Sturm’s Log Session 16: 1/31/2016

On Shatterlight

The team paid their respects to Vala.  Uther asked if she had any advice for the chosen. Vala replied that Wayfinding would be important as the team would likely be sent on individual tasks along the journey.  Baudemagus would likely wait at Shatterlight, but would be present on Finastere when they arrived there.  She would keep Baudemagus under her protection until after the team spoke with Drake.  Vala mentioned that the Dwimmerlaik attacked the Last Walk procession the last time the journey was made. It would probably be worse this time because the war ended as a result of the last time.

Tsianan’s Last Walk Begins

The wood and starglass casket contained a cloud of light that glowed within.  It was about two pounds.  The one holding it received a sensation of where to go.  Uther took it for the first leg of the journey.  The casket led them to a door with a drape covering it.  Uther led the team through into a massive open market area with the purple-white light of the Agora.

Makeshift booths filled the halls and landings, crowded with people and other beings.  Jane’s research said that the Long Walk began at the Grand Plaza, but that was lost in the Dwimmerlaik war, so the Agora served as a surrogate.  Once there, the Wayfinding sense from the chest split in twenty-three different directions.  Jane hypothesized that these were the worlds that they needed to visit.

Uther tried to use his Mastery of the Grand Stair t0 identify the routes.  He was able to determine the closest one, and also another that was moving around a lot.  He recognized some of the destinations:

• the Labyrinth,
• Earth 616,
• Somewhere in the Agora,
• Incursion Earth 626,
• Nexopolis,
• Planet Fiction,
• Poetica Mundi, and
• Verse Arcanum.

Jane recommended going to the closest one, which was in the Agora. They pursued that path.  

In the Agora

They followed the path to a street of jewelry vendors, where two were having a heated discussion being mediated by an immense man made of amber.  The amber man was only half-listening as he was giving directions to a lost child.  The chest was indicating the amber being.

Uther approached the table with the chest before him.  The amber being examined the team before giving his judgement, which was to crush the head of one of the two vendors, who he said had poisoned his father to get admission into the guild.  Cyra was curious as to the evidence to support that judgement, but said nothing.  

Uther approached him and bowed.  The being introduced himself as Vitrios, the keeper of the Agora.  Uther informed him of their purpose.  Vitrios grasped the chest with his huge hand.  He handed Uther a key that he said Tsianan had given to him shortly before her death.  He thanked them for including him in the Last Walk.  The Wayfinding line to Vitrios disappeared.  No new line appeared.

Uther asked him if he had had dealings with Tsianan.  Vitrios replied that he had had to arbitrate matters on her behalf, usually to determine that she had not been responsible.  Jane queried his ability to determine the truth.  He replied that he was known and had resources at his disposal that others took for granted, such as children.  He mentioned that he knew Tsianan had been accused by a Gossomer Lord of stealing a chess set

Vitrios also mentioned that she had been challenged to enter the Impossible Pyramid, which was the home of a wandering people called the Kaldari.  It was a vast Structure both inside and out, and connected to four different worlds.  It was protected by its arch-caretaker Maarden.  It was an vested and balanced on its capstone.  It had a slick surface that nothing stuck to.  On each of the four worlds, cities were built under the flat surface.  Most of the information known about the Impossible Pyramid came from Calais’s journal.

Cyra determined that there were two people following them through the Agora.  One as very obviously a Black Raven.  The other was being more furtive and wearing camoflaging clothing and bore a pin with stairs and a door on it.  Cyra recognized it from their previous walk through the Agora as an agent of Luther.  William knew that he was one of the Gossomer Lords who had participated on the last Last Walk.

Sturm looked but could not see him until Cyra projected his image into his mind.  There was no active sorcery, or a sense of Eidolon or Umbra, so it was probably an item on the man’s person.  Cyra determined that the pin was the device cloaking her.

Mina noticed that the dead man inside the Vitrios was Mortimus Maximus, who was the former Lord of the Grand Plaza, which was conquered by the Dwimmerlaik and was now known as the Black Market.  Vitrios told her that, according to the stories, he was created as Mortimus Maximus’ dying wish.  He was brought there, and the Agora grew around him.

Uther asked if Vitrios would inform them if he heard of any other Erebi activities.  He agreed and Mina gave him her icon.

The Next Destination

They considered the next path to follow.  Jane promoted Nexopolis.  They agreed.  Cyra suggested taking a more scenic route to a different door to Nexopolis in order to accost their tails.  The Wayfinding led them to a large double door, but they passed by and proceeded to another door on the Grand Stair that Uther was familiar with.  Cyra noted that their followers did not leave the Agora when they did.  Uther hypothesized that they would be exposed and did not want to be discovered.

Once on the stair, the nearest destination was the door on the opposite side, but Uther did not recognize it.  Jane put her hand to the door to identify the world beyond.  The door was blue bearing an image of a man pointing to a book with a lion at his feet.  The language on the book was Latin, but William determined that there was a library on the other side.  The door was locked.  Uther was able to determine that beyond the door was the domain of someone.

Jane knocked in the door, but no one answered.  They key did look like it fit, but Uther tried it, and the key morphed to fit.  He unlocked the door and handed the key to Mina.  They entered.  Inside there were ten books in a casing :

• The first book was black and laid out as a folio bearing the legend of Shaespeare’s first folio.
• The next was bound in Moroccan leather entitled the Tales of Beedle the Bard.
• The next was a rare print of Nicolus Copernicus on the revolutions of the heavenly spheres.
• The next was Ptolomy’s Geometric Iconographica
• The next was a first edition of Don Quixote
• The next was John James Audibon’s Birds of America
• The next was the Codex of Leicester
• The next was the book of Urizen
• The next was a copy of the Declaration of Independence of the United States that did not look like a copy
• The last was the original Gutenburg Bible

There was also a long hall that goes deeper into the library and the chest indicated going that way.  Uther proceeded in that direction, followed by Sturm and Mina.  The others brought up the rear a moment later.  Eventually they found Lucien, who was sharpening his sword.   Walking into the chamber, they realized that this was another part of the Grand Stair, but was also Lucien’s domain.

Lucien’s attention was divided between the chest and Cyra.  He inquired pointedly whether they knew where his chess set was.  He then asked if they knew the point of their exercise.  They were navigating the Grand Stair, in a certain pattern, meeting specific people, and exchanging things.  The last one ended a war.  This one might start another one.  He said he expected them to leave the chest and depart.  

Lucien was indignant, but laid his hand on the chest anyway out of respect for the ritual.  It glowed for a moment. And a small medallion of Amber stone identical to the one around his neck floated from his pocket and floated down onto the chest.  He then turned around and returned to his library.

Mina returned the chess set they had recovered.  Lucien stopped and took it.  She asked him if Tsianan had stumbled upon anything of importance.  Lucien did not have an answer.  He said that the amulet was a Charm of Naming, which would protect the wearer’s True Name.  It would also sever any psychic control already in place.

Lucien said that his concern was that the last time the Last Walk was performed, it sealed the Dwimmerlaik from the Grand Stair.  This time might release them again.

They bid Lucien farewell.  The Wayfinding led either back the way they came, or deeper into the library, possibly to the Laybrinth.  They followed the path deeper into the library.  It led to a section of the Grand Stair with nine paintings on the walls, which were icons, including 

• The pale heirophant Dwimmerlaik, 
• Lady Kitabu, the bird woman being manipulated by her True Name,
• The Lady of Silence from the temple on Fierce, and
• A man in Incursion armor.

They did not recognize the others.  Cyra tried to take pictures of them, but it did not work.  She located writing materials in the library and Mina made copies of them.  Sturm proposed summoning Lady Kitabu to free her with the amulet.  She could tell them who had hired the Raven Legion.  Mina suggested that having her compromised, might compromise Lucien as well, and he might appreciate freeing her.

The chest now directed them to the exit they had entered from.  Uther followed that path out of Lucien’s domain.  From there, he Wayfinded for Lady Kitabu.  She corresponded to one of the Last Walk paths that they did not recognize.  

In Search of Lady Kitabu

The door the chest took them to balcony overlooking an Istanbul-like city.  Tethered balloons were suspended over the city, suggesting to Jane that the city was in a state of alert.  The Wayfinding line led them down into the city, which was the new Academy of Arbanes.   The section they were led to had a militaristic section reminiscent of their own academy.  A legend indicated that the academy was designed by Kordechai, leader of the Black Raven company, who now stood behind them with a squad of soldiers.

Uther brandished the chest before them.  Mordechai punched Cyra through the wall.  The legions engaged as well.  Sturm used Umbra to change the legionaries’ armor into cardboard.  Mina changed their weapons into perfect toys with Eidolon.  Jane took cover.  Uther stowed the chest and drew his shotgun.  Cyra cast her shield spell.

Sturm found that the weakest point in Mordechai’s armor was the top of his head, so he attacked it.  His opponent blocked his blow, broke his arm, and thrust his sword through his armor causing agonizing pain.  Sturm also knew that he could have been killed, but his opponent did not want to.  He then went for Uther.  Uther shot at him with his shotgun, but his long coat flawed up and deflected the rounds.

Jane,  Mina,and Cyra were each set upon by five legionaries.  Jane defeated all five without trying.  Mina evaded her attackers.  Cyra’s opponents could not get through her shield.  She mind blasted Mordechai into submission.  Uther beat him into submission and Sturm took his long coat.  Jane bound him in perfect Eidolon handcuffs, but they determined that Mordechai was an Eidolon Master and would be able to release himself, so they bound him conventionally.

Uther drew out the chest, and it indicated that Mordechai was a target, as well as someone deeper in the academy.  They woke Mordechai up.  Uther put the chest under his hand.  His beret came off and landed on the chest.  He cursed in an unidentifiable language.  He then said that the Office of Business Development had hired him: Finian was the client.  He said that he could either return the money and decline the contract, return with the chest, or kill them all.  He said he had decided to decline his contract and take a vacation.

 Sturm gave the long coat to Cyra, who determined that the icons in it were for the five commanders of the Raven Legion.  The hat was just a hat.  

Uther wished Mordechai well, and the team attempted to follow the way to the other destination, but it was gone.  Mina used the icon to contact Lady Kitabu.  She answered.  Mina could tell that she was in a cathedral somewhere on Nexopolis.  Mina was unable to maintain contact because she got kicked in the teeth.  

Cyra determined that Lady Kitabu was somewhere within the Academy along a western wall that allowed the sunlight the stream in.  She expanded her shield to surround the building, and they systematically searched for her.  They came upon a place that did not appear on the maps.  Mina and Uther found a door with iron sconces with unburned torches within.  Only The Stair Masters could see it.

Uther opened the door and was set upon by a curse, poison, and all his tech powered down, but the door opened as he was blasted down the corridor.  Lady Kitabu was inside and preparing to cast a spell.  Sturm advanced and tackled her.  Jane scanned the room for other enemies.  Lady Kitabu’s cloak wrapped around Sturm’s throat.  Mina ran up to put the amulet on her and was set upon by a horde of grey birds.  

Then a door appeared below her and she and Sturm fell through.  Mina dove after them.  Cyra activated her icon to distract Lady Kitabu.  Jane used her mastery to hold the door open.

Jane and Cyra were attacked by a large black knight.  They determined that it was psychically neutral.  And it cast a spell to dispel Cyra’s magic.  They realized that they were in the Lady’s personal domain and that it was trying t protect her.  Leaving the domain would deactivate its defenses against them.

Uther arrived and shot superglue shots that immobilized the construct.  It attacked Cyra, and the long coat disarmed it.  Steam kept hold of the lady and Mina put the amulet on her as the others dove through the trap door.

They found themselves inside a large glass globe.  Lady Kitabu regained consciousness.  She realized that she was free and kissed Mina.  Sturm released her.  Uther presented the chest.  She put her hand on it, but nothing happened.  She said that Prince Calias had trapped her, and he had hired the Raven Legion to stop the tram.

She identified their location as on Stratospheria.

The Team:

• 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)