Chapter 12: Shadows in the Dark

[Dave B.]

Jun 18, 2015 21:20:55 GMT -4 Joe said:

Watching Kal go off on Histra, Streko sighs. He turns to Shorak. "I'm not sure how much help I can provide, but I will grab his legs if you will take his torso."

He once again returns Therendor to his haversack and grabs the Tiefling's legs.

"If you think it wise. I would hate to do any more damage to him." Shorak says, but carefully lifts Conign's shoulders slightly to get a better purchase under his back and nods to Streko. "We may need an extra hand or two when we get to the stairs. I'll come back for his sword once we have him settled." Moving carefully, Shorak and Streko make their way out of the tower, carrying Condign's unconscious body towards the stairs back to the courtyard. He notes that the spirit is still present and grimaces. "Torcer? Please? Can't we be rid of that thing."

[Ken]

Belarin looks over at the awkward pairing of Shorak and Streko, then he walks over to help them carry Condign. "I can at least grab one leg...."

[Joe]

Streko allows Belarin to assist, but watches him closely. "Take care, my friend. You are still badly wounded and I would hate to see your injuries taxed. Also, I would like to know about that amulet Histra was determined to see wrapped around your neck. Does it protect your spirit in this place? Is it a healing tool?"

[Ken]

Belarin touches the odd necklace, having forgotten that it was still on his neck. "I believe it's meant to keep me from dying, Good Streko," he says. "Histra and I aren't meant to be separated anytime soon, I think." He looks at Histra, a small smile forming.

[Joe]

"Far be it from me to dispute the magical powers of the ir'Serells, but it seems to me that Olladra was responsible for keeping you alive, as well as everyone else in this party, including Histra. Although, may I say that Shorak never needed Olladra's gifts. He was quite brilliant against our adversaries."

He sighs and re-adjusts Condign's foot in his hands. "I understand your, feelings, toward Histra, and I am grateful for her part in assisting you. But, Histra has her battles to fight, within her own family. In the end, we can only depend on each other. I would hate to almost lose you again, my friend. I would hate to lose any more of my friends. I've lost too many already. That, above all else, is what I will focus on over the next few hours. I will NEVER forget them. I will never forget you."

Streko finds himself wiping his check against his shoulder, in the process twisting Condign's foot (ankle?) a little. "Sorry," he mutters softly.

[Dave W.]

Jun 17, 2015 23:13:41 GMT -4 Ken said:

Belarin doesn't react to Adamant's apology, aside from a simple shrug, and even that appears to pain the warlock.

When Belarin leaves, Adamant slumps a bit further... "I understand" he says to the empty room.

Adamant turns to Tangat, "I intend to honor our agreement spirit. Cooperate just a few hours more and you will be free of the labyrinth."

"And what of you?" the warforged says to the infant he holds. "What is your agreement?"

Adamant moves to the window and tries to see what is happening...

[Dave B.]

"Things would have gone a little better if we had Condign's skills working for us in that battle by the tree. The spirit possessing him was doing the fighting for Condign. Oh well, what's done, is done." Shorak keeps a solid grip on Condign as they make their way back to the room set up for them to rest.

[Jeff]

Jun 19, 2015 1:22:56 GMT -4 Dave B. said:

"Torcer? Please? Can't we be rid of that thing."

"Yes," Torcer responds and looks to Histra. "All right. Histra, should I?"

But Histra is distracted:

Jun 20, 2015 10:45:39 GMT -4 Joe said:

Streko allows Belarin to assist, but watches him closely. "Take care, my friend. You are still badly wounded and I would hate to see your injuries taxed. Also, I would like to know about that amulet Histra was determined to see wrapped around your neck. Does it protect your spirit in this place? Is it a healing tool?"

Jun 20, 2015 12:44:08 GMT -4 Ken said:

Belarin touches the odd necklace, having forgotten that it was still on his neck. "I believe it's meant to keep me from dying, Good Streko," he says. "Histra and I aren't meant to be separated anytime soon, I think." He looks at Histra, a small smile forming.

"It..." Histra nods, and returns Belarin's smile, albeit much smaller. "Yes, the periapt projects the body from many harmful things—diseases, poison, even possession and the forced effects of aging. But it only functions—safely—within this plane. It is kept in one of my family's hidden caches in this labyrinth, which is where I retrieved it today. Worn on Eberron, it is unstable and extremely dangerous to wear." She watches where Shorak, Streko, and Belarin are awkwardly carrying Condign's heavily armored, muscled, and considerable bulk. To Belarin she adds, "Place the periapt around the tiefling's neck. So long as he wears it, I believe it may repress the effects of his affliction. However, if I tell you remove it and place it back around your neck, you will do it."

Jun 20, 2015 20:17:24 GMT -4 Dave W. said:

Jun 17, 2015 23:13:41 GMT -4 Ken said:

Belarin doesn't react to Adamant's apology, aside from a simple shrug, and even that appears to pain the warlock.

When Belarin leaves, Adamant slumps a bit further... "I understand" he says to the empty room.

Adamant turns to Tangat, "I intend to honor our agreement spirit. Cooperate just a few hours more and you will be free of the labyrinth."

"And what of you?" the warforged says to the infant he holds. "What is your agreement?"

Adamant moves to the window and tries to see what is happening...

Tangat just lies down, quiet, but his tail thumps. The infant quiets and stirs little.

Torcer and the skeletons proceed across the courtyard toward the main gate. The spirit held by Torcer's magic floats off the ground between them. It doesn't stuggle or make a sound, but it twists in vain and glares hideously at Condign as his friends carry him away. Or perhaps at Belarin himself.

---

Let me know if anyone intends to do anything during the wait for Condign to awaken.

[Joe]

Streko will take what rest he can. He knows he will need it for the others...and for himself, no doubt.

[Ken]

Belarin nods at Histra's instruction and places the necklace around Condign.

He looks at Shorak and says, "Wait! You're saying Condign was possessed during that entire fight?" Pause. "How do you know that?"

_________

Taking a short rest, which helps Belarin more than others.

[Dave B.]

After settling Condign in one of the cots and making sure that the Teilfling is as comfortable as possible, Shorak turns to answer Belarin's question. "That same spirit attacked us shortly after Kal and I were reunited with Condign and Streko." Shorak relates the first encounter with the spirit and the mirror in the ruins. "The spirit must have possessed him shortly after. Also, Condign seemed a bit off, but I couldn't say for sure, not having known him that long."

"i will watch Condign. You all rest and I will rest after he wakens." Shorak settles down on the floor next to Condign's cot.

[Dave W.]

Jun 21, 2015 19:06:39 GMT -4 Dave B. said:

"i will watch Condign. You all rest and I will rest after he wakens." Shorak settles down on the floor next to Condign's cot.

"That's not necessary. Remember that warforged don't lose track of our awareness no matter how long we are idle. I can rest and watch."

[Jeff]

Torcer and the treacherous spirit are quickly ushered out of sight.

Within the barracks chamber you all take rest, cleaning up with water basins as needed (though even the cleanest is still something of a mess of scars, caked blood, grime, and torn clothing). During this time, Adamant remains aware but also doleful.

Three hours pass before Condign stirs. It is a gradual but unpleasant awakening, but he does find that all of his companions are around him and in relative good condition. All but Syrdan.

Condign sees that he is wearing a gruesome bone-and-animal-skull necklace. He still feels the pain of his many wounds, but none more than the now-bound wound in his abdomen. Yet he doesn't feel the poisonous effects of the dog's bite as Streko predicated. Perhaps because of the "periapt" he now wears.

During this time you see Histra and Torcer only little. If Histra takes some rest herself, she does it elsewhere.

---

Condign's wait to regain 1 hit point (1d4=3) (3 hours)

Look, Invisible Castle is up for a few minutes.

Condign is conscious and at 1 hit point.

A short rest has been completed. Everyone can choose how many hit dice they'd like to spend now. Since Invisible Castle is working (for however long), I encourage you to take a shot at it. And then let me know how many hit dice you're spending (I will update the character sheets accordingly). You all have all your hit dice available. Condign can only spend hit dice if you all choose to wait one more hour so he can benefit from a short rest.

[Brian]

At first, all Condign feels is pain. Intense, burning pain, like fiery talons digging into his gut. It makes breathing difficult, and he draws air in short, shallows gasps. All he wants to do is lay still, don't move. But he is a warrior, a fighter who does not give up...or give in. Lorjad would have words for him if he did not meet this new challenge. With great effort, he opens his eyes.

He is in a room. It is somehow familiar. Then he remembers--the guard room in the ir'Serril's keep. He is back here. A thin blanket covers his body. His friends stand around him. All except one.

"Syrdan?" he whispers. One word is all he can manage.

__________________________________

If everyone agrees to wait the hour, Condign will spend five hit dice.
Condign's Hit Point recovery: (5d10=14) + ten for his Con modifier for a total of 24 hit points.

[Dave W.]

Adamant tries to hide from his friends how deeply this realm has affected him... he stands taller and tries to force brightness into his broken voice when replying to others comments. He continues* rocking the infant gently with the precision of a metronome.

Jun 22, 2015 7:25:26 GMT -4 Brian said:

"Syrdan?" [Condign] whispers. One word is all he can manage.

"Rest my friend... at least for a little while... Syrdan has left our group. He is pursuing his own path by his own choice; though some of my flawed decisions may have made made that way more attractive." 

"While we are on the subject of resting," Adamant now addresses the full group, "what do we intend? It seems obvious to me that we rest a bit longer until Condign is more himself. We had planned to leave by now... do we risk waiting longer until we can all recover our strength?"

"I dislike this place, for the record and with apologies to our hosts."

---

So Adamant starts recovering... Wait, I don't have to whisper...

So I know I'm going to want at least 4d10 (with +2 per die for CON)
Starting with 7hp...
First batch of hp recovered (4d10+8=20) So now we're at 27. I think I'm going to end up doing all of them, but let's run 2 more...

Second batch of hp recovered (2d10+4=20)... okay I did as well with those two as I did with the first four! So that's 47. I'm pretty happy with that.
So Adamant burns a total of 6HD to get back a total of 40 points for current hp value of 47.

* Joe, Adamant will keep holding the baby unless Streko asks for he/she/it back.

[Joe]

Streko remains visibly exhausted, as if using all of Olladra's magic has drained him of his own life spirit. Still, physically, he is back to feeling at full strength.
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Streko uses 4 hit dice and achieves the following: 4d8=20, which gives him two more hit points than he had when he started.

[Dave B.]

"Welcome back to us, Condign." Shorak says. "Yes, you should rest a bit more before we head out."

He turns his attention to the rest of the group. "We should plan some strategy for our escape from this realm and prepare ourselves appropriately. This should give Condign the time he needs to recover enough to be able to travel."


Shorak uses 3HD and recovers 17 HPs


HP recovery (2d8+2=8)

More HP recovery (1d8+1=9)

[Ken]

"No," says Belarin firmly. "Syrdan is gone. No one else needs to go, and none of us should run the risk of forgetting Syrdan. Condign can walk, and Histra can guide us out. We need to leave this damn place!"

__________________

Rolled on Rolz by Reflex: Belarin:6D8 → 35(4 +7 +7 +2 +8 +7)#Hit dice recovery Belarin is back up to 40 hit points, regains his special abilities, and - as a warlock - his slots.

[Brian]

After a brief rest, Condign feels better. Not good; that will still take days of healing. But he can walk. Perhaps even fight. He winces at the thought of wielding his heavy sword. Speaking of which....

"My sword?" Condign throws back the blanket and slowly works his way to a sitting position. Beads of sweat pop out on his brow, and his red skin pales ever so slightly. "Where is it?"

[Dave B.]

Shorak hands Condign his sword. "I figured you would want that shortly after you woke. I also tried to clean you up a bit while you slept." Condign is not really that clean, but the braid at his belt is a tad damp and seems to be mostly free of the blood that still stains the majority of his attire.

He turns to Belarin. "Calm yourself, Belarin. Yes, we've been here too long, I agree. But, weigh the facts. We need to be smart about this. Do you truly feel that it is worth risking Condign's life to wait one more hour before leaving?" Shorak's tone is calm, but firm and confident. "This realm has tried to beat us down more times in a couple of hours than what we have endured over the last two weeks. The fact that we have survived tells me that we are strong enough to endure and successfully escape it." He lays his hand on Belarin's shoulder and locks eyes with him. "Remember, we have each other and we have Histra. That puts the odds in our favor." He looks around the room. "Come, let's find Histra and talk about how we continue to survive as we try to get back to our home plane and let Condign rest a little longer."

Shorak waits for the group to accept his suggestion or not.

I did post earlier that Shorak said he would go back for Condign's sword, but never posted that he actually did. I hope that's okay. I can always edit a previous post to reflect that if need be.

[Dave W.]

"No one wants to be out of here more than I." Adamant looks at his tiefling friend. "But I would like to give Condign a short break to regain some repair. But if necessary I will carry him out."

"hmmmmm," Adamant makes an odd rumbling sound from the rent in his neck, "Perhaps there is a compromise... Did I hear correctly that there may be some number of healing potions we may have access to?"

"Though it would seem wiser to save them for the travel, if we used them to make him less... broken... We can get moving and have a functional Condign?"

"I am not certain there are wise choices in this realm. But I think those are the only two options... Well, and I suppose staying for a night would also be an option, but I agree with Belarin, we've lost enough already; I'd rather not risk more."

---

Adamant can be swayed either way...

[Joe]

"One more fact that should be considered. First, I, too, am all for leaving quickly. However, we are all pretty much drained of strength. If this were an easy way of leaving the plane, then absolutely. But, I did not hear Histra say anything about this being an easy journey. Still, should we be able to get everyone to some degree of health, enough to escape this place TODAY, then perhaps there is a chance to heal us all later, depending on where we end up and how much rest we can get or healers we can find. I...agree with Belarin. I hate risking our lives yet again with so little reserves to spare, but, yes, let's go, as quickly as Condign can be up and mobile."

[Dave B.]

"I believe Histra said that there are potions near the gate to the labyrinth. So, if we leave now, we'll need to protect Condign from any harm until we reach the gate. Add that to your considerations." Shorak says. His frustration with the situation beginning to show.

[Ken]

"Yes, thank you, Shorak," says Belarin. "I hasn't considered that a badly injured Condign would need protecting. Oh wait, no - I had considered that, as I also considered that ALL of us would need protection from whatever this realm or Histra's bratty cousin decided to throw at us next. None of us is safe while we stay here."

[Darren]

The door bangs loudly as it is flung open. Kal stands silhouetted in the doorway.

Jun 23, 2015 23:35:59 GMT -4 Ken said:

"Yes, thank you, Shorak," says Belarin. "I hasn't considered that a badly injured Condign would need protecting. Oh wait, no - I had considered that, as I also considered that ALL of us would need protection from whatever this realm or Histra's bratty cousin decided to throw at us next. None of us is safe while we stay here."

"We're not leaving until Condign can move on his own," Kal says as he moves into the room. He sits on a cot and with a wave of his hand, the door once again bangs shut. "Another hour won't kill us any more than this place already has." He leans back against the wall and closes his eyes, clearly considering the conversation over.

_____________________________
Kal will use 4 of his hit dice.

Hit dice rolls (1d6=2, 1d6=3, 1d6=3, 1d6=4)

Possibly taking a bit of dramatic liberty with Prestidigitation.

[Brian]

Jun 23, 2015 12:48:53 GMT -4 Dave B. said:

Shorak hands Condign his sword. "I figured you would want that shortly after you woke. I also tried to clean you up a bit while you slept."

"Thank you," Condign says, gratefully accepting his sword. He hefts the blade in his hand. While it feels reassuring to hold it again, he cannot escape the horrible image of it pushing through his gut. He jams it into its scabbard, more to get it out of his sight for the moment than to store it. "I agree that we must leave. The rest I have had seems adequate. I can walk." Condign's eyes narrow to hard points. "Rathek. The spirit who possessed me. What has become of it?"

[Jeff]

None of you bore witness to the fate of this Rathek spirit and so cannot answer Condign.

A short while later, with each of you as cleaned up and wound-bounded as possible during this time, and everyone has gathered in the courtyard. Torcer is here. There is no trace of the hostile spirit or what became of it.

Histra, looking hardly much rested, beckons to Belarin and Kal specifically, and bids them join her on eastern wall of the tower. She leads the way through the second tower.

[Darren]

Kal is uncharacteristically quiet as he follows. His face is grim and his mind squirms with uneasy thoughts.

[Ken]

Belarin joins Histra. "How's the arm?" he asks as he and Kal walk alongside her.

[Jeff]

“Sufficient to move on,” Histra replies, though he can see it still pains her. Looking at her, Belarin can see that she’s suffered no less than his friends since entering the Shadowfell. Though she alone seems unbothered by Syrdan’s absence.

Once they reach the tower wall, but before Kal catches up to them, Histra looks up into the utter dark sky. “I hear you all cursing this place. You will not believe it now, but this world has its beauty. Beyond the veil of this labyrinth, there is a real sky and it has its own character and color. This is not a realm of absolute—or indeed dominant—evil. It is merely a place where mortality is diminished and memory is unbound and therefore deathly things can thrive. Would you call the Thunder Sea an evil place for the sharks that swim within it? There is coral, and luminous creatures, and wondrous depths, too.”

She actually smiles a little. “You’ve seen a least some of its wonders, no? And yes, a kraken, but like some of the powers here, it may have been an intruder—not a native.”

It is unusual to Belarin to see Histra being defensive about Dolurrh.

Kal joins them on the wall, overhearing only some of her words. Histra grows deadly serious again as she addresses both of her fellow humans. “It is difficult to see here—though you may have spied it from the tower—but to the south is one of the labyrinth’s exits. We will make for it directly; I know the way. It is the Drowned Gate, and it is not without dangers but if you follow my lead we can traverse it. Near the gate is the southward cache my family has hidden; there is a store of healing there. We will go there first.”

“There are only two things that concern me: the yugoloth and the ‘emissary’ my cousin spoke of. I have seen a shadow moving about the passages near the keep. I think that is it. It will not dare to harm me but it might harm you. Stay close to me. The yugoloth...I do not know. I believe he only intends me harm, but our numbers may dissuade him from attacking. Then again, we are not at our full strength.” With a hateful smirk she adds, “Though now neither is he.”