November 25th -
(Elfquest, The Sylvan Realm) The elves involved in the orc hunt start to arrive back at the Mother Tree. To the south, Laucian and his griffon riders are preparing to depart the last enemy fort. Gweyr does the honors using her fire magic to set it ablaze. Elora reveals what she has discovered on the scroll and notes she has translated.
To the south lie the home of the Fire Giants, the Hellfurnaces. These giants seem to be in conflict with Frost Giants that are believed to come further north from a place called Frosthaven. The two races of giants seem to be competing to control something that they call the Pedestal. This Pedestal seems to be something that allows them to travel to what they call the 'City of the Gods' and from this city they can then reach Ostoria which seems to be the giants home. The Fire Giants are considering a plan to divert a lava flow to the Pedestal so that they can control it, assuming that it is currently in an icy location.
The humans come from the east and the wyvern riders were instructed to locate the 'arrival point' for what they call a 'travel column'. They humans plot to use this arrival point to remove their enemies including Moorkroft.
Lastly, the orcs live in a place called Xorg that is to the north of the Sylvan Realm. Based on the tone of the messages, Frosthaven sounds like it is even further north than Xorg.
The griffon riders say their goodbyes and fly off. There are not enough griffons to give Arlen's group a ride, so they will return to the Mother Tree on foot. Laucian's group inspects the fort that was spotted burning the night before and see that only ruins now remain. No one is around, but the elfin forest is close enough that the elves who did this could be long gone. The griffon riders turn north and near mid-day pass over the Elfin Palace once more. It seems the same as when they stayed there a few nights ago. Flying onward, the griffon riders reach the hidden stable as night starts to fall. There are only a few elves here now, as the orc hunt seems to have been a success. The griffon riders spend the night at the stable.
Somewhere out in the elfin forest, Valena and her followers find the hidden Order Hall of the Silver Maidens. It is in a concealed area where the unicorns have to 'blink' into it. The followers are accepted by unicorn mounts while Valena studies the history books left behind by previous Silver Maidens. Order tabards are found along with barding for unicorns.
That night at Golden Peak on top of the Mother Tree, the full elfin Clan Council meets for the first time. Lilia is elected to be Queen of the Sylvan Realm to the shock of Chandra. He is unhappily elected to be Council Leader. Queen Lilia decrees that the outside enemies of the Sylvan Realm shall be left alone for now until more reinforcements pass over the Rainbow Bridge. Protecting the Mother Tree is her primary concern. Chandra seeks recruits for rapid response units to answer threats in the Sylvan Realm when they arise. Lia spends the evening with chatting to Allurien Feador. (EQ#35, SR#1-3)
CR 571 November 24th - 28th
CR 571 November 24th - 28th
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Re: CR 571 November 24th - 28th
November 26th –
(The Frontier) Gloria makes one last performance while in Tanaroa and many of the Seekers of the Sword attend. Schar casts a Divination to learn if there will be any danger in the next week and receives the message to “Beware of Sea and Steam”. Rifkin joins the Seekers. (TF#169-170)
Roster of the Seekers of the Sword: Perrel, Stephanie (PL), Fiben, Finrod, Gloria, Madalyn, Marith, Mercy, Padraig, Rifkin, Schar and Tania.
GM Notes: Rifkin transferred in from my short lived live game New Frontiers that only lasted 10 sessions on Q-Link. That game is not part of the Campaign History.
(The Sylvan Realm) Late in the morning the members of the council start to gather only to find that Council Head Chandra and the Councilmen for Clan Red Arrow and Clan Long Runner are gone. No one is sure where they went, but must assume that something came up during the night that required their attention. Queen Lilia tells Kylie, Lia and Talen her thoughts about allowing the half-elves to make their own clan hold in the Sylvan Realms. A place that they can call home.
Valena and her Silver Maidens appear out of nowhere on the backs of their unicorns near noon. The elves in the area are in awe of seeing the three unicorns. Not long after that Laucian and his Griffon Riders return as well. Laucian reveals the information that Elora has translated concerning the fire giants, frost giants, and the humans of Raven's Claw.
Suspicious about the missing Chandra's motives, Valena questions the animals at Golden Peak. In time she finds a squirrel who saw elves climbing on the backs of rocs and flying off to the north. Valena reports to Lilia and the Elfin Queen is angry at Chandra's betrayal. Lilia decides that they most go after Chandra before his arrogance leads to the death of his followers. The group will depart the next morning once they are prepared.
Queen Lilia informs what remains of the Council what has transpired. A heated debate follows and a still angry Lilia shouts them down while standing on the Order Hall table to end the squabbling. The elves comply with her wishes. Some talk about assisting the with the elves mission in the morning, while others suggest casting divinations to learn the truth of the matter.
While standing there, Lilia notes on the table top map that there is a griffon stable up in the mountains to the north in the direction Chandra is believed to have gone. It is suspected that this griffon stable was their initial destination and from there Chandra would directly attack the orc holding of Xorg. The elves rest up for what is to come the next day. (SR#1-3)
(The Frontier) Gloria makes one last performance while in Tanaroa and many of the Seekers of the Sword attend. Schar casts a Divination to learn if there will be any danger in the next week and receives the message to “Beware of Sea and Steam”. Rifkin joins the Seekers. (TF#169-170)
Roster of the Seekers of the Sword: Perrel, Stephanie (PL), Fiben, Finrod, Gloria, Madalyn, Marith, Mercy, Padraig, Rifkin, Schar and Tania.
GM Notes: Rifkin transferred in from my short lived live game New Frontiers that only lasted 10 sessions on Q-Link. That game is not part of the Campaign History.
(The Sylvan Realm) Late in the morning the members of the council start to gather only to find that Council Head Chandra and the Councilmen for Clan Red Arrow and Clan Long Runner are gone. No one is sure where they went, but must assume that something came up during the night that required their attention. Queen Lilia tells Kylie, Lia and Talen her thoughts about allowing the half-elves to make their own clan hold in the Sylvan Realms. A place that they can call home.
Valena and her Silver Maidens appear out of nowhere on the backs of their unicorns near noon. The elves in the area are in awe of seeing the three unicorns. Not long after that Laucian and his Griffon Riders return as well. Laucian reveals the information that Elora has translated concerning the fire giants, frost giants, and the humans of Raven's Claw.
Suspicious about the missing Chandra's motives, Valena questions the animals at Golden Peak. In time she finds a squirrel who saw elves climbing on the backs of rocs and flying off to the north. Valena reports to Lilia and the Elfin Queen is angry at Chandra's betrayal. Lilia decides that they most go after Chandra before his arrogance leads to the death of his followers. The group will depart the next morning once they are prepared.
Queen Lilia informs what remains of the Council what has transpired. A heated debate follows and a still angry Lilia shouts them down while standing on the Order Hall table to end the squabbling. The elves comply with her wishes. Some talk about assisting the with the elves mission in the morning, while others suggest casting divinations to learn the truth of the matter.
While standing there, Lilia notes on the table top map that there is a griffon stable up in the mountains to the north in the direction Chandra is believed to have gone. It is suspected that this griffon stable was their initial destination and from there Chandra would directly attack the orc holding of Xorg. The elves rest up for what is to come the next day. (SR#1-3)
Try it and find out!
Re: CR 571 November 24th - 28th
November 27th -
(The Frontier) The Endeavor and the Intrepid set sail from Tanaroa skirting the islands of the Anegoth Archipelago to the east. Schar casts another Divination to narrow down the time frame of the impending attack. The priestess learns that it will be in three days time. The Seekers decide to prepare for the impending attack and deal with the metal statues inside the Keln's Rest later. The magic items are given out. (TF#169-171)
(The Sylvan Realm) The Heroes of the Mother Tree prepare to ride griffons in pursuit of Chandra and those who followed him. The elves remaining behind offer useful spells and food to those going on the trip. Divinations were cast by Sheeryl Soulsearcher, a Priestess of Sehanine Moonbow. They reveal that Chandra did what he is accused of and that the riders will face great danger the following day when they are confronted by 'an ancient evil from the depths of the earth'. Some suspect this ancient evil to be drow.
A few hours later, the group reaches the clearing where they torched an enemy fort a few days ago. A path leads from the fort and into the mountains, but it is decided to try and reach the ancient griffon stable instead of following the path. As the riders fly along, the path seems to enter a cave on the side of the mountain and come to an end. Clearly the cave must pass through the mountain and emerge on the other side at some point.
Night has started to fall when a red glow is noted on the mountain top. Flying closer, the group finds a wooden landing area that is clearly the work of elves. However beside it is a odd stone structure made of some glowing rock. Stairs lead down into the earth. The opening is wide enough for griffons to easily pass through. Kylie flies off to investigate the structure.
At the bottom of the stairs is a central chamber that the ancient elves appear to have converted into a griffon stable. The area is divided up with wooden walls that once more seem similar to elfin construction. Lilia examines the strange glowing stone and notes that it feels warm to the touch. It also detects as magical. The stone seems to absorb heat and then emit it back out for hours on end. Once drained of heat, the stone stops glowing red.
Three openings lead away from the central chamber. One leads to room that has radically shifted so much that it cannot be used as its so greatly slanted. Another hallway seems to have collapsed and dropped off. This hallway dives and ends at a chamber that is also fallen away. Down in the bottom of this chamber is elf that is curled up on the ground and sobbing. He does not respond to anyone and even casting Cure Light Wounds on him does not change his demeanor. The last hallway leads to another that the ancient elves used as a living and sleeping area.
Books are found in the living area and they shed some information about this place. The ancient elves called it 'Crimson Crest' and used it as a observation outposts starting over twenty thousand years ago. A team of four elves on griffon back would arrive here and observe the land to the north for a few days before flying off to the next outpost.
The strange properties of this strange stone were noted back then and seem to work as the group suspects. However, it was reported that about one in every twenty elves had a strange reaction to this place. Much like the elf in the chamber below, they became unresponsive. The reports state that most of these elves did recover once away from Crimson Crest. The books indicate that the stone also becomes translucent during the daytime.
The books tell of signs of a ruined city to the north. What they guessed to be peaks of buildings could be seen rise up from the earth. They believed that this ancient city had been buried in the past. Back when the elves were here no one lived there other than the occasional monster.(SL#3-4)
(The Frontier) The Endeavor and the Intrepid set sail from Tanaroa skirting the islands of the Anegoth Archipelago to the east. Schar casts another Divination to narrow down the time frame of the impending attack. The priestess learns that it will be in three days time. The Seekers decide to prepare for the impending attack and deal with the metal statues inside the Keln's Rest later. The magic items are given out. (TF#169-171)
(The Sylvan Realm) The Heroes of the Mother Tree prepare to ride griffons in pursuit of Chandra and those who followed him. The elves remaining behind offer useful spells and food to those going on the trip. Divinations were cast by Sheeryl Soulsearcher, a Priestess of Sehanine Moonbow. They reveal that Chandra did what he is accused of and that the riders will face great danger the following day when they are confronted by 'an ancient evil from the depths of the earth'. Some suspect this ancient evil to be drow.
A few hours later, the group reaches the clearing where they torched an enemy fort a few days ago. A path leads from the fort and into the mountains, but it is decided to try and reach the ancient griffon stable instead of following the path. As the riders fly along, the path seems to enter a cave on the side of the mountain and come to an end. Clearly the cave must pass through the mountain and emerge on the other side at some point.
Night has started to fall when a red glow is noted on the mountain top. Flying closer, the group finds a wooden landing area that is clearly the work of elves. However beside it is a odd stone structure made of some glowing rock. Stairs lead down into the earth. The opening is wide enough for griffons to easily pass through. Kylie flies off to investigate the structure.
At the bottom of the stairs is a central chamber that the ancient elves appear to have converted into a griffon stable. The area is divided up with wooden walls that once more seem similar to elfin construction. Lilia examines the strange glowing stone and notes that it feels warm to the touch. It also detects as magical. The stone seems to absorb heat and then emit it back out for hours on end. Once drained of heat, the stone stops glowing red.
Three openings lead away from the central chamber. One leads to room that has radically shifted so much that it cannot be used as its so greatly slanted. Another hallway seems to have collapsed and dropped off. This hallway dives and ends at a chamber that is also fallen away. Down in the bottom of this chamber is elf that is curled up on the ground and sobbing. He does not respond to anyone and even casting Cure Light Wounds on him does not change his demeanor. The last hallway leads to another that the ancient elves used as a living and sleeping area.
Books are found in the living area and they shed some information about this place. The ancient elves called it 'Crimson Crest' and used it as a observation outposts starting over twenty thousand years ago. A team of four elves on griffon back would arrive here and observe the land to the north for a few days before flying off to the next outpost.
The strange properties of this strange stone were noted back then and seem to work as the group suspects. However, it was reported that about one in every twenty elves had a strange reaction to this place. Much like the elf in the chamber below, they became unresponsive. The reports state that most of these elves did recover once away from Crimson Crest. The books indicate that the stone also becomes translucent during the daytime.
The books tell of signs of a ruined city to the north. What they guessed to be peaks of buildings could be seen rise up from the earth. They believed that this ancient city had been buried in the past. Back when the elves were here no one lived there other than the occasional monster.(SL#3-4)
Try it and find out!
Re: CR 571 November 24th - 28th
November 28th -
(The Frontier) Schar does another Divination and learns that the impending attack will come “in the dead of night”. It is suspected that what they will be encountering the is the Wave Witch Molgada and her pet dragon turtle. (TF#170-171)
(The Sylvan Realm) The night passes without incident at Crimson Crest. With the rising of the sun, a new ability of the strange glowing red stone is discovered. When directly exposed to sunlight, it turns transparent! The group goes down the chamber where the unresponsive elf was left and discover that a portion of the walls can now be seen through. They can now see the remains of the ruined city that the ancient elves wrote about in their books. Except now as many as thirty of the buildings have been partially unburied and most glow red! Tiny figures can be seen locked in battle around the tallest tower in these distant ruins.
Mounting up on their griffons, the Heroes of the Mother Tree begin their ride towards the ruins to rescue those who followed Chandra this far. As they get closer they can make out more details of these ancient ruins. This lost city must have been huge in its time. It's nearly twenty miles wide! With the passage of time, the ground around it has changed dramatically. The red glowing buildings are located on a large plateau. Two other smaller and lower plateau's are seen, but the buildings on these do not glow. Further to the north, some three hundred feet beneath the highest plateau is the area of the city that leads to the ocean front. In this area a huge tower-like structure is seen. Given its location, its believed to be a lighthouse. A port can be made out and a galleon is seen docked there. Crudely drawn on its main sail is the shape of a dagger in blood red. The port and ship are at least ten miles away from the area the elves and orcs are believed to be battling.
As the Heroes of the Mother Tree get closer, they can make out several rocs roosting on top of a large, low building. The red glow seems to be keeping them warm. A few elves are also on the rooftop, while a small horde of orcs are at the base of the building throwing spears. Other orcs are bringing up ladders to reach the elves. The building is still partially buried in the earth and a ground entrance is not noted. A few miles away, it is noted that the fighting near the tall tower has ceased.
Magic is used and the the horde of orcs are quickly defeated. It is clear that they weren't that skilled in battle. Four elves were standing guard on the roof top and three more are laying on its surface. They are tired from going without sleep and are out of spells. Valena finds that two of the downed elves have perished, the last has his wounds healed. The five elves who survived are all male. They are Torla Starglow a Ranger of Ehlonna, Finlet Tarsis a warrior in elfin chain mail, Jamar Nierde another warrior in elfin chain mail and has a lute handy, Wyndel Goldenleaf carries a long sword and a staff and wears elfin chain mail and lastly Andlin Alastra who wears plate armor and carries a longsword and shield.
The elves are confused by the arrival of the Heroes of the Mother Tree. Chandra told them that he and the Queen had decided to remove the threat of the elves, but the Council would never agree to it. So they did it in secret behind their backs. They thought they would be Heroes to the Elfin People, but instead were fooled by Chandra. From what the elves say, Chandra had this planned for a long time aided by the other missing councilmen. He knew about Crimson Crest and had rocs ready to carry the elves to battle the orcs. They reveal that the elf left behind at Crimson Crest complained about voices in his head to the point that he became unresponsive. They had no choice but to leave him behind and planned to pick him up on the way back to the Sylvan Realm. The elves were charged with holding this position and keeping the rocs safe, as they were the way home. They saw the battle against the orcs by the tall tower. The fighting started yesterday and continued on through the night. Strangely enough early this morning it seemed the elves and orcs were fighting together against another foe! Just what this foe was they couldn't tell. Not long after that the fighting ceased completely.
Lilia instructs the elves to continue to hold this position and guard the rocs. Should it be necessary, they are to use to rocs and retreat to a safe place. With food and water provided to the elves, the Heroes of the Mother Tree ride their griffons deeper into the ancient ruins.
Two more miles along is the Tall Tower and at its base was where the heaviest of the fighting between elf and orc took place. This tower is six stories high with what looks like living quarters on the lowest three floors at ground level. The group splits in two to investigate.
Kylie, Lia and Talen check out the top of the building. The tower comes to a point at the top but below it there is a large open area. In the middle of this open area is a elevated platform and on it are six seven foot tall stone pillars arranged in a hexagon pattern. The platform and the pillars do not glow red like the rest of the tower. Stairs are noted and Kylie and Talen head down them to explore. One floor down they find that the two sets of stairs are connected by a bridge that spans the middle of the tower. The center of the tower is open shaft that goes down as far as they can see. Every floor there is a bridge connecting the two sides. A bloodcurdling scream pierces the air and the half-elves retreat back up the stairs. A whistle is heard from below and the trio join the elves on the ground.
(The Frontier) Schar does another Divination and learns that the impending attack will come “in the dead of night”. It is suspected that what they will be encountering the is the Wave Witch Molgada and her pet dragon turtle. (TF#170-171)
(The Sylvan Realm) The night passes without incident at Crimson Crest. With the rising of the sun, a new ability of the strange glowing red stone is discovered. When directly exposed to sunlight, it turns transparent! The group goes down the chamber where the unresponsive elf was left and discover that a portion of the walls can now be seen through. They can now see the remains of the ruined city that the ancient elves wrote about in their books. Except now as many as thirty of the buildings have been partially unburied and most glow red! Tiny figures can be seen locked in battle around the tallest tower in these distant ruins.
Mounting up on their griffons, the Heroes of the Mother Tree begin their ride towards the ruins to rescue those who followed Chandra this far. As they get closer they can make out more details of these ancient ruins. This lost city must have been huge in its time. It's nearly twenty miles wide! With the passage of time, the ground around it has changed dramatically. The red glowing buildings are located on a large plateau. Two other smaller and lower plateau's are seen, but the buildings on these do not glow. Further to the north, some three hundred feet beneath the highest plateau is the area of the city that leads to the ocean front. In this area a huge tower-like structure is seen. Given its location, its believed to be a lighthouse. A port can be made out and a galleon is seen docked there. Crudely drawn on its main sail is the shape of a dagger in blood red. The port and ship are at least ten miles away from the area the elves and orcs are believed to be battling.
As the Heroes of the Mother Tree get closer, they can make out several rocs roosting on top of a large, low building. The red glow seems to be keeping them warm. A few elves are also on the rooftop, while a small horde of orcs are at the base of the building throwing spears. Other orcs are bringing up ladders to reach the elves. The building is still partially buried in the earth and a ground entrance is not noted. A few miles away, it is noted that the fighting near the tall tower has ceased.
Magic is used and the the horde of orcs are quickly defeated. It is clear that they weren't that skilled in battle. Four elves were standing guard on the roof top and three more are laying on its surface. They are tired from going without sleep and are out of spells. Valena finds that two of the downed elves have perished, the last has his wounds healed. The five elves who survived are all male. They are Torla Starglow a Ranger of Ehlonna, Finlet Tarsis a warrior in elfin chain mail, Jamar Nierde another warrior in elfin chain mail and has a lute handy, Wyndel Goldenleaf carries a long sword and a staff and wears elfin chain mail and lastly Andlin Alastra who wears plate armor and carries a longsword and shield.
The elves are confused by the arrival of the Heroes of the Mother Tree. Chandra told them that he and the Queen had decided to remove the threat of the elves, but the Council would never agree to it. So they did it in secret behind their backs. They thought they would be Heroes to the Elfin People, but instead were fooled by Chandra. From what the elves say, Chandra had this planned for a long time aided by the other missing councilmen. He knew about Crimson Crest and had rocs ready to carry the elves to battle the orcs. They reveal that the elf left behind at Crimson Crest complained about voices in his head to the point that he became unresponsive. They had no choice but to leave him behind and planned to pick him up on the way back to the Sylvan Realm. The elves were charged with holding this position and keeping the rocs safe, as they were the way home. They saw the battle against the orcs by the tall tower. The fighting started yesterday and continued on through the night. Strangely enough early this morning it seemed the elves and orcs were fighting together against another foe! Just what this foe was they couldn't tell. Not long after that the fighting ceased completely.
Lilia instructs the elves to continue to hold this position and guard the rocs. Should it be necessary, they are to use to rocs and retreat to a safe place. With food and water provided to the elves, the Heroes of the Mother Tree ride their griffons deeper into the ancient ruins.
Two more miles along is the Tall Tower and at its base was where the heaviest of the fighting between elf and orc took place. This tower is six stories high with what looks like living quarters on the lowest three floors at ground level. The group splits in two to investigate.
Kylie, Lia and Talen check out the top of the building. The tower comes to a point at the top but below it there is a large open area. In the middle of this open area is a elevated platform and on it are six seven foot tall stone pillars arranged in a hexagon pattern. The platform and the pillars do not glow red like the rest of the tower. Stairs are noted and Kylie and Talen head down them to explore. One floor down they find that the two sets of stairs are connected by a bridge that spans the middle of the tower. The center of the tower is open shaft that goes down as far as they can see. Every floor there is a bridge connecting the two sides. A bloodcurdling scream pierces the air and the half-elves retreat back up the stairs. A whistle is heard from below and the trio join the elves on the ground.
Try it and find out!
Re: CR 571 November 24th - 28th
Laucian, Lilia and Valena inspect the battlefield at the base of the tower. The find bodies of both elves and orcs. The elves are retrieved and set aside so that they can be transported back to the Sylvan Realm. As the trio moves among the bodies something unusual is noted. There are several orcs wearing what appears to be matching uniforms. Orcs are notorious for their hideous fashion sense and never do they have matching attire. The uniforms have pea soup green clothing and worn over this is a mustard colored tabard bearing the symbol of a bloody dagger on it. The symbol is similar to the one on the ship in the harbor.
As the trio advance on the strangely dressed orcs, Lilia's Sixth Sense spell warns her of danger. A strange buzzing sound is heard as well. Lilia casts a Magic Missile and spreads it to hit all three bodies, but none show any reaction. Drawing her longsword, Lilia moves closer while Laucian and Valena have their bows at the ready. Suddenly one of the orcs sits up and there seems to be a large insect nesting on his head! The bug is reddish-black in color with glowing yellow eyes. Its mandibles are dug into the orcs skull. The bugs wings start to beat and the seemingly dead orc says aloud, “You... will... join... the... Hive.” Arrows and steel pierce the bug quickly slaying it. The orc falls to the ground and Lilia's Sixth Sense no longer warns her of danger.
While the elves contemplate what they just encountered, a bloodcurdling scream pierces the air from inside the Tall Tower. Lilia, using a Fly spell, rushes off to investigate while Laucian trails her on foot. Valena whistles for the half-elves to join her and once they do, all go into the Tall Tower. Laucian finds Lilia in the central shaft of the tower once passing through a suite of rooms and the hallway beyond them. More buzzing is heard and it seems that more of those strange insects are flying up the central shaft! Footsteps can be heard on the two sets of stairs getting closer.
By now everyone is together in the central shaft of the Tall Tower. Kylie casts a Web ensnaring the flying insects coming up from down below. Lilia sets it on fire with a Burning Hands spell. All the bugs perish and fall back down the shaft. The creatures coming up the stairs emerge and they are more orcs with bugs on their heads! But these orcs are in the process of changing into something else. The orcs skin is changing color to reddish-black and they appear to be merging with the bug on their heads! There is about a dozen of these broodlings on each set of stairs. They are quickly dealt with by the Heroes of the Mother Tree.
With the battle over with, the group goes down deeper into the buried tower. Kylie and Lilia fly down the central shaft while Laucian and Talen go down one set of stairs. Valena and Lia take the other stairs. The group goes down one floor, checks the area out and when clear go deeper. This level of the tower is essentially the same as above. The suites have been dug out, but the outside is still buried beneath the earth. The next floor down is the same, just not as dug out as above it. On the floor below that the suites are still buried. Only the stairs and central shaft are clear.
Going down another level and the bottom of the central shaft can be seen. What once was the ground level of the tower is now open and has been unburied. New sounds start to reach the elves ears once they reach the third floor of the tower. What sounds like children whimpering and crying can be heard. Coming from a different direction are what sounds like cries of pain and torment, with a normal voice mixed in.
Upon reaching the second floor of the tower, the children crying seems to be coming from this floor, while the other noises sounds like they are coming from outside of the tower. The ground floor of the Tall Tower is open and does not have any suites to it. More of this floor has been unburied compared to the levels above. Scouts move towards the sound of the children and they found what look like 5' tall reddish-black 'ant men' guarding a suite.
On the other side of this level another open suite is found and the balcony on this one is not buried. It seems to look into an underground cavern of some kind. The other noises seem to be coming form this cavern. Lilia, Lia and Kylie all creep closer to the balcony to see what is going on down in the cavern below. The cavern is huge, some 100' wide and 150' deep. Occasionally some of the ceiling falls away and there are numerous piles of dirt in the chamber below.
At the far end of the cavern is another formation of pillars much like the ones on the roof of the tower. But these ones are three times larger and taller. The area around the pillars seems to suggest that this cavern was ground level back when this city was inhabited. The pillar formation looks like it was part of a large outdoor plaza. On the right hand side of the cavern more of the ant men, including several that are taller, are seen guarding a group of elves and orcs.
In the middle of the cavern are more of the ant men standing guard while Chandra and another uniformed orc are on on their knees. The flying insects are boring into their minds and their cries of pain are the noises that were heard. A figure in a black robe paces before Chandra and the infected orc. “Welcome to the Hive,” the robe figure states happily while pacing. Its clear to those listening that the speaker is a human female. “Everything you are, everything you know is now part of the Hive.”
The voice sounds vaguely familiar, but the watchers cannot place it just yet. The robed figure stops before the orc as if listening to something that cannot be hear. “How interesting!” The robed figure proclaims. “You call yourselves the Scro and you come from beyond this world! This just opens up many new lands for the Hive to conqueror! We never imagined that when we absorbed the last of the Chiliz that so many new possibilities would arise. That their methods of moving around this world would allow us to expand so fast.” The robed figure glances at the larger pillar formation when saying that last part. “They not only opened up this world, but now many others!”
The robed figure then moves before the prone Chandra. “My such hubris,” the robed figure notes in amusement. “You sought to do great things, and now that you are part of the Hive, great things you shall do. What is this? The Mother Tree? What an interesting notion. Our power will increase when the Hive when the Mother Tree and the Sylvan Realm joins the Hive.”
It is that this moment that Kylie puts it all together and her eyes go wide in shock. The voice of the robed woman is known to her! It belongs to her fellow apprentice Argent! Lilia agrees with Kylie's discovery and everyone wonders just how Argent ended up here and seeming filling the role of the Hive Queen. A smaller silver and gold bug is noted in the Hive Queen's hair.
As the trio advance on the strangely dressed orcs, Lilia's Sixth Sense spell warns her of danger. A strange buzzing sound is heard as well. Lilia casts a Magic Missile and spreads it to hit all three bodies, but none show any reaction. Drawing her longsword, Lilia moves closer while Laucian and Valena have their bows at the ready. Suddenly one of the orcs sits up and there seems to be a large insect nesting on his head! The bug is reddish-black in color with glowing yellow eyes. Its mandibles are dug into the orcs skull. The bugs wings start to beat and the seemingly dead orc says aloud, “You... will... join... the... Hive.” Arrows and steel pierce the bug quickly slaying it. The orc falls to the ground and Lilia's Sixth Sense no longer warns her of danger.
While the elves contemplate what they just encountered, a bloodcurdling scream pierces the air from inside the Tall Tower. Lilia, using a Fly spell, rushes off to investigate while Laucian trails her on foot. Valena whistles for the half-elves to join her and once they do, all go into the Tall Tower. Laucian finds Lilia in the central shaft of the tower once passing through a suite of rooms and the hallway beyond them. More buzzing is heard and it seems that more of those strange insects are flying up the central shaft! Footsteps can be heard on the two sets of stairs getting closer.
By now everyone is together in the central shaft of the Tall Tower. Kylie casts a Web ensnaring the flying insects coming up from down below. Lilia sets it on fire with a Burning Hands spell. All the bugs perish and fall back down the shaft. The creatures coming up the stairs emerge and they are more orcs with bugs on their heads! But these orcs are in the process of changing into something else. The orcs skin is changing color to reddish-black and they appear to be merging with the bug on their heads! There is about a dozen of these broodlings on each set of stairs. They are quickly dealt with by the Heroes of the Mother Tree.
With the battle over with, the group goes down deeper into the buried tower. Kylie and Lilia fly down the central shaft while Laucian and Talen go down one set of stairs. Valena and Lia take the other stairs. The group goes down one floor, checks the area out and when clear go deeper. This level of the tower is essentially the same as above. The suites have been dug out, but the outside is still buried beneath the earth. The next floor down is the same, just not as dug out as above it. On the floor below that the suites are still buried. Only the stairs and central shaft are clear.
Going down another level and the bottom of the central shaft can be seen. What once was the ground level of the tower is now open and has been unburied. New sounds start to reach the elves ears once they reach the third floor of the tower. What sounds like children whimpering and crying can be heard. Coming from a different direction are what sounds like cries of pain and torment, with a normal voice mixed in.
Upon reaching the second floor of the tower, the children crying seems to be coming from this floor, while the other noises sounds like they are coming from outside of the tower. The ground floor of the Tall Tower is open and does not have any suites to it. More of this floor has been unburied compared to the levels above. Scouts move towards the sound of the children and they found what look like 5' tall reddish-black 'ant men' guarding a suite.
On the other side of this level another open suite is found and the balcony on this one is not buried. It seems to look into an underground cavern of some kind. The other noises seem to be coming form this cavern. Lilia, Lia and Kylie all creep closer to the balcony to see what is going on down in the cavern below. The cavern is huge, some 100' wide and 150' deep. Occasionally some of the ceiling falls away and there are numerous piles of dirt in the chamber below.
At the far end of the cavern is another formation of pillars much like the ones on the roof of the tower. But these ones are three times larger and taller. The area around the pillars seems to suggest that this cavern was ground level back when this city was inhabited. The pillar formation looks like it was part of a large outdoor plaza. On the right hand side of the cavern more of the ant men, including several that are taller, are seen guarding a group of elves and orcs.
In the middle of the cavern are more of the ant men standing guard while Chandra and another uniformed orc are on on their knees. The flying insects are boring into their minds and their cries of pain are the noises that were heard. A figure in a black robe paces before Chandra and the infected orc. “Welcome to the Hive,” the robe figure states happily while pacing. Its clear to those listening that the speaker is a human female. “Everything you are, everything you know is now part of the Hive.”
The voice sounds vaguely familiar, but the watchers cannot place it just yet. The robed figure stops before the orc as if listening to something that cannot be hear. “How interesting!” The robed figure proclaims. “You call yourselves the Scro and you come from beyond this world! This just opens up many new lands for the Hive to conqueror! We never imagined that when we absorbed the last of the Chiliz that so many new possibilities would arise. That their methods of moving around this world would allow us to expand so fast.” The robed figure glances at the larger pillar formation when saying that last part. “They not only opened up this world, but now many others!”
The robed figure then moves before the prone Chandra. “My such hubris,” the robed figure notes in amusement. “You sought to do great things, and now that you are part of the Hive, great things you shall do. What is this? The Mother Tree? What an interesting notion. Our power will increase when the Hive when the Mother Tree and the Sylvan Realm joins the Hive.”
It is that this moment that Kylie puts it all together and her eyes go wide in shock. The voice of the robed woman is known to her! It belongs to her fellow apprentice Argent! Lilia agrees with Kylie's discovery and everyone wonders just how Argent ended up here and seeming filling the role of the Hive Queen. A smaller silver and gold bug is noted in the Hive Queen's hair.
Try it and find out!
Re: CR 571 November 24th - 28th
While a plan of attack is formulated, the large set of pillars flare to life. They glow gold in color and strokes of lightning peal off of them towards the center of the platform. A hole appears in mid-air and more flying insects and ant men come out of it before it closes again. Now out of time, the Heroes of the Mother Tree move to permanently deal with the Hive. Valena and Lia rush towards where the ant men were guarding the suite that had the sounds of children in it. Laucian and Talen run down the stairs to the ground floor. There they will rescue the elves and orcs being held captive by the Hive. While that is going on Kylie and Lilia will bombard the Hive Queen with spells to keep her off balance.
Kylie starts things off by dropping a Wall of Ice on top of the Hive Queen and the infected Chandra and scro leader. Lilia casts a Wall of Fire and uses it to separate the captive elves and orcs from the Hive ant men. Steam starts to form in the cavern from the cold and hot spells. Down on the ground Laucian fires arrows to deal with any Hive that are close while Talen tells the elves and orcs to flee to the surface. One floor up, Valena fires arrows at the two guards outside the suite wounding them. Lia follows up and slays both with her sword. Looking inside the suite Lia immediately sees one of the larger ant men standing before her. Before her startled eyes, the seven foot tall ant man casts a Magic Missile spell! Four sparkling and twisting Magic Missiles strike Lia! But that is not the final surprise, as the familiar voice of a human female cries out from somewhere deeper in the chamber. “Hey! That's my signature spell!”, she objects in an irritated voice.
Kylie follows up with a Sleep spell centered on a group of the flying parasites putting several to sleep. Lilia hits the area with a Fireball, incinerating more of the flying parasites and several of the ant men. One of the taller ant men, a commander, casts Magic Missile and four sparkling and twisting missiles strike Lilia. Down below the elves start to flee the area, but the orcs need more encouragement. Lia goes to attack the commander who just hit her with Argent's version of Magic Missiles. Lia calls out the name Argent and someone answers, “Who are you?”, the human female calls out. “Are you here to rescue me?” Valena fires arrows at the commander, but its not enough to put the large bug down.
Spotting the Hive Queen rising up from having a Wall of Ice dropped on her, Lilia hits her with a Fireball. A horrible scream fills the area and more steam envelopes those in the underground cavern. Kylie takes out more of the flying parasites with Magic Missiles. Those few Hive still up and able to be seen seem confused and unsure what to do. Down on the ground Laucian and Talen fight off another Hive soldier. The elves and orcs have fled the area and the duo follow suit. The Hive Commander fighting Lia and Valena also seems confused and Lia takes him out with her sword in a shower of blood and gore.
With the Hive forces down, they can see that the rest of the suite is occupied by orc women, children and elderly. All beings that the Hive considered to be unworthy of joining with. Among the orcs are two unusual beings. There is a female orc wearing the uniform like the orcs on the surface and she stands upright. Normal orcs tend to be hunched over, giving them a less intelligent look. Emerging from behind the uniformed orc comes a human female. She looks very much like Argent, but her appearance is very different from the Hive Queen. Her hands are chained together and her clothes are filthy and torn. Her face is dirty and her hair is an absolute mess. Valena challenges if this really is Argent as they met back in Corunglain a month ago. “I don't know what you are talking about,” Argent answers on the verge of tears. “I've never been to Corunglain! I've been stuck here for months! What took you so long to rescue me? Why did they abandon me?” The female orc then speaks to the elves and an ancient form of elvish!
Laucian and Talen rush back up the first level of the tower. Talen Webs the bottom of the stairs to keep the Hive from following them. Laucian calls out that they are clear. Now Kylie and Lilia can work on bringing the ceiling down on the Hive forces. Lilia sends a Fireball right over the larger version of the Pillar Artifact having it explode on the ceiling. Some of the ceiling comes down, but not all of it. Kylie adds a Lightning Bolt and gets similar results. Elsewhere Lia and Valena confront another Argent and the uniformed orc. Valena draws her bow and orders both to show the back of their heads to be sure they are not infected by the Hive. They fearfully comply and are seen to be clean of bugs. Talen rushes in as he had to make sure that Lia and Valena were safe. The orc woman introduces herself as Myev. Spurred on by Myev's words, the orcs in the suite start to evacuate the chamber and head towards the surface.
Lilia lets loose with another Fireball and Kylie adds an Iron Spikes spell. The ceiling holds at first and then finally starts to collapse! Kylie and Lilia fly towards the central shaft to escape being buried. Lilia picks up Laucian along the way and the pair go upwards. Kylie sees a pair of orc children and gathers them in. The collapse generated a sudden gale of wind of dust and dirt throwing the fliers higher up into the tower. Upon hearing the roar of the collapse, Talen pushes Valena and Lia down and attempts to shield them with his own body.
After the dust storm settles, Talen, Lia and Valena pick themselves up. They assist the elderly orcs around them up towards the surface. One elderly orc female perished in the collapse. Further up the central tower Kylie and Lilia land and release their passengers. With there being no sign of the others, Lilia and Kylie fly back down the stairs in an attempt to find them. Laucian continues upward with the orc children Kylie rescued. He reaches the surface and hears angry voices. Following them, Laucian finds the rescued elves and orcs seeming ready to come to blows again. Laucian commands the elves to withdraw and get ready to be transported back to the rocs. He tells the orcs to depart this cursed city and go in peace. The situation is diffused and soon the orcs that remain are wearing the uniforms of the Bloody Dagger. Laucian asks if they are from the ship in the harbor only to be told, “We don't answer to lesser creatures, elf,” one of the orcs growls in their native tongue. "Your kind will be exterminated from this world too!"
Lia, Talen and Valena continue up the stairs helping the elderly as they go. One floor up they find Myev again. Once Myev is assured that this is the last of the orcs, they all start up the stairs again. Lilia comes flying in a moment later. Introductions are made and Lilia tells Myev in orcish that she “We will not harm you without cause. Go with the others for now. I will have questions later.” Lilia flies down the stairs while everyone else goes up.
Kylie starts things off by dropping a Wall of Ice on top of the Hive Queen and the infected Chandra and scro leader. Lilia casts a Wall of Fire and uses it to separate the captive elves and orcs from the Hive ant men. Steam starts to form in the cavern from the cold and hot spells. Down on the ground Laucian fires arrows to deal with any Hive that are close while Talen tells the elves and orcs to flee to the surface. One floor up, Valena fires arrows at the two guards outside the suite wounding them. Lia follows up and slays both with her sword. Looking inside the suite Lia immediately sees one of the larger ant men standing before her. Before her startled eyes, the seven foot tall ant man casts a Magic Missile spell! Four sparkling and twisting Magic Missiles strike Lia! But that is not the final surprise, as the familiar voice of a human female cries out from somewhere deeper in the chamber. “Hey! That's my signature spell!”, she objects in an irritated voice.
Kylie follows up with a Sleep spell centered on a group of the flying parasites putting several to sleep. Lilia hits the area with a Fireball, incinerating more of the flying parasites and several of the ant men. One of the taller ant men, a commander, casts Magic Missile and four sparkling and twisting missiles strike Lilia. Down below the elves start to flee the area, but the orcs need more encouragement. Lia goes to attack the commander who just hit her with Argent's version of Magic Missiles. Lia calls out the name Argent and someone answers, “Who are you?”, the human female calls out. “Are you here to rescue me?” Valena fires arrows at the commander, but its not enough to put the large bug down.
Spotting the Hive Queen rising up from having a Wall of Ice dropped on her, Lilia hits her with a Fireball. A horrible scream fills the area and more steam envelopes those in the underground cavern. Kylie takes out more of the flying parasites with Magic Missiles. Those few Hive still up and able to be seen seem confused and unsure what to do. Down on the ground Laucian and Talen fight off another Hive soldier. The elves and orcs have fled the area and the duo follow suit. The Hive Commander fighting Lia and Valena also seems confused and Lia takes him out with her sword in a shower of blood and gore.
With the Hive forces down, they can see that the rest of the suite is occupied by orc women, children and elderly. All beings that the Hive considered to be unworthy of joining with. Among the orcs are two unusual beings. There is a female orc wearing the uniform like the orcs on the surface and she stands upright. Normal orcs tend to be hunched over, giving them a less intelligent look. Emerging from behind the uniformed orc comes a human female. She looks very much like Argent, but her appearance is very different from the Hive Queen. Her hands are chained together and her clothes are filthy and torn. Her face is dirty and her hair is an absolute mess. Valena challenges if this really is Argent as they met back in Corunglain a month ago. “I don't know what you are talking about,” Argent answers on the verge of tears. “I've never been to Corunglain! I've been stuck here for months! What took you so long to rescue me? Why did they abandon me?” The female orc then speaks to the elves and an ancient form of elvish!
Laucian and Talen rush back up the first level of the tower. Talen Webs the bottom of the stairs to keep the Hive from following them. Laucian calls out that they are clear. Now Kylie and Lilia can work on bringing the ceiling down on the Hive forces. Lilia sends a Fireball right over the larger version of the Pillar Artifact having it explode on the ceiling. Some of the ceiling comes down, but not all of it. Kylie adds a Lightning Bolt and gets similar results. Elsewhere Lia and Valena confront another Argent and the uniformed orc. Valena draws her bow and orders both to show the back of their heads to be sure they are not infected by the Hive. They fearfully comply and are seen to be clean of bugs. Talen rushes in as he had to make sure that Lia and Valena were safe. The orc woman introduces herself as Myev. Spurred on by Myev's words, the orcs in the suite start to evacuate the chamber and head towards the surface.
Lilia lets loose with another Fireball and Kylie adds an Iron Spikes spell. The ceiling holds at first and then finally starts to collapse! Kylie and Lilia fly towards the central shaft to escape being buried. Lilia picks up Laucian along the way and the pair go upwards. Kylie sees a pair of orc children and gathers them in. The collapse generated a sudden gale of wind of dust and dirt throwing the fliers higher up into the tower. Upon hearing the roar of the collapse, Talen pushes Valena and Lia down and attempts to shield them with his own body.
After the dust storm settles, Talen, Lia and Valena pick themselves up. They assist the elderly orcs around them up towards the surface. One elderly orc female perished in the collapse. Further up the central tower Kylie and Lilia land and release their passengers. With there being no sign of the others, Lilia and Kylie fly back down the stairs in an attempt to find them. Laucian continues upward with the orc children Kylie rescued. He reaches the surface and hears angry voices. Following them, Laucian finds the rescued elves and orcs seeming ready to come to blows again. Laucian commands the elves to withdraw and get ready to be transported back to the rocs. He tells the orcs to depart this cursed city and go in peace. The situation is diffused and soon the orcs that remain are wearing the uniforms of the Bloody Dagger. Laucian asks if they are from the ship in the harbor only to be told, “We don't answer to lesser creatures, elf,” one of the orcs growls in their native tongue. "Your kind will be exterminated from this world too!"
Lia, Talen and Valena continue up the stairs helping the elderly as they go. One floor up they find Myev again. Once Myev is assured that this is the last of the orcs, they all start up the stairs again. Lilia comes flying in a moment later. Introductions are made and Lilia tells Myev in orcish that she “We will not harm you without cause. Go with the others for now. I will have questions later.” Lilia flies down the stairs while everyone else goes up.
Try it and find out!
Re: CR 571 November 24th - 28th
As Kylie goes down the stairs, she come across Argent climbing up! She's understandably stunned to see the Invoker before her as they just put down the Hive Queen. Argent says that it is her and wonders where Jallarzi and Sharadin are. She's been stuck here for months. Kylie mentions the Hive Queen and Argent says that was not her. “That's not possible,” Argent counters. “Myev and I fled when those creepy bugs started to come through the pillar artifact. We tried to hide, but they found us and put us with the other orc women. That's where I've been for at least a day now.” Kylie tells Argent to keep going up while she goes down to look for survivors.
Lia, Talen and Valena join Laucian on the surface and all are given nasty stares by the uniformed scro. Argents arrives shortly after that and asks to have her chains removed. She also notes that, “I'd take out those orcs if you ask me,” Argent adds upon seeing the uniformed males. “They are bloodthirsty pirates! They kill us all given the chance. Myev is okay though. She's intelligent and a mage.” Kylie and Lilia fly in soon after that. Kylie works to free Argent from the manacles imprisoning her.
Lilia asks Argent a question in Alphatian, as the elf maiden knows that the Invoker is fluent in that language. Argent answers correctly and shares her story. She was doing research on the Pillar Artifacts for Lord Sharadin almost two months ago. Argent was attempting to use the Pillar Artifact to leave a tropical island that held the ruined city of Tulom. But instead of arriving at the formation by Mesilva, Argent appeared at the top of the Tall Tower. She was understandably confused by this and had no idea what pillar to use to go back home. Before she could figure it out, Argent collapsed. When she awoke, her hands had been chained and she was a prisoner of the scro. Myev watched over Argent and tried to learn more about the Pillar Artifact from her. However, the two didn't share a common language so communication was difficult. Argent played dumb, figuring that Lord Sharadin and Jallarzi would be looking for her. That was six weeks ago!
A few days ago the orcs broke through into the underground cavern and found the larger Pillar Artifact. Myev and Argent were sent to examine the device. While they were examining it, the artifact flared to life and the Hive came forth. The flying parasites settled onto the heads of many orcs. Argent and Myev ran and hid, but they were found and placed in that room with the orc women, children and elderly. That's where they have been until rescued just now.
Kylie removes the chains holding Argent and notes that her arms are bruised and raw. Argent suspects that these ancient ruins are actually an Elder City. Lilia and Kylie ask more questions trying to verify that Argent is who she appears to be. Strangely she doesn't recognize any of the Heroes of the Mother Tree except for Kylie. All of them met Argent in Corunglain a month ago. The first group of elves depart on griffons back to the building where the rocs are waiting.
Lia asks Myev a question, but the other scro males here strike her and order her to be silent. The attacker then commands the other scro to attack the armed elves. The battle is brutally short and the male scro all fall before the stunned eyes of Myev. She offers her services to the elves, but Lilia tells her, “You are not our prisoner,” Lilia states, switching to the orc tongue since communication this way seems smoother. “Nor are you our slave. That is not the elfin way. You are free as long as you do not present a threat to the Sylvan Realm. However, I would like to know your story. Where are you from and how did you get here? Is that ship in the harbor a flying ship?”
After learning the date when Argent arrived here in the Elder Ruins, Lilia has a theory on what just happened to her. The Queen of the Sylvan Realm theorizes that the Pillar Artifact duplicated Argent. One Argent arrived here, while two or three others found their way back to Karn's Keep. That's why no one was looking up here to find Argent. No one knew she was missing! One of the other Argents went on to join the Guardians of Light and it was that Argent that every had met before. This Argent is shocked to hear this and refuses to believe that there are other copies of her. She goes and gets some fresh and notes when she returns and mentions that she thinks her gear is on the ship in the harbor.
Lia, Talen and Valena join Laucian on the surface and all are given nasty stares by the uniformed scro. Argents arrives shortly after that and asks to have her chains removed. She also notes that, “I'd take out those orcs if you ask me,” Argent adds upon seeing the uniformed males. “They are bloodthirsty pirates! They kill us all given the chance. Myev is okay though. She's intelligent and a mage.” Kylie and Lilia fly in soon after that. Kylie works to free Argent from the manacles imprisoning her.
Lilia asks Argent a question in Alphatian, as the elf maiden knows that the Invoker is fluent in that language. Argent answers correctly and shares her story. She was doing research on the Pillar Artifacts for Lord Sharadin almost two months ago. Argent was attempting to use the Pillar Artifact to leave a tropical island that held the ruined city of Tulom. But instead of arriving at the formation by Mesilva, Argent appeared at the top of the Tall Tower. She was understandably confused by this and had no idea what pillar to use to go back home. Before she could figure it out, Argent collapsed. When she awoke, her hands had been chained and she was a prisoner of the scro. Myev watched over Argent and tried to learn more about the Pillar Artifact from her. However, the two didn't share a common language so communication was difficult. Argent played dumb, figuring that Lord Sharadin and Jallarzi would be looking for her. That was six weeks ago!
A few days ago the orcs broke through into the underground cavern and found the larger Pillar Artifact. Myev and Argent were sent to examine the device. While they were examining it, the artifact flared to life and the Hive came forth. The flying parasites settled onto the heads of many orcs. Argent and Myev ran and hid, but they were found and placed in that room with the orc women, children and elderly. That's where they have been until rescued just now.
Kylie removes the chains holding Argent and notes that her arms are bruised and raw. Argent suspects that these ancient ruins are actually an Elder City. Lilia and Kylie ask more questions trying to verify that Argent is who she appears to be. Strangely she doesn't recognize any of the Heroes of the Mother Tree except for Kylie. All of them met Argent in Corunglain a month ago. The first group of elves depart on griffons back to the building where the rocs are waiting.
Lia asks Myev a question, but the other scro males here strike her and order her to be silent. The attacker then commands the other scro to attack the armed elves. The battle is brutally short and the male scro all fall before the stunned eyes of Myev. She offers her services to the elves, but Lilia tells her, “You are not our prisoner,” Lilia states, switching to the orc tongue since communication this way seems smoother. “Nor are you our slave. That is not the elfin way. You are free as long as you do not present a threat to the Sylvan Realm. However, I would like to know your story. Where are you from and how did you get here? Is that ship in the harbor a flying ship?”
After learning the date when Argent arrived here in the Elder Ruins, Lilia has a theory on what just happened to her. The Queen of the Sylvan Realm theorizes that the Pillar Artifact duplicated Argent. One Argent arrived here, while two or three others found their way back to Karn's Keep. That's why no one was looking up here to find Argent. No one knew she was missing! One of the other Argents went on to join the Guardians of Light and it was that Argent that every had met before. This Argent is shocked to hear this and refuses to believe that there are other copies of her. She goes and gets some fresh and notes when she returns and mentions that she thinks her gear is on the ship in the harbor.
Try it and find out!
Re: CR 571 November 24th - 28th
Myev tells her story in orcish. Lilia translates it into common so everyone can understand. Myev and the scro are from a world they call Dreatar. On that world, the orcs and other humanoids wiped out the other races such as elves and dwarves. Myev was bright and curious girl who spent much time in elfin ruins near her home, learning their language and ways. Months ago a flying ship in the shape of a bird landed near the ruins and elves came out. The scro attacked them and claimed their ship. Myev was charged with learning how to work the ship and managed to succeed. The masters of the ship were Belcadiz elves and they came from a world called Glantri. Myev found the flight plan the elves used and planned to retrace their route. The scro elders wanted to go forth and find other elves to slaughter.
Myev directed the flying ship high into the sky and then into space. She used the Spell Engine to sail to a place called Farhaven, a port on another world. The blood thirsty scro went forth to attack Farhaven, but found themselves out matched. Their ship was damaged and abandoned. They fled through Farhaven and stole another ship, the one now in the harbor. Myev took what books and scrolls she could from the first ship to this new one. She plotted a course to a destination that the Belcadiz Elves had yet to go and arrived here on Arret. Their destination seemed to be the Sylvan Realm, but the scro elder decided to avoid that area in fear of being attacked again. So they landed at the harbor to the north and found these ruins and the orcs that lived there. The elder planned to turn the orcs into a fighting force and then go forth and kill more elves. The ship was keep in reserve just in case the scro had to flee once more.
Myev was charged with learning about these ruins. She was examining the strange pillar formation on the top of the tallest tower when Argent suddenly appeared there. Myev hid, but watched the human in wonder. Argent soon collapsed and Myev reported her finding to the elder. The elder wanted to kill the human right away, but Myev changed his mind by saying that this human could teach them how to use the pillars to travel across this world. So, the scro elder let the human live and placed her in Myev's care. A few days ago the underground cavern was found along with the larger version of the Pillar Artifact. It turned on and the Hive poured forth. Myev and Argent tried to hid, but here found and put with the other women and children.
The griffons return and more elves and dead are transported back to the roc building. Valena and Lilia go along this time, as one more trip will be needed to transport everyone. Lilia asks Valena to lead the rescued elves back to the Mother Tree. Back at the roc building, Lilia speaks to the elves and answers a few questions. Andlin Alastra, the armored elf that Valena healed earlier in the day asks if the Elfin Queen is going on another mission and if so she should have a body guard. Lilia agrees and returns to the Tall Tower with the armored elf.
Back at the Tall Tower, the rest of the elves and their gear are rounded up from the battlefield. Kylie starts to cook the evening meal while Talen thinks he hears something calling him to the north. After supper, Argent asks Kylie to guard the door to one of the side rooms so that she can clean herself up. In the process of trying to tame her wild hair, Argent becomes frustrated and angry. She cuts her hair short and breaks down after seeing it on the floor. Kylie comforts her while Lia and Lilia help as best they can.
After Argent regains her composure, the women sleep together in one of the side rooms, while the men use a different chamber. Argent reveals what she has deduced about these Elder Ruins. The Elders believed in six elements instead of the normal four. In addition to air, earth, fire and water, the considered mind and will be elements. Argent believes that the small pillars send the person using them off in the direction they face. When the person passes close enough to another pillar formation they appear there. The Invoker also suspects that energy that is unleashed when the pillars are used cleans the arrival platform of anything placed on it.
The larger formation of pillars identified this Elder City as being called Shillesta. Argent believes that the larger artifact directly connects to other Elder Cities. The underground chamber where the large pillar artifact was found was mostly cleared before the orcs broke into it. It seems that the Hive had arrived earlier using the large Pillar Artifact and had been digging their way out for some time. Reburying the chamber has just slowed the Hive down. They can dig their way out again. (SR#4-10)
Myev directed the flying ship high into the sky and then into space. She used the Spell Engine to sail to a place called Farhaven, a port on another world. The blood thirsty scro went forth to attack Farhaven, but found themselves out matched. Their ship was damaged and abandoned. They fled through Farhaven and stole another ship, the one now in the harbor. Myev took what books and scrolls she could from the first ship to this new one. She plotted a course to a destination that the Belcadiz Elves had yet to go and arrived here on Arret. Their destination seemed to be the Sylvan Realm, but the scro elder decided to avoid that area in fear of being attacked again. So they landed at the harbor to the north and found these ruins and the orcs that lived there. The elder planned to turn the orcs into a fighting force and then go forth and kill more elves. The ship was keep in reserve just in case the scro had to flee once more.
Myev was charged with learning about these ruins. She was examining the strange pillar formation on the top of the tallest tower when Argent suddenly appeared there. Myev hid, but watched the human in wonder. Argent soon collapsed and Myev reported her finding to the elder. The elder wanted to kill the human right away, but Myev changed his mind by saying that this human could teach them how to use the pillars to travel across this world. So, the scro elder let the human live and placed her in Myev's care. A few days ago the underground cavern was found along with the larger version of the Pillar Artifact. It turned on and the Hive poured forth. Myev and Argent tried to hid, but here found and put with the other women and children.
The griffons return and more elves and dead are transported back to the roc building. Valena and Lilia go along this time, as one more trip will be needed to transport everyone. Lilia asks Valena to lead the rescued elves back to the Mother Tree. Back at the roc building, Lilia speaks to the elves and answers a few questions. Andlin Alastra, the armored elf that Valena healed earlier in the day asks if the Elfin Queen is going on another mission and if so she should have a body guard. Lilia agrees and returns to the Tall Tower with the armored elf.
Back at the Tall Tower, the rest of the elves and their gear are rounded up from the battlefield. Kylie starts to cook the evening meal while Talen thinks he hears something calling him to the north. After supper, Argent asks Kylie to guard the door to one of the side rooms so that she can clean herself up. In the process of trying to tame her wild hair, Argent becomes frustrated and angry. She cuts her hair short and breaks down after seeing it on the floor. Kylie comforts her while Lia and Lilia help as best they can.
After Argent regains her composure, the women sleep together in one of the side rooms, while the men use a different chamber. Argent reveals what she has deduced about these Elder Ruins. The Elders believed in six elements instead of the normal four. In addition to air, earth, fire and water, the considered mind and will be elements. Argent believes that the small pillars send the person using them off in the direction they face. When the person passes close enough to another pillar formation they appear there. The Invoker also suspects that energy that is unleashed when the pillars are used cleans the arrival platform of anything placed on it.
The larger formation of pillars identified this Elder City as being called Shillesta. Argent believes that the larger artifact directly connects to other Elder Cities. The underground chamber where the large pillar artifact was found was mostly cleared before the orcs broke into it. It seems that the Hive had arrived earlier using the large Pillar Artifact and had been digging their way out for some time. Reburying the chamber has just slowed the Hive down. They can dig their way out again. (SR#4-10)
Try it and find out!
Re: CR 571 November 24th - 28th
GM Notes:
Back when I started this project and was going back through the Frontier game when the Pillar Artifact was first discovered I realized that I hadn't really thought all of that through. I had some idea of what it all meant, but more work could be done. So it was during that time that I came up with the idea of how the pillar really worked, the larger sized version of the pillars and the Elder Cities themselves. How and why Argent was duplicated and why the pillars had been acting wonky lately. I had already came up with the Hive and the creepy image of Argent, one of them anyway, being controlled by the parasites years earlier. I had originally planned on introducing all these elements in a different way, but when the Elfquest game started back up again placing an Elder Ruin to the north of the Sylvan Realm and bring the Hive in that way worked just as well. It even made the situation more personnel as Kylie knew Argent well enough and the others had at least met her.
Chandra's original fate, as I had planned it back when he was first introduced, was that he would lead elves here to fight what was left of the orcs and both sides would essentially wipe each other out. I had a scene in my mind where Lilia would find Chandra who was close to death. He would tell her that he finally realized what role the All-Father had for him. It wasn't to rule the Sylvan Realm, rather it was to ensure its future by eliminating the orcs. With his last breath he would have said that he had become the hero he always thought he was. To which Lilia would have called him a stupid fool for throwing his life away. But that all got changed, for the better I think, with the addition of the Elder City and the Hive. No heroic death scene, just having bugs suck your brain out.
Just how Argent was going to appear went through a few changes as this all developed. My original thought was that she was with the elves and orcs down in the cave which would lead to some interesting dialogue between Argent and Hive Queen Argent. But this got changed as the question just how she had survived up here among so many orcs. This might have been before the scro were added into the mix. Once it was changed and Myev was added, I went with what those characters would have logically done when the Hive arrived. Run and hide! I think it played out better running into the Hive Queen first and slaying her, then finding the uninfected Argent. Taking emotions one way and then suddenly doing a 180 into the opposite direction. Oh the drama!
Part of the idea of Argent cutting her hair was so that when she does meet the other hers there would be a visual way to tell them apart. There's the Lady Argent in New Frontiers who flaunts her title around. The Argent from Borderlands who ended up with several pieces of leather clothing from her adventures. It was this Argent that Sherra kept hearing about in the last few New Frontier posts. So it was a way to tell them apart.
The Belcadiz Elves were the ones who sent the ship that was discovered early in the Elfquest game. It held a Spell Engine and had the Book of Food on it. They are referenced here once more as it was one of their ships that scro captured to get off of Dreatar. As Myev noted, one of their future stops was the Sylvan Realm. Space elves are coming!
The name of the scro home world is a play on the orcs in World of Warcraft. Those orcs came from a world called Dreanar and their starting zone is called Duratar. Split those words in half and got Dreatar.
Back when I started this project and was going back through the Frontier game when the Pillar Artifact was first discovered I realized that I hadn't really thought all of that through. I had some idea of what it all meant, but more work could be done. So it was during that time that I came up with the idea of how the pillar really worked, the larger sized version of the pillars and the Elder Cities themselves. How and why Argent was duplicated and why the pillars had been acting wonky lately. I had already came up with the Hive and the creepy image of Argent, one of them anyway, being controlled by the parasites years earlier. I had originally planned on introducing all these elements in a different way, but when the Elfquest game started back up again placing an Elder Ruin to the north of the Sylvan Realm and bring the Hive in that way worked just as well. It even made the situation more personnel as Kylie knew Argent well enough and the others had at least met her.
Chandra's original fate, as I had planned it back when he was first introduced, was that he would lead elves here to fight what was left of the orcs and both sides would essentially wipe each other out. I had a scene in my mind where Lilia would find Chandra who was close to death. He would tell her that he finally realized what role the All-Father had for him. It wasn't to rule the Sylvan Realm, rather it was to ensure its future by eliminating the orcs. With his last breath he would have said that he had become the hero he always thought he was. To which Lilia would have called him a stupid fool for throwing his life away. But that all got changed, for the better I think, with the addition of the Elder City and the Hive. No heroic death scene, just having bugs suck your brain out.
Just how Argent was going to appear went through a few changes as this all developed. My original thought was that she was with the elves and orcs down in the cave which would lead to some interesting dialogue between Argent and Hive Queen Argent. But this got changed as the question just how she had survived up here among so many orcs. This might have been before the scro were added into the mix. Once it was changed and Myev was added, I went with what those characters would have logically done when the Hive arrived. Run and hide! I think it played out better running into the Hive Queen first and slaying her, then finding the uninfected Argent. Taking emotions one way and then suddenly doing a 180 into the opposite direction. Oh the drama!
Part of the idea of Argent cutting her hair was so that when she does meet the other hers there would be a visual way to tell them apart. There's the Lady Argent in New Frontiers who flaunts her title around. The Argent from Borderlands who ended up with several pieces of leather clothing from her adventures. It was this Argent that Sherra kept hearing about in the last few New Frontier posts. So it was a way to tell them apart.
The Belcadiz Elves were the ones who sent the ship that was discovered early in the Elfquest game. It held a Spell Engine and had the Book of Food on it. They are referenced here once more as it was one of their ships that scro captured to get off of Dreatar. As Myev noted, one of their future stops was the Sylvan Realm. Space elves are coming!
The name of the scro home world is a play on the orcs in World of Warcraft. Those orcs came from a world called Dreanar and their starting zone is called Duratar. Split those words in half and got Dreatar.
Try it and find out!