Terminus 8.18.14

The night for the No Pants Brigade began at the campfire we'd set on the paths shown to us by the dragon at the end of last session.  While we were there, Meggido was visited by the Watcher and when he woke he told the rest of the party a bit about what happened in the vision.  We waited a bit longer before setting out again.

As we descended into the desert, we ran across a group of sand elementals, which threatened to impede our progress.  Vallo launched a good initial assault, putting the elementals on the ropes quickly.  Meggido followed up by knocking one of the elementals prone, where it proceeded to throw a temper tantrum.  The party and elementals traded shots for a few moments, before the party began to gain the upper hand for good.  In among that chaos, the elementals tried to shove Meggido around, but he made like a dwarf and was unmoved.  A few more strong blows and the party came out the winners.

The party briefly rested before another elemental arrived to disturb us.  Unfortunately for him, he couldn't hit the broadside of a barn and that left him wide open to the party's onslaught, in which we basically beat him to a pulp.  Sensing that perhaps this desert trek wasn't working out, we set out again.

After a short time on our flying boars, we came across a circular stone cone surrounded by enormous statues representing the  five races of the party: Dragonborn, Nekhanj, Githyanki, Skeshuni, and Warforged.  We inspected the statues and pyramid-structure for a bit, with Adah-kah being able to identify that it had seems that faced each of the statues.  Once the party stood under the statues, they became animate, revealing themselves as constructs.  The moved, pulling the cone open and revealing an elevator.

We rode the elevator down to a room with what appeared to be an organic pod, a stone pillar, and beneath the pod was a pool of clear water.  Not wanting to rush into potential danger, the party searched the room.  Upon the pillar there was an imprint of an Nekhanj hand, so after the search was complete, Adah-Kah placed his hand upon it and the pod began to soak in the water from the pool.

After a few moments, it opened to reveal a naked female Nakhanj, who looked like she was a bit undernourished, but not terribly different in age than Adah-kah.  When Adah-kah questioned her, she  revealed her name was Metkin.  Adah-kah offered her food as Sardis offered her a smelly yeti pelt and Vallo produced fancy clothes he'd obtained earlier in our adventures.  Metkin took the clothes and some of the food before suggesting we move downstairs.

We went with her down another elevator, activated by Metkin saying "down" in deepspeech.  When we descended, we arrived in a room with a couch, a small changing area and a series of elevators which led further down.  Everyone shared more of the food.  Metkin offered that everyone could sit, but only Adah-kah did.  Metkin dressed and returned.  She then suggested that Adah-kah would be awakening the entire Nekhanj race.  He was shocked to discover that they were here.  Metkin explained that this place was built for "everyone" but mainly for the Nekhanj.

Metkin further revealed that the Nekhanj's piece of the linkage is here and Vallo gave her a 30 minute history lesson.  Metkin now explained that Adah-kah's blood, and her own, would be what awakens other Nekhanj.  Once more, Metkin told the elevator "down" and the group descended into a great hive, which was similar to the hive we'd visited before.  We descended for a very long time, eventually emerging into a huge cavern.  Metkin explained that here were housed 10 generations of Nekhanj warriors.

The pedastal from above was duplicated here with two hand prints.  Metkin explained that the caverns here stretched to the southern seas.  There, she said, waited boats which would allow the Nekhanj sail to Celton to combat the beholders there, as had been prophesied.  She shared more of the history she knew, explaining that the Warforged had chosen to shut themselves down to buy the other races time to shut down the link between the Forge and another plane which had allowed the Beholders to break through into our world.

That link had been discovered to suck the life from the other plane and the Beholders had widened it to emerge into the Forge.  Caught unawares, the Warforged were being overrun.  They attempted to recall their race to add to the defense, but they couldn't all make it back in order to establish their defense.  As a result they shut down the Forge.  At this point, Metkin and Adah-kah agreed to put their hands on the pillar to awaken the Nekhanj.

Hundreds, thousands of pods descended into pools of clear water.  The Nekhanj within revived, revealing many young, powerful specimines of the race.  Adah-kah asked Metkin, recovering from the draining experience, what had happened to his mother.  As he'd suspected, she'd died after leaving him.  Meggido remained untrusting of the word of Metkin about the Warforged's decision.  Metkin confirmed, also, that the Nekhanj here held Vallo, and his race, no ill-will, being focused instead on the extra-planar threat.

Last Recap.  Other posts on Terminus.

Pistol Shrimp Interlude

Leander pushed hard at the ground, feeling his muscles protest over the damage that had been done to them by the supersonic blast of the nemean pistol shrimp. 

Not my finest moment.

He glanced around, examining the damaged Atlantean building he’d sought cover in.  In one corner, nestled in the hands of a skeleton clad in medieval armor, he spied it.  It shone at him, gilt dragon adorning it seeming to twist and turn stare at him.  He scrambled towards it, calling out to his teammates to continue their assault.

He gripped it, pulling it from the hands of the corpse thoughtlessly.  More details sprung out at him.  An image of the sun.  Red and white patterns chasing down the edges.  And an owl, nestled at the apex of the central point of the shield.  For an instant, his eyes caught on it.  And then he plunged into it.

Time stretched out as the owl spoke.  “Son of Battle, Mind-born, and child mine.  In times long past, I had another son who could claim rights to titles very similar to those, though he was adopted from a far land.  El Cid, they called him.  The Lord.  El Campeador.  The Champion.

He had a battle-prowess unmatched, and while he fought for a Christian cause, he was well-respected by the Muslims.  And beloved by the Gods.

He carried this shield, and it rewarded him for his battle-wisdom, allowing him to turn mortal wounds into mundane harms and to turn assaults aside with deft prowess.  He took aside his men before each battle and sought their insight and wisdom to add to his own and taught them all the lessons of my chosen.  For many years, he warred and was undefeated, gaining ever higher heights.  And then he passed on into legend.

His son, himself imbued with divine essence had died.  And little was left for El Cid.  And so he departed.  His shield was given to his wife and was taken by the Muslims who removed her from her reign.  One of their number carried it with him for he was a Scion of the Gods, as well.  His journeys brought him here.

And he was laid low, for none may claim the protection of my child’s shield without my blessing.  He died here and none of his companions could take the shield from his grasp, for I would not allow it to be.

It was El Cid’s.  Now it is yours.  You cannot carry it from this place, for I would not have our enemies know it has returned to the field of battle.  But when the time is right, it shall find your hand.  You shall strike them down.”

Leander blinked, at heard the sounds of combat resume.  It seemed as if only an instant had passed though he was sure his reverie had been minutes long.  He dropped the shield, gilt once more buried in a layer of silt and grime.  Pushing off, he emerged into battle once more, striking out with spear and command.  Unconsciously, he maintained space around his free arm, as if compensating the presence of a shield…

Other posts on Scion and Leander.  Related recap.

Scions Under the Sea!

Other posts on Scion and Leander.  Last recap.

It was mere moments, before the standoff between the nemean Pistol Shrimp and the Scions ended and the shrimp attacked.  Their first volley was mostly ineffective, but Leander couldn't get away and was seriously wounded by the blast of superheated water and sonic waves.  The Scions scattered, and Leander cried out instructions to his teammates who closed to melee range with the shrimp, trying to negate or mitigate the deadly sonic claw attacks of the shrimp.

William ducked into a building, to prepare and after a moment, Leander followed suit.  The others put punches and shots into the shrimp, but did only superficial damage.  Leander ordered another coordinated assault on the nemean beast who'd shot him.  William emerged and joined the assault, wrapping his scarf around one of the shrimp's arms and giving the team it's first winning tactic: using the shrimp's mighty attacks on one another.

Leander returned to the fight, but the light of his spear's eletrical charge gave away his attempt to sneak back into range and the shrimp re-focused on him.  Meanwhile, one of the shrimp was downed by Lha-mo and William and they ripped the claw arm off of it.

On the other edge of the fight, Brock mounted and rode another of the shrimp.  William turned the claw on an incoming shrimp and blew it's head off, while Leander closed and shoved his lightning augmented spear into the mouth of an angry shrimp, electrifying it, but not downing it.  The torn-off claw had been hard to work so far, but William bit the bullet and shoved his hand up inside it, experimenting to see if he could use it more effectively.  The shrimp fell quickly after that and the Scions set out again towards the center of the Atlantean city.

As they approached the area, they were able to make at that the circle in the middle of the city was a pit bridged by a collapsed keep.  Within, William could sense a mighty aura of death and chaos, giving him paush.  Worse, when Lha-mo tried to make out what William could feel, she was struck by it and passed out.  She was tormented by terrible nightmares, which seemed to be hinting that one of the Titans was closely linked to this place.  Worse, the group was sure that Kane Taoka was down there.

William pushed forward first, and after waking Lha-mo, the rest of the team tentatively pushed forward, as well.  They came upon a large pit, with a glimmering hint of light further down in it.  As a result, the team passed into the dark passage and were drawn into differing experiences.

In her dreams Rivkah ate her cousin Ben, when forced to choose between him and her mother.  She found that he was delicious.  In his dreams, the cycle of ages bore down on William and he chose to let this age end so that the cycle could continue.  Brock was faced with the choice of shooting his daughter or forcing her to shoot him, but he decided not to play that game.  He waited for her to choose, sitting frozen in the dark despair that pushed at the Scions.  Nick was offered the choice of being rich, alone and divine, or poor, loved, and mortal.  He chose to be the lonely rich Scion.  Lha-mo was tormented by visions of accepting her Titan nature.  Alone among them, Leander was unaffected.  He pushed further into the pit.

The others slowly awakened from their torment and joined him.  There, they found Kane standing over the avatar of the goddess Pele, clearly readying to strike her down.  The Scions charged into action.  Rivkah dove between Kane and Pele, hoping her stony body could defend her.  Kane, confronted with the party demanding he step down, began to try and talk to the party into allowing him to kill Pele.  It was the only sure way, he argued, to be sure the servants of Muspelheim would fail.  Leander and Brock quickly reiterated their intent to hold to their oaths and protect Pele.

Nick and William considered Kane's points, but mostly, they remained unconvinced.  Sensing an impasse, Brock offered up a favor to Kane.  After some haggling, during which time the party noticed Pele sinking and quickly moved to hold her in place, Brock gained the concession that the favor would not harm the Band nor occcur until a month had passed.  In response, Kane summoned a shinobi lawyer, who bore a contract which was quickly edited to match the deal.

William determined that Kane was stalling and the party readied themselves to attack.  Brock signed, though and Kane held to his word, allowing the Band to push Pele safely from the Well of Tartarus.  They swam with her to the place where they'd killed the Kraken and prayed to Agwe.  There, a damaged Nazi U-boat arrived and the zombified crew announced that it would take them to Agwe.  They were true to their wood and the team was delivered to where they'd entered the ocean.

After some discussion, Agwe healed the party and suggested that they needed to take Pele's avatar back to Hawaii, which the Band decided they needed to do much as it worried them.  They gathered themselves and set out.

Terminus 8.4.13

Having ended the threat of Karus, the No Pants Brigade mounted up and flew to the mountains seperating the forest to the desert.  As we were flying, Adah-kah spotted something that he noticed just coming into view here and there. After the group slowed slighty, he was able to make out that a dragon was following us.

We got further on and slowed enough for Adah-kah to make out the the trailing was grey.  The group decided that the dragon was quite huge and would likely attempt to attack and consume us, so pushed on, at least hoping to pick the ground for the fight. We stopped on a large plateau.

The dragon slowed as ge neared the plateau, circling instead of landing for a fight.  The party spun to see what the dragon was avoinding and were faced with a large force of air elementals including a rather aggressive Djinn.

While the air elementals generally got the drop on the party and dropped devestating early blows, the No Pants Brigade returned fire admirably.  Adah-kah oathed and then abjured a tornado-formed elemental, grievously wounding it. 

Sardis and Adah-kah were pushed in one direction, Sabriel and Meggido in another, and Vallo in a third.  This allowed the elementals to heavily damage the party.  Sardis and Sabriel were in dire straits, but the elementals were falling. Adah-kah finished his foe, the attacked the Djinn, hitting it hard but not as hard as the tornadomental.  It fell before the rest of the group's assault.

Sardis fell as the party picked off the various elementals.  Adah-kah pushed one of the tornados off of Sardis and tge elementals went into retreat, with Vallo picking off the tornadomental as it ran.  The dragon chose this moment to move in.

It chased down one of the smaller elementals and devoured it.  He returned to land before the No Pants Brigade and threaten us with being eaten.  This immediately put Meggido on the defensive.  Sabriel was able to talk him around until he mentioned Karus and she could confirm we'd killed him.

The dragon demanded details.  Sabriel described the major events of the fight.  Sardis filled in the divine providence of tge Watcher's aid.  Vallo was able describe the effects of various attacks and strategies.  Meggido refused to be a jester for a dragon, but Adah-kah pitched in by describing the dome in which the fight with Karus happened.

Sabriel then took the chance to make Meggido sound intimidating, which the dragon responded made him like Meggido.  Sardis fed the dragon eel because it had said it was hungry.  All that added up to the dragon being pacificed and the laughing about Karus' downfall.  He then told us his name was Kashmard and gave us routes which might best help us avoid elementsl interference and departed to hunt the forest.

Last Recap.  Other posts on Terminus. 

Rohk'narani

Kneeling down, she stared at the icy footprint settled upon sandy shore near Sen'jin Village.  "Ya, mon.  Dis be from one of my kind.  A death knight walked de path of frost here."

Rohk'narani felt the witch docter behind her tense.  Perhaps he was looking for the other death knight, perhaps he was just disturbed by how casually she refferred to her new role in life.  Many who had fought the Scourge, who feared the Lich King, were uncomfortable around the raised former mortals who made up the Knights of the Ebon Blade.  Rohk'narani could no longer identify with that fear.

"Dey come ashore near da village, but where dey go?"

"De tracks are not trollish.  Unlikely dey could be hiding in Sen'jin.  De hills nearby, maybe," answered the death knight, her gaze lingering on the hills as if it could reveal her prey.

"You'll be huntin him, den?"

Rohk'narani nodded, finally looking at the frightened witch doctor.  "I be, yah.  For da Darkspear."

The witch doctor visibly relaxed.  "For da Darkspear and da Horde, sistah."

---

Rohk'narani stalked through the barren hills of Durotar, headed northeast from Sen'jin Village.  There was no way to be absolutely sure which way the death knight had gone, but she had suspicions.  Vol'jin had returned from Pandaria in the recent days and captured Razor Hill, headquartering his rebellion against Garrosh there.  It was the only logical place for an a lone agent to be trying to sneak up upon.

But be dey Alliance or Horde?

Rohk'narani descended into a narrow gorge, slowing her steps and holding her sword ready.  Dis clearly be a trap.  De question be, be it worth springing?

Shaking her head softly, she pushed on.  It was possible the other death knight had come to join Vol'jin.  Many members of the Horde had, especially from non-Orcish races.  It was why Rohk'narani had come, after all. She remembered all too well what came of a hot headed leader, as Garrosh was, chasing blindly after weapons of great power.

---

She was sure she was in Bwonsamdi's realm, a spirit consigned, as was proper, to the death god.  But something tugged at her, like a tidal flow out to the sea.  She descended, coming to rest in a corpse.  Her corpse.

"Rise, servant of the Lich King, rise and attend."

She did.  Momentarily, she wondered if she was a ghoul, if this was what they'd felt as she marched against them.  But in the considering, she realized that there was too much left of her mind for her to be a ghoul.

The death knight who'd spoken to her beckoned.  "Come, newling, come.  Our master has a task for you."

Obediently she followed, not remembering her master but sure his will was her every want or need.  The death knight, face hidden behind helm and hood, directed her into a long wooden building.  Inside, prisoners were chained to stakes in the floor.

The death knight led her forward ubtil they came to a stop before a tall Troll, battered and beaten, but clearly still defiant.  In that moment, she remembered being Troll, being Darkspear.  The Troll looked up at her and gasped.

"Narani!  You live!  I was sure you had fallen!  Let them chain you; they be beatin us all like dogs otherwise.  De Horde be bringin rescue soon, no doubt."

Narani.  As before, in thst moment she remembered.  She had been Narani, warrior of the Darkspear, sent against the terrible Scourge of the Lich King.  This Troll before her; she'd leapt to his defense has he nearly fell to the Undead. She could remember her concern for him, her fear for herself, her anger at the Loa for letting things come to this.  Remembered those emotions, but no flame of them lived in her.  Not even an echo.  They were gone.

The Troll must have seen it.  "Oh... Mah sistah, what dey done to ya?"

The death knight gazed at her from beneath his hood.  She could feel the command of his master, her master.  She extended a hand and into it the death knight placed a knife.  Her fingers closed around the hilt, but as she wielded it, she felt nothing at all...

---

Rohk'narani was dragged from her reverie by bands of power pulling her from the floor of the gorge to its rim.  She landed on her feet and immediately tensed, scanning the ridge for the death knight she knew must be close.

She found him sitting on a rocky hoodoo nearby.  She assessed him quickly.  An older Orc when he died, one eyed and grizzled.  He'll favor the right because the left is the one gone.  Two handed axe, likely following Frost teachings.

The Orc nodded at her as if he'd heard her assessment.  "Sister."

She shook her head.  "Not a way to be greetin a sister."

"You were walking away from me.  We needed to talk."  The Orc shrugged.  "You know of Vol'jin's revolution."

"I do be aware.  That be why you are here?"  Rohk'narani moved towards the other fighter cautiously, but trying to convey a readiness to talk.

"Of course.  Someone must remind the people their loyalties to the Horde," he said, gesturing vaguely in the direction of Razor Hill.

Rohk'narani paused, pondering the words.  "Indeed."

"So many have strayed from the path of the Horde.  Our responsibility to this world," continued the Orc, gesturing from earth to sky.  "Someone must take them in hand, make them remember."

Rohk'narani muttered the words she'd so often heard before. "De Horde is family."

The Orc grinned at her.  "Yes.  And one must always be loyal to one's family."

"So you come ta join Vol'jin then?"

The Orc barked a laugh.  "I come to bury him.  If you are wise, you will join me troll and return to the side of the Warchief."

For a moment, Rohk'narani stared at him, wondering how he could not see the logic in her words.  Then, down deep, in a place she would have denied still existed, she began to simmer.  In truth, many death knights were like this Orc.  They still carried their own agendas, now that they were free of the Lich King.  She'd seen them laugh, and cry, and unleash furious rage.  True, some were cold, as she was, but many had merely been tempered by their transformation and still carried the person they had been within them.  Her anger lived.  And this Orc had stoked it.

He seemed to know he'd tipped his hand.  "Come now, girl.  If Vol'jin continues this farce, it weakens the Horde.  The Horde which protects your people.  The Horde which welcomed you back after your transformation.  I know the rumors are true that Vol'jin has even allowed the Alliance to join him in his mad quest."

Rohk'narani brought her blade up.  "Garrosh be mad.  He be reachin for power like the Lich King did."

"And why should he not?  The Horde should be strong.  It should crush the Alliance and claim our birthright!"

"Even if it mean we all be monsters?"

"I am no worse for wear."  He struck, blurring forward and swinging hard at her midsection.  Only because she had been sure the attack was coming was Rohk'narani able to bring her guard up in time.  She swung away and around, lashing back out towards his head.  He'd already moved, though, off to her left.  He flung a bolt of cold at her and followed with necrotic energies fueled by his own unlife.  Rohk'narani grit her teeth as the attacks scored against her armor, slowing her.

But not her anger.  Even as her limbs momentarily numbed from the blast of frost, her anger flamed to new heights, spurring Rohk'narani to action.  She leapt across the distance, blade forward, and scored her first hit of the combat, impaling the Orc's right shoulder.  He shoved at her, and her blade came free as she stumbled back.  Laboring, he charged forward, but missed as his right arm refused to stay level.  Rohk'narani grinned at him.  Let's see how you be doin havin only your weak side.

The Orc snarled at his inability to hit her.  He swung again, wildly missing her.  Rohk'narani stepped inside his open guard and thrust her sword into his gut.  He crumpled, coughing blood.

"You haven't won, troll.  There will be others.  The Warchief will crush your entire traitorous race."

"Your Warchief be a madman.  Dis be justice."

Coughing again, the Orc spat blood at her.  It hit Rohk'narani in the face, just above her left eye.  "You'll all fail.  The True Horde shall win out."

Rohk'narani sneered at him, raising her hand to smear the blood on her forehead down, past her eye, in the shape of a spear.  "You won't be there to see it."

Grinning savagely, she raised her sword high and plunged it down, into his breast.  "For da Darkspear!  FOR DA HORDE!"

---

The witch doctor winced as he pressed the needle into the skin above Rohk'narani's eye.  Calmly, she told him, "Stop.  If you flinch, it may ruin da image.  I assure you, I be not movin."

The witch doctor nodded, continuing his work more steadily.  "And then what, sistah?"

Rohk'arani paused for a moment, contemplating feelings foreign after years of cold.  "And then I be joinin Vol'jin.  And we be bringin down Garrosh."

The witch doctor leaned back, finished.  Sitting up, Rohk'narani lifted a finger to the tattoo of the Darkspear running down over her left eye, where the death knight's blood had been.  Smiling, she whispered, "For da Horde..."