- This session concludes the Shattered Stair arc. It’s the first time that we have seen Wardens fighting Wardens, and the difference that Mastery of the Stair can make.
- We also introduce the concept of a parasite creature that can use/marionette a Warden. I think this is a valid concept.
Major Characters
- Grant, Ethan
Adversaries
- The Others
Adventure Hook
- This session continues immediately on from the previous session. Ethan has decided to go on the offensive and hunt down the Others.
Part 1 - The Hunt Resumes
- Ethan and Grant resume their hunt for more of the Others. The Others are very active in this section of the Ramp - there is a lot of moss growth here, and a steady flow of water trickling downwards.
- Ethan looks for another portable Door - he wants to see how these creatures are using them. They take a few hours, being picky, to find the right Door to open.
- At last Ethan opens a triangular shaped Door and they find themselves inside a building which is at a 20 degree angle. They arrive in some sort of lobby and there are at least ten floors above them. On the back of the Door is a grown biotech monitoring device. Ethan puts it to sleep so that it cannot alert the Others.
- They can sense that there is another Door in this realm, but it does not feel near. Ethan uses Mental Invisibility to hide them, and they go in search of the Others in this realm. Outside the badly damaged front doors are lots of buildings, many of which are at odd angles, and the ground is severely cracked and broken. Tremors can be felt through the ground. The two Lords of Gossamer are very cautious - Grant takes to the air to investigate and he quickly finds a high vantage point. Less than a mile away, a great ‘thing’ almost 5 stories high is ploughing through the city, devouring everything in its path, eating the rock and harvesting the building for materials. It is very very slow, but Grant spots that it has some flying creatures for protection.
- Finding that there is enough magic in the realm to use sorcery, Ethan joins Grant on the rooftop via a teleport. The creature below is extremely slow. It has clearly come a long way, and it has a long way to go. They quickly realise that it has come from one far away Door, and it is slowly inching its way towards a distant Door. This appears extremely inefficient but the creature is slowly creating a path between the two Doors, paving a huge ‘road’ behind it.
- Grant scouts ahead, heading for the target Door. (GM’s note - with Engine Speed, he is very fast) In the meantime, Ethan figures an Icon and decides to try it. There is no connection, and no apparent reaction from the smaller creatures, but the large creature seems to slow, even pause. Ethan ceases his concentration and muses on this. He watches the creature carefully and decides that it is moving perhaps a foot every hour.
Part 2 - First Strike
- An hour later, Grant reports that he has found a Door in a fortified area in a neighbouring city. The land between the two cities is badly damaged. The Door is large - garage door sized - but still too small for the mountainous creature that is making its way there. Grant reports that there are perhaps one hundred Others in the fortified area around the Door. Furthermore, he can sense another Warden of the Stair here. He knows that the other Warden can’t sense him (because Grant is very very skilled with Umbra) but he is still being very very cautious. He believes that he could sneak through the Door onto the Stair (Ramp).
- Ethan uses his Icon of Grant and he steps through to join Grant. They decide to watch and learn what they can about the Others. The Others are not looking for them, and they keep a low profile so they are not detected. The days are fractionally longer than expected (27 hours) and the nights quite cold, but they keep watch on the Others for two days and nights.
- During that time, the Lords of Gossamer identify that roughly forty of the Others are not combatants - they have specialist functions. They count twenty combatants, which rotate in two shifts of ten. They Lords infer from this that they do need to rest, possibly even sleep. They also spot a number of elite fighters, roughly twenty in number that are guarding the building that the Warden dwells in. These elite fighters look strong and agile, with preying mantis-like limbs.
* Image sourced from Google.
- More interesting to Grant is the way that they move. He is able to determine that they are connected to one another, like some sort of linked or hive mind. Meanwhile, Ethan has been using Divination spells to explore certain lines of thinking. He concludes that they will be very disoriented if the Lords disrupt their shared mental connection to one another. Even though Ethan believes he can achieve this disruption using sorcery, the Warden’s capabilities are unknown so they decide that using Umbra is a safer bet.
- The two plan their attack - they want to find out just how tough these creatures are. They want to capture the enemy Warden if they can, or kill it if they cannot. They also want to see how the Others will react to their sudden attack. Their theory is that they are devastating and even unstoppable if they are able to attack, regroup and attack again; but they may be quite weak in defence. They decide to attack during the day cycle.
- They attack when the sun is high. Grant uses Umbra to disrupt their hive mind. The weaker Others collapse like marionettes, their strings cut. The combatants seem very confused, but they do not go down. Both Ethan and Grant engage them in hand-to-hand, and find that they are tough, but still no match for either of them. Ethan and Grant cut loose for the first time in an age, cutting their way through the creatures. Grant reaches the Door and blocks it, preventing the Warden from escaping. Meanwhile, Ethan enters the main building. He finds a huge table covered in maps, and four figures around it. Three of the figures are spindly and robed. The last is a creature that is almost humanoid, but there is a biomechanical device clamped over its head and shoulders - the Other is literally wearing the humanoid Warden. Its beady black eyes are fixed on Ethan.
- Ethan uses a Force-Push to scatter all four of them. The spindly creatures quickly get back to their feet, and they slide out of their robes, revealing very tall spider-like Others. Ethan slams through the roof and turns his attention to the Warden, who has gotten back to his feet and is looking very dazed. The Warden doesn’t look like a threat, but Ethan isn’t taking any chances. Looking the enemy in the eyes, he attempts to put the Warden to sleep. This is easier than he imagined as the creature holding him is no match for the strength of Ethan’s mind. Its resolve caves in and the Warden collapses in a heap.
- Meanwhile the commotion continues outside. Grant is still hacking his way through the elite warriors. Ethan goes to join him and together they finish off the Others, making sure that none have escaped. They talk quickly, and Grant has a look at the strange Warden. They agree that they need to get him off world, but first they intend to ‘make a mess’ that will make the Others think a much large force has attacked them.
- While Ethan carries the disabled enemy Warden to the Door, Grant uses Gorgorin to wreak devastation. He uses Gorgorin to slay the huge Other that has been devouring the city to create a path between Doors, then he breaks up the road that it had been making and he creates a mighty earthquake (GM’s note - Gorgorin is an Umbral weapon) to collapse the city and the fortified structure. In the middle of all of this, Grant unblocks the Door and the two Lords of Gossamer escape onto the Stair with their captive.
- Grant and Ethan find another safe realm nearby. They arrive on the deck of a beached ocean-going vessel, but there is no ocean here. It looks like this vessel has been here a long time. Below there is a sandy island which is criss-crossed by tiny streams of water. There are lots of red crabs migrating across the sand here. They find a place to lie their captive down and examine him. They find that the Other creature has implanted itself into its host’s brain. The creature has effectively co-opted this Warden, enabling it to use the host’s Warden abilities. Looking closing, Grant feels that this is very similar to the silver infection which they saw in Arcadia (GM’s note - way back in Session 33). The only way to repair this kind of damage would be to use a combination of Umbra to break down the Other, and use Eidolon to repair the host. That is going to take time, and the poor fellow may simply be too far gone.
- Ethan doesn’t like being here for too long - if they are caught here they don’t have an easy escape. He puts the captive Warden into a deep deep sleep, and they go back onto the Stair to look for another place to retreat to.
Part 3 - The Others in Pursuit
- The Lords of Gossamer return to the Ramp (Stair). Ethan has a very bad feeling that something is coming. Grant takes this cue and shifts into bird form and flies away from Ethan’s position as fast as he can, climbing the Stair. Left alone with a nagging feeling of growing dread, Ethan runs the opposite direction, descending the Stair as fast as can with the captive Warden. He almost misses the feeling of a Door opening somewhere behind him. Something is on the Stair behind him. He runs faster.
- Five minutes pass, then ten, then fifteen. At the speed that Ethan is travelling, he cannot help to touch the moss or the occasional sticky thread. He knows that this will summon more of them, but it cannot be helped. He is counting the minutes, knowing that every minute Grant will be much further away in the opposite direction.
- Ethan never sees the Others in pursuit but he knows that they are there. After what seems like hours, Ethan receives an Icon contact from Grant. He has reached the target destination.
- Grant pulls Ethan through and he finds himself in a very different section of Stair where the walls are exceptionally clean, even clinical with a slight smell of disinfectant. Immediately Ethan realises that this is not anywhere near where he was before. He uses Mental Invisibility to cloak themselves, and Grant quickly finds the Door he was after. Behind the oval shaped Door which glides open, they find themselves in a dimly lit hallway, illuminated by a thin row of red lights. This is Ward 7. Grant seals the Door behind them and then thinks better and disconnects it completely from the Stair.
- While Grant puts the captive warden to bed, Ethan goes to find a cup of tea. The ward seems to be empty. There are no other people here, and the power appears to have failed relatively recently. Ethan does not sense danger, but he has an uneasy feeling about this place. He is certain that the Others are still hunting them, and they know that they have a Master of the Stair amongst them.
- Grant eyes the cup of tea in Ethan’s hands and Ethan shows him where the kettle is. Ethan explains that he thinks that they have stirred up a hornet’s nest. Taking the Warden has provoked a reaction - he speculates that they may be able to find this Warden based on the hivemind that the Others share. It may enable them to home in on this individual’s location.
- They quickly formulate a plan. At the very least they need to get as much information as they can out of this Warden’s head as they can, but they need to save this poor Warden if they can.
Part 4 - Allen, Captured Warden
- Grant and Ethan go to work on the captive Warden. Grant uses Umbra to disorient and weaken the parasitic Other, whilst Ethan concentrates on strengthening the host. In addition to this, Ethan tries to understand the Other better. How does this entity perceive itself? How did this Warden come to be enslaved by the Others?
- Little by little, the story comes out. The Warden doesn’t remember anything from the point it was captured. After that, it is only the parasitic Other’s memories. This Warden was a scout during the Great War. He has memories of fighting the Dwimmerlaik long long ago. He has memories of Lord Drake and Lady Vala. But then he met the Others before they became the monsters - they tricked and captured him.
- Once, long ago, this Warden was called Allen. He was bigger and stronger then, but he has been severely weakened over the centuries since his enslavement.
* Image sourced from Google, but is obviously Allen the Alien from Invincible (the comic)
- As Ethan starts going through the creature’s memories, he realises that they have hit the jackpot. Allen is a Master of the Stair. Allen is THE Master of the Stair. The only Master of the Stair that the Others have captured. Allen was being kept in a safe place until needed, especially as his body had not been healing quickly. They have had an unexpected stroke of good fortune.
- Ethan tells Grant of these revelations. They are silent for a few minutes as both realise that the Others will throw all of their resources into finding and recovering Allen. Without Allen, their war machine is significantly less effective.
- At last Grant tells Ethan that they should continue the process of separation as long as they can in Ward 7. He is confident that they can escape from this realm when the Others inevitably arrive. He asks Ethan to concentrate on what resources the Others will send against them - for example, do they have any Sorcerers? Are there any other capabilities that they have which could affect how they proceed from here?
- Ethan dives into the captive’s memories once more, looking for clues. The alien Other’s memories are difficult to piece together but he rummages around as quickly as he can. An hour later, he is certain that they have a total of twelve Wardens, not including Allen. According to Allen they have no Sorcerers, no Umbra Masters, and no knowledge of Eidolon. The other Wardens are all of the Others’ race, although they are have different configurations. He stops to brief Grant and he works on a Divination spell to give them early warning of the Others’ arrival.
- Then they get to work to separate the Other from Allen.
Part 5 - Origin of the Others
- After three long, six hour sessions to separate the parasitic Other from Allen, the Divination spell warns them that they will be interrupted in the next hour. Grant opens a new Door (using his Mastery of the Stair abilities) and the Lords of Gossamer withdraw to another location. They find another safe place to work without being disturbed, and repeat the process. This time they treat Allen in a room in a tropical island resort. The natives are stubby legged ovoids with long necks and small heads. To avoid being noticed, Ethan uses Mental Invisibility once more.
- Grant and Ethan order room service, Ethan reestablishes his Divination spell to provide early warning, and they go back to work on Allen.
- During this time, Ethan finds out a lot more about the origin of these Others. Once, long ago, they were a single race with uniform appearance. They were hexpedal, upright creatures, walking on two legs with two sets of arms. They were very advanced and built many machines. However, something went wrong - they lost control of the machines. The machines that they built to help them improve and transform them changed them into something very different. Perhaps the Others desired these more radical changes, and the machines were simply fulfilling the purpose for which they were built, but the end result was a transformed race which became something far from what it once was. The Others are linked with an Icon-like connection, but it is only a mental link and it only works within a single realm.
- In terms of the Others’ ability to navigate the Stair, the first Warden was a native of their race, not an enslaved creature. But the machines derived who had the potential to become a Warden, and then harvested those who could. From the thousands of generations that have been born, there are only twelve Wardens, not including Allen who was captured by the Others during one of their incursions.
- There seems to be no one directing these Others. No central authority or guiding ruler. They originated from one realm but have spread out since. The Others are grown on a number of nursery worlds. The parasite which has been controlling Allen was born on one of those nursery worlds. It knows where the original homeworld is. To the Others, it is simply called Home.
Part 6 - The First Wave
- At last the separation is complete. Allen is resting. It will take him time to recover but they have been successful in saving Allen.
- As Grant and Ethan rest, exhausted from the effort in separating Allen from the parasite, the Divination spell alerts them to the fact that the Others have arrived. They have not arrived on the island, but they are in the realm. Ethan uses a mental projection to view the target Door. He sees more than a hundred wolflike, quadrupedal Others have arrived, led by four Wardens. One of the Wardens remains by the Door with a small group while the others board a strange floating transport. They are coming.
* Image sourced from Google. Again, the best that I could find
- The Lords of Gossamer discuss whether to stand and fight, or withdraw. Grant considers withdrawing but Ethan convinces him that they can take them. It will take the Others hours to reach their location, and a lot can be done in a few hours. Ethan suggests that they eat quickly and plan to cut them off and deal with them.
- A plan is quickly hatched and then put into place. Ethan shows Grant the township where the Others arrived, and Grant connects a new Door to take him from the island to his destination. Under ten minutes later, Grant has slain the Warden and the guard that was defending the Door and temporarily blocked the Door so as to prevent reinforcements coming through. In ten minutes, this surgical strike has cut the Others off, isolating their strike force.
- Grant returns to the island as Ethan plans to ‘nuke’ the transport using sorcery. He has previously used the elemental power of storms as an enabler, but this time he prepares to use raw sorcerous power from the realm itself, channeled at range to destroy the approaching transport. He is already tired, but he has enough reserves to pull this off (GM’s note - Ethan has First Rank in both Psyche and Endurance) The blue turns a broken shade of purple, red and black. Energy crackles across the sky - and suddenly there is a calamitous explosion - a huge fireball can be seen in the distance, appearing above the horizon from their hotel window. Ethan is greatly tired by this and can do no more. He needs to rest. He doesn’t know if he succeeded in blasting the Others from the sky or not.
- Grant flies out in his shadowy bird-form. He carries Gorgorin. He sets out with the intention of hunting down survivors but is temporarily diverted by the tsunami-like swell that Ethan’s blast has created. Grant uses Umbra to weaken the waves so that they do not hit with the tropical island where they are staying. Then he hunts down the lone survivor of the blast - a winged Warden who managed to survive the blast - and Grant slays him. Grant returns to the island, then back to the other Door which he unblocks, and then to the hotel room once more.
Part 7 - The Second Wave
- Ethan is relieved that the sorcerous ‘nuke’ worked but he is very weary. They confer and agree that the Others will definitely attack again, but they are unlikely to know what happened to the first wave and will likely just send more troops. The same tactics may work. Ethan says he needs to rest - he puts a Divination spell in place as early warning, but it is so weak that it collapses shortly after he falls asleep. (GM’s note - Bad Stuff) However, Grant is far less fatigued, and he keeps watch.
- When Ethan awakes, he finds Allen has recovered enough to start eating. Grant has been keeping an eye out - it is not yet dawn but there is no sign of the Others yet. Ethan recasts his Divination spell and confirms that they are not going to come under attack yet, but he thinks that they are still gathering their forces. There is still danger.
- More food is ordered. Ethan despairs that there is no decent tea on the menu, and Grant offers to go ‘shopping’. This brightens Ethan’s mood and Grant heads off with a long shopping list. He comes back with better food, a suit of armoured cloth for Allen, and weapons which Ethan can upgrade. This cheers Ethan up a lot.
- As Ethan works to upgrade the weapons, Grant heads off to the distant land where the Door is to prepare a nasty surprise for when the Others come back. Finally the Others return. This time they have sent another four Wardens, but there are over a thousand troops and multiple flying transports. Again, Ethan watches them from afar, and he realises that one of the Wardens in the assault force is a Sorcerer. This does not change their tactics much as they are well prepared.
- Again, Grant and Ethan wait for the Others to commit their forces. They send the bulk of their forces towards the island on flying transports, keeping a small group in reserve to reinforce the Door. Allen is too weak to fight, so he is told to stay out of the way, and flee if he has to. Both Ethan and Grant confront the enemy forces en route to the island. Ethan has already prepared a violent storm for them to fly into, and Grant uses Umbra to weaken and disorient them. With the storm in full force, Ethan uses lightning to pick off the transports, and Grant uses Umbra channeled via Gorgorin with devastating effect. The enemy Sorcerer tries to escape via teleportation, but Ethan uses a Divination spell to predict where he will arrive and then cuts him off. Ethan subdues the enemy Warden with a Sleep spell. He then uses Grant’s prepared ‘nasty surprise’, destroying the structure that the Door is part of, and stranding the rest of the Others in their realm.
- After this, Grant and Ethan pick the Others off using a combination of Eidolon-backed Sorcery (Ethan) and raw Umbral power, channeled via Gorgorin (Grant). They kill all of the enemy Wardens and their warriors, leaving no survivors. It takes them two days to deal with them all. The battle has been bloody, but Grant and Ethan have survived once more.
Part 8 - The Only Way To Be Sure
- Eight Wardens down. One Master captured, Four more Wardens are still out there somewhere. Grant and Ethan reason that the Others will be very cautious given that they have lost so many. They decide to leave this world and find somewhere else. Some other place that has good food. Grant uses Mastery of the Stair to open new Doors and find a place of safety beyond the reach of the Others. They eat, drink and talk. Allen is astonished by Grant and Ethan - he remarks at how powerful they are considering their age. Allen is rebuilding muscle mass but he is a long way from being fighting fit.
- They trio discuss their next target. Grant wants to hunt down the remaining Wardens. Ethan wants to find the Others’ homeworld and destroy it. Paraphrasing Ripley from the 1986 movie, Aliens, he tells Grant that they will have to “Nuke the site, as it’s the only way to be sure.” That gives Grant pause - is Ethan serious about wiping out the entire race? Ethan explains that it’s very clear that the original race has been corrupted to such a degree that they cannot be left alone - this will occur again unless it’s dealt with at the source. They know where the Others’ homeworld is from the parasite’s memories.
- Ethan persuades them to find the homeworld, and they track it back to a lonely place on the Stair that looks forgotten. The realm is a machine world. Everything in the city is old and motionless. The resources of this place appear to be exhausted. There are great thinking machines in this realm, but the machines are built with old technology. Great tape reels and valves can be seen. Umbra is strong here. The world has decayed.
- As they wander about this desolate place, they find that there are relay centres which transmit messages to other places, possibly birthing stations as there are none here. The messages appear to be garbled instructions. The great machine intelligences are breaking down, suggesting that the Others that are being produced are a degeneration of what once was.
- Ethan is willing to build a bomb - he has built and Eidolon-enhanced reactors before - but Grant offers to find him one that he can use as a base. While Ethan remains behind with Allen to explore the dead machine city, Grant goes on a hunt to steal a ‘nega-bomb’. Grant succeeds at this, stealing the super-weapon from a long forgotten weapons vault. Grant is quite proud that he’s managed to acquire a man-portable doomsday weapon - it was easier than he expected. Ethan and Allen are rather speechless at how easy it was. Ethan had been working on a Plan B which he discards quickly in favour of Eidolon-enhancing the super-weapon that Grant has acquired. As Ethan works away, Grant looks for clues as to where the other four Wardens may be assigned. He manages to acquire fragments, and continues working well after the bomb is ready to detonate.
- At last, the three Lords of Gossamer leave the realm, leaving the super-weapon on countdown. Grant severs the Home world from the Stair, turning the Door back into a blank Door.
- Nevertheless the explosion is large enough to shake the Stair itself, and stagger them. What was a twisting descending ramp re-levels itself. The decor of the walls changes. The decay and smell of the place slowly vanishes. Ethan and Grant are astonished - they have never seen the Stair change like this. It is reconfiguring itself. As they walk, they find ruined and twisted corridors re-righting themselves. The Ramp is becoming more like the old Stair once more.
- Ethan asks what Allen will do now. He smiles and asks to tag along with them, but he’s curious where they will go next. Ethan glances down at the Agoran Compass. Its function seems unchanged. Ethan explains that he has been searching for the end of the Stair, but he is conscious that there are still four Other Wardens out there. Allen looks amused and says that there is no end that he is aware of. They agree that they should hunt down the remaining Wardens, but that it will likely take some time.
- As they walk, Ethan and Grant can feel a change. They can sense the direction of home once more. This broken section of Stair has somehow been reconnected back to the rest. Ethan fingers his Icon of Abbie and knows that it will work once more. As they walk, Ethan wonders if trying to reach the end of the Stair is a pointless exercise after all. He wonders if it is time to go home. He has been gone a long time.
Part 9 - Phone Home
- Focussing on the nearest Other Warden, the three Lords of Gossamer start hunting once more. However, after only two hours of Grant’s wizardry using Mastery of the Stair, they have reached their first target. An ovoid Door that has an organic membrane over it. Ethan doesn’t look like the look of it at all - he looks over Allen and decides that he really is not at full strength, and that he’s had enough. The Other Wardens are definitely evil, but he doesn’t like the idea of attacking one on their terms. There could be a hundred or a hundred thousand Others on the other side of that Door.
- Grant seems to sense Ethan’s change of mind, but before Ethan can speak of it, he receives an Icon contact from Abbie.
* Image by Haryarti on DeviantART
- Abbie is reserved to begin with, but her relief shows when Ethan is clearly pleased to hear from her. She was hoping that he was okay, and she has been attempting to contact him every day for months. He quickly explains that he’s been in a sick part of the Stair and Icons didn’t work. She nods, accepting the situation and explains that she knew that he wasn’t dead. She knows enough spell craft to be able to determine simple things like that via Divination. She knew that she just needed to keep on trying. The subsequent conversation is an enormous relief for him - he promises her that he’ll return soon, and she just laughs. She admits that trying to rebuild a civilisation is very draining for her - she needs to get away. Ethan does some quick mental calculations and checks with Grant. They conclude that Christmas is just under a week away - he suggests that they catch up for Christmas. She suggests that he come to see her a little earlier than that - she needs his help with a few things on her homeworld that she can’t fix with Sorcery alone. Ethan agrees and promises to do that.
- Grant sees the change in Ethan’s demeanour and asks if he’s ready for dealing with this Other Warden. Ethan blinks, and admits that his heart isn’t in this. He’s not ready for another battle. Grant asks what is wrong, and Ethan explains simply that he doesn’t know what he is doing here and why he’s been so set on walking as far away from the Agora as possible. He just helped blow up a planet. Maybe he’s just ‘had enough’ for one day. Grant chuckles and explains to Allen that his friend is feeling a bit homesick. He suggests that they go for a walk, and find a place to rest and get something to eat. Relax a little.
- Allen accompanies them but he is clearly discontented. Grant asks what he would like to do, and Allen explains that has been hundreds of years since he had control of himself, and he wants to know what has remained as he remembers it and what has changed. Encouraged by Grant, Allen takes them to a realm called Bero that he once knew - an island retreat with great beaches and ‘surfing’. Allen admits that loves to surf. Following Allen’s lead, the three Lords of Gossamer go to find this place, and find themselves arriving in the evening of what is now a major nightclub strip. Everywhere there is gaudy neon, and bright fluorescent colours. Grant and Ethan nervously glance at each other, expecting Allen to tell them that this is nothing like he remembers it.
* Image sourced from Google.
- But it is exactly the opposite - from Allen’s point of view, Bero hasn’t changed a bit. They go out for a trendy dinner. Allen boogies on the dance floor, and encourages Grant and Ethan to do the same. Grant adjusts his clothes to fit in better, and he joins in the fun as the audience is dusted with brightly coloured neon paint. Ethan stands off to one side, listening to the synth beat and mulling over the contrast of 24 hours - from destroying a planet to being in a crazy bar, dancing to electronic music. He fingers his Icon of Abbie, then pockets it and goes to find a stiff drink. After a few drinks, Ethan lightens up and dances as well.
Other Impacts
- There are still four Other Wardens on the Stair, somewhere…..
No comments:
Post a Comment