- Grant spends a few days making sure that the world that he plans to leave Pike, Kislet and the other survivors in is going to be suitable. It is fertile, food is easy to gather, there are old structures here but the original inhabitants have moved on and there are no other communities nearby. The plague won’t kill them here and Kislet’s magic doesn’t work.
- Once he is satisfied that the situation is dealt with, Grant heads back onto the Stair and cleanses himself using Umbra to make sure that he is not carrying the plague elsewhere. He contacts Meliander, his old friend on Marindar.
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- Meliander is currently a librarian in Central but he is a capable sorcerer and has a good memory. Grant discusses the question of the dead rising with Meliander. Meliander tells him that while it is current custom to burn bodies, there are some communities that still bury their dead, and the ancient Marindans did bury their dead. He also points out that animals don’t bury their dead so if this effect is not limited to people then that might mean that animals would also rise. Grant asks for Meliander’s assistance to investigate these theories.
- Grant then contacts the Captain of the Guard. He asks if there have been any unusual disturbances. The Captain says that two days ago, one of the Doors opened, a guard ‘fainted’ but quickly recovered. There was nothing on the camera and the guards recovered. A sweep was performed of the area but nothing was found. There is nothing special about the Door and nothing further to report. Grant frowns at this – it suggests that someone or something else is on Marindar.
- Grant wonders how else to tackle this ‘rising dead’ problem. He knows that the Marindans go to Hades in the afterlife, but he isn’t welcome there. (GM’s note – way back to Session 47)
- He contacts Lady Lucia, Lady Sophia’s aide. Lucia is a shorter, slightly stockier Marindan woman but she is very much a people person. Grant asks her if there have been any reports from the nearby realms about unusual cold or rising dead. Lucia says that Arcadia is reporting unusual cold – she was talking about it only yesterday. Other than that, she doesn’t know but she promises to find out.
- Grant moves on, wary of spending too long in any one part of the Stair. He makes himself difficult to find and then decides to contact Lady Vala. Lady Vala accepts the contact but she is clearly distracted. They exchange information and Vala confesses that there is a lot ‘going on’. She suggests that Grant investigate Nexopolis as there is something brewing there. She also says that if Drake calls upon him, he should assume that the need is dire. Grant asks about Lucien and Vala says that she has not heard from him.
- Grant returns to Marindar and heads to Naso via one of the anti-gravity vehicles. Naso is one of the few island nations that still buries their dead. He is met formally by Lord Heimloch who rules this island. (GM’s note – first seen in Session 30)
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- Upon arrival, Grant can sense a strong Umbral signature here though he does not immediately reveal this to Heimloch. They talk, Grant explains that there have been two cases of rising dead and he wanted to come to Naso in person. Heimloch is confused as none of those cases have been reported here. Grant guides the conversation towards the old temple which he can see clearly is out of the ordinary, even if Heimloch cannot. The shadows in this place are darker, the light is dimmed. There appears to be an abyssal portal in the temple. Heimloch is stunned as he cannot see it, but he obeys Lord Grant’s instructions and mobilises soldiers to create a perimeter.
- To Grant’s eyes, the abyssal portal is a sphere of darkness. The problem is that he doesn’t know how to collapse it. Ethan would. He contacts Ethan via Icon but Ethan says that he cannot leave the Legendary Realm at this critical time. Instead he offers to construct a device with Isabelle’s help that Grant can use. A ‘holy hand grenade’, charged with Eidolon. Grant agrees.
- Thirty minutes is a long time to wait. He expects a demonic incursion any minute. He wonders where the person who created this portal would be. The most logical place would be just beyond the event horizon of the portal – where he cannot directly see – but he could be wrong. This Umbral bloom is so strong that there could be another Umbral presence nearby which he cannot sense.
- Heimloch’s men search the island for any intruders. Grant contacts the Captain of the Guard, Lady Lucia and Meliander to report the situation. Lady Lucia tells him that he has an unexpected guest. A Dwimmerlaik called Lord Morla wishes to meet with him. Grant groans and says that he’ll be there in an hour.
- After thirty minutes, Ethan contacts Grant and hands over the Eidolon ‘grenade’. Grant uses it to collapse the portal – on the plus side, the Eidolon burst has restored the temple – it no longer looks so run down; on the down side, Grant is temporarily blinded and his fingers are on fire – it hurts.
- Heading out and back to Central, Grant uses Marindan sorcery to smarten himself up and he heads to a diplomatic waiting room where Lord Morla is expecting him. Lady Lucia briefs him that he is wearing the insignia of House Cavalarn. He has a female adjutant with him.
- Lord Morla is an aged Dwimmerlaik. His antlers are incomplete. He is dressed richly in green and gold with black trims. He carries a ceremonial sword. He greets Grant in the Dwimmerlaik tongue. Grant returns the formal greeting but asks if they could speak in English. Lord Morla agrees.
- Lord Morla says that he speaks for the Empress and he offers his hand in friendship. He wants to know if he is being received in friendship. Grant does so. Switching back to the Dwimmerlaik tongue, Morla says that he has heard that Grant has lived among the Dwimmerlaik. He finds this interesting. He attempts to discern how much familiarity Grant has with Dwimmerlaik culture but Grant refuses to be drawn on it.
- Morla says that the Lords of Gossamer are no friends to the Dwimmerlaik. But if Grant spent time among his people, then he would understand this. Grant is being blamed for or at least contributing to the Civil War. This is a recent development and is being spoken about more openly. Grant is aware of the threat this poses. The more militant members of his people would like to attack Marindar and raze it. Lord Morla strongly suggests that Grant be careful and not to provoke the Dwimmerlaik people. Some of them are only looking for an excuse.
- The dialogue continues pleasantly and Morla asks for his adjutant to remain in Marindar so that the dialogue can continue. Farewells are said, and Lady Lucia is tasked to organize accommodation for Morla’s representative. Grant finds a quiet room and sits down with a bottle of Marindan wine. He is tired. He pours himself a glass of wine but only manages a sip before he received an Icon contact from Drake. Drake requires his urgent assistance. With the barest pause, Grant accepts and heads through the Icon to Drake’s location ….
Off-Camera Narrative
- Ethan spends time every day with his twelve generals, listening to their preparations and giving them guidance wherever necessary. Most of them work well together, even Haruk, the orcish warchief.
* Images (L to R) by aragonbird, NathanParkArt, Red-Dragon-Lord and Dashinvaine on DeviantART
- From left to right:
- Baron Tranth, the original Baron of Bloodstone, who fought with Ethan and Grant during the Bloodstone Wars. (GM’s note – first seen in Session 108)
- Stewart, a young Bloodstone general who served with distinction with Ethan in the unification wars.
- Haruk, the orcish warchief
- Ross, the young Bloodstone lord of the south.
* Image (L to R) by Dashinvaine, Dashinvaine and Unknown on DeviantART
- From left to right:
- Leslie, knight commander and general. He is also showing interest in Isabelle (which Ethan is completely ignorant of)
- Archer, an extraordinarily gifted commoner who is said to be as skilled with a bow as any elf.
- Liliana, once more dressed in her traditional garb, ready for action
- Ethan’s divinations indicate that Bolas will come soon. Hence the appearance of Prince Ethan, the Legendary Realm’s version of Ethan, takes him completely by surprise. In this reality, Prince Ethan is an Umbra Master who is not fully control of Umbra and he became the Witch King of the North. However, he contacts Lady Sophia and Sophia is sufficiently convinced of his sincerity to travel north to the town of Bloodstone and meet him in person. Once seeing how Prince Ethan is afflicted, she passes word to Ethan that he is to meet ‘a friend’ at the Inn of the Clowns.
- Travelling north with Sorcery, Ethan is utterly shocked to meet his ruined counterpart lying in the Inn’s stables. He knew that there was a ‘random element’ at play here but he thought it was Bolas, not Prince Ethan himself. Prince Ethan is technically alive but Umbra is consuming him. He knows that Ethan is a healer and Prince Ethan begs for help to cure him or at least alleviate the terrible pain.
- Ethan is torn as to whether to help this miserable wreck who has caused so much death and destruction, or whether to eliminate someone who could be a real problem during the battle to come with Bolas. Forgoing Divination, Ethan agrees to try to help his counterpart and he spends a full day healing Prince Ethan. He purges the Umbra from his system but is unable to rejuvenate him as the damage is so severe. There is no way that Prince Ethan will be able to aid him in the battle to come but neither will he assist the enemy. Prince Ethan’s recuperation is likely to be slow even with Ethan’s help.
- Ethan returns to the capital with Lady Sophia and Prince Ethan. Hilda is relieved to see Ethan – she was worried, as was Abigail. Luckily, nothing serious has happened while he was away. Ethan repeats his Divination spells and there is perfect clarity in the response. No more shadows or doubts over the result. It is as if healing Prince Ethan has decided something. Bolas is coming…. now…
- Abbie and Hilda see the result of the divination. There is a moment’s silence. Ethan takes a breath and uses magic to contact his many generals. The war is about to begin…..
- With the contact concluded, Abbie bids Ethan farewell and Ethan bids her good fortune. As she returns to her troops via teleport, Ethan realizes that she’s expecting to die here and she’s resigned to it …..
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