Mowenites Unite - Episode Six

## Summary:

Mowen had granted individuals the experience needed to hone their skills. In exchange, these people were called to begin their charge. Whether the agents attended the once secret but prestigious academy or were in service to the empire or owed them, six people were sought out and called into service to work the lines of diplomacy, sometimes within the shadows, getting done what needed to be done. Safety was not guaranteed. Mowen was working on a new defensive construction that the world had not seen since the Golden Age of Magic. The six were required to engage in skullduggery, cloak and dagger diplomacy, and questionable missions in service to the empire, all in an effort to build something important.

## Agents:

* Asher "Whiffle-Tongue" - Lizardfolk Wizard
* Gobin Glowstep - Halfling Druid
* Krixx Sharptooth - Kobold Artificer
* Merdaer - Drow Rogue
* Tar'ren r'Eehp r'Eehp - Frogfolk Warlock
* Xilon Harkus Starrati - Half-Elf Wizard

## Adventure:

On the island with a ruined tower, Gobin had jumped into a well and was grabbed by a slimy hand. Krixx put on his Ring of Water Walking and slid down the rope. Asher yanked the rope and tried to get Gobin back up. However, with the weight of Krixx, Asher was pulled forward ten feet.

Krixx landed on the water and saw bubbling water. Krixx called out to Qajiotha, asking if they were there.

Krixx heard a voice in his mind: "Who disturbs my space?"

Krixx introduced himself and the group, saying they had visited Nightseer's tomb and were looking for Wizards' Coral.

The creature seemed to see into Krixx's life, knowing he was the eleventh child of the Sharptooth clan and was from Aural.

There was a moment of silence. Gobin was released by the slimy hand, causing Asher to fall backwards.

The voice in Krixx's mind noted Merdaer, but said they couldn't access the others. Krixx introduced the others. He said that Nightseer knew Qajiotha liked knowledge, and they were knowledgeable.

"But you don't know why you need the Wizards' Coral," the creature said. "Disappointing."

Krixx explained how they needed to get items for Mowen and that Asher thought they would bind something using the Wizards' Coral. He also mentioned that Nightseer was killed by Mowen.

"That was a sad day," the voice said. They invited Krixx to visit their home. Krixx took off his ring and torpedoed down. He was escorted by two creatures. They were a little bit bigger than Krixx and had tentacles. Their long, spindly arms guided Krixx down.

Xilon told the group that Krixx chose to go under the water.

Asher tugged to pull Gobin out of the water. Gobin thanked Asher.

The rest of the group considered what to do. They decided to tie the rope to a pillar and go after Krixx.

Merdaer left the group to go to shore, stating that he needed a drink. While there, he was grabbed by the octopus-like people and willingly taken underwater.

Xilon got off his Broom of Flying and tossed his perishable items into his Handy Haversack.

Tar'ren cannonballed into the well, though there was no one to greet him and nothing to see. He dove down eighty feet and saw the well open up into a chasm. It took time, but he followed the trail of Krixx.

Asher, Gobin, and Xilon heard bubbling from the ocean. It was quite a lot, almost like what boiling water sounded like. Xilon walked down to the shore and saw massive tentacles flailing. Xilon screamed.

Asher and Gobin ran after Xilon and saw the tentacles. Asher said he'd fought a kraken before and didn't recommend it. He warned that they ought to try not provoking it.

Gobin saw the tentacles and had a moment of clarity. He felt inclined to go into the water because the tentacles weren't scary anymore. Asher tried to dissuade Gobin from doing it. Two of the octopus creatures came and held out beckoning tentacles to Gobin. They told Gobin to tell his friends to stop resisting. Asher took a protective stance in front of Gobin and held Gobin back.

Down underwater, the octo-people gathered Krixx and Merdaer, whispering calming thoughts to Merdaer and Krixx. They were taken into an underwater temple. Doors closed behind them, separating them from Tar'ren. A giant octopus approached Tar'ren and investigated him. It grabbed hold of him.

Asher cast Detect Thoughts and suddenly didn't feel threatened by the tentacles. He told XIlon that he didn't know why they were so scared and said that Xilon could come with them, or stay behind.

At that moment the octopus brought Tar'ren back to the surface and dumped him on the shore. Tar'ren realized that the tentacles thrashing near the shore weren't connected to anything, merely a scare tactic.

Asher tried to convince Tar'ren and Xilon to drop their resistances and allow the creatures to parlay with them. Xilon dropped his defenses.

"Finally," one of the creatures said to Xilon. "You took so long. Your mind is so loud."

Tar'ren bowed to the creature, dipped his toes into the water, and opened his mind. The group was escorted down and to the underwater temple.

Merdaer saw inscriptions on the wall in a variety of languages, which was odd because Embrel only had one language. There were no items there except for the occasional trinket.

There were Crabfolk in the underwater ruins. Krixx asked if they knew El Cangrejo. One stated that they did, and that they knew Crab Chef in Abishot.

The water grew more murky the deeper the group went. They were escorted into a chamber with blue anemones, where the great and powerful Qajiotha welcomed them in. They couldn't see a creature but sensed something in the murkiness in front of them.

Qajiotha was disappointed. They were frustrated that the group sought knowledge yet didn't understand why.

Gobin said he did most things without knowing why he did them. Qajiotha said that was not true.

Krixx offered the reasoning of loyalty. Qajiotha called blind faith admirable to an extent.

Xilon said he wanted knowledge to be able to help people. "We shall see," Qajiotha said.

Qajiotha said they would answer one question for each person. Gobin asked if they knew about Wizards' Coral and if they had any. In return for the information, Qajiotha asked, "How is your wife?"

Gobin said that she was fine when they left to start their mission.

Qajiotha gave him the direction to the Wizards' Coral and said that a magic weapon would be needed to collect it.

Asher asked who was the creature who traded secrets on a secret island. Qajiotha stated that it was someone from another plane which thrived on secrets and knowledge, much like Qajiotha was a being from another plane feeding off knowledge. Asher thanked them for the boon and offered his thoughts to Qajiotha.

Tar'ren wanted to know what they were creating with their gathered ingredients for Mowen. Qajiotha stated that they were making a gem of binding, and the coral would be a transistor to channel the energy of an elemental while keeping it enslaved. Red meant fire. They would have to be careful because it was angry.

Krixx went forward next and said that he went to a magic school on an island in the Trinity Lakes. There was mysterious stuff on that island. He wanted to know the history of the island. Qajiotha stated that the island was a nexus of power built by a wizard with elements brought in from across the planes. It was positioned on the edge of Mowen so that if something went wrong, little in the empire would be damaged.

Xilon asked if he could be taught resurrection magic. Qajiotha said that his magic worked differently than Qajiotha's, and the secrets of resurrection were lost by the wizards in ages past.

Merdaer asked how Qajiotha came to be there. Qajiotha came from a place where they ruled the oceans, and they had a tentative alliance with the land-dwellers. But the Aether broke the connection to their plane. They had been in hiding ever since, collecting.

Qajiotha also said that the dragons long ago hunted Giants, Qajiotha's kind, and any that might challenge their rule. Qajiotha was one of the few who survived. There was a wizard who was a sympathizer to the dragons and helped them.

It would take a thousand years to destroy the world of mortals. First they destroyed their havens, then their knowledge. If they oppressed mortals long enough, they would die out or become subservient. But the mortals' fire burned brightly and rushed back. Extinction wouldn't find them.

A'lune once had ten drakes that oversaw the land. They were felled by heroes, which was the basis of the formation of future kingdoms.

The Lorekeepers tried to rebuild the lost knowledge, but were unable to. Even the Witches had trouble remembering everything. One of the drakes had power over the mind and wiped tens of thousands of memories into nothing.

After that, everyone heard individual whispers from Qajiotha and answered as they felt best.

Asher heard, "Thank you for relenting. Your abilities are fascinating, and your strength is in your resolve. Cherish it. Your leaders are treacherous and will deceive you. Guard your friends and family from them at all costs."

Asher responded that he had grown close to Mowen over the years and was disturbed that there would be deceit. Qajiotha called Mowen selfish and paranoid. They would spread their dominion or destroy the world. Qajiotha hoped to be forgotten before that happened.

Asher nodded solemnly and put a hand to his chest.

In Gobin's mind, he heard, "Your cause is just and true, and your work is important. Stay the course, and thank you for your cooperation."

Merdaer was told that the murder was not his fault. He shouldn't run from false guilt. His life was worth more than being afraid.

Merdaer grew upset, eyes piercing the murkiness. He responded by saying that he wasn't running away from the past and didn't hold guilt. He kept it close as a lesson. His choices could hurt others, and others' choices could hurt him. He understood the murky morality of choice.

Xilon heard that grief was an echo of love that wouldn't sustain him, but would rather consume his life. He needed to let the dead rest in peace so that he could be at peace.

Xilon understood. He was worried about the actions of Wilter Cacian and his experiments around the undead. He feared that he would soon have to act against Cacian.

"You would be better served living your life, than mourning and fearing their deaths," Qajiotha said.

Xilon knew that his life had moved as it had because of Efrelyn. He was grateful to her and hoped to help her in return someday.

Krixx was told that his loyalty was honorable, but misguided. His leaders would deceive him. He needed to guard his friends and family from them. Qajiotha didn't know why Mowen wanted to build a galleon, but they only wanted it for themselves. The knowledge Krixx held was dangerous, so Qajiotha offered to help guard his mind.

Krixx thanked Qajiotha and said that he would strive to keep everyone he loved safe. He would not let the Wizards' Coral fall into Mowen's hands.

Tar'ren was told to be careful as he scaled the mountain that housed the elemental they would be tasked to capture. "There are treacherous stones on the cliffs," Qajiotha said, "and flying magic will be nullified. You must earn its loyalty, not cheat it."

Tar'ren asked Qajiotha if they wanted to form an alliance with him, but Qajiotha said that the world of Embrel would not welcome them. To keep Qajiotha secret was to keep them safe.

"We never met," Tar'ren said with a wink and a bow.

Krixx asked if they could see the real Qajiotha. Qajiotha revealed themself to be an aboleth.

Merdaer refused to let Qajiotha maintain access to his thoughts. Qajiotha returned the knowledge received and pulled the knowledge that they gave him out of his brain, detaching from him. Merdaer was no longer welcome and was escorted out, having no memory of meeting Qajiotha.

Asher asked if there were any memories taken from him in his past. Qajiotha warned him to stop asking questions, but stated that everything was there.

Noting the Crabfolk, the group brought up El Cangrejo. Qajiotha said, "One of these days, the Crabfolk will return. They always do."

The group, except for Merdaer, left to gather Wizards' Coral. They gathered twelve reasonable pieces of coral.

After an hour their telepathic link withered. It was their cue to head out. On the shore, the wizards cast Prestidigitation to dry everyone off. They reunited with Merdaer who said that he had a headache, probably given to him by Gobin. Krixx whispered that Gobin did that to the rest of them as well.

The group left back to the boat. Asher was more determined than ever and Gobin wanted to send a letter to Giselle. Xilon was worried about the things Cacian had possibly done to them.

The boat went up towards Aabar. On the trip, Krixx found Asher alone and asked if he thought they'd have hard decisions to make. Asher agreed that they had to make decisions for the good of the world.

Previous Episode < - - - > Next Episode