Zol 17th Dravago, 998 Y.K. - Lyrandar Tower
Within the Docking bay, hundreds of shuffling people—most of them standing in long lines—are waiting to board the next airship. Along the north and south walls are two large areas filled with chairs. Together, these lounges provide seating for more than five hundred people. House Lyrandar provides refreshments, such as fruits and water, free of charge to the waiting travellers. The safety of the airship passengers using this docking port is of paramount concern to House Lyrandar. No fewer than fifty guards patrol this room at all times.
As you are waiting for your ship to dock you hear a ruckus across the lounge. As you watch you see several guards trying to extract a shabby looking old man from the lounge area, and he is protesting loudly.
“I must reach Xen’drik and look once more upon the great Dragonshard. It is the salvation of all of us. We will all perish without the wisdom of Eberron.”
As the old man is ushered past you his wild hair and beard are brushed aside. You can clearly see a necklace hung with several large crystals.
The old man stares at the child as the guards drag him past you, a look of terror and hope crosses his face and his eyes seem to clear of the madness within. He raises a shaky hand and points.
“You have found it, the boy is alive. He must be returned, the World Born Dead seeks him, we will all perish…”
The guards continue to drag him off and as they do you are approached by an official looking gentleman, “The Skystar is ready to board now, please follow me to dock three”.
The group tread cautiously across the bridge (very carefully not looking down) and board the Skystar. They are greeted by Captain Syrina d'Lyrandar, a very attractive elf. She is, in short order, hit on by Lorric and warned by Anvil not to let Lorric near any levers. She quickly retreats and lets her first mate conduct the tour of the Skystar.
Following the tour the Crimson Fist meet up with the Captain in the lounge where she answers their questions. These are, unsurprisingly, mostly about the defensive capabilities of the ship and how the group can help out in the event of an attack (and whether they can use the ballista).
*Lorric comments
To everyone's amazement, (including his own!) Lorric somehow manages to sweet-talk the Captain into allowing him to try and fly the skyship. Unfortunately, he is unable to get the air elemental to comply with his wishes, and the attempt is short lived, before the Captain takes the wheel again.
Lorric is nontheless delighted that he was allowed to give it a go, and feels suitabily ready to try again, and if the group are attacked by sky-pirates, thoroughly intends to try to appropriate their skyship.
Lorric is nontheless delighted that he was allowed to give it a go, and feels suitabily ready to try again, and if the group are attacked by sky-pirates, thoroughly intends to try to appropriate their skyship.
The journey will take 2 ½ days travelling in a straight line although it is explained that you do have to avoid the Skyraker Forest as unseasonably icy winds from the Greywall Mountains are slicing through the skies above it. You are informed that the “Uttercold” is restless these days.
Wir 18th Dravago, 998 Y.K.
As twilight approaches the “Skystar” enters a bank of light mist that diffuses the red light of the sunset, covering everything with a vivid red glow. The glow gradually fades as the sun falls below the horizon and the crew begin to light the watch-lamps about the ship.
It is not long before you find yourselves in a silent darkness with only the gentle creaking of the soarwood hull and the ever-present breathy sighing of the air elemental bound into the ring that surrounds the vessel.
No stars can be seen tonight and as the darkness deepens the captain gives explicit orders to the bound elemental and heads into her quarters. As with last night most of the crew retire below deck to eat, drink and rest for the night, leaving only a night watch on the deck to keep an eye on things. Every half hour the watch rings the Watch-Bell.
Late on the night of the 18th, all is quiet. Kapek and Ajax have retired to bed. Katerina is in her cabin, checking on the health of the child. Anvil is sitting in the prow of the ship, quietly crafting and Lorric is getting in some serious drinking in the ship's lounge. Despite his heroic alcohol consumption it is Lorric who spots the strange intruders first. Balls of metal from which sprout a whipping nest of metal tentacles, floating sinisterly down the corridors of the Skystar.
Lorric yells the alarm and charges one of the creatures.
Kapek leaps out of bed and grabs his weapons. Ajax however remains defiantly asleep.
On the upper deck Anvil and Lorric engage one of the creatures. On the Quarter deck Kapek pulls open his door to run straight into one of the creatures, he pulls back into his room, drawing it in to him. He recognizes it as one of the Stormclouds of Thoon, a construct created by the Mind flayers. Kapek also spots three more of the Stormclouds heading down the corridor towards Katerina's room.
Despite the full scale battle going on outside his room Ajax slumbers peacefully on.
From the Upper Deck Anvil heads down the stairs to ensure the safety of those below, leaving Lorric to slay the first of the Stormclouds before rushing down to join in the main battle. This noise finally awakens Ajax who rushes out of his room to attack the constructs in the narrow corridor of the skyship. Katerina pokes her head out of her room and is yelled at by everybody to bar her door.
Electricity suddenly flows and sparks across the constructs bodies and arcs of electricity leap from each of them to fill the corridor. Only Lorric's acrobatic training saves him but Anvil and Ajax are not so lucky, taking the full force of the attack. (Kapek and Katerina are in their rooms). Despite the damage it seems to do them the constructs discharge electricity again and Ajax drops to the ground, a smoking husk.
This is the high point for the constructs though, weakened by their own attacks and already damaged they are soon dispatched.
In the aftermath of the battle Katerina rushes out to see if anything can be done for Ajax but he is beyond even her magic. She sadly heals who she can.
*Katerina comments
Looking down at the smouldering corpse of her dear friend Ajax, Katerina feels as though she has let everyone down. She has one role in the group and in that role she has failed. Looking round at the stalwart faces of her companions she feels a rush of emotion. Hiding her tears she tenderly wraps Ajax's body in a blanket and whispers a prayer for his soul.
The Crimson Fist are just beginning to discuss what, if anything, can be done for their fallen comrade when the yells of the Skystar's crew attract the attention of the surviving members of the group and they descend into the Cargo Hold. There they find the door to the cargo hold smashed open from the inside and in the hold eight smashed pottery jars of the right size to each have held a Stormcloud. The pottery jars are marked as coming from Vralkek in Droaam. It is lost on no-one that this is where the crate in which they first found the child was marked as having come from.
This information is only just starting to be digested when suddenly the alarm sounds from the Upper Deck. The Captain hustles Katerina back to her room and promises to guard her and the child.
Rushing to the Upper Deck the Crimson Fists see three, strange, winged creatures flying behind the Skyship. These are identified as Destrachan, although the fact that they are held aloft with great leathery wings and a ring of writhing tentacles around their mouths indicates they are not normal specimens. The rear one is observed to be ridden by a Mindflayer. As they watch, two of the creatures move to flank the Skyship while the one ridden by the Mindflayer remains in position behind of the Skystar.
Anvil produces the wand of fireballs he had purchased the day before they had set out and blasts the creature. When this is followed by a stinging bullet from Lorric's sling the creature peels away into the mist.As if on some unheard signal the creatures flanking the Skyship both charge toward it, screaming hideous, damaging cries. They land on either side of the Upper Deck.
Kapek charges the creature on the left (noticing as he does that it too is ridden by an invisible Mindflayer) striking it a mighty blow with his Tangat. Anvil finishes the creature off with a flask of acidic fire and the smoking bodies of creature and rider topple gently off the ship.
Screams erupt from below decks, which the group recognize as the Captain.
Kapek and Anvil charge the creature on the right, which turns out to not have a rider and quickly finish it. Meanwhile Lorric hurls himself below decks ( no doubt spurred by the chance to rescue the Captain) to find the last Mindflayer trying to force its way into Katerina's room. Catching the Mindflayer by surprise, Lorric quickly attacks it dealing devastating wounds before Kapek leaps below decks and flings two of his trademark boomerangs at the aberration, slaying it.
Simultaneously on the Upper Deck the last Destrachan and its Mindflayer rider (still smoking gently from the fireball) land on the front of the ship. The Mindflayer attempts to exert some strange power on Anvil and Kapek but bolstered by Anvil's magic they resist and attack it.
In desperation the Destrachan leaps off the ship and dives for the fog cover but Anvil is ready and once more blasts it with the wand of fireballs. It is the fatal blow and the controlled dive turns into a death dive as the still flaming creature and rider plunges into the fog cloud.
The Crimson Fist check on the Captain, the child and Katerina and discover they are all intact. It is then noticed that sometime during the chaos of the battle Ajax's body has mysteriously vanished.
In the aftermath of the battle the group examine the dead Mindflayer. They discover it has a familiar symbol branded onto it, a symbol they had last seen in the underground complex from which they had rescued the child.
Anvil and Katerina harvest the Mindflayer's brain and pickle it. Lorric then decapitates it and mounts the head on the bows of the skyship (from which the Captain removes it the second his back is turned).
Ajax's Long Sojourn
As the world around you slips into shades of grey and the agony finally ends you find yourself drifting across a drab grey monotone wasteland. You wander for a thousand lifetimes through the tormented souls that have lost their identity, but their purpose is their own and they are lost somewhere deep within themselves, whatever motivations and aspirations they had in life have long since died and now they wander aimlessly, shades overcome with apathy and the heavy pull of the earth beneath their feet. But worse than that, they are what you will someday become. Screaming to the sky with the realisation that Ajax of the Black Claw is no more you fall to your knees and let darkness wash over you.
A shift somewhere either in or around you stirs your senses and you feel a pull, somewhat like you need to vomit and then in a flash you are bathed in light.
Every moment is pure torture as you realise that your nerves are burning and recoiling, your eyes sting as you try to open them, sharp contrasts baffle your tired mind, agony fills every pore of your being and as you force your eyes open you find yourself faced with a vast vortex swirling in a warm off-white sky.
Turning your head slightly to look around, you find yourself laid upon a stone table upon the peak of a vast pyramid, surrounding you are the cyclopean ruins of a vast city that stretches off into the distance and beyond the bounds of the city you see only silvery swirling mists.
Standing by your side you see a single white figure, its face covered with a vertically bisected mask. Dozens of colourful, prehensile tendrils emerge from behind the mask like a mane of thick fleshy hair, in a split second the mask flicks open revealing a horrifically alien morass of facial organs and orifices. I leans close to your face, you feel at once emotionally numbed and mentally drained by its very visage.
A soft voice in your mind soothes your worries, "The Awakener awakens. Arise Ajax of the Black Claw; lift yourself from your grave..."
Ajax gets up in a great degree of confusion.
Hauling yourself to your feet, your head swims in pain and for a few moments you fear that you will not be able to remain conscious, but a few deep breaths resolve the feeling and your surroundings fall back into focus. The pain in your flesh gradually begins to subside.
"Welcome back, Ajax of the Black Claw. Are you aware of what has happened?" says the spindly white aberration that stands by your side, an ethergaunt.
"I'm aware. I died, I went to the afterlife, it sucked. How long was I dead for? Who are you?"
…Long pause…
"And what do you want in return for bringing me back?”
"How long have you been dead....?" the creature pauses for a moment before you hear it's voice once more in your mind, "That would depend upon where you are in relation to the event of your crossing over. However long you think you have been dead, then it has been that long."
"I am one of many that watch over that which lies beyond infinity, it gestures to the vast dark vortex in the sky, and in return for your salvation I ask that you embrace your destiny, your ward is most precious, perhaps the single most precious thing in the entirety of existence."
“So the Kid is still alive? I thought I was in the afterlife much longer than that." Shakes head.
"Never mind I'm sure time works differently. So the deal is, I'm not dead and in return I guard the Kid no matter what, right? Fair enough I acknowledge the debt of Honour I owe you and will guard the child to the utmost of my abilities. But I reserve the right to still loathe Martell, that tight git."
“I do not feel that you fully appreciate the gravity of the situation, Ajax of the Black Claw. You and those who bear the mark of the fist bathed in blood are the ones who will decide the players in the final battle, you have already watched as the gates to the bone castle opened and fought back the dark thoughts of Xoriat. You have liberated, the wild madness wreathed in chains, the white tiger walks the face of Eberron once more, these have all been your decisions and others remain inert through your actions. Your path has only just begun….
It points once more to the vortex above, “Look closely, you will see a darkness that orbits the Horizon. Should that body reach the centre, then it is time to pray to your Gods that there is something beyond everything we know to exist, for at that point it will all cease.
"Hold on one goddamn minute. If I don't fully appreciate the gravity of the situation it's because we never get a straight answer from you types.
I may not know cosmic mysteries but I know we will work better if we actually know what we are trying to accomplish and what we are fighting against. All this enigmatic stuff is no help whatsoever.
Answer some questions, clearly and concisely for once”
The creatures face writhes with no emotions that you can fathom; you can however presume that it is not happy at being spoken to in such a fashion.
"We are forbidden from interfering with the paths that people choose to take, but ask your questions and I shall answer as best as I can. You have to understand that our minds do not work with any great degree of compatibility with some of the 'lesser' races and this usually results in confusion."
“Well as it seems you need this particular lesser race. What is the child going to do that is so important?
Why won't he communicate with us?
Who is trying to kill the child?
Can we trust Martell?
How do I avoid going back to that horrible afterlife when I finally die?"
"The child is a vessel, it contains an element that was etched within a great Dragonshard and expanded upon by the giants of a land you know as Xen'drik. If the child dies, then everything it contains dies with it. The child is going to 'do' nothing, but he must survive."
"He is under the influence of a powerful poison that fogs his mind, which is already heavily clouded by the patterns woven into what was the blank canvass of his thought processes. The child will not communicate until the poison is purged, and even then it is likely that your lesser minds will not understand."
"There are many who would see the child dead, and they are not always what they seem. As there are also many who would see the child live, and they too can not be judged by their actions, although their motivations may be far removed from your lesser thought patterns."
"There was a time when Martell d'Cannith of the Midnight League was not to be trusted, but his actions moved the path of destiny and the realisation of the consequences changed his perspective."
"The only way that I know of that will allow you to 'avoid' your afterlife, is to avoid death. The elves of Aerenal and their Undying Court, or the followers of House Vol have both found pathways to salvation."
“I will take you back to Eberron; I believe you were headed for the village of Niern. Head for the ‘Sleeping Seacat’, you will need a guide through your next chapter, those that appear most unsuitable, are often those that you seek.”
The creature takes your hand and you both take to the air, flying through silvery space, passing through mists out of sight of the ominous vortex. In moments you find yourself standing on the outskirts of a small lakeside village. The afternoon is growing late and the lights of cottages are flickering in the fading of the day.
To the west the land is filled with thick woodland and a vast lake disappears over the horizon to the north and east.
"Thank you."
In the aftermath of the battle the group examine the dead Mindflayer. They discover it has a familiar symbol branded onto it, a symbol they had last seen in the underground complex from which they had rescued the child.
Anvil and Katerina harvest the Mindflayer's brain and pickle it. Lorric then decapitates it and mounts the head on the bows of the skyship (from which the Captain removes it the second his back is turned).
Ajax's Long Sojourn
As the world around you slips into shades of grey and the agony finally ends you find yourself drifting across a drab grey monotone wasteland. You wander for a thousand lifetimes through the tormented souls that have lost their identity, but their purpose is their own and they are lost somewhere deep within themselves, whatever motivations and aspirations they had in life have long since died and now they wander aimlessly, shades overcome with apathy and the heavy pull of the earth beneath their feet. But worse than that, they are what you will someday become. Screaming to the sky with the realisation that Ajax of the Black Claw is no more you fall to your knees and let darkness wash over you.
A shift somewhere either in or around you stirs your senses and you feel a pull, somewhat like you need to vomit and then in a flash you are bathed in light.
Every moment is pure torture as you realise that your nerves are burning and recoiling, your eyes sting as you try to open them, sharp contrasts baffle your tired mind, agony fills every pore of your being and as you force your eyes open you find yourself faced with a vast vortex swirling in a warm off-white sky.
Turning your head slightly to look around, you find yourself laid upon a stone table upon the peak of a vast pyramid, surrounding you are the cyclopean ruins of a vast city that stretches off into the distance and beyond the bounds of the city you see only silvery swirling mists.
Standing by your side you see a single white figure, its face covered with a vertically bisected mask. Dozens of colourful, prehensile tendrils emerge from behind the mask like a mane of thick fleshy hair, in a split second the mask flicks open revealing a horrifically alien morass of facial organs and orifices. I leans close to your face, you feel at once emotionally numbed and mentally drained by its very visage.
A soft voice in your mind soothes your worries, "The Awakener awakens. Arise Ajax of the Black Claw; lift yourself from your grave..."
Ajax gets up in a great degree of confusion.
Hauling yourself to your feet, your head swims in pain and for a few moments you fear that you will not be able to remain conscious, but a few deep breaths resolve the feeling and your surroundings fall back into focus. The pain in your flesh gradually begins to subside.
"Welcome back, Ajax of the Black Claw. Are you aware of what has happened?" says the spindly white aberration that stands by your side, an ethergaunt.
"I'm aware. I died, I went to the afterlife, it sucked. How long was I dead for? Who are you?"
…Long pause…
"And what do you want in return for bringing me back?”
"How long have you been dead....?" the creature pauses for a moment before you hear it's voice once more in your mind, "That would depend upon where you are in relation to the event of your crossing over. However long you think you have been dead, then it has been that long."
"I am one of many that watch over that which lies beyond infinity, it gestures to the vast dark vortex in the sky, and in return for your salvation I ask that you embrace your destiny, your ward is most precious, perhaps the single most precious thing in the entirety of existence."
“So the Kid is still alive? I thought I was in the afterlife much longer than that." Shakes head.
"Never mind I'm sure time works differently. So the deal is, I'm not dead and in return I guard the Kid no matter what, right? Fair enough I acknowledge the debt of Honour I owe you and will guard the child to the utmost of my abilities. But I reserve the right to still loathe Martell, that tight git."
“I do not feel that you fully appreciate the gravity of the situation, Ajax of the Black Claw. You and those who bear the mark of the fist bathed in blood are the ones who will decide the players in the final battle, you have already watched as the gates to the bone castle opened and fought back the dark thoughts of Xoriat. You have liberated, the wild madness wreathed in chains, the white tiger walks the face of Eberron once more, these have all been your decisions and others remain inert through your actions. Your path has only just begun….
It points once more to the vortex above, “Look closely, you will see a darkness that orbits the Horizon. Should that body reach the centre, then it is time to pray to your Gods that there is something beyond everything we know to exist, for at that point it will all cease.
"Hold on one goddamn minute. If I don't fully appreciate the gravity of the situation it's because we never get a straight answer from you types.
I may not know cosmic mysteries but I know we will work better if we actually know what we are trying to accomplish and what we are fighting against. All this enigmatic stuff is no help whatsoever.
Answer some questions, clearly and concisely for once”
The creatures face writhes with no emotions that you can fathom; you can however presume that it is not happy at being spoken to in such a fashion.
"We are forbidden from interfering with the paths that people choose to take, but ask your questions and I shall answer as best as I can. You have to understand that our minds do not work with any great degree of compatibility with some of the 'lesser' races and this usually results in confusion."
“Well as it seems you need this particular lesser race. What is the child going to do that is so important?
Why won't he communicate with us?
Who is trying to kill the child?
Can we trust Martell?
How do I avoid going back to that horrible afterlife when I finally die?"
"The child is a vessel, it contains an element that was etched within a great Dragonshard and expanded upon by the giants of a land you know as Xen'drik. If the child dies, then everything it contains dies with it. The child is going to 'do' nothing, but he must survive."
"He is under the influence of a powerful poison that fogs his mind, which is already heavily clouded by the patterns woven into what was the blank canvass of his thought processes. The child will not communicate until the poison is purged, and even then it is likely that your lesser minds will not understand."
"There are many who would see the child dead, and they are not always what they seem. As there are also many who would see the child live, and they too can not be judged by their actions, although their motivations may be far removed from your lesser thought patterns."
"There was a time when Martell d'Cannith of the Midnight League was not to be trusted, but his actions moved the path of destiny and the realisation of the consequences changed his perspective."
"The only way that I know of that will allow you to 'avoid' your afterlife, is to avoid death. The elves of Aerenal and their Undying Court, or the followers of House Vol have both found pathways to salvation."
“I will take you back to Eberron; I believe you were headed for the village of Niern. Head for the ‘Sleeping Seacat’, you will need a guide through your next chapter, those that appear most unsuitable, are often those that you seek.”
The creature takes your hand and you both take to the air, flying through silvery space, passing through mists out of sight of the ominous vortex. In moments you find yourself standing on the outskirts of a small lakeside village. The afternoon is growing late and the lights of cottages are flickering in the fading of the day.
To the west the land is filled with thick woodland and a vast lake disappears over the horizon to the north and east.
"Thank you."
