The Party: Auraman manner basement
Alvec and Illaria pushed the doors open in unison and were greeted by a strange sight. The room was open and large, clearly a combination workshop and arcane testing facility. In the center of the room, suspended in midair by some strange glowing white forcefield, was a revolting creature. It looked like someone had ripped the tongue out of a dragon or similarly large animal and grafted insectoid multi-faceted eyes to its strange form. There were four giant fly-like eyes all along its top; assuming they worked, this thing could likely see in three hundred and sixty degrees. Jagged growths of teeth punctured out from its sides as it writhed and coiled inside the sphere.
"What in the nine hells is that?!" Mavec asked as he took a step back.
"It seems to be contained; maybe we don't need to worry about it," Alvec said as he stepped further into the room.
"I hope you're right," Illaria said as they continued approaching. There looked to be two doors in the room, one on each side wall. A layer of dust covered almost everything in here. The only noise was the hum of the barrier holding the creature in place. Naya placed a hand deep into the fur on Echo's mane. To her, it felt like they were trespassing on someone's tomb. The state of disuse certainly made it feel that way. When they were solidly in the room, Bait spotted it; the Iron Cobra that had bit him was doing something near the creature.
"Bad snake!" Bait shouted before he shot at it. The bullet struck the construct, but it was already too late. The hum of the field went down, and with it, the lights. Naya found herself unable to see and floundered momentarily as she shifted her magic around. Her eyes flared green as they changed in shape. Her human eyes were temporarily empowered and much more cat-like with long, elongated pupils. The world slowly revealed itself in greyscale to her. She'd be a bit slower since she couldn't do this and augment her speed simultaneously, but it was a small price to pay to not be rendered blind.
"I've got the snake," Mavec said as he and Piccora moved around to flank.
"That means the rest of us have whatever that thing is," Illaria said. It moved strangely serpentinely as it oozed over the stone floor towards the party. It immediately lunged at Bait, wrapping itself around the small goblin and squeezing him. Bait squirmed and nearly looked as if he would slip out, but the growths of teeth provided good points for it to dig into him. At the same time, the creature squirted some substance over at Alvec, who managed to get his shield up in time to intercept it.
"Be letting go of my friend," Illaria said as she stepped up to the creature and swung at it. Her blade quickly found its mark, but the wound she dealt seemed to partially heal before her eyes; what should have been a gaping gash was little more than a nick. "Hang in there, Bait; this might take a bit longer than I hoped. If anyone got any ideas, I suggest they try them."
Alvec focused on the symbols for this spell, a small piece of bone he carried with him as a focus momentarily glowed with dark purple energy. He took aim and concentrated on lining up his shot. A sickly green energy ray pulsed out from him and struck the creature. He couldn't be sure how effective it had been, but he knew he'd weakened it a bit, hopefully enough for Bait to escape its grip.
Naya ran forward and spoke the command word for Echo's collar. The wolf, already an intimidating force, grew much larger; it towered over Naya and thundered ahead of her. It bit at the tongued creature and connected. Echo pulled hard, trying to trip the beast, but it seemed to ooze in other directions till it was stable again. Naya came behind him and slashed at the creature as quickly as possible. Her blow went wide, missing it. She cursed under her breath. It was difficult adjusting to seeing it in greyscale. The distance seemed off to her even when it shouldn't.
Bait struggled to get free, writhing in the way only a hyperactive Goblin could possibly. Unfortunately for him, the teeth were dug too deep in, and all he did was bleed himself as he struggled. Not only did it hurt, but Bait was feeling a little feather-headed. The world seemed to float away, gravity not so constant. He howled further as the creature twisted and constricted around him again, digging more of those clusters of teeth even further into the poor goblin. Once finished with strangling Bait, it again spat a secretion out, this time at Illaria, who slapped it aside effortlessly with the flat of her Wakizashi before deftly returning a slice, which once again cut deep and partially healed.
Meanwhile, Mavec and Piccora faced off against the Iron cobra. He cast his spell through Piccora, sheathing her metal frame in electricity. The clockwork rabbit rushed in and barrelled into the snake. The electricity clearly did a lot of damage to it. The snake was moving slower now and more erratically than before.
Meanwhile, Piccora was functioning at full strength. The humanoids hadn't been the only ones healed during the short rest outside the large double doors. It lunged at her in retaliation, sinking its fangs into her. Were it a straight battle of machine vs. machine, the Iron Cobra would have undoubtedly won, but Piccora wasn't alone. Mavec charged in electricity crackling through his hands. He tagged the snake and watched as it spasmed and eventually went still. "Take that, Vato."
"Hang on, Bait, I'm going to grease you," Alvec shouted.
"Pardon me, but did you just say you were going to grease the goblin? Sounds like a euphemism, and I don't like it," Illaria said before she thrust her blade into this tongue monstrosity.
"When you put it that way, it sounds awful!" Alvec said as he grabbed a small piece of butter and used it as a focus. He was going to grease the goblin. Alvec shook his head, laughing. Bait suddenly felt warm and slippery and smelled slightly of blessed cheese. All of these things were great for Bait. He squirmed again, trying to break free. This time, he managed to slip and slide right out of the thing's grasp; he oozed out from the bottom of it and scampered, nearly slipping a good twenty feet away, where he aimed his musket at the tongue with fly eyes.
Naya and Echo unleashed everything they had; this time, each blow connected. Sadly, like Illaria's damage, it was soaking most of it. Naya's sword strikes, in particular, seemed to be doing next to nothing to it. The creature moved with blistering speed, snaking its way around all three people and engaging them in hand-to-hand combat. The sharp growths of teeth sliced into each of them as it slithered by before returning to its original position. It again spat something at Alvec, who ducked out of the way this time, and then it emitted a cacophony of screams from deep inside its fleshy tongue. Alvec felt the tug of some strange magic in his mind, and he steeled himself against it. Illaria and Naya also shrugged off the effect. Still, Echo, the poor boy, wasn't prepared for this type of conflict and found himself recoiling from the creature.
Bait squeezed the trigger twice, two bullets slamming into its center mass. The holes he punched through it bled briefly before partially filling in. "No Fair!" Bait shouted at dumb tongue. "Bait shoot, you die! That how dis work!"
Mavec, from half the room away, took aim. It was hard to tell how injured this thing was; its anatomy was so foreign the concepts such as wounded and crippled were lost on it, or anyone trying to gauge how well it looked. He fired off a ray of fire, which struck hard into it. The burn mark was more minor than he'd hoped.
Illaria could see that its motions were slowing. It was the only tangible sign that the creature might be nearing death. She slashed again, this time striking one of its eyes. Her blade sank deep as the massive domed eye sank inward like a deflating balloon. It thudded to the ground like a wet sack of meat. It began to dissolve in the same way that the other strange creatures had. Alvec was quick to rush over and bottle up a portion of it. With the beast quickly evaporating, the room was deathly still again.
"What do you reckon these things are? This is the third abomination we've come across." Illaria asked.
"No idea; my grandfather is an operative in the Blue Banner army and a fairly powerful wizard. I sent him a letter when we reached Archer's Market containing some sketches and details of the first two we encountered. Maybe he'll get something back to us at some point," Alvec suggested.
"Hope so; maybe we should send something to the Imperial City's arcane academy?" Mavec proposed.
"Alright, let's split up and see if we can't find that urn," Alvec said as he picked one of the doors on the side walls and walked towards it.
Mavec chose the opposite door. It opened easily to the touch, and he entered with Alusai's headlamp still turned on. He recoiled almost immediately at the stench. Death and decay permeated this room, and the reason was easy to find. Laying in the soiled bed was a humanoid corpse very nearly fully decayed. Well, he'd found Vato alright. Besides the simple bed lay a very simple nightstand with a black leather journal sitting on it.
A quick glance revealed that it was enchanted, nothing more than a simple ward against the elements. It ensured that it would be around long after the man who lay in his bed was nothing more than bones. Mavec picked it up and exited the room, closing the door behind him. He flipped to the beginning. Since he was already dead, maybe his words could shed some light on what exactly had driven the most promising seer in the country to disappear. If this was, in fact, Vato, like he suspected. Most of the first few pages were the author wandering in the woods.
This manor should suit my needs perfectly. Its owners are long dead, and the raiders have stripped everything of value out of it. The land is overgrown, so I shouldn't have to worry about anyone wandering by. Fortifying it shouldn't be too hard in the short term with the resources I've brought with me. After that, digging out the cave will be my first priority. Going underground will be the best way to protect myself from what's coming.
Vague and still oh so ambiguous, even in his own journal. These diviners could never just get to the point. Everything was always obscured by their ego. The next few pages were concerned with him setting up in the basement of the manor until something unusual caught Mavec’s eye.
Fortune has smiled on me at last. By a stroke of luck, I spotted one of the intruders when it emerged near the Shilen Vineyards. The cohort camped out there managed to harm it before they were killed. In its wounded state, I managed to capture it and bring it back to my lab. Thorough research of this creature may prove key to my survival.
Huh, these things had a name or term Vato referred to them by. "Intruders." Though it begged more questions than provided answers. The horrible tongue creature they had just fought must have been the subject he captured. It was the only thing that made sense.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
This creature vexes me to no end. It does not eat, yet endures. It has no need of air or water. No matter what harm I do to it, it is always capable of healing itself. Its very nature seems to corrode the world around it. Even my modified resilient sphere eventually breaks down and needs to be recast. One bright spot is that constructs are proving most resilient to it, so I intend to shift my resources to them. I have been able to learn much through scrying, and it is clear Alusai is the master of the craft. But his workshop is so well protected even my best spells cannot penetrate it. But I have time.
Alvec would need to look at the "modified resilient sphere" as an Abjurer that was far more his wheelhouse than Mavec's. Perhaps Alvec could duplicate it or spell-craft his way into making a derivative spell, which could be of some assistance against the "intruders." Vato really did seem convinced that Artificy was the way to combat these things. It was too bad that Alusai's work had not only been lost but also due to his poor choice of allies; even if recovered, they'd be shunned. The more Mavec read, the more Vato’s handwriting degraded. As he got closer to the final page it took longer and longer to decode the scrawl
My skin feels too small. My robes grate against my body like sandpaper. I have failed to match Alusai's skills despite my best efforts. When I look out into the world, it only grows bleaker by the day. Roving bands of brigands and summoned creatures rampage across the land. Everywhere I look, infernals scuttle in the shadows of the powerful and the desperate. My array has alerted me to dozens of new intruders. This world doesn't have long. Defense has left my mind; my only thoughts now are of escape.
Is this talking about the past? The present or a future date... it's hard to tell. Without any external references or comments about time or his aging, it was impossible to know precisely when Vato was referring to. The bit about internals and intruders was a bit alarming. The Gold Banner was supposed to be in charge of rooting out any infernal supporters. The final entry in the journal took up the whole page, sentences drifting off at odd angles and letters wildly differing in size.
I am convinced Alusai's masterpieces are the only thing that can stand up to what's coming. If only I had the time to reach out to him to tell him what he has. But he and his creations have vanished. Perhaps in my prime, I could have found them. But my body is weak, and my eyes are dim; I can hardly see this page.
It's over. It's done.
I don't know if this abomination has corrupted my body. I don't care. Nothing matters anymore. My only solace is that it hasn't happened yet. At least I get to die peacefully. At least this thing will remain entombed here forever. At least I'll be safe in my grave when Kavaas returns.
Mavec's jaw clenched, and the hairs on his neck stood on end. He'd heard that name before. The first time they'd met an intruder was when it murdered the man on the roads near Cellocht's manor. His dying word had been Kavaas, with no explanation, no inflection. Vato was absolutely terrified by whatever this Kavaas was. Glancing at how the word was written, it looked like it might be in old Imperial. Some academy books were so old that they were only available as translations from old Imperial. It wasn't common even among wizards to be able to read it, but he could at least identify it. Though he'd have Alvec take a look just to confirm.
Vato seemed to think that Kavaas was some sort of world-ending event. "This world doesn't have long" stood out like a nail ready to be hammered. Whatever this was, it was big. Bigger than Mavec, bigger than this small collection of adventurers. The best thing to do would be to turn this information over to someone more capable. Perhaps the Red Banner army? Maybe the academy could do something with this? Hell, perhaps someone could pass it over to the Emperor himself.
And yet... Vato had these connections. He was on the right side of the war. He could have reached out and asked any number of people for help. The damned seer should have explained why he hadn't. He had decided that striking out alone was the best option for his survival. This means that going that route didn't lead to any better futures for some unstated reason. Maybe he never bothered trying to figure out where the plan went wrong because the plan consistently went wrong. An alarming thought. It could mean that whoever he should have been reporting this to was, in some manner, compromised. There was sadly no way to know. Mavec did his best to file the thought away. Alvec would review the information and see what valuable bits they could pick out, what words and phrases he may have missed, and the meaning and intent behind them. All Mavec wanted to do was nurse a bottle of wine and chain-smoke.
Okay, what was crucial for them. First, Kavaas. The name was in old Imperial; Vato had also specifically used the word returns. Meaning, that whatever or whoever Kavaas is, it had gone away before. Old Imperial lent a little credit to this being something from the distant past. Secondly, Alusai and his creations are vital to staving off the worst outcome. It was a shame that he had utterly disappeared as well. Finding Alusai's lost workshop would be Mavec's dream. Uncovering some new Artificy that had never been shown to the world would be amazing. Third, an implication that the Gold Banner Army was either negligent, inefficient, or possibly compromised in their duties to contain infernal threats. Mavec shut the journal and took it with him. He'd need Alvec to read it, and the two could review it with everyone at their convenience.
Alvec had gone to the other room, which had become a simple storage room for alchemical reagents. Metals, fungus, plants, crystals, and stone, anything you could imagine needing to cast spells... including humanoid remains, were scattered over the shelves. Alvec found the urn reasonably quickly; he lifted it up, discovering quickly that the weight was wrong. Very wrong. Vato hadn't just used a pinch of dead men; he must have done a lot of necromancy to use this much of it. What in the nine hells would they do about this missing dead man? What if Nath refused to accept it because it had been violated. He had only asked for the urn... not technically what was inside it. Would that really be enough, though? Wood ash would be the least offensive filler he could put into it to mix with the human remains still interred in the urn.
The rest of the reagents would definitely fetch a pretty penny from the academy. Enough to fill their pockets for a very long time. Nearly enough to pay the tax bill unaided by their lawyers. "Naya, Illaria, we've got the urn and some treasure; let's pack what we can onto Echo and ourselves," Alvec shouted. They arrived moments later, and the three began taking everything of value not nailed down. When they finished and re-entered the central room, Mavec was waiting for them, smoking a cigarette. He pushed the journal into Alvec's hands as he approached. "You're going to want to read that; we've got problems, friend." Alvec took the book and gave Mavec a quizzical look. Mavec rarely used endearing language, so he was already a little rattled by how much Mavec seemed affected by what he had read. He flipped to the beginning and read. The first two entries were acceptable, about what he had expected. All the talk of Alusai was interesting, but whatever nuance was there was lost on Alvec. He'd need to ask Mavec if this is what he was talking about. The bit about the "intruder" was a bit concerning. Then. Then, he read the final entry. He visibly shivered as the magnitude of it washed over him.
The thing that had driven Vato to flee for his life from some unknown future was named Kavaas, the same name that had been uttered by the man who had died in his arms. Whose eyes had most literally popped out of his skull and seeped blood. The image hadn't dulled a bit in Alvec's mind in the few days that had passed since.
"What on earth does it say to have you both so concerned?" Illaria asked.
"It mentions Kavaas," Mavec stated.
The group exchanged a solemn moment as the immensity of it settled in. What Kavass was, what any of it meant, and why Vato feared it were all questions that needed answers, and none were readily available.
"We'll have to go to the academy again, see if we can't turn anything up. A translation from old Imperial would help, or maybe this name appears somewhere in their texts. It's worth a shot." Mavec said.
"Agreed, the use of the word returns really stands out to me. We might have to check obscure history books. If we can peg a period, we can figure out how best to research when Kavaas was last here," Alvec said.
"Maybe we can try to track down Alusai while at it. Perhaps we can get his help with whatever comes if he's still alive. If deceased, maybe we can borrow some of his designs?" Mavec said.
"It's an awful lot of maybes," Illaria said. "For now, boys, we should be getting back to Sha-Laial and placating a certain ghost."
"Not so fast!" Naya stated. "The druid we met at Cellocht's party suggested I find a child of Akrixi to talk to about what happened to Lom-Itoti. That's where we should head next. Mr. Beans suggested one lived in the swamps about halfway between here and Sha-Laial. I'd like us to make a detour."
Mavec groaned. "Why should we bother asking them? Wouldn't it be better to go pray to one of the gods? The spirits, Naya, they're just so... capricious. I know what Sarosa wants, but Akrixi? He's a fucking volcano, just as likely to kill us with deadly lava as help us with anything."
"The gods are new here, Mavec. The spirits have held dominion here for as long as my village has memory. If anyone knows what happened, it will be them; hopefully, they will have a way to fix it," Naya stated.
Mavec grumbled.
"Historically speaking, she has a point. Alright. We make for the swamp as soon as we can." Alvec said. Illaria and Bait nodded in agreement.
"Bait might find new SWAMP ingredients," he said, his eyes bulging out just a bit as he imagined what great new things he could find in the strange environment.
"Wait, before we head out, there's one more thing. Alvec over here," Mavec said as he motioned for him to follow him to where the strange tongue creature had been. On a table lay a scroll; a quick glance at it revealed it to be a spell scroll. Greater sphere of resilience was scrawled on the top of it. Alvec took a careful look at it. This was sixth-circle magic, far above what Alvec could currently cast. Glancing down at the ground, he saw that the spell had been engraved on the floor and filled in with iron. If a caster could fuel the magic, all they'd have to do is pour the power in to activate it. While the power aspect was beyond him, the theory of it was not. This wasn't just an enhanced version of a resilient sphere. No, this one had been altered in strange ways. Finding the points of divergence was easy, and perhaps... just maybe, he could use them to find ways to make other spells to affect these creatures.
He took the scroll. He'd make copies of it as soon as possible. Working from the original was a poor plan. It still had the power of a much more potent spellcaster locked into it. Copies of the text meant that his notations wouldn't ruin the spell. With everything necessary, the party closed the doors and exited.
As they walked through the woods, Naya approached Alvec. "In that last fight, my blades weren't doing much damage. Can you add any enchantments to them to give me an edge?"
He glanced at the two blades. They were, in fact, masterwork already; it wouldn't be too much trouble to start enchanting them, but it wasn't a thing they could do while on the road. Perhaps if they had a cart or something where he could sit down and work in, but no, they were poor and on foot. Looking over Naya herself for a moment, he nodded at her. At a glance, she didn't look powerful. She was, however, athletic, lithe, and fast. There was an enchantment he knew about that would work well for her.
Additionally, she was using scimitars, known for being a little more deadly than a longsword in some ways. While they tended to create more shallow wounds than some swords, they were adept at slicing open arteries. A second enchantment came to mind, which made sense for the weapon.
"Excuse me, Alvec, but why are you looking at me like that? I didn't ask to be undressed with your eyes," said Naya.
Alvec jolted up momentarily, waving his hands in front of him. "Not my intention, Naya; I was just trying to figure out what enchantments to offer. I've got two ideas, by the way."
"And that required you to stare at my body intently?" Naya asked.
"Yes, actually," Alvec said. "Would you prefer something to consistently do damage or have a higher burst?"
She pursed her lips, not sure whether to believe him or not. "Both."
"Too expensive for the gold we have on hand," Alvec replied.
"So I could get both eventually?"
"Yeah, but you'll have to choose one for now," Alvec stated.
"Consistent first."
"Alright, we'll enchant them with magic that converts speed into damage. You're already a whirlwind of steel; this will just make them bite a bit harder."
"How long will it take?"
"Two to Four days after we return to Sha-Laial. I can't do any enchanting while we're traveling like this."
A tug at Alvec's sleeve brought his attention to Bait, who was walking beside him. "Bait want gun not to misfire so much? Can Alvec do that with magic?"
"Might take some research, but I think we can arrange something," Alvec said. Guns were still relatively new to him, but he was sure someone had done some enchanting on them before. All he'd have to do was glance at the notes at the academy.