Session 219 – The Giant Warden

- GM’s note: This session follows Ethan and Isabelle as they try to find the missing giant who has become a Warden of the Stair.

Part 1 – Giant Competition

* Image sourced from Google Images 

- It is a bright sunny day. Competitors are lined up to race across the tawny brown grass. Most of the competitors are gigantic. Two are not – they are Ethan and Isabelle. In this place magic does not work. There is a way out of this realm – a Door in a temple, but one needs magic to reach the Door. The winner of these trials will be awarded the gift of magic (magic that works in this realm). If they cannot win these competitions, they will have to find another way to reach the missing giant who has become a Lord of Gossamer.

- In this section of the Stair almost everything is huge compared to Ethan and Isabelle. The Doors. The people. However, these people are sticklers for being fair. The race obstacles for the giants are giant-sized. The race obstacles for Ethan and Isabelle are a more appropriate size. There are three giants who are competing against them. Fafnir, a bearded ‘teenager’ has been friendly since they arrived and has been helping them to find suitable food. 

- The race begins. Ethan has a good run and finishes his race first. Fafnir finishes second. Isabelle finishes fourth. The fifth competitor is eliminated, leaving only four remaining competitors.

- There is a short break. Ethan and Isabelle are enjoying themselves. Ethan is wearing one of Isabelle’s ribbons around his arm, and Isabelle is wearing one of Ethan’s. It is a Marindan tradition – and often a symbol of friendship or romantic interest. While Fafnir talks with his relatives (and they offer him encouragement), Ethan and Isabelle chat away happily. In this place where magic doesn’t work, Ethan can’t mask his presence with invisibility or use divination to tell if he is in danger, but he thinks that the magic of the Dragon Mark is itself suppressed.

- The next event is a javelin throw. There is a lot of discussion amongst the giant elders as to how to make the event fair. How big should the javelin be? How far away should the target be? At last they decide something that is ‘fair’ and each of the four remaining competitors line up. Each will throw three javelins.

- Ethan’s first shot goes wild. Isabelle hits the target in the blue (the outer ring). Fafnir misses the target. The other giant also hits the blue circle.

- Ethan’s second shot lands on the edge of yellow and red. Isabelle hits the red (bullseye). Fafnir lands in the yellow. The other giant throws his spear too hard, hits the bullseye but knocks the target over and is disqualified for lack of control. (they are sticklers for ‘fair’)

- Realising that there is no value in Ethan and Isabelle winning overall (as the awarded magic will enable Isabelle to use magic so that they can both reach the Door), Ethan decides to aim for the blue outer circle and successfully lands there, which will likely put him in third place. Isabelle hits the bullseye again. Fafnir hits the red on his final shot. 

- The crowd goes wild. Fafnir’s family is ecstatic. It then takes the giants two hours to set up an appropriate podium and award Isabelle with a gemstone bigger than she is. She recites an oath and the power from the gemstone transfers to her – she has won the gift of magic and she glows with the same light as the gemstone. Fafnir also accepts the gift of magic and glows. Ethan misses out as he is in third place.

- The giants celebrate. Small meals are prepared for Ethan and Isabelle. They take care preparing the delicate servings. After the meal, the giants sing and dance. Ethan and Isabelle join in. Isabelle remarks that Ethan seems to be in good spirits, and he says that it’s been a long time since he felt safe somewhere. He feels safe in this place. He thinks the Dragon Mark itself is suppressed in this place such that the hunters can’t find him here.

- In the cool of the evening, Ethan admits to Isabelle that he found a way to remove the Dragon Mark, but it won’t work for him. Weeks back, he found the city of Gau-Mang, a polluted heavy-industry world where life is cheap. He had a really bad feeling about this world, but he journeyed there because his Wayfinding told him that an answer could be found in that place. Ethan explains that there was an entity in control of the city. He never knew its name but he sought and was granted an audience with it. In return for knowledge, he agreed to do a service for the nameless entity once the Mark had been removed. The entity laughed and suggested that Umbra could be used to recreate him without the Mark….. something that Ethan knew to be true, but it would surely permanently destroy his mastery of Eidolon. Ethan admits that he has considered this solution but he thinks there would be a considerable cost – he doesn’t think he would be Ethan Powell anymore if he tried this.

- Isabelle reassures Ethan that they will find another way. She promises that many of the other Lords of Gossamer are trying to help even if he doesn’t see it. She tells him that he isn’t alone.

- The next morning as they make preparations to depart, Fafnir gives them a souvenir – a tiny sliver of wood which will serve as a bookmark. There are delicately engraved markings in the wood. Fafnir tells Ethan that it will bring him luck. He also tells Ethan and Isabelle to seek him out should they pass through again.

- Ethan and Isabelle leave the warded realm of the giants and enter a new section of Stair. There are many large Doors and many small Doors here. They know that the missing Warden is at least 2 years ahead of them. The next Door that they are trying to reach is about half a day away. Ethan re-establishes his Mental Invisibility spell and uses Divination to confirm that there is no pursuit for the time being.

- They resupply at a nearby realm. Isabelle comments that Lucien always found it rather convenient that so many Doors lead to a market or convenient resupply point. He never quite worked out why. They gather supplies in this pre-modern world, mostly fresh food but also some dried food from street vendors as well – and then continue their way.

Part 2 – Back on the Stair

- Two weeks pass. Ethan and Isabelle pass through many many worlds together. In each world Ethan must recast his Mental Invisibility spell and check for pursuit. There are some glimmers of danger from time to time, but they do not stay in any one place long enough to run into serious trouble. In one realm they encounter a military regime that seems intent on harvesting the vital organs of ‘undesirables’. In another they are waylaid by the corporate minions of the Akaromi Biotech company who take offence to their trespassing on Eridu. But the realms are not always unpleasant. After a four-day journey on the Stair, they are welcomed to ‘Starbase 114’ and given a place to rest and recover. The view from the windows of the nearby nebula are spectacular. During their stay, Isabelle asks Ethan how long he will keep ‘running’ like this. Ethan doesn’t answer her question, changing the topic and saying how much he enjoys her company. This pleases her and she drops the question for the time being.

- Two days later, they reach a mountainous world with lush greenery. It rains a lot here and the next Door will take days to reach. Isabelle decides that she needs a break and decides to depart. She promises to keep in touch, kissing Ethan goodbye and departing via an Icon. Ethan continues on alone.

- It doesn’t stop raining the entire time that Ethan is in this world. The destination Door is underground. Deep underground. It is cold and miserable in the tunnels and there is no food. After three wearing days Ethan finds the Door to exit the realm. 

- Ethan cleans himself up and moves on. He reaches a realm which consists of a megastructure, built around a star. A race called the Kish, who are descendants of the advanced civilization that built the megastructure, now live in tribes within the structure. The Kish have never met an alien before and they welcome him. In fact, they are so pleased to see him that they really would prefer that he stay with them for some duration.

- It is during this stay that Ethan receives an Icon contact from Abigail (Abbie). It has been a long time since he’s spoken to her. She asked him previously to stay away. He’s pleased to hear from her but also wary. He knows he has a blind spot with regards to Abbie. He doesn’t think the Dragons have figured out how to get to him via Abbie, but things may have changed.

- Abbie is pleased to talk to Ethan. She explains that she has found a place where she can talk to him without being overheard. Both Abbie and Ethan are concerned for each other. Abbie says that she is fine, but it has been very difficult. She explains that not all hope is lost. Some of the Lords of Gossamer have been making pointed comments about Ethan being singled out, expressing concern about the precedent that has been set. Even Lofwyr has listened and has conceded some points. She hopes that they can find a resolution.

- Abbie seems sad that they cannot talk more often. It’s obvious that she cares for Ethan but it’s also clear that she’s in a position where those feelings would put her in jeopardy if they were known. Lofwyr probably knows but for now, he isn’t saying anything. He’s probably the only one. Changing topic, Abbie says that Isabelle will be coming back to meet Ethan soon. She says that she and Isabelle talk a lot – and she promises that neither of them has forgotten about Ethan. They’re doing everything they can even if Ethan can’t see it. Ethan thanks Abbie and the contact ends.

- Ethan decides to leave the Kish and carry on. He doesn’t believe that it is possible to trace an Icon contact, but he doesn’t know what Dragons are capable of. He decides not to risk it.

- Continuing on with Mental Invisibility and heavy use of Divination to detect pursuit, Ethan continues to stay off-the-grid and remain undetected. He passes through goblin-controlled lands where the goblins have modern projectile weapons and body armour. Returning to the Stair, he travels onward to the land of Kesan, a desert kingdom of numerous sorcerous lords, each controlling a city or region near a water source. He is welcomed by Taira, one of the noble lords and invited to stay and rest. Ethan finds Taira a most gracious and eloquent host. It is during this time that he receives an Icon contact from Isabelle and is reunited with her. Isabelle is in a good mood. She also finds Taira to be very charming and is convinced to stay a few more days before they depart.

Part 3 – Finding the missing Warden

- Returning to the Stair, it is only a few more hours before they reach the destination Door. A simple rough wooden Door, but it is giant-sized. The door opens into a village with stone huts. There is magic here, but it is weak. There is nothing living in this village. Here and there lie giant skeletons, all that is left of the villagers. Exploring the village, they find an abandoned journal that indicates that there has been a plague here. Wayfinding suggests that the missing Warden of the Stair is not here.

* Image by aw-landscapes on DeviantART 

- For the next two days Ethan and Isabelle explore this world. They see wild animals, some of them of very large size, but no people. At least, no people alive. They do find many dead bodies in various states of decay. Some giants. Some ‘little people’ the same size as Ethan and Isabelle. This place also has a great deal of ‘magical turbulence’ – there are natural crystals here that leech ambient magical energy from the surrounding area. The Dragon Mark is dimmed here but he is still not completely safe. He uses Mental Invisibility here too. They enjoy the walk over the green-grassed hills, chatting away as they go.

- After some time, they find a township that still has people. They make contact and find that the missing Warden came through this place two years ago. He had the plague and was banished down-river to a ravine which is used as a quarantine. Sick people are sent down-river, but none come back. The locals know that people are still alive in the ravine (they can see them at a distance) and they send food and supplies down-river.

- In this place, Ethan and Isabelle find out more about the plague. It has ravaged these ‘Borderlands’ for many years. Few survive it, but those who do have trouble with their memories afterwards.

- Ethan agrees to go downriver to see if he can find the missing giant Warden. Isabelle stays behind because if the giant Warden was sick with the plague, then Isabelle might also get sick too. (it’s less likely for Ethan to get ill). Ethan goes downstream in a small boat and ends up in a ravine surrounded by crystals which suppress magic. Here, even Ethan’s defensive spells fail, and the Dragon Mark is likewise silent.

- The giants in the ravine are surprised to see him. They have a small settlement, multiple vegetable gardens and a stockpile of barrels from the village upstream. The first giant is almost totally blind and has multiple deformities as a result of surviving the plague. Ethan introduces himself as a healer and proceeds to cure the giants of the plague and their injuries, one by one. It takes time.

- At last Ethan finds the Son, the missing giant Warden. He can sense that the Son is a Warden but unfortunately the Son is disoriented and has lost his long-term memory. Ethan works to restore him, but this also takes time as the damage was done years ago. Ethan works a miracle (GM’s note – I got a +4 on the FATE Card draw) and before the next morning, the Son has remembered who he is. His name is Tarquin and he remembers everything. He wants to go home.

- Ethan contacts Isabelle via Icon and tells her the good news. He then leads the cured giants back to the nearby township to the jubilation of the people.

Part 4 – Tarquin’s Return

- It takes Ethan, Isabelle and Tarquin two weeks to leave the realm and to traverse the Stair back to the Door which leads to Fafnir’s world. Tarquin is very talkative, and he seems to have a great deal to say. He is like a chatty child. Ethan talks away and answers Tarquin’s many questions.

- They stop occasionally along the way. When they need a rest stop, Tarquin finds a world that suits him to rest in, and Ethan and Isabelle choose another. Then they resume their travels the next day. 

- Returning to Fafnir’s world, the giants celebrate the quest and have a big party. Tarquin is encouraged to tell his story. Ethan and Isabelle dance as the giants sing and play oversized instruments. The party continues well into the evening.

- The next day, Isabelle says goodbye to Ethan (at least for the time being). Tarquin and Ethan carry on. Along the way Ethan explains to Tarquin about Icons and he makes one for his giant friend along the way and shows him how to use it.

- One notable stop on the way back to Tarquin’s homeworld is the realm of Imhotep, a world of red deserts and thin atmosphere. Ethan and Tarquin arrive in Outpost 2, a small settlement which is having trouble keeping the habitat systems operating. At first, they are not received well but Ethan makes a friend in the local sheriff (a man named Arain). Ethan offers to help with some of the failing systems in return for food and lodgings. Arain correctly assesses Ethan as a man ‘on the run’ and gives him the kind advice that he should not keep running forever or else he will always be looking over his shoulder. He suggests that sometimes it is best to face the music.

- Continuing on, Ethan contacts Grant via Icon. The conversation is amicable, and Grant reminds Ethan about the poker game.

- Arriving back at Tarquin’s realm, Isabelle re-joins them, and Tarquin is reunited with his mother. They do not stay long, however. Tarquin is keen to go and see more of the Stair – he, Ethan and Isabelle find another realm with lush gardens and flying ships overhead. After a while, Tarquin decides that he should return home before venturing out again. They part in friendship.

- Ethan and Isabelle talk about what to do next. They have recovered Isabelle’s missing device and there are no pressing issues (except for the fact that Ethan is still being hunted). Ethan remarks that he will remember Fafnir’s realm as that could be a useful place to rest and recharge. With the Dragon Mark suppressed there, it is truly a ‘safe place’ to rest. 

- Isabelle suggests visiting a realm called Jolvir to watch some high-diving. The world is a low gravity moon where entertainers dive slowly into large bubbles of water for the enjoyment of the crowds.