To the Blending Circle

### Journey to the Blending Circle

The fight at the Abbey Beodrahn was difficult, and the party was relieved that it was over. There were jokes about opening a roadside inn at the Abbey once all this was over...it did have a nice view, the walls were still sturdy, and it could hold several guests. I think the smell of the biscuits that were baking in the kitchen while they fought back the Order also inspired the thought. However, no roadside inn for the moment, as the party ventured back into the Ffydd Mountains.

They knew they wanted to get at least a couple days away before carefully investigating all of the books and scrolls and information that they had gathered. They were pretty sure that two of the Order had escaped during the fight, Oostrahn the Vicar, and Jharen the Harbinger, and so any distance they could put between themselves and the Abbey would probably be wise. Perhaps those escapees would come back with reinforcements, although given the desolation of the area, it was difficult to know how close reinforcements would actually be. Regardless, it was time to move on.

   One night in the foothills of the Ffydd Peaks, the party was beset upon by a pair of opaque black, faceless, tailed, winged humanoid creatures, hovering in to see what havoc they could bring to the party. The battle with these ***Watchers*** was brutal, but the party was prepared.

To some extent the small hill by which they camped served as almost a greater challenge, Tindora, for one, having failed to climb in several successive attempts. Fortunately, the party would prevail against this pair of outsiders and the party would be able to rest peacefully as they continued their journey.

The journey continued for a couple days as the party started to climb the ancient road into the Ffydd Mountains. The days were mostly quiet, with only small game and birds to be seen, but one night would bring more danger to their midst. On one grey evening, the party camped along a circuitous trail climbing the peaks, and Aterean and Hormish heard the sounds of large wings approaching. Would it be a larger version of the Watchers? Not this time. Instead the beastly monstrosities known as the Manticores had found their camp.

They are ferocious beasts, and the poison in the tail spikes was well-known to all. The party quickly arose to the challenge and attacked the beasts, trying to get rid of them before they could get their claws in deep on the party's less protected members. It was not to be the day for the Manticores, and the party continued their journey towards the Blending Circle.

### Arrival at the Circle

When the party reached the end of the road, they saw the triptiks of the Blending Circle, high on a bluff bordering on a very deep ravine. The road snaked along the bluffs, but the party needed to investigate first.

Zak went ahead and turned into a mist, allowing him to circle the camp and the bluff, revealing what he could about the Blending Circle. The Circle had 7 triptiks and a large arch. Inside the circle was a very large magic circle surrounded by the bone tripods that were the symbol of summoning Visages of Uthargot. A terrible realization indeed.

Zak also saw that there was some magical force spread between the triptiks, perhaps an alarm system, or perhaps something worse. There were a couple guards awake on a camp outside the circle, and a smaller tent inside the circle was left uninvestigated for now. Zak also saw one of the hated Order that had escaped from the Abbey, the flying, invisible bone-sword wielder named Jharen. Perhaps these members of the Order were on the lookout, but right now, they only had a couple guards apparently awake.

Zak returned to recounted his scouting mission. The party now formed a plan. Potions and magic rings and necklaces were at the ready. The storms were brewing overhead so Aterean could bring down some power of nature. Wubba prepared his new Fireball spell, and the party stealthily ventured forth.

### The Attack at the Circle

Zak, Tindora and a Giant Rate summoned by Aterean got the jump on a couple of the guards by the outer tent. There was nothing that the paralyzed guards could do when Wubba cast a fireball deep into the tent, and then was followed by blasts of lightning called down by Aterean. A party approached the outer tent and completely took the guards by surprise. A few moments later, the guards they had just killed rose as ghouls, but the ghouls were taken down as well, with little damage done to the party.

The lightning continued to fall on the tripods up around the circle as the party moved up towards the main entry arch. What the party found then, was that 2 of the Order had covered themselves with some sort of obscuring domes, making them extremely hard to target. In addition, a series of Nether Pillars were starting to block the way by the main arch, and it also appeared that some of the Visages were being summoned.

The party quickly changed their focus to the upper circle to see if they could stop the Visages from being summoned and to take care of these 2 obscured Order members. But this Herald and Abbot of the Order would not make it easy for them. The Herald created a rift that pulled a few of them back and stretched them through magical force, while he continued to create more of the Nether Pillars. The Abbot continued around to the other bone tripods, and it became apparent that he was trying to summon Visages to help their cause.

Brynda found out the hard way that crossing between the triptiks would be a dangerous option, as electicity painfully surged through her body. When Hormish, Brocktharian and Freya broke into the hard obscuring and damaging barrier of Orkahn, the Herald, all it took was one swing from Hormish, and Orkahn seemed to instantly retreat to where his ally, the Abbot, was located. Then, to make matters worse, the Nether Pillars completely blocked the archway, and Jharen, the Harbinger, had arrived to help his fellow Order members. Fortunately, the party was able to destroy most of the bone tripods before ANY of the Visages were able to show up. With hammer and bow and lightning, these nefarious creatures would not be assisting the Order this day. When the Abbot and Harbinger closed to fight Brocktharian, he responded by invoking the Circle of Shadows that they had gotten off of the neck of the dead Abbot of the Abbey Beodrahn, Akakruhn. The shadowy hands pulled down both the Abbot and Harbinger, making them easy targets for the party. It looks like the battle is in the hands of the party, but who knows what will happen next?

The Herald attempted to use his powers over the fabric of space to switch the positions of Jharen, the Harbinger, and Wubba, but Wubba was able to resist the magical tear in space. This gave the rest of the group the opportunity to pound the living daylights out of Jharen. He may have escaped his rightful demise at the Abbey, but it would not happen again at the Blending Circle. Although Indron, the Order priest had his Shadow Barrier up, sending waves of force arcana against the party, Freya jumped into the battle and brought down Hrongmar repeatedly upon the head of the devotee of the Order, ending his dread existence. In the meantime, however, this gave the Herald Orkahn just enough chance to disappear and slip away, leaving no footprints behind. Perhaps another of his tricks of moving in time and space allowed the vile creature to run away.

As the party destroyed the last of the 7 bone tripods and orbs that could summon the Visages of Uthargot, they were met with a strange event. The ground in the center of the large circle opened up and revealed a spiral staircase heading down into the earth. They also noticed that the large magic circle which surrounded this staircase was inscribed with the following:

*Lord Unraveler uses our primordial flesh to bridge the worlds and create the new paradigm All shall fall asunder to the new world of our Lord.*

The party retrieved the dead Indron's Mace that caused the Shadow Barrier and some scrolls in the chests in the tents around the camp. They also found more documents indicating the plans and nature of the Order which included both new and old names with whom they were familiar.

As they contemplated their situation, they realized that some of the letters that were addressed to Akakruhn, the Abbot at the Abbey Beodrahn, were from the vile Herald Orkahn, who escaped their grasp this time.

As they rested briefly, they noticed that a strange red beam burst from the stairwell, sending Tindora, Hormish and Brynda aside as they guarded it. The beam was there for only a brief second, but the guardians of Banor noticed that there was something strange moving through the beam into the sky. A creature unlike anything they had seen before.

What horrors were these members of the Order creating on our lands?!?!?

They did not see another beam for a few minutes after, so the party regrouped and headed down into the mysterious depths that the stairway provided.

In the bowels of the earth, the found a strange large rectangular chamber which was normal at the bottom of the stair's landing, but then was strangely obscuring as they looked across it. They could see another small area relatively in focus at a distance of at least 200' that had a large 10' pink ellipsoidial orb on it, but nothing other than obscuring floor between them.

When the party moved out into the space between the two areas, they were immediately confronted with warped space. What they thought would be 200' away was modified and mangled; a true distortion of perspective and existence for they to behold.

Far away, the group saw an amorphous figure moving towards them, also moving through strange, bewildering spaces and distances, until it finally approached them. Brocktharian rushed up to face whatever beast threatened their party, but the Nygroth was ready, slicing at the brave paladin with his mighty and gigantic claws, and opening its strange head to reveal a horrible beam of power capable of causing grievous injury. What madness could create such a foe?!?!?

The battles would be terrible in this strange world below the Blending Circle. No one could easily tell the distances of even their friends, let alone their foes. Ever so often another creature of bewildering form, ability and aim would spawn near this strange orb at the end of the room, and the party would have to find a way to defeat them. What a tragedy to befall on our heroes!

Time and time again, the creatures would be summoned and time and time again, our heroes would face them with their last dying breath. Freya, Hormish, Brocktharian, each of them would stay the course and face the incredible evil that awaited them. What was going on in this realm of strange dimensions? It was so difficult to tell.

When they finally vanquished the beastly Nygroth, it transformed into some sort of humanoid, not unlike what had happened with the Visages of Uthargot from before; yet this time, the humanoid was still alive! This half-elf named Kazin was able to assist the party right away, as they fought these horrible beasts.

Each member of the team did their best to assist or strike against the outsider foes beyond them. At one point, Freya had doubts about her resolve, but her mighty hammer Hrongmar guided her forward, bringing righteous justice against these creatures that sought the destruction and disruption of our world. At no point was anyone truly safe from the foes they faced, whether they be Ragged-Ur or Marchiosas or Biborg or Azgwad, but they would hold strong even if they fell unconscious in their commitment.

Foe after foe fell, but it was a concerted effort to damage and destroy the Orb at the far end of the chamber. When it fell, so did the strange creatures which were summoned by the Orb. The strange thing was that as the fight progressed, there were messages being perceived by the party. What did they mean? What was going on? The party contemplated their words, but it was clear to them that this Orb must be broken for they to survive.

When the Orb finally was broken, the strange outsiders did dissipate. But the thoughts about what voices they heard from the Orb did not dissipate as quickly. From what each person in the party remembered, they heard the following entering their heads from whatever was present in the Orb:

1. You are bothering me…I need to finish.  I’m not done yet…far from done.
2. I am bothered – disturbed – this is disturbing to me  -- I want to know what you are doing!
3. Something is releasing….Can you speak to me?  I hear nothing from you – you need to tell me more – I see so much and I have strangely spent so much time here – why am I here?
4. I think I am still at home --- I feel voices coming – I think I’m losing focus again….again…

What is this madness?!? Yet the voices have dissipated yet again and the Blending Circle is still without foe, or worry, or horror.

The party went on, leaving the horrible circle, heading back up the road from whence they came. They had indications that perhaps they needed to venture further from the maps and writings that they found at the camp site. But should they go?

Later that night, Wubba was awoken again with a strange message from Dreamwarden Elyndor Eseyn, a message of information that might provide understanding as well as guide them forth in their quest for peace in all Eirethune.

In Wubba's sleep, he was presented with the following....

*The fight in the east continues.  Carndred has not suffered, but there have been a few observed rifts in the land. Somehow, these rifts have generated strange creatures that apparently have been synthesized from multiple worlds.  It is said that West Eye had a terrible explosion where some lives were lost to these creatures, but they were able to reinforce the area and bravely fight back the emerging creations.*

*There, too, they have seen the multiple vision-streams, which probably serve as the catalysts for the rifts. Fortunately, there was an unexpected event which has helped the effort there. A disruption in the forces corrupting the world occurred, which was enough to help West Eye push back against the Rifts. A victory for us all.*

*I have also heard some news from Angleside.  There was a camp of the Order not far from Portmunt, a bit inside the Chwaer Wood.  Before the camp was approached, many of the higher members of the Order had already left, taking some of the initiates deeper into the wood.   There was thought that these higher-ups in the Order could be taking refuge in either Canbrunt or perhaps even as far as Gorbin, old settlements present in the ancient Wood.  With that in mind, Lady Sylea Rhiddar accompanied a small force to Canbrunt to investigate.*

*The Lady had found that Canbrunt had been changed, in a way not dissimilar to West Eye.  Where a town once sat, a hole in the fabric of our world now stood, with funnels of strange power blasting in and out, mutating the stability of the region.  Lady Rhiddar fought a few of the Order and some strange creatures that were there, but she was forced to retreat from the field, although not without doing damage to these fiends as well.  Lady Rhiddar sent word south and waited for reinforcements to attempt to at least encircle what became of Canbrunt.*

*Again, fortune served our cause. There was a moment where the funnels burst and exploded which damaged the Order and creatures at Canbrunt, allowing Lady Rhiddar’s forces some leeway in being able to cordon off these foes in the wood.  They fight there still, but we believe the tide is turning.*

*It is clearly good that we gained from these disruptions, helping our allies in West Eye and Canbrunt; and as such, we must investigate more ways of disrupting these streams and rifts, as I have a sense that you have at least been near something of that ilk.*

*If you can at least find, or maybe even disrupt, the great black vision-stream emanating from the Ffydd Mountains, we may be able to do something much more significant in fighting back; there might be enough of a jolt to their power to enable us to recover and destroy some of these portals and rifts that are plaguing these hamlets on the outskirts of the Mote.  Of course, who knows what a large disruption will truly do, but I don’t believe it will be worse than what we’re currently experiencing.  I suspect that the source of the stream is likely to be in the ruined Halls of the Dwarven Kings. Many centuries ago, there was a Demon War where the Dwarven lords fell, but not before they trapped some manifestation or Echo of the Unraveler deep in their halls. I suspect this Echo might be reaching out and working with the Order, contributing to the vision streams that are ruining our lands.  Whatever lurks in those Halls may not be under the control of the Order, but it is what remains lingering from whatever fought the Dwarves so many centuries ago.*

*Seek what you can for this great, black stream.  Find something to help our communal cause if you are able.*

## Links

Previous, The Abbey Beodrahn

Next, The Halls of the Ffydd Dwarves