12/15/2022 Virtuous Age Session 30: Return of the Prince, The Great Dome, and Bhishma Round Two

September 18^th. We begin this session stepping out of the Ways through a yawning portal with pillars on each side. We recognize the chamber from the Solarium. Aevum’s amulet device adjusts by itself and confirms we have arrived on our home plane and our time of arrival. (Spell focus now grants +1 CL in the Ways)

Our characters experience brief nausea upon our return, Arcanthorth collapses from the travel. We are all tired. We do not see Kailius either. Eventually we see him as an image in the portal- like he is falling away.

For Tena, she feels the Temple react to her presence; she feels she could cleanse the temple and make it her own.

Aevum also feels a connection to the portal and feels this has more stability to it than at first glance. The prince also feels Arcanthorth has been reckless with his knowledge of the ways.

We ask Arcanthorth about his strange behavior in the presence of Kailius. He maintains that you do not take from the ways especially someone lost to the ways. He was being cautious around an unknown entity. 

After some magical healing, with time being sensitive our characters ultimately decide to press on to the Dome City and the King. 

On the way out of the temple we revisit the statue of Agamotto and are amazed at how it discerns individual morals as well as his or her level of power with light and intensity. Arcanthorth: Chaotic Good with power intensity lower than ours.

We reach the night sky at 10 pm, it does not look like anyone has been up here since our last visit a short time ago. 

Out side the dome we see a large number of tents and military wagons of knolls. About a thousand “Howlers” and to our characters it looks like the dome is locked down.

We skirt around the Dome to find an entrance to see a wide mix of races and activity. Here there is torchlight with groups moving about. The Dome is on lock down. 

Kron separates himself from the group as they move through the crowd hoping out characters aren’t recognized. A woman intercepts Kron with seemingly benign conversation. 

However Kron notices she is armed with bladed scarves and errantly drops is name. At this, Kron attacks the woman and alerts the party who had a group of individuals following them.

Aevum approaches the scene and scolds Kron. Individuals draw weapons in confusion while the woman accuses Kron of being ‘corrupted and killed Talbot’. Other bystanders take to cover.

Our characters are able to leave the area, pass the gate and see a sign that indicates Kron as Talbot’s killer and corruptor of the prince.

Kron surrenders his weapons to his friends, Eabrossi carries Shieldbreaker.

We approach Garlack Greatskull accompanied with troops. They immediately recognize Kron.

Aevum says we have come to talk to the king. Kron is surrounded.

A lieutenant approaches and by the king’s council we are to answer for the accused crimes. Since the prince has approached honorably- the lieutenant will treat Aevum and our characters honorably.

Our characters are guided to a pair of wagons where we are invited to wait until morning. Word has been sent to the King. Watches are set up and soldiers look very uncomfortable.

Kron rests in a prisoner wagon, Zaigan stands watch. Aevum spends time in the extra dimension workshop. Tena sees one of the individuals that was following our group talking with the lieutenant.

Three hours go by when Zaigan hears the gate of the dome opening and closing- enough for one or two individuals to pass through the gate.

Zaigan has a late conversation with a guard named Iston. 

‘Pyerstrider of the Blacktar minotaur clan has pulled his support for the king. Not everyone believes the Prince is corrupted and believe the king is in great peril. It was Garlack who ordered them out here.’ 

Ultimately it is Aevum’s decision to escape or breach the Dome City.

At 6:30 in the morning we are roused, Zaigan buys Aevum one more hour of rest for a complete long rest and we are brought food.

We are led into and the inner dome. Our characters see several individuals gathered in the council chambers. The Lieutenant speaks with someone we realize is a tengu and Kamun the efrit. There are many resolute clan members here as well.

Iston takes possession of the partys weapons and we are escorted to the King’s council where most of the Clan leaders are present. We are greeted by Quovig who thanks us for surrendering peacefully.

The Blacktar minotaur clan with the members of the Luna clan have levied charges against our characters for the murder of Talbot of the Luna clan (rat clan and handsome beasts).

They suggest a trial in two days. Eabrossi presses for a meeting with the King for the Prince.

Formalities are observed and Kron is trusted in our group and we are taken to the Princes chambers at about 9 am. Arcanthorth is here waiting for our characters. Here we can immediately see this area has been searched and will discover an invisible magical wizard eye.

We leave to meet with the King, leaving Arcanthorth in our room. We reach the hall, turn and find the group of ambushers from our earlier disastrous encounter now guarding the door. They did not see us.

Tena casts a spell immunity on Kron to protect him from dominate person and we decide to try our luck with the servant’s access. Along the way our characters come across Iston who wants clarification on his role for us. We decide to have him accompany us.

Bhishma

Through the halls Aevum sees that he has more who adore him than not but Gossip is Aevum’s worst enemy.

We eventually reach the kitchen and the dining room and come to King Saxo. Seated, Saxo invites us to sit down. Zaigan searches the area, the king protests and at the same time Skullarus steps out from behind the curtain. The once King Saxo dissolves into Bhishma, Zaigan’s uncle.

After 3 rounds Kron kills Scelarus and Bhishma escapes into gaseous form for the time being.

12/08/2022 Virtuous Age Session 29: Rope Trick Fallout, a Tooth and a Horn, and the Orcish Vahalla

We begin this week’s session awakened, as our characters are ejected from the rope trick for unknown reason. Around us the terrain is full of crystals trees and fauna, we see the ground is moving and rotating in large (20’ – 40’) whirlpool-like areas. This region is well lit in the area of the ways. We have not had a full night’s rest.

Some of us are cut by tiny flying crystals that fly in the planar currents. This region borders limbo and somehow Aevum is able to discern that in the movement of the ways and the adjacent planes caused our expulsion from the rope trick.

Aevum spots the probable location of the rope trick about 100’ away. Arcanthorth casts levitate on Kron while the rest fly or ride campus back to the rope trick.

The way was tense, Tena was almost pulled into a maelstrom. We took some damage but made it back to the rope trick. Tena heals us including a critically hurt Binki. Eabrossi also heals the small chimp even more.

We are able to finish our rest, we don’t know how much time has passed but we feel completely rested. Time flow seems slowed in this area.

September 20^th.

Before we leave the rope trick Tena casts Lucky Break. When we exit upon the crystalline terrain we hear a beautiful music. On one of the crystalline masses is a tall man playing a flute.

The piper notices Campus and announces, ‘friend or foe- I’m not alone’. Incredibly beautiful man with pointed ears bids us closer.

Eabrossi returns the instrument play and the man bids us ‘come closer to Kailius- I will teach you a song and provide food’

The area he is in is about a 30’ area in the midst of a constantly moving canyon-like landscape where reality from adjacent nodes create a tidal flow of material around us. In the distance there is a large draconic shape in the sky.

Magic is deployed to get us closer to the area Kailius occupies. He has a rapier on his hip and moves gracefully. He seems unbelieving of our presence. He doesn’t know where he is and is confused. He described other creatures we have fought and paranoia from most other travelers.

He is alone and does not know how he got here or how long he has been here. He is from Elysium, one of the goodly planes.

Our characters invite him to travel with us as our path seems to lead toward the dragon shape in the distance.

We travel on when our new companion realizes we are getting closer to the dragon in the distance.

Along the way Kailius talks about encountering dwarves who regarded him with sadness. “said I was from off the path.” We consult Arcanthorth who looks pale and nervous, he simply says “I’m Eabrossi’s manservant.”

Strange thing to say.

In the distance the dragon shape dives into the ground, crystalline debris flies in all directions  

Closer to us, crystalline worms burrow out of the ground- these creatures have a natural confusion effect. These are void worms.

Along the way Aevum is becoming more confident as our characters traverse the Ways and his sure we are becoming nearer.

We come out at a high ridge above individuals trying to avoid the dangerous fauna. The individuals medium sized, probably human half are men wearing chainmail armor or better and the other half being women wearing robes.

Our path will take us near them but they have not noticed us. The men have sinister skull symbols on them.

Arcanthorth gives a subtle word of warning to Tena. We travel down the slope and the 8 individuals notice us and react. Tena recognizes a Summon monster 5 just as 2 rhinos charges.

As this happens a large dragon burst out of the ground. One of the rhinos immediately disappears and half of the fighters attack each other.

The dragon attacks the group and ends his movement near us. The dragon is strange and riddled with void worms. Kron kills the havoc planar dragon. This kill grants Stormbreaker a bane against dragons. Kron and Aevum each take a horn and a tooth. Kron vows to add a jewel to his tattoo crown each time he defeats a dragon  

Our characters turn our attention to the other group. In the crystalline landscape we can see reflections of the group but we have lost sight of them As they have fled. 

Our characters travel onward until we come to a wall of darkness and a border in the ways. Concerning because there is a reality current flowing here as well. Aevum’s amulet activates, and an aperture opens in the darkness.

This next area still borders Elysium with some differences. We all avoid the mythic slow, our first indicator of the mythic quality of this area of the Ways.

We enter a chamber with faded murals of orc battles. The walls are scarred in this chamber that echoes with various strange noises. This location has been lost in the ways.

We are set upon by large horrific destrachan beasts with mouths for faces and orcish wrath priests and giant slayers in the distance. We defeat the destrachans and gain a mythic trial and emerge back at the solarium on the evening of September 18^th at 9 pm. The second mythic trial comes from being in two places at once (mythic achievement). 

12/01/2022 Virtuous Age Session 28: Aevum Takes the Lead in the Ways, Vrocks are Abyssal Tengu, and Little Limbo

We begin this week’s session sill traversing the Ways. Arcanthorth, having lost consciousness in the fight with the Chaos Beasts expresses fear about losing concentration. 

The area our characters are in is stale and silent- darkness surrounds our group as Tena spends a few minutes healing. We’ve been here about an hour.

From here Aevum takes the lead. As a minotaur he feels he is best to lead through the labyrinth of the Ways. His awareness brings prince Aevum and our characters to a direction with slightly better vision th Aevum concentrates on the Agamotto Temple September 13^th, the day our characters became mythic.

Eabrossi keeps time with spellcasting and another two hours will go by. At four hours Aevum is able to lead us to another bubble-like node in the Ways. Here, there is about a 30’ drop.

In this node there is a rolling hot wind with difficult terrain in most places. Where before there was deeper darkness, here the darkness is not enhanced. Tena points out his area is heavily influenced by Abyss. Pockets of poison gasses linger in low areas and tall granite buttes are common features.  

Binki spontaneously draws a wand a restores Eabrossi some Wisdom. Our characters reach a rift and steep bridge. Our characters decide to fly across and were eventually set upon by Vrocks. With great spell work and decisive strikes from Kron our characters are able to defeat one Vrock and run off the second.

It was not long after- about 20 minutes, when three Advanced Unhallowed Bodocks come at us in vicious horrible fashion. 

After the Bodocks a few more hours of travel our character begin to feel tired as the mental anguish of demonic voices echoes in our minds. Our characters know that if we stop or lower our guard something will catch us.

At twelve hours of travel our characters make it to a Ways intersection where the path could go into to border areas. The pathway is unstable but gives us two options. Aevum casts Ally across Time to ascertain the desired direction.

Arcanthorth and the other Avuems across time agree to pass through the left archway. This mystical archway leads our characters to a very small empty space. We experience a loss of time in a short distance and are roused by kindly earth elementals. They tell us we were charmed by 'the empty' and recognize the symbol of Agamotto.

The next area we enter a windy area with explosions creating rifts in the sky. Gravity and all direction is chaotic and chaging. The area is strongly connected with Limbo.

Our characters are tired, Aevum creates an extended Rope Trick for our characters to take a long rest.