- Isabelle and Ethan have been hard at work studying the hedron which Grant acquired in Nexopolis. Using Invocation, Isabelle has identified the realm that the hedron comes from and will return to. The realm is called Zendikar and it is not connected to the Stair. Grant, Ethan and Isabelle have decided that they will journey to Zendikar and find Abbie. Ethan is almost certain that there is a connection there. Grant finds a blank Door on the Stair that he plans to link to Zendikar if he can find a door there. Returning briefly to Marindar, Grant catches up with Olin and finds that Olin has ‘groupies’ who love his music. Olin immediately buys into the quest and insists on coming. He has never met Abbie or Ethan but he knows of her and that she is a musician.
- Returning to Isabelle’s research laboratory, Olin is charming around Isabelle. Ethan finds this very amusing. They ready themselves to head to Zendikar, uncertain as to what will be there. Ethan takes the genie with him – he has one wish remaining (and the genie within is getting frustrated that Ethan hasn’t used his third wish).
- Ethan does a number of Divinations before they leave. They tell him that Abbie is in danger but not from the natives of wherever she is. They are friendly. However, she is in a place without doors.
- They ready themselves and Ethan triggers the hedron. Silver beads of energy trace over the surface of the hedron. It glows and there is a flash of light. They are transported to an expanse of grasslands. It is pretty here. There are many floating hedrons, defying gravity and the wind. It is very windy here. The hedron that they have travelled with levitates to a predetermined height and then holds position.
* Image found on Google Images, but it is no doubt owned by Wizards of the Coast
- They test their magics and equipment. There are no people or towns nearby. Ethan uses a Flight spell to gain some altitude and survey the area. Olin is stunned by this. He indicates that he has spotted something only a few miles away and he goes to investigate. There has been a battle fought here. The earth is disturbed and still stained by blood but there are no bodies. There is equipment and battle standards. It looks like the armies of Bloodstone fought here – the red and gold standards, the pieces of armour and weaponry. They fought against an army clad in black and purple wearing the symbol of a crescent moon. The others join Ethan and they begin to investigate. It looks like the Bloodstone army was numerically superior but it left with the opposing army – possibly prisoners. Grant finds evidence of blasting magic – Abbie’s signature spells. There are also Umbra-charged sorcerous marks on the landscape, suggesting that she was fighting another sorcerer or sorcerers here.
- Ethan speculates that Abbie must have brought an army with her when she came here, but she wouldn’t have done that unless there was a threat to the Legendary Realm. Grant points out that the enemy forces must have a necromancer with them, and a powerful one at that. This battle happened weeks ago but there are no graves. Everything that died here got up and walked on.
- They test Icons but they don’t work in this realm at all. Ethan tries to contact Abbie via Sorcery but this fails too – she’s not in this realm. He can sense other sorcerers in other locations here but they are not nearby. Grant suggest that they follow the enemy army. It appears that Abbie must have gone with them. Ethan tries a Divination spell, wondering if she was killed and reanimated, or whether she is a prisoner. The spell suggests that she was probably a prisoner but the result is uncertain. Ethan wonders about the spell’s accuracy given his own mental state.
- Pursuing the enemy army, Grant scouts ahead and finds evidence of a sorcerous gateway, now closed, at the edge of a swamp. The rest travel together, cloaked by one of Ethan’s Mental Invisibility spells. Thirty miles of hiking across the plains takes a while, and Olin keeps chatting with Isabelle. It is clear that Olin is interested in Isabelle. That night, they decide not to press on but instead to open the gateway in the morning. Overnight, Grant spots man-shaped creatures in the distance that are taller and broader than men. They appear to be hunting but it is not clear what they are hunting for.
- In the morning they reach the mire and Ethan prepares the open the portal. Beforehand, he checks Divination spells. There is dangerous on the other side, but not immediate danger. Cautiously, he opens the sorcerous gateway.
- On the other side it is already hot and dusty, despite being early in the morning. They have arrived in a desert city with many one-story dwellings but there are also large temples and a much larger pyramid here. The people are dark-skinned, dark-haired and dressed lightly. Ethan can sense that Abbie is here. He points the way.
- As they head through the streets, they find that there are mummified people tirelessly working away, sweeping the streets and preparing the city for the new day. There seem to be more of these strange automatons than live people here, but there is still the sound and smell of life. People are waking up and the day is getting hotter.
- They reach the palace. Grant, Ethan and Isabelle can sense another Warden of the Stair here. Ethan is very tense. When Grant suggests snooping around, it is clear that Ethan is having none of that – he wants to find Abbie now. In the palace there are strange jackal headed guards and many mummies with swords. A lot of them.
- Grant convinces Isabelle to stay put and look after Olin, while Grant and Ethan head into the palace. Inside they are met by a Vizier who speaks many languages. He asks their names and the Lords of Gossamer introduce themselves. He curious where they come from but when Grant mentions the Stair and Doors, the Vizier shows no sign of understanding what these concepts are. The Vizier asks what brought them to Amonkhet and what offerings they have. Grant says that he wants to meet the other Warden like himself and Ethan says that they have gemstones. The Vizier leaves them with the jackal guards, who escort them to a waiting room.
- Twenty minutes later they are ushered onto a balcony where a pale-skinned woman is sitting. She appears quite comfortable and a mummy is gently fanning her. Grant gets the distinct impression that she is not threatened by their presence in the slightest. He notes that she is not a native of this realm – her skin is too pale. Ethan says nothing but he can tell that she is the necromancer who defeated the Bloodstone Army. Sensing Ethan’s apprehension, Grant takes lead in the conversation. The woman introduces herself as Liliana (Vess) and she speaks in Brivali (a Germanic tongue).
* Image found on Google Images but the artist is Chris Rallis (I love this piece of artwork, particularly the purple folds of her dress)
- The conversation is pleasant but Liliana is trying to figure out more about them. Grant asks about the society here and the role that the dead play in it. Liliana patiently explains that the people owe a duty to society in death as well as in life. The way she speaks gives Ethan and Grant the creeps. It is clear that she is the necromancer that defeated the Bloodstone Army and presumably captured Abbie.
- The conversation is interrupted by the introduction of Yaeger Zane, who arrives bare chested and immediately sides with Liliana. Grant concludes that this is Yaeger’s girlfriend that he was so tight-lipped about and he realises that he needs to be careful in his interactions so as not to offend the normally-cool-but-strangely-easily-irritated Yaeger Zane. They talk while Ethan listens. Liliana answers questions about Amonkhet and a little about the zhedrons but she is very cautious about what she reveals. Even when Grant reveals how little they know, she doesn’t offer to fill in the blanks. She admits to destroying the Bloodstone Army but says that she spared their leader. When asked why she would do that, Liliana whimsically admits that the Bloodstone Witch reminded her of herself. It also occurred to her that if Liliana had slain her that she would probably not be able to bring her back with her sorcerous skills – which would have been a pity.
- Grant changes the topic and asks to see more of Amonkhet. Liliana encourages this – she suggests that they take a barge and see how cultivated the society is. Her reference to ‘cultivation’ is clearly a reference to both land and people. Liliana grants them freedom to go where they wish but asks them not to disturb the order here.
- Grant and Ethan leave the palace and confer with Isabelle and Olin. They then walk through this strange city where the walking dead and the living appear to peacefully co-exist and seek out Abbie.
- They find her in a mortuary where the living and the dead are working to make yet more mummies. Adults at their peak are slain and then made into more servitors. Abbie is watching the scenes of death and remaking when Grant and Ethan find her. She does not greet them warmly. Grant seeks to understand what is happening here and she says that she is trying to learn. She says that she thought she had grown strong in the Legendary Realm. She knows she is not worthless or incompetent, but she was beaten and humbled by a sorceress whose mastery of the magic arts was much greater than hers. Liliana gave her a new chance at life, similar to what Ethan did so many years ago. She plans to stay and learn from Liliana Vess. To remake herself and be stronger still. She’s not going to waste this opportunity.
* Image by Haryarti on DeviantART
- Abbie’s demeanour is different from usual. She isn’t her normal confident self. This Abbie is more doubting, more self-reflective but there is still determination there. Ethan asks her to come home with him and Abbie rebuffs him gently, saying that her place is here. She has no intention of abandoning Liliana. She notes that this isn’t what she would have chosen but states clearly that she intends to see this through.
- While listening to her, Grant is looking for any traces of magical control over her. Using Umbral Sight, he is able to see that there is a magical binding on her but it appears to be not of Liliana’s making. It is a complex and subtle weave, suggesting an even greater master is at work here.
- Grant is left with the distinct impression that Abbie does not want Grant and Ethan here. There is a distinct change in personality here but it could be a result of trauma. Ethan is left confused, unsure as to whether he should rescue or not. She doesn’t appear to want to be rescued. Grant tells him that there is another spell effect in play here. It’s possible that she is being controlled.
(GM’s note: note the summary at the beginning of Session 165 that makes some elements clearer.
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