Plantmonth the 21st, 10:30 AM, 239 of the 29th age. With little other options on where to go, we knew we were going to have to risk passing the Feyr. With its psionic abilities, as well as the difficulty any of us had risking to get past, we were not sure it was going to work. We had gathered together near the area and figured that we could try using Asher’s Protection from Chaos spell to get a few of us past it. So it was volunteered that Darius and Asher would be the two in question. A light spell was cast upon a rock and the two of them went down the hall.
Where they looked left and saw…the room was empty. But they could still feel a presence there. Ideas were tossed out, fairie fire, lightning bolts, just rush in. Eventually we all came down the hall and THEN – we could hear the Feyr in our heads. It was not liking the light and was going to kill Darius for bringing it in. A look around – it was invisible for sure, and we convinced Darius to ditch the stone.
Eventually the Protection spell ended and now everyone can hear the Feyr. It reiterated its statement earlier, if they could get the Githyanki to move, it would allow them to pass. We could not pass to go make that happen, wrapping us around again and again. It was willing to bargain. Bleed out (permanent hit point loss), denaturing (reduction of ability scores), other ideas. Nothing seemed like anything we’d want to do – since all 9 of us would have to do it.
Then it was asked, what about if we can’t go past you…what if you move us instead. It seemed to smile. That was a possibility. The last thing offered was taking 5 years of someone’s life. Captain Asher was willing to do it when Shim stepped in. The Feyr identified Shim as a gnome and said 5 years was not equitable; how about 10?
Shim took the deal, had 10 years taken from his life, and the entire party portalled to the other side of the room and past the Feyr.
We spent 10 years trimming the dead skin, fingernails, facial hair, and head hair from Shim. Around 20 to 12 and we kept going, wondering what we’d have to do to pass the Feyr when we left? The passage went for a bit and there were dragonflies. Lots and lots of dragonflies. Wilhelm stepped up and after checking it out, confirmed that outside of the incongruity of they’re being here – they were just normal dragonflies. We stepped past with care not to kill or crush any and then saw a light up ahead.
Silvery and solid, we closed and looked in. It appeared a portion of the life tree had once had a root running from the left side of the room, up along the ceiling, and then down the right side, disappearing into the clay soil. The root had some cracks in it where silver sap was collecting, making small drops and eventually falling away to the ground – making a line of silver sap below. And it was all glowing.
Briefly we thought about tasting it – that was discarded. Shim wanted to collect some and NOT touch it. So he used tongs and a vial, got some drops in it, and sealed it up. We did press a rock into the sap – but other than getting silvery light sap on it – nothing. And again – we still have not actually touched the sap.
We all ducked low and passed on, getting down the hall to eventually a hole in the ground running almost straight down, just under 4’ wide. We tried the light coin on the cord trick but it was inconclusive after 40’. A slope down there but the cord and coin weren’t heavy enough. So we tried it with a spike and did the test again. Lots of back and forth – but we did gather, 40’ down, then another 80’ in run down some slope, then another steeper drop that used the entirety of the cord (200’). Godrick stopped to study Levitate and the rest of us refilled lantern and ate. Eventually a bit after 2, we were ready.
3 of us went down first – Wilhelm as a raven along with Shim riding Connal. Once there, the monk used a shovel to dig a flat area, throwing the clay ahead and down the slope. He then checked out the long drop at the end of the slope and went back to the top of the slope. From there the party was lowered one at a time. Once everyone was painstakingly lowered to the sloped area, we lashed each person to the rope and lowered them down the 90’ to the 7th level below. There was a breeze here.
It was about 5 PM at this point and we were getting winded. 2 choices – towards the blowing wind our away from it. We decided to head with the wind. Passage went for 35, 40 paces and eventually turned to the north. Saw a long hallway with increasing light, and wind was rising up. Hole in the space? Was this the wrinkle? Shim used the Desmondian Diamond and no, it was pointing south and east.
No one wanted to risk the hall. So Shim dropped a summon and got a trio of giant rats. He spoke with them and convinced them to go down the windy corridor. They did so, slow steps. Each step looked like it catapulted them forwards 15, 20’! They were struggling to keep going but one of them made a 3rd step – and winked out of existence!
Nope. Fuck this hall.
We opted to go back the other way and head east. Passage eventually drifted southeast and we could smell something up ahead. Spices? And then a voice said in heavily accented Common, “I told you I heard a Prime. You owe me 3 drachmas.” Who the hell? “Come forward. Might as well be civilized about this.”
We inched along until we could see. The chamber had been extended up and down. 3 larger buildings made of some sort of grey clay bricks were here. A fire was burning in a half moon open side oven and around it were 3 figures. They were just about 6’ or so tall. Their skin was rough yellow and they had gleaming black eyes. Two of them were clad in some spectral looking chainmail hauberks, the one with the orange cloak and eyepatch had a two handed sword, the other with numerous beads in its black hair had a scythe. The last was wearing a set of platemail and also sported a two handed sword, except his was made of silver. All their accoutrements had a faint glow about them. The platemail wearing one lifted a pipe to the group and said, “I am Spak’thar of the M’Lar Githyanki. These are M’Nar and Fett’nur. What are you Primes doing here?”
We talked. They were Githyanki. They had come 3 years ago following a distress call from a Neogi party. Upon arrival, the elder Neogi were dying and their machinery were breaking down in the oxygen rich atmosphere. They did trade with them and left before their eggs and next generation hatched. Since then, they’ve set up shop here and have been siphoning the residual divine energy from the soil to bring back to the M’Lar clan.
They figured that Primes would eventually show up and when that day came, he and his 2 would leave. He can kill you all off, but wants to give them a pass if they are willing to help he and his 2 companions load up their wares. Oh, and give them any and all silver coins they have on them. We discussed it and decided…go for it.
They were chatty and yet focused. There was a Prime that comes down, at least 8 or 9 times since they’ve been here. He cords down. “Cords?” Apparently he projects himself here and leaves his body elsewhere. He’s been bringing dead bodies it seems. Also, that long hall with the light? There is a time rip there – supposedly a time crystal is at the end of the passage…very difficult to get.
Did let us know about a room of inverted gravity ahead and then another with lots of dead plants. After that was the Wrinkle. They thanked us, and by 6:30, dimension doored away from here and we assume to the Wrinkle, taking their crates with them. We did have a day of food here and some water, plus beds and a place to sleep the night.
We were up on Plantmonth the 22nd and were gone by 8:30 PM. Taking the passage we walked slowly, tossing an odd stone ahead and watching to make sure it landed. Eventually at one point..it didn’t – it instead flew up to the ceiling 15 up. We found the edge of the field and then used a rope, held on this side and tossed ahead. It flew up to the ceiling and we all took turns climbing up/down and then reorienting ourselves on the ceiling above. Finally once finished, we began to walk along, once more tossing a stone ahead as we went to find the end of the field.
It was well over 100’ away where the zone ended and the rock fell to the group above our head. We did the rope trick again and cycled one at a time to the ground. From here we pressed on. Passage split Northeast and southwest. A look at the Diamond showed it pointing south. Northeast had a variety of green weed plants ahead, southwest had rotting dead vegetation. We went along for a bit and then came to a large chamber with dead plant matter almost a foot and a half in some places.
Shim summoned a monster and had it enter the room (another barbaric elf). She went in slow and then the ground in front of her rose up, slammed her with two oversized hands, and then choked her to death. It was 9’ in height, bipedal and cone like, made entirely of ropy vines and dirt and plants. It roared and surged towards us as we gathered our weapons ready to fight the…shambling…mound. Plantmonth the 22nd, 239 of the 29th age, 10:15 AM.
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