Personal Log
Sky pirates, a maximum security prison, a monster infested sea, and a mall with memories. Lady Tsian did get around. Hardly surprising, I suppose, in a lifetime which spanned more than a thousand years. Oh, and plunging to certain death in a Christmas globe, although that part wasn’t strictly speaking a part of the Last Walk; more of an incidental hazard.
Seeing nothing I could to to avert our plunge towards an untimely end, I put some more questions to Lady Kitabu while others bent their efforts to our continued survival; after first informing the others that the casket did have a local destination for us to visit and indicating the general direction.
The main thing I wanted to learn from Lady Kitabu were Calais’ orders to Mordecai. They were simply to retrieve the casket. This was mildly disappointing to me, but not surprising. Mordecai had told us his options were to retrieve the casket, kill us, or return the deposit and give up the mission. Given his earlier care not to kill Cyra or Sturm outright, I had hoped Calais had expressed some preference in his orders to leave us alive if possible, but clearly that was not the case. Maybe Mordecai has a reputation for leaving his opponents (and potential future employers) alive, and Calais was counting on that, Or maybe he just has a callous disregard for the lives of anyone who might threaten his continued well being, and possibly the well being of everyone who lives along the Grand Stair. And what worries me most; am I going to grow to be like that? Will I lose sight of the individual when I am looking at the fate of billions upon billions of lives?
None of which addresses the issues of Calais’ motivations. Does he, like Lucien, truly believe the Last Walk will trigger the next Dwimmerlaik war rather than prevent it, or is he worried we will uncover whatever it was that Lady Tsian found which led someone to kill her. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll really know until the true villain has us in his maniacal death trap and is gloating over us and telling us his master plan while we are slowly extinguished.
Upon further questioning, Lady Kitabu revealed she had no personal feelings about the Last Walk, the casket, or it’s contents. She did have personal feelings about plummeting into the Dwimmerlaik Vault rumored to be at the center of the gas giant then her own demise. As to any hint or suspicion of current Dwimmerlaik activity along the Grand Stair, she had no knowledge, and while New Arbanes might be a good place to start a search for such knowledge, she had no desire to return to Calais’ Domain. I could not fault her for that.
As the casket was not currently directing us in the direction of said Dwimmerlaik Vault, I filed that tidbit away for future reference and returned to a topic much more near and dear to me personally. No, she said, she had no knowledge of the Domain Defenses which I and triggered when I opened the door to the chapel. Calais had set all that up and she was unaware that they even existed. Disappointed would be an understatement to describe how I felt about that.
While I had been chit-chatting with Lady Kitabu, my companions had been looking to get us out of our critical situation. Sorcery had failed to mold the globe we rode in, receiving strong push-back from both Eidolon and Umbra. An attempt to use Eidolon to alter our vehicle had been violently countered by the Umbra, and although our craft had been badly battered we were none of us more than slightly battered and bruised.
All was not lost, fortunately. Cyra had scryed an habitable structure floating among the clouds of the gas giant, and not waiting for a further invitation teleported us all there.
Cyra’s teleport spell brought us out onto an occupied docking port for cloud/space ships of some sort. Lady Kitabu identified the structure itself as something called ‘The Raft’, a lair for sky pirates and other riff-raff who found themselves flying in the skies of the gas giant Aerion Prime in the Gossamer World of Stratospheria.
It did make me wonder what would be worth pirating on this world.
Now that we were on the move again, and options presented themselves to us, Mena asked Lady Kitabu if she wished to accompany us on the Last Walk. She declined, something which did not surprise me given our earlier conversation. She merely hoped to go home, if we could find a Door and open it. I got the impression she was still afraid we might simply kill her.
Wayfinding identified two Doors on, or rather near, this world. One was far below us. Presumably the rumored Dwimmerlaik Vault. The other far above, whence we had fallen when we came to this world.
I had always been led to believe that, while diametrically opposed to each other, Eidolon and Umbra rarely openly clashed (a recently Jaeger/Kaiju battle notwithstanding). Here, Lady Kitabu informed us, in the habitable zone of this gas giant, the Umbra and Eidolon were at war, constantly engaged in a knock-down, kicking, screaming, hair-pulling brawl. Deeper down in the depths of the gas giant, below the habitable zone, were the Deep Gods. Perhaps there are Dwimmerlaik creatures living deep down below us, and perhaps there is something at the core of this gas giant, if not a Dwimmerlaik Vault then something tearing at the foundation of reality. And perhaps, someday, someone will discover what it is. But not us. Not today anyway.
As a practical matter, Mena and Sturm both confirmed that the forces of Umbra and Eidolon were unusually strong in this place.
The casket directed us further into the station, where we were confronted with a motley assortment of pirates, apparently de rigueur in a place like this. Jane asked them (rather naively in my opinion, but I’ve been surprised by the success of the simple approach before) if they would help us find an acquaintance of Lady Tsian. They (sadly) responded as I had anticipated, and one of them pulled out an EMP grenade in anticipation of using it on us. That he failed to do so was due to Sturm promptly disarming him, keeping hold of the arm and the grenade it held while tossing the rest of the pirate overboard. The remainder of the pirate crew the made craven apologies and excuses and withdrew without further ado. We proceeded without further incident.
As a side effect of this little encounter, I noticed that both Falmorath and Namural were unresponsive. Possibly this was connected with whatever was agitating the Umbra and Eidolon, or was a side effect of the enhanced strength of both powers, but it left me unable to mold Gossamer was I was accustomed to do, nor world Namural be able to protect me in an inhospitable environment. I also had grave doubts about my formerly unlimited supply of ammunition for my shotgun. Fortunately, I was wearing Namural as a Great Coat, and I hoped it retained some vestige of it’s armor quality. As to local weapons, we were on the Last Walk and I hoped none would be needed. Unlikely, but not impossible.
As we wended our way further into The Raft we found ourselves entering a hydroponic winery. Our destination was a sealed box of bottles labeled ‘Ophelia Blue’. There was also some undecipherable coding on the side of the box. Mena tucked the box into her bag for easier transport. The casket now indicated we needed to go up. Up to someplace moving relative to us. A destination clearly not on The Raft.
Before leaving we looked around the facility and saw an attendant watching us. We asked about the box and were told it had been ordered and prepaid by someone named Jaeger Zane for someone to pick up some day, and was the favorite wine of “a lifer on Skymax 616”. Someone had to sign for the box before we could leave. I signed, using the name ‘Jaeger Zane’ although later it occurred to be I really should have used Lady Tsian’s name. The attendant looked at the signature, then simply shrugged his shoulders, clearly deciding his duty was now done. William purchased several bottles of wine for each of us, and we took our leave.
As we made our way back towards the docking bays it quickly became clear to us we would need a ship for the next part of our journey. Getting into the mood William quickly got himself into some attire more appropriate to a sky pirate. Personally, I considered my Great Coat sufficiently piratey although I did briefly consider an eye patch.
Checking out some of the nearby docking bays we found a right proper sky pirate ship. We also found something which Lady Kitabu identified as a Raptori Flyer, a high performance vehicle capable of escaping the gravity of the gas giant. Anticipating that this might be a requirement for the next part of our journey we checked out the Raptori Flyer. As the theft protection had already been disabled we decided that stealing a most likely already stolen ship was appropriate for this place and proceeded to do so. Sturm did immediately identify one flaw with our vessel. It was unarmed. We ignored him.
With William piloting and me navigating we soon got clear of the gas giant. Instead of the expected moon system orbiting the planet we found an extensive asteroid field. We also detected an extensive space battle, which scans hinted had recently been responsible for reducing several local moons to the asteroids we now detected. Skymax 616, our destination, lay just beyond the asteroid field and the space battle.
William and I worked out our best approach to the space prison while Mena perfected a cloaking device for our ship. Sturm, not occupied with our preparations was the one who noted that the prison station had a defense battery which destroyed anything which came within a kilometer. Cyra began working up some shielding for our own ship should the cloaking device prove inadequate.
The battle itself mirrored the conflict in the clouds below. Opposites in conflict. Tech ships vs. organic ones. An Eidolon infused fleet vs. an Umbra infused one. I, for one, was looking forward to leaving this particular world.
We managed to slip through the battle to the station and dock without incident. A robot guard challenged us once we entered the station. Sturm had to deal with it since both the robot and the AI controlling the prison proved resistant to Cyra’s hacking.
Quickly moving through the station, we were challenged again, this time by what appeared to be a seven year boy. He claimed to be the Emperor and demanded we bow before him. Sturm simply picked him up and carried him along with us, protesting all the while.
After a while we came across a vault door blocking our way, apparently installed recently and in great haste. I commanded the door to open, and we were immediately deluged with fire from many guards firing rail guns. We immediately dove for cover, but all of us were hit, including the Emperor and Lady Kitabu. The Emperor got the worst deal. His head was literally exploded. Everyone else was damaged to varying degrees, but he was the only fatality.
Some of the guards charged us at that point, as Sturm grabbed for the EMP grenade he had taken from the Sky Pirate earlier and still carried. A brief scuffle ensued, the EMP grenade went off, and both rail guns and guards went inert. The guards were all robotic, controlled by by the station AI. Meanwhile I had gotten the door closed again.
While all this was going on, Jane had managed to summon her dragon. It was rather disappointed when only the Emperor proved edible. It managed to break into a nearby cryo-chamber and chow down on a few frozen morsels before we had managed to heal ourselves and were ready to move on.
With the dragon in front behind an Eidolon shield we opened the door again. The remaining guards on this side of the door were all down. Further down the corridor was a single figure, arms outstretched, clearly trying to not appear threatening.
The Skymax 616 AI said it had determined we did not appear to be attempting a mass jailbreak, and even if we were it was incapable of stopping us. It had also determined that we were likely interested in a specific prisoner. We admitted we were, and that we were simply delivering a package. We were then allowed unimpeded passage. I wondered if it felt any remorse that it’s guards had been the ones who and killed the Emperor who it was supposed to be protecting.
The prisoner to whom the delivery was intended was a blue skinned four armed woman who was engaged in playing video games against herself. We produced the box of wine and she touched the casket. We were done. In further conversation, the blue skinned woman identified herself as Ophelia Blue. She had done a favor for Jaeger Zane by helping him to escape, and he had promised her a half-dozen bottles of her favorite wine as payment. Apparently Lady Tsian had taken that obligation on herself somewhere along the way. Another loose end of her life tidied up.
The Door out was the Door which had originally dropped us into the glass sphere. I was surprised, since I had been rather distracted when we first arrived and hadn’t actually noticed we had dropped all the way from orbit. The trick was going to be opening it from what was now outside the station with gravity going the wrong way. Cyra managed to cook up a spell to handle all that and we took our leave of Stratospheria.
The Door took up back to Calais’ Domain on New Arbanes, the Back Office as Lady Kitabu referred to it. Lady Kitabu then took her leave of us, heading for the Door which would take her to the Grand Stair and far away from these lunatics who had repeatedly placed her in mortal peril after physically assaulting her. I can’t say that I blamed her.
Once on the Grand Stair we considered our own next move. Three threads presented themselves as possible next stops in the Last Walk; Nexopolis, Planet Fiction, and one unknown. I also sought a place via wayfinding where I might get this curse lifted. Four options presented themselves. Collectively we agreed that lifting the curse would increase our odds of all surviving the Last Walk so we followed the way to the nearest of the curse removal destinations.
It led us to Shatterlight.
Vala was willing to take the time to see us. She examined it curse and identified it, saying it would only last until the fourth generation. As we didn’ t have time to wait until my great grandchildren were born we asked her how it might be lifted before then.
There were two ways Vala told us the curse could be lifted. The first required going to Finisterrae and would involve my True Name and either Eidolon, Umbra, or Sorcery. The second would be to get whoever cast the curse to lift it. Prince Calais, whom we had said was responsible for the curse, was welcome in Shatterlight if we wished to ask him to lift it. Deciding that if we had to confront Calais this was as safe a place as we would be likely to find to do so, we had Mena try his Icon. No response. It looks like I’ll be continuing to bear this curse for a while longer.
Next stop: Nexopolis.
None of us are surprised when Lady Tsian’s path takes us to Finnian. The fact that he was expecting us was no surprise either. After giving him time to pay his respects to the Lady Tsian we take the opportunity to ask him a few questions. He makes no comment when we raise the issue of the Raven Legion, which was probably a bit rude on our part given the discretion necessary on his part for being successful in the mercenary contracting business. When asked if Prince Calais was on Nexopolis, Finnian said he didn’t know. Again, if Cal was there and known to be keeping a low profile Finnian has a reputation for discretion to uphold.
On the matter of possible Dwimmerlaik sightings he was much more forthcoming. When we mentioned our concern about Dwimmerlaik interference with the Last Walk given the fact that Lady Tsian had been mortally wounded by Erebi, Finnian assured us that if he knew anything about any Dwimmerlaik activity he would have people dealing with it right away. There would be nothing left for us to be concerned about. He was also an ardent supporter of our mission. He believed the Last Walk we were conducting would prevent another Dwimmerlaik War. I was surprised at how good it felt to hear him say that. After encountering indifference and opposition to what we were trying to accomplish it was a relief to know that we had supporters too.
Our stay on Nexopolis was not done. Lady Tsian still had business here. We decided to take the rest of the day off. I asked William and Sturm to help me replace some of my shotgun ammunition. All my tech based equipment had been wonky after breaking into Calais’ Domain, and given the way my luck was running I wanted someone else involved in replacing ammunition which could kill me if something went seriously wrong with it.
Now that we had a quiet evening to think over what it is we were actually doing, another, disturbing, thought occured to me. Calais (it does seem to keep coming back to him, doesn’t it) wanted the casket recovered, not destroyed. What if there are other properties to this casket we don’t know about? Or, more disturbingly, what if Calais has his own suspicions about Vala and thinks she may have tempered with the casket before the ritual was even performed? Does he believe us her chosen agents and doesn’t trust us to conduct the ritual properly or have been deliberately set up to fail spectacularly? If all he has are vague hints and suspicions, then he may be hoping the casket will give him the proof he needs to bring before the other Gossamer Lords. I am reminded of an old quote I once took to be a joke but am now feeling the truth of. Am I being paranoid enough?
The next morning we set out again, this time being led into the Shacks. Everything was normal until our wayfinding line suddenly jumped. After this happened a second time, Sturm suggested we stop and have a beer while he went to check something out. After he came back a short time later we continued on without trouble. It amused me to remember that back when we started out together Sturm was the one I least thought likely to turn into a Man of Mysteries.
Lady Tsian’s business this time was with a young woman. She did not look happy to see us. She asked whose casket it was, and the circumstances of her death. She wanted to know what was on the other side of the Void Gate Lady Tsian and fled to the Agora through. We confessed our ignorance on that point, and told her that all three Void Gates which had been opened back then were now closed. We also told her that she had summoned the lot of us through a blood ritual as we were trusted agents of her husband’s and her mortal injuries had required a snap judgement on who to trust.
Finally, the woman paid her last respects to Lady Tsian by touching the casket, which glowed at the touch. She then thanked us for bringing the casket to her and made the rather cryptic remark that had it been anyone else she would have kept it. Again, someone who would take possession of the casket. Does it have properties we haven’t been told of? Was she referring to Lady Tsian or to one or more of us when she referred to anyone else? Mena commented that Lady Tsian had died trying to prevent a Dwimmerlaik Incursion. The woman felt that, lacking proof, it would be better to quit the Last Walk.
Again the old argument; without proof of Dwimmerlaik activity we run the risk of triggering the next Dwimmerlaik War, but we’re taking the Last Walk in hopes of finding that proof. I choose not to press the issue. I believe she knows more than she is telling, but the only way we’ll find out what it is will be to let her do it on her own terms.
Leaving the Shacks we find we are not done with Nexopolis, and we are led to the docks. Our destination is across the sea; undoubtedly far beyond the limits where anyone sane would tun back. Nonetheless we charter a boat and set out across the sea. The people at the dock recognize that we are on a Last Walk and give us the boat with no charge and with their blessings, asking only that we return it if we can.
We reach the Homeland about sunset, after a voyage which would have embarrassed a whale watching expedition with in it’s quantity and quality of lethal sea life. Fortunately, none of them seemed interested in our humble selves. The beach we approached was radioactive, but Mena decontaminated it before we touched.
With Mena continuing to handle radioactive decontamination we headed inland. The trail led to a half-buried shopping mall, extending out below what was once a city. We eventually reached a watch maker’s shop, after a not altogether uneventful walk. In the back of the shop we are led to a pocket watch, in need of repair. The watch was inscribed “To Baudemagus, from your wife.” William takes the time to repair the watch and we start back the way we came, the direction we are now getting from the casket.
We can now feel the wind. There is a storm blowing up above us, strong enough to reach us below the city in the mall. We’ve got what we came for, so Cyra teleports us all back to safety, and remotely activates the autopilot aboard the boat telling it to return home. Mena then contacts Baudemagus via his Icon. The watch is delivered. Baudemagus is touched.
Written by Dave Nebiker