Personal Log,
With Cyra’s help I go to visit my Uncle Cedric, surprising him as I suddenly materialize on his desk in front him. I apologize for my unorthodox means of arrival, offering my lack of an Icon of him by way of explanation. Without further ado he fixes that deficiency on my part. We then settle down a rather more orthodox conversation.
After the obligatory offering of spirits and mutual affirmation of good health we settled into serious matters. He confirmed receipt of the information I had delivered to him about the matter on Fierce, which helped speed my summary of the situation there considerably. I didn’t mention the back door. My ability get to and from what was supposed to be a sealed world clearly indicated there was one, but who created it and how I gained access to it I chose to keep secret and Uncle Cedric chose not to press me on the issue. I also failed to mention the final fate of the artifact, not wanting to distract from the Dwimmerlaik aspect of the episode.
Skipping over actions best related in an atmosphere more conducive to the swapping of tall tales then one where serious advice on life and death issues is at hand, I moved on to how my companions and I were magically summoned by a dead woman and subsequently attacked by those who had struck the mortal blows. As in our conversation with Vala I omitted mention of the box of chess pieces and the message written in blood beside it.
I concluded with our conversation with Vala, her suspicion of Dwimmerlaik involvement but unwillingness to pursue the matter with the other Gossamer Lords without proof (preferably in the form of a living Dwimmerlaik), her belief that the ritual known as the Last Walk, last performed at the end of the Dwimmerlaik War, might help us learn why she was killed, her instruction to us to retrieve Baudemagus so he might attend the funeral, and her instruction to us to inform Drake.
I then asked Uncle Cedric how Drake should be approached about this matter. His suggestion was to defer any meeting with him until the Last Walk had started, as he would most likely be unwilling to interfere with the ritual but might be inclined to arrest us for deserting our posts and imprison us thereby preventing us from attending the funeral at all. I thanked him for his advice, we exchanged some further pleasantries, and I departed by way of Cyra’s Icon.
I had not been the only one looking for information. When I got back and relayed to the others what Uncle Cedric had told me I discovered that Sturm of all people had come across some very disturbing information. Along with the many unidentified threats we can expect to encounter along the way, Mordecai and his Black Raven Legion had been hired by a peacock lady with birds about her to try to stop the Last Walk. The peacock lady herself was a tool of someone else, being controlled via her True Name, probably by a gifted enchanter utilizing a combination of Umbra and sorcery. Unfortunately, this set of skills is not sufficiently scarce that we can rule out any of our suspects.
Mordecai and his Black Raven Legion present a different concern. As a former protege of Drake, Mordecai must be assumed to be highly a highly capable warrior personally, and the men under his command very well trained and disciplined. The best shotgun round I had back on Fierce couldn’t penetrate Morholt’s armor without major assistance from Sturm. I now have something potentially much heavier in my arsenal, if it works as expected and is adaptable to whichever world we encounter the Legion on. Hopefully it’ll give us whatever edge we need.
It then occurred to me that we had a recent Icon of a Dwimmerlaik; the one we had found in Morholt’s Domain. I suggested we try using it. We discussed the not inconsiderable dangers involved in such a ploy, but finally decided what we might learn was worth the risk. As it turned out, we needn’t have worried. The intended recipient was not currently in the service area.
With roughly two weeks before we were to bring Baudemagus to Shatterlight for the funeral we decided we would split up and make our own individual preparations for the ritual. For my part, I exited Ionius and started exploring a section of the Grand Stair I was unfamiliar with. There was some concern about everyone splitting up when threats were mounting against us, but my thinking was, and still is, that the real pressure won’t be on us until we begin the Last Walk.
There were two real reasons I wanted to take a walk by myself for a bit. The first was a somewhat selfish desire to find an unlinked Door. It’s always comforting to me to know that when the situation on some Gossamer World starts to turn exceptionally hairy that I can create a way out; that I can escape to the Grand Stair and leave my troubles behind me. I eventually found one; a nice carved oak Door with fauns frolicking and centaurs hunting, hung with heavy iron hinges. The Door is located on a balcony overlooking a marble lined hallway with a wide marble stairway curving down to the main floor at either end. Other, similarly carved Doors stand at the ends of the balcony and on landings along the stairways. Those Doors all lead out of what appear to be derelict structures into untended or overgrown lawns and gardens. I suppose someone on one or more of these worlds could be going specifically for a untended look, but beyond the one Door I stepped through I saw wildlife in abundance but no evidence of recent human activity.
The second reason for taking a solo sojurn was a renewal of purpose. Seeing firsthand the immense variety of life beyond the Doors reminds me of why I should care that the Dwimmerlaik are out there; that every world is special (even Planet Fiction) and that I need to do what I can to prevent another round of death and destruction across entire worlds as happened in the last Dwimmerlaik war.
I was several days into my walk when I had an odd encounter. I was looking for a world where I could find a decent meal and a comfortable bed for the night when I found myself stepping out into a wide hallway with what appeared to be, and in fact was, a silk robed chinese clerk sitting at a table in one corner. He greeted me politely, requested (but insisted he was not insisting) I sign the visitor book , and asked if I was here on specific business and if he might be able to help. When I said I was hoping to find a meal and a bed he had me led away to a dining hall where I was served a sumptuous meal and then a guest bedroom fit for a visiting head of state.
That night I had very strange dreams.
Upon awaking the next morning I was told the Eternal Emperor would like to see me at my convenience after I breakfasted. Unwilling to insult my host I made myself available to him after a quick meal. During our talk (which lasted almost until dinner) Kwan the Eternal Emperor (external as in having been emperor since the last Dwimmerlaik war) told me I had been chosen by K’un, the living world I was now visiting, to be her agent/champion/emissary/instrument beyond the Door, and offered some suggestions as to how I might gain a better understanding of what might be desired of me.
That evening I entered a trance. I thought the experience of communicating with Basta was weird, but being in mental contact with a living world was weird to the nth degree, for both of us I suspect. I still haven’t sorted out what it all means, but I got impressions of immense age (by my standards), pain, and need. I was surprised to discover when I came out of my trance that what I thought would move been no more than an hour was in fact more than twelve. I have been in a similar trance several times since then (fortunately I no longer need to be physically in that world to communicate with K’un) and the trances no longer last that long, but communication with a world mind is still a slow process, and I am still trying to make sense of it all.
I encountered a young lady on a lonely stretch of the Grand Stair just a few days later. Jessamyn was her name, a protege of Lucien, on her first solo journey along the Stair. We chatted a little. I modestly admitted of a few of the things I’d done recently. She was quite a good looking young lady, and I suppose I was flirting a bit. After we parted ways I did take an inspiration from something she said and called upon the Grand Stair to direct me to someplace I might learn more about the Last Walk ritual. It led me to a long dead world just on the edge of the Labyrinth.
On a hunch, I invited Jane and William to join me, since a dead world with ancient information seemed right up their alley. They were delighted with my find and the three of us managed to spend the next several days exploring the ruins of ancient libraries until it was time to collect Baudemagus and return to Shatterlight for the funeral. I found much of interest about the Last Walk, last performed at the end of the Dwimmerlaik war and possibly instrumental in effecting it’s end. I also found information about the Gossamer Lords, including quite a few who died during the Dwimmerlaik war and the woman whose funeral we were about to attend and whose casket we would likely be escorting on it’s own Last Walk. Funny that nobody bothered to mention to us that the dead woman had been a Gossamer Lord (Lady?) herself.
Vala was the only one of the Gossamer Lords who had chosen to attend the funeral. Her absence would have been surprising given that this was her home world and her interest in having the Last Walk succeed in uncovering who had been behind the Erebi attack. I asked about the absence of the others and was told they most likely expected the Last Walk would take the deceased to them and they could pay their respects privately at that time. Perhaps they were also reluctant to attend lest they be chosen to accompany the casket themselves. This could no doubt have proved to be problematic for the one responsible for her death.
As expected, those she had summoned to her side as her last living action where those chosen to accompany her in death on the Last Walk. Surprising to me was the fact that Baudemagus was not chosen. Since we appeared to have been second round draft picks for her summoning ritual I had thought she would have wanted her first round pick as well. Since custom apparently frowns on those not invited to accompany the casket to invite themselves along it appeared we will lack his support during the expected attempts to interfere with the ritual. Just one more thing we have to thank her for.
I recognized some of the other mourners as having connections with some of the other Gossamer Lords and suspected they had discretely sent representatives to the funeral, possibly to report on who would be chosen to attend the casket. Jessamyn was there, and I exchanged pleasantries with her. She had known the deceased through having done some business several years back. Morholt, whom we had assumed dead, was also present. William spoke with him and said the Umbra was strong in him. No doubt this explains his surviving what might well have been mortal damage. Twice. It also made me wonder if unsealing Fierce had been such a good idea after all.
The peacock lady with the birds was present as well. Sturm spoke with her but all he could get out of her was that she was being prevented from speaking her own mind. Disappointing, but not unexpected since Jane said she was being controlled through her true name. If whoever is controlling her is the traitor we’re looking for then perhaps we’ll find a way to free her in time. Independent confirmation of traitorous actions by a Gossamer Lord might prove very useful when it comes to the final act of this drama.
Finally Vala had a few bits of advice for us. First, we would likely be sent on individual tasks along the journey, and wayfinding would be important. Second, the Dwimmerlaik had attempted to stop the previous Last Walk. Given what the outcome was last time they will no doubt make a much more determined attempt to stop this one.
Oh Joy.
Written by Dave Nebiker