* Image sourced from Google Images but this piece of art is by Stephen Tappin and is part of MTG for Leonin Battlemage
- They return with ten more of these cat-men but one of them is clearly dominant as he is much bigger than the rest. Still unable to communicate, a fight ensues and Grant flattens the leader and all of the others when their leader fails to win.
- He investigates the Door behind the tapestry and finds himself in a golden palace with many guards. This civilisation is advanced. They carry wand-like weapons. Crossing the threshold of the Door, he is then able to understand the language. The guards here are on alert. They have sent for ‘another Key’. Grant didn’t think it was possible to have more than one Key for a Door. He goes back onto the Stair and finds that one of the other cat-men has a jewelled golden key. Leaving the cat-man with his key, he decides to carry on.
- Returning to Illium, he arrives just before lunchtime. This time he appears like a local and he goes to get something to eat. He talks with merchants. He listens to local politics. Hears about their worries about the foreigners from across the sea. Nothing sounds too serious – just local talk.
- Once a year the messenger of the Gods comes to receive offerings and bestow gifts. Prayers are typically answered. For example, bringing rain, curing a plague, healing people, providing wondrous items. But the people of Illium are humble – they don’t ask too much of the gods lest they become angry. Prayers are made regularly but the messenger only comes once a year.
- Above, Elysium is clearly incomplete. Grant finds a quiet spot to study the structure. It looks like it is less than half built but what has been built is quite precise. He can’t spot any construction being done. He detects a hot spot of Umbral energy within. Elysium seems to be made from the same Darksteel as the Obelisk and the gauntlets that the Dwimmerlaik youths were wearing.
- Grant journeys to the temple and buys a tablet which bears a hieroglyphic ear, indicating that this tablet has the ‘ear’ of the gods. He writes on the table a prayer to understand his enemies and burns the tablet in the ritual way. The smoke rises and goes up towards Elysium.
- Nothing happens. He is disappointed but not surprised. He decides to stay awhile and watch. The next day he receives an Icon contact from Lady Sophia. In Liliana’s debrief to Grant and Ethan, she provided information on some of Nicol Bolas’ other lieutenants. One of them has turned up in Marindar as part of the Urbelli Alliance. His name is Tezzeret. The Urbelli are trying to find buyers for their ‘semi-sentient advanced constructs’ – ie: semi-intelligent drones. Grant asks Lady Sophia to keep an eye on Tezzeret.
- Grant doesn’t like this development. He feels that something has started moving and he’s nowhere near home. However, he decides to remain in Illium and keep an eye on Elysium in case something changes.
- Two days later Lady Sophia contacts Grant with bad news. A space-faring passenger liner has been lost. Four hundred people are missing, including Ethan’s parents. Grant says that he’ll tell Ethan and be along shortly.
- Ethan takes the news well, almost as if he has expecting something bad to happen. He comes through to Marindar as the investigation kicks off. Isabelle offers her support and Ethan says cryptically that he’ll need her help soon. Meanwhile, Grant heads to where the ship was destroyed and begins an investigation. It appears to be a case of navigational failure (it went off course) and then massive engine failure. All hands and passengers lost. They don’t find Ethan’s parents’ bodies but Ethan confirms via Divination that they are dead and gone. He doesn’t even talk to his brother Marc about his parents’ death, relying on others to tell them.
- After only a day on Marindar, Ethan returns to the Legendary Realm. Isabelle goes with him but returns shortly after to conduct further investigations. Grant settles down one more on Marindar, waiting for some evidence that Bolas or his lieutenants are behind it. But there is nothing.
- Nine days later, Drake contacts Grant via Icon and asks for his help. One of Bastiano’s remaining lieutenants is on the move ….
Off-Camera Narrative
- Liliana is in the north raising an army from the many dead men, orcs and monstrous creatures that have fallen there. Ethan keeps an eye on her progress. Meanwhile, he continues to court allies from within the Legendary Realm – the elves from the western forests of Elvendar, the highlords of Impiltur to the south, the sorcerer king Tulus from across the southern sea and many others. He enlists Lady Sophia from Marindar and she comes to the Legendary Realm to assist with the negotiations. Many of the nations are aware that something is coming and Bloodstone seems to be at the heart of matters but very few are willing to send assistance even though Ethan offers significant incentives. Time passes and the signs and portents grow stronger. The Bloodstone Army returns to full strength and Ethan hires numerous mercenaries to bolster the local forces.
- In addition to the local forces, Isabelle has joined Ethan in the Legendary Realm and brought with her a number of ‘fighting machines’ that she can control. Normally machines don’t work in the Legendary Realm but these ones do.
- Then one day news comes of a vast orc army that is marching from the east. They carry the red battle standards of the Bloody Hands. To Ethan’s and Isabelle’s surprise, the orcs have not come to fight Bloodstone. Instead, the orc warpriests have come to be ‘blessed’ by Ethan and promise to fight alongside the humans. Ethan has no doubt that Eidolon-enhancing the orcs is a bad idea, but they seem to believe that it is their god’s will that Ethan make them stronger and they fight (and even die) at his command. Ethan has to think fast to find enough food to keep them from raiding his own lands, but for now he has a useful (and probably expendable) ally.
- With the orcs of the Bloody Hands onside, more weirdness ensues. Two Lords of Hell simply appear in the Bloodstone capital one day. Massive and implacable, Ethan nevertheless talks to them and they declare their interest in watching the coming confrontation. It is not long before a gigantic angel with a flaming sword turns up, ostensibly to keep an eye on the demons. Like the demons, he? (she? it?) refuses to be involved – it is simply there to keep an on the demons and observe that cosmic laws are maintained. That evening whilst talking with Lady Sophia, a messenger from the Grandfather of Assassins turns up (long an enemy of Bloodstone). The assassins offer their services to the Warlord of Bloodstone in return for gold and a position of influence. Ethan readily agrees to this.
- With more odd groups joining the Bloodstone forces every day (rock trolls, a tribe of stone giants, an odd group of brightly clad gnomes etc), disputes start to break out between the factions. It takes considerable time to keep the disparate groups apart. When the assassination attempt comes at the hands of a shadow demon, it is almost a relief for Ethan. He dispatches the demon without a second thought and carries on, not caring whether it was Nicol Bolas or Liliana who sent it. Isabelle is unnerved by the craziness of the whole situation and Ethan’s strange calmness with the situation. She knows full well that Nicol Bolas is coming and it will not be long before he is here.
- Liliana returns with a vast, vast army which dwarves the combined forces of Bloodstone. It is clear that she means to take Bloodstone – the bodyguards that she left to look after Ethan attack him and Ethan kills them easily. She arrogantly contacts him and says that she’s decided that Bolas might spare her if she crushes him. Ethan simply tells her not to be silly and uses the mental contact to make her believe that she is being ‘force choked’, which he says he learnt from ‘Darth Vader’. He convinces her not to switch sides and he lets her go, telling her that ‘all is forgiven’. Clearly outmatched, she rubs her throat and agrees grudgingly that she’ll follow him. (GM’s note – it may be plot relevant later – effectively she now believes that there is a sorcerer called Darth Vader out there who taught Ethan the ‘force choke’)
- Shortly after Liliana’s decision not to betray Ethan after all, a dragon lord arrives. Not a minor dragon but an elder one. This dragon lord is old and battered – almost like a spritely old grandfather. He gives his name as ….. Bambi (Ethan blinks and tries not to laugh). Bambi has been sent by the dragon lords to assist Ethan. They think he will likely fail against Nicol Bolas but they decided to send one of their elders to lend a hand anyway, just in case it would make a difference. Ethan gets the impression that Bambi drew the ‘short straw’. Bambi doesn’t seem to have all of his marbles – he seems to be quite wise but also a little bit odd. Nevertheless, Ethan is very polite to the dragon (which Bambi seems to like) and he realises that the old geezer could actually be extremely useful, especially if he were to use Eidolon to boost him up and restore his mind …..
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