Diary, Dear.
Sturm was in contact with Baudemagus through his icon. Oh joy. Another missile strike anticipated. Cyra erected a magical iron dome which collapsed under the attack but prevented any damage from getting through in the process. William, in the Jaeger, commented that his tracking systems noted the missile veering to avoid catching the Jaeger in the blast. Good to note for future reference.
On closer inspection the woman leading the group from the hospital is Soto-sama. We relay Baudemagus’ good wishes and concern. We also returned to her her icon we had recovered from near the Door and explained how it had been used. She said it was none of her doing; probably an attempt by Amir, the Mech-Mage, to trick someone into opening the door so his rebel cohort could escape this world.
When informed of a Domain nearby she denied any knowledge of any Domain on Fierce, and informed us she had not established one of her own here; suggesting it might hold a back door. With Morholt injured, hopefully severely, and the Domain.s guardian now under Jane’s control, closing that back door became a more tempting option. Soto-sama declined to join in such a potentially risky endeavor, citing her primary concerns, the protection of her family and the restoration of the people of Fierce, all eight billion of them now under the sway of the cyber-naki. There is no way our own successes in that arena can scale up to those numbers. Affording some protection to her family and giving her greater freedom to operate against the cyber-naki is something we might be able to do something about, but will require a bit of thinking through.
Soto-sama also noted that the Hive was particularly dangerous, with the entity in charge there being particularly powerfully charged with Eidolon and skilled in sorcery, but there is a back door into the place should we be so reckless as to try something audacious. This fits well with what we have already pieced together.
While Mina repaired the Jaeger we debated our options, deciding finally on locating Morholt’s back door and preventing or at least delaying any possible return while also allowing the families of Soto-sama and her legionaries to reach a safe haven. Sturm and company led the way in the Jaeger, with Cyra and myself following in the air car and Jane riding her new pet.
Just over the border of the Domain the Jaeger and the air car ceased to function. There was enough warning of systems failing that we managed to bank the air car and ground it safely. The Jaeger simply stopped in min-stride. Inside the Domain is a region in which technology does not function. Our best guess is that this is to
prevent an unwanted invasion by the cyber-naki. I molded myself a stout sword as a precaution, and we went up and knocked on the front door of the mansion.
The door opened and we were greeted by a large gorilla in a tuxedo wearing a ring which could mold Gossamer. We were told that Mr. Morholt was not presently in residence. Jane asked if a meal could be prepared for the dragon, and was informed that this was possible and would she like it in the cave out back as per usual? Jane replied in the affirmative, and the gorilla went off to tend to this allowing us to enter the mansion unmolested.
It was quickly clear that Morholt is into fantasy gaming, something which is at best of merely casual interest to me as I can live the reality of the best fantasy worlds should the desire take me. Still, between us all we had enough knowledge and experience to figure our way through the maze Morholt prepared for those who would attempt to gain access to his Door. Mostly. At the last, William succumbed to a ”Wheel of Fortune’, gaining a small positive benefit. Sturm then followed suit, with two unfavorable spins. Madness then took me and I took one spin and then another, finally becoming mute. Someone then had the bright idea of asking the Master of Ceremonies if the first spin was simply a blessing to sucker people in and all further spins would result in curses. The Master of Ceremonies freely admitted this was so. It further informed us that destroying the wheel would
remove the curses along with destroying the Master of Ceremonies itself along with the two steam cannon guards, ending a most tedious existence.
Sturm and Cyra failed to damage the Wheel. The Master of Ceremonies knew nothing of how it might be destroyed. Finally, the iron bound book William carried vibrated in his hands and William opened it to see what it could tell him. It indicated a level of damage required far in excess of anything normal weapons might confer, beyond even what Cyra’s magic and the exotic sword wielded in Sturm’s inhumanly strong arms could do. I considered for a moment, then closed my fist and pointed Falmorath’s destructive eye at the Wheel.
One of the first treasures I acquired after embarking upon my journey along the Grand Stair was Falmorath. Falmorath is a ring, set with two stones on opposite sides, two eyes upon the worlds. The ruby is the constructive eye, allowing me to exert my will in forming and shaping Gossamer to my desires. The diamond is the destructive eye. At the speed of thought a deadly bolt of star stuff, a ball of plasma such as one finds at the heart of a star, a plasma formed of such a temperature and pressure that a mere plasma rifle cannot hope to
aspire to, forms and with similar swiftness strikes the target of my wrath. The temperature in the room rose noticeably as the Wheel was engulfed, and then I could speak once more. The momentary surge of weakness which accompanies the use of the destructive eye passes unnoticed by, or at least uncommented upon, by my companions, and we move through the door to the final puzzle.
On the far side of a boulder strewn room is a silver blue dragon with the Door floating above. Again using Falmorath I try to influence the dragon, quieting it’s thoughts and causing it to ignore our presence. Instead it ignores my efforts as I fail to make the slightest hint of a mental contact. Shifting my attention, I take the time to place a ward upon the door. Should something happen and we get forced from this room I’ll at least know when the door is opened.
Jane and I then begin a more careful examination of the door, which is not floating in mid air but instead is set into a transparent wall. Someone breaks the illusion of the dragon and instead we see five steam cannon armed automata standing guard. Apparently they are not set to guard against people using the door, being most likely there to attack anyone who chooses to follow the wrong path, attack the dragon in this case, as so much else in this maze has been.
Examination of the door shows it to be shrouded and trapped. With Cyra’s help we manage to remove the trap. The shroud is not so simple a matter to deal with, but with Sturm in the lead as a precaution we step through the Door to a crystal stairway with a starry void beyond the edges of the stairs. This is an area of the Grand Stair with
which I am completely unfamiliar, but wayfinding tells me there is a path leading to those parts of the stair I am familiar with, so I know this is not one of those regions completely cut off from the rest of the stair.
Returning to Morholt’s Domain, I severed this Door’s link to the Grand Stair, then establish a new link to an empty Door on the Grand Stair which I had some time previously taken the time and effort to locate. I know of a peaceful Gossamer world not too distant from here which can serve as a refuge for the civilian evacuees, or I can direct them to a well travelled section of the Grand Stair and they can find their own place of refuge.
While I was thus engaged Jane linked the other door in the room directly to the hospital from where we can contact Soto-sama and arrange to move her people. I was also informed that our friend from Shadow, sensing our concern about doors in Morholt’s Domain (that the seal Baudemagus has placed upon Fierce does not extend to Morholt’s Domain and will not prevent Morholt from creating a link from the now empty Door we left on the Grand Stair to an existing door in his Domain) had set about the destruction of all doors in the Domain. Given that his mere presence has a destabilizing effect on Gossamer this destruction should be easy.
On the way out I noticed the steam cannon armed automata. I was too tired to deal with it at the time, but made a mental note for myself to take care of before the civilians arrive; nerf-cannon. Arriving at the hospital reminds me that we also need to pick up the Jaeger and the air car. One other little thing nags at me before I let myself settle down and get some rest: did I leave the air car in a no parking zone?
Written by Dave Nebiker