The Saga of Jasp the Resplendent 10-10-132021

This one  arrived at The Fortress of Swordhaven on the tenth day of Decimus in the year 132021. Upon my arrival, I put the people who I found there to the question of whether or not they would be willing to serve in their afterlife, if I served them in their life as friend and ally. There were some who were reticent, such as the man Bartholomew and the cat person Tal Ka-rabe, but for the most part people seem disinterested in the affairs of their body after the kaa leaves it,  and so I found myself much pleased by my future prospects. Now, only to live until such time as I can make good on these promises.

It was not long before a Keeper arrived, telling us of an issue in the land of Zod. It seems as though the air purifying system there is a sentience in some way, and what I found was that my fellow Defenders had made a deal with one air purifier, that we would aid another. And so as a show of good faith to my new friends, I went with them through the ring gates to the land of Zod. What we found there, through the broken land, was upon a high hill a device still functioning from the time of the ancients. We could not immediately interact with it, however, for a group of savage ape men accosted us.

We fought them bitterly, putting some to the sword.  I animated one to serve me, a first taste of what I would come to find was a common occurrence here. I believe without malice that Takeo Kuro was more often a slave of the wills of myself or Raphalisa than was under his own mind and spirit. We discovered that the Primitives had no real understanding of how to deal with the air compressor- perhaps unsurprising- but we were able to communicate with it through the Resplendence, and we discovered that it could be repaired. It seemed that there were spores, blowing along the wind from some distant place which were causing it to clog. To my great satisfaction, I found these spores could be used in my necromantic practices, and so I collected some greedily, attempting to keep them from my cohort.

We followed the spores overland, until we found ourselves in the midst of a fog of spores, where we were forced to wait until the wind turned, after which we found that we were downhill from a mushroom ring where a sorcerous fungus had reanimated the corpses of the dead. There was a brief parlay, but no real agreement could be found with such an alien intelligence, which sought only to make use of our bodies as fertilizer for its own reproductive purposes. And so, in the fullness of time, we put this creature also to the sword.

I was very briefly animated myself by the creature, an interestingly unpleasant experience which harkened back to my days as a student in the City of Orphaunt.  I do not wish to again be subject to this, but I know that animation is often the easiest means with which The Defenders will find ourselves able to continue in a fight. After we defeated the creature, I made use of my sword and hacked away a piece of its spore heavy gills.  I think that I will attempt to make use of them for my own purposes, for if I could grow these spores in a controlled environment, perhaps a ready source of death components for my zombie potions will be easily be at hand.

Returning from the land of Zod, we found ourselves with a bit of quiet contemplation. I had the ability to learn more about my fellows, for while the people that had previously been here knew much of one another, they were all new to me. And so I took it upon myself to learn their names, not merely their usefulness.

The one who I found myself closest to, who seems to share something of my  outlook, is the catman Tal Ka-rabe.  He is a sharpshooter, and was of great use and value in our battle against The Primitives. He does not need to get close to a battle, unlike some of the others who put their faith in more so in the sword, and with his long Jezzail he was able to lay low many without coming into any harm himself. He is an  intelligent and thoughtful biped, and I hope to work more with him going forward.

There are also two Lemurians one Khaldor Dhuum, and the other the aforementioned Raphalisa.  My understanding is that they are born of trees, which sounds unpleasant- how are they able to hatch? Must they eat forth from a fruit? Perhaps I will learn more in time going forward.

Also to be found there was a man-made not of flesh but of metal, or perhaps an amalgamation of the two. This man's name is Joosha, and he bears eggs or polyps of some type which he claims to be his children. I do not wish to learn more about the nature of this, but I suspect that given my abilities over life, and the machine, and death, I may be called to do so. This Joosha has a child which has hatched from one of his eggs named Veira. She is very unlike him, a powerful Mentalist whose abilities would be crucial to our defeat of an iron Herald later. Traveling with the two of them is a beautiful biped with green hair, whose name is Ozma, and who seems to also be capable of some mental powers.

Rounding out our group as best I remember are a warrior and a battle healer. The warrior goes by the name of Takeo, and seems to be a fellow for whom honor and discipline are important. The healer, on the other hand, goes by the name of Bartholomew or Bart, a merry fellow capable of the Spells which I have never been able to speak, but also swift with first aid and with song healing. Frankly, I did not interact with the two of them significantly, but I hope to learn more of them in time.

After we had had a moment to rest, we found ourselves beset upon by Orks. I had seen one of these pig-faced bipeds when we were busy attacking the ape-men, but it did not seem to wish to interact with us then, and indeed I had thought it had fled- I had forgotten it was there. It must have followed us through the ring gate with two of its fellows seeking plunder, or perhaps for simply bloodthirst.  Unsurprisingly, the Defenders of Swordhaven acquitted ourselves well and the Orcs were driven off.

When next  the Keeper arrived, it was for Khaldor Dhuum.  It seemed that Dhuum had unfinished business within a vapor mine back in Zot.  And so, knowing my great worth and wisdom, he and I returned through the ring gate and found ourselves in a dark and gloom-filled mine wherein we needed to wear masks to breathe, and where our eyes could see but little through the thick choking vapor. With effort, we moved along the tops of stalagmites, like broken and jagged teeth within a chasm, until we found a room wherein laid a robot- a Shadow unit of ancient time, coming from Sobol in some better days to help and uplift the people of Zot. We were able- with great and embarrassing effort- to right this heavy machine, and it promised that it would aid us in our own tasks at some future date. We also befriended a biped who had attacked us, who swore his own assistance as well though, this was somewhat demanded by the Shadow unit.

We returned to Swordhaven. Tal Ka-rabe, myself, Takeo and Raphalisa spend some time amusing ourselves with a game of battling, spinning tops. Raphalisa took the day with their gladiating disk.

Alas, we were interrupted, for it seems that the Keepers of Swordhaven had discovered an encampment of devilkin.  Wishing to know more of their machinations, we went to an ancient ruin within the land of Lemuria, and found there an encampment of Farers, which at first we took to be the Devilkin in disguise. I had not encounter these farers before, but it seems that they are consumers of a strange Berry which seems to give them great ability, though also seems to cause them some lack of clarity. A variety of minor games, tricks, word puzzles and misunderstandings ensued, while wegathered the strange and broken seals of some technomantic doorway. Scattered too about these ruins were ancient words telling a story of the People of the Torch, who had to live there in some ancient time unknown. We learned from these stories how to bypass a great and terrible device which we found within a room, an Iron Herald, who only Veira with her mind powers was able to communicate or defeat,  and which guarded a lever which in turn we were able to make use of to progress Within the Ruins.

It was there in the depths of these ruins that we encountered the devil kin in truth.   We fought through these hateful beings, finding ourselves eventually at their leader, who seemed to be worshipping or studying at some great green Crystal. Only one at a time could pass through the force field in order to fight this “Hateseeker”, and Joosha Krugg was first to fall against his might. But Joosha was able to inflict great injury to the creature of the Void, and so Takeo Kuro and Bartholomew were able to fight it to a standstill and lay It low in their own turn.

What precisely they were there to do is unclear to me. But Tal Ka-rabe, who is far wiser to this and has been amongst the people of Swordhaven for longer, seems to think that based on data crystals and ephemera which we discovered  that the devil can may be either behind, or helping, or using for their own ends a plot on the lives of the Lemurian mother trees. I look forward to learning more about this. If I can be of value, and help to solve these issues, then perhaps the people of Lemuria will understand that I am of great value as well, and will pledge their service in life, or in death...

Our final act on this 10th day of Decimus took us to the Domed City of Sobol. Joosha Krugg sought scientific assistance from a fellow who dwelt within that closed and mighty fortress, and so we found ourselves hard-pressed to assault a mighty gun emplacement a shield generator of that place. I say now, and to be clear, we could not have won that day without our sniper, mighty Tal Ka-rabe, for he carried a prismatic sphere launcher,  and this device was able to distract through bright explosions. This allowed our swordsmen a way through.  When the shield generator had been compromised and a way forward for some future date established, we returned to Swordhaven, having defeated our many foes, gathered much Hekta in treasure, and having supped well upon Glory.

This one is Jasp the Resplendent. This one is now a Defender of Swordhaven. This one has tasted glory untainted by failure. And this one seeks yet more. Let Orphaunt and her glories shrink in my memory. And let the living and the dead come to serve, and to be served.