Sturm’s Log Session 5: 1/18/2015

At the Castle

• The team debated how to make contact with Soto-sama. They seemed to universally reject Sturm’s “blow up the nuclear power plant as a suitable show of strength that causes the enemy to surrender” plan.
• The alternative was to send Mindel to Soto-sama with a message. “I CAN TELEPORT THE MONKEY!” Another alternative was to teleport one of the team to convey the message. Sturm was again universally disqualified.
• Cyra suggested drafting a message onto the flashdrive, putting a light spell on it, and teleporting it to where it could reach Soto-sama.
• Sturm suggested “We have been sent by Baudemagus. Surrender and you will be treated mercifully.” The team agreed on the first sentence.
• Mena suggested sending something not from Fierce to illustrate they they were not local. Sturm volunteered and again was outvoted.
• Cyra created a device to contain the message and play it on demand as often as the green button is depressed.
• Uther determined that the hospital was 50 miles away, but the train could take them halfway there. The hospital contained one of the routes into the prison. The still did not know where to go within the prison to find the Buddhist Temple where Soto-sama is thought to be hiding.
• The Eidolon sensitives noted a disturbance comparable to a wave of Eidolon. It seemed to be coming from park to the west of the harbor. They investigated.

In the Park

• The park was strange in that it contained many blocks that ultimately came together forming small maze-like structures and scaffolding. In the center above it, there was a renting shift to the realm of shadow. This tear is what they felt.
• A small and metallic book fell through and smashed into the uppermost platform along with a humanoid devoid of both Eidolon and Umbra. The book contained high levels of both.
• Sturm and Uther went to collect the book, while Mena, Jane and William approached the figure.
• Wherever the figure walked, Cyra could see visible distress in the fibers of reality. The being clearly did not belong there. He seemed to be a being of shadow, reminiscent of the Dwimmerlaik, and surprised by the nature of his form. He was covered with eyes in odd places on his body.
• The figure spoke both from the mouth in his face as well as one in his chest. the speech was unintelligible. His speech seemed to destroy air rather than alter it. He then walked off the edge of the platform, and destroyed the reality beneath his feet to keep from falling.
• Cyra took a photograph of the being, added “Visitor from shadow, oh crap!” and teleported it to Soto-sama’s complex with a “Read me now!” notice.
• Sturm and Uther found an ironbound book. Sturm retrieved it. There was a rune on the cover guilded with gold. He handed it to Uther and covered their retreat.
• Mena, Jane and Cyra all recognized the symbol and the book as one of the “Iron Bound Books of Shuma-Gorath.” Cyra knows that the book can be used to invoke curses, both the book itself and the information contained within.
• William has researched Shuma-Gorath.
• He knew that the once was a being known as Shuma-Gorath that was captured in an expanse of the Grand Stairs for use as a doomsday weapon.
• A wave of sanity prevented its use and then the war turned in the favor of the Gossamer Lords.
• The creature was known as one of the four Many-Angled Ones.
• Lucien was forced to kill his teacher to prevent the teacher’s mind from being taken over by Shuma-Gorath.
• Shuma-Gorath was also known as the Avatar of Life.
• The shadow being used the book to power its entry to Fierce.
• As soon as Sturm touched it, the book stopped radiating Eidolon and Umbra.
• Uther and Mena tried to create containers for it, but the book burst through the bottom each time.
• The book opened itself up and started flipping through pages when Mena tried to create a container for it.
• William could read it. It was written in Atlantean. It described the construction of a white ribbon that could be used to suppress its magical radiation. The ribbon would be consecrated to death magic, which was anathema to Shuma-Gorath.
• William created the ribbon. The book closed as soon as it was present, and William tied the ribbon around the book. The radiation diminished significantly.
• William had also learned that the expanse of the Grand Stair that these beings inhabited had more dimensions that usual, hence the moniker of “Many-Angled.”
• It was said that some managed to invoke portals to those dimensions by using the books.
• The inhabitants held life in high regard.
• It was said that their worlds did not have dead and established a crusade against it.
• They used a lot a compassionate magic to do away with death on individual Gossamer Worlds.
• Jane surmised that death was alien to them and therefore they did not understand the necessity of it.
• Since the many-angled ones ought to have been invisible to them, the team determined that the being was not one of the many-angled ones, who were beings of Gossamer.
• Mena was concerned that the being would soon be able to conceal his presence on Fierce.
• Cyra attempted to contact the being through sorcery, but his prevented by a psychic wall.
• She knocked politely, and received a name: Amatsu-san. The being seemed to be listening.
• She introduced herself as Cyra of Mars. She received an almost formal bow in return.
• She asked what brought him there. The response was “departure.”
• She asked “departure for what?” The response was “sacrifice.”
• She asked him to tone down his shadow presence to avoid destroying things. She noted that he was doing so himself to preserve what he sees as a safe haven.
• Based on his responses and actions, she determined that his arrival on Fierce was not intentional.
• She also noted that he seemed pleased that death was present on Fierce.
• Jane figured out that he was the avatar of death mentioned in relation to the books.
• He did not seem to be an enemy.
• They ruminated over asking the being questions to learn more of shadow and the Dwimmerlaik.
• The being seemed to try to speak to Mena, but seeing that she did not understand, then went over to the Jaeger and cut a hole into its foot.
• Sturm went to enter the Jaeger, followed by Mena, William and Jane.
• Uther kept in radio contact with them from the outside.
• Cyra continued preparing her message to Sota-sama from the outside.
• They noted sea water entering the Jaeger, probably to cool its nuclear power plant.
• Inside the Jaeger, communication with the outside was impaired. Mena altered Eidolon to compensate.
• They traversed up the Jaeger into the torso and eventually to the control pod.
• Inside there was the tracery of a humanoid shaped head composed of Eidolon.
• Cyra hypothesized that this was the collected presence of the Anna-naki
• William unbound the book and asked it what the artifact looked like and where it was.
• The image returned looked like a bowling ball in an elaborate flowered stand, last known to be stored in the hold of Bastiano the Empire Maker.
  Jane translated this as a crystal ball in a branched stand.
• The Jaeger appeared to be fully functional. It appeared that someone tried to power it with the Eidolon to detrimental effect.
• It appeared that the Eidolon was collecting in the Jaeger because it was the largest concentration of Eidolon present.
• Sturm hypothesized that the Anno-naki could be displaced and control of the Jaeger established by him.
• It was also noted that the intentions of the Anno-naki were not known. They tended to avoid interfering with lesser beings.
• They hypothesized that the releasing the Anno-naki from the Jaeger would enabled to recombine easier.
• They considered that the Anno-naki reassembling outside the Jaeger would be a good idea, or it could destroy everything.
• Cyra completed her spell preparation, but did not send the message.
  Strum took position in the control chair.
• He prepared the Jaeger for departure and discovered that the Eidolon had improved the Jaeger beyond its original specifications and that it was in perfect working order.
• Cyra and Uther elected not to travel in the Jaeger. Uther created a flying car for them.
• The plan was to use the Jaeger to attract the kaiju, which would then attack the Hive because the Eidolon concentration was greater.
• William sealed the hole in the Jaeger’s foot.
• Sturm drove the Jaeger through the parkour park, destroying it, and up the cliff.
• Amatsu-san followed along to watch.
• Jane determined that the artifact was in the factory where the Cyber-Naki were being made near the nuclear power plant, the apartment complex, the opera house, and the train depot.
• The Jaeger tore through two apartment complexes and arrived at the nuclear power plant. Off to the east was the factory. To the west was the hospital. To the north was the train depot

At the Factory

• Sturm drove the Jaeger to the factory.
• The Jaeger had radar and an imaging system that could quickly focus in on threats.
• As he scanned inside the factory he could actively producing Cyber-Naki.
  With the encouragement of the team, Sturm prepared to lay waste to the factory.
• The Anno-naki head suddenly moved before him and started flashing dark, contrasting, negative-feeling colors.
• Mena attempted to communicate with the Eidolon head. It turned into an image of the artifact.
• William, Jane and Mena, moved into one of the hands.
• Sturm cut the roof off the factory with the Jaeger’s chainsword arm.
• From the top they see the assembly line where the Eidolon was being inserted into the Cyber-Naki, and also another laboratory like section where something else was being experimented with.
• He poked through the opposite side wall with the finger to grant entry to the others.
• Amatsu-san seemed confused by this.
• Uther kept track of the enemy forces and relayed their positions to the others.
• Two of the Cyber-Naki attacked the Jaeger while three others took up defensive positions inside the factory.
• William, Jane, and Mena entered the alternate experiment room.
• Someone not apparent to the Jaeger’s senses was there, who they had not seen before. He was not wearing any kind of electronics. He wore medieval armor and had some kind of painted animal head on his tabard. It was Mortholt, the Knight of Beasts.
• He spoke a word and summoned the giant beast, Tharagavveruh. It was a large as the Jaeger. It looked like a crocodile with parts made of an unearthly steel. He used the thing’s true name.
• Jane had heard of this creature and that the only way it could die was by starving.
• Uther noted that the spine of the creature looked like a sword.
• William charged the Knight of Beasts to cause a distraction in order for Jane to take control of the creature.
• He shot with his plasma rifle to no visible effect, be he succeeded in getting the knight’s attention.
• The knight’s sword and armor radiated a significant magical presence dwarfed only by that of the creature.
• Mena could see that the artifact was behind the experimentation chamber, but she needed to get past the knight to get it.
• She attempted to sneak past the knight.
• Cyra added that the Knight of Beasts to her message and sent it to Soto-sama. He then prepared a barrier around the flying car, and dove toward the factory.
• The two Cyber-Naki approached one of the Jaeger’s feet.
• Sturm stepped on them and crushed them.
• Mena turned the fluid in the containment pod into the most corrosive acid she could imagine. The creature within was obscured as the fluid turned red and opaque.
• The knight ducked under William’s last burst and stabbed him with his sword. The wound burned with primal power, and he knew he needed assistance immediately or he would die.
• The knight sensed Mena’s use of Eidolon and turned to intercept her.
• Uther fired a hypevelocity round through the wall into the artifact to no effect followed by an electro-zapper, which also had no effect.
• Sturm fired the rail gun at the dragon, which then slammed into it.
• Sturm made a mental contact with the dragon, but avoided its attempt to take control the Jaeger.
• The Jaeger fell over into the hospital with the dragon on top of it.
• Mena arrived at the artifact.
• It was the size of a bowling ball.
• She grabbed it and disconnected the electrodes from it.
• As she did so, the containment unit crashed as the skeleton of a cybernetic gorilla came after her.
• She surmised that the knight was trying to enhance his beasts with the Eidolon.
• Cyra cast a cyberlink spell and took control of the cyber-gorilla.
• It stopped chasing Mena and he sent it to attack the beast master.
• The cyber-gorilla refused to do so. The knight summoned it with its true name, so it could not attack him.
• Cyra sent it to attack the other Cyber-Naki.
• Jane attempted to take control of the dragon.
• The knight was not paying attention to the dragon, so she was able to take temporary control of it and got it to stop attacking.
• She sought aid from Cyra and gave her its true name.
• William used the Eidolon to heal himself, but it was only partially restored.
• Sturm threw off the dragon. It landed onto a spire-topped skyscraper 6 miles away, skewering it.
• He noted the battle conditions and jumped into the ejection pod.
• It landed next to the factory.
• Mena attempted to contact Baudemagus with her icon.
• The knight cut off three of her fingers, but she kept hold of the card.
• He also embedded his sword into her arm.
• Sturm charged at the knight.
• Uther fired at the knight with a net, but the knight withdrew his sword and sliced through the net.
• Cyra did an all out mental assault on the knight. He took the blow, but did not fall. Instead he struck back and pushed back adeptly.
• Jane still had control of the dragon, so it was not moving.
• She realized the knight was not focusing on the dragon, so she had control
• She could see that Mena was near death, but that the knight was focused on Cyra. She ran to Mena to administer first aid.
• William used his remaining Eidolon to augment Mena’s first aid.
• Mena made the connection to Baudemagus and transmitted the situation to him. She went through the link with the artifact and disappeared.
• Cyra continues with her mental assault. The knight breaks the connection.
• Sturm attacked the knight with his chainsword, but the blade merely scratched his armor. But he noticed real fear in the knight’s eyes.
• Uther fired his last hypervelocity round at the knight’s face and shoots him through one eye. He then tried to net him, but the knight’s sword acted independently and cut through it.
• Jane tripped the knight while he was distracted. The knight went down.
  William limped back to the Jaeger. He entered the Jaeger as the airstrike arrived.
• A massive explosion and fragmentary bits hits the area.
• William was protected by the Jaeger
• Uther and Cyra were protected by the spell around the flying car.
• Jane’s armor was destroyed, but her dragon caught her. She was severely wounded by the explosion, but her iron will kept her conscious.
• Sturm’s mech was destroyed, but he was protected by his personal armor and unharmed.
• When the smoke cleared, there was no sign of the knight.
• Sturm searched for him based on his knowledge of ordnance.
• He follows a trail of blood to a point where there is a magical presence: he had escaped.
• The cyber-gorilla had destroyed the three Cyber-Naki and awaited further instructions. Cyra commanded it to continue to wait, and it fell over.
• Uther sought out where the knight might have gone to. His wayfinding indicated the domain they had uncovered.
• Uther affected Gossamer reality to heal Jane, but the damage was too extensive.
• Baudemagus healed Mena with a spell. She gave him the artifact and informed him of everything the team had learned.
• Sturm received a communication from Baudemagus asking if anyone had an icon for the other team members.
• A woman emerged from the hospital with a large contingent of mechanized warriors.

The Team:

• Oberleutnant Sturm von Krieg the warrior (Joab)
• William Edwalton the scientist (Greg)
• Jane Edwalton the explorer (Jenna)
• Mena the traveler (Stephanie)
• Uther the gatherer (Dave)
• Cyra the sorceress (Mike)