The Endless Divide - Episode Ten

==Synopsis:==
Luya Barie set out months ago on an expedition to cross the Endless Divide, also known as The Quiet Lands. She and her crew were seeking the eastern coast of A'lune. No one ever heard back from them until one day, a message was sent to the Court of Abishot through some sort of magic. 25 words came from Barie:
"We almost died on journey. Found massive city in quiet lands. Cannot get back. Too dangerous. Met their wizard. They need help. Safe currently. Luya."
Abishot hired the Whispering Cutlass to seek out this lost city of the Divide and its citizens. Over 100 individuals set out on the journey.
This is the tenth adventure in The Endless Divide Saga.
This leg of the journey featured broken rails, a stalking spirit, and a talkative bug person.
==Client:==
City of Abishot
==Mercenaries:==
*Bandin Volward Deepburrow - Deep Gnome Rogue (Sponsor: Faithful Boar of the Circle of Faith Guild)
*Brutus Logjam - Half-Orc Barbarian (Sponsor: Briney Rickington III of House Stefarni)
*Darksteel - Aasimar Warlock
*Silas Draoi – Half-Elf Sorcerer (Sponsor: Harbormaster Procyon of the Stewards Guild)
*Xane - Genasi Paladin / Cleric (Sponsor: Xilon Harkus Starrati of House Stars)
*Xeithne Aladur - Bugbear Monk (Sponsor: Relenam Heavyfeet of House Stefarni)
==Adventure Summary:==
Day 73 (Starting with 18% Caravan Supplies) With the goal in sight, the caravan pressed through the massive dunes to try to reach the city in the distance. The metal rails they followed led towards the city in a horizontally straight line, the ripple-like dunes rising above and troughing below them, almost like the furrows of a plowed field.
Rather quickly on the day's journey, a metal creature sprang up out of the sand and attacked the caravan. Sowaries reeled back in terror while six Whispering Cutlass mercenaries rushed to the fore, ready to protect their charges. The metal guardian stared them down and awaited their approach.
Darksteel took the first strike from a distance, hanging back by a wagon. With a casual incantation and a flick of his wrist, he released an Eldritch Blast at his foe, nailing it in the chest. A moment later, a Fire Bolt shot from Silas collided with its shoulder, twisting the metal. The creature looked to see who attacked it, but Silas had already hidden behind another wagon for cover.
While the guardian was distracted by the two-pronged assault, Bandin tiptoed to flank it from the south. He nocked an arrow, aimed for a joint in the neck, and released. The arrow soared and drove deep into the creature, a true critical hit. Bandin smiled at that, but didn't waste any time as he attempted to hide underneath a wagon, behind one of its back wheels, to keep out of the creature's sight. From there, he peppered the guardian with arrows, popping out and back under the wheel to keep off the guardian's attention.
Brutus and Xeithne required none of Bandin's subtlety. While Xeithne strafed closer, Brutus pulled a javelin and charged his foe, roaring and Raging, a spiny tail bursting out from his lower back. Some twenty feet away from it, he lobbed his javelin; nevertheless, though staggered, the guardian was ready. It knocked the javelin away with its arm and faced the Half-Orc, ready to brawl.
Xane took the opportunity to move closer and slap his shield, releasing a Toll of the Dead. The creature quivered as its body reverberated to the tone, crackling slightly with necrotic energy, yet it remained facing Brutus. It ran forward to meet him in his charge, raising both fists for a double punch. Brutus caught the first fist and tried to swipe the second away with his tail, but his reaction was too slow, leaving his side vulnerable to the punch. He hardly acknowledged the pain.
Darksteel stepped away from his wagon and fired another Eldritch Blast, but aimed wide. Silas circled closer and tried to drive a Mind Sliver into the guardian, but it shook it off.
Brutus pulled out his greataxe and slashed deep into the creature's torso. While the guardian continued to pummel him with its fists, Xeithne tried to get closer and tossed a dart at it, which struck sand. Meanwhile, both Xane and Darksteel sent out Tolls of the Dead. While the guardian shrugged off Xane's, Darksteel's shook it. This gave Silas time to move between the northwest wagons and cast an intimidating Chaos Bolt, in the hopes that it would attract the creature's attention; but unfortunately, the bolt fizzled short. Silas shrugged and moved back to the safety of a wagon.
Bandin continued his sneaking tactics while Brutus kept on slashing, the guardian pressing its advantage and driving him to his knees. Xeithne moved behind it and thrust her spear, but missed in spectacular fashion, nearly hitting Brutus beyond the guardian. She cursed.
Xane used Toll of the Dead, again rattling the guardian. Seemingly distracted, it missed its next punch against Brutus, but then sent him reeling with an uppercut that sprayed blood out of his mouth and into his eyes. He pawed at it and swung wildly with his axe, but hit air. Still, in spite of his battered, unsteady body, he did not back down.
Darksteel crossed the open sand to reach Silas' wagon, waving a hand to Hex the guardian. Then he crushed into it with another Eldritch Blast. At the same moment, Silas shot off a Fire Bolt, though it barely singed the guardian. He proceeded to hide behind a sowary.
Bandin's arrows continued to fly, the latest one piercing the creature's knee joint. Xeithne finally stabbed into the guardian with her spear and attempted a roundhouse kick, but fell short. She whistled and backpedaled, hoping the guardian would follow her.
It didn't. It punched Brutus in the gut, then slammed down on his shoulder, driving him to his knees. It reeled back for another punch—
—but Xane's Toll of the Dead rang out once more, and finally, the creature would not ignore it. It charged Xane, leaving itself open for an opportune strike from Brutus. Sadly, his swing was limp and merely grazed the guardian's back as it swept past him.
From a safe distance, Darksteel continued his Eldritch Blast barrage. Silas looked between Brutus barely on his feet, Xane cringing at the guardian in his face, and Xeithne futilely trying to get the now-distant guardian's attention, and put his illusion magic to work. After a moment, a scream like that of a dragon emanated from the air around Xeithne. Xeithne initially cowered, unsure of what was going on, but realizing that it was Silas' work aiding her, she rose to her full height and taunted the creature to take her on, lobbing her spear at it. In spite of the odds the spear soared a full sixty feet before plunging into the guardian's leg.
Brutus, meanwhile, felt disrespected by the creature now ignoring him in favor of other foes. He hobbled after it and raked through its back with a powerful slam of his axe.
The guardian continued to press in on Xane, looming over him. It pulled back its fists, and Xane closed his eyes, slamming his shield one last time.
It was enough. This time, when the Toll of the Dead rang out, the guardian's head twitched, collapsing beneath the sonorous weight. It fell to the ground, defeated.
At that moment, Xane winced at a sudden headache. He looked around and saw all of his comrades withering away into necromantic mummies, similar to a vision he'd previously had. He blinked and, knowing it was just in his head, shook it off. The party again looked like themselves a moment later.
After the brutal battle, the mercenaries took a rest to rally. Xeithne retrieved her spear, Brutus used his javelin as a temporary crutch. With a wink, Xane tutted at Brutus, telling the man that it would be easier to heal him if he'd been knocked unconscious. Xeithne joked that she could just whack him over the head so the Grave Cleric could work his best. Brutus chuckled, but said that getting him down would be more trouble than it was worth. Xane settled for a short Lay on Hands, fixing Brutus' most grievous injuries and recommending a good rest after the day's journey.
Silas and Bandin took the time to look over the deceased guardian. None of it was salvageable, but Silas noticed that it had the same markings as were found with the subterranean people, as well as on the dismembered limbs scattered about.
The caravan continued on their journey, Darksteel commenting that his unsettled feeling felt the same. All kept alert for dangers as they crested and descended the rippling dunes, but nothing else challenged them. The only things of note were that the rails they followed were twisted and broken between the dunes, and that the sky had begun to turn a sickly green color.
Travel was slow because of the constant rise and fall of sixty-foot hills, as well as the debris. Xane and Xeithne whispered about how the great worm might have caused the hills. Bandin checked the debris for anything he could salvage, but it was all rusted metal and rotted wood. Silas used his fire magic to melt a bit of the sand, making himself a glass sled to make the descents easier. Bandin watched this for a few hills, then cast a Mage Hand to trip Silas up. It worked, and Silas tumbled off the sled and rolled to the bottom of the hill. He was unharmed, and Bandin pretended that he and his invisible Mage Hand were uninvolved in the incident, but he and Silas did share a moment of silent eye contact and then traded snickers.
As the caravan moved, the ground began to rumble. Brutus tried to determine a pattern to it, but could barely keep focus due to his injuries and gave up. The sky began to change into other colors, all foreboding. Darksteel determined that the colors seemed to be natural rather than magical in nature.
After about ten hills of travel, the caravan reached the top of a hill and were greeted with a rainless lightning storm spread out in front of them. They pressed on as before for a time, until lightning struck mere feet from Bandin, sending him, Xane, and Xeithne flying back from the concussive force. The party kept more distance between each other from that moment on, most blinded by the darkness. Those with darkvision grew disoriented by the lightning storm's strobing effect. Darksteel and Xane decided to cast Light and help the caravan get through, though Brutus pointed to Darksteel's light and said that such a beacon made for quite the bait. The other party members kept away from their lit allies.
The lightning strikes grew more frequent, to the point that the caravan halted in a valley for the night. Silas and Bandin borrowed a sword to make a lightning rod on top of one of the hills as a precaution while the caravan set up camp.
In the darkness of dinner, multiple people noticed an odd shadow passing around the camp. No one could tell if it was one caused by one of the cooking fires, or by lightning strikes, or by a creature.
When it came time to rest, Brutus took the first watch, wanting to have a long, uninterrupted sleep after his duty. He watched people pack up for the night and the settling of a camp at rest. When he was the last person awake, he looked to the distance and watched the lightning grow wild, an entertaining show.
Silas took the second shift. Brutus awakened him with deception, claiming to be his mother, but the deep voice tipped Silas off.
Silas also enjoyed the lightning storm, but after an hour and a half, he became drowsy. His mind wandered through his old life, of school friends and how his native environment was so different compared to the desert. It fascinated him how quickly he learned to change his habits to better endure the heat and sunburns of a desert. Then he practiced his impression of Brutus' mother, hoping to repay the prank someday. He was unconvincing. Thankfully for him, Brutus was deep in slumber and did not awaken to heckle his ally.
Silas was respectful when waking Xane up for his shift, but not gentle. Xane was drowsy and distracted, spending his shift listening to the murmurs of sleepers. He heard a lot of restlessness that made him think of nightmares, but when one person muttered, "cantaloupe," he lost himself trying to figure out what the person could possibly be dreaming about. It made him hungry, and he seemed distracted.
His shift done, Xane shook Xeithne awake. At the touch, she rolled, grabbed him by the collar, and reeled back a fist; but she stopped herself from socking him a moment before the blow.
Xane was unperturbed. He told her to get up for her shift, and she nodded.
Xeithne started her watch looking over a small piece of rotted wood she'd picked up along the way, but spent most of her shift feeling the rumbling of the earth. Small avalanches began to occur, covering people in sand. She promptly dug them out, but as she did, a strange shadow passed over her vision. It seemed to be almost a face, and it came from behind her eyes. It left her rattled and glaring at the horizon. When she awakened Darksteel for his shift, he noticed her discomfort. As she climbed on top of a wagon and sat to continue watching, she explained that she'd seen something and wanted to make sure it wasn't real. Darksteel climbed up with her and pressed her for information. She said it seemed like something dark was inside of her. Her voice trailed off, and a moment later she told him not to concern himself.
Darksteel was not willing to leave Xeithne to her paranoia. He reminded her that hallucinatory magic existed, which could explain her experience. Perhaps someone was just pranking her. Xeithne's brow rose at that, remembering Silas' Minor Illusion trick from earlier. Still, she was unconvinced, wondering who would pull such a trick on the watchman. Darksteel supposed that it might have been someone training, and Xeithne was the only one awake on which to practice. Xeithne agreed that it was a possibility. She smiled at Darksteel, told him that she would consider his wisdom, and slapped his arm.
The moment they touched, thunder rang out. Xeithne's eyes narrowed, head cocked as if she heard something. Darksteel went to begin his watch, but Xeithne remained where she was, alert.
While on watch, Darksteel noticed Bandin wriggling down into the ground, like a snow angel. Disturbed by the sight, he tried to wake Bandin, but failed. Bandin began to gasp as if something was choking him, so Darksteel awakened the other mercenaries.
Silas saw Bandin and immediately jumped into action, casting Calm Emotions. It had no effect, and as soon as it was cast, Silas cried out in pain, witnessing an unpleasant vision.
Shortly after, Bandin's eyes burst open. Still writhing, he babbled in a language none could understand. A wave of psychic energy struck the mercenaries, damaging them all and momentarily stunning Silas, Xane, and Darksteel.
Bandin remained trapped, his arms, neck, and legs bruising as if being pulled down by chains. Behind his head, a shadow-cloaked spectre rose from the sand and glared at the party. It phased through Bandin, hurtling towards Silas. Silas raised his arms to block the attack, but the creature moved right through them. It grabbed his face and screamed into it, bursting a blood vessel in one of his eyes; then it continued through him, aiming at another mercenary.
While Bandin continued babbling, getting progressively louder, Silas whirled around and cast Dissonant Whispers on the spectre, keeping close to it. Brutus howled in a Rage, his hands transforming into claws. He ran to Silas' side and thrust his claws into the spectre. It seethed at the attack, though the shadows mostly swirled around the less-than-effective attack.
As soon as the spectre rose, Xeithne stood to her feet and snarled at it, knowing that it was the face she saw behind her eyes. She leapt off the wagon and tried to stab it, but failed. Her second attack, a flick of her finger aimed at its head, caused it to flinch. With graceful bounds, Xeithne stepped away from it, moving behind Darksteel.
Xane tried to keep his distance while using a Toll of the Dead, and Darksteel put thirty feet between himself and Xeithne, keeping far from the spectre. He Hexed it and tossed an Eldritch Blast, though it missed.
The creature once more screamed, this time phasing through Brutus and heading towards Xane. Silas, the spectre no longer facing him, backpedaled, cringing as he left himself vulnerable to a strike; but to his surprise, the spectre kept its focus on Xane. Silas sent out a Chaos Bolt, but missed.
Brutus continued to rip chunks of shadow out of the creature while Xeithne tried to prod and provoke it before dancing away again. Xane, afraid but staring the creature down, raised his hands and whispered a prayer. Another layer of miasma coated the spectre as Xane's Bane took effect, slowing its movements.
At that moment, a gust of force pushed through the spectre, blowing Xane's hair back. Darksteel had hit it with a resounding Eldritch Blast. This caught the creature's attention, which turned from Xane and instead flew beside Xeithne. It wailed, and Xeithne, Silas, and Darksteel all flinched. They saw ghosts all around them, and in a frenzy, they lashed out at the ghosts; but in an instant, they disappeared, merely illusions.
Xeithne cursed and Silas threw out another Chaos Bolt. This one struck through the spectre, leaving a hole for a moment that shadows filled.
Suddenly, Bandin sat up, the babbling ceased. He glared at the spectre and, though half-buried by his writhing, dragged himself out, ready to obliterate the creature.
But he never reached it. Again ignored by a foe, Brutus snarled. He pulled out his greataxe, charged the spectre, and with an overhead strike, cut it clean in half.
Time seemed to stop. A burst of energy, something—arcane, demonic, celestial, no one could tell—smashed into the group. It hit Brutus first, and as it did, his axe transformed, the steel becoming black, the low-grade wood turning an ashen color, but still strong.
No one had time to notice as the wave knocked them all off their feet. All felt their consciousnesses go elsewhere. They heard voices screaming: "They're gone, they're gone," "He's missing, where did he go?" "I don't know." They heard reports of a southern rebellion and the eastern factions creating a blockade. They heard wizards talking about how to enhance "them," they saw knights of the highest honors and best armor, and then they saw those people tied to slabs with magic pouring into them from another plane.
Each person felt an incantation spoken over them. They felt insomnia, their eyes refusing to close, forgetting how sleep feels as their bodies refused to rest. A wave of cold, their throats tightened, thoughts drifted to lives they'd not experienced. Wives, brothers, sons, people flashing in their minds. They nearly remembered a name, so close to the tip of their tongues, while they felt lost. The faces of loved ones disappeared, and they heard a voice: "Their will is too weak to bind them to—"
Then, nothing.
Sometime later, all awoke, gasping for air, back in the desert and its lightning storm.
Bandin rubbed his throat and shook, realizing he almost died. He knew that he had been cursed, that this creature attacked them because of him. He told the caravan that they need to get to the city as soon as possible, as he was sick of the desert.
Day 74 (17% Caravan Supplies)
As the party crested the final dune, they saw that the city before them had a huge moat. In the moat and continuing to carve it, the giant worm circled the city, trying to get it.
The rails the party followed continued towards the city's gates, and at the moat, the rails were twisted and bent, but it appeared that people had previously tried to restore them enough to create a bridge to the city. Racing to do the same before the worm returned, the mercenaries set to work. Bandin sat on his Floating Disk and used it to speed build while Brutus used the levitation he gained in the Feylands to his advantage. Silas and Darksteel used Mage Hands to build out of danger. Xeithne balanced on the rails with a dancer's grace and helped keep Xane steady, who bemoaned his lack of wings. In time, the bridge was built, and some of the mercenaries crossed over.
But on the other side, they encountered an invisible barrier that prevented them from entering the city. Brutus and Xane locked eyes, and Bandin and Silas nodded to each other. All concluded that this was perhaps why the worm couldn't enter the city.
Darksteel threw sand. It hit the barrier and slid off. Then, without any pretense of discretion, he pulled something out of his pocket, kept it covered, and pressed it to the barrier. In an instant, he was pushed back and tumbled head over heels down to the bottom of the pit. His pride was more hurt than his body, but he scrambled to get out of the chasm before the worm crushed him.
Bandin pulled out his glass dagger and tried to pierce the wall. The dagger, too, was flung back.
As Bandin poked the barrier with a mage hand, the insectoid friend who had joined the party made it across the bridge. He looked around, looked at the city, looked at the mercenaries. He pointed beyond the barrier and, to the surprise of many, spoke verbally: "That sigil on the door over there, it's like the sigils on all the dismembered limbs and those plates we have. Maybe we need some of that stuff."
The mercenaries blinked collectively, got across the wagon with the plates, and pressed one to the wall. The person holding it passed through without resistance, though when they tried to toss the plate back, it couldn't pass back through the barrier.
Over the next three hours, the caravan made its way over the bridge, people clustering in wagons that had one of the plates attached to them. At one point, the worm came around and destroyed the makeshift bridge, but no one was harmed. It was merely an inconvenience.
==Outcome:==
After all had gotten through the barrier, the caravan entered the city. They were immediately greeted by Luya Barie, who smiled and told them it had taken them long enough to get there.
==Adventure Rewards:==
Brutus' greataxe transformed.
==Notes:==
*Left blank until the saga day count gets corrected in other adventures.
Endless Divide - 10