Adventures in Sigil - IC - Part III [4E]

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Takoi frowns. "Hmm...well, I do hope that your errands will not take too long. It is only a short time until the Awakening, and every minute is precious. However, I understand needing to tie up any lose ends..." He gives a smile, and the corner of his eye twitches. Two of the fire genasi begin cackling wildly.

"But we cannot entrust your destiny to some lazy tout! You never know who they may be serving." his voice drops low, and the group glances over their collective shoulders, nervously. "Why doesn't Urlew here go with you. She can bring you to the final ceremony as soon as you finish your errands." A half-elven woman steps forward, although through the burns and lack of hair, it was difficult to recognize her as female, and gives a charcoal black smile. "Hi..."

Takoi's eye twitches again, and he gives a small giggle before making the three-finger sign and waving goodbye. "We'll see you at the temple, dear friend, then on to the Awakening!"

The group makes its way into the twisting streets, leaving you alone with Urlew. She's still staring at you, smiling. "Hi..."

Urlew doesn't appear to be playing with a full deck...

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick smiles at Urlew. "So... uh... Miss? Urlew..." He says, as he begins walking down the street. "Tell me a little about this ceremony that you're taking us to. I have to admit that I'm a little ignorant on the whole awakening ritual."

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard

Lucan looks at the newcomer. "So, um, hi," he says. And then, because he can't stop himself, "Does that hurt? It looks like it hurts."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Urlew stares at Pavick as he asks the question. "Hi..."

After Pavick repeats the question two or three more times, she finally responds. "Takoi says that the Great Lord is asleep" She pauses, places her palms together next to her head and makes snoring noises to make sure you understand. "We go to our temple, we sing soooooooongs!" She breaks out in a stream of "La-la-las" to make sure you understand. A cabal of vampires passing passing you on the street give you all an odd look. "Then we go to the the Great Lord's bed, and wake him up!"

As Lucan begins speaking, Urlew gives him a wide smile. "Hi..." At the Bard's question, she tilts her head to the side thoughtfully. "Yes, it hurt, but Takoi says that we have to do it to show the Great Lord how much we love him. And I love him very much!" She suddenly grabs Lucan by the shoulders, and looks him in the eye. "Do you love him?"

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard

"Love him?" Lucan stutters. "I haven't even met him yet. I only know what Takoi has told me so far. Maybe you could tell me more."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Urlew stops, and scrunches up her nose. A piece of dead skin falls to the floor."Well...I never met him too. When I was little, my mom killed my best friend the razorvine bush. So I burned down the house to get even, and that was a lot of fun. A most excellent time. Tahoi says thats how we meet the Great Lord." She pauses, and looks around. "So where are we going?"

[Toric]

"We are going to the marketplace for supplies." Zyrr responds, pointing between himself and Urlew. "While the rest of them will gather that information. Like I said, we have a few errands. And we can finish them more quickly if we split up." He sidles next to the burned woman, and raises a hand to set on her shoulder.... but hesitates. Looking over her charred body with an increasingly disgusted look, he settles for giving her a friendly, contact-free thumbs-up.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Urlew looks at the thumbs up curiously, her head tilted to the side. Remembering Zyrr's earlier interaction with Takoi, she pinches Zyrr's thumb and raises it up and down."Hi..."

After arranging on a meeting place, Zyrr and Urlew make their way into the winding streets of the lower ward, towards some of the smaller shops and bazaars.

-------Zyrr-----

As you walk, Urlew stares at Zyrr, unblinking (although she was missing an eyelid, so it's hard to be certain). She looks back and forth from Zyrr's dark skin to her own dark skin, and her nose scrunches up again. She points at Zyrr's arm. "Is that ash, or are you just like that?" Rather than waiting for an answer, she looks curiously at the store that Zyrr has paused in front of. "What are you getting here?

------ Everyone Else -------

You manage to backtrack, and make up for Zyrr's poor sense of direction that got you into this mess in the first place, and eventually you reach the temple of Melora. None of you had been here before, but the description that Eltain and Zyrr had told you seems to hold true.

Rather than a building, this temple instead appears to be a grove of thick trees, a dense forest packed into a city block, a spot of bright green life in an otherwise gray, urban sprawl. The contrast is striking, and the brush is thick enough that it is near impossible to tell what lies past this barrier of trees.

At the front of the grove, a natural break in the treeline appears to be the entrance, and standing on either side are two crouched humanoids. As you approach, they stand and observe you, unblinking. At first glance, the pair appear to be human, but as you look longer, you notice their eyes appear slitted like a cat's, and their faces are angular and pointed. Their hair is dark, and thick, and their clothing appears to be leather tunics lined with a thick, white fur; yet around each of them, you spot a necklace with the seashell emblem of Melora.

The creature on the right steps forward as you approach, while the second one glances around, as if watching for danger. "Welcome, visitors. What brings you to the goddess of the wild's grove?"

[Toric]

"Like I said, supplies." Zyrr answers cryptically, even as he points the storekeep to three bottles he recognizes as flamewarding potions. Could she really have never heard of a drow before? Time to find out what I can do with this knowledge. "Some for the others, but mostly for myself. Before I came to Sigil I was raised in a frozen land. It had a sun, to be sure, but there was no heat to be found. My skin back then was the same as my people's, white as the purest snow. But one day I happened upon a floating ship, a spelljammer, sailing the arctic winds and fighting the endless cold with torches."

The not-a-drow runs a hand along his black arm. "Your kind have sunburns, I understand. The fairer the skin, the harsher the sun's glare. Mine, I found out that day, have heat burns. Red welts broke out as soon as the glow of the torches warmed my skin. But, honestly, I didn't care about the pain. It was a change from the endless white, so I just had to stow away. The crew found me a writhing, moaning mess of hot red blisters in the cargo hold. I nearly died, but the ship's captain figured out to use cooling salves they'd had leftover from a run to the City of Brass. Thought they could sell me as an exotic slave. Thank you." Zyrr winks to the storekeep as he slides the changeling his coins plus a few extra. A little incentive for the trickster to go along with the trick.

"Long story short, I'm a free man now, but I still need one of these beauties every day or I'll go from this beautiful oven-burned black to a painful and more importantly hideous red unless I shut myself in an icebox. I'll admit, I don't have any particular devotion to your cause, but I have to say, I don't see much point in opposing it in my circumstances. When you're being burned anyway, does it matter how hot the flame is?"

Spoiler

Show

Wall-O-Text Bluff - (1d20+19)[29], and I'm buying 3 level 14 potions of fire resistance for 2400gp plus 100 gp in hush money.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The shopkeeper, a tall tiefling in thick black robes looks at Zyrr incredulously during his story, even as Urlew continues staring, her mouth agape. Seeing the extra coin Zyrr put down, the tiefling smiles. "This batch is a little thicker than your usual purchases, sir, so it may take a few minutes longer to rub in than you're used to. I've already spoken to the supplier, and the next batch should be up to your usual standards." He hands Zyrr the potions, as well as a card. "Do come again if you find yourself needing any other...special salves."

Spoiler

Show

The card is just a generic business card. Satirav Dironoff, potion master.

As you exit the store, Urlew looks up at the drow. "Why would anyone oppose it? The gods are impure and have to be burned away. Everybody knows that!" She laughs, as if Zyrr had said something ridiculous. "But that's sad that you have to use the salve. If you can't feel the heat, how do you know when the Great Lord is happy with you?"

[Toric]

"I'm still alive, aren't I?" Zyrr retorts. "I wake up every day to an inferno and every day I count it a miracle that I haven't just melted yet. I can only hope that, when I melt, the rest of the world will melt with me." His response continues in low tones as he peruses the marketplace, picking out alchemical reagents and a few random knick-knacks just to meek Urlew guessing. "That is what you're going for, isn't it? Wake the sleeping dragon, watch it tear through the house. How do you get out of the 'sleeping dragon' phase, anyway? I'm curious."

With one fluid motion, Zyrr drops a silver onto a cart and snatches an apple away from it to snack on as he awaits an answer.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard

"That's a good question," Lucan says. "Why are we here?" he asks the others.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick tries to avoid rolling his eyes at Lucan, but fails pretty miserably. He then gives his friend an honest smile "Remember, this was Zyrr's idea to come and speak to them, but since he seems to have wandered off, I guess it's up to us."

Pavick turns to the priest. "Hello, I am Pavick Roslow, and these are my friends Lucan, Aramil, and the Shepherd. We have come in the hopes that you could help us to get in contact a strong spirit of the natural world. I don't know how acquainted you are with the current situation in the Feywild, but we are working to end the recent troubles. And we thought perhaps... Well Shep thought perhaps... I don't know. Shep, maybe you should take it from here."

[Haberdashery]

The towering goliath placed his palms together before him, and bent at the waist like a willow tree.

"I apologize for the intrusion," Shep began, "As you must be busy, for I do not see Mourns-For-Trees among you. I had hoped to speak with him again."

He snapped back up like the breeze carried him.

"But perhaps it is within your power to help my companions and I. We were hoping to speak with someone," He shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably, searching for the best way to broach the topic, "...well, to speak to someone on the nature of contacting a primal spirit."

He paused, unsure of himself, before adding quickly, and almost nervously, "I assure you my companions and I only have the noblest of intentions in mind. Mourns-For-Trees and I have spoken on occasion, and I can assure you that I mean no harm to the natural order."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

---------------- Zyrr ----------------

Urlew gives a bit of a shrug. Dunno. Takoi says we have to sing our songs and make our sacrifices, before we make the journey to meet all the other Great Lord's priests, and together we'll all wake him up."

Her eyes light up a bit. "And then, we'll be right there when he wakes up, so he'll burn us first! Before anyone else!" She starts giggling again, before cutting off suddenly as a drop of rain from the perpetual drizzle in Sigil got in her eye. Yet another downside of not having eyelids.

-------------- Everyone Else -------------

The shifter returns Shep's bow. "Ah, of course. Mourns-for-trees is resting, but I'll see if he is awake." He disappears into the forest behind him, leaving you standing there at the entry. Nearly ten minutes pass before the shifter returns. "Mourns-for-trees will see you. Please, follow me."

The shifter motions for you to fall in line, and he starts leading you through the small forest. The trees never really seem to thin out, so the journey takes much longer than you would normally expect for such a short distance. Yet as soon as you step under the boughs, the sounds and gray air of Sigil seem to fade, and it feels more like a forest in the natural world. For Lucan, it's almost like stepping back into the elven woods of his youth. Pavick, the only one of the group unaccustomed to traveling through forests, gets a number of pointed glares from their guide each time his feet crunch on a leaf or twig.

Eventually, a small clearing opens up in front of a wide tree with a small hole at the base. The shifter motions towards the trees, before disappearing back into the trees.

A stillness settles over the area, broken only by the occasional bird chirping. After a few minutes, a faint rustling is heard from the hole, and a sleepy voice calls out: ""Heeellllllooooooooo Shep." A furry head peaks out of the hole, followed by a short, stout body covered in thick gray and white fur. Two large circular ears sit atop the creature's head, and a large charcoal nose in the middle of its face dwarf the two tiny black eyes on either side. In a clawed hand, it clasps a thin branch of bamboo, that it munches on slowly. "Good to see you...again...." Mourns-for-trees pauses, and gives a big yawn, before taking another bite of the bamboo shaft."Soooooo....Chianta tells me you're trying to find" *munch munch munch* "A Primal Spiiiirrriiiiiittttt. What makes you want to do" *yawn* "...........that?"

After hearing the explanation, Mourns-for-trees has to be prodded awake. "Huh...? Oh....right. So there are a few diff-er-ent ways you can try and find a Primal Spirit..." It pauses, scratches its backside with his long claws, before counting slowly on his fingers. "You could journey into the wild, away from civilization, and attempt to commune with the spirits. But becoming one with the natural world takes...a while, for the unpracticed." While you shudder to think what this creature would consider "a while", it raises a second claw. "Twooooooo....you can try and find a primal entity that has been enslaved, and try to release it. But then you have to deal with whatever is strong enough to enslave a spirit of the world..."

It raises a third claw. "Or threeeee.... the word breaks off into a long yawn. "eee..... You can go out to the wild, and try to do something to get the attention of the primal spirits... But that's a bit.... It pauses, and again scratches its small, tail-less bottom. "...unpredictable. You'd have to make them pretty mad to show themselves..."

It pauses again, and looks up at you with beady, unblinking eyes, and takes another munch of a bamboo branch.

[Haberdashery]

"Likewise, I'm sure." Shep replied kindly. Compared to Mourns-For-Trees, Shep spoke positively hurriedly.

"Though...are you certain you wouldn't prefer eucalyptus? You...errm..." He twisted his mouth in thought, "...don't seem to have the...markings...to enjoy bamboo."

He tried to smile pleasantly, knitting his fingers together in front of him. In his previous visits with Mourns-For-Trees, Shep had found a sense of calm speaking to him, for he had finally been able to speak at a rate he was most comfortable speaking. Mourns-For-Trees never minded, as he spoke even slower than the goliath. But with his companions at his back, watching intently, it felt like a hundred prickling nettles against his skin, urging him to speed things up and get on with the point.

Shep coughed into his hand.

"Well...it's sort of a long story, but to make it painfully short, the Queen of the summer fey," Even not saying her name, the Shepherd's shoulders relaxed and his eyes seemed to glass over at the mention of Tiandra, "...well, her son cast her in ice. And the only heat hot enough to melt it would have to come from a very powerful place. I was hoping that my friends and I could beseech a primal spirit of flame to lend us the means to free her."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Mourns-for-Trees hangs his head in shame. "I have eaten aaaaalllllll the eucalyptus in Sigil... this is all that's left." The fuzzy creature stares at the bamboo shoot in his hand, shrugs, and takes a bite.

"Soooo....you need to thaw the Summer Queen...?" *crunch* *crunch* *crunch* "For that, you'd need a being of fire." Mourns-for-Trees pauses, so that all may admire his wisdom, before continuing. "In the highest mountains in the Spine of the World, where rocks are melted, such creatures exist." Mourns-For-Trees slowly stands on his hind legs, and moves over to the tree, where he spends a long minute scratching his back against the rough bark, before continuing. "But the spirits that dwell there toil to hold back the creatures of chaos that try and break through from the Plane Belooooooooowwww..." It stops speaking for a moment, to turn and rub its stomach against the tree. "Convincing such a creature to leave its vigil to help you maaaaaaay be difficult."

Mourns-for-Trees lets out a long sigh of pleasure as it scratches the area under its chin. "There's another that inhabits a fiery river deeeeep below the surface of the world, but I doubt the spider worshipers will let you pass through without requiring their toll."

The fur-covered creature stops its scratching, to take a seat in front of Shep. "When we last spoke, you told me about a devil you asked for a kiss." Mourns-with-trees begins a grunting, snorty laugh. "Maaaaaaaybe you can get some of Mephistopheles' Hellfire from her. That would serve your purposes, I think." Mourns-with-trees leans forward, grabs his feet, and leans backwards, rolling around on the soil in a vague ball shape.

[Haberdashery]

Shep had no beard, so he rubbed at his chin and neck with the palm of his hand.

"Now that, I had not considered." He hummed, deep in his chest, digesting the thought. A faint smile curled the very ends of his mouth. Wherever the devil woman was, she must be seething.

"She would most certainly name a price for that. I'm not entirely sure we'll like her price though."

He turned his head slowly to his companions behind him.

"You know which choice I would pick, if you gave me the option. The mountains are my home. But we could travel all that distance to find it was...what's the phrase for it...a scandalous moose chase?" Shep waved his hand dismissively. "Something like that."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick had pulled his flute from his pocket and was silently fingering through several scales as Shep and Mourns-for-Trees had been talking. While he was used to the goliath's glacial pace, the sloth had him beaten by a mile.

Pavick snorts, trying to imagine what a scandalous moose might look like. It must have something to do with the antlers, he decides. "I think you mean a wild goose chase, but I think I'd rather hunt down a scandalous moose anyway. I'd follow you into the mountains. I've dealt enough with drow to know that usually its best to avoid involving them. And I really doubt that Zorella will be too helpful, even if we could convince her the price would be very high."

[Haberdashery]

"...unless we go around Zorella." Shep tapped the side of his jaw with a single finger, staring down at the Lucky Gnome as he did so.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf Bard

"Well, the drow are troublesome," Lucan admits. "But do we really want to lure away a spirit that's guarding a rift to the Elemental Chaos? I'd rather face the drow than let whatever's on the other side through."

[Hzurr]

OOC:

Ok, I feel that everyone is waiting for someone to make a firm decision. So, right now, everyone votes on what they want, no qualifications. Highest vote determines where things are going.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan -Half-elf bard

Lucan opens his mouth to speak, but Yuri speaks up first. "Da, comrade! Let us free the subterranean spirit from its fascist oppressors!"

Lucan turns to the unicorn. "Well, we don't actually know that the spirit is being oppressed--"

Yuri doesn't appear to be listening. "Spirits of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your shackles!"

Lucan stares at the unicorn, ignoring Lena's huffing about the crazy commie. "Well, I'm not sure Yuri's reasoning makes sense, but I agree. We should talk to the spirit in the Underdark."

[Mando Knight]

"I agree. We will also be able to look for the harp while we are there, if we uncover any clues."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick nods to Shep. "I think I see where you're going, but I can't say that I like it. Well, I kind of do. I love a challenge, and that would certainly be a challenge, but I think we've already got enough enemies in that camp. Let's go looking for them somewhere else for a change."

Pavick watches as Lucan converses with his personal menagerie. He wonders how the bard can manage ot make any sense out of Lena's twittering and Yuri's bleating, but as Lucan reaches his conclusion, Pavick decides it really doesn't matter. Lucan seems to make better decisions when he pays attention to his advisors. "I agree. It seems the least problematic for us. And better still, we might have a chance to bother the drow a little in the process. That's something I'm always up for!"

Spoiler

Show

I think you are absolutely right. It's not really a lack of good options here. You've provided us with plenty. It's more general indecisiveness in the group. I was about to suggest a similar vote myself.

[Haberdashery]

"You'll hear no argument from me." Shep stopped rubbing at his chin, and flexed his fingers.

"And it just so happens that we know a particular little fellow who knows the area like the back of his hand." He smiled that wispy, lofty smile of his. "How fortunate."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

After parting with Mourns-for-trees and eluding Urlew in a crowd, everyone manages to meet up back at the Inn, and after some deliberation, the party finally decides to pursue a primal spirit of the Underdark, hidden in a river of lava.

Getting solid information about current affairs in the Underdark proves difficult, but eventually, Eillestrae manages to learn a bit. Sitting in around your familiar table in Sigil, the priestess of Corellon speaks in a low tone. "The nature of the realms below make any type of map difficult to come by. The shifting tunnels change often enough that without a guide, you'd be hard pressed to find your way anywhere."

"In the deepest reaches of the underdark, there are hundreds of lava rivers. Below the Drow, most of the Deep Underdark is ruled by either abominations, or the servants of Torog. However, there is one flaming river that is reported to be free of either's influence." A slight smile creeps across the priestess' face. "If you're looking for a primal spirit, I'd say the place where the servants of a god and the unnatural creatures of the Far Realms do not venture seems to be a good place to look."

"If you want a guide to take you there, your best chances are in the settlements above. There is a Duergar fortress near by named Karak-Dat" she gives a slight wince at suggesting that possibility. "And there are also two drow cities. Erelhei-Cinlu is too far to be of real use, which is unfortunate. It looks like your options would be either Vyrrdarr, the crystaline city; or Xendor'alln on the edge of the Sunless Sea..." She stops, and looks at Zyrr "Where I believe a certain pirate is a wanted criminal for abandoning his matron house..."

"If you want to head to Vyrrdarr, it does regular trade through Thunderspire on the surface, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get merchant badges and make your way down. Xendor'alln would be more difficult, but it's location on the edge of the sea means that if you can find a portal, you could theoretically sail your 'Jammer down there."

She pauses, and purses her lips. "While I dislike the idea of dealing with Duergar, I should warn you that if you do decide to venture into a drow city, I've been hearing several rumors of unrest. The priestesses are upset about something, and I can't find out what."

She chuckles, "But if the Lolthites are upset, things tend to get rough for everyone in sight..."

Eillestrae gives a smile. "And unfortunately, that's all I can tell you. I tried to find out more about the harp you mentioned but as far as I can tell, no one has seen it since it was taken to Zilliat. Zilliat was lost to the Aboleth's two millenia ago, and I can't even find where the city used to be, much less if it still exists."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick rolls his orb back and forth between his hands on table-top as he listens to the priestess. When she concludes he smiles, "Thank you. You've been very helpful. This information will certainly come in useful. I'm thinking we should make a trip to the Thunderspire and on to Vyrrdarr from there. Going somewhere that Zyrr is a wanted man seems like it would just add complications that we don't need. So it's down to the crystaline city or the Duergar. I have to admit some curiousity about what's got the Llothites in such a tither, so going through the drow has my vote."

[Toric]

"I have to side with the Lucky Gnome on this one and recommend Vyrrdarr." Zyrr reclines in his chair, feet crossed on the table. "My home undercity would be a mine-trap, but the Duergar can be as dangerous as the Drow in their own way, a way I'm not familiar with. Better the devil you know than the demon you don't."

[Haberdashery]

The goliath thought for a long while on Eillestrae's information, chewing and digesting each piece individually.

"Drow has a nicer ring to it than duergar." He said aloud, finally, tapping his chin. Shep frowned, and made a face.

"Duergar sounds naughty."