Resurrection River

Scribe Notes

Summary

Adventure: The name of the adventure
GM: Jeff Ledra
Season: Spring 799

Party

• Scorpion, human namer (anna) scribe
• Dikembe, hill giant fire mage (edward)
• Vivian the bastard, elf witch (patch)
• Brundar, dwarf binder (?)
• Mebh, human air mage (julia)
• Tom Mason, human air mage (tom)

Time on adventure

tbc 826 WK to tbc 826 WK

Employer

professor moss mandrake

Mission

race his evil necromancer twin and his cronies to the ruined city of the dying plane of the metasapients to find the metasapient magic.

Original Scribe Notes

Media:Snsp9903.zip

Scribe Notes - Summary

Hired by Professor Moss Mandrake to race his evil Necromancer twin and his cronies to the ruined city of the dying plane of the Metasapients to find the Metasapient magic. Got to the plane using the racial talents of a Draclord descendant, fought our way downstream through the nasty Metasapient creations, traps left by the opponents, and treachery, to a conclave that offered help in return for our help, but both our goals required that we were dead. So we died, did what we could, had some trouble getting our bodies back, and learned enough about Metasapience that, although we lost the race, we weren't upset about it. Tried to do some looting before we left.

Scribe Notes - Details

We get together at the guild, get message that the employer will meet us at the Fight and Fuk, will pay us 4000 sp each and we get the loot. Spend some time bickering about who gets party leader, Dikembe gets it. I get scribe, Tom gets mil sci. Brundar attaches Dikembe, Mebh, Tom and my health to statues so anyone can see at a glance how well we are. Guild sec tells us that Mandrake is a Namer and Astrologer, with a twin brother, and a strange boat. Fuck. I hate boats. Go to Fight and Fuk. Mission: race evil twin to ruined city, visit library, get everything we can. Travel up river on a boat to a "soft spot" plane gate then travel downriver to city. Captain Gullwing is Watermage and navigator, crew = First Mate Kerin of Brastor (female, Healer rank 8), Camron (male, human), Seth of Carbella (elven, male), Roth of Brastor (human, cook, male, from Sanctuary), Melody (female, 14 or 15, can apparently flip through the worlds, erratically, and is almost human). Also get a diary that is supposedly a copy of Mandrake which will be going with us to save his precious time: write in questions and it'll write back answers. City built by lost race G.T.N Dracolords, mages, looked human, liked aquiring samples of other races. Used the ability that Melody sort-of has. Kept the samples in areas down the river, some may still be there. Got some clues to the plane and layout of the city from elves from other planes. Can't fly there - get zapped by floating things. Mandrake hopes the library will hold some clues to Metasapience: Dracolords discovered it, transcended themselves and disappeared overnight. Can think of several people who could do with this. Evil twin (Necromancer, life extended) stole notes, has hired some to race us. Possibly Seagate, more probably Sanctuary. Expect Typhoid Mary, nasty version of a disease carrying whore, assassins, etc. Sigh. Am allowed to kill twin. Leave tomorrow, 10 am, surrepticious. Boat = River Queen. Avoid ocean and tidal bore. Put in a request for an astrology: what are we looking for, nature of Metasapience, greatest danger of the plane we're going to? Manage to leave the Fight 'n' Fuk with the book and Mebh. Shows skill.

2 Thaw

Boat long and low. Depressed looking captain. Meet crew = Kerin (lacks confidence, interesting birthmark), Camron (young, 6 foot 2, Sailor rank 2), Seth of Carbella (tall, uncommunicative, rapier), Roth (friendly, rank 5 theif), Melody (very cute, scars over body). Ask her what locations she can planeshift from. She doesn't know. Has done it before, though. Faints in conversation with Dikembe. Sigh. Kerin brings her round. Enough supplies including food arrives for six weeks. Ask Gullwing what's in it for him. Won't say. All crew new to him. Sigh. Cast off. Check out food for poison. Assign rooms. Captain has some Waters of Strength and Healing available. Tom interrogates First Mate. Very unsure of herself. Hopes to gain some confidance on trip. Sigh. Do mil. sci. training. Watch order at night = me and Mebh, Vivian and Brundar, Dikembe and Tom.

3 Thaw

Nothing. Go up river.

4 Thaw

Get to a depression on the riverbank. Have to make a channel through the mud to get the boat into it. Captain has a go at Saturate Earth. Backfires, then succeeds. Mud washes out. Dikembe takes a Potion of Strength and pulls us up the channel. Check the diary for our astrology readings. Not yet. Melanie tries to summon talent. Says we'll see blurry landscapes go by, and she has to choose the right one. Knows the G.T.N of the place, but hasn't been there before. Captain gives us a Water of Healing and Strength each, just in case. Melody says we have to hold our breath. Fuck. Fill waterskin with air. Plane shifts. Got there, no problems. In an absolutely dark cave with a big door. See three water-troll things approaching. They attack. Lose Cameron overboard to one. Fighting with other two, but they keep going under the boat. Fuck. Think Cameron's a goner. Dikembe gets Water Breathing and dives after one as Roth goes over. Fuck. Order Dikembe pulled up and lightning on water. Get a nibble on Dikembe. Pull him up and land a troll. Yes. Lightning goes off. Toasts landed troll. Gives the rest and Roth a shocking. No sounds of live under boat. Dikembe takes a Water of Healing and I order him down to find Roth. Trolls rock boat. Me, Dikembe and Mebh go over. Reproject right next to troll. See Roth. Go for him as Dikembe distracts troll. Other troll runs into me. Fuck. Stick him a couple of times, then he gets me. Stun, gulp water, recover, reproject. Give it the slip. Dikembe getting minced so Mebh pulls him up. Resident Witch curses a troll with blindness. Loud voice warns to get out of the cavern in 30 seconds before protective measures initiated. Troll-toastie recovers enough to attack captain. Mebh rescues him. Get to air. Tom healing Dikembe. Have to haul self on boat. Seth pulls Roth up, dead. Captain does Mage Current. Trolls attack bottom of boat. Zap water again. See a twisted grate by the door under the water. Might be way out. Boat surges ahead. Prepare Compel. Tom goes for book. Boat suffering from troll attack. Brundar goes to fix it. Cast. Yes! Get a troll. Mebh sees a box by the door. Seth harpoons blind troll. Get mine to tear apart the other, which is trapped in the hull by Brundar. D.A box = magical. Trigger? Key / device. Call troll to show me the way to the key. It takes me to the grate 50' down. Fuck. Tom asks book how to open door. It doesn't know. Vivian orders the door to open in Elvish, and we all understand. Must be something about the place. Grate covers passage 20 - 30' long, which goes to a corridor about 60' across. Our 30 seconds run out and all above water get gassed. They start casting Vapour Breathing. Captain does Water Breathings but collapses. Troll under boat gets free. Fuck! Project. Kerin, Melanie, Vivian, Brundar and Dikembe collapse. Can't see anyone standing. Sense contact poison in the air. Fuck. Want to breathe. Try to get someone's attention by banging on boat. Send my troll over to beat up the other, who's trying to climb on board. Get Vapour Breathing. Breathe. Severed hand of troll turns into another troll in the hold. Fuck. Water Breathings go around, some come to. Put the other troll remains high and dry. Mebh and Brundar go to deal with the troll in the hold. I get my gear. Pack all things needed. Dikembe gets lots of healing and comes to, finally. Remains seem to be decreasing. Brundar volunteers to stick the troll remains to a wall, cover them in oil and burn them. Do it to the remains and the blind one. Sent scouting, so take Dikembe, grab my troll and go down tunnel. Get to a river corridor with more doors, raised rectangular panels, sunlight to left 200' down, opens into vegetation, can hear a waterfall. Going right, forks, lots of trolls, grills, collapsed tunnel. Troll sees Dikembe, ducks into room for reinforcements. Troll tells me the troll leader has the key, a wand, doesn't know how to use it. Reckon I've got the best chance of getting it. Troll brothers massing for a feast, so send Dikembe back with a warning. Sneak in and go for an empty nest. Some drama with reappearing, so send image up a wall. Party slowly prepares for invasion. Start negotiating through image, while advancing on king. Take boy (son?) hostage, for good behaviour, and negotiate safe passage in exchange for the Black Sword of Daggersport. Leave controlled troll as watcher, go back to party. Tell details, get approval. Return with Tom as backup. Dikembe sends troll bits back with us. Thanks. Vivian interrogates little troll. Breeding, soul transfer, heirachy etc. Give king sword. He's impressed, accepts. Doesn't know how to use key. Gives it to me. Trolls retire. Gold key, iron chain. Dildo shape with runes. D.A.= magical, triggering conditions: touch by one of the blood. Tunnelling device, bound earth. Melody touches key to lock and door opens. Bicker a bit, then move ship out. Trolls watching, some itching. Ditch troll kiddy into river at entrance to troll cavern. Go through overgrowth. Get electrocuted. Me, Dikembe and Mebh fall over. Trolls attack. Outdistance them with Mage Current. Upstream is rainbow coloured lake fed by huge multi-waterfall. Sky greenish and open above, with lightning balls going off every 20 seconds or so. Large moon? In sky. Forests around us stunted and twisted. Kerin heals everyone up. D.A. Water= long lived sentient, G.T.N = Rainbow Mountain, highest ranked spell, skill or language = Absorbtion. Pass 50' pillar on bank. Black crystaline with green knob. Hear: "Now entering reservation X94, normal restrictions apply". Woman's voice. D.A. Air, nothing. Good. D.A. Tree, normal, twisted Naard. Hailed from bank. Human with spear, tunic, trews. Name = Arnn. Invites us to tribal feast. 200 in tribe. Seldom see strangers, but some three days ago. They passed without stopping, humans, elves, metallic boat. Customary to invite, say they're not cannibals, don't expect gifts. Tribe lived here long time. Custom says he can't pass pillar. No apparent damage if he does. Other boundary 90 square miles down, don't get traders. Village is two hours inland. Elders say river is dangerous. He sometimes canoes across. Info vs. time constraint? Info prevails. Book has no idea how the brother got here. Astrology readings have come in. I stay with captain and crew, others and Melody trek in. Day= 24 hours, green "moon" stays put, stars move. Get to stone cottages with ivy, hot water springs. Nice. Old woman comes out, clutches head, screams and faints. Seer. Villages friendly and not primitive, not warlike. Elders bring alcohol and want stories. Feast is prepared. Ask about flying? None by tradition. Flashes designed to destroy things from the planet above that would destroy life on this planet. Metasapients? Secret of life and death, "recruited" other races from other planes, found sort-of answer. Some Metasapients went bad - can't say their penchant for forcing Metasapience sounds good. Some races stayed in the reservations to guard the bad ones, some left. River dangers? Been rainbow several hundred years, occasionally takes people. Autoclaves and Necroclaves? Latter for bad Metasapients, former for guards. What do they look like? Started humanlike, changed to anything. They can travel long distances, and rumours say they conquered death. All history oral. Sharinga? Don't know. Seer staggers in: "Greetings, doomed ones". Had a vision of our possible deaths (including me) saw us traipsing through the forest of death - a beautiful place, but only dead can go there. Felt a yearning (desire, compulsion, hope) to be born again. Visions are spontaneous. Vivian scares her off, distresses elders. Mebh goes on trade mission. Magic? No, lost skill. Some left reservation to find Metasapience. Some returned, some died. City? Legends of dangers and marvels. Isopods? No. Jagurundi? No. Lorricates? = cat-like creature, goes unseen, jumps from trees, rips throats. Spears good repellants. Do they have bowyers? Yes. Riperians = riverbank dwellers. They feast, enjoy scantily clad dancers, etc. Invite any dissatisfied youth to accompany us. Declined. Meanwhile, I chat up Kerin while watching Seth and Roth. She's iffy.

5 Thaw

They come back to boat. Ask Kerin about her birthmark? Noble family, they all have it. Hopes to build up confidence to regain her birthright from her brother, who turned on her after they fought off family enemies when her father died. Say I can kill him, or teach her how, for a favour. She'll think about it. Wind speak: distance of river? Wind snakey. Other travellers, three days before? Yes. Wind is artificial, created by Metasapients to control weather. Doesn't know much about them. What gets zapped in the sky? Rainbow blobs. Anything not of plane, flying, gets blown up. Travelled to city of Metasapients? No. Magical barrier stops intelligent winds. Dangers? Doesn't know them. Rainbow water stopped river commerce travel. Some Autoclaves empty, some it can't enter. Can't map. Asheringa? Nix. Gets bored and buggers off. Midday find another black runed dildo. "Now leaving reservation X94 ...". Copy runes to book. Possibly information and barrier and summon guardian. Stop to divinate. Is a boundary of a sphere of influence = summon phantasm (mind or necro) rank 20 if anyone kills aboriginals. If Metasapient passes, sends info to city, talks on passing. Shaped magic, combination of colleges e.g. E&E location etc. High level. Vivian suggests pre-Panjari (no colleges). See a wave heading rapidly upstream toward us. 40 - 50' high. Fuck. Break ritual. In the wave is 5 or 6 7' long slaters, with big jaws, and seven pairs of legs. Bugs. Fuck. Jump on boat. Captain going to wave control boat out of path of bugs. Sigh. Does it nicely. Climb 30' up obelisk. Others stay on boat. Wave turns in our direction. Sprint to top of obelisk and sit on the top. Wave falls on the boat. No rainbow bits in the water. Interesting. Vivian knocked off, unseen. One bug lands on him. Four others attach to boat. D.A = isopod, intelligence = moderate (less than human, higher than animal). Isopods bite ship. Considering astrology, party attacks. Consider dropping on one. Captain dessicates one and a raincloud appears over him. Mebh gets one good, stuns, but armour too tough for others. Vivian crawling unseen in the mud. Bugs have a go. Ouch. Blowdart one, come down pole. Brundar kills one, gets a raincloud. Smack Mebh's then move to help Tom. One I poisoned retreats, looks sick. Mebh's dies, she gets a raincloud. Me and Tom chop ours to hell. Want to avoid storm cloud myself so cast a Watermage spec counter on self. Clean up stragglers. Make mud so boat slips back into river. Brundar and Dikembe fall overboard. Pull them back on as Kerin does healings. Five hours later, more poles. Black, silver runes, sphere on top = plasma ball. Stop, divinate. Book says it's a warning, longer distance than vicinity, lasting, binding. Keeps obnoxious things in. Divinate: how? Impenetrable wall to one being, nature = teleporting, flying and insubstantial. Nasty. Sphere = 160 miles (8 hours) across reservation. Necro counterspells might help. Naming - one entity, about 3000 years old. I.T.N built into ward. Some kind of wraith, we reckon. Decide to wait to morning. Unanimously. Fuck me.

6 Thaw

Purify. Hand out silvered weapons. Give Kerin my dagger, Brundar my battleax, keep my garotte. Tom, me, Brundar, Dikembe and Seth get Barrier of Wind. Mebh and Tom have Vapour Breathing. Two hours in black robed figure appears by mast. Skull, glowing red eyes, ring with red stone. D.A. Creature = long lived sentient, G.T.N = Death, college = none. Red cord appears around his wrist, disappears. D.A. Ring, fail. Mebh greets him. This area = Necroclave. Metasapients gone. They created him. Personification. What is Necroclave? Metasapients concentrate on one idea, his one hated the painful illusion of life, so created ultimate killing machine / assassin. Nasty tendancy - has to kill one member of our party before we leave. Sentient, not Binder's dolly. Last boat offered sacrifice. Gives us gifts: hourglasses each. Life indicators. Kerin faints. Other boat = metallic, could submerge. Three crew, six members. Would like to give up killing. Has a problem; wants to leave Necroclave. Wants to experience life. Divinate him to see if he's got a soul. (Resurrect?). Prof Stone Mandrake led the other lot. Typhoid Mary (small, redhead, pretty) and her black panther. Garth the Bastard, large and ugly. Bernard, short, stocky, ax, iron armour. Edward, minor Mind Mage. Trill, nondescript. Crew = Aragon. Preferred method of killing? Squeezing hearts. Willing to try killing dolly while Binder inside. Tom suggests we come back with a whole lot. No credit. Has killed Metasapients. Looks depend on previous species, usually shapechangers anyway. City 3-4,000 miles away. More Necroclaves? Yes, and Autoclaves. Canyon downstream = Autoclave. Another after next reservation. Changes people, metamophosis, forced evolution. Isle of the Dead has his makings recorded, and the last victim's body. Further down Necroclave metamorphosis brings back dead = Land of the Dead. His victims can be resurrected. Brundar suggests turning Death to stone to get him out of the area. Mebh suggests pain is necessary for an appreciation of good. My divination shows: inbuilt powers = clutching hearts, teleport, cumulative death aspect, Assassin rank 15, locate and defensive spell, speeded, strangling cord out of thin air. Artificial. Yes to soul, in body, can be moved. Magically enhanced to cause conception. Can be turned to stone but strongly self protective. Can he be uncreated? External object keeping life force going. What is himself? Soul = competing meems, which make a self. Everyone has many meems. His are self perpetuating, possible they can change. Change self, might fool sensors. Vivian tries to change Death's robe pink, and changes his own as well. Magic damage reflects back on caster. Doesn't know if meems / soul can pass in another body. I.T.N ward would see it. Suspect the ring might be his life focus. He gets impatient and gives us 10 minutes to choose a victim. Brundar possesses a golem. Doesn't satisfy. Tom volunteers. Sap him to save pain. Death kills him. Leaves (says "later"). Kerin does C.P.R and revives Tom. Two hours later get to isle = dock, bay, 800' mountain, building, road. No plants, no obvious bodies. Make it quick. All get Potions of Strength. Dock. Find cairn of stone, weatherworn crude map carved into it. Go on, D.A-ing strategically. Small holes on either side of path. D.A = magical, sulpherous air, nature of magic = binding. All island = bound rock. Go along path, geysers go off. Run back. Steam goes up 200 m, water doesn't seem to land on path. Go forward. Get to top, like a landing area. 50' tall, 20' wide black doors, marked with hourglasses. Plaque: I will take the weary, the weak, the strong and the smart, abandon pain, abandon the cruel illusion, of life's tyranny, free yourself and find peace: Death. No bodies. Fuck. D.A doors = magical, counterspell needed?, no answer. Fuck. Dikembe knocks, they open. Glittery motes falling from ceiling to floor, hourglass fashion. Black disc in floor, runes. Book says it's a teleportation device. D.A = magical. Where to? No answer. Doors close, won't open. Another directly opposite. Also teleport. Ed golem is activated, walks onto teleport by door. Nothing. Thinks of places to go. Nothing. Steps on other. Disappears. Reappears 100' across room, dead centre, where there are eight more discs, doors, two holes in walls, and corridors. Low light. Send golem down a corridor. Rows of doors with peepholes. Cell doors, I reckon. Another corridor to the left, looses endurance. Continue. Endurance loss continues. Goes back, loss stops. While it wanders we bicker, then I start divinating the doors. Golem finds humanoids in black, bald, closed eyes, not breathing, standing in open rooms. Crimson cords about wrists. More discs in these rooms. More cells down more corridors. Finds a large audience chamber with throne, dias and pews. Can't open doors. Jumps into a shute and gets sliced by monofilament wire. Divination = bound, opened by touch of sentient on other side. Needs to be touched by a cult member, Metasapient or cult golem on this side. E&E style touch trigger. Some devices will open door. Discuss options. D.A. Falling motes = magical, nature = motion and super sharpness. Memorise runes, and prepare to step on other. Go through. All teleporters look the same. D.A. 1 - 4 = catacombs, 5 = miss, 6 = sphere chamber, 7 = catacombs, 8 = catacombs. D.A doors 1 = magical, nature = binding and opening, 2 = miss, 3 = magical, counterspell = earth and/or E&E. Dikembe knocks on 1 - 30' diametre circular chamber, empty. 2 = same, 3 = same. Dikembe goes in 3. Door shuts, Dikembe feels sinking / falling sensation. Door won't open to knock. Ha. Transparency shows green gas, no Dikembe. Life doll okay. Brundar takes a peek into the audience chamber. Murals of Death at work. Do some study with Malbar. Brundar looks behind curtains and sees golems. D.A. Through curtain, magical instructions for activation = activate golem talent. Definitely flesh, sexless. D.A several, activated by proximity? No. Contact? No. Another activation? Call to arms. Dikembe missing 20 minutes now. Still alive, no damage. D.A. Green gas = magical, nature = disintegrative. Check in golem cells. D.A discs 1 - 9 = entrance chamber, activated by central control, spell needed to activate = activate teleport disc, 10 = miss. D.A golem 10, activate = central command, second activate = ward in room, counterspell required to destroy = none. Dikembe gets back. D.A cell, nature of ward = activating. D.A. More golems, highest ranked magical ability = regeneration, combiined fatigue and endurance = 60, highest ranked combat activity = unarmed, will they activate if another is activated? Yes, depending on activation, TMR 8, STR 28, if central control is destroyed, golem will be destroyed. All cells empty. Dikembe was at catacombs. Something bored down there - made patterns out of lots of bones. Endurance loss corridors 600' long. D.A corridor = magical, counterspells necessary = no answer. Someone notices door behind dias in audience chamber. D.A door, not trapped, warded or cursed, nature of magics = bound. D.A throne, magical, not trapped, warded or cursed. Transparency on door = corridor opening into circular chamber, bright light. Large silver runes on corridor floor. Book has no idea. D.A magical, nature = triggers magical trap. Following his penchant for testing new traps with his body, Dikembe opens the door. Fuckwit. Feel minor shake in floor. Send image down. Look through it's eyes. Barf. Try again. Very bright light, 20' sphere, corridors either side, corridor straight ahead with door at end. No teleport things. Otherwise boring. Suggest trying teleport disc to sphere chamber. Nothing. Party leader tows us into central elevator. It breaks down after 10 minute drop and shudder. All jump together and it starts again. Half hour timelapse between shakes. 10 minutes later get to catacombs. Cavern, green glow, corridor, chambers, arrangements of bones. More teleport discs. Fuck. D.A's 1 - 7 = lift chamber. D.A stone door, nature of magics = permanent resetting ward. Transparancy = more teleporters. Everyone else looting gold teeth. Tom finds ring. D.A 1 - 6 all go to sphere room. D.A ring, magical, nature = invested ray of cold. Go to fresher body area. Stairs and chambers all around. One hour passes. Others still looting. Tom finds rod, Mebh finds ring. D.A's ring = nature invested animate objects, rod = nature invested instant petrification. D.A body, years from death = approx. 3000. Fuck. Too many. Follow Dikembe. Fuckwit. He finds a ring. D.A nature = invested walking unseen, three charges, rank 7. New skeletons. Tom finds stick of wood. D.A = rune wand. Mebh finds an elder flower amulet. Find body. Yay. Three days dead. See something moving under bones. Misshapen, mostly insubstantial. D.A - miss. Grab body and run. Tom sees skeleton rising up in front of us. Run other way. Reckon we should take out misshapen thingy = amoeba thingy, about horse sized. Line of skeletons between us. Vivian disappears. Fucking elf. Mebh, Tom, Dikembe and Brundar fight. I try to slip through, climb walls. Lightning bolts smash skeletons. Move along walls above skeletons. Brundar helps Vivian with the body. Fail necro spec counter. Fail again. Backfire. Fuck. Succeed. It gets off one before me. Bones forming into something big in front of others. Looks like a tidal wave. Others fall back, I go forward and up. Bone wall explodes in shards. Slip behind wall for cover. Skeletons destroyed, panic takes out Brundar, Dikembe, Vivian and Tom, I get warier. Shards hit Brundar, Dikembe and Mebh. Nasty. Brundar goes down. Stick me head up and try to rally Tom. Fail, but get to insult him well. Succeed. Ha. Everything goes dark. Continue along wall, get out. Creature in the middle of it, 150' radius. Others eventually rally and get out. Darkness goes after minutes, thing gone. Get Brundar walking, and heal some on Dikembe, then go for elevator. Take number three up. Brundar petrifies body. Takes one hour so I divinate runetrap behind throne. Nearly get there when two blocks of stone drop, sealing us in, and gas starts hissing in. Dikembe gets caught in a lightning bolt in the throne room. Trap triggered by loitering in the vicinity. Tom and Mebh resist. Me and Vivian don't. Lose concentration. Fuck! Drink Water of Healing. Do earth counter on block of stone to sphere room. It goes. Yay! Run like fucking bunnies into sphere room. Meanwhile, Brundar drags Dikembe out of the lightning bolt, well cooked. Lose endurance running toward room, keep going. Get hit bad. Stop. Mebh and Tom continue, get to end. Take 20 point healing potion. D.A ground in front of Mebh - fail. She steps into sphere room. Door to throne room disappears. See smoking giant, and Brundar doing a ritual over him. See golem approaching, warn Brundar. Death appears before golem, sends it back. Death suggests we make another offering, Dikembe close. Need to get to control room to activate portals, or Death could open door. Go back to speculating how we could release him. Suggest he could get married to Mebh, and start creating things. Mebh says no. Silly bitch. Death will take us to boat, to negotiate with crew. Consider how to get me and Mebh back to throne room. Unco people take no damage. Mebh comes to me, sap her, tie her ankles together and drag her out. Feel really bad. Head to boat. Dikembe suggests I compel one of the ladies to marry Death. Death prefers a willing bride. Dikembe tries convincing the ladies. As much charm as a snake. I try with Kerin. Better luck. Go back to Death, suggest a present. He suggests his ring. I'll be go-between. Meanwhile, Dikembe tries to get Melody drunk, so she'll do it. She's been a slave. He fails. Death gives his ring. Promises to be faithful and caring, etc. Give it to Kerin. She agrees. Puts ring on, turns into Lady Death. Nice. She faints. Take her up, bring her around. Melanie faints. Captain marries them. Death asks for sacrifice. Say he's got one. Couple disappear to "honeymoon suite". Move boat to boundary, park. Heal.

7 Thaw

Call for them, no answer. Obviously busy. Leave wedding presents (I leave honey) and a note saying good luck, see you down the river. Leave. Annoy the Dead. Doesn't know if there is a traitor on our ship. Skills: boss = Necro, Rune, Mind Mage, magical battleaxe, twin drow sailors = Watermages (kill drow), battleaxe and magical rapier, he doesn't know our skills and stuff, Typhoid Mary = Beastmaster, Wicca, they been practicing co-ordinated and heavy attack and racing, submarine = metal scales over wood, has hatch, controlled magically by the drow, knows of no set target at the city. Petrify the body. Dikembes idea: tie it to the pillar with a note = "Loose lips sink ships". Weird.

8 Thaw

Evening. New pillar. Divinate. Reservation of aborigines called Tuluvar, no warnings, usual repercussions for molestation. Dark falls, no worries, say go through. Midnight watch (Vivian and Brundar) spot figure waving from bank. Have a message for us from submarine. Letter and item with cheif. Vivian wakes us, Seth poles us to shore. Message left three days ago, item = shell. D.A = human, highest ranked non-language = rangering. Others = rough bunch. Brundar stays, we go. Legend Metasapience transferred by kiss / fucking. Ancestors chose non-Metasapience, non-magical. Herbalists. Two hours, get to camp. They wake up and start to party. Soothsayer: fields of dead. Again. Cheif comes out. Have a legend of Death: will get a wife, breed, leave and destroy the plane. We don't tell them. Eat, drink, get minorly stoned. Ask about herbs of disassociation. Letter = join us and win. Notice children are quiet, nervous. D.A shell = magical, activation = pressed against ear. Some discussion 'til I shut them up around the probable hearing device. Fuckwits. Start feeling sleepy. Not good. Vivian blasted. D.A me, nature of poison = paralytic. Fall over. Mebh grabs Water of Healing off Vivian's belt, gives it to Tom, who's also stoned. Fails. Villagers approaching, hunters. Tries again with Tom, fails. And again. Fuck. A spear is thrown. She takes a stand in front of us. They ask for surrender. Want to take us to preservation place. She stands for us, says she can't lie. Cheif steps forward, trial to death (followed by resurrection). Their champion steps forth. Rapier. She wins. They grovel for forgiveness. No antidote - other group gave them the poison. She gets mules to cart us back. Waters of Healing don't help. Set off. Leave Autoclave.

9 Thaw

Twisted forest thinning. Come out of the poison after seven hours. Got a hard-on. Declare I'll kill the entire lot. Pillars, then arches. Divinate. Pillars usual, Autoclave of Flux, warns occupants. D.A herbs pre-dead villagers gave Mebh = narcotic, healing, stimulant. Divinate arches = bigger on inside than outside. No wards or traps, about preservation. Walk around it, find door. Brundar looks through it. Hallway hung with weapons and sheilds. D.A door = no magical traps, wards, curses. Image goes through. Change vision. No living things. Door opens, woman comes through. Good looking. Greets me (ha) and the others through the door. Her name is Aeon. Wearing a black disc amulet with silver runes. D.A = magical, counterspell = none. Asks us to stay and chat. Didn't see the earlier group - they didn't stop. Others pile in. Do introductions. Says they're keepers of the lost arts of the Metasapients. Origins / creation of life in Autoclave, paradise, research. She's an aboriginal. Weapons are relics of Metasapient past. Been here before city. Born teachers. Research magic, spells, rituals etc. That tempts me in. Willing to teach new spells or swap. Metasapiency = ritual, changed one's entire make-up - genes, connections in brain, led to enhanced awareness of the world. Death created by advanced magic. City is surrounded by barrier, impossible to penetrate except by teleporters now deactivated. Only one other way in: die, and have your soul travel in. City 2100 miles away. Gives us a tour of the building. Metasapiency found a way of making souls better at holding together in the afterlife before disappearing off. Can bind souls to body, can put souls in golem bodies. Me and Malbar argue about living. When you die on this plane, if you survive the death trauma, your soul spends time in the afterlife, and you can learn to instantaneously travel. Would take three days death to get the skill to teleport 3000 miles. Can't follow Metasapients to paradise. Dikembe asks the nice lady to cure his hard-on. I suggest moving Malbar into a golem. Possible. Can communicate with dead souls, can strengthen our souls. Lasts for months. Means we will survive death trauma, so we can wander around in the afterlife and go where we wish. Others invite her back to Elusia. Says she'll have to consult with sisters. Binders, Necros and E&E's. Tell her about the other soul in me. See talking to dead room and creating life room. Apparently underground. Rumour of some Metasapients staying, not going to paradise. No idea why. Tells of writings from Metasapient times. She goes to get them. Is she telling the whole truth? If we kill ourselves, are we really safe? Tell others about Malbar, disassociation. Discuss options. She returns with book. Legends of paradise. Tom reads it. D.A = formally living, age since living approx 3000 years. Get names of places in city where research went on. Speculates those that didn't Metasapientise became aboriginals. May have been forced. Metasapients very intelligent: rank 20 spells etc. Some races fucked up, some races temporary effect. D.A lady = long lived sentient, G.T.N = Raan. Highest ranked non-language skill or spell = enhance enchantment. E&E. Night falls. Didn't see sisters. Wants us to sleep on boat. Thinks we're nice, doesn't want bed company. Return to boat. Discuss. Do we have to die if we have Metasapient blood? Dikembe and Tom want to stay, read books. Divinate shell. Communication device, activated at specific time, activate by ear, not magically trapped, 500 mile range, spells can't go down it, no other magic associated. Don't know if we want to talk to them. Decide no - wait 'til we teleport past into ambush position. Sigh. Dikembe's book about Metasapience; humans got rank 20 in all spells of college for limited time. Not Metasapience = understanding of how all things are, and their inter-relationships.

10 Thaw

Enter again into small waiting room. Aeon comes in, says there are more books. Same aura. Teleportation devices in all Autoclaves and Necroclaves. Barrier around city to stop interferance in transport to paradise. Need approximate talent of adapted Runemage portal to activate. She can activate some here, can travel to another active site. Necroclaves usually active. Never been to city. Interested. Another sister might join us here. Doesn't want to leave here "unguarded". Continue tour. Building intelligent, rearranges, sometimes takes over golems for chats. Could trap us if hugely offended. Aeon wants something. Takes us to her submarine. Goes through green goo that puts living things into suspended animation. Cool. Arrange to get some. Transporters inside sub. Aeon goes through. All get Vapour Breathing. Dikembe goes through. Rectangular field, geometric shapes. I go through. Shapes = homes. Creatures come to look. Creation of life done here. Things created by Metasapients = semi-insubstantial. Can merge, add intelligence, and adjust reality by their belief. Fuck. They sense us, probably won't attack. 10 - 11 merge, start talking in our minds. They are "The Race". Surprised at our solidness. Mention two of us have two souls. Wonder who's the other? Interested in outside - green goo kills them. Question Aeon about why they're trapped. We retire for tea. These things could enter city. Aeon thinks letting them loose would be bad. Suggest the end is nigh, anyway. Possible they could help. Head toward speaking to dead room. Circle room with black prism, go through a doorway into a room with golems (humans and animals). Get to ritual room - one ritual affects all. Pass through reattach-soul-to-body room. Room of the dead = column of glass. Inside is smoky shapes. Table with metal bottles. Magic draws souls from afterlife, recently dead, here by accident - plucked in. Usually traumatised, highly motivated to communicate. Bottles for trapping ghosts. Can be reattached from there. Sister exploring afterlife. Can go to city if highly motivated. May be ghost traps. Phantometric receptor. Talk to ghost. Lost one. Raphae. Murdered by strangers on metal ship. Kidnapped from reservation X94. Asked for guide, took him from the reservation, cut his throat. Asked him questions about Metasapients, strangers and breakfast. Pillars didn't help him - he fussed too late. Dikembe suggests we avenge him. Hasn't been to city. Too cold. Direct to warm lands in afterlife. Sister Agron overdue. Experimental / explorer. Dikembe: "So how do you get the soul to leave the body?". Fuckwit. Aeon wants us to look for Agron, in exchange for strengthen souls, activate teleporters etc. Suggest sticking Malbar in a body. Options for sister: caught by Metasapients; trapped or killed by Necrovapours; trapped or killed by some of the hostile old souls who have learned to reuse their magical talents. Can use talents and insubstantial spells. Not elemental. She can do greater enchantments. Good. Ghosts can hurt each other with willpower. Can kill you by carrying you into the bright light from which no soul returns. My vision would be normal. Zen / serenity protects you from the attacks of others. Purify, to some extent, in ritual room. Shows us sister's body. Another sister joins us, rapier, warriorish. Nice. Alex. Will come with us if we volunteer. Linked to buil;ding, so risks leaving it to Aeon alone. Aeon not pleased. Alex not a mage. Willpower = endurance. Have to be a mage to hit others with mental ability. Sister has been away for months, some ghosts been there for millenia, but most leave. Will leave Malbar to make sure the sisters bring us back. Get a rank 18 greater. Get soul strengthened = will not lose endurance on next resurrection, soul will survive death trauma, next time it's cast on us will make resurrection able 15 times longer after death = 16 months. Purify, rank 17. Sisters still arguing,decide control of building is better. Inform crew. Destroy shell. Crew gets lodgings. Fill in book. Astrology unclear. Told to kill entire party. Ha! Brundar acting strange again. D.A last spell to impact = fear. Can't remember anything after starting fight at Death's. Been possessed. Probably by a Necrothing. Gone now. Divinate - possessed by Necrovapour, left 20 minutes ago. It's somewhere in house, looking for a body to possess. Fuck. We all okay, put Necro spec counter on door area, check golem room. Spell impacts. Fuck you. It's in tiger. D.A counterspell = Necrospecial. Fail banish. Sigh. Tiger activates, lunges. Alex hurts it. Barrier of Wind on her. Mebh hits it. Alex kills it. Magic sword. Get banishment. Yay. Fail counterspell. Fuck. Succeed. Yes! D.A rapier, magical, special abilities = after second hit has a good chance of killing things. Malbar wants a perfect male human body. Get to kill Brundar first. Dikembe: "Party leader says it's OKAY". Sap them then suffocate. Sap Vivian but Dikembe strangles him: "Pointy eared little freak". Then Mebh, Tom, I kill myself, they catch Malbar and put him in his body. Dikembe dithers, stabs himself with one of my darts. Aeon soothes his pain without touching him. Alex will follow if we're not back in a week. Wake up in a river of light, nice smell, bright light in distance - stay away from that. Very impressive music coming from that direction. Fuck. Animals and people floating past. Enormous transparent sun above. Warm, but all naked. Healthy looking, in a transparent way. Will selves to bank. Vision changes, dark bank, stars above. Been a while since I've seen stars. Dikembe puts his hand through Mebh. She doesn't like it. He feels her emotions / motivations and vice versa. See smudge away from river. Decide to practice spells. See ghost. Compel. Succeed. Yay! Dead aborigine. Zoran. Been through Forest of Death, Tree of Darkness, looking for river. Hasn't seen Agron. Killed by cat creature. Had seen strangers in a boat = us. Also saw the others. They took his friend. Anything dangerous? Fog Lands = Masters of Dead, had cliques of ghosts / followers. Necrowraiths absorb life forces of ghosts. Ghost traps in cold place. Tricks? Merge with others, will damage on them, hurts them, tires you. Absorb life from River of Life or merging. Some ghosts can hook on, pick you up, some in Fog Lands know how to stop it. Pools = collective memories, change reality. Let him go to river. Fly to smudge = Fog Lands. Can't will selves to other entities like we can to places. "Warmth" is a direction. Forest. Mostly human shades. Drift to pond. Someone notices we're new. Thanks, Dikembe. Tom wants to do experiments. New ghost has heard of Agron. Deal - help us find her, we'll help him. Last seen going through cold areas to real time. Fog Lands on way to barren / cold areas. Trace through trail of aura - D.A talent. He's been here a while, less souls now. Suicide cults gone. Wants to live again. Philosophically trained to live in afterlife. Can spread consciousness out, "snap" to different areas. Avoid "Masters of the Dead" - self styled. Employ him as a guide. Try to see his "trail". D.A = ghost dwarf, don't see trail. Dikembe does. Guide = Baran. Get to cave. Occupant pre-Metasapient. Metasapients can die. Murder etc. Rare. Strong souls, moved on or regenerated into "recreated body matrix". Tom finds out you can lie in afterlife. Cave dark. Ulvar inside. Sex exists in afterlife = merging. Ulvar wants physical sensation again. Enter cave. Short human, violet eyes, hovering cross-legged. D.A = long dead ghost, Riverdweller. Likes Agron, knows of her sisters. May be ghost trapped or held by Masters. Last saw her two and a half to three months ago. Gathering info on Metasapients, old ghosts. Masters oldest, not recommended. Some want to be living again. Magical apparatus that can catch ghosts, Metasapients can make bodies. Masters capture people who may be able to assist. Survival = phantometric receptors. High will power help Zen routines to avoid pull to river. Agron also canvassing theories about what happens down river. Masters have names: Ethan the Deathmaster, Noran, who opposes him, Thod. Identification of clique members? Noran = Mind Mage, kills with mental attack, bound will for followers. Ethan has varied powers eg confuse ghosts. Illusionist? How do you gain life force from others? Merge and transfer will power. Empathy works, relearn to transfer will power. Mind cloak? Stops telepathy, mental attack. Noran twisted empathy to move your will power to him. Basis for attack = desire to hurt, merge with victim. Base chance = 3 times will power, choose your damage, lose the will power if you succeed or fail. Ulvar = E&E, will try to locate Agron. Thinks she might be out of range. Proves so. Recreating past can make you forget reality. Some ghosts don't even know they are dead. Backfires can destroy ghosts - uses M.A, goes into will power. M.A comes back in time, will power needs to be gained. Philosopher, researched rituals strengthening souls, not level of Metasapients. Interested in mind. Not interested in returning. Dikembe merges with him. Can transfer between planes like Melody. Can we merge into one entity, use collective will power and M.A? Possible, against one, to donate will power to one attacker, always seperate souls. Death cults: all ghosts should go upriver, suicide troopers. Practise Zen. Clear mind of meems except meditation. We leave. Dikembe plays at a pool. Interesting past. Most practise Zen. Tom tries to focus on heartbeat. Ha. Tom merges with me to learn meditation. Tell him to ignore everything else. Keep him out of my memories. He learns some. Baran takes us to Chastity the Elf. Cute. Agron was planning to go to Autoclave of Hanging City. Suggests we keep the noise of our bodies quiet. Sitting ducks, as we are now. Agron was going to talk to the Masters about Metasapiency: Ethan first, then Thod, then Noran. Hanging City in two mile deep canyon, over rapids, houses in caves and balconies. Go direct from Fog-Lands. Avoid ghost groups to avoid Masters. Metasapient city furthur down on lagoon. Has been there. Seven crystal towers, 8 miles high. Old city built on canals, no living creatures. Surrounded by barrier, ghosts go in. Had been constructing / building magical devices to evict the dead. Some come on and sweep. Tubes escapable, some have dimension twists, soul bottles to force trapped souls to grant three wishes. Three commands, more precisely: spies etc. No Metasapients to free trapped souls now. Nice to set them free, be careful. Ghosts end up in tubes = traps. D.A Vivian = ghost elf. Seems too polite. Chastity chose not to do Metasapiency. She leaves when I say it's a pity she died a virgin. Faint ghost attacks me out of the blue, tries to merge. Try to dodge. Fail. Hit really bad, nearly die. Ghost kills itself in attempt. Fuck. Get memories of cults / rape / murder. Tom merges and gives me some will power. Head to river. Vivian snaps himself there, the rest of us fly. Worried about not being able to resist river. Baran can hook us out with emotional levers. Tom doesn't resist, Baran plugs into his lost wife. I try it. Fail resist. Baran pulls me out, doesn't like my memories. Decide to try the Hanging City first. Bicker through forest. Get to flat, featureless plains. Mil sci keeps us going. Get to frosted plateau. Go through. See the sister's building, our boat outside. Check out sisters. Malbar prowling. Baran checks out bodies available. Very cold here. Go downriver. Rapids, Hanging City. Nice. Long-armed humans, can't affect them. One doing a ritual. D.A = magical aura, name of ritual = speak to dead, target = dead person in area, time to completion = 4 minutes. We move out to avoid complications. Come back after 5 minutes, ghost = male human. Where things are stashed, where the rich ones were, where the mages were. Has to answer truthfully. Starts communications back and forth. Dikembe says we're looking for Noran. Sigh. Live one starts acting suspicious, we scarper. City abandoned in an orderly fashion. Most possessions gone, some stayed on and left stuff here at later point. Baran can't see aura trail. Find library (20-30 books) museum with artifacts eg triangles, wands, discs etc. Tom thinks it's a trap. Books appear fiction. Find a ghost. Acts terrified of us. Mebh says "Boo", it screams. Nice lady. It appears trapped in one spot, cursed. Says we could merge, save her / them. Another voice. About five in there. Is Agron in there? All own up. Spell = greater curse, fail compel. Vivian tries hypnotism, fails. Then backfires, and again. Ghosts trying to lure us into the mess. Vivian gets it. Wenda. Terms of curse = trapped here forever, believes merging will give good M.A then all could get free. Fat chance. Doesn't know Agron. D.A conditions of release = remove curse. We leave. Find ritual rooms. Some treasure around. 60 squatters. Can't detect ghosts. Run into other ghost. Hasn't seen Agron. Phantometric receptor here, with looters, ghost bottles. Looters deliberately catching ghosts. Phantometric receptor has a range / sweep. Ghosts have to be released physically - Necro spec counter. Give the stooly some bad info. Go looking for submarine. Find plane of obsidian. 30 mile diametre circle of a different colour in middle. Epicentre. Otherside find submarine. Crew entering cave / tomb. Find woman in tomb, aged, dying. Baran does D.A, Metasapient aura, fading fast. Daring others to take gift before she dies. We can't touch her. D.A = long lived sentient, Metasapient Riverdweller, counterspell necessary to stop transfer of Metasapience = no answer. Stone Mandrake takes Metasapience, Dikembe tries to interpose, gets to experience kiss. Soul leaves, we try to grab her. Vivian and Dikembe merges with her. She's unco. Triumphant / scared of dying. She's from the beginning of Metasapience, trapped in status, awakened early by earthquakes etc. Unaware of paradise. Baran and Vivian pursue soul to river. Present = Stone Mandrake, Foxglove = Mind Mage, Mary = Wicca, Garth, two Drow. Apparently lost Rune Mage to attrition. Planning to get us to take them back, where ever we are. D.A Mandrake = Metasapient Human; how can Metasapience be removed from this being? Death. We have a friend who can do that. Detect Enchantment = magically induced Metasapience, remaining duration = 3 days. D.A sub = magical, counterspell to destroy = no answer. Magic globe and chairs in front, window, supplies and bunks in back, portholes. Fish scale hide, tail. Mandrake has staff (no counterspell), cap (no counterspell), 3 rings (counterspells = Wicca special, E&E special, Celestial general). Mary has battleax (shaped magic, special ability = increased damage and chance to hit), and 2 rings (counterspells = Air special, E&E special). Has less poison than the others. Garth nothing visible. Identical Drow have rings, non magical. All have amulets of luck. Try to counterspell the Celestial general ring. Backfire. No apparent effect. Mandrake falls over and thrashes about for a bit. Then gets up and says he feels great. First thing he's said since the kiss. Blows a rat apart with Necrosis. They leave to go looking for us. Drow activate globe with their hands. Detect Enchantment = permanent Water Mage spell, works better for Water Mages. Sub moves at 30 mph. Find five conch shells. They talk about two trump cards in our party. Meanwhile, Baran and Vivian follow Metasapient to River of Light. She gains consciousness when she hits. Vivian talks her out, explains where she is. She wants to know he rules, seems she wants to live again. Riverdwellers divided about Metasapience - destroyed their way of life. She got cursed with aging, made statis, but it got interrupted. Vivian tries to explain what's happened since, including the Rainbow World. She wants to merge, Vivian suggests she do it with Dikembe. They zoom back to us. Do introductions. Elia, one of the first Metasapients. Merge. Ritual, experimentation, off plane travel. First volunteer = bad effect. She was third. Mages unhappy with her result but she managed to escape, cursed, before full powers kicked in. Friend helped, said they would return, didn't. She's happy Metasapience continued. Knows the rainbow stuff: sensed a stream of sentience down the river, around city, merging with huge thing in ocean. Wasn't aware of Rainbow World. She still Metasapient, could do / pass on the ritual. Could have been improved after her. Nature? Magically spread, she made herself contagious. Consciousness of universe, physical laws. Not sure of effect on Humans / Dwarves. Once off ritual, once gone Mandrake will lose one spell permanently from his memory. She feels call to river. Dikembe suggests her mind expansion to find Agron. No ITN, but do have GTN, and flagged by soul strengthen. Possible. She also interested in city. Doesn't like Necroclaves. Leaving to look around, will get back to us with news of Agron or anything interesting. Warn her of soul traps. Head back to bodies wondering what the trumps are. Get back. Alex dead, Malbar dead. Fuck. Bodies gone. Chaos. Aeon tells us Agron came back, controlled by Mind Mage. Malbar caught her putting souls in our bodies. Killed her. Bodies killed Malbar and Captain and Seth, all resurrectable. House expelled our bodies. Golems still there. House can send us in golem bodies to where it sent out bodies. Someone will be having problems with mine. Ha. They probably don't have spells yet. Golem choices = Bunny, Orang, Dwarf, 2 Fossigrim, Human Female, Tiger, damaged bodies. All animals can talk and cast, except Tiger. Boat can be hid in house. How long have we been dead? Four days unco in river, two days looking. Bodies gone hours ago. Dikembe orders a Locate to find his body. Wants to scout in ghost form. They out of range of Locate. Extends range 110 miles. Finds them. Downstream, border +- 30 miles. Touch of humanoids hurts Raan - could die in our embrace. Only weapon we have is Alex's rapier. Body figurines say Dikembe's body is dead. Dikembe cheers. Must have eaten my almonds, or stuck his hand in my pouch. Truck on down to look, ghosty. It was the almonds. Ha. Vivian's body in charge. My body looking annoyed. Ethan (my body) and Noran (Vivian's body). E&E Healer in Brundar's body trying to cure poison in Dikembe's body. All Mages. Tom's body = Fire Mage, Mebh's body = Celestual. Several injured. Leaders bickering. Healer / E&E and Fire Mage = Mind Mage camp. Go back. Tiger for Dikembe (Str 28, Dex 26, Agl 30, End A24, Fat 29, Per 18, WP own, PB 9, TMR 9, Nat Armour 3, Bite 71% D+5, Four Claws 52% D), Human Female for me (Tom and Mebh want me to have it - teach me a lesson. Ha. Has sex lesson advantages. Agree. Mebh annoyed, now she wants it. Physical stats all 25, mental my own. Wow) put Mebh in Orang. Ha. (PS 25, MD 22, Agl 23, End 12, Fat 17, WP own, Per 17, PB 9, TMR 6 Trees/2, Nat Armour 2, Hands 62% D+10) Vivian in Fossigrim. Tom in Fossigrim Female. (PS 12, Dex 20, Agl 17, End 10, Fat 20, WP + Per own, PB 10, TMR 3/2 Swim, no armour, Teeth 60% D) Brundar in Dwarf. (PS 24, MD 23, Agl 22, MA own, End 24, Fat 23, WP own, Per own, PB 22, TMR 4) Baran (E&E) in Bunny. Wahoo. Test the flexibility of my new blonde. Leave Aeon healing and resurrecting. Equip. Leather Armour AV6. Make sap. No poison. 3 lightning grenadoes, D+17. Get classy lingerie. Dikembe licks his own balls. Can still project. Good. Greaters still apply. Arrange to meet Captain at enclave edge. House spits us to where they were. Fossigrim ride Tiger, rest unseen. Track bodies. Get close to where they were. Tom falls over. Dikembe resists. Bunny does Quicken. I do Mindmage special counter on me. Mebh and Dikembe fall over. Counterspell Dikembe with E&E general. They quickened. All left rush them, me projected. Tom comes to. Seven Vivians in front of us. My body (Mindmage) and the Dwarf (E&E) disappear. Giant still dead. Ha. Fire spec counter the Tiger. It charges the Fire Mage. Gets zapped with Hellfire. Nasty. Good thing it saved. Jumps on Fire Mage. Nasty. Follows up by looking for invisible Dwarf. Finds him prone and asleep. Backfired. Ha. Sap a Vivian. It disappears. Fuck. Disappear another. Fuck. Tiger attacked by Phantasm thing. Nasty. Dispell it with Mindmage spec counter. Ha. Tiger gets mazed. Fuck. Move into Mindmage counter area, cast Illusion spec counter on self. K.O Mebh's body. Ha. Dwarf had been wrestling with her. Tom's body stands up and zaps everyone. Blows the rest of the Vivian bodies away, kills Mebh's body and gains a death curse from the Celestial, zaps me ow ow ow! And the Dwarf and himself, but he's resistant. He jumps into the river. The Orang comes to and starts approaching. My body is spottied up a tree. The Tom Fossigrim tracked it down. Jump on the drowning Firemage and help him do it properly. Tom Fossigrim tracks down Vivian's body - also up a tree. Dwarf goes up Scorp tree. My body backfires and knocks himself out of the tree. Vivian's body backfires too. Slimy Fishscales then mazes the Dwarf. Keeps casting. Still drowning Firemage. Succeed. Yay. Gain a deathcurse. Damn. Pull body out of river. Vivian Foss curses his own body. Ha. Vivian's body tries to make a deal - body in return for the two in mazes. Says it's permanent. Mebh Orang hits him and he falls out of the tree unco. Tiger and Dwarf return. Cart bodies upstream on raft to boat. See boat going downstream, Roth steering. Our traitor. Project, grab the two Foss and go for boat. Vivian casts when we're partway, blinds him. Tiger racing, I get there first. Yay! Sap him, manacle him. Tiger finds Melanie and Captain paralysed below deck. Tell all I told them so. Tom Foss can steer boat, but heals Captain so he can do it. Roth kills himself with poison. Fuck. Get to house. Malbar still dead. Fuck. Girls alive, having trouble controlling house. Let others bodyswap first so I can experiment with pleasure spots on a female. Poison Vivian's, Brundar's and my body in a distant room to avoid death curse. D.A me - what's the deathcurse on me? Doom. Fuck. Burned to death. Fuck. Could burn this body, go to next but will take about three days or so. Fuck. Aeon says some Metasapient stuff at Hanging City. Decide to stay in Female body 'til after dealing with Mandrake. Fuck Tom to test the body's interests. Others consider Hanging City. Baddies two days away.

It's 16 Thaw, 6 PM

at this point. Plan: dry dock boat in house - may lose it. Teleport Disk to Hanging City. Can only go to Elusia through "soft spots" - one at where we came through, one at Autoclave 2000 miles downstream. Reckon we should teleport to Hanging City and drop rocks on the sub. Sisters going to vacate plane - house going to lose it in 24 hours or so. Shit. Shame I have to burn this body. No-one but me knows how to knock people out. Sigh. Vivian manages it. They burn me to death. Get resurrected. Sigh. Nighttime. Aeon redoes soul strengthening. Me fucked. Dikembe suggests I stay behind. Ha. Sisters offer a tonic to get me to full, need to sleep after 24 hours. Baran decides to stay behind. Reckons it's too dangerous with us. Step on teleporter. Emerge in bubble 1.5 miles up the canyon wall. Can see the bridge. One door. D.A, magical aura - magically trapped, warded or cursed? No. Detect Enchantment = conservation / protection. No handle. Doesn't push. Melody touches the key to it. Opens. Residence of Anton Famitree. Welcome. Ha. Leave. Lit corridors, museum close. Wander. High mana. Find more bubbles and fountains. D.A = magical aura, nature of magic = healing. Rank = N.A. Find tripwire, goes to bell. D.A's = bell magical, nature summon waiter. D.A ground on other side, magical trap, ward, curse? No. Go through. Water stays same aura when in waterskin. Recommend testing. Dikembe finds a small gold ring down the back of a couch. Vivian cuts himself, sips water. No effect. Bathes wound. Heals. See broken glass down corridor. Once was a sculpture. D.A non-magical, has never been magical. Find plant room, nice flowers. Go down glass corridor. Get halfway and it vortexes and cuts us. Nasty. Stun. So does everyone else. Recover. Mel, Captain, Dikembe and Brundar don't come out of stun. Fuck. Run for fountain. Stunned ones hurt. Poisoned glass. Fuck. Stop to help Mel. Fail. Captain still stunned. Bad. Dikembe drags him out. Brundar out. Get Mel, throw her in the fountain. D.A nature of poison = synthetic nerve poison. Fuck. Fountain doesn't cure poison. Brundar on other side of vortex corridor. Elf comes out, calls him an intruder. Advances with an ax. Brundar thounces him, he runs. Dikembe goes for teleporter. Would take the sisters 12 min to cure poison. Too long. Vivian goes back to die there. All go back, except Brundar, who ran after the Elf. Sisters give three carbuncle amulets to slow things down as they do healing. I hibernate myself. Mel healed first. Give carbuncles to Tom who's healing Vivian, Dikembe and Mebh. Captain kept alive with healing potions. All get healed eventually. Go back, taking carbuncles. Follow trail of blood to Brundar's body. Send him back to house. Find five vials, then another seven in a secret compartment. Brundar's story: chased Elf for antidote. Caught him. Drank first thing the Elf gave him. Poison. Fuckwit. Killed Elf. Found six vials, drank one, died. Vivian puts the Elf's head into a jar with healing water, and gives it to Brundar as a gift. Get to museum, closed up. I find a secret panel, open it. Glass display cabinets, dias in middle with glass vial on top. Two metal statues in near corners. Cabinet: 1 = cone, 2 = nothing, 3 = ring, 4 = black disc 4" diametre, 5 = 2 bottles of ghost, 6 = staff, 7 = girlie belt, 8 = cloth. Truesilver triangles at back. Statues = floating metal snowmen with claws. D.A floor = not trapped, warded, cursed. D.A golems, nature of activation, removal of items, counterspell to destroy = none, command for deactivation = Metasapient command. D.A combined fatigue and endurance = 65. Dikembe goes in. Follow. Roof = 50', flat. Nature of magic, cone = silence, 2 Dikembe sees the outline of a basically invisible dagger, ring = encirclement, disc = illumination, ghost bottles are empty, activation = phantometric receptor, capacity = one ghost, staff = bonus to damage and attack, belt = offensive chastity belt - gives offenders a heart attack, cloth = planar softness. How useful. D.A glass = magical, alerting. Divinate golems. All get Vapour Breathing as I work. Golems: levitate, rank 20 lightning (Air Mage spec), extendable claws = crush and lightning, TMR 12, commands = Metasapient commands and creators, orders = if things leave room or if golems threatened or damaged, activate, P.S 40, senses = akin to Visionise from "head", can detect bound things I.E walls, sealed units. Idea: put an item on one, throw another item out the door. When one leaves to retrieve the thrown item, the other will attack to retrieve the placed item. The first will attack back to defend. D.A vial, nature of substance = Metasapient spit. Hear approaching crowd. Brundar rolls back the glass with Molding Elements. Me, Mebh and Melanie get agony. Start screaming. Dikembe tries to stick the cone of silence on me. Doesn't work. Vivian gags me. Brundar tries to see through the now closed door, grows another leg. Hit by fear: first Mebh and Captain gets wary, then Mebh gets wary, Dikembe frozen, I panic, Melanie hysterical, and Captain catatonic, then Mebh hysterical and me wary. In desperation, take tonic potion. One way transparancy on door goes up. Vivian looks out. No-one around. Noxious vapous goes up, others can hardly see. Dikembe takes Melanie out. Goes out of agony / mass fear range. Sees lots of long-armed nasties with weapons. Runs back to museum. Dikembe throws ghost bottles at them. Orders me out of area of affect. No way. Golems tear out to retrieve bottles, lightning bolts everywhere. Armies run away / around. Party gathers items and runs out of area of effect. I follow. Melanie casts, we leave. Get to a plane called Shadowlands, then to Elusia, just down the road from Seagate. Carbuncle amulets gone.

17 Thaw

Turns out the magic book was swapped by the bad Professor for his own, and it was casting the spells that were affecting us. The second traitor. Cone = bonus 30 for stealth if carried, bonus to concentration for casting if placed. Dagger of Glass, +20%, +4 Dam, once off it can be broken in the wound and the splinter will go to the heart. Encirclement = forms Enhance Enchantment rank 7 ring unless broken. Disc of Sun = throw in air, dispel magic dark rank 20. Chastity Belt = can't be removed except by the one who puts it on, molestors suffer a heart attack. Staff = +10%, +2 damage, packed with pollen (rank 5 Herbalist) + vial of pollen of sneezing - +10 to rolls in combat. Other pollens = sleep, poison. Ring of Quickness (from couch) invested two charges rank 14, 72%. Elf poisons and antidotes = synthetic, high mana area only. Water acts in high mana only, very limited life. I get the two lightning grenadoes = rank 20, D + 17 lightning, 500 sp each. Have hour glasses and soul strengthening. Get 5000 sp each. 73 days training to next meeting.