Runelords 21.0 - What Lay Beneath the Lake

Hastening as best they could, the group sped away from the Gruul Homestead and back towards the road from Turtleback Ferry. When they were reasonably sure they were no longer being chased, they slowed their pace to a jog, still carrying the three unconscious Black Arrows. Luna fell behind a bit, fussing over her appearance: the giant spider, Biggun, had gashed her seriously, and the tears in her clothes and skin were both obvious and glaring for their lack of blood and pain. Khyrralien fell back as well, inquiring as to her problem, and when Luna flustered self-consciously, Aldern snapped at the fey, showing a confrontational edge that seemed out-of-place for him. Khyr was visibly offended by the rudeness, but Luna cut them both off, not wanting any sort of argument. She drank all of the negative energy infusions she had made that day, which was barely enough magic to heal the wounds completely, leaving her appearance disheveled but not inhuman to the casual observer. With a flick of his ears, Khyrralien fell out of step with them, and Luna turned her attentions to the rescued mercenaries, seeing if there was anything she could do to help them as they made their way back to town.
As they made it into the church, the rain still pouring as heavily as it had for the last few days, they found Virgil, who had evaded his pursuer and beaten them back. Turning the three over to the care of the infirmary, the medic told them that they needed rest and food, and should come back later in the evening if they wanted to speak to them. Ilsa stayed with them, along with Keb, and kept vigil by Jack's bedside.
Stepping into the rainy courtyard, they saw that, while they had been gone, a large blue tent had been set up in the square. Inside the small opening, they saw a shopping stall had been set up, run by a kobold with blue facepaint. The kobold welcomed the shoppers, introducing herself as Meli and explaining that rain or shine, she was always there on market day. There was only enough room for two people at a time, so Virgil and Khyrralien looked over the wares first. Meli, indeed one of the Shivering Ones, enthusiastically helped them and pointed out specials; everything in her tent was in some way able to produce fire, or reacted in a volatile nature. Virgil had his eye on a particular scimitar, a curious piece that was somehow able to produce flaming blows without being enchanted, and Khyrralien graciously bought it for him when he was short on cash; as a thanks, Virgil bought him in turn some vials of extremely volatile alchemist's fire in small, fancy bottles which could be used to adorn his antlers. Luna and Eamon peeked in when the other two left, whereupon Luna had a pleasant chat with the proprietor about her past dealings with the Shivering Ones, and bought some extremely volatile gunpowder as well. When they came back out, they found that Virgil and Khyr had already wandered away on their own business, leaving them in the streets. With a shrug, Eamon declared that he was going to go back to the church and await the awakening of the prisoners; with only the vague direction to meet up "later in the evening" to speak to the rescued individuals, Luna and Aldern returned to the inn to get dry.
Meanwhile, Virgil and Khyrralien had pressing matters to investigate. First, they stopped a passer-by and inquired as to the location of a certain address that they had picked up from Medinipur: the forwarding address of Koume Kamun. The man told them that yes, there was a woman staying at that address, but that she hadn't been there much at all since arriving a few months ago. Rather, she had been spending almost all her time at the dam at Skull's Crossing, staying in a cabin and researching something or other. The pair told him that she was a criminal and that they had come from Medinipur to apprehend her; this news surprised him, and he said that though he didn't know anything else about her, he would be sure to tell them if he saw her around. Thanking him, they went to the house in question. It was a small cottage, and breaking in was a simple manner. Inside, the place was empty and appeared nearly unused, though a smattering of notes, maps and study sheets were strewn about on a table. Collecting up everything to go over later, Virgil left a signed cheeky note to Koume, thanking her for the reading.
Following that, the two strutted about town on a fact-finding venture. They learned that several decades ago, there was a terrible rainstorm, just like the one they were currently experiencing, that had lasted day after day after day. The old man who recalled it said that it had been blamed on a witch who could control the weather, though her personally thought this notion silly: if there were people who could control the weather, they'd never have drought or floods. At any rate, the rains had just stopped one day, as he was sure these would do in time. They learned about the local myths of a sea monster: a black beast that slept in the local riverways. Some thought it lived in the lake whose shores Turtleback was built on, others believed it was upstream in the reservoir, while others thought it swam up and down the rivers. Finally, they managed to track down a man who was willing to talk, albeit briefly, about the seven-pointed star tattoos. He himself had one, though he made Virgil and Khyr swear not to tell his wife: it was proof of premium membership at the Paradise casino, which had sunk so recently, and had been owned and operated by an overwhelmingly charming and beautiful red-haired woman. The two looked at each other, reminded immediately of the lamia in Medinipur, and thanked the man for his time.
When they finished, they meandered back to the church. They found Eamon inside, and went to check on the patients. Jack had regained consciousness, and was weakly sitting up with Ilsa. He thanked them sincerely for the rescue, and told them the tale of how they had come there. Jack and his contingent had been out on a scouting mission; when they returned, they found that Fort Rannick had been captured by the Kreeg ogre clan. They fought against the invaders but were repelled, and those who lived had had to flee. However, in their zeal to escape, they ran into the Gruul's territory and were captured; only him and his two compatriots had managed to survive. Ilsa swore to help him take back the fort, even if it was the last thing they did; the extraplanars offered their assistance in turn, and were thanked for their offer. It was decided that they would give Jack as long as he needed to get his strength back before launching an attack, and the goods that they had stolen from the basement of the Gruul house were given over to him to go through when he was better, so that he and his could reclaim their belongings. With his thanks, they left Jack to rest with Ilsa watching over him. Meandering over to the bar for food and to discuss with Eamon what they had learned, the three retired for the evening. Luna and Aldern dropped in on the recovering mercenaries later, and were kept abreast of the situation.
It was determined that, since they needed to wait for Jack and his men to rest up in order to take back Fort Rannick, the group would go to the reservoir and look for Koume the next morning. So it was that Virgil, Eamon, Khyrralien, Luna and Aldern headed back out to the river and caught a ferry to the base of the dam. They found a huge staircase fashioned from large-cut stones winding its way up the side of the cliff in which the dam was built. As they went to climb them, Eamon managed to slip and fall twice on the first stair, twisting his ankles painfully. Worse though was when he reached the top, whereupon he slipped a third time and managed to send himself painfully tumbling all the way back to the riverbed, two hundred feet down. With everyone wondering exactly how cursed the stairs could be that they tried to kill Eamon so painfully, the angel decided that this was enough, unfurling his wings and flying to the top, avoiding the issue altogether. 
At the top of the dam, they could see that the reservoir had become dangerously swollen with all the rain; the waters lapped at the top of the stone barricade, bravely holding the torrent back from the city downstream. A small cottage could be seen on the far bank, likely their intended destination, however two other sights distracted them. First, what appeared to be a figure on a boat floated in the center of the lake, where an unnatural clearing in the storm left it dry from the rain. Second, and more pressing, was the group of four ogres who stood on the dam itself, vigorously hammering at it with picks and aiming to destroy it. Needing to stop them straight away before all of Turtleback was threatened, Eamon had Invisibility and Enlarge Person cast upon him by the others before he flew out to where the ogres worked. Without hesitation, Eamon flew straight into the first one, knocking him off the far edge of the dam and sending him crashing two hundred feet to the basin below. The ogres saw the now-visible Eamon, his rage transforming him into a silent, many-eyed terror, and they attempted to defend themselves. The angel picked them off one by one, knocking them off the side, until only one remained. Overcome with fear and exhaustion from working ceaselessly, he tried to stagger away, pleading for his life; he tried to make for an outlook post in the center of the dam, but was cut off by Eamon, who herded him back towards the others. The ogre pleaded and cried, saying he was only following orders. They questioned him as he scuttled towards them, and he revealed that he had come from the ogre clan holding Fort Rannick, and was following the commands of his chief, who had received the order from the red-haired woman who was manipulating them. With a blunt order to inform the chief that there would be no more demolition, the adventurers sent the mewling ogre away. A quick investigation of the outpost revealed nothing of importance other than an enchanted pair of lady's gloves, and a set of stairs leading down into the dam. Deciding that the interior of the wall was less pressing than Koume or the figure in the boat, the group left.
Crossing to the far side of the reservoir, the group approached the small cottage without hesitation or concern. Without heed, they walked directly to the door and pulled it open, interrupting a meeting that seemed to be taking place within. Two of the three women were recognizable: Koume herself, and the teifling woman who had been acting as an orderly in the sanitorium; both looked at the doorway with shock, anger, and instant recognition of the interlopers. The third woman was strikingly beautiful, with pale skin and bright red hair; though she was not identical to the woman who called herself the Mistress of Seven, it was an easy assumption to think her her sister. The sight of that woman, the one who undoubtedly sought to damn the town and the Black Arrows, caused the adventurers to pause and rethink their ill-conceived actions. As the teifling screamed in anticipation of vengeance for her sister, the adventurers moved to slam the door and flee, while the red-haired woman smiled patiently and informed Koume that she was out of time. The last thing they noticed before closing the door and running to the lake was the woman beginning to cast a spell. The weather suddenly took a turn for the even-worse, as thunder and lightning joined the pouring rain in the black sky.
Eamon and Virgil took flight, telling the others to swim and make for the boat on the lake; Luna paused and tossed Khyrralien an infusion she had made that morning which would allow him to breathe underwater. Grateful, the fey drank it and the three plunged into the water, opting to make their way along the lake bed as quickly as possible, seeing as how none of them were accomplished swimmers.
As Virgil and Eamon flew threw the darkening storm, they suddenly emerged in a clear, open spot in the rain curiously lingering over a wooden raft. However, what they had assumed to be a figure was instead a plain metal rod jutting up from the raft's center. Before they could determine what it might be for, their attention was distracted by two things: the rain suddenly closing in on them, bringing the curtain of rain and lightning ever closer, and the sound of furious war-cries as the teifling woman flew towards them, carried by a spell and driven by her rage. Eamon prepared to fight as Virgil cast spells at her; the first two didn't take, but the third dispelled her flight, sending her careening down into the lake. The storm had closed in though, and the pair was forced to land on the raft, tossed about on the vicious waves and soaked by the torrential rain. As they tried to get their bearings, a flash of lightning lit the skies and thunder ripped the air, as a bolt struck the metal rod in the raft, channeling the electricity down into the lake. The men decided that this couldn't possibly end well and began to destroy the boat, hoping to topple the lightning rod. As they began, the rageful woman who pursued them climbed on as well, and turned her sword on Eamon.
Those who ran along the lake bed noticed something strange in the turbulent waters, as they went in the direction the two others had flown in: a large metal chain tethering something floating on the surface to a huge glass canister resting on the ground. The canister was filled with some sort of black liquid, so dark as to suck the light from the very world around it, ominous and alien. As they wondered what it might be, they could hear a muffled crack of thunder, and saw a flash of electricity run down the chain. The energy rushed into the canister, and a small crack formed where the chain met the glass. The three looked in panic and immediately resolved to sever the chain, before the jar could shatter and unleash whatever dark thing was locked within.
Despite their best efforts, Virgil managing to burn and tip the raft and Aldern snapping the chain using Khyr's sword, it was too late: with three lightning strikes, a small chunk of glass, barely a few inches wide, popped out of the cracked container and with it, black ooze began to emanate from the hole. It roiled and began to form into a tentacled, almost creature-like shape, emanating a darkness and drawing everything near it into an inescapable void of perception. All of the magic that the three swimmers possessed was suddenly dispelled, most importantly being the Water Breathing spell on Khyr, who struggled to surface before he drowned. Luna and Aldern made for the surface as well: none of them were wizards, and none had any hope of stopping that black essence from escaping. When they surfaced to find Virgil and Eamon struggling to fly in the stormy skies above the raging water, they shouted to them, explaining what was coming. The angel and devil nodded to each other, and through their combined efforts, they plunged themselves headlong into the water and sank themselves to the ground while the other three, and the teifling, swam for their lives.
It was obvious that only magic would seal the container again, but the only spell they had was Virgil's knowledge of the Mending cantrip. Praying that it could be enough, Eamon worked to plug the hole where the inky void-liquid was escaping in order to give Virgil the opening he needed to cast the spell, since trying to work magic in the presence of this arcana-absorbing blackness was proving difficult. First, Eamon shoved Alaznist's ranseur into the gap, and he watched as the enchantments on it were sucked dry, leaving the weapon broken and dull. It wasn't enough: though Virgil had managed to cast the spell twice and the cracks in the container were knitting, the blackness shoved the weapon aside and continued to pour out, the fresh tendril stretching out to rejoin with the blackness that was already free, and closing itself around the two men, blotting out their senses and minds. In a last ditch effort, Eamon shoved a potion bottle into the hole, watching as the colour and potency faded away from the liquid within it, but also successfully slowing the leakage once again. With one final effort before the blackness consumed them both, Virgil cast the spell once more, putting every effort he had into the task. After that, everything went dark, and it was as though Virgil and Eamon ceased to exist.
When the two men regained consciousness, they quickly realized that they were drowning. Struggling to the surface, they coughed and spluttered, limbs cold and heavy, minds fuzzy and confused. The dark tentacled creature, if it truly was a being, was gone; the canister was whole, and the black liquid was contained within, though perhaps with a bit less depth to its inky emptiness. With what little strength they had, the two pulled themselves to shore. The weather had cleared, and the lake, though still threatening to overflow the dam, was beginning to calm.
As the group of five lay gasping and licking their wounds on the riverbank, a strange, overpowering feeling overtook them. A sixth person was suddenly in their midst: a strange being, neither male nor female, who emanated raw power. It spoke in an airy manner, patronizing and ill-defined, shuffling the extraplanars' ailments around with a wave of their hand. When they changed the topic to the current events, they said that one of the spokes of the wheel, one of the eight schools of arcana, was out of balance; abjuration had become significantly more powerful in this area. The adventurers knew it was the black fluid in the canister: the being presented them with three vials of it, calling it ithelium, the raw, distilled form of Abjuration. It was then that the airy person scolded them: it knew they were extraplanars and had no business being on Materia, certainly not meddling with something as important as the balance of arcana. The three men were crestfallen: this was Tessirade, the Materian god of magic, come to punish them for their transgressions. The god looked at them and smiled to itself: it said that if the three wanted to help Materia as badly as they seemed to, then who were they to deny their assistance? He waved his hand, and suddenly Eamon, Virgil and Khyrralien were not the same as they had been. The god smiled, proclaimed its work done, and vanished.
Category:Rise of the Runelords