Difference between revisions of "DKDragons/SessionSeven"

Revision as of 09:02, 3 April 2010

17:26 [ST] The first of the stars are just beginning to appear in the deepening sky as the Unconquered Sun slides below the rim of Creation in the West, burning a trail through the Wyld on his long, circular journey around the bottom of the world. Those preparing for the expedition are milling about in the courtyard before the Shatterspear Manse, making their last arrangements.

17:30 [Talek] Talek paces nervously, as his Hound sits serently nearby. One of the servant's children is petting the sorcerous beast, to the horror of her fellows.

17:31 [Talek] The Agata is moved to tears,and chitters a lament on courage and cowardice. Talek tries not to follow the allusions.

17:31 [Kalan] Kalan stands at parade rest, his direspear strapped to his back. His eyes are veiled, and his mouth set in a grim line.

17:33 [Keshin] Keshin mounts the Swift Rider, relaxing into the saddle and preparing himself for a long ride. He runs his hands over the controls, remembering most. "Who am I carrying?"

17:33 [ST] Sarom Kyros walks up, clad in a pair of stout canvas pants and an armored vest. A cloth-wrapped helmet topped with a small spike sits on his head, and a slashing sword is at his hip. He doesn't seem too comfortable with any of them.

17:35 [ST] "Is this the..." Kyros sneers. "Expedition?"

17:37 [Kalan] Kalan's mouth twitches in the hint of a smirk. Poor boy. "It is," he says, adding with little consideration for his comrade, "You're riding behind Keshin. Do you have any questions about the mission?"

17:40 [ST] "That monk of yours told me what to expect. A jaunt off to Ghan to look at some monsters the lot of you probably made up." A twinge across his brow betrays something. "I expect to be back in a few days, I have business here to attend to."

17:44 [Kalan] Kalan waves a hand dimissively. "We will make every effort to return you in time to see to your affairs.

17:44 [Talek] The hound sniffs a scrap of paper and a scrap of hair. The Book and Jorj.

17:45 [ST] Almost casually, the hound reorients itself, pointing slightly Southwest towards Ghan. Kyros clambers aboard behind Keshin, looking rather dubiously around for a moment before reapplying his mask of unconcern.

17:46 [Keshin] Keshin extends a hand to help Kyros up. "Is he competent?" he asks Kalan.

17:48 [Kalan] There's an ominous pause. "He has heart," he says at last.

17:48 [ST] "I've received the training I require. Let's get this done." Kyros hardens his mouth into a firm line

17:50 [ST] Silken Whisper, Tansy, and Vash stand nearby to see the group off. Both Mara and Matara are conspicuously absent.

17:51 [Kalan] Kalan mounts the agata hesitantly after Talek, attempting to ignore the way it bobbed up and down and occasionally, naueseatingly, to the side. He lifts his hand in brief salute to the well-wishers.

17:51 [Keshin] "Right" he nods, accepting. "I can move on your order." They needed to be prodded. Left to themselves, they would delay for far too long, not wanting to be off on the dangerous task.

17:53 [Kalan] "Then we're away."

17:53 [Talek] "Maaresh Quyir!" Talek calls the Agata to rise straight up off the ground. It levels up after about a 100 feet, stops with disturbing smoothness, and then moves off, buzzing

17:56 [Keshin] He guns the Swiftrider, setting off after them. It was easier with them in the lead, given their better view.

17:56 [ST] As the group departs, Tansy turns to Silken Whisper. Her eyes are rimmed with red and sunken in, her voice strained. She hasn't had a chance to smoke in all the rush. "I wish I'd remembered to tell Talek to bring me one of their brains. I could have done a chymical analysis..."

17:57 [ST] Silken Whisper only sighs. Dragons preserve him, he was almost fond of her by now. "May the Dragons grant them success," he says, turning to return to the Shatterspear. Much still remained to be done.

17:58 [ST] The Agata is a swift mount, but Keshin has to reign the rider in to avoid swiftly outpacing it. The Hound lopes along faithfully behind, untiring.

17:59 [ST] The path across the plains of Kushan is flat and unerring, only the smallest of rolling hills breaking up its First Age construction.

17:59 [ST] As the night deepens, the group passes several hamlets, long since emptied. Perhaps their inhabitants have fled to Kushan... or just fled sanity altogether.

18:00 [ST] The journey has gone on for perhaps an hour when those on the Agata spot a row of torches in the distance, hugging the road. Some kind of procession is moving slowly towards the group.

18:01 [Talek] Talek swings the Agata over to the right, keeping a few hundred yards away from the group. He mumbles a sorcerous command for the hound to follow

18:02 [Talek] "Warn Kenshin. Did you bring a spyglass?"

18:02 [Keshin] Keshin turns to follow them, sure that there was a reason they were deviating from the road.

18:03 [ST] Kyros doesn't complain. Even at only 40 miles per hour, the Swift Rider is still carrying him faster than he's ever gone in his life. He's white-faced and silent.

18:04 [Kalan] Kalan passes it to him.

18:09 [Kalan] "See anything?"

18:09 [ST] Through the glass, Talek can make out a group of perhaps a dozen people and a pair of Yeddim-drawn wagons. The people are armed with staffs and short blades, and are moving swiftly. They look harried, frightened, and not at all insane.

18:11 [Talek] Talek looks through the wrong end of the glass, curses, and turns it around.

18:11 [Talek] "They look like survivors"

18:12 [Kalan] "Let's talk to them and see what lies ahead."

18:14 [ST] As the Swift Rider and the Agata draw near, the men and women around the wagons draw back, dropping into hasty defensive positions. An anguished wail of horror comes from one of the wagons.

18:15 [Kalan] Kalan drops off the agata. "Be at ease," he commands rather than reassures, stepping towards them with his direlance still strapped to his back.

18:15 [Talek] The wasp buzzes over their heads. Talek calls out. "Don't worry, we're Dynasts! Not zombies! We're here to help!"

18:16 [ST] "Help..." a young man wearing tattered and bloodstained silks moves to the front of the procession. "I don't think anything can help that place."

18:16 [Keshin] Keshin pulls up a fair distance in front of the caravan, not wanting to close farther until the situation was calm. People did crazy things in panic.

18:16 [Kalan] "Tell us," Kalan says, his face flinty.

18:18 [ST] The man swallows. His eyes have deep, hollow shadows under them, and he seems to have had some of his long blond hair torn away. He was probably handsome, once.

18:19 [ST] "I am Kinson, Merchant Prince of the Guild. We were visiting Kushan for the purposes of trade.. but when we drew near the city walls..."

18:19 [ST] He shakes his head. "I did not want to abandon the goods. Our rear guard formed up... they were overwhelmed."

18:22 [Kalan] Kalan glances back at Sarom Kyros. "Is the city wholly consumed?"

18:22 [ST] "I do not know... we... dared not get too close."

18:23 [ST] "I only know hundreds swarmed from the walls, and none moved to hinder them."

18:23 [ST] "Does Kushan still stand? We're making our way there as fast as possible."

18:23 [Kalan] Kalan claps him on the shoulder. "Yes. Report to the Shatterspear when you arrive, and tell Commander Mara," the words are sour, "all you know."

18:24 [ST] Behind Kalan, there is a soft sound, almost like a whisper, that quickly grows to a vibrato roar.

18:24 [ST] The Hound of the Five Winds is growling, its hackles raised.

18:27 [Talek] "Wait"

18:27 [Kalan] Kalan turns, taking his direlance from his holster and spinning it in front of him. The tip ignites into incadescent flame, casting light out against the darkness.

18:27 [Talek] Talek leaps off the Agata "Hound, come" he draws his bow

18:28 [ST] The Hound takes a padding step towards Talek, then turns its head sharply back towards Kalan, past Kalan.

18:28 [ST] To the wagons.

18:29 [Talek] He eyes the 'survivors' warily. "The Hound senses something vile. We will search you. I am sure you will be glad to be rid of whatever it smells, hmm?"

18:29 [Kalan] "What do you have back there, Guildsmen?" Kalan asks in a voice like ice.

18:30 [ST] "I-" Kinson's eyes roll. "C-certainly, Princes of Earth, you may search. P-perhaps he smells the blood..."

18:31 [Kalan] "Perhaps." Kalan stalks past him, spear levelled.

18:31 [Talek] Talek keeps his bow up. "Scent it out" he says to the Hound

18:33 [ST] The Hound pads past the first wagon without looking back. A casual glance reveals a number of huddled figures, camp followers by the look of them.

18:34 [ST] It noses open the second wagon and moves within, moving among bolts of cloth and a few stout chests. Then, it begins to dig at the floor, rending chunks of wood aside with a terrible splintering sound.

18:34 [ST] There is a hollow space beneath, and stacked within it are dozens of books, all bearing the same crude cover.

18:35 [Talek] "Taqur mizan, girik mau nitgin!"

18:36 [Kalan] Kalan hefts a copy, and turns, his face like death. He lowers the tip of the direspear again, pointing write under the blond man's chin. "Tell me again what you're doing," he says quietly.

18:36 [Talek] The Hound picks up a book in its mouth and lopes back to Talek. It shakes its head in disappointment at the 'survivors' as it walks by

18:36 [ST] The man's face contorts, but any fight in him has been beaten out in the past few hours. He sinks to his knees, all but sobbing.

18:37 [ST] "They said we could leave, if we took the books to Kushan. They said we would go free. There was a woman... her eyes burned. She sealed our pact with blood before the Dead Gods. They promised we could go free. They PROMISED-"

18:38 [Kalan] "What woman?"

18:38 [Keshin] Keshin noses the Rider forward, wanting to be closer incase they did something rash.

18:40 [Talek] Talek slips the book in under his armor, and feeds the Hound a few motes of essence.

18:40 [ST] "I don't know. She was pale... she wore dark robes... she was beautiful." He trembles. "I'm sorry. Please. We only wanted to save our own lives. She said if the pact was broken that there would be a terrible reckoning. That if we told anyone-"

18:40 [ST] He looks down at himself, shudders once, and falls over, dead.

18:41 [ST] A moment later, several of the others also sway and fall. The rest look on in astonishment, apparently not part of this pact.

18:42 [Kalan] Kalan looks down at him in grim amusement. His life was poor coin to trade in. He beckons one of the survivors over.

18:43 [ST] The closest is a boy barely old enough to shave, wearing an ill-fitting iron cap. He opens and closes his mouth wordlessly.

18:44 [Kalan] "Do you know anything of these?" Kalan asks, showing him the book.

18:45 [ST] "M-my-my lord, I know that they, they-" His eyes seem to focus on the cover of the book, going glassy.

18:46 [ST] He reaches out a hand, fumbling for it.

18:46 [Keshin] "We can't trust them. There could easily be a second level to this plot. Nothing they carry is worth that risk to the city."

18:47 [Kalan] Kalan yanks it out of the boy's grasp with a snarl of disgust. He turns to look at Keshin levelly. "What are you suggesting?"

18:49 [Keshin] "To burn the carts at least. From the effects you describe, they are free of the book's effects at least. If they have nothing but their clothing, perhaps some foodstuffs, it should be safe to leave them here."

18:51 [Kalan] There's a slight relaxing of his shoulders. "Yes. I agree. Talek! How many copies of this book do you need?"

18:55 [Kalan] He takes a step away from the boy and flips through it absently.

18:57 [ST] The cover has a young mortal thaumaturge brandishing a blade at a scrabble of lines that first appear to be a hideous creature. As Kalan looks longer, he realizes that the scribbled mass is actually a horde of corpses

18:58 [ST] The title proclaims this to be "The Illustrious Tale of Poh Tah and the Inauspicious Hordes"

18:59 [ST] It's a fairly straightforward adventure story, it seems, but the longer one looks at any of the particular pages, the more obviously something is seriously wrong with the book.

18:59 [Talek] Looks through, making sure the books are all the same

18:59 * Talek pulls out his newly cleaned essence goggles and examinesthem

19:00 [ST] The section where Rawn, Poh Tah, and Onee go to the ball, for example, really contains instructions for how to ritually eviscerate a living human being. The talk with the Grand Sage is interspliced with a litany calling on its readers to murder and mutilate themselves.

19:00 [ST] The books continue on, and though they're not all the same, they seem to follow the same theme and contain similar instructions.

19:01 [ST] Looking through the books with his essence visor, Talek sees dark threads of Underworld Essence worming along the pages and animating the pictures in their turn. The book doesn't seem to be the source of the Essence, though. It's vague, an imprint.

19:02 [ST] It's possible in time the power in its pages will fade to harmlessness. But how long is difficult to say.

19:02 [Talek] He grabs two more copies, and thrusts them in his saddlebags.

19:03 [Talek] "I am have no more need of these."

19:03 [Talek] he waves to the carts and people

19:03 [ST] "Are these the things so much fuss has been made about?" Kyros demands. He is all false bravado. The sudden deaths of the people in the Caravan have shaken him still more.

19:04 [Kalan] Kalan tosses his copy back among the others, touches the flaming tip of his lance to them. They ignite with a whoosh, and Zip dances eagerly among them. The flames burn higher.

19:04 [ST] The books catch quickly, burning with a foul, greasy stench like melting bones.

19:04 [Kalan] "Yes," Kalan says. He levels his spear, and a streak of fire leaps from it to catch on the wheels of another wagon.

19:05 [ST] One of the members of the caravan hastens forward to cut the bolting yeddims free. The wagons burn brightly, forming a column of tall, thick smoke. Fortunately, at night, it won't be easy to spot.

19:06 [ST] The boy from earlier looks nervously between the burning wagons and the Dragon-Blooded. "What... what's to be done with us?"

19:06 [Kalan] "Go to Kushan," Kalan repeats. "Tell the Commander of the Shatterspear all you know."

19:07 [ST] He lets out a breath and almost collapses with relief. "Y-yes, we will be on our way."

19:08 [ST] The boy takes a few steps away before stopping and turning back. "They know you're coming," he offers. "I heard Kinson telling one of the others that."

19:10 [Keshin] "Was the rest of what he told us true? Was he captured at the gates, the city taken by them?"

19:11 [ST] "Yes. We weren't fast enough to get away... he went to treat with them.."

19:11 [ST] "I do not know what happened in the city... there were... bodies... hanging from the walls."

19:15 [Kalan] Kalan nods to Keshin. "They're waiting for us. Let's not be late for our appointment." A slight breeze wraps briefly around him, and he murmurs something to the air; it gusts north, carrying warnings of smugglers.

19:18 [Keshin] "If they are prepared for our coming, the pretense of reconnaissance is fading. We have the books, we have the report. What more do we need? The city is gone."

19:21 [Kalan] Kalan indicates Kyros with a flick of his fingers. "It's useless if the Citizens are not prepared to defend Kushan as well. There is the Anathema woman as well. They expect us; that doesn't mean they'll find us."

19:23 [Keshin] "If you believe we can learn more without being discovered, then we move. If you are planning something else, out with it now."

19:26 [Kalan] Kalan meets his eyes with cold amusement. "I have no secret designs. We have a sorcerer-brother to find, and the Anathema to kill."

19:26 [Talek] "My friend is in there. He is Dragon Blooded"

19:27 [Keshin] "Do you have a plan to sneak into the city, or to find him inside?"

19:29 [Talek] "The Hound can track him if we enter the city"

19:29 [Kalan] Kalan wonders if now was the time to announce his intention of attacking the walls blazing like Heisesh's own breath. He suspects not. "Bribe an elemental to bring us into the city through the earth."

19:30 [Talek] "And what shall we offer an elemental to induce him to carry us into a place as wretched as this?"

19:31 [Talek] "I can command him if you wish, but such a thing is exhausting, and of dubious legality."

19:31 [Talek] He doesn't appear bothered by this.

19:31 [Keshin] He smiles slightly. "That could work. And I think that as long as we are in the city, we should try to destroy what food supplies they have. Their situation cannot be sustainable."

19:34 [ST] Kyros scratches the back of his head nervously. "Surely it can't be as bad as you pretend. These men looked... fine..." he eyes the dead ones dubiously.

19:34 [Kalan] "Indeed. Note also their eagerness to escape." He reaches into his boot, and pries a dagger out. He bangs it against a rock, and a polished stone the size of his thumb flies off it. He holds it up. "We bribe it with a yama stone quarried from the Imperial Mountain."

19:37 [Kalan] It was a potent narcotic for certain earth elementals, slowing their essence almost into stasis. The dagger had cost a sworn brother almost a year's stipend to buy, when they had all been very young and their stipends meager indeed.

19:38 [Talek] Talek shakes his head. "Your past is full of surprises."

19:39 [Talek] "Thank you" he says quickly, taking the stone

19:40 [Kalan] Kalan shrugs, and shoves his marred dagger with its empty hilt-socket back in his boot.

19:44 [Talek] Talek holds the stone in one hand, and pushes it up to his chest. He lowers his other hand, palm facing the ground

19:45 [Talek] Green essence flows from it forming a circle, which then raisesto form a dome over him.

19:45 [Talek] The essence dome grows and suddenly hardens into withered, petrified wood.

19:46 [Talek] He begins to chant slowly. Within moments, a stag made ofstone bursts forth. Talek falls back, startled, then smiles

19:46 [Talek] "Ah, great Kri, you honor me with your attendance"

19:48 [ST] The great stag steps forward, snorting. Its fur is multihued like gemstones, and three multifaceted horns sprout from its head. A silvery beard of talc dusts its neck.

19:48 [ST] "Dragons. I have come. Do not waste my time, for time is fleeting."

19:48 [ST] "The Kri know this most of all."

19:51 [Talek] "Eat, then, so that you may feel at ease."

19:52 [Talek] Talek gestures, and the petrified vines move to offer themselves to the Kri

19:52 [ST] "My kind never feel at ease. There is no time." But the Kri obligingly devours the vines, drawing in some of the Essence from Talek's spell. "You have bought yourselves a few minutes of my time. Explain."

19:52 [Talek] "Essence of wood, turned to stone by my will. A day's ration."

19:53 [ST] The creature snorts, "You overestimate your abilities. Or underestimate both my appetite and my intelligence. What would you have me do, and what do you offer?"

19:53 [Talek] "The city yonder has been taken by Death. We seek to enter it and rescue one of my fellows. "

19:54 [Talek] "You will built a tunnel for us to enter under the earth, conceal yourself, and bring us out again."

19:55 [ST] "And the offer?"

19:55 [Talek] "I offer more essence, at such time as we leave and have no need of it. Every day for a month we shall provide you half again what you need for the day."

19:56 [ST] The creature tosses its head. "What if I do not believe you? Why should I not rend you with my horns and sup from your corpse, o Prince?" The way it phrases the last word is heavy with sarcasm.

19:58 [Kalan] "Because then you will have nothing at all, not even a promise," Kalan interjects indolently.

19:59 [ST] "Heh. Perhaps I value the Essence in your bodies more than your promises," the creature responds.

20:00 [Talek] "If you would attack us, do so now."

20:01 [Talek] "I know how little time you have."

20:01 [Kalan] Kalan sneers. "Perhaps you would even manage to get the yama stone we were prepared to offer you." He twirls his direspear. "Come. We will feed the next Kir your corpse."

20:02 [ST] Broken Granite was old, for a Kri. He had been born out of the rock below when the Mask of Winters first seized the city of Thorns. In his time, he had grown wise, and he knew that even if he killed the Dragons, the Essence he expended in the bargain would leave him wanting, dying, faster. "The Yama stone..." it rumbles. It might make time pass more slowly. "Very well. I will bear you beneath the city wall."

20:03 [ST] "I will wait. When you return, you will grant me essence to show your appreciation for my patience."

20:04 [Kalan] "Agreed."

20:04 [Talek] "We will feed you when we are free of the city's walls, for even we may go hungry there."

20:05 [Talek] He laughs. "Or perhaps we shall compromise and prepare an appetizer."

20:05 [Keshin] Keshin nods, addin his assent to the pact.

20:06 [Talek] "I hope you relish your food very hot" he says. "Here, the offering you are due wise one." he proffers the Yama stone from a bow

20:07 [ST] The Kri takes the stone a little too fast, devouring it with a crunch, its ever-present greed becoming visible and ugly for a brief moment. Then, it is a creature of majesty once more.

20:07 [ST] "Come along. The city's eyes may see far. It is best to begin digging soon."

20:08 [ST] ------

20:10 [ST] The Earth parts before the Kri like a wave, surging away almost of its own volition, creeping in swirls through the stagnant soil around it to find its way to distant subterranean caves. For a long time, the group skims perhaps ten feet below the surface, and then the Kri dips, diving through sandstone and bedrock.

20:10 [ST] Somewhere far, far, far below, a Mountain Folk artisan swears in annoyance as a shower of pebbles falls upon his worktable.

20:12 [ST] "The stone of Ghan's wall goes deep," the Kri explains. "It is of the First Age, and I may not budge it." About this time, the tunnel angles sharply upward, and a few minutes later, the wall before the Kri crumbles away to reveal a small, dank cellar.

20:12 [ST] "It is done," the creature says, bowing. "You are within the outermost layer of the city."

20:13 [Talek] "Thank you." He offersthe creature a few more motes, green leaves from his hair.

20:14 [Talek] "Sniff quickly, good hound."

20:17 [Kalan] Kalan glances at the mortal boy. "Stay between us. We'll move fast." He walks cautiousy to the stairs, and Zip flickers up them, scouting for the enemy.

20:18 [ST] The Kri takes the proferred leaves, munching steadily, and springs back, sealing the tunnel behind it. "I shall wait here for you. Only knock to summon me. And do not be late. My patience is not inexhaustible."

20:18 [ST] The Hound sniffs for a few moments, padding back and forth across the room.

20:18 [ST] The cellar looks old and disused, rank with the stink of mold. Bolts of rotting cloth line the walls, and a single staircase winds upwards.

20:21 [Keshin] Keshin joins Kalan at the stairs, waiting for the scouts report, or the dog finding a scent to give reason for movement.

20:22 [ST] There's a voice drifting down the stairs, soft and lilting.

20:22 [ST] "Are you sleeping?... are... you... sleeping..."

20:23 [ST] "are... you... sleeping...."

20:23 [ST] "morning bells are ringing...."

20:24 [Kalan] Kalan walks up the stairs as gingerly as he can in all his gear, direspear held tight in front of him. His hands are slick with sweat inside his gauntlets.

20:25 [ST] "Are... you... sleeping..."

20:25 [ST] At the top of the stairs is an elegantly appointed dining room, torn to pieces. The remnants of a meal lie strewn about the room, along with a pair of children, face down in pools of their own blood.

20:26 [Talek] Talek gives Kenshin a meaningful glance to back up Kalan

20:26 [ST] A young woman sits crumpled in the corner. Her eyes have been gouged out, and a jagged splinter of wood sprouts from one of her ears. She sings, softly, slamming her forehead against the wall over and over. A copy of the book is on her lap.

20:28 [Talek] An arrow flies into her heart, and she falls over with a thud.

20:28 [Keshin] Waiting till Kalan had enough room behind him to clear his spear in case of need, Keshin follows him up. His Daiklave fills his hands, ready for what waited above.

20:29 [Kalan] Kalan's feet leave big ugly prints in the children's blood as he turns slowly, wary for traps. He relaxes slightly as he finds none.

20:29 [Kalan] "Come dog. Show us the way."

20:30 [ST] Other than that, the room is still. The woman dies, quietly, and the Hound leads the way out into the streets.

ST's Notes: The PCs were given a map of the city of Ghan that has since been lost. The city is constructed in three concentric rings. The outermost curtain wall is the shortest, and made of second-age construction. The inner walls are of First-Age make and much tougher. The residents of the city live not only in the spaces between the walls, but within them, and numerous walkways bridge these gaps. At the center of the city lies the Crucible, where Defenders are trained.

20:30 [Keshin] Keshin nudges one of the children with his foot before he passes them by. Best to be sure.

20:30 [Talek] Talek walks over and breaks off the arrow so that the end isn't visible. "Dragons preserve us all" he says, slinging the bow over his shoulder

20:31 [ST] The city lies dark save for patches lit by flickering flames. A few columns of smoke can be seen rising in the distance.

20:32 [ST] This part of the city was once an affluent neighborhood, but it lies still and silent now. There are a few bodies in the street, but no movement elsewhere. Nearby, a great snarl of carts and bodies lies atop the rotting corpse of a yeddim.

20:33 [ST] The tall curtain walls loom behind and before, the many windows carved in their surfaces dark and silent. Bodies hang suspended from ropes or impaled on spikes along their length.

20:33 [ST] The Hound points north, along the curve of the wall, or maybe through it.

20:33 [Talek] "C'mon. Let's cut through the city proper. I don't want to be here any longer than we have to, and I don't want to get near the governor's manse"

20:33 [Talek] "Let's see if there's a door into the next ring."

20:33 [Keshin] "At least they are not efficient in creating their army. This chaos cannot leave much of substance."

20:34 [Kalan] Kalan walks at the left side, following the hound. He'd rubbed blacking over his red jade armor to make it less visible, but that seemed unneccessary now. "Save Shadowlands," he points out grimly. "I want to see just what has a presence at the governor's manse. We'll be discreet."

20:36 [Talek] "The Black Exalts will have made their home there, of course. What do we do when we conquer a city?"

20:36 [Talek] "I don't want to encounter them until you're in that armor and we've got an army at our backs."

20:37 [Kalan] "We should see what guard they have." He pauses. "Whether the Maiden seems to be with them."

20:37 [Keshin] "Facing them now would just get us killed, like as not. Let us do what we came to, and get out."

20:39 [Keshin] "You think she won't be? I cannot understand how she was accepted before. Even if she is not working with these, her purposes are good for no one."

20:39 [Talek] "Are you mad? I think you have enough women in your life just at present"

20:41 [Talek] "If your fantasy is to die at a woman's hands, I would propose you engage your estranged spouse for the task."

20:41 [Kalan] "Do you?" asks Kalan cooly. "There is important intelligence to be gathered." The flickering hotness at his ear pulses as it realizes he is looking at it. "Come, Zip," Kalan says, forcing caressing warmth into his voice. "Be brave. We need to know whose waiting for us, when we bring our armies here."

20:41 [ST] Kyros stands behind the group, pale as milk. He hasn't said a word.

20:42 [Kalan] He reaches out to pet the ball of flame. It feels vaguely fuzzy to the fire-aspect, and it's trembling, sending little sparks flying. "Zip, I need you," and these are apparently the magic words, because the fire winks out as Zip dematerializes.

20:43 [Kalan] "Very well." Kalan says coldly. "We'll wait for report from the scout before taking action on the manse. Let's head to Flyspeck."

20:43 [Talek] Talek breathes a sigh of relief. "Right, this way, through the gate"

20:51 [ST] The Hound leads the way as the group breaks down a long, rolling avenue that takes them around the perimeter of the outermost ring. Curiously, this layer seems mostly deserted...

20:51 [ST] The few bodies that the group passes that are stirring seem utterly insensate, screaming at the sky or dully driving themselves into walls like the first young woman the group found.

20:52 [Kalan] Kalan kills almost reflexively as they pass, and soon the head of his spear is red and slick with gore, his armor spattered with gore. He doesn't look at them, or even think about them particularly.

20:53 [ST] The gate into The Tendons is blocked, sealed with what looks like a massive blob of melted iron. Bodies are piled before it, ten or twenty deep in some places, some mired in the molten iron. A dog worries at the corpses, but flees at the group's approach.

20:54 [Kalan] He is remembering the Maiden's lips, and wondering if it were her hands that would lock around his heart and tear it from his chest. His heart is pounding more than he would like, but his breathing is slow and credibly calm.

20:54 [ST] Entrance here is blocked unless the Dragonbloods want to break through. They could try the other gate, or take one of the many walkways spanning overhead between the outer wall and the second one.

20:56 [Keshin] "From what the merchant said, the walls were guarded just days ago. Forcing our way through here would also draw too much attention. We should try the other gate before doing anything rash.?"

20:58 [Kalan] "I suspect they would be similarly blocked. This was purposefully done. Perhaps it was Avaku's work, before he fell. Better to attempt the walkways."

20:59 [Talek] "I doubt we could rip through without attracting attention. Let's try the walkways"

21:00 [ST] It's a short walk back to the outer wall's gates, taking the group past the smoldering remains of the guild trade house. A battle was fought here recently, and several butchered yeddims lie next to broken wagons and guildsmen corpses. Apparently it wasn't a lie.

21:01 [ST] Past the Harborhead Market, bodies dangling from its gallows, and the group makes their way through the gate and into the outer wall. Narrow, winding staircases lead past empty apartments. At one point, a huge smear of blood on the wall extends for twenty feet before vanishing.

21:01 [ST] All is silent; still.

21:04 [Talek] Talek nervously feeds the hound another mote of essence to reassure it, or perhaps to reassure himself

21:06 [ST] Keshin hears the sound at almost the same time as the Hound. Rapid, stuttering percussion, just off-beat. The faintest of vibrations in the wall. Footsteps. Many, many footsteps.

21:06 [ST] Ahead, the hall lies empty, winding upward to balconies and sets of walkways.

21:11 [Kalan] "What is it?" Kalan asks of Keshin's sudden stillness.

21:13 [Keshin] He takes his hand from the Wall, "movement, I think they are behind us, and coming up. Maybe we can outrun them, but perhaps we should look for a defensible point."

21:16 [Kalan] "We run. We can't beat the numbers this dead city has to throw at us." He pushes the mortal boy ahead. "Go. I'll take the rear."

21:17 [ST] Kyros needs little more urging, surging ahead up the stairs and across a broad wooden walkway.

21:17 [ST] The Hound bounds beside him.

21:18 [Talek] Talek follows. Is there any escape?

21:19 [Keshin] Keshin dashes after him, catching up before changing to a more comfortable lope. Even if the noise came from behind, it would be better to have him at point. By the time they caught up, it would be obvious. If it was a trap, they would need his senses at the release point.

21:20 [ST] As they sprint ahead, a knot of people burst from a door behind the Dragonbloods. A half dozen of them, all wearing the rich garments of the citizens, chunks of broken rock or silverware clenched in mangled fists. The surge forward, howling loudly in one voice.

21:20 [ST] The scream is echoed further back.

21:22 [Keshin] Seeing the close pursuit, Keshin stops. He waves the others on as they reach him.

21:26 [Talek] Talek eagerly follows

21:26 [Talek] He has no idea what his comrade is planning, but as long as it doesn't involve getting eaten by zombies he's ok with the concept

21:31 [Keshin] As soon as Kalan is past, he sprints after them, taking the rear guard himself. He had to be last. If he was overtaken, he could drop the bridge from under him. It would save the others, hopefully.

21:33 [ST] As the Dragonblooded flee across the narrow walkway, more of Ghan's residents seethe in from every direction, racing foward on legs that feel no pain or slowness.

21:33 [ST] One, a small child no older than seven or eight, hurls a piece of brick at the retreating Kyros.

21:35 [ST] It clips him on the cheek, opening up a gash with a spray of blood, he runs on.

21:35 [ST] Some few of the crazed inhabitants manage to draw back bows, their attacks aimed at Kalan and Talek

21:38 [Talek] Talek ducks, and the arrow braces off his brilliant green powerbow. The bow wiggles, haughty at the insult

21:39 [ST] Keshin is turning to run with the others when a figure rears up among the mob.

21:40 [ST] The man is huge, seven feet tall at least, and impossibly broad around the shoulders, his thick armor draped over him like the plating for a warstrider. A Defender.

21:40 [Kalan] Kalan burns the arrow coming at him in a wave of sudden fire shot from his hand.

21:40 [ST] He springs like a cat, slamming into the Dragonblood's back, bearing him down to the surface of the walkway with a violent crunch.

21:42 [Talek] "Let's kill that thing so Keshin can bring the wall down!" Talek cries, readying an arrow

21:44 [Kalan] With a roar, Kalan reverses his run, charging the huge defender with the top of his direlance aimed slip in between Keshin and his attacker, and flip the war-slave off him like a pancake.

21:45 [ST] The spear slides deep between the plates of armor on the Defender's back, but he doesn't let go. He barely even seems to have felt the attack.

21:47 [Kalan] Kalan twists the spear, and growls at the meaty, wet sound of tearing flesh. The creature wasnt human.

21:47 [Keshin] Keshin lands on his back, his head slamming painfully into the walkway, and his sword trapped between him and the Defender. The man/thing growls as it tries to force him over the edge.

21:48 [Keshin] Keshin desperately reestablishes his grip on the Diaklave's hilt, and roaring with effort, uses it as a lever to force the mans arms off of him.

21:49 [ST] The man's muscles ripple beneath the armor. There is the sound of popping tendons, and he slams the Dragonblood down violently. Sweat and blood drips out of the visor of his closed helmet.

21:52 [Talek] Talek reaches his hand back to his quiver, and when he reaches back his hand is wooden claw, seven fingered, holding four arrows. His fingers work quickly to load and fire four arrows into the defender

21:54 [Talek] The first shot strikes him the eye. he roars back. The next hits his foot, which he pulls back. The next two slam him back, knocking him off the walkway to the ground below

21:55 [ST] The others seem to show no emotion at the death of their champion. A clattering swarm of badly aimed arrows, hurled pots, pitchforks, and knives lands about the group.

21:58 [Keshin] Keshin kicks at the ground trying to shove himself out of the way of the wave of missiles, but slips in the blood of the recently fallen.

21:59 [ST] Kyros ducks low under a spinning axe and a kitchen knife bounces hilt first off the back armor plate of his vest. Perhaps that's why he doesn't expect the copper kettle to come sailing in, slamming into his ankle. It breaks with an audible crack, spilling him to the ground.

21:59 [ST] The Hound turns back at his cry of agony as a trio of Defenders appear at the far end of the walkway, leaving the group trapped.

22:01 [Kalan] Kalan reaches out a hand to pull Keshin to his feet, and curses something foul and blasphemous as he sees the newcomers.

22:02 [Talek] The glowing blush of health in Talek's features contrasts luridly with the death around him. "Kalan, Can you take them out, or do I call the storm?"

22:02 [Keshin] Keshin accepts the hand up, turning at the curses to see their way blocked. "We have to rush them. We can't hold the way behind us. We can close the way back off if we can gain the next wall."

22:05 * Kalan nods grimly. "The two of us will charge them together. Try to force them off the bridge. Talek, you need Kyros."

22:06 [ST] Kyros swears loudly, drumming his fist on the walkway. "Son of a BITCH!"

22:08 [Talek] "I do? What do I need him _for_?"

22:09 [ST] "Because I will grab your ankle and pull you down for these bastards you SON OF A BITCH!" Kyros seems to have lost his fear and respect in the same instant of pain.

22:10 [Kalan] "You need to keep him out of the way and pull him after us."

22:11 [Keshin] Keshin shows his agreement by charging the line, roaring all the way. Subtlety was lost at this point anyway.

22:11 [Kalan] He salutes the fallen mortal, ironically, lowers his spear, and charges after him leaving smoking footprints in his wake. He jumps over broken Kyros, and Tongue of Flame roars into bright. He wields the haft of the direspear like a club and sending it sweeping like a club against the huge Defender's legs. "For Cathak!"

22:12 [Kalan] A wave of force explodes against the Defender's thighs, sending him reeling and stumbling into his brother, pushing them both to the edge of the walkway.

22:15 [ST] The Defender brings up his brawny arms, trying to blunt the impact of Kalan's strike

22:18 [ST] But the sheer force of the Essence behind the blow shatters his thigh bones even through the thick armor. He collapses like a broken marionette, his legs refusing to work any longer.

22:21 [Keshin] Racing at Kalan's heels by the end of the walkway, he veers to the man Kalan had left for him. Channeling essence through his Diaklave, he brings it about in a backhanded blow, rough, graceless and powerful.

22:24 [ST] The Defender smoothly reaches up, grabbing the edge of the weapon in a lobstered hand. It's only when the Defender grunts in exertion that Keshin realizes, despite its girth, that it is a woman.

22:29 [Talek] "Do I have to do everything myself?"

22:31 [Talek] Talek shoots four arrows over the head of his violent, grunting colleagues.

22:35 [Talek] The Defender is in the midst of roaring forward to avenge his colleague when the arrows swoosh into his chest, effortlessly going through his armor. He looks disappointed for a moment, then clatters back.

22:35 [Talek] Talek shakes his head at Kyros

22:36 [ST] As the Defender falls, he raises a steel-shod fist for one last blow.... directly into the helmet of his fallen comrade. Blood spews from the slit in the helmet in a thick jet.

22:36 [ST] Kyros grunts, rolling over onto his back - and screams in horror as hundreds of screaming citizens charge onto the wooden walkway.

22:37 [ST] The last defender retreats into the doorway, spreading massive arms wide to block the path forward...

22:37 [ST] ...and beneath a thousand feet, the wooden walkway gives an ominous groan.

22:42 [Kalan] Kalan grins tightly. "Just made yourself an easy target, Defender," he growls, and charges again, the walkway shuddering under his feet as he runs. He catches fire as he charges, the fire beginning at the tip of his spear and then spiraling down the haft to engulf him in a wreath of flame and smoke.

22:42 [Kalan] The railing catches fire.

22:43 [Kalan] He hurtles himself at the Defender as a living ball of fire, blazing and inhuman. He hits him spear-first, and lets his momentum push the Defender down.

22:45 [ST] The Defender grunts, bracing himself against the stone floor hard enough to crack it, his massive fists closing around the haft of Kalan's weapon.

22:46 [Kalan] He snarls, pushing it against the massive slave. He hadn't though such a big man could move so fast.

22:48 [ST] The Defender grunts again, forcing the spear aside sharply. The rusted, grating noise that emerges through the helmet could be laughter.

22:51 [Keshin] Keshin moves in just behind Kalan, letting the other's flash and bravado cover him until his short form was almost to the enemy. He is still laughing when the first blow of the Daiklave reached him, and still at the next, but the noise chokes off at some point as blow after blow rains in upon him, forcing him to move and defend himself, to clear the door.

22:57 [ST] The first blow doesn't break through, nor the second, nor the third, but the fourth shears halfway through the Defender's arm, the fifth severs it, and the last splits the helmet along its length, sending a spray of blood against the far wall.

23:00 [Talek] Talek grabs Kyros and charges past the two bloody warriors "All yours commander" he says, glancing backward at the zombies

23:01 [Kalan] Kalan indicates the bridge with a polite bow to Keshin.

23:01 [ST] The he mass of screaming humanity advances through the flames laid by Kalan and the corpses of the slain with reckless zeal. They slam into Kalan and Keshin with a muffled crunch, scrabbling over each other in an attempt to get at the Dragonbloods

23:02 [ST] Several of them burn as their clothes catch fire. They seem not to notice, charging on, their hair crackling audibly.

23:06 [Keshin] Keshin stands over the corpse for a moment, panting with exertion, lost in the smell and feel of the blood surrounding him. The noises of the approaching horde are drowned by the roar of mountains collapsing, as his anima burns outward, lighting the walltop with a muted brown. Then the wave of the insane crashes into his back.

23:06 [Kalan] Kalan wacks the first in the face with the butt of his spear, and kicks another in the stomach as he attempts to force them back. He catches half-a-dozen blows on his gauntlets, it seems-like, and twists half his body out of the way as a howling woman with a foaming mouth and old wounds thrusts at him with a rusted knife.

23:10 [ST] Keshin's armor turns blow after blow, snapping an old pitchfork halfway along its length, shattering a rusty sword, sending a wood axe bouncing away with a loud whine. But a wiry child clambers up onto the shoulders of a naked, screaming woman with a bloody mask for a face, driving a two-tined fork deep into the base of the Dragon-Blood's neck.

23:18 [Kalan] Kalan glances at Keshin. "I'm going to clear a space for you to collapse the bridge," he says, grunting as he catches the small child on the tip of a his spear as it throws itself at his neck, flinging it over the edge.

23:19 [ST] The body tumbles end over end, glancing off a metal cupola with the sound of a gong ringing.

23:21 [Kalan] The Tongue of Flame begins to glow red, a deep core of fire kindling in its center. Fire blasts out the center with a wave of force, and wall of creatures ignites as if they were made out of straw, their hair, their clothes, their flesh burning, burning.

23:22 [Kalan] Kalan holds his spear horizontally in front of him, gripping , and uses it as a battering ram to push the burning, shrieking flesh in front of him back. With a disgusted yell, he shoves them away, and some fall burning from the bridge.

23:22 [Kalan] "The bridge is weak!" Kalan shouts when they have some breathing room. The air is thick with smoke. "Now!"

23:24 [Keshin] The grinding pain in his neck brings him from his reverie. He wheels, forcing his way to the bridge through what was left of the immediate attack. Kalan's spear weaves a deft pattern around him, leaving him pressing against literal deadweight. Soon he was close enough. Carrying his weapon high overhead, trusting the others to keep them off him, he brings it down with all his might. Brings it all down.

23:28 [ST] In the most distant reaches of the East, near the Elemental Pole of Wood, grow the kingtrees, great titans hundreds of yards thick through their bases, pressing against each other in the struggle for the sun, locking together in an impassable wall.

23:29 [ST] As Keshin's blow rains down, it as if one of these kingtrees has cracked. The wood beneath his weapon shatters like brittle ice, flying up in a thousand fragments. The rest of the bridge undulates like a snake, flexing as the shockwave moves through it.

23:29 [ST] A few of the ravening citizens are hurled aloft by the violence of the motion. The rest fall when, an instant later, the rest of the bridge shatters and falls away.

23:30 [ST] Their screaming does not alter in timbre. They fall across the domes and roofs of the city like soft hailstones, leaving bright smears of blood across facades, landing impaled on spires, falling five or six deep in the narrow alleys, bouncing off onion domes and cupolas with bone-snapping cracks.

23:31 [ST] In Ghan, briefly, it rains flailing, screaming bodies, and just as quickly it is over, save the ecstatic screams of the shattered and the dying.

23:33 [ST] At the far side of the gap, on the balcony from the other wall, the surviving citizens scream in rage and laughter, capering, running off to find another path across.

23:33 [Kalan] "Well done," says Kalan quietly. He looks over his shoulder at Talek. "Can you fix the boy's ankle?"

23:34 [Talek] "Yes, but it will ruin any subtlty we have left, and it will be too weak to walk on for several hours - sprained rather than broken."

23:34 [Talek] "We should carry him for now."

23:35 [Keshin] Keshin, sits slowly, resting his head against a bridgepost still standing by its stub at the intermedian wall. He tiredly pulls a corpse to him, to use its shirt to wipe his blade.

23:35 [ST] The wall here resembles the other, down to the bodies and the blood stains, but the blood here is much more fresh. A pile of dead Defenders lies nearby, most missing various limbs, and a trail of silvery blood extends around a sharp corner and out of sight.

23:37 [Kalan] Kalan grimaces, reaching down to pull the Kyros over his shoulder in an undignified fireman's carry. "Try not to be more a burden than you have to," he warns him, and staggers after the blood trail.

23:38 [Talek] Talek pulls on his essence goggles. "Tell me if I start to walk into anything. I don't think I will, but these are pretty old...."

23:38 [Talek] "hound, lead the way."

23:39 [Keshin] He shoves himself to his feet and joins the rest of them. Staying here would make all they had done pointless soon enough.

23:39 [ST] The Hound is not there, having ranged ahead. Talek finds it when he turns the corner, lying on the ground at the end of the blood trail.

23:39 [ST] Dozens of corpses lie around it, some of them wearing the armor of the Defenders. It leaks automata oil from a dozen wounds.

23:40 [Kalan] "Just great," Kalan says in disgust.

23:41 [Talek] Talek sighs. "The Hound is easy to revive, he will return to life when I recast the ritual."

23:41 [Kalan] "Do you have the essence for that?"

23:41 [Talek] "Yes, but it will not be subtle."

23:42 [ST] "None of this is... very subtle," Kyros grates. He looks deeply shaken.

23:42 [Talek] "Do we stumble about looking for Jorj, or revive the Hound and try to hurry?"

23:42 [ST] "Is this what the book does?"

23:43 [Talek] "Yes."

23:43 [ST] "Nothing is worse than this," he gasps. It may be the shock talking. "The slaves are yours."

23:44 [ST] "Mine, at least."

23:45 [Kalan] A breeze dances around Kalan, ruffling his hear. It brings with it the smell of flesh and moldering flesh. "I am glad you've seen reason." To the wind, he says, "Jorj. We're looking for you. Where are you?" It tears the sounds from him, and dances away.

23:46 [ST] Something in Talek's pocket begins to buzz.

23:48 [Talek] Talek removes the butterfly and huridly feeds it a mote of his rapidly diminishing essence

23:48 [ST] "...in Flyspeck. Got a safe spot. ....re are you?"

23:49 [Talek] "We're in the city, in the Tendons, looking for you."

23:50 [ST] "..ndons? Shit. Whatever you do, don't draw attention to yourselves."

23:50 [Talek] "Why? What's here?"

23:51 [Kalan] Kalan sticks his spear into the meaty flesh of a Defender meaningfully. It makes a wet, squishy sound.

23:52 [ST] "Where are you, exactly? Anywhere you can have a look over the whole place?"

23:52 [Talek] "Yes, we're on a high walkway. Its ugly."

23:53 [ST] "Go to the inner side of the wall. Then wait there. I have a link to Slee, I'll send someone for you."

23:53 [ST] "Whatever you do, don't draw attention to yourself, most of them are in the inner two rings."

23:55 [Talek] "Send someone? Who is with you?"

23:56 [ST] "Not everyone in the city's been turned. Yet."

23:56 [Talek] Talek looks nervous

23:56 [Talek] "Ok, but Jorj, hurry."

00:01 [ST] The group navigates rapidly through the interior of the wall, reaching the inner curve easily. It becomes apparent why Jorj was alarmed.

00:01 [ST] In the middle ring of the city rear three massive frames of Soulsteel, studded with hooked barbs and flanged spikes.

00:02 [ST] As the Dragonbloods watch, a steady stream of corpses approaches each frame, each zombie crawling into place, one by one. Countless sinews forming muscles, bodies.

00:04 [Talek] "This is why we need my Grandmother's magic. This. To fight this madness." Talek is breathless, with fear, shock, and a bit of admiration

00:04 [Talek] "Its so hideous"

00:05 [Kalan] "Shit," says Kalan. One they could deal with. Three? He glances at Talek out of the corner of his eyes. "Your grandmother willl keep herself safe at home."

00:06 [Talek] Talek starts to reply, then just shakes his head. "You have no idea."

00:06 [Kalan] They were going to lose. He lets it settle on him with the gentle ash of despair. They were going to lose. He smiles grimly. It was almost easier, having no hope left.

00:06 [Kalan] "Come. Your friend is waiting."

00:09 [Talek] He nods

00:11 [ST] There is a sudden grinding sound behind the group.

00:11 [ST] A man-sized aperture appears in the stone wall, and a voice hisses in a strange accent, "Quiet! You're all too loud!"

00:12 [ST] A cluster of figures peeks around the edge of the hole, all of them long-limbed and thin. Their arms, legs, and fingers seem just a little longer than they should be, and they wear drab, close-fitting tunics.

00:13 [ST] Strangest of all are the masks that hide their faces, some ornately carved, some blank.

00:13 [ST] Their leader wears a stone mask, resembling a stylized owl.

00:14 [Kalan] "Delighted to make our acquaintence," Kalan says. "May we enter?"

00:14 [ST] "You're Jorj's friends, I guess," the man says. "Or at the very least you're not crazy. Show us the butterfly and we'll let you in. I ask this with fervent sincerity."

00:16 [Talek] Talek removes Glee from his pocket and feeds it amote to rev it up "Your guys wear masks, Jorj?"

00:17 [ST] "They never take the damn things off. I tried to get Leen out of hers and she said I'd have to marry her. That's Ghanites for you."

00:17 [ST] "Good enough," the man in front says, waving a hand. "Quickly, now."

00:18 [Talek] Talek smiles. "Alright, we're going" he says and puts the butterfly away

00:19 [ST] "We can't trust this rabble," Kyros protests. "They're heretics, skulkers, rebels. We should have killed them all ages ago-"

00:19 [ST] "You tried," one of the others snaps, a young woman in a smooth, featureless wooden mask with tilted eyes.

00:20 [Keshin] "And they have lasted for ages. They know what they are doing I would say."

00:20 [Talek] "Kyros, if you say one more word I'll rip out your tongue. Or at the least, I won't fix your ankle."

00:21 [Talek] "And you can hobble out of here, and maybe live to be a cripple." he keeps his voice low as he makes the threat. "Remember - one word."

00:22 [ST] "I'd sooner leave that one," the man says. "But he might compromise our position. Quickly, into the tunnel."

00:22 [Talek] Talek ducks and heads in

00:23 [Keshin] Keshin pushes Kyros in, taking the rear guard position for himself.

00:24 [ST] Once the group is all assembled within, the young woman, Leen, seals the door behind them, and the man leads the way forward.

00:24 [Kalan] Kalan allows the man to hobble after him, wrinkling his nose as he grabs onto his elbow. He has to carry his lance parallel to the floor, there is so little room for it.

00:25 [ST] "These tunnels are as old as Ghan," the man in the owl mask explains. "Only we know of them, and there are precious few of us left. Even before this latest tragedy."

00:26 [ST] "It's fortunate you hadn't penetrated too far into the city. Beyond the second ring there are no tunnels."

00:27 [Talek] "If we escape this madness, I hope we will be able to aid you somehow."

00:28 [ST] Kyros opens his mouth to give an indignant grunt, remembers the earlier warning, and shuts it again.

00:28 [ST] "It's too late for that," the man replies. There is no sorrow in his voice, only acceptance. "I state this with reluctance but know it to be true. We are a diminishing people. Death will take us in the end. But not yet."

00:29 [ST] After several moments of travel through the low, winding tunnel, the man presses a spot against the wall, leans close to whisper into the stone, and a door slides open.

00:29 [ST] A row of Defenders waits on the other side.

00:31 [Talek] Talek jumps for his bow

00:31 [Talek] He peers through the goggles. Living or dead?

00:31 [ST] Leen stops him with a silent hand on his elbow. The Defenders make no move to attack.

00:31 [ST] "Still on our side," the man explains. "As much as they ever were."

00:32 [Talek] Talek sighs and follows. "You guys are some of the toughest fighters I've ever seen" he says honestly

00:33 [Kalan] Kalan forbears to compliment them on their trained slaves, only curling his lip slightly.

00:34 [Keshin] Keshin continues past them, nodding in respect to the ancient tradition which they upheld.

00:35 [ST] The tunnel exits into a tightly packed room. Almost unconsciously, the former slaves have congregated on one side, the Citizens on the other, with the Defenders forming a loose barrier between.

00:35 [ST] A few children run about, shouting loudly, the thick stone muffling their cries. Some people silently weep. A few look up at the new arrivals, but most register nothing. Their hope is gone.

00:36 [ST] The Ghanites lead the group through the room and into another. The ceiling here is lower, the air warmer, and the population strictly Ghanite.

00:37 [ST] None of them has an uncovered face, although the fact that many of the women and men are nude, nursing children or sleeping or lovemaking suggests this isn't out of modesty.

00:37 [ST] Even the infants have tiny circles of cloth tied neatly around their faces.

00:37 [ST] In this sea of masks, the bare face of V'Neef Jorj seems extraordinarily odd.

00:38 [Talek] "Jorj!"

00:38 [ST] He leans against the far wall, one shattered leg propped up before him. As the others come in, he raises a hand in welcome.

00:38 [ST] "Took you bloody long enough."

00:40 [Talek] "Its been an adventure, but nevermind that. How are things? Do you have enough food stored up down here? Is there any way out?"

00:40 [ST] "Bad enough. Probably not. Good question." Jorj shrugs. "We've got enough to hold out for now, but we haven't thought of escaping. We're just trying to stay alive."

00:41 [ST] "I was alone, isolated. I don't know where Avaku went. I wouldn't have made it if the Ghanites hadn't found me."

00:41 [Talek] "Are you still short on essence?"

00:42 [ST] "No... it's strange... the city seems to be on the verge between Creation and the Underworld. It lapses across in the dead of night... you may notice a chill."

00:43 [Kalan] "Are there Abyssals in the city?" Kalan cuts in.

00:44 [ST] "Not that I've seen," Jorj says. "None of the Ghanites have reported it either. I'm loathe to trust some of the insanity the Kushanians are spouting."

00:45 [Kalan] "Any word on where the books came from?"

00:46 [ST] "Impossible to tell where it started... there are so many that they have to be coming from inside the city, though."

00:48 [Kalan] Kalan rubs his chin thoughtfully. "If there's a source, we can destroy it."

00:48 [Talek] "Well....let me get to work on your leg, anyway, now that I know there will be essence."

00:48 [Talek] "Dragons Jorj, what happened to it?"

00:49 [ST] Jorj shrugs, exhausted. "The first riots were in Dross and the Tendons. The Defenders put them down. Then there started to be disturbances in Mishka's Ring, among the citizens. The Defenders are... conditioned to be unable to harm them."

00:50 [ST] "Avaku was in favor of falling back to the Crucible and defending from there, but by the time we broke away from battle at the outskirts, it too was overrun with crazed Defenders. Everything broke apart, then. I was separated from Avaku at the battle of Iron Bridge. As far as I know, all our troops were wiped out then, too."

00:51 [Talek] Talek begins gently unwrapping its bindings

00:51 [ST] "The Ghanites in Flyspeck hid early and stayed hidden. Not a bad move."

00:51 [ST] "To tell the truth, I'm getting kind of fond of them." He places a hand on the small of a passing woman's back and she giggles.

00:52 [ST] "This pleases me," she says, apparently completely unnecessarily.

00:52 [ST] "Except that," Jorj says. "They always say what they feel, even when it's obvious. The masks, I guess."

00:52 [Kalan] Kalan gives him a look of open disgust. "I'm glad to see youve been enjoying yourself. What kind of numbers do you have hidden here?"

00:53 [ST] "A hundred or so Kushanians. And two hundred fifteen Ghanites. All the ones that are left. They keep count."

00:54 [ST] "And you shouldn't begrudge a man a bit of entertainment when he's staring death in the face, Kalan. You might feel a little less grumpy if you-" He exhales forcefully. "Anyway."

00:55 [Talek] Talek shakes his head.

00:57 [ST] Zip appears over Kalan's shoulder with a crackle and a spark. The closest Ghanites draw back with gasps of alarm.

00:57 [ST] When they see that the flame seems to have no murderous intentions, they calm themselves.

00:57 [Kalan] "I will take that under advisement," Kalan says cooly. "Now. What are the madmen doing here? Who is organizing them- Zip," he says, almost affectionately. "Where have you been?"

00:57 [ST] "I was frightened," a young boy in a cloth mask informs his mother solemnly.

00:58 [ST] Zip buzzes in Kalan's ear.

00:59 [ST] Zip did what Kalan said and went to the big house full of Essence and Zip went to all the windows and looked in size and there were lots of bodies but they had no lifeflame. They were all cold except at the center of the manse Zip sensed a burning and so he went and there was a Dragon there, the OneEye and he was still burning and laughing and walking back and forth and the floor was wet with his bloody footprints and Zip started to say hello but he wouldn't stop laughing and Zip was afraid so Zip decided that Zip had better return home.

01:01 [Talek] Talek gets his vegtable garden growing in the stone. The first thing to go in is a thorn into Jorj's leg "relax old pal, its just a painkiller. This shouldn't take long at all, much faster than the old school nurse elemental, although I have to say she could take as long as she wanted."

01:01 [Kalan] He raises a hand, and Zip nuzzles it. Zip is hot with nervousness and suppressed anxiety, and his touch is almost painful. "Avaku has been taken," Kalan says.

01:01 [ST] The man in the owl mask speaks up. Apparently he's one of the leaders among the Ghanites. "Organizing them? We cannot tell. It puzzles and angers me. They seem to move of their own will, building these machines, working in the crucible. Many break, but some retain some kind of motivation."

01:02 [ST] "Yeah," Jorj says. "You should've seen the time I told her I needed her to suck out the poison because a stoneviper had bitten me on-" Kalan's pronouncement sobers him. "Taken? A Dragon-Blooded? That can't be possible."

01:02 [Talek] The bone is wood, the muscle is leaves, the skin is bark, and the less said about the blood the better. Talek works as the rest talk. A few of the Ghanities tell each other of their confusion or wonder.

01:08 [Kalan] "He wanders, mad and laughing in a hall full of bodies," Kalan says. He glances indifferently at Jorj's leg. "We have to kill him before we leave. Our duty to a comrade."

01:09 [Talek] "I think we need to get out of here first, and maybe come back and look for him after the Dead move on."

01:10 [ST] Jorj shakes his head, partially from the pain, mostly from denial. "We have to see him first. Maybe we can snap him out of it. That's not the big problem, though."

01:10 [Talek] "It is possible that he might be saved if we wait until my Grandmother's researchings are complete. It is unlikely, but there may be a cure."

01:10 [Talek] "What's the big problem?"

01:10 [ST] "Whatever they're doing here, they're doing it beneath the crucible, where Aram and his Hunters can't go."

01:10 [ST] "This frustrates me," Aram supplies, his owl-mask face blank.

01:11 [Kalan] "What is the crucible?"

01:12 [ST] "The area at the center of the city, where the Defenders are trained," Leen says, taking a seat on a low stone bench. There are five towers there, and beneath the central tower..."

01:13 [ST] "An Uncapped Demesne, I think," Jorj supplies. "It used to be an Anathema temple. After the rise of the Shogunate, the Ghanites left it alone, but when Kushan took over, it was broken and reshaped into an Earth Aspected Demesne."

01:14 [ST] "That's why the Defenders are so strong. The last step in their training is to be exposed to the Essence of the Earth itself."

01:17 [Kalan] "Is there any indication of what they're doing there?" Kalan asks, running his hands broodingly over the length of his spear as he contemplates the upcoming battle. Avaku's loss was a blow, but he wouldn't pretend he didnt feel a thrill of excitement at the idea of fighting another Dragonblooded.

01:18 [ST] "No," Leen says. "It must involve lots of Essence channeling, though. That's the biggest power source in the city."

01:20 [ST] "It's an unstable area," Jorj adds. "Most of the Defenders don't survive it. Nine out of every ten are either killed outright or mutated enough that their trainers kill them."

01:21 [ST] "And so passed the nation of the Masked Ones, swallowed into the Earth," Leen says quietly. "I am saddened. Enraged. Resigned."

01:21 [Talek] "Don't be. Not yet."

01:22 [Talek] "Is there any point where your tunnels meetsmooth dirt?"

01:22 * Kalan nods. "We'll have to scout it, then." Zip flickers nervously, and Kalan soothes him.

01:23 [ST] Leen cocks her head strangely at Talek's question. "I am puzzled by your question. At the limits of the city, yes. In the Interior, no. The foundation of the Crucible is impassable..."

01:24 [Talek] "To get out"

01:24 [ST] "Not entirely," Jorj says. "There's a sewer system down there, as imperishable as the rest. If you could go through that, maybe..." He shrugs. "But no one's done it before. I figure there's gotta be a reason."

01:25 [Talek] "I found a Kri, it burrowed through the dirt to get us in here. But it can't go through the stone - and we'dhave to act fast. I wouldn't expect it to wait around for very long."

01:26 [ST] "A path out of the city?" Aram asks. "But to where?"

01:29 [Talek] "Well, uh, I don't know."

01:29 [Talek] "Anywhere. It can't possibly be worse."

01:30 [ST] "This is our home," Leen says. "We have endured much here. To leave it now..."

01:30 [Kalan] "It's lost. You're dwelling like maggots on its corpse."

01:31 [Talek] "I'd say its pretty well over now."

01:31 [Kalan] Kalan looks around at the walls and crowded chambers. His lips twist. "Say farewell and survive."

01:31 [Talek] "Maybe therealm needs a new envoy to the mountainfolk?" he offers. "Creation is vast"

01:32 [Talek] He doesn't sound hopeful

01:32 [ST] "It pains me to admit this," Leen's voice is quiet. "Perhaps there is wisdom in what you say. We must confer, yes?"

01:32 [ST] "I agree," Aram says, though he's nodding clearly.

01:35 [Talek] "But again, we need dirt"

01:36 [ST] "Dirt is one of the few things we still have in abundance," Aram says. "I jest only slightly."

01:39 [Kalan] "Yes, indeed," says Kalan with all the humor of a judge. The air was rank with sweat and too many bodies.

01:40 [Kalan] Wishing dearly for a glass of wine, he adds, "Now tell us more about the architecture of this Crucible..."

ST's Notes: I knew, going in, that Jorj had hidden in the city. I knew it was where the strange Defenders, previously introduced in previous sessions, were trained. I knew there were still living rebels. On the fly, I decided to throw in a setting idea I'd had rattling around for a year and a half, and the weird, wild Ghanites were born. Talek's player in particular liked them, and I actually bothered to write up a paragraph to send to the PCs on their culture. I didn't expect the players to summon a Kri, and we had to look up an appropriate elemental on the spot. I was struck by the Kri's basic avariciousness and tried to keep this in mind for future adventures. I also didn't expect the PCs to care so much about Avaku. I had been planning to have him show up to fight them at the worst moment, but, well, they were willing to go hunting.