Following the advice of the elfin archivist Glowerm, PakPak made a visit to the ruins of the Subtle Chateau. He presented a raven that roosts in a courtyard tree there with a small piece of jewelry packed from his adventuring gear. In exchange, the blackbird crowed at PakPak:
" For a joining not wholly mortal nor wholly fey, to perform a being that walks between both laws must be swayed. Mine own feather was used to write the contract that binds, in an Impossible place is where those inscribed words one may find."
PakPak mulled over the meaning of the raven’s words. After taking some guesses of his own, he met with Kiddo, Phasmo, and Crannoc of the Athenaeum of the Dying Sun to see what insights they might have. He shared with them that he thought possibly that the "not wholly mortal nor wholly fey" part of the raven's reply could refer to a half while "Impossible place" might refer to the seat of power in Orm, Impossible Fortress. He also inquired if they knew of any survivors of the Midnight Marauders from when his deceased wife Lady Megge was still alive.
As to this later inquiry, it was known that only Zarthur of Mere is the only surviving member of the Midnight Maruaders form that time. The Philosopher in the Transcendental Congress of the Aureate Precepts Phasmo knew talking to Zarthur would be more complicated than a simple meeting. Locked away in the Athenaeum's basement was a twisted mirror-version of Zarthur. Phasmo had seen the true Zarthur within the World of Reflection. He had attempted to convince his fellow magic-user to return to the Unreflected World with him but the Seer had told him, "It was not yet my time".
Phasmo also had believed that it was possible that the "a being that walks between both laws" could possibly be a member of the Transcendental Congress of the Aureate Precepts as the magic-user members are beholden to their own agreements with the elfin Court of the Twilight Shores and not those of negotiated by other earthly powers. This possibility, though, could not be followed up on by Phasmo. He had strained the relationship with his mentor, the Enchantress, and had to spend his free time applying the organizational techniques of the Athenaeum to the Wizard's private collection in an attempt to ease thi
ngs over.
With the possibility of a visit to the Impossible Fortress possibly needed to investigate further into annulling PakPak's marriage, Kiddo set about to earn the party an invite to the castle. She set out to track down a set of books a party she was once in sold off with the aim to reobtaining them as a gift for the Rani's Third Ward. Kiddo had once adventured with a thief named Dogmouth for whom this ward served as a patron. She knew the ward known as Lady Valorius had a keen interest in acquiring books.
Kiddo's interest in gaining access for the group to the Impossible Fortress was not solely driven by an interest in aiding PakPak. She also had on her mind the test of the Eventide Queen. She, along with PakPak and Phasmo, had until mischief night in order to discover which of the Rani's wards were wicked, which was tricksy, and which was false. Securing this invitation was the perfect in to start that investigation.
It was Journeyman Crannoc, then, that drew the lot of trying to discover if the union of the kobold PakPak and the hob Lady Megge had indeed been performed by a magic-user in the Transcendental Congress. To this end, Crannoc traveled to the edge of Sourwood Marsh to visit his former mentor Shrune. Now that they both stood as Philosophers in the Congress, she could no longer serve as his mentor. Crannoc had recently still pursued attempting to learn a spell from her but greatly insulted her by accident instead. The Weaver's demeanor was cold with the Journeyman yet she still granted him hospitality. In there pleasantries, she brought up mention of Crannoc's friendly rival Phasmo and his relationship with the Enchantress. She made overtures to Crannoc to somehow gain her access to a tome entitled Hanging By A Thread- The Fragile State of Dimensional Barriers in an Ur-Du Post-Sorcerer King Era that resides in the Enchantress' collection. In the end, she offered up what Crannoc sought as an overture of her own which was that indeed, a magic-user did perform the marriage-- the Seer Zarthur of Mere.
By the time Crannoc had returned to Orm, Kiddo had gained both an audience with the owner of the books the group sought, the Matron Starr of the Society of the Coruscating Seal. The Matron Starr looked upon the involvement of Phasmo and PakPak with favor due to their efforts saving her home from the chaos that was the sacking of Orm by the Worthy Dead. The group, united again, set about to negotiate the following books into their possession:
- A brief folio in Old Imperialish delivering the notes of one "Dwerleiro" on theoretical use of the "original" Vat of Creation in developing completely new life forms.
- A codex in an obscure elfin script, approximately 8" x 5.5", containing drawings, philosophical musings, war machines, botanical studies, fables, and an examination of the movement of water.
- A pamphlet on an archaic dialectic of common titled Putting One's Thumb on the Cosmic Balance.
- A quatro containing an illustrated poem in Old Imperialish whose title translates to Dweller on the Threshold
The party attempt to win the tomes with money and other items. In the end, that the Matron Starr wanted was something more dear- power within the Athenaeum of the Dying Sun. Terms were discussed between the active founders of the institution and Matron Starr gaining involvement within the library. The process was to begin with the establishment of a special collection bearing her name and her establishing a reading group based within the Athenaeum.
With that, the following people were seen making the trek from Orm proper up to the Impossible Fortress:
- Kiddo (Level 4 Magic-User)
- Journeyman Crannoc (Level 5 Magic-User)
- PakPak (Level 5 Kobold)
- Phasmo (Level 5 Magic-User)
- Lirazil (Level 2 Elf retainer)
At the gates of the Impossible Fortress, the party leveraged Crannoc's connection with the castle's steward named Merdinus. They then waited in the fantastical lobby of the structure. The space was filled with plants that grew under day-like light and the sounds of water sculptures soothingly echoing off of its smooth monochrome surfaces. The lieutenant to the commander of the castle's forces, Merdinus' nephew Mord the Red, spotted the idle Crannoc and approached. He playfully chided Crannoc for this foppish reputation in court and discussed ongoing sea-based threats of the Sea King as well as the Worthy Dead. When it was announced that Merdinus would see the group, Mord cordially part ways. The party then filed into one of several white pods travelled vertically in tubes situated on either side of the lobby. The pod descended into the depth of the Impossible Fortress as soft music serenaded the group from somewhere within its walls.
When the pod had arrived at its destination, the group was greeted by a footman of Merdinus named Velo. They guided the party to Merdinus' document-choked chambers. The dwarf, excited to see most of them, prepared tea for them to drink as they talked. He had known Crannoc the longest due to the magic-user selling him some dungeon finds in the early days of exploration in 'The Complex'. He met Phasmo and PakPak only a few weeks after when they were part of
an expedition to Sourwood Marsh Crannoc organized at Merdinus' request. Merdinus chastised Crannoc for not having viisted since the events of
Mischief Night. The dwarfin steward talked about seeing Crannoc, Phasmo, and PakPak at the event but how they seemed to have slipped out form the festivities without anyone noticing. Later, the group privately discussed recollection as they took it to believe that maybe mot of the attendees did not have the same memories of the night as they did.
The group told Merdinus they wished to gain audience with the Third Ward of the Rani to gift her some texts. The steward sent Velo to arrange such a meeting while the party and he enjoyed some tea. After inquiring into how some projects Crannoc is undertaking were proceeding, Merdinus then began to probe the overall groups intentions and loyalties as they related to the safety and protection of Orm. Initially, with some reluctance, Phasmo took this opportunity to warn Merdinus of the infiltration of Orm by agents that came from the World of Reflection. At first, the steward could not believe such childs' tales were real but after Phasmo recounted his journey to the other side of a mirror in 'The Complex', Merdinus became deeply trouble by Phasmo's news.
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| Phasmo explains the Mirror People infliration of Orman society as imaged by PakPak's player Rob A. |
It was this moment as Merdinus digested this theory of Phasmo's that Vello returned. The party cold travel up into the Impossible Fortress to meet with the Lady Valorious. After another trip in on of the pods, Vello lead the group through a foyer dedicated to the grandeur of the Rani. They had last visited this space on Mischief Night were the grand doors to the Rani's throne room had been transformed into a wolf's head.
Velo continued to lead them down a hall on the northern side of the level. They passed a series of busts showing the lineage of rajas and ranis that had ruled the Impossible Fortress since the Sorcerer King Xarhon Xhan was expelled from its grounds. Just passed that, Velo guided the group to a tall door. Beyond waited the 'Hall of Heroes'- their destination.
The 'Hall of Heroes' ceiling rose 35 ft. up with a balcony that served as a pit for musicians looking down from above. Unlike the rest of the Impossible Fortress, the wall of the room were lined with finely crafted wood paneling. Soft chairs and small game tables were nestled amongst the trophies that filled the room. The centerpiece of the room was a grand fireplace. Above it hung the sword of that defeated Xarhon Xhan and a banner depicting Orm's heraldic manticore emblem against an orange field. Seated near the fire as a young, well-coiffed woman in a modified gown that once belonged to the Imperial Mother. This was the Third Ward of the Rani, Trita also called the Lady Valorious.
As the party began to exchange courteousies and presenting their gifts to the Third Ward, the Lady Valorious directed for drinks to be brought. Kiddo evoked the memory of her previous patronage of the adventurer Dogmouth as each item won from 'The Complex' was presented. She shared fond remembrances of Dogmouth and excitedly asked if any of the texts further detailed a further adventures of Savi Sloodon- a sailor among the Oneric Sea whose story was partially told in her favorite volumes Dogmouth sold to her. She politely tried to hide her disappointment as she received each collection of writing- all of which was not a Savi Sloodon tale. Only upon gazing upon the illustrated codex filled with elfin writings that included war machines and fables that her excitement seemed to return.
Then, a servant returned with drinks for the group. As Phasmo received his glass, he detected a subtle but distinct lilt in the servant's voice--a tell tale sign of a native speaker of the Mirror Tongue. Phasmo once again found himself having to share his theories of Mirror Person infiltration with the a member of the Impossible Fortress' court. The Third Ward found all of this intriguing and exciting. When Phasmo stated in hush tones that he, in fact, believed that one of the servants in this very room was one of their agents, the Lady Valorious spring her to feet. She pointed to the suspected servant as she loudly declared to the party, "Capture her now for all to see!"
As the Ward stepped back, they had no choice but to act. In the end, it was a casting of Phasmo's Prismatic Bands that neutralized the threat from the World of Reflection. The captured inflitraor began to struggle wildly in its bonds. The being ranted madly, cursing Phasmo with death for his betrayals and threats of revealing his true face to the other adventurers. They talked of coming chaos and consuming ulfire fires. PakPak unexpectedly found the part of him that understands the language of chaos oddly stirring at these rants.
A quick test was makes of the drinks and its was surmised that they were not contaminated with 'Complex Water' like Phasmo suspected but that Phasmo's glass might have been poisoned.
Crannoc noticed in all this action that the Lady Valorious seemed to be gazing upon the action not with an expected vapid delight or in the grips of terror but calm observation. As the rest of the party turned their attention back towards her, the magic-user observed her face fall back into the mask of a court ingenue. The party suggested they return back to Orm with the mirror person as their prisoner but the Lady Valorious insisted that the Impossible Fortress would deal with the matter.
As they made their way back to the Athenaeum, the group discussed the events that had unfolded. Phasmo was most concerned about the mirror person infiltration of the Impossible Fortress. The rest of the party started delving into theories about which of the three options as to the true nature of the Wards of the Rani was the Lady Valorious. The group thought there was something to the possibility that she was the false one but it was also suggested that perhaps the deceptions she makes pins her at the tricksy one.
Experience Points
- Mirror person agents captured 1 x 35xp
Player Character Cut
Write-ups, art, or maps submitted at play reports earn PC Level x 100xp. I know that Kiddo is presenting the libations of Riverwine to the Lady Valorious to Cultivate a Relationship with the Third Ward. I also know that Journeyman Crannoc is giving the neophyte member of the Transcendental Congress of the Aureate Precepts named Tomenia a tour of the Athenaium of the Dying Sun to Cultivate a Relationship with her. Let me know if anyone else has a
downtime they would like to pursue.
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