Adventure 67: The Bonds Would Break...

[X-Points East]

IC:

"Can you ward the ten of us?" asks Elamien.  "If not, then I would suggest that some with military experience remain behind."

[X-IHH/Wallac Isilviere (Kasper)]

"Maester Khaleiman. Perhaps the men are not as unprotected as you seem to think. The templar’s all have divine blessings active and while that is not as strong as the divine blood lines never the less the essence of the divine resides in them if for but a moment compared to an entire life"

[X-Points East]

IC:

"The templars might very well survive, in light of the blessings", states Elamien, "but their memories can not be protected."

[X-IHH/Wallac Isilviere (Kasper)]

"Lady Elamien I was refering to the blessings divine essence. That essence is what  may protect their memory. What else do you think I was refering to? Because the blessings wont protect them against drowning. But please let Maester Khaleiman address the issue"

[X-Haelyn's Aegis/RK (Andy)]

The marshal speaks calmly as though discussing the autumn weather,

"A man may be carried by the water in a boat without getting wet - yet still arrive where it takes him.  A man swimming on the other hand will be drenched - and likely have swallowed half the river if he fell in to begin with or swam wearing armour."

"We could fashion a rough canoe or raft easily enough.  If such means served merely to cross a mortal river and not to truly cross over as we must, then little time or effort would have been wasted.  Yon rocks over there could easily act as pulley once ropes were loosed over and pulled, there would be no need for much splashing about, and once one is over a rope bridge or other such contrivance can swiftly let us pass in haste if merely stepping over the river is all that is required.  If there is a man willing to forget his past - and in an army there is ever such - then let him test first simply crossing the river by coracle or raft, then perhaps the measures of more risk."

"Otherwise if it is the mere touch of the river that steals memory then crossing will be most difficult for though oiled leather may protect, the men must still breathe, and who is to say if it is not also the touch of the water and associated loss that carries one over the veil?  Honoured Patriarch, do perhaps you remember any further detail of your prior experience?"

"Another possibility follows Baron Bellam's suggestion.  If the thinness is from great mourning of loss, and certainly the yawning evil of other such places I have walked is absent, then there is an alternative.  Many of us have lost those we loved, those we honoured, those under our protection.  Many of us likely have servants of the light waiting beyond to guide our souls onwards when we fall.   Meditation and prayer may find us guides who can take us across or shield us from the water's ill effects."


He pauses in thought.  "I am a fool to pontificate so, our enemy must have means of rapidly crossing this river, perhaps scouting swiftly up and down the bank might reveal some sign of passage, and indicate the method used."

[X-Points East]

IC:

After the Marshal has finished speaking, Elamien replies to the Pontiff, "I assumed, from your words, that the blessings might approximate the bloodlines, which course through our veins; from Rashid's words, that some thing extra is wanted; and, from Kaleiman's words, that he could only grant that extra some thing to a small number.  And I fear that the number might be less, even, than ten . . . in which case some difficult decisions will have to be made by the Patriarch."

She then addresses all of the nine, who, in addition to herself, comprise the group of ten:  "I do not wish to tell any being that he can not cross the Veil or that he must do so; but I believe that the responsibility falls primarily upon myself, my dear husband, his court mage, and the High Hierophant.  Thus, if less than ten may cross with their minds protected, then I would suggest that these four should be amongst their number.  And I believe, for personal reasons, that the Pontiff ought to be the fifth."

[X-LPA/Gaerred Khaiarén (Gray)]

Kaleiman: "I could halt the flow of the river for a time. Or freeze it. Or some other thing. But I am not sure it would do us any good. If the Patriarch remembers immersing himself in the river, then that is what we must to to pass across to the other side. Movement and symbolism both. Yes, it should be sufficient, for I think this way has been used many times before. If not, then we shall be forced to employ rites such as those described by Baron Tristan...

Moreover I think I could ward a few men against a loss of memory...but not an entire army."

"Movement, symbolism and sacrifice," Gaerred says.

"Patriarch, were you submerged and then came upon the other side? Or were you submerged and fought back to the daylight world?" He says quietly.

"If occurs to me, that this river is a prefect defense to ensure that the tomb's location remains hidden if by chance it were stumbled upon - or to ensure its architects could not reveal its secrets," he looks as Rashid.

"To plunge into it from this side crossing into the Shadow World, nothing is sacrificed, but in the reverse, memory is lost."

[DM B]

While you debate there is no reason not to put some of the theories to the test:

You have numerous skilled scouts with you, and some of them have bridged streams much wilder and wider than this one. They can quickly bridge the river.

You also have no trouble finding men who would jump, wade or swim across.

---

Edit: Getting to the other bank doesn't really do much. Nor does getting wet...except for the man who volunteers to swim. He is dazed and confused when he reaches the other side, and his memory does seem a little spotty. So perhaps immersion or drinking the water produces the effect?

[DM B]

Meanwhile:

Scouts signal that they have found something, or several things in fact.

One is a set of stone stairs that seem to go down into the river. It has become visible now that the evening sun shines down into the valley (because of the steep sides it mostly lies in shadow - fittingly enough). You wizard quickly confirms that there is magic involved - one spell to hide the stairs and something else as well.

The second item is a portal hewn into the rock face further down. It's partially ruined, but they way inside is not completely blocked. What really sets it apart is the fact that its nearly fifty feet tall (unlike the stairs, they are of more normal size).

Finally they have found what appears to be the remnants of an old battle. White bones, corroded metal, that sort of thing.

[X-LPA/Gaerred Khaiarén (Gray)]

Human-sized bones or larger?

[X-Elinie/RiD (Niels)]

"With what we know so far, I want someone to enter that cave over there, explore inside while remaining in sight of each other all the way out, so we can try and tell if it leads where we need to go. One man on each corner, never loose sight of your nearest partners."

"Also, we will remain here, at these stairs to see if the water recedes further, or until we receive a report from the cave."

"If the cave appears viable, we will go that way. If its not an option, then we go into the river by these stairs."

"For now, let us assume the gate was built large to be imposing, not that it is fit to size of the builder." Rashid adds, with a smile for the bone inspecting High Hierophant.

[DM B]

Human-sized bones or larger?

Human. Or I would have mentioned it.

[DM B]

The portal is a gateway into an ancient mausoleum, buried deep inside the rock. And though the portal may have been built large for show that's not the whole story. The steps that lead down into the dark are so large that it's difficult for ordinary men to traverse them. And at the bottom for the stair can be found corridors and halls, all suitable for giants and their kin. All watched over by great statues...standing silent vigil over great stone sarcophagi. Here too the Veil is thin.

[X-LPA/Gaerred Khaiarén (Gray)]

The portal is a gateway into an ancient mausoleum, buried deep inside the rock. And though the portal may have been built large for show that's not the whole story. The steps that lead down into the dark are so large that it's difficult for ordinary men to traverse them. And at the bottom for the stair can be found corridors and halls, all suitable for giants and their kin. All watched over by great statues...standing silent vigil over great stone sarcophagi. Here too the Veil is thin.

Does the Mausoleum appear similar to the place where Adaliz was fought?  Or rather, could that place have been a reflection of the mausoleum, perhaps in its heyday?

Meanwhile:

Scouts signal that they have found something, or several things in fact.

One is a set of stone stairs that seem to go down into the river. It has become visible now that the evening sun shines down into the valley (because of the steep sides it mostly lies in shadow - fittingly enough). You wizard quickly confirms that there is magic involved - one spell to hide the stairs and something else as well.

The second item is a portal hewn into the rock face further down. It's partially ruined, but they way inside is not completely blocked. What really sets it apart is the fact that its nearly fifty feet tall (unlike the stairs, they are of more normal size).

Finally they have found what appears to be the remnants of an old battle. White bones, corroded metal, that sort of thing.

Gaerred wonders to Kalieman that perhaps each one of these directions presents a path to take: the Mausoleum, the Stairway or the battlefield.

[DM B]

The place where you fought Adaliz was a manorial structure in the Anuirean style. Nothing to do with this place. Guaranteed.