to heal herself.

The song catches the Dragon's notice.   It turns towards her, and its mouth seethes with the green mist of chlorinated death.  Hob realizes he has to act and quickly he plunges his blade between the cracks of the scales.  The metal penetrates, but the wound is just not enough.  Worse, from the wound, thick vile blood sprays outwards burning Hob's skin upon contact.  He defies the pain and shoves the blade deeper.

Cairre and Bjorn land safely, and Cairre sees Hob's attempt to wound the Dragon.  Knowing there isn't much time, Cairre quickly weaves a spell to help his friend.  A fireball launches out of Cairre's hands and traverses through the sky with an orange trail.  The ball strikes the dragon at its very maw and all hear the dragon howl in pain.   Bjorn and Cairre feel the debris they landed on shift again as the Dragon's pained motions accidentally strikes where they are.  Bjorn allows himself to act as a cushion to help Cairre, but the Dragon takes that opportunity to rake at them and tear Cairre's stomach open.  Though Bjorn could cast a healing spell that Bob had granted him, he realizes it may prove better to call upon Bob to Bless them all in this battle against evil.  Melisande sees the Dragon attacking someone else beyond her line of sight, however, and knowing any enemies of the dragon would be her friend, she began singing her healing songs to affect all allies that could hear it.   She fails to notice that her songs, unfortunately, heal the Dragon as well.

Bridgette charges into the Dragon's stomach and tears into its scales.  As the Dragon moves to retaliate, Gil's arrow flies true and blinds it in one eye!  The Dragon howls and its tail causes a second distant tower to begin crashing down.  The group can hear the screams as people fall to their deaths.  Gil ignites a second prepared arrow and launches the burning arrow into the Dragon's side.  Bob Blesses Hob and Bridgette, and the two quickly make short work of the Dragon; Bridgette calls upon Exterminatus before striking as she remembers her vows to slay the Evil of the world while Hob tears the blade deep inside and twists it.  And as the Dragon writhes in its death throes, Cairre launches a second Fireball to immolate the dying thing's head.

The victory was not without its price.  Or rather, with its many prices.

Bridgette drops to her knees, with the killing blow having placed her face in the path of the bloody explosion of acid.  Though horribly disfigured, the Paladin remains silent and calm.   The City of Towers struggles to find survivors in the rubble of the second tower, while many of its people cry out in despair for the desecrated remains of their loved ones that were in the first one.    And finally, Melisande realizes the young boy Cedric is missing.  Having taken him under her wing, she feels extremely guilty for having possibly brought him into a world that has lead him to die such a death.  Cairre casts Detect Magic, hoping to find the Ioun Stone Cedric has with him as a means to find him.  The others search manually as best as they can.

Gil sends Illuire to the sky and the Hawk's superior senses find signs of what possibly can be life under the rubble of the first tower.  As Gil alters the others of this, the Druid changes into a rat, crawls underneath and returns to confirm the chid's presence within.   Hob uses his superior strength to grab hold of the rubble and lift a massive wall of debris up.  The others quickly help Cedric out of the pocket he had been trapped in and feel thankful that he had survived.

Cairre sees Adon approach and at first Cairre feels angry that Adon did not help in the fight.  Adon reminds him that he is in charge of this region and it would have been wrong for a different Magus to interfere.  "You could have simply used a Dispel Magic spell to force the wyrm back into its human truth,"  Adon tells Cairre as Cairre's detect magic leads him to the dead corpse of Julius.  The body sparks and immolates, leaving merely an outline of ash on the ground.  Cairre admits he was not aware the dragon was just someone  who had been magically altered.  Adon reminds him, "The true power of a wizard is in seeing."    Cairre realizes the magic he detected is coming from a Dragon Scale that is still within the ash.  Adon leaves to help the soldiers rescue more survivors.

The Druid watches one half of the group seems just overjoyed that Cedric is safe.  The other half is digging into ashes and rubble for something they don't quite grasp.  The druid comments to himself, “This is a body without a head.”

Cairre grabs hold of the scale and sees an intense vision of the Green Dragon.  The wyrm taunts him, telling him that they were wrong to interfere.  Cairre asks it many questions on the recent events and the dragon admits that there is no plague, and that he only sought his vengeance.  The dragon mentions having had four of his children stolen away.  And mutters that now Roderick is gone, there is no one to stay his anger.  As the dragon withdraws its influence, the scale cracks into tiny shards.  The magical connection is broken.  Cairre decides he needs to ask Adon more questions.   The others opt to return to Roderick's tower, hoping to get a moment to rest.

Adon's talk with Cairre explores a lot of confusing concepts, but then again what else can one expect of Wizards and their musings.  Cairre asks about the Lady Unisa, and her interest in Starmetal, which Adon admits it indeed an interesting thing, given she was the one who asked for Dragon Wards.  Adon muses more on what he calls "the Epic Theory" and how for some people in the world, they happen to become the center of Chaos.  They become silent avatars of Change.  "The world around them seems to understand that their very presence is a catalyst for greatness.  But greatness can only come with terror, with anguish, and with pain."  Cairre is not certain what the halfling Magus is talking about, but he does realize that if he truly wishes to make a difference, he may have to truly embrace the role of the Magus.  Adon reminds him that as evil as Roderick was, he was the Magus of Chaos.  What if Roderick was intentionally grooming Cairre for that very reason?  After all, there has never been a Magus of Evil.  Just before Cairre could leave, however, Adon does tell him to "Send Kirin my regards."

Cairre is not sure who this Kirin is.

Back at the Tower, the group recovers from the attack.  Bjorn heals the injured and members of the party reconsider their plans for the days to come.  Clearly, the Green Dragon in the Ruins of Gonol somehow has agents within the city.  Whether they were dragons pretending to be human or vice-versa remains unclear.  But there was no denying it is a true threat.

Another visitor.  Bjorn and Gil head to the door to answer it.  They open the metal slit and find another entourage outside the tower, only grander than the one accompanying Julius.  The guards ask for the Magus, and Bjorn starts responding with the tower being referred to as a Temple of Bob.   Gil tries to reason with the guards in a clearer fashion.  And they learn the entourage is here because the Lady Unisa wished to ask some questions.  Hob and the Druid observe a bit in the rear.  Melisande strums the lute to add some musical mood.  Hob starts translating any discussions to the Common tongue when necessary.  Bjorn and Gil see her, the beautiful Lady Unisa whose smile can make men's knees weak, and whose winter white hair that spilled out like water currents down to her knees perfectly framed her dark olive skin.  Gil gasps.  Bjorn smiles.  They allow her to come inside.

Lady Unisa asks them about the Magus, and Bjorn and Gil's conflicting answers amuses her rather than angers her.  When Cairre arrives, he apologises to her for the events and admits she had come to ask for an oracle.  The Magus, she admits, would divine the stars for answers to her questions.  Cairre unfortunately admits the Magus Roderick is dead.  Then adds, "I am the Magus now."

Lady Unisa surprises the others when he speaks fluent Elven, and addresses Melisande that she is curious how they do not seem to both proudly show their heritage.  Lady Unisa happens to be a Dark Elf, and even Gil is taken a bit aback by this revelation.  She tells them that her love, the Duke Thomin has been suffering from nightmares.  And she had hoped they could help.  The Dark Elf seems to recognize the Druid, but does not offer any information how.

Cairre, Melisande and Gil head to the Duke's tower to check on the Duke.  The Lady Unisa admits he has been having the nightmares nightly since some time ago, which the group realize was the same time they emerged from the Green Dragon's lair in the ruins of Gonol.  The group find themselves blocked by a Paladin of the Church of the Coin and four other knights.    The Paladin asks them to swear that they will use neither their weapons nor powers while within the chamber.  Lady Unisa vouches for them.  They are allowed to step inside.

The Duke is strapped to the bed, shifting and moaning as more disturbing images assault his mind.  He struggles against his bonds and mumbles incoherently.  Melisande asks Lady Unisa if the Duke ever was given a present of some sort.  Perhaps an item of import.  Cairre inspects the room and asks if Unisa ever saw a "scale".  Lady Unisa admits the Duke has one.  When the knights left to retrieve the fallen star as a present, they were killed by the Green Dragon in the Ruins of Gonol, only a single survivor returned, carrying with him a tiny green scale.  Cairre looks at Melisande with a worried glance.   Melisande ponders on whether or not she can use the scale to play the lute, to sort of live up to the title of Dragon Singer.

Cedric, on the other hand, leads Bjorn and Hob to a secret door that he had found in the Grandfather Clock room.  Opening the door, the three stared at the Guardian that appeared as a disembodied head upon a pillar.  It's most certainly a guardian watching over a second door.  Hob steps before the pillar and decides to take a gamble at it, asking the Guardian to tell him the riddle.'

"The safe door be broken
By word sung or spoken."

Hob sees three wheels come into view.  Each wheel has eight spokes, and each spoke contains a letter:  B, Y, G, X, H, N, K, M.   Hob takes some time to think, and finally he spins each wheel until the word HYMN is formed.  The door emerges as the Guardian congratulated Hob.  Hob looks back, sees no sign of either Cedric nor Bjorn.  Hob decides to step through.

Cedric and Bjorn ponder on what they can do.  Hob stepped through the clock door and vanished from their view.  Bjorn called for Bob to guidance and found himself seeing glimpses of the map of the four elves once again.  He could not detect any evil in the clock either.  The Druid joined them in the room and was about to ask what was going on, when suddenly Hob emerges and motions them to go inside.  Bjorn looks at Cedric and the Druid, and asks them to wait.  Cedric and Bjorn step through the second door and what they see is something impossible.  The City of Towers.  They find themselves floating a hundred feet up in the air, above the City of Towers.

Cairre takes the scale, and once again finds herself telepathically connecting with the Green Dragon.  The Green Dragon growls a guttural laugh and congratulates Cairre for finding the second scale.  The dragon boasts there are far more of his agents than they realize in the entire city.  "My name is Voarex.  And I will have my revenge!"

What Cairre does not realize, however, is that to Melisande and Gil he is on his knees bleeding out blood from his eyes.  As Cairre falls towards the ground, Melisande catches him.   Gil breaks the scale and shatters the connection.  But its too late.  The enemy knows where they are.  And Cairre realizes they might have just endangers the Duke. The Paladin slams the door open and rushes inside, demanding that Cairre and Gil and Melisande raise their hands in surrender.  But before the others can explain what is going on, a clean blade emerges through his chest.  As the Paladin drops, the others realize the other knights turned out be already "turned."   Weapons are drawn, but the knights instead begin to fuse together, and their bodies engorge into some horrifying shape.  Melisande realizes she recognizes what is happening, and she tries to warn everyone to pull away.

She warns them too late.  The top most floor explodes, as the Dragon spreads its mighty wings.  Cairre, Melisande, Gil, Lady Unisa and the others are flung outside by the impact, and Melisande sees the poor Duke, now awake from his turmoil, screaming as he and the bed he is strapped on, tumbles away.  The tower itself, heavily damaged by the Dragon, is damaged enough that the Ward against Dragons on its peak fails.

Hob and Bjorn, watch as the tower begins to fall.  Both instinctively try to look elsewhere, calling out names on who to focus on.  The room behind the clock, as it turns out, is the Looking Room.  The same room which Cairre heard about before which allowed the Magus to view potentially anyone in the City.  As they see their friends falling to their deaths, both feel tremendously helpless on how they can help.  The Green Dragon repeatedly tries to fly off, but the remnants of the fading ward burn it each time it touches it.

Lady Unisa, however, is not so helpless.

"Kirin," she mutters, "I call upon the debt today."

Hob and Bjorn rush out of the room, hoping to find some way to help.  Stepping outside, they find a long, winding silver dragon staring at them.  Their minds are assaulted with words as the dragon tells them he has to go fulfill a bargain.  And suggests to them to stand back, and use the Flying Carpet he left outside.

Kirin, the Silver Dragon Druid, takes to the air to fly to the others.  He rips through the wall to make haste and get to the others in time.    The two leap onto the carpet, and find a way to navigate it towards the falling tower.   Cedric slowly steps back into the Looking Room to watch what happens.

Cairre casts another fireball, striking the Green Dragon even as he falls.  The Green Dragon is definitely unhappy with that strike, and begins to inhale to prepare another blast of gas.  Melisande gets snatched by Kirin.  Cairre, however, maneuvers herself to land upon the bed where the Duke is strapped on to, and starts cutting away what he can of his bonds.   Gil digs through his pack and finds a grappling hook.  Throwing it, he succeeds in snagging part of the tower to stop his fall.  And as Lady Unisa sees the Green Dragon unleash a blast of chlorinated gas, the dragon Kirin arrives and catches her.    Gil is then snatched by the Silver Dragon, and the three watch as Kirin blasts at the Green Dragon with its own breath weapon of lightning.   None of them see the bed with the Duke and Cairre slam into the streets below.  Cairre has hoped to use a spell as a Spell Defense, but upon realizing there was no spell he could use in that way, casted instead an Unseen Servant in hopes of catching them from getting too hurt.  The idea, sadly, did not work.

As the Green Dragon collapses towards the streets, Kirin and the others descent towards where the bed and Melisande had fallen.  Though all of them seem to have survived, sadly the Duke Thomin did not get through the events alive.   And Cairre finds himself worried that he has become a Magus of a city without a ruler.

Falling Ishtar e02 : Dungeon World

05/26/2013
Falling Ishtar
Episode Two

"The Adventurer Five"

Dungeon World

Urim joins the Sunday Group to take part in the Dungeon World sessions.   And his addition to the game is accomplished with so much ease that I find it very hard to fault the beauty of the Dungeon World system. Bonds are updated, of course, now to reflect the new dynamics of the group with the addition of Urim and Rocky's characters to the game (Rocky was not present in the first game session due to family affairs.)  Interestingly, both found the system perfect for adding concepts which had inspirations from the very popular webcomic, Order of the Stick.  So with that, Rocky introduced his Dwarven Cleric Bjorn who worships the deity called Bob, the God of Stone.  Urim, on the other hand, goes for a Fighter named Hob and is best friends with the Dwarf.

Here's the updated list of characters:

ERICH
Gil Willowisp - Elf Ranger, cape, wild purple eyes, silver hair. Left the “Homeland” to travel and experience the world. Keep getting thrown out for causing trouble and breaking rules. Don’t believe in others imposing on them. Has a Hawk (Illiure - Ill You Ray). Chaotic (free things caught in bondage)

Guided Hob before, and owes me for it.
Guided Melisande before, and owes me for it.
Melisande may be drunk with power. I will remind her of her place.
Cairre does not understand the wild, I will teach him.
Cairee has a lot on his plate, so I will help him cope.
Doom will befall the world, so I must convince Bridgette of the danger.
Bjorn has no respect for nature, so I have no respect for him.

URIM
Hob - Human Fighter, hard eyes shorn hair, tanned skin, built body. Seeking adventure. Neutral (Defeat a worthy opponent.)

Melisande Dragonsinger owes me her life, whether she admits it or not.
I have sworn to protect Bjorn (i like his God).
I worry about the ability of Cairre to survive.
Gil is soft, but I will make him hard.

ROCKY
Bjorn - Dwarven Cleric of Bob. Kind eyes, bald, common garb, thin body. Spread the word of Bob. Lawful (Endanger yourself, follow the precepts of your Church “Stop what lies beneath”)

Cairre is good and a faithful person. I trust him explicitly.
Melisande is in constant danger. I will keep her safe.
I am working on converting Hob to my faith.
Gil has insulted my deity. I don’t trust him.

RACHEL
Cairre (Kyer) - Wizard Apprentice, formerly under Roderick (an evil Wizard, creepy body, old: wanted to use magic to conquer the world), magic is commonly known but not commonly practice. Inherited Roderick’s things. Kidnapped from family.

Gil will play important role in events to come.
Melisande is keeping an important secret from me.
Melisande does not understand the world.
Hob is always getting into trouble, so will have to protect him.
I have to find Adon, to convince him to train me.
Bjorn seems like a strong warrior, but I don’t trust his magic.

MAHAR
Melisande - Elf Bard, Chaotic (spurring others to decisive action) Followed Gil from the “Homelands”. With Gil, rescued Cairre from Roderick to free him.

This is not my first adventure with Gil.
Cairre is often the butt of my jokes.
I am writing a ballad about the adventures of the Adventurer Five.
Bjorn trusted me with a secret: The dead creep me out.
Cairre does not trust you for good reason: You use magic to help him. Constantly.
I sang stories of Bob long before I met him.

The story continues a few months after the events of Episode One.  All of them, including the two new guys, have been living in Cairre's Tower (formerly Roderick the Black's tower) and sadly, that simple act has gained some repercussions in the form of someone from the Office of Accountancy of the City of Towers visiting them regarding taxes owed as well as the need for seven Spells of Defenses which Roderick used to cast on the city needing to be recast.   The Tower, it seems, was providing Protection Wards against Good, Evil, Lawful and Chaos powers... and if Roderick the Black's death was ever made known, ownership of the Tower would return to the City itself.  Bjorn tries to invite the accountant to the Church of Bob but learns most in the City of Towers are followers of the Church of Coin instead.  Bjorn bashes the hammer repeatedly in the area, using the pounding to intone to the God Bob to detect Evil in the area.

Cairre tries to identify the magical ring which Gil had found, but fails to discern more than just it being magical in origin.  Melisande recognizes it, however, as one of the missing Rings of Legend, the only Lawful Ring that exists:  The Ring of Patterns.  A ring used by architects of the ancient times and allows the bearer to see order in all things.  How useful that would be remains to be seen.

The group decides then to visit the Questing House to find small jobs that can help them earn some coin.  While there, Bjorn, Hob and Cairre find an old woman who turns out to have been once wed to a Dwarf of Bob.  While they try to sell some of the jewels and crystals which Cairre had found in the tower, Melisande notices a group of four elves who seem adamant in visiting the Ruins of Gonol - excited at the prospect of facing off against a Dragon.    She offers them four days worth of lessons on how to use the sword, and the four elves readily agree to pay sixty coins each for each day of training.

Gil chooses instead to head to the Necropolis to see if the Paladin, Bridgette, was still there.  He was curious on whether or not she had encountered any trouble with her father's ashes.  Thankfully, Roderick's ashes remain inert - a fact which gives Gil some peace given the visions the Green Dragon had given him - and show no signs of having been enchanted in any way.  As they walk back towards the Questing House, it becomes apparent to Gil that Bridgette did not realize he was an elf!  She hints at some racist tendencies as she complains about the four elves and Melisande.  

While Melisande busies herself with the four elves, who turn out to be extremely young, unfamiliar with human norms, and have actually murdered a few of the City Guard to get into the city, the others return to the Tower to busy themselves with smaller duties.  Gil takes on a few small errand tasks, delivering goods around the city for some coin.  Cairre plans to visit the Office of Accountancy with the first day's worth of coin Melisande had acquired (plus the coins she gained from selling the jewels) to pay the taxes, but for now opts to purchase groceries for the later meal.  Bjorn and Hob however are excited by the prospect of the dragon as well, and futilely attempt to persuade the others to revisit the Ruins of Gonol.  Hob challenges Cairre to a fight to determine if they will go, a fight Cairre very quickly wins with a single casting of Magic Missile.

A great meal is made at home, with Bridgette joining the group for some laughs, food and ale.  She gets roaring drunk and in her drunken state makes her racist tendencies even more apparent, as well as what seems to be a hidden fondness for Gil.

Melisande rents a house in the slums area and sets it up to train the elves in secret there.  She discovers these young elves are frighteningly embodiments of Fighters, who have no expectations of needing to rest between workouts.  The four days of work, Melisande realizes, were understood by the elves to mean four straight days worth of training.  They complain when Melisande asks for time to rest and sleep.  Melisande ends up hiring some young kids outside to deliver messages, buy groceries and the like, and soon begins to note the promise shown by one particular child, Cedric, who seems to be the most mature and focused of the uneducated bunch.  She sends Cedric to the Tower a few times to deliver messages, and they are exchanged well (with Cairre sending back food a few times).

Gil, however, discovers some kind of plague spreading while outside the City of Tower's walls as some people in the rural countryside seem to be besieged by  some strange malady.  He hurries back to the City to warn the others but finds the gates shut closed, as the guards have been instructed NOT to allow anyone in or out of the city.  Gil sends Illuire to call for help and help does come in the form of Bjorn and Hob, and when the standoff leads to an exchange of blows, Bjorn's hammer breaks the chains that keep the portcullis shut, Gil's agility allows him to traverse the gates, and Hob's strength stops the incoming charge of a carriage.  However, the three realize whatever is causing the people to get sick might have now found its way into the city.

Cairre learns from the Office that the Lord of the Banner and Duke of the Towers, Duke Thomin, actually watches over the city using magical means, and one of the enchantments Roderick the Black had in place was the ability for the Duke to gaze upon any point in the City and sense if the target of his sight is speaking the truth.  Cairre notices that Melisande's image has been raised as someone who has begun a business without a permit, and decides he has to inform her of this as soon as possible.

People fail to reach each other in time, and Cairre finds himself caught up with looking for Melisande that he encounters instead the angry mother of the four Elves who pays him to end the contract.  The ancient seems fascinated by Cairre though, sensing something different about him.

Melisande arrives at the Tower with Cedric to see a small imp like thing attempting to steal a glass orb filled with smoke.  Though Melisande kills the thing with her rapier, the thing drops something which spreads out like a black shadow across the ground, consuming most of the upper level of the tower!  Cedric and Melisande rush out of the tower, fearing it will collapse, but it doesn't.  And when Bjorn and the others arrive, they all head back up to check and discover the upper level has been "swallowed up" by the darkness.  While Bjorn prays to the stone for guidance, the others wait for Cairre to return to tell him the bad news.  An explosion of light dances upon the skyline, covering the City with a magical protection.  Cairre returns and learns of the mishap upstairs and they realize Cedric is missing!  Cedric, it turns out, leapt into the darkness to check it out.. and has discovered it is a Portable Hole!

Inside, three storeys deep of treasure and artifacts await! Cedric clambers out of the hole and suggests the others dive in to explore it with him.  Cairre worries about who cast the ward over the City, as the ward is a magical protection against Dragons.  He is not aware that Adon, the Archmagus, is actually present.  What he does ponder on, is why the city would need a ward against dragons active right now.  And why the city is closing its doors.