RealmsToowoomba Recap # 87 [RPG]

[1 Eleasis 1372 Continued]

Following the implosion of her conjured mansion, Mellia and Cain suddenly find themselves sprawled on the ground, wounded.   Nearby, Ralkin’s corpse lies amidst a jumbled pile of the gear the adventurers had earlier brought into the mansion.  Mellia sees a blanket of monstrous centipedes just a few yards away, identifies it as a threat, and evokes gouts of flames from her fingertips to singe it.   As she crawls over to Ralkin’s body to search for his spell component pouch, she sees that her gravely wounded familiar is scampering away at top speed away.  Meanwhile, Shiro flies to the body of her fallen brother and attempts to lift his still form off of the ground, but finds him too heavy.  The swarm assassin realizes that it has accomplished its mission and begins to move away towards the armor and other equipment that formed its shell.  Tunak enters the fray, swinging a quarterstaff empowered with an enchantment that freezes that which it touches.  Cain heals  himself and, seeing the swarm moving away, enters a meditative trance where he begins a complex spell. Mellia, having snatched up Ralkin’s spell component pouch, launches several fire spells that incinerate the strange insect-assassin.  But just as one swarm is destroyed, another appears.  From all over the camp, streams of rats converge suddenly with one destination: the dead body of Ralkin Bronzefeather,. They cover the kenku’s corpse completely, swaying and undulating to a rhythm only they can hear. Then, as quickly as they arrived, the rats scurry away and disappar.  With a gasp that can be heard even over the severe winds, Ralkin, who was assuredly dead only moments before, lives again!

With the danger having passed, Mellia shakily gets to her feet before casting a divination to confirm that her unborn children were not harmed during the battle. Shiro, having stopped to loot the body of the slain assassin, returns to her brother’s side, not yet realizing he has somehow regained life. Ralkin uses his skill at mimicry to parrot his sister’s voice and the words she said to him when they were reunited on Midsummer. “You should have stayed dead brother”. He then answers in his own voice “I tried to but that didn’t work.” Mellia, having reassured herself of the babies’ continued well-being, starts paying attention when Shiro chastises Ralkin for forgetting to drop the bag of holding when he entered the mansion. She is surprised that the normally quick-thinking Ralkin would be so careless, but he reminds her that he was in fear for his life.  Mellia announces that for everyone’s safety, she will change the rules that allow entry into her mansion. No longer will anyone (with the exception of her husband) have the freedom to leave and enter at will. The others will need to receive her personal permission each time they wish to enter. She also takes the time to speak to Shiro and Ralkin about the assassin. They all wonder how many more will be coming for him.  As Mellia conjures a new mansion, she asks Shiro to summon the others from their work shifting rubble. Shiro elects to send her shadow companion. While they wait for the others to arrive, Shiro, Ralkin, Mellia and Mellia’s familiar, Warren, all receive much needed healing from Tunak.

In a rear chamber of Startop Castle filled with rubble, Markus rears back in surprise when a shadowy entity suddenly rises from the floor.  He instinctively breathes fire at it and the shadow sinks back into the earth.  Markus, Urist and El Capitan mistakenly believe they are under attack from undead coming from beneath the mountain. They hasten back to warn the others.  Finding everyone gathered outside the entrance to the mansion, Markus announces that there has been an attack from undead but he drove them off. Mellia explains what really happened and fills them all in on the implosion, Ralkin’s death and resurrection, and the new rules for entry into the mansion. Markus nods his head but has a further question: Why isn’t Mellia wearing any pants? Suddenly realizing that she is in fact, wearing only a simple silk robe, Mellia blushes and immediately orders every male who is not Cain to close his eyes immediately. Along with Ralkin, Tunak and El Capitan, Markus does so, but first he gentlemanly offers his cloak to his friend, which she accepts gratefully. For her part, Urist protects Mellia’s modesty by using her tower shield to hide Mellia from view.

Before entering the mansion, Markus walks over to talk to Tunak about holding onto his and Urists’ packs again, though this time, he makes sure that Tunak is clear on exactly who owns the items and who has the ability to retrieve them.  Shiro tags along and tries to convince Markus to loan her his bag of holding. Markus politely declines, though he does offer to sell it to her for twice market value. As they dither, Mellia impatiently calls for Markus to enter the mansion and the swordsman quickly begs off the discussion.  Soon Tunak has returned to his wagon and everyone else but Cain and Mellia has entered the mansion. Realizing that the unfortunate Mupit was destroyed, Mellia is happy to realize that her husband is in the process of summoning a new mephit. However, she is reluctant to leave him alone outside given recent events. Cain reassures her that he will be fine and can easily enter the mansion if needed. She finally agrees and heads inside to dress properly. Inside the mansion, El Capitan seeks out Shiro and angrily asks why she sent the “shadow demon” to frighten them.  Shiro says that the shadow is merely her servant, but El Capitan responds that he doesn’t appreciate the kenku’s sneaking, plots, and assassinations.  “I don’t trust your kind,” El Capitan concludes, and Shiro replies that this is very wise.

Later, a fire mephit streaks from the heavens and lands before the waiting Cain.  After it morosely pledges its service to him as its new master, Cain escorts the creature inside.  Cain introduces the creature to its new playroom and then to his wife, who is delighted at its arrival. Cain informs the new mephit of the rules and constraints it is expected to follow, including that Mellia is to be obeyed with the same deference given Cain. The creature heads back to the playroom and Mellia tells Cain that she is happy to see it and he suggests that she could help him to give the creature a name. The cleric seems far more tranquil than he has in the time since his duel with Felix Ruul.

Cain also takes the opportunity bring up an important topic with his wife, one he has not alluded to since their first night together. Cain explains that due to his devout faith as an Archon of Kossuth, he is on a transformative path that will eventually allow him to transcend his current form to become something more than human; to become literal flame. He will no longer have a human body, but he will be able to interact with others and to use items normally.  Mellia acknowledges her awareness that Cain was in the process of an amazing change, but also notes that this could present some difficulties, not the least of which would be caring for their children. Cain suggests that there are magicks--though not of a divine nature--that could allow him to resume his human body at will. He also assures her that his personality will remain intact after his transformation. Mellia says that she knows of the spells he is talking about and she could forge them into a ring for Cain. Her husband says that if the spells could be added to his wedding ring, he would prefer that, as the wedding band is an item he intends never to remove if he can help it. He also reminds his wife that he has as much incentive as she does to find a way to resolve this issue. Mellia kisses Cain and affirms to him, in Ignan, that his becoming fire could not possibly make her love him any less, pleasing him enough that he offers her a rare grin.

Meanwhile, Shiro decides to take certain matters in her own hands.  Using her tricks of disguise and mimicry to take on the appearance of her brother, she emerges from the mansion and goes to speak with Tunak to obtain Ralkin’s bag of holding. Tunak obliges but grows suspicious of “Ralkin” when Shiro appears unconcerned about accidentally overloading and destroying another one of Ralkin’s magickal containers, a haversack. Tunak calls upon his elders to erect a shimmering barrier in an area outside his wagon. When Shiro, as Ralkin, asks if there is trouble, Tunak merely points and says “that way” and heads towards the mansion where he envisions himself banging on a large wooden doorway.  With Tunak gone, Shiro pokes a finger through the barrier and, finding herself able to pass through it, engages her ring of invisibility and begins flying down the mountain in pursuit of the fleeing refugees of New Nesme.

When Mellia and Cain speak with Tunak it becomes clear that he believes he was just speaking with Ralkin. Cain finds this suspicious as he believed Ralkin to be recuperating in his room within the mansion. A servant is dispatched to check Ralkin’s room while Cain calls for the kenku in a loud voice. Soon enough, Ralkin comes downstairs and outside. The confusion is cleared up very quickly as the adventurers realize that the kenku Tunak spoke with must have been Shiro in disguise.  Ralkin shares his surmise that Shiro is in pursuit of Jygil Zelnathra.  As Cain and Mellia debate how they are meant to adventure with a loose cannon such as Shiro, Ralkin becomes furious when Tunak shows him the ruins of his magical backpack. A quick consultation decides the best course of action: Shiro is too obsessed to be turned from her path, so Mellia will use her spell ofsending to contact Jygil Zelnathra directly and warn her of the threat to her life. Mellia does so, noting that she believes Truehammer’s killer will be coming for Jygil and warning of both flight and invisibility as potential weapons in the killer’s arsenal. Zelnathra answers back quickly that she is grateful for the information and that all precautions will be taken.

While Mellia is engaged in casting her spell, El Capitan exits the mansion, drawn by the commotion visible through the shimmering barrier. Cain advises the feline not to disturb his wife’s concentration before quietly filling him in on Shiro’s rash actions. El Capitan is aghast at Shiro’s destructive impulses, but is also taken aback by Cain and Mellia’s subsequent talk of violence and bloodshed. He heads back inside.   When Mellia’s warning spell is finished, she and Cain discuss what they are to do about Shiro in the long term. The kenku has obvious useful qualities but seems impossible to control. Cain suggests that it might be useful if Shiro were bound by a quest similar to the one that requires their continued efforts to raze Nesme. Mellia thinks this is a good idea, though neither is sure what the specific details of such a quest should be. Cain also says that the quest must be accepted freely. Mellia suggests that family may be the way to convince Shiro to accept such a restriction, since she appears to wish to protect her brother.  The two go to speak with Ralkin and get his opinion on this potential plan. Ralkin agrees with the concept, but notes that it will be difficult to word such a quest to properly restrain Shiro and even more difficult to convince her to accept it. Mellia suggests his sister may be willing to accept the quest in order to remain by his side to protect him from assassins. However, that would require that Ralkin be willing to leave her behind if she refuses, which he quickly assents to, obviously frustrated with his sibling.

Meanwhile, Shiro flies silently down the mountain until she comes upon a part of the refugee caravan that has stopped on the winding mountain trail.  The groups ahead of it have continued on down, and the one that Shiro finds represents only about a fifth of the overall number of refugees and soldiers originally camped atop Startop Mountain.   Each end of this portion of the trail has been blocked with wagons, and guards stand at full alert, spaced at regular intervals among the wagons and people. It is obvious that they are expecting danger as they constantly scan the sky looking for the tell-tale flicker of an invisible presence.  Shiro locates Jygil Zelnathra giving commands, and quietly changes position so she can surveil her quarry without being noticed.

Outside Startop Castle, Cain, Mellia and Ralkin head back into the conjured mansion after ascertaining that Tunak doesn’t wish to join them. Ralkin, surprisingly, does not return to his room but instead heads to the bar where he begins to drink alongside El Capitan. When Markus (who has been enjoying a bubble bath provided by Urist) and his dwarven companion finally join the group they bring him up to speed on Shiro’s activities. Like El Capitan, the swordsman is appalled at her actions.  Talk turns to plans for the next day, which will include a raid on Nesme followed by travel to Waterdeep to shop and prepare for a much larger scale assault.  The adventurers recall that the city has erected a distinctive circle of white marble pillars just northeast of the South Gate to serve as an easily-targeted destination for teleportation magicks.

Cain heads upstairs to pray and Mellia joins him. Afterwards, they discuss their plans for Waterdeep and whether Cain’s new mephit will stand out. Given his own unique appearance, Cain is not concerned that his servant will draw any additional undue attention.  The two talk again about how difficult it will be to manage travel with Shiro if she cannot be controlled. Mellia also notes that Cain seems to be in a much improved mood compared to the past two days. He explains to her that during his meditation he came to the realization that his inner anger and rage could be put to a more useful purpose: summoning a new mephit. He attributes his new state of calm to his faith, which Mellia notes is something their family possesses in ample supply. Mellia asks Cain if they should return downstairs to wait for Shiro to return, but he tells her that since Shiro cannot enter the mansion, the servants will be able to let them know when she arrives at the door. Nor does he wish to join the others in the common room, noting that they can entertain themselves. Instead, Cain makes it clear to his wife that he would much prefer that they spend the evening alone together and Mellia is more than happy to oblige him with her undivided attention.  In bed, Mellia cuddles closer to Cain and confides in him that she is very proud of him and supportive of his eventual transformation, but that she will have to prioritize the creation of the ring they discussed as she is very fond of his human body. Cain tells her he would prefer a ring that he could activate with a word of command and she promises to use the resources of the Silverymoon Ladies’ College to help her in her task. She also asks him another question about his transformation: after he has assumed his new form, will they be able to have more children? This time though, Cain is unsure of the answer, telling her that he will have to investigate the matter. She pensively notes that in that case, it is lucky that they are expecting twins.

Downstairs at the mansion, Markus and El Capitan discuss how to handle Shiro. They have both had negative experiences with the kenku Villiam Teale, the former first of the dueling academy, though Markus remains unsure why Teale hates him so much, asking plaintively, “What did I ever do to him?” Neither wishes to wait for Shiro to decide to turn on them, but El Capitan refuses Markus’ suggestions of bloodshed, noting he is not an assassin. He also argues that Markus second plan of challenging Shiro to a duel is not likely to succeed given her secretive nature.  Both Markus and El Capitan wonder what Ralkin thinks of his sister’s actions, but they find the kenku passed out cold from the strong drink he has been consuming. Markus resolves to allow Ralkin to sleep on the floor. They discuss that it must be difficult to have a sister such as Shiro. Markus has no siblings and El Capitan turns pensive and serious as he notes that he once had a sibling, but he does not anymore. He listens as Markus attempts to ‘train his senses’ to alert him if Shiro is attempting to sneak up on him, though only Urist appears impressed with Markus’ efforts. Finally retiring for the night, El Capitan pauses in the doorway to share with Markus and Urist that his sister’s name was Nadia.

[2 Eleasis]

Shiro continues silently observing Jygil Zelnathra for some hours and, after midnight, sees the woman enter a wagon for a rest period after much cajoling by her loyal bodyguards who remind her that she won’t do anyone any good if she is exhausted. Shiro calls her shadow companion forth and imparts a plan: the shadow will act as a distraction to lure away the guards so that Shiro can strike. Although the shadow appears on her signal, the guards fire arrows and call the caravan into high alert rather than leaving their posts. Shiro takes up a position high above the caravan and begins to fire flaming arrows at the guards. The exchange of arrows continues until Jygil can stand hiding no longer and bursts forth, loudly calling for the assassin hunting her to reveal herself and fight face to face. The reply is more arrows launched at her guards. However, Jygil was waiting for just such a moment and launches a fireball at the location the arrow came from and Shiro takes a direct hit: her clothing is incinerated and she is badly hurt!  She perserveres, however, taking advantage of the darkness, and her invisibility to try to wear down Jygil’s guards.  The long battle of attrition continues, with each side using healing magicks to continue fighting through the night.  An apparent turning point comes when Shiro’s healing wand is rendered temporarily unusable, and a surprise casting of a daylight spell exposes her to a volley of arrows and magickal attacks.  The kenku is knocked to the ground, apparently dying, but a hidden contingency heals her fully and she keeps fighting!  A long game of cat-and-mouse follows, as Shiro flies back and forth along the camp, firing intermittently to wear down her foes before they can fire back, hoping all the while that their lightspells will expire before dawn so that she can operate indiscriminately.  With the assassin lacking enough firepower to overcome the numerous defenders, and Jygil and Ballissan Callushands having prepared spells primarily to deal with undead, neither side is able to gain an advantage and the tense stalemate continues.

In the mansion, morning sees Markus emerge from his room to find Ralkin asleep on a pile of tables in the dining room. The kenku manages to climb down and disappears upstairs. With the tables in disarray, Markus, Urist and El Capitan quickly build a table fort and begin a spirited game of conquest and defensive tactics.

In their room, Cain and Mellia prepare for the day and Mellia still has Cain’s transformation on her mind. Will he age? Will his new form have a lifespan? Unfortunately, Cain has no answers to these questions and it is obvious, though she says little, that Mellia now worries that her husband may not know exactly what he is getting them into. However, Mellia is distracted from her concerns by the stirring of her ‘nesting instincts’ and she changes the subject to a detailed discussion of the many supplies and items that will be needed to care for the twins, despite the fact that their arrival is many months away. Cain humors her as they briefly check in downstairs, observing the ongoing fort-building, before heading to Ralkin’s room to see how he is coping with his resurrection and his sister’s betrayal. Ralkin is clearly unhappy but agrees to accompany them to Nesme after completing his daily spell preparation.  Cain and Mellia head down to breakfast, where she continues to distract herself with a list of baby items until her husband firmly remove the papers from her grasp and though silent, makes it plain with a pointed look that he would prefer she concern herself more with caring for herself and their unborn babies by eating a proper breakfast than worrying about things they can deal with later.

As the group of adventurers dine together and wonder if and when Shiro will reappear (and what will have happened to Jygil Zelnathra in the meantime) Ralkin appears in the doorway and sits down at the table to join his companions for breakfast.