The Planewalkers' Journies

[Idran1701]

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc

Kongunvir heads to climb down...only to find himself slightly stymied. Contrary to his dreams, and those of everyone else here, this well in fact has no ladder along its length. Still, this is precisely why he keeps a grapple and line with him; it's a few extra minutes' work, but he manages to lower himself fairly easily, the others at the edge. There's not really room at the bottom for more than one person, unfortunately.

It's not an especially deep well, only about 20 feet, but there's no sign that it ever held any sort of fluid. And there's no hole in the wall, no mysterious muttering to focus in on. What he does find, however, are the scattered fragments of what looks to have once been a coverstone. Very recently broken, and covered with runic engravings, though if they held any power at one point it's long gone now. Still, there's...he can feel something there. Like an itch at his mind that he wants to scratch but can't.

Meanwhile, with Salix, Tonuin'li frowns, keeping her eyes locked on the ground. "It's not the dwarf. It's...this whole..." She shakes her head. "It's them."

---

Trivale:

Spoiler:

Something is pushing hard at your mind at the well...but you can't put your finger on what exactly. It's a strong...presence, or...no, it's too vague for you to feel more than that.

Rosalyn:

Spoiler:

Something about this area...the plasm here's different. It's not the same as the rest of the Astral. It's like there's another plane of potential is impinging or overlapping here, right at the well. It doesn't shape the same.

[Jak Snide]

Kongunvir looked around, searching for any faults in the stone that betrayed the presence of a hidden door. He didn't expect to find any, even though he knew there was a concealed portal here. Hopefully one of the others was familiar with the workings of illusions.

[Idran1701]

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc

Kongunvir feels, pokes, and prods every part of the wall at the bottom, but to every test he can think of, it seems nothing more than solid stone. If there is some illusion cloaking a portal at the base of this well, it must be a very powerful and very detailed one; even with his level of expertise in stonework, there's nothing out of the ordinary so far as he can tell.

[Jak Snide]

"Ask the githyanki what the trick to this thing is!" he called up.

[Seethe]

After the dwarf's final tirade against the githyanki, Rosalyn was left a bit speechless herself. As she recovered, she seemed to mull something over in her mind. At the same time, she took note of the... strange feeling she was starting to notice around here. Eventually, she moved to join Salix with githyanki woman. She heard the dwarf's call from below, but doubted the information he wanted would be as simple to get as asking.

"'Them?'" she asked instead. "You don't mean the Psurlons, do you?"

Then, she decided to cast a dice.

"Is it the Sha'sal Khou?" she asked. "Do you know who they are?"

[Idran1701]

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc - Well

Tonuin'li doesn't respond to Rosalyn's first question, but at the mention of the Sha'sal Khou, her head snaps up. She stares at Rosalyn for a moment or two, before checking the area around her. Speaking in hushed tones, she actually seems to relax, if slightly. "How do you...what do you know of the Sha'sal Khou? You aren't of Gith...and your group seems to know almost nothing of us." She furrows her brow, before a realization comes to her.

"...The dreams? Then it isn't just..." Frowning, she speaks up loud enough for them all to hear, though still keeping close watch for any others approaching; just the simple question looks to have engendered some trust in her. "I'll warn you...do not speak that name amongst the others. They would likely slay you on the spot. Even simply mentioning that organization is considered treasonous amongst the Githyanki."

---

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc - Abandoned Building

Not far from the well where the party speaks with Tonuin'li, a door opens in a building where once stood the gallery of a godstone sculptor, most of his creations shattered into shards in the psurlon attack, but a scant few seem to have survived. A door that was not there merely hours ago, but that none were present to see manifest. Through the door, two travelers enter. A man and a woman, members of the guild those already here call home; one familiar to some, the other a new guest.

Just above the floor of the building, a githyanki corpse grasping a chisel and hammer floats near what looks to be a half-finished representation of a great winged lizard. The body's head seems missing; to every appearance, having burst from within. And all about him, the sharp remnants of other works drift along the paths they carved when first blown asunder, giving a bit of danger to this room, but not enough to pose any serious threat.

---

Welcome back Joe, and welcome Angelica! Go ahead and intro yourselves when you get the chance. The basic setup: you two left about a day or so after the first party to help in the investigation of the plague of apathy, journeying to the realm that was referred to only as the "Silver War" by the lillend Madaliina. The whole trip up, you both saw signs of the lillendi watching the Stair far more blatantly than usual. It was a three day trip up the stair, one of the longer ones either of you would've made regardless of your past experience there.

If nothing else, you can go ahead and assume you were one of the people at this meeting and you just didn't speak up.

[Shinigori V2]

Flea's pointed ears twitched at the mention of Psurlons. Except, she had no idea what a Psurlon was.

She did know what something else was though! And she thought her new best friend in the world should know!

So, she immediately called down the well-

"HEY, BEARDO! SHE SAID WE'RE HAVING STEAKS TONIGHT, WHATCHUU WANT ON YOURS HUH?"

[Besyanteo]

Wow, what a presumptuous, foul little man. Even if he turned out to be right he didn't have half the information he'd need to be able to safely make these accusations. He lowered himself into the well and after a few moments began to bluster again. Lorraine had had about enough, and considered playing some nasty trick on the dwarf... But the opportunity was foiled by Flea getting his attention again. Ah well, it would have been petty and probably wouldn't have solved anything.

She went to the well lip and looked in curiously. Her mood wasn't helped by the knowledge that she could be more useful... if she'd taken the time to memorize new spells today. She still could, if the others wanted to wait an hour on her. She made herself calm down a bit and move back from the well.

"I'm going to take some time to prepare new magic, unless someone has a good reason I shouldn't. I'll need about an hour, but when I'm done I can be a bit more helpful examining this 'well'."

[Jak Snide]

"Tell her that I'll make mince meat of her if she doesn't spill her guts!" Kongunvir yelled back up before looked at Lorraine. He listened to her words, utterly oblivious of her disdain for him, nodding in acknowledgement.

"It'll be worth having your spells ready before we push forward. Who knows what the others are up to down there." He cast a rueful glance at the walls of the well, as if his scorn could banish whatever magic he was convinced protected this place. He hoped they were performing some foul ritual down there. The only alternative in his mind was that they had fled, duping one of their own into staying behind. The thought of cowards and traitors avoiding their fate set his blood boiling again.

[Seethe]

Trying to ignore the dwarf, and giving Lorraine a quick thumbs-up (or whatever the appropriate gesture of approval was in the portion of the cosmos known to her), Rosalyn went on to pursue whatever she had just stumbled across.

She gave a nod in response to the warning, having suspected the danger involved.

"The dreams, yes," she confirmed. "But the name is all I truly know of them."

[Idran1701]

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc - Well

Tonuin'li nods, casting a brief glance in the direction of the well at the sound of Kongunvir's shouting. "It isn't an organization I would expect those outside the gith to know of. But while they might be enemies to Vlaakith, you all are at no risk from them. The name...I'm unsure if even this will have any relevance to you, but it comes from an ancient form of our language. In your tongue, it means 'joining the skies'."

She looks to Rosalyn, curious. "Who did you dream of, that you heard the name? I've had dreams of someone long ago, here in this city. But I've never been able to tell who. And the others..." She scoffs. "They're more concerned on how they can use its power."

"We have been...dishonest," she continues with a sigh. "We were certainly not cowering guards, hiding ourselves from the psurlons like hounds. But we did not bring this death upon our kin." She casts a glare upon the well. "Whatever your ally would wish to believe."

[Shinigori V2]

Flea thought for a minute; clearly he had misspoken but she was pretty sure she knew what he meant.

Flea marches over to the present Gith and says as formally as possible-

"Doctor McBeard has requested the presence of your innards upon his steak this evening."

[darkknight61189]

Garick had only returned to the Guild three days ago, having been off tracking down a lead on a portal back to his home plane. As soon as he'd returned, he heard about the fuss, so he had decided to follow the others that had gone off to investigate it, and had picked up a traveller along the way.

The two had spent the three days travelling much further than Garick had ever been along the Staircase, and had talked a bit about their respective reasons for joining the Guild. It turned out that the girl's predicament was very similar to his own, which made him wonder how many others were in the same boat as him.

When they had finally reached the door to the Silver War, Garick insisted that he be the first through the door. "You never know where these doors pop up, and so you never really know what you might find on the other side. I figure a dainty girl like you wouldn't want to be poking your head into an infernal's den. Probably better if I go in first."

Garick walked through the door with his warhammer in his right hand and his scimitar in his left, ready for any sort of trouble that he might have found on the other side of the door. He quickly scanned the room, left and then right, then waved the girl into the room, saying, "Yup, all clear." He walked about, jumping up and down a bit, then furrowing his brows in concentration. "Alright, so it looks like we can't fly here, and we can't make things with our minds, so pretty normal place."

Then he noticed the exploded heads. "You know, except for that."

[Angelica]

Sunny tried not to laugh at Garick's insistence. She was pretty sure she could take care of herself, but she certainly didn't mind letting him go first, so she just stood back and smiled. Her smile faded as soon as she saw the chaos on the other side of the door. She hesitated for a moment, running a hand over her blond hair to see that it was tied back securely and tugging at one of the fastenings on her leather armor, then stepped carefully forward, pulling a short bow from the quiver on her back.

She was suddenly very glad that she was traveling light, even if she had not intended to do so. She became very aware of the rope wrapped around her torso and the grappling hook hanging at her side, and began to wish that she had found somewhere to leave them back at the camp on the stairs. Normally, she wouldn't mind, but the possibility of combat made her nervous, and the destruction here would be intimidating even if the corpse and the rubble weren't floating. She walked slowly and smoothly, deftly avoiding the floating rocks.

"I'm sorry. We can't what? Does that happen a lot around here?"

[darkknight61189]

"Oh sure," Garick responded, poking some of the rubble with his scimitar, "You're new around here, so it's not too weird you don't know this, but some places you can fly, some places everything's covered in fire, some places you can make stuff with your mind, some places if you don't concentrate on being you, you become something else." He looked at her, amused by her concern. "Some places the air itself is alive, trying to drive you nuts. But, don't think about it too much. Wonder what's keeping this stuff floating, though." Poke. Poke.

[Angelica]

For once, Sunny didn't quite know what to say, so she nodded and tried to move a little farther from the nearest pieces of rubble.

"Well. What now? We're supposed to find those other people, right? I guess I should follow you." After eying the floating corpse uneasily for a few seconds, she moved quickly towards the exit, "Shall we?"

Even at a quick pace, she slipped easily past the rubble without disturbing its suspension.

[Idran1701]

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc - Abandoned Building

The two head towards the exit, with Garick giving the floating bits of rock the occasional nudge with his scimitar. Garick's prodding doesn't seem to dissuade the rubble from defying gravity any, only giving it a new trajectory to follow as it flies slowly about the room.

Once beyond the confines of the building, Sunny gets her first look of a land beyond the Prime. The Staircase may have been strange, but the fog likely helped to keep the full enormity of it from becoming too overwhelming; strange, but no more than a very eccentric architect's products. But out on the open street, the endless silver void of the Astral stretches overhead, shimmering in all directions, distant ribbons twitching and shimmering across the sky. Here and there, the occasional bright spot shines overhead like a star, though with a steady light, none of the twinkle of home. An ever-present dull-grey light seems to come from nowhere at all, but saturates the plane, keeping a single shadow from occupying any crevice.

Perhaps the strangest thing, though, is the utter silence. A silence so total that it might seem as if she's gone deaf at first, until their own footsteps break the quiet. But there's no creaks or groans, no wind, no animals. Nothing but the dozens of bodies they can see floating all about.

---

Just so I don't repeat myself too much, this post has a description of the city as it is now. In short, it looks like there's been a massive attack here in the recent past. There's a lot of dead, but no signs of decay.

Oh, and one slight thing I completely forgot to mention before; both of you right now appear, rather than your normal appearance, as your self-image. For some that'd be nearly identical but for a few subtle differences, for others there'd be fairly major idealized (or in the rare case, less idealized) changes. Though overall you would still look like you.

Also, if you felt hungry, achey, or any other sort of ailment (minor or otherwise) before entering, it's completely gone right now. Mental effects like mental fatigue or exhaustion would still be there, though.

[darkknight61189]

"Wow," Garick said, looking about himself, never putting away his weapons, "so that's why they call this place the Silver War." He walked along, gazing about him, making sure there weren't any threats. His clothing, though he didn't notice, was suddenly less ratty and grime stained. He himself looked a bit more muscular and buffed, but not much more than anyone might have been used to.

"Well, any good ideas on how to find our friends?"

[Angelica]

As she passed out into the open expanse of the Astral, Sunny stared at the sky, slowing down until it looked like she had forgotten that she was walking. She closed her eyes tightly and opened them again, to a view of her boots, which were no longer scuffed. She ran her hand through her hair again, unaware that it was slightly straighter than it had been, and that the loose ends had somehow tucked themselves back into her ponytail. If she could have seen herself, she might have been concerned that her armor was suddenly more low-cut, or that her eyes seemed to be a brighter green than before. For the time being, she had other, more important things to think about.

"Um." Sunny looked up again, still not comfortable with the endless space overhead. "Can you track them or something?" Turning away from the sky, she focused on the elf. "I suppose we could make some noise, but even if that works, I don't like thinking about what else might find us."

[ChristianC]

Salix bit his lips hard as the two women exchanged mentions of organizations he'd never even heard of...

And the sudden threat of death from the others made him shoot Rosalyn a hurt look, had she known about that? If she'd gotten him killed because of a loose tongue.

"...Is there anything I can do to help? I don't... know what these organizations are, but if you are not feeling well there are some mild herbal cures I can prepare for you... for easing melancholy... or treating insomnia... or..." he unslung his backpack before she could even respond, digging in it, "Even if it only helps a little, I believe we should try it..."

[Idran1701]

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc - Well

Glancing to Salix, Tonuin'li seems about to talk him off; seeing how worried he seems, though, she smiles. "If you think it would help, you would seem to know best. I've had no troubles with insomnia, though. Why?"

---

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc - Abandoned Building

Around the area, at first Garick has trouble even making an attempt at getting his bearings. Not only are there no tracks to be seen; besides the damage all about them, there doesn't even seem to be any signs of wear on the streets. They seem utterly brand new, as if the stone was lain only days ago. After a time, though, his instincts lead him to little things. Recently disturbed stone dust drifting in the air, the direction of floating rubble pushed aside, and other minor details like these. He's fairly certain a large group passed through here recently, and he can tell which direction they've gone. If they're their allies or not, though, he can't tell.

Garick passed his Survival check with a 25.

[Seethe]

Rosalyn thought about the name. "Joining the skies." It didn't ring any bells, but it did sound suggestive of bringing unity to something. Probably something lofty, from the mention of "skies."

"The one I saw... looked like the man who taught me the ways of my calling," she said. "My teacher was one of my own kind, though, so I doubt that was who it really was. But... whoever it was in my dream... he claimed that the..."

Trailing off for a moment, Rosalyn hesitated before she mentioned what she was about to mention in the presence of a gith.

"The Mindflayers," she finally spat out, a bit of her own hatred for the creatures coming through when she finally worked up the nerve to speak of them, "wouldn't be stopped unless the Sha'sal Khou succeeded. I wouldn't know, of course, and I apologize if that idea offends you."

Meanwhile, she had noticed Salix's look, and guessed the reason for it. It was a legitimate concern, and she felt some guilt for it. She hadn't really known the full extent of the danger, but she had known enough not to run off and question the first gith she could find about it the moment she had woken up. Whether she had been right or wrong to take the risk when she had, she could only hope it would lead to getting somewhere.

[Idran1701]

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc - Well

Tonuin'li nods quietly. "I've...heard they say such things often. There was a time once, long ago, when our kin, had they focused, may've accomplished that. When the illithid were at their weakest. But minor quibbles become massive arguments, which in turn led to war." She glances up and off once more before speaking again, her voice almost too low to hear. "Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if Gith simply agreed to give time before striking."

She looks to Flea now, smiling. "Tell him I prefer them where they are, but thank you." She looks at the well now, as she continues to the others, "I doubt he will find anything here. We haven't yet. But maybe you all will succeed where we failed." She shrugs. "You trust one another, it seems. That's what we lack right now."

[darkknight61189]

"Let's try this way," Garick said, "Something's telling me that they're in this direction. Or at least something that can be beaten with a blunt object." Garick sheathed his scimitar, his warhammer's had resting on his shoulder. He headed off in the direction that the large group seemed to have gone, trying to get himself used to tracking by disturbed dust motes.

[Idran1701]

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc - Street

Heading onwards, Garick follows the trail to the best of his ability, leading him on a fairly straight path with the occasional curves. From how it looks, he gets the feeling whoever it was, they started out somewhat unsure, but as they went on they knew exactly where they were going; likely not natives, then.

Eventually, as the pair of travelers comes around a corner, he finds his tracking has been a success; in the distance, standing around what looks like a well, are a number of his guildmates from the Stair. They don't look to have yet noticed the two of them, but he can spot Rosalyn and Trivale for certain among them, speaking with someone he doesn't recognize.

Whoops, sorry about that, didn't see you'd posted, Joe. As for the others, you can't yet hear their approach, but if someone happened to look over, they'd spot Sunny and Garick only a couple hundred feet away. And once you spot him, you'll be able to hear him as normal.

[ChristianC]

Salix smiled a little, "I am merely presenting the options... I have not diagnosed you, but if there is anything troubling I wish to help." he glanced over to the well, chewing on his lips a little, "I don't understand why we dreamt the same dream... but I am certain they will succeed, the guild is very good at things like this.... I believe." he took out a clear vial-bottle with a stopper in it, several small balls of ruddish red herbs inside it. "Blackroot. The root is deadly, but the leaves are known to alleviate negative emotions, particularly depression or anxiety..." he took out the stopper and gently shook the flask into the giths hand until one little ball fell out into it. "Eat it as it is, or put it in hot water and drink, either way is fine... It might not... help if this is indeed as stronge a curse as I believe it is, but... put some faith in it, and perhaps it will." he smiled weakly and looked to Rosalyn.

"I don't think I'm much use to anyone right now... do you want me to leave so you can talk further?"

[Idran1701]

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc - Well

Tonuin'li smiles to Salix, shifting a bit against the wall and holding the bit of curative gently. "Thank you, Salix. And leave? Whatever for? You are a part of this group, yes? What I say, I say to you all. I'm certain you must have questions, and it's nice being able to speak with people without needing to watch my every word for fear of..." Trailing off, she frowns, shaking her head. "But no, stay. And...the rest of you all, ask your questions too. I don't know the truths behind your dreams, but maybe I could help find them."

[darkknight61189]

When Garick saw his guildmates, he beamed. "Ah hah, knew I'd find them," he said to Sunny. He then cupped his hands and shouted, "Hey, what's going on around here?"

[Idran1701]

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc - Well

Despite the shouting, Garick's friends show no sign of greeting; not even any sign of having heard him. Very peculiar!

[darkknight61189]

Garick continued shouting for a bit, puzzled by why his friends couldn't hear him. He quickly turned around to Sunny. "You can hear me, right?"

[Angelica]

Sunny winced as Garick shouted over the silence. She took a few steps towards him and looked back nervously over her shoulder.

"You're loud enough it's lucky I'm not deaf. Gods must be watching over me." She frowned. "What do you think is wrong with them?" Occasionally glancing around for any signs of danger, she approached the strangers, keeping a tight grip on her bow.

[Idran1701]

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc - Well

Sunny approaches the others, noting that she can hear them just fine. As she draws near, she catches the attention of Tonuin'li, who nods to the new arrival. Looking to the rest of the party, she gestures towards her and Garick. "Of your band, I hope? Would you not have introduced all of yourselves to us? Perhaps...lucky you hadn't, if so." She looks back to Sunny, sitting up a bit straighter. "And what would you be called? Tonuin'li, myself."

[darkknight61189]

"Wait, you can hear us?" Garick asked, a little confused. He then remembered his manners, wiped his hands on his clothing, and extended it to shake the gith's hand. "Hello, I'm Garick. We're with the guild as well, though they sent us after them."

[Angelica]

Sunny relaxed visibly at Tonuin'li's greeting, waiting until Garick spoke to introduce herself. "You can call me Sunny. I'm glad we found you. It's good to be with friends in a place like this." She smiled and looked expectantly at the remaining strangers.

[Nakibe]

Trivale's steps slowed as the group got closer to the well, partly due to the loud, almost angry-seeming buzz at the back of their head. It was as if a wedge was being driven between his thoughts, splitting them into incoherent patterns for a moment. "Something... definitely doesn't want us here..." is the most he can choke out before sagging to the ground, hoping to concentrate more on keeping his thoughts together than on complex things like standing.

[Idran1701]

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc - Well

Tonuin'li gets to her feet, frowning towards Trivale and moving to help him up. "...I'm not sure what's wrong, but perhaps you should take your friend from here." She glances about, scowling. "Gaath'lir will be here soon to change the guard. You were not here." To all of them, but seemingly to Rosalyn in particular, she adds, "We can talk later if need be."

Starting to lead him away, she looks down the street. "You may wish to hide the presence of these two from them. Having others show up may bring a poor reaction from my fellows. Do not trust them, whatever they say."

[ChristianC]

The elf saw the new arrivals but didn't know them, but two travellers who looked friendly was a welcome sight...

"Hello, I am... ah, my name is Salix, it's a pleasure to um, meet you." Hearing the gith's suggestion, he frowned but nodded. "If you're with the guild, I'm glad you're here. We're not sure what has happened, this... plague, it's magical in nature... but if we don't find the origin of it I'm afraid anything we do against it is... temporal, at best."

[darkknight61189]

"Hey," Garick said, watching the Tonuin'li leave, "I'm Garick, this is Sunny. What's going on here? Doesn't look like the plague-thing's gotten here. Unless that's what causing the exploded-head problem."

[Angelica]

Sunny almost laughed at Garick's reference to the "exploded-head problem," but instead hid her smile, hoping to avoid offending anyone who respected the dead.

"He has a point. Are we in danger here?"

[Idran1701]

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc - Well

"I...couldn't say for certain. My companions have been paranoid since we returned, scheming about this well. Even just the arrival of these was enough to worry them," as she gestures to the rest of the group. "But the fact that this group was cut off from their home, showed no interest in the well, and made no attempts at violence against our number was enough to mollify them. With two of those no longer true, and with the chances of even more arriving before they've finished untangling the meaning of the dreams...I would imagine things may turn quickly."