Here, where the world is quiet [IC]

[Ataraxian]

You look around. This isn't the Nine Hells... nor the Plane of Chaos. It seems you have once again dodged the hideous fates you spent your lifetimes earning, and ended up--- where?

The sky is grey and featureless, unpleasantly chilly without being really cold. There's enough light to see by, but a layer of thick cloud seems to be blocking out the sun. The ground is covered with dark, gritty sand. On one side of you, it slopes off into a curtain of mist that prevents you from seeing very far and seems to soak up any ambient sound. On the other, you see a gate of roughly-hewn stone, leading to an empty street lined with tall, cyclopean structures of uncertain purpose and unfamiliar design.

You see only two other people: an old acquaintance of yours, and a tall elf who looks nervously around himself in seeming confusion. In fact, you yourself are not quite as you should be. Your clothing and equipment is the same drab grey as your surroundings--- you know it didn't look like that just a minute ago, but you can't remember how it did look. And although you spent years wandering and learning, you can't seem to remember any of your most recent discoveries--- only the basic techniques you had mastered during your youth.

Despite your extensive knowledge of the planes of existence, you don't recognize this place.

[Eonas]

Gammell Angell, though stumped by his surroundings, is utterly fascinated by them. Only at length does he seem to pay attention to his companions. Without bothering with greetings, he asks them "Who are you, what are you doing here, and what is this place?"

[Ataraxian]

The elf looks around skeptically, then glances at you. "I suppose this isn't the Deathless Country, at any rate," he says haughtily. "I expected to be feasting with my ancestors by now, and I have no idea why I'm not."

[Alkapwn21]

Aldrich stood staring into the gray. He heard voices in the distance as his eyes focused on the nothing in front of him. The voices quickly became clear, and as he snapped out of what seemed to be the longest- or shortest- day dream, he could tell they were coming from right beside him.


An elf was speaking. Aldrich didn't recognize him. Aldrich didn't recognize the ground he stood on nor the gate he was near, either. He turned to the other person standing among the three. It was Gammell, for certain, but seemingly older than Aldrich recalled.

"So that's it?" Aldrich asked. "We are dead, then?"

[Eonas]

Sudden recognition lights in Gammell's face. "Oh, I know you! You were the symbiote person! I don't know if we're dead or not, but it's clear that there's so much to learn here. And I'm just just glad not to be in the Nine Hells right now. Or maybe this IS the Nine Hells, and it's all an illusion." He looks around himself for a moment, then walks off towards the structures, without waiting for his companions.

[Ataraxian]

Aldrich: Gammell walks off toward the structure; the elf shrugs and follows, a few yards to one side. As he walks, the elf kicks idly at a pile of the rough, gritty sand that has heaped up in his way--- and something strikes out at him. He cries out in pain.

Both of you can see this, if Gammell turns around: It's a snake--- a viper, gray-scaled, black-banded, its ugly head now clamped onto the elf's leg as venom works its way into the wound. But as you watch, it swells up, changing. Limbs begin to bud from its sides, the scales soften into flesh, the body bloats and widens.

The elf has only had time to scream once. Now he stares, paralyzed, at the creature attacking him. As he looks on helplessly, his body melts and shrinks, his substance seeming to flow with magical quickness into the body of the snake. What's left behind is wiry, limbless, covered in quickly-hardening gray scales. The head is the last to go. The elf's shocked expression distorts as his teeth lengthen into fangs, and then his whole skull shrinks and blurs into the blunt arrowhead of a viper, with little scaly horns above its dull black eyes.

It's incredibly quick--- the whole, horrible process seems to take seconds. You've barely had time to realize what is happening by the time the former snake is getting to her feet, still scaly in places, but now wide-shouldered, burly and a few inches taller than both of you. She looks around herself with eyes still dark and beady, looking first at Gammell, then Aldrich.

Gray clothes appear on her body, like quickly-solidifying wisps of mist. And in her hands, a massive two-handed axe.

[initiative please]

[Eonas]

Gammell steps back in surprise, slightly alarmed but still cool-headed.

Spoiler

Show

Initiative: (1d20+2)[7](9)

[Alkapwn21]

Spoiler

Show

Initiative: (d20+2)[16]

[Ataraxian]

The hulking woman facing you bares long, dangerous-looking fangs and hisses angrily. Though the scales are quickly fading from her skin, apparently some snakelike features remain. And perhaps mental slowness is among them... for though her dull, dark eyes scan back and forth between you, she seems unable to pick a target, giving Aldrich an opening to act.

[Combat round 1: Aldrich, then orc, then Gammell]

[Alkapwn21]

Aldrich's hands ignite with purple energy, and he fires at the snake-like humanoid with a blast influenced by his chaotic heritage.

Spoiler

Show

Mind Strike (Ranged Touch Ray): (d20+4)[8] (Add +1 if the creature is within 30 ft, I'm assuming it is but don't know for certain.)
Confirm Crit: (d20+4)[19]
Damage: (2d6)[9]
If the creature is hit, she is confused for one round.
Mindstrike Cooldown: 0/5 rounds

[Ataraxian]

Alrich fires a blast of magical force that flies past the orc, burning itself out in the sand with a hiss.

The orc rushes at Gammell, swinging the axe in a brutal, but clumsy arc. Gammell steps deftly out of the way.

[Gammel; then (beginning of combat round 2) Aldrich, then orc]

[Eonas]

Gammell, still very unused to melee combat, fumbles for a moment to dislodge his morningstar from his belt, succeeds, then brings it crashing down against the orc with a force and aptitude that surprises even him.

Spoiler

Show

Attack roll: (1d20+2)[22]
Confirm crit: (1d20+2)[22]
Damage: (1d8+1)[6]
EDIT: SCHWEET.

[Alkapwn21]

Aldrich ignited his hand once more and fired at the creature, this time infusing his blast with a sickening element.

Spoiler

Show

Sickening Blast (Ranged Touch Ray): (d20+4)[5] (Add +1 if the creature is within 30 ft, I'm assuming it is but don't know for certain.)
Confirm Crit (x2): (d20+4)[19]
Damage: (2d6)[12]
If the creature is hit, she is sickened for one round.
Mindstrike Cooldown: 1/5 rounds

[Ataraxian]

Gammell hits the orc with his morningstar, and she staggers, blood streaming down her face. It's a surprisingly vivid shade of red in this world of grays. For a long moment, she reels back and forth, and you suspect any normal person would have fallen to the ground... but her berserker fury keeps her on her feet. Aldrich misses again, and she takes the opportunity to swing her axe at Gammell--- this time, it connects, but armor blunts its force and turns it aside. The effort seems to cost her, but again, she struggles and manages to stay standing.

[Gammell, then (begin combat round 3) Aldrich, then orc]

[Eonas]

Gammell, while slightly surprised at the orc still standing after that blow, has seen far stranger things. He lifts his morningstar again and swings it at the orc.

Spoiler

Show

Attack: (1d20+2)[16]
Crit confirm: (1d20+2)[21]
Damage: (1d8+1)[4]

[Alkapwn21]

Aldrich, in a mixture of hoping and assuming his missing streak would soon end, once more ignited his hand once more and fired a blast of eldritch energy at his target.

Spoiler

Show

Sickening Blast (Ranged Touch Ray): (d20+4)[12] (Add +1 if the creature is within 30 ft, I'm assuming it is but don't know for certain.)
Confirm Crit: (d20+4)[12]
Damage: (2d6)[4]
If the creature is hit, she is Sickened for one round.
Mindstrike Cooldown: 2/5 rounds

[Ataraxian]

The orc is bleeding from wounds that would have long since felled any normal warrior, but still she raises her axe and screams her warcry... and then Aldrich fires a bolt of magical power point-blank into her back, and she drops to the ground.

It is still unclear to you how permanent death can really be, in this land of the dead. But by the standards of your previous life, she is dead indeed.

[Alkapwn21]

Aldrich walks to the lifeless body, if "lifeless" is indeed the correct word in these circumstances, and gives it a swift but gentle kick, ensuring that it was, in fact, "dead."

"Should we kill the snake too, you think?" Aldrich asks Gammell.

[Eonas]

Gammell walks over as well and smashes the orc's head in with his morningstar until all that remains of it is broken shards of skull, blood, and gore. "I... uh, don't know." he says, perplexed. "It's the safe thing to do, I suppose, but the elf seemed innocent and I don't want to kill more people than I have to... after all, it could as easily have been me that was bitten by that thing. Would you have killed me if I'd turned into a snake like the elf did?"

[Alkapwn21]

Aldrich thought for a moment before not answering Gammell.

"Look, we don't know what in the hells this thing is. For all we know, it'll attack us in a blind rage just as that one did," he said, pointing to what used to be a fully intact orc.

I don't know where we are, but if we're to get out, or to safety even, I don't want to leave any loose strings."

Aldrich walked over to the snake and ignited his hand, firing energy down at the snake unless interrupted.

[Eonas]

Gammell bites his lip, but nods at Aldrich as he attacks the viper. "Next, let's go examine the... structures... over there."

[Ataraxian]

The snake hisses and makes to strike, before a blast of magical energy sears it into ash.

Solving a problem together brings back some memories of your old life... you can recall a few details of your appearance, for instance, and as you look yourself over, you find your clothing slightly less drab and gray. And you had some treasured possessions... maybe you can remember one you used in situations like this?

[You remember yourself owning one item costing up to 1500gp, or you remember upgrading an item you already own for up to 1500gp.]

-------------------------------------------------

As you once again make towards the shadowy gateway and the structures beyond, you see a cloaked figure approach you from inside the gate. It appears to be a halfling, dragging a crude sledge. The runners are iron; the frame, you notice, is made of bones.

The halfling throws back the hood of their cloak. She's young, even for that young-looking race--- perhaps about fifteen, but she looks at the gory corpse of the orc with impassive curiosity.

"Did you have to smash the head all over the place like that? Could've got a lot of stuff out of that."

"Still," she says, judiciously, "I could offer you a decent deal for it. I work for Hazard's, in the Shambles. We have all the best stuff."

"You won't get a better offer... specially once the ghouls show up."

[Alkapwn21]

"Hazards? Shambles?" Aldrich asked. "These don't really mean much to me. Mind telling us where we are?"

[Ataraxian]

The halfling looks at you appraisingly. "You're new, aren't you?" she says. There's a hint of smugness in her voice.

"This is the Gray City... people come here after they die. At least..." she pauses, "Some people do. Mostly mages, scholars, warriors... or at least, if there are normal people around, I haven't met many." She seems less cocky as she admits she doesn't know everything about this place.

"Anyway! The Shambles is what we use for a market around here. 'We' meaning everyone except the Many, the ghouls, and some of the Mayor's hirelings. I could tell you about them, but by the time I got through it all, no doubt some of them would show up, and they'd take this carcass off us for sure, unless you two are stronger than you look."

She waves at the corpse. "She looks like a big strong one, we could easily get two doses of strength out of her, and blood and bone and... I was going to say rage, but that's usually in the head, and somebody went and smashed that. Were you worried she'd go snake? That usually takes days."

[Eonas]

Gammell looks down at a plain steel rod in his hand as he walks toward the gateway. "Funny, I don't remember having this in my hand..." he mutters, looking extremely intrigued.

---

As the girl talks, Gammell looks more fascinated than ever before, and if possible, even happy. "This is an amazing place!" he exclaims, totally without context and to nobody in particular. "I'm somewhere I didn't even know existed! Everything here is so strange and otherworldly... I want to learn everything you know about it." So saying, he begins loading the orc's corpse onto the sled.

[Alkapwn21]

"Doses of strength? Blood and bone?" Aldrich asked. So, you salvage the remnants of those that have died... in this place of people who have already died? And who are the Many? Are ghouls a problem here? How are undead in an afterlife of already dead but not quite dead-dead beings?"

His quests fired faster than his eldritch blasts do in battle. While Gammel was happy to be in such an unknown area, Aldrich felt uneasy about knowing nothing.

[Ataraxian]

The halfling helps you strap the orc to the sledge. She's quick and professional and utterly unsqueamish; when she accidentally splatters a piece of brain onto her hand, she matter-of-factly licks it clean. <<Zhaghan hap arrak>>, she says--- you recognize the words as Orcish. "Hey, I couldn't do that before!"

You help her drag the sledge through the gate and haul it along the cobbled streets. The architecture is disconcertingly varied; some buildings are massive, built of rough-hewn stone without mortar. Others are elegant and delicate, with worked marble friezes whose stunning geometric complexity makes you feel slightly off balance as you try to figure out which lines are meant to connect to one another. The streets have no logic or organization that you can make out--- they curve at unpredictable angles, and a wide boulevard edged with columns can narrow in the space of a few hundred feet to a tiny alleyway, with overarching buildings that you can touch on both sides at once.

All the while, the halfling talks, pleased to act the know-it-all in front of newcomers, regardless of what she actually knows. "My real name is Lisette Olivine de Beaucouleur, but you can call me Flea. Everyone else does."

"Hazard says everyone here is kind of a soul, right? So their skills and qualities are... um... they can change around somehow?" She doesn't seem really clear on how you can get strength out of an orc carcass, although it has something to do with spiritual... something.

"The Many are... look, nobody likes the Many. They're a whole lot of people, but they all call themselves by the same name and they can kind of... switch around their abilities, so if one of them wants to climb a wall, he can just borrow from another one who can climb really well. Hazard says they're like one person with a whole lot of hands. Anyway, don't let them get hold of you unless you want to find out."

"Ghouls... oh, you mean like undead ghouls? No, we just call them that because they eat carcasses. Plenty of people do it a little bit, but if you do it too much, you get kind of, um, strange. It's usually safer to get things processed in the Shambles, although if you're really in a hurry---" she glances at the orc--- "well, I mean, I won't stop you."

"The real problem with ghouls is, if you can do something they want to be able to do, well. Try not to do that, unless whatever it is is scary enough to make them back off."

[Eonas]

Gammell bites his lip as he listens to the girl speak. He was utterly fascinated, but for the first time since he arrived here, he was also feeling nervous, and as a result he retreats once again into his distant, absent demeanor. Keeping only half an eye on the halfling, he asks her: "So, what's the difference between those in the Shambles, the Many, and the ghouls? Just motivations?"

[Ataraxian]

As you walk, you start to realize that all the buildings, regardless of style, are old and run-down--- stonework crumbling in places, the roof collapsed at one corner, a statue hideously defaced, its mouth broken into a sharp-edged ruin and daubed with what might be old blood. Though a few show signs of occupation, most of the people you see in the distance seem to be avoiding you, or vice versa.

The girl rambles on, oblivious to your nervousness.

"Oh, well, nobody really knows that the Many want, but there are lots of rumors! The scariest one is they're going to conquer the whole city and make everyone into one of them. But I don't know..."

"The rest of us, the ghouls and the... everyone else, I think most of us are just trying to get by. I remember old Inky used to say we ought to understand the City instead of just living in it--- he was a partner Hazard used to have--- but then he went away on some scholarly trip and never came back. And then the Mayor seems to want something to do with stories, but I can't tell what."

[Alkapwn21]

So what do newcomers like us usually do? We lived for all those years previously just to come here to hardly scrape by?" Aldrich asked.