Look What I Found Under a Rock

[Imperial Overlord]

Awesome. You seem to have forgotten Sylvetria, though, unless she didn't survive her wounds... . In this case, will Nalifan consider killing his brother's SO a personnal offense ?

Reread the previous installment. She gets dropped by Karesh before she reaches the group. Fadina teleports away without her.

[LadyTevar]

Oh yeah. Nal's gonna be pissed.

Impy? why didn't you have Kaeryn turn/destroy the Undead? Although Anti-Magic Field worked very well.

[Imperial Overlord]

Impy? why didn't you have Kaeryn turn/destroy the Undead? Although Anti-Magic Field worked very well.

1) They were shattered bits of glass by the time she go there.

2) They were Winterwights, one of the most terrible evils of the multiverse As they start at 32hd and +6 Turn Resistance, the chances of even an epic cleric turning them can be described as "low". And Kaeryn isn't exactly a turn monster build.

[LadyTevar]

Impy? why didn't you have Kaeryn turn/destroy the Undead? Although Anti-Magic Field worked very well.

1) They were shattered bits of glass by the time she go there.

2) They were Winterwights, one of the most terrible evils of the multiverse As they start at 32hd and +6 Turn Resistance, the chances of even an epic cleric turning them can be described as "low". And Kaeryn isn't exactly a turn monster build.

... ouch. Conceeded.
What about the mage with them?

[Rogue 9]

Held together by magic, obviously. And holding out that long? *Goes to consult my ELH.*

[Imperial Overlord]

Held together by magic, obviously. And holding out that long? *Goes to consult my ELH.*

Wrong. Hehe. Tev's guess was better. There is a clue in a previous post. And there will be revelations in the next post.

[Rogue 9]

What guess? She asked a question.

[Imperial Overlord]

What guess? She asked a question.

Talking with her over AIM. And since she was right, I won't spoil it by telling you here.

[Rogue 9]

She seems good at that; did the same thing to me with the last chapter of mine.

[LadyTevar]

She seems good at that; did the same thing to me with the last chapter of mine.

Boys, when you've been playing D&D since 1st Ed., you kinda pick up on things

[Imperial Overlord]

Boys, when you've been playing D&D since 1st Ed., you kinda pick up on things

Woman, get with the program, shut up, and let us praise your intellect.

[Imperial Overlord]

Karesh dragged the bleeding woman through the shimmering distortion. A garden awaited them on the other side. He had emerged between two pillars of white marble. A maze-like array of paths was set before him, walled by flower bushes. The heavy drone of honey bees could be heard flittering from flower to flower, along with they heavier thrumbing of humming birds.

Karesh lifted Sylvetria up with his left hand as he carried her through the sun drenched garden towards the chateau at the heart. The hidden guardians let him pass without interference. He approached the veranda. Two black robed minions were sitting on chairs.

"One of you a cleric?" he asked.

There was a pause. It stretched. "I am," said the one on the left finally. He was a pale man with a white painted face. Black make up increased the shadow under his eyes and black sunbursts painted on his cheeks.

Her servants were often insolent. Karesh's patience with them was not infinite. "See that she lives," he said dropping Sylvetria at the priest's feet.

"I do not take orders from you mercenary," he eyed Karesh's wounds.

"If the woman dies, I'll make sure she knows it was you that failed her," Karesh responded as he resisted the urge to kill this insect. The priest glared at him and then bent down and went to work.

He spoke in a rising chant. A soft blue glow lined his hands. The blood flow from the woman's stump slowed and then stopped. Her eyes fluttered open.

Karesh was ready when she tried to kick his legs out from under him. The priest was kneeling with his mouth open in surprise as she attacked. He certainly wasn't expecting for Sylvetria to drive her fist into his throat, grab the dagger from her belt and eviscerate him. The priest toppled.

Karesh punched her in the abdomen hard enough to knock the wind out of her. He pried the blade out her fingers, twisted to take a kick on his thigh, and then tossed her across the deck. He turned to the other robed man. "You might want to get someone to see to him. And tell her I'm back."

The man scuttled inside. Karesh walked over to Sylvetria, slapped her back to the deck, and then bound her wrists and ankles with stout cord from his cloak. He hauled her inside. A small gaggle of black robed priests were coming his way.

"Where is she?" he barked. They glanced at him briefly and then moved past. With his other hand Karesh hooked the senior most looking one. "I don't like repeating myself," he said the priest wearing the mask of jet and gold. "For the last time, where is she?"

"She left an hour ago. She has not returned."

Karesh shoved Sylvetria into his hands. The priest staggered under the weight of the armoured warrior. "Secure her. Make sure she's healthy. The mistress will want this one intact."

The priest was probably sneering under the mask, but he managed a "yes." Karesh returned to the garden, bypassing the puddle of blood, to wait.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kaeryn sagged. The healing and the battle had taken a lot out of her. Both Mikos and Trizkel had taken severe injuries, which were now only faint scars. She straightened out and turned on her heel. There was one more she had to take care of.

Nalifan was standing behind her. "Thank you for your assistance," he said. He had managed to avoid any serious injury in the battle. He had only been clipped by a cold blast and his necromantically enhanced vitality had taken care of most of that.

"Rarely does a murderer fall into her pursuer's lap," she replied. "She was quite powerful," she said, looking over at the pitiful corpse.

"Yes, she is," said Nalifan. "While you were healing my associates, I examined the body."

She noted his avoidance of the word "friends." An interesting detail, which she stored away for latter. "What did you find?"

"Not yet. I want you to have a fresh look, without carrying my preconceptions." She nodded in agreement and looked over at the corpse.

She had been a brown skinned woman with black hair, covered in burns with an arm almost completely charred through. Most of her clothes were gone, the remnants had been burnt onto her flesh. Kaeryn had seen worse than this, but it was still pretty bad. She stood.

"There are no enchanted items of any kind. Unthinkable for a magus of her power with the resources to command those constructs. Shock from her injuries didn't kill her when her magic failed. A spell of enhanced vitality fading would explain her sudden collapse, except her wounds aren't severe enough. During the battle she appeared indifferent to pain and injury of all kinds." She narrowed her gaze. "Everything points to this body being expendable. Nothing of value on it. Her collapsing when magic is supressed, definitely possession. That's your conclusion as well."

"I am a necromancer. I am well acquanted with such spells."

"She'll come at us again, only with more force. She'll probably bring along that swordsman who defeated Trizkel. She was good enough to beat you."

"No, she wasn't. She was a poor fighter, by my standards. She's just immensely powerful. Far stronger than I am. If I wasn't a superior battle wizard, she would have splattered me all over the walls of my estate in a few moments."

Kaeryn stared. "She's that much stronger and she has a supremely deadly swordmaster and winterwights at her beck and call? I think we're in trouble."

[LadyTevar]

I think you did a typo here.

"There are no enchanted items of any kind. Unthinkable for a magus of her power with the resources to command those constructs. Shock from her injuries didn't kill her when . A spell of enhanced vitality fading would explain her sudden collapse, except her wounds aren't severe enough. During the battle she appeared indifferent to pain and injury of all kinds." She narrowed her gaze. "Everything points to this body being expendable. Nothing of value on it. Her collapsing when magic is supressed, definitely possession. That's your conclusion as well."

The two parts I italicized need looked at. The last sentence needs a question mark, not a period. (Or better yet: ".... conclusion as well, I assume?")

Other than pointing out the typos, I find your work as brilliant as always

[Imperial Overlord]

I did drop a sentence fragment from the first big corrected. No question mark for the second bit, Kaeryn is sure that Nalifan has come to the same conclusion so its a statement, not a question.

[LadyTevar]

I did drop a sentence fragment from the first big corrected. No question mark for the second bit, Kaeryn is sure that Nalifan has come to the same conclusion so its a statement, not a question.

Very well then

Now Kaeryn just has to come up with a few good ideas on how to stop a vastly superior mage who can possess innocents, while dealing with winterwights and a very nasty swordsmaster.
......... I think she'll work more on the 'deal with Mage' part of the problem There's bound to be a few ways to exorcise the possessed outside of Anti-Magic shell.

[Imperial Overlord]

Trizkel put his hand on Nalifan's shoulder. "We need to talk," he rasped.

Nalifan inclinded his head slightly. Yes. He turned back to Kaeryn. "Please excuse us for a moment." He and Trizkel walked a short distance away, far away enough that they could not be easily overhead.

When they were far enough away, Nalifan turned around and spoke, preempting Trizkel. "Rule one. Always. We'll get her back. Living or dead and we will do whatever is necessary to resore her to life if the latter."

Trizkel nodded. "They'll try to use her against us," Nalifan continued, "to get to you. Whatever they threaten, whatever they do, we can't fold. They aren't merely after the slab, they are after exclusive control of the knowledge. The only way this ends is with final death. And hers will be part of that."

"I know," he said tightly. "But part of me-"

Nalifan grabbed his shoulders. "Look into my eyes. I know what you feel for her. We are drow. There are words that have been expunged from our language or twisted and altered. You don't have to say it. I know what you are feeling. We will get her back, but in order for that to be of value, it has to be on our terms."

Trizkel nodded. "What now?"

Nalifan's lips twisted. "We run," he said expelling the hated words. "For the second time in a year we face an enemy that can crack this place open, even with us defending it. That witch-bitch can send an endless number of expendible bodies at us. So we pack up and leave."

"Where to?"

Nalifan smiled. "That's the clever part. The real question is, what do we do next?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Karesh waited for hours and still she had not called for him. He retired back to the manse and rested in the modest quarters he had claimed for himself. Sleep came to him and he drifted away.

When he awoke he walked through the beams of sunlight pouring in from the windows and into the attached bath. A simple wave of his hand activated the magic and hot water flowed. After completing his ablutions he redawned his armour and put on clean clothes. He didn't bother with his helmet, leaving it within the many spaces contained by his cloak.

He was back in the garden, stretching his limbs, when one of the priests came for him. A young one, still a teenager. "The mistress requires you."

He motioned for the boy to lead him to her. The priest took him through the flower-bush maze until they reached a clearing in which for paths converged. It dominated by a tall fountain of white marble crowned by a statue of a forgotten knight wearing crude armour and armed with a jagged blade. Karesh of the Ten Thousand Blades was one of the few people who could recognize not only the armour and the weapons, but who the forgotten hero was and what world he had lived upon.

He crossed the black marble slabs that formed the pathway through the enclosure. Sitting on the rim of the fountain was a petit blonde woman in white samite. Her skin was slightly darker than the heavy silk and her eyes were a vibrant blue. He inclined his head slightly. "Mistress."

"You failed."

"Yes," he said straightening out. "I only caught one of them. The psychic warrior's paramour. The other's escaped me."

"I don't pay you for near total failures."

He met her gaze. "Then withdraw from my contract. Keep the money for this last assignment." If she wanted to throw a fit of temper and chew someone's ass out, it wouldn't be his. It had been a long time since even a being like her could cause Karesh to feel fear. And he didn't care about the money, it was only for form really. It would be lowering himself not to charge a king's ransom for his services. That's what he was worth.

"I am not completely dissapointed in your performance. I will continue to employ your services."

"As you wish," he said. "What do you require from me?"

"I was expelled from my last body at my moment of triumph. A mage You will accompany my next strike at them. We will crush them utterly."

"If they are still there, which is unlikely."

She narrowed her eyes. Her glare wasn't intimidating. "Explain," she demanded.

"I defeated most of them. You used stronger magic than they do. You command winter wights and constructs. They will put it together and now that when you strike next, it will be with enough power to overwhelm them. They'll bolt."

"Where?"

"Too many places to list. It's a big multiverse. But fortunately, we know they will be looking for us. They'll come for the woman."

"They are drow. They'll cut their loses."

"Not these two, if my informants are to be believed. Trizkel is . . . . . soft by their standards and Nalifan doesn't abandon his partners. His trustworthiness is thought to be a weakness according to several of my informats."

"Really?" she said.

"Yes, although the more intelligent ones have noted that it helps him establish a number of mutually beneficial relationships with ease. His tendency to immolate people who anger him and his raw power do prevent him from being viewed as a weakling."

"So what is your plan?"

"They know my name. They will come looking for me to find you and her. That will lead them certain places. Eventually, they will stick their heads into the lion's maw."

[Imperial Overlord]

The household cats were systematically hunted down, coaxed, tricked, or forcibly seized and placed into wool lined wicker baskets. Nalifan supervised the packing of the most important of household treasures while the others saw to their own personal possessons. They would leave by dawn.

Kaeryn followed the arch mage into the vast library as he picked books off the shelves and tossed them into a large circle of black silk. The books vanished passed through into the interior of the portable hole. "I do not mean to pry in what is not my business, but there was something badly wrong with the others and I'm not talking about their wounds."

"Four went out on that mission," Nalifan replied.

"And three came back," she finished. Her expression softened. "Who did you lose?"

"Sylvetria. Trizkel's lover. That's why no one else is saying anything."

"The expect him to erupt into a murderous fury at the slightest provocation. I do not mean to be insulting, but I didn't think most drow were like that."

Nalifan stopped for a moment, considering how to reply. "To admit to love is to admit to weakness or insanity. The word is purely negative in its connotations. One can speak of lust, shared partnerships, mutually beneficial relationships, possessions, and so forth without that stigma. Do drow love? I think we do, in our own way. Twisted, suspicious, bitter, resentful, and paranoid but we do. Just not often. And we would never admit that such an individual has such power over us."

"Thus the bitter and resentful and suspicious."

"Yes. The followers of Vhaeraun can admit to love with less disgrace, as Vhaerun approves of elvish unity. The followers of the Maiden of Dance are different, but they are, to be blunt, naive weaklings."

"That is harsh," she replied.

"It's true. They wish to pretend that we are just like the surface elves, just waiting to burst out of our shells when given a little love and the right chance. They are trying so hard to be good Faerie they have forgotten what it means to be Ssri'Tel'Quessir. Until they do, they can never reach more than a few hearts."

"A fairly cynical world view," she said.

"You don't know my brethren, priestess. At any rate, Trizkel is far too disciplined to unleash his rage on his friends, although another drow might conceal his true feelings that way. If it is at all possible, we will recover her, living or dead. It is our first rule."

"Am I included in this?" she asked.

"As long as you are with us, yes."

"Are there any other rules I should know about."

"Second priority is the mission, third is profit. In time when debate is not practical my word is supreme. On all other occassions decisions are made my group debate. Common sense exceptions apply, of course."

"Of course. I didn't notice a vote on your evacuation plan."

"You didn't notice dissent either. If you have a better one, I'm listening right now."

"No, but it is interesting to see how your 'debates' work."

"Spend enough time with someone, risk your lives together, and you won't always have to exchange words to make your ideas known."

She nodded. That much was certainly true. "So what plan to you propose?"

"We set up in the safe haven. Fadina and I finish translating the slab and see if there is anything there we can make use of in the short term. The rest of you track down information on Karesh of the Ten Thousand Blades and his employer. We know they have connections in Calimshan and Karesh is deadly enough that someone must have heard of him. Swordsmen good enough to resist the sorcery of a high mage and defeat Trizkel in single combat may pop out of thin air, but they have a history that can be traced."

"What about the possessed bodies? It may have escaped your attention, but I can raise the dead. The will certainly be willing to help us."

"Our attacker doesn't miss many tricks. What happened when she was enveloped in your anti-magic shell?"

"She fell over dead."

"Right. So the possession should be over. There should be someone now left in control of a severely damaged body. Was there screaming? Cursing? Calling out to her parents? Begging for mercy? Convulsions and death? No. The body just stopped working. It wasn't merely possession. The body was empty. Either the soul was trapped somewhere else or the body was a blank slate that never had one. Our intrepid mage is either using soul trapping on her victims or a variant of the clone spell. Either way, nothing comes back and their is no conciousness to resist her control. There is nothing to raise from the dead."

"Damn," Kaeryn said. "This is going to be tough."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

A golden hoop three yards across appeared in the middle of a white marble arch. The air inside the hoop shimmered and people began to pass through. A dozen humans and drow carrying satchels, sacks, and wicker baskets came through the hoop. Three soldiers, men who were ranked among the best in their nations of origin, watched them enter the city.

The guards were impressive looking men. They wore armour of enchated mithril plate and swords that were woven with spells of awesome potency. The parade of house servants was not their usual visitors. The ones who were entering now were. Two drow, an archer, a woman in a silver mask, and dark haired woman who carried herself with an air of authority. Those were their usual kind of visitors.

The servants looked around in awe. They were standing on a large island of earth that was floating in a twilight void. Bridges and staircases connectd this small, relatively barren island with others. Most of the others were crowded with buildings on the top and projecting from their sides. The lights of thousands of different lamps and magical displays outshown the stars.

"Where are we?" Kaeryn asked. This place seemed unreal, a magical faery land suspended in the night sky.

"Welcome to Union," was Nalifan's reply.

[The Nomad]

Mmmh, I'm a D&D novice, what exactly is Union ? Is it related to Planescape, somehow ?

And by the way, where are the two other party members, the priest and the thief/warrior gnome ? The priest I can understand, your last story IIRC made it clear that he would stay among his people, but what about Kuni ?

[LadyTevar]

More great chapters, my friend. Just what I needed to cheer me up today

[Imperial Overlord]

Mmmh, I'm a D&D novice, what exactly is Union ? Is it related to Planescape, somehow ?

And by the way, where are the two other party members, the priest and the thief/warrior gnome ? The priest I can understand, your last story IIRC made it clear that he would stay among his people, but what about Kuni ?

The next chapter will dwell with the nature of Union in some detail. It should suffice to say for the moment that the city is used to having momumental badasses come for a visit and has a police force capable of handling them.

Kuuni is off on her on a jaunt of her own. More will come regarding that latter.

[LadyTevar]

:goes to Nitram for this one:
Ahhh... City in the Ethereal Plane, ran by various merchant guilds. Neutral territory. Where even the Gith are tolerated as long as they have money to spend.
Nit: No one's WELCOME in that city. But MONEY is greeted with open arms and greedy purses.

Yes, a great place to start looking for this Karesh.

[Imperial Overlord]

I must correct an error, as much as it pains me: the City of Union exists within a demi-plane, not the Ethereal Plane.

[SirNitram]

I must correct an error, as much as it pains me: the City of Union exists within a demi-plane, not the Ethereal Plane.

Demiplanes are in the Ethereal Plane, as any good Planescape Fanboy knows.

[Imperial Overlord]

I must correct an error, as much as it pains me: the City of Union exists within a demi-plane, not the Ethereal Plane.

Demiplanes are in the Ethereal Plane, as any good Planescape Fanboy knows.

Most demi-planes are in the Ethereal, not all.

[Imperial Overlord]

The caravan from Faerun marched out over the bridge and onto one of the city islands. Garish lamps and floating magical lights illuminated the streets and storefronts. Paper lanterns competed with globes of pale light, the firebreathing heads of iron goblins, and a hundred other designs. Zigzag letters of scarlett fire stood out next to azure motes aligned to form letters and numbers.

Light wasn't the only thing filling the streets and the twilight air. Words in a dozen different tongues were called out into the air. Humans from a hundred different cultures in dress ranging from the simple to the extravagant filled the streets and the shops. Lithe elves and stout dwarves could also be seen, along with creatures that were even more exotic. A party of heavily armed, orange scaled lizard men claimed right of passage. Nalifan's retainers halted and let them pass. A pair of green bipedal toad/lizards were not so accomadating. A hissing and shouting match erupted, but the mithril armoured guards quickly put an end to it before it escalated into physical violence.

"So," said Kaeryn as they crossed the nex bridge, "tell me about Union."

"It is, as you have undoubtedly guessed, on a demi-plane," replied Nalifan. "You have heard of the Mercane?"

"A tall, blue skinned folk that travel the planes. Merchants and magicians."

"That is correct. A group of them, the Union, decided instead of travelling they would create a trade center. And they did. Of course, travelling the planes is not something that is easily done and so the Mercane usually deal in items of great value that are worth the effort. Since their headquarters was now here, they needed a powerful security force to protect their valuables and they recruited from countless worlds to found it. Union was initially a good place to find exotic and powerful treasures and a safe place to conduct business. Soon others came to take advantage fo the opportunities. Business flurished and the city has grown."

"Not everyone is involved in high end magic item trading, are they?"

"Of course not. But those who live here need to eat. And visitors need a place to sleep. And while they are at it they might want to indulge in other pleasures and entertainments. The ease of extraplanar travel to and from this place, if you know how, means that there are opportunities from cross planar merchant ventures. And the the Mercane are not the only group to have plane crossing activities. And so on and so forth."

"I get the picture. You took us to one place where a guy like Karesh can't just cut through the town watch like a hot knife through butter. And a good place to start tracking him and his mistress down."

"Exactly."

"Where to next?"

"Here," he said pointing to the next island of earth. "The Tavern District."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Wayfarer's Sojourn was whitewashed three story palace near the heart of the the Tavern District. Modest yellow lamps hung from iron posts, bathing the exterior in a warm glow. Unlike some of the other establishments in this district, it did not provide lavish quarters and sybaritic luxury. By local standards.

Still, the food was excellent, the beer and wine were suitable for even jaded palets, the carpets and blankets were thick, the rooms always warm, the staff was impeccable, and hot running water was always on tap. Their stay only cost a large, as oppossed to an obscene, amount of money.

The adventurers were seated crosslegged on cushions around a low table. Nalifan's servants were comfortably installed in nearby rooms, enjoying a more conventional meal. Swordfoot, a short furred, grey and black tabby who possessed considerable amounts of courage and curiousity, was sitting at Nalifan's right elbow as the drow arch-mage picked up six inch long prawns with paired sticks. The drow dipped them in a shallow saucer of hot sauce before relaying them to his mouth.

He stopped to feed a sliver of meat to Swordfoot. Fadina was sitting opposite, but was not eating. "So Nal, what's the plan?" asked Trizkel as he morosely stirred noodles with his chopsticks.

The arch-mage took a sip of wine before answering. "We have several problems to address. One, we must finish decoding the slab to see if there is anything about it we can use as a weapon. Second, we must locate this Karesh of the Ten Thousand Blades."

"How do we do that?" asked Mikos. "The second part, I mean."

"They will be expecting us to go looking," said Nalifan. "So we don't."

"Could you explain?" asked Kaeryn as she carefully picked through her stir fry.

"Yes. I'll finish off the translation work while the rest of you find Kuuni and put her on the information gleaning. And secretly back her play, because it will be a trap, of course."

"Of course," said Mikos.

"Makes sense," said Trizkel, "except for one part. Karesh has already torn us a new one. Having Kaeryn along is nice, but he's already shrugged off Fadina's spells. I saw his weapons Nal. They're nice but they're small stuff. Its the helm, the armour, and the cloak that are really powerful. I've only seen auras that strong on two items an I'm wearing both of them. Adding Kuuni to the mix isn't going to be enough, especially if he brings friends to the party."

"I know," said Nalifan. "But we have to settle some business first. Kuuni is, as of an hour ago, in Westgate. Fadina, Mikos, and Kaeryn will go there and pick him up. I'll continue decoding and you'll go sword shopping. Finding Kuuni and tracking down Karesh will take time. Hopefully, we'll be finished our other business by then and we'll land on him like a Netherese city."