We reach an agreement to work with Archons etc.
Prelude to… The God Egg
Our heroes resume talks with the archons and various Vssgon Minders, contemplating important questions as they wrestle with the decision of whether or not to pledge themselves to the cause of the archons.
Chal suggests that we go to Symer and seek out another champion of the lamps. Go into one of the fine establishments, the Swan, and ask for Irene – she’s an elf that has been a champion for 210 years… She knows secrets about the lamps that they can’t hint at, and “longs for one other elf….”
We find “Irene” at the Swan, and she agrees to meet us “at bathtime”, i.e. when all of the business is done and footbaths are served to guests. We meet with her in her room, scry proof it, and discuss our questions. The most interesting thing is that she hints that protecting the lamps are not the true mission of the champions. She also makes a comment to Al about how old/young he is, and suggesting that we might be able to try a secret project that relies on the long life span of the elves…
About Irene, real name is Iriega Magesear, and she is from the Plane of Heroes (Yennon). She tells us there are 12 champions currently, and 22 in the last century. We tell her that we’re concerned about travelling back and forth to the Prime, given our other worldly responsibilities. Irene suggests that we could arrange to substitute with another champion, or arrange so that one person can be “on the grounds” and free to go back if there is an emergency. But she also questioned whether or not we should sign the contract, given the level of responsibilities that we carry on the Prime…
We decide that we are going to accept the Archons’ contract, and head back to the training grounds. There is a meeting/interview with all five archons.
We are met at the god tree by Halvinial (“Hal”), a sollux. Hal takes us via chariot to headrest B where the archons await.
We find that the diaboli Utnapishtim and Ashgar have already accepted the contract, agreeing to serve 6 months every three years.
Chiror – the square faced jovial male archon. He is very friendly and interested in the affairs of the mortals at the training grounds.
Hironi – the female archon that we met on our first visit to the lamps – invites us to sit while the first candidate is tested.
Lenied – male archon, often seems bored and tired but gets excited about games and puzzles
Annpin – female archon, fond of warriors and war stories
Mishka – male archon, matter-of-fact person, sexist
The archons test us on strength and intelligence. Strength tests are done by having the candidate lift bacca plates of various sizes, ranging from the smallest one that could be lift with no penalty to the strength check to the largest which could be lift at a -20 penalty. All of the party members passed the test by lifting a plate with at least -15 to the roll.
Then we do intelligence tests, which consist of answering riddles and questions from a large book, each in measured complexity so that the heroes can attempt to answer questions with penalities to the intelligence roll. All party members answered questions with -15 to the roll, and I think some exceeded that.
We do a few other things to impress the archons, but it is really not needed. We are accepted into the hero program! Our training is to start immediately. The diaboli are going back to Anarchy, but will return in 6 months to start their training. 2 other champions will be arriving at that time to serve with them. Lord Curkas, a dwarf, and Warturnal, a 17th level sphinx from Cluster.
At the Champion Staging Grounds, there are units of 100 solluxes that we will train with. The routine for training is 4 days, 10 hours a day of intensive training, supervised by archons or led by other champions. The other 3 days of the week are “free” days during which we can leave the staging grounds, but must remain on the plane and can be recalled by the archons in case of emergency.
There is a very specific feeding regimen. 5 out of 7 days we eat in the Grain Feasting Hall. On the 6th day we eat in the Bloody Feasting Hall, eating “meats from beyond the dam”. On the 7th day we eat with the archons in the Archon Feasting Hall. (The archons feel this is important to make everyone feel as though they are equals).
At Headrest B, “the playground” there are musical performances, solluxes drinking, and comedies and plays. The plays are often about the visitors to the lamps and the affairs of the immortals, although they are told only by clever references and subtle allusions. For example, there is a titan named Anemus who visits regularly and is heavily lampooned. Other references to gods are woven into the comedies that shows that the solluxes share commonalities with the rest of us mortals and are sometimes frustrated by the powers that be.
On day 2 we learn the truth about what we are guarding.
There is a sun in the southwest corner of the plane, hidden behind a couple of mountain ranges. The light from the sun rapidly ages any living creature, and can cause (often fatal) mutations. It is a “white hot” blue sun, and time seems to pass and an extremely rapid pace the closer to the sun that you get.
The sun is in a central valley, surrounded by two other valleys ringed by mountains. The areas are distinctly characterized as Outer Ring, Inner Ring, and Core. The aging affects and chances of mutations increase based on exposure to direct sunlight, and distance from the sun. In the outer ring, living creatures age at x5 the normal rate in the shade, and x20 in direct sunlight. In the core, direct sunlight will age living creatures at x200 in the outer perimeter (about 20 miles away). God knows how much faster things age as they get nearest to the sun. The aging effect also affects the duration of magic. The chance of mutation also translates into a chance that magic will malfunction or misfire at an increasing rate as one approaches the core. Healing and creation spells have a high probability of being more effective, if they work at all. Access to the outer right is barred by a gigantic dam made from god trees. Our job is to stop creatures coming from the other side of the dam.
The lamp guardians describe a couple of mutated/evolved species that are commonly encountered on the other side of the dam. Throat Gas Lizards are green dragons that have evolved with a mutation that causes gas to build up in their throats when they breathe, resulting in an explosion of gas that kills the creature.
“Red Ettins” are slightly evolved reddish gorillas with three heads. They are about the size of ettins, with two heads that are slightly “neanderthal” looking, and one smaller head that comes out the side of the neck. The smaller head has eyes slitted sideways so that it looks somewhat like a diabolus head. They have a primitive culture, use rudimentary tools, paint objects, and leave messages for each other. They also have an elaborate tunnel system underground, carving out their own, and joining them up to natural caverns.
As part of our training, we will each learn how to use an artifact called Sky Hook Ballista. Our role is as the artillerist. Each ballista comes with 3 solluxes who also help control it. The artillerist is the only person who can activate the artifact powers.
In addition, each person will receive one additional artifact to train with. These are the artifact available, with the name of the hero that is training with it:
Iriega’s Glove – Lackshmi
Cape of the Ordinary Man – Efrim
Girdle of the Titans – Carrock
Harmond’s Cap – Al
*Footnote: after being accepted for Archon training, Al gifted the Anklet of Asterius to Efrim. We then used the Cap to heal the foot-rot.
The archons add one more magical item for each hero. We are each suited with a bracelet that they can use to recall us to the staging grounds in case of emergency. The bracelets will work anywhere on the plane and may be activated without warning on any of the 3 days off during our 6 month term of service.
The archons instruct us to practice activating the powers everyday to get used to the items. They tell us that we need to get used to them, not be afraid to use them, and learn to recognize the twist in the fabric around us that causes penalties to incur.
As we start activating all kinds of new artifact powers, our eyes light up, hair stands on end, and we experience so many new sensations that Al gains 2 levels!
At some point we start asking more prodding questions, trying to get more specific answers to the information that we had tried to get before we signed the contract.
Regarding leaving the plane, the archons give us each 5 vials of material that will be used to cast Gate to travel back into Humbawa’s forest. The instructions are to break the vials, and in the mist that forms, the gate will appear (when the spell is cast).
Lackshmi decides to come out in the open with her attempts to learn the immortal tongue, and initiates conversations with the archons using what she knows. She gets some additional instruction and help from Chiror and starts to make progress learning what can’t be learned from a book.
Al decides to spend time getting to know the solluxes and becomes good friends with a gang of four. We call ourselves “The Wrecking Crue”. The Crue includes Halvinial (“Hal”), Drison (“Dri”), Mundinson, and Elnan.
We made an initial foray into the outer ring with Iriega, mainly to experience the time flux and to get some first hand experience with the terrain, magical mutations, and creatures that live there. We return rather quickly.
In searching for a way to reach the inner ring and the core without experiencing the life-ending affects of growing old, Al suggests that we send in a dominated undead proxy. Someone else suggested that we round some up using Catalonian Undead Magnet spells. We make several attempts, with Efrim and Al dominating captured undead while shapechanged as Hags, and then using Teleport Any Object to send them into the core to explore. In this process we discover a new kind of 2 headed black dragon. Our greatest success comes from sending in a wraith. As a flying creature it is able to cover a lot of ground, and can avoid many attacks that killed other deadites.
-Discover tunnels
-Discover serpent balls
-discover spider-like monkeys with humanish faces
-discover/uncover ruins – not a dome at all, but more of a shell (like a bandstand shell) 14 miles away from sun. Discover another one like it 10 miles from the sun. Dug out a space in the shade of the ruin big enough for a body. Ironically, this grave is where “Rodney the Wrath” eventually was killed by a green gas throat dragon which had be stalking him.
At a meeting where we fill in the archons about what we have learned during our recon, Efrim spends quite a bit of time pressing the archons, trying to get more details about the plane, the sun, the nature of magic here, and the council of gods that we are serving. Eventually, they acquiesce and tell us the names of the gods on the council.
Clunius – matter – god of tritons and sculpture
Ka – matter – the preserver
Ixion – Energy
Dumak – Time – God of natural selection in humans
Kopasri – Time – Leadership
Mother – Time – “Mother Time”, Maternal wisdom and prudence (somewhat related to the story of “the mother” on the Triumvirate, although not precisely the same entity).
Hel – entropy – suffering
Efrim suggests that Hel is the woman trapped in the mirror. The archons decline to answer. They note that Hel is considered a free agent in the sphere of entropy, and is not tied to undeath or death like the other gods seem to be. The council is called “The Azure Council” or “Council of th Azure Sky”.
Efrim asks to see the mirror, and the archons agree to assist….
(update below added 8/28/12)
When Efrim asks probing questions about trying to view the Mirror within the Vssgon’s mountain, the archons agree to guide him to ensure that he does nothing to inadvertently provoke the monster within. The rest of the party accompanies the two viewers.
High up on the side of the mountain, Efrim is guided to a ridge where he can peer over the side, and glance down into a deep crevasse. From this vantage he can see a small portion of the interior of the volcano, and in this view he can see what looks to be a mirror. Within the mirror is a woman with blonde hair. She is wearing a simple “ancient greek” style dress, and a headband or crown. She is crouching. Her head is hanging and resting on her arm so that you can’t see her face, and her chest is shaking continually. After a few moments, her head rolls back. Her eyes are squeezed shut and her mouth is open wide in what appears to be a perpetual silent scream. While Efrim observes the mirror this scene does not change much. The mirror frame is in the shape of an archway.
The party makes some theories about the identity of the woman in the mirror. Based on appearances, if she were one of the 27 godlings from Ebbensalma, she best fits the description/image of Checham or Shydaam, being of the right age and general appearance (both of these women were depicted in the group mural as being part of a group of 5, standing in a circle and smiling/smirking at something).
Not long after investigating the mirror, the party decides to turn their investigations to the ancient structures and tunnels seen in the Core valley of the sun via the undead recon.
[Since most of this detail is captured on audio/video, I’ll put only the briefest summary below]
With Ireiga as a guide, the party navigates old red ettin tunnels and connects with an ancient waterway discovered by one of our deadite pawns. The party overcomes many environmental hurdles and travels via boat in an underground river under the mountains and into the Core. The waterway joins others and becomes a huge waterway. We can see orange light at the far end of the tunnel. Carrock and Al fly to the end of the tunnel where the river pours through an enormous grate and into an epically huge underground valley. In the valley is an object that we have come to call the “God Egg”. The “egg” is approximately one mile long and ½ mile high. It sits upon some carved stone structures, and the river pours over it, around it, and under it. The chamber has the capacity for much more water than is currently passing through. The egg appears to be very hot. It appears to be scaly. Scales are continuously growing, dying, peeling off and floating down. Time is passing very quickly here. Al creates a greater phoenix and sends the phoenix toward the egg to snatch a scale that has been shed. The phoenix is able to retrieve two samples before the spell ends (i.e. it lasted just over 2 rounds).
Carrock goes back to the boat and brings the rest of the party down the tunnel (still in the boat). Lackshmi activates Tang’s Spectacles and successfully casts True Sight. She begs Carrock to fly her into the chamber and close enough to the egg to get a reading on it. Efrim (?) creates a flock of faneare to fly with them as an honor guard, and Carrock flies in carrying Lackshmi. As they approach the egg, the fanaere all disappear, and as they get close enough to True Sight the egg, Carrock and Lackshmi are both forced to make saving throws against an aura attack. Lackshmi hears a voice in her head say ….. “I feel you….” She fights the urge to panic (I think we all did), and successfully detects that the egg is immortal and has 1000 hit dice. Carrock and Lackshmi fly back to our landing point on the other side of the grate as quickly as possible. The party comes up with a plan to teleport everyone out or transport via plant. With a couple of close calls, we all make it out and reconvene at the archon compound and call an emergency meeting with the archons. (“I don’t think you understand – this can’t wait until after dinner!”) The archons decide that this discovery warrants summoning “the envoy”. The “envoy” is a representative of the Azure Council. He is an extraordinarily plain man who asks all kinds of questions, leading up to this exchange.
Envoy: Why do I feel like you two are hiding something?
Al: …
Carrock: … Because we are?
[I prefer that exchange in the record. It’s just too classic to revise it out of the conversationJ]
The envoy, who turned out to be Vimja, the “balanced” monarch from the Triumvirate that Al and Carrock got to know quite well, at least for one magical night, took the information provided back to the council of the gods, including one of the scale samples collected by Al.
This discovery caused quite a stir. The gods decided to conduct their own investigation and agreed to impart a reward for all the party members involved in the discovery (tbd). This concludes the 6 month training with the archons!!