Game-Summaries:11/17/2018 Recollections

Ci's Shanjiu Inspiration

Jeroy, Sakura, Ci, Cassio, Ember, Pearl, and Amon have gathered at Shanjiu keep for a meal on the evening before a mission for the Magistery. Their talk expectedly centers around their missing friends, and the mood around the table is dark with worry. Ci, who has been even more quiet than usual has been examining a roasted potato on his plate for most of his meal.

Ember suddenly turns and says, “Ci, what do you think? What fate has befallen our friends?”

“It actually of fate that I have been thinking.” Ci replies quietly. “Do you see this potato? The farmer who grew this, lives a half a day’s journey from the Keep. When he drops off his produce every month or so, he always has a great smile on his face and a kind word for all he meets. On one such visit I overheard some of the servants here calling him ‘Unlucky Liam’, and clucking under their breath about his great misfortune and dubious state of mind. When next he returned, I asked the farmer what tragedy he has seen to be called so.”

“Liam began to tell his tale to me. As a young farmer, he struggled to make ends meet. One day after years of saving he managed to buy a horse to help transport hi crop, The day after he bought it, that horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. ‘Such bad luck,’ they said sympathetically. ‘May be,’ Liam had replied.”

‘The next morning the when he rose , he found the horse had horse returned. In fact during it's night in countryside, it had met three other horses, and brought them home with him. ‘How wonderful!' the neighbors exclaimed. ‘May be,’ replied the farmer."

“A few days later, Liam’s son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, and was thrown, He broke his leg so badly he thought he might never walk normally again. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune. ‘May be,’ answered the farmer.”

"A few years later, a vicious mercenary band appeared at the farm. This band was well known to draft all available young men into their ranks, by force if necessary. Seeing that the farmer's son was lame, and the farmer himself was bent from the work of running the farm on his own, they passed them by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. "May be," said Liam."

“Liam went on for a quite a time, telling stories of great fortune, and for each was an equally great misfortune that he had endured” Ci recounted. “When Liam finished, I thanked him for his tales, and sent him on his way with my friendship. He left as happy as he had been when he first came, and one could hear him whistling as his cart passed on down the road toward his home.”

With that, Ci went back to studying his potato. After a few moments, when it became clear that Ci was not going to speak again, Jeroy spoke up in obvious consternation: “Well!?! What is is we are supposed to learn from that, Ci? That things will always work out in the end? That we can never know what fate has in store? What!??!”

Ci, looked up again, as if startled from a dream and said, “Friend Jeroy I am afraid I have no idea. I know not where all paths leads, only that I must follow them. I was just thinking however, if that poor unlucky farmer can whistle his way through this world, surely I can go on another day with faith in my friends.”

Ci's Campfire Story

Jeroy, Ci, Cassio, Ember, Pearl, and Amon sit around a hasty campfire carved out the frozen tundra near Frostgorge Sound. Jeroy is doing his calisthenics as usual, but everyone else seems to be taking the moment to truly rest. The fight with the giants tested them all sorely, and some more than others. Amon seems particular down... In between push-ups Jeroy quips "Why so serious, Amon!?! Any fight you walk away from is a good...." his voice trails off as he realizes what his comment might bring to mind. Amon looks up... "it's true I have only recently returned to the land of the living... but that is not what I was thinking of. I just felt so... useless... My skills are not up to par, and though I am pleased to truly serve my mistress, instead of a vile deceiver, I wish I had NOT been so deceived... perhaps then I could have been a greater help to you all."

"Do not worry friend Amon," Ci begins, "your path is your own and only you can walk it. Master Liu used to tell a story that I've always liked. A man found a cocoon of an emperor moth. He took it home so that he could watch the moth come out of the cocoon. On that day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the moth for several hours as the moth struggled to force the body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. It just seemed to be stuck. "

"Then the man, in his kindness, decided to help the moth, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The moth then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the moth because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

"What the hell CI!?! How is THAT supposed to make us feel better!?!" yells Jeroy.

Ci continued quietly "What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the moth to get through the tiny opening was the way of forcing fluid from the body of the moth into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight would only come after the struggle. By depriving the moth of a struggle, he deprived the moth of health. Fear not friend Amon. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. You can be stronger now than you would have. Now you can be free."

With that Ci went back to quietly meditating, and Jeroy with a quizzical look on his face, went back to push-ups. Amon rested easier that night than he had a many days.

Recollections by Amon

Dying is...unpleasant. If the fates are kind, it will not be an experience I enjoy again for many years to come. Given the dangers we face, and the frequency with which we face them, of course, I do not expect the fates to be overfond. I write this account -my first in some time- in the hopes that some record of our most recent misadventure might make it back to the others in the Order, should we fail to emerge from the darkness one more time. We stand before a gap in the frozen ground at the ass end of the world, the Frostlands, making preparations to delve within. Our hope, bolstered by the words of our most recent associate, the wizard Steel, is to find and bring to justice the dark elf wizard Imphraezl, who has eluded us for many months since our last encounter at Fort Malto. Given his demonstrated control of magical forces far beyond the abilities I once possessed at the height of my pact with Taiia- with an ancient unknowable evil, I do not feel the confidence in our certain victory that I present outwardly to the others.

We arrived here at the behest of Steel, who approached us during a training day at the Keep yesterday morning. He informed us that he needed our aid in giant slaying to disrupt a proposed alliance between two giant tribes, and that providing that assistance would lead us to Imphraezl. Seeing the threat such an alliance might cause for the surrounding region, we agreed to be teleported to the location of their planned meeting to do what we could. Through careful planning, acquired knowledge of the terrain, and a modicum of luck and the grace of holy Taiia, we prevailed in battle against both factions, despite the odds and the seeming unearthly powers possessed by the two giant kings, and did so with no casualties. The intervention of a dragon dispatched any remaining giants in the aftermath of the fight, and graciously opened up access to the chasm we currently prepare to enter.

As to the particulars, I must leave that to the others, memories of our conflict little more than a blur of fear and violence. The voices no longer whisper to me. Though I know now their foul origin, their absence still leaves me adrift, unsure of my continued place in the Order and among the Magisters. The battlefield, once my home, seems a foreign land to me. My new magic is unfamiliar, though useful to the others, is not the exultation of death and judgment of the power I once possessed. My lady's grace is now granted in truth, but while it proved vital in keeping the others alive yet I felt the absence of my more destructive abilities all too clearly as I cowered in frigid steel armor that still feels unnatural around me. Perhaps time and continued practice are needed, but time is not on our side today.

No matter. Our cause is just, our weapons ready. If we prevail, then by Her light may I find a purpose once more.

Recollections by Ci

I write these quick notes in the early morning from a hasty campsite in the frigid wastes near Frostgorge Sound. Later today, we will step into the icy unknown, so before we rush again headlong into danger, I wanted to get a few notes down about what brought us here. It all began yesterday morning when a mysterious figure approached us at the Keep while we were training. After confirming that we were a part of the group that had faced Imphraezl at Fort Malto, and survived, this stranger identified himself as Wizard named Steel. He stated that he had been sent to find us by a Seer. This Seer believed that we were destined to avert a terrible alliance between giants. Steel also told us that doing us would bring us closer to our goal of finding Imphraezl, though he was unsure how exactly that would be achieved. Feeling confident that Steel at least believed that he was telling us the truth, and hopeful at the prospect of finding Imphraezl again, we accepted his offer of transportation to Frostlands.

Steel's help came in the form of a Teleport spell that immediately transported us to a nearly featureless landscape of ice and snow. The wizard Steel then informed us that this was the anticipated location of a meeting between two giant kings, one of a clan of Stone Giants, the other of a clan of Frost Giants. Obviously, this alliance would be devastating for this region, and it was for this reason that the Seer had Steel seek us out. We knew precious little of the specifics, other than when, where, and who would be meeting, and thus after some short discussion we ruled out a diplomatic solution, It seemed the only sure way to prevent this alliance was to eliminate the parties when they arrived to negotiate. Steel's intelligence suggested that this would mean facing 10 giants and their respective Kings in less than 24 hours, a prospect that gave even brave Cassio pause.

Recollections by Ember

Jeroy, Cassio, Pearl, Amon, and I train with Ci on the Sanjiu keep grounds all morning. During our training I notice someone approaching. As this person comes closer I can tell it is an old man dressed in wizards robes, a fine long sword at his side, plus a walking stick. I immediately let my party know of his approach. Ci and Cassio decide to go meet the man and they are close enough that I am able to hear the conversation. Cassio first boasts of his greatness to the man. I feel my morning breakfast come up my throat a little. The man pays no mind and I can't help but giggle. Somehow though I don't think this will even register with Cassio's large ego. The man says the Seer told him where to find the group responsible for cleaning up Fort Malto and facing Imprazel. Cassio confirms this information. The wizard then asks a curious question, why did we do it. Cassio then explains to him about the chaos curse and then says "You may know who we are, but who are you?". He introduces himself as Steel. Ci then asks what his interest is in Fort Malto and Imprazel is. He tells us Imprazel is causing havoc in the Frost Guard Sound and he needs our help to stop this. I am suspicious so I cast a spell to see if he is telling the truth. Once the spell is complete I do believe him and let the discussion continue. Ci then invites him into the keep to continue the discussion in private. We all head to the war room. Once we are settled Ci asks what information he has for us. Steel says he knows very little but that we definitely need to search for Imprazel. He also explains to us that there will be a Giant summit between the Stone and Frost Kings. He says we need to stop this at all costs. Cassio asks him if he will be traveling with us and he says yes. I am very excited at the prospect of having a very high level wizard with us, it will be very beneficial. He says he is happy to teleport us there and back, but we probably won't want him to teleport us back. Jeroy is curious about this and asks why. He explains that our paths will probably diverge and we will be close to catching Imprazel and we will want to pursue him.

Steel reaches out his hand to us to make the teleportation circle. We accept and teleport to the Sound. It's a shock of biting bitter cold as we emerge in the Sound. I've never felt anything like it. It's so incredibly beautiful yet dark and ominous. There is ice and snow as far as the eye can see and no sun to be found. Steel tells us the summit will be held a quarter mile South East at dawn. He also explains to us that each King will have five companions. We begin to head to the meeting spot and discuss a course of action. Us against 12 Frost and Stone Giants, including two Kings will not go well if we don't have a plan.

We discuss the makeup and weaknesses of Frost and Stone Giants as we travel. We remember Frost Giants are made of snow and frost and are vulnerable to fire. We also remember that their beards are coveted and were used for the Chaos curse. As for Stone Giants they are more reclusive and are crafters with no known weaknesses. We discuss all our options and the best course of actions seem to be suggestions from Jeroy and Cassio, I'm just as surprised as you are! It took us an exceedingly long time to come up with a plan, but it seems like our best option. The plan is to keep them divided and dig holes big enough for the Giants to fall in, taking them out of the battle. The holes will be covered by hallucinatory terrain so they can't avoid them. Steel tells us his sword is called Steel Wind and we will see what it can do tomorrow. Personally I hope it kills Giants with one poke! However I doubt it.

We decide we should scout both groups. So Ci goes to scout the Frost Giants and I change into an eagle and scout the Stones. While we are gone the rest of the party digs the pits. Once I reach the Stone Giants I can tell which is the King immediately. He appears to have a bunch of mechanical items attached to him. I can tell another Giant has a large wound and I believe I would easily be able to take him out instantaneously if I hit him in it. I fly back and relay this information to the party. Ci returns and tells us that the Frost Giant King looks like an abomination with many heads attached to his body and one of the companions is wounded. He feels the same as I do, that he can take down the companion if he hits him in the right spot.

With preparations made we lay in wait for the Giants to arrive. We are all gathered in the middle of the ice shelf when they arrive and they are more then surprised to see us. We begin the battle immediately. Steal starts us off with his magical blade wounding 5 Giants at once! Then Jeroy, Cassio, Pearl and Amon are all able to knock a Giant each into a pit. I am so thankful 4 of them are out of this fight. Ci then skillfully kills the Frost Giant with the wound as I do the same to the wounded Stone Giant with my black flames. Steel then tries to disengage with the Stone King, but I see a strange look in his eyes and believe he is charmed. So he sends a disintagrate beam to the Frost King and the King's skin begins to peel off. Jeroy then goes into a barbarian rage and goes after the Stone King but misses. I then hear him calling for his ancestral guardians and he barley damages the king with his axe.

I then hear blood curdling screams which I realize is coming from all of the Frost King's heads and I feel a looming sense of doom as his wounds begin to close! What in the world!?!?! He then appears to be raging and slams his great axe on Cassio. Cassio is wounded but retaliates Screaming "Cassio" striking his flaming sword into the King. A divine light comes blasting out from the Kings spine and he falls dead. I am thankful for Cassio in battle, but those words will never pass my lips! Pearl then drops the closest Frost Giant into a hole and he is out for the count. Another down, thank the Gods! Amon then sends his blessings on most of us. We definitely need all the blessings we can get, thanks Amon! The Stone Giant then flashes the group a vicious smile and touches Steel on the forehead turning him to stone! He then grabs Steels stone body and presses him into his flesh and he is absorbed. Just like that, in a single instance our strongest party member is out for the count and I feel the world crashing around me but resolve to fight harder. He then picks up Jeroy and slams him into the ground, but Jeroy manages to stand up only suffering a small amount of damage. That is one tough little dwarf. One of the Frost Giants plucks a boulder from his belt throwing it at Cassio. It hits him, but he keeps going. Ci then sends flaming arrows, which I made for him, at one of the Frost Giants and one arrow hits. The Giant retaliates by throwing a rock at Ci which misses. Another Giant goes after Cassio and slams him with it's axe. The Giant misses at first, then lands a blow. Garnet, now a wrymling sends his fire breath at two of the Giants scorching their skin. Jeroy goes after the Stone King again missing at first then lands his axe in it's flesh. Then to the surprise of all of us, the Frost King's bones begin to knit together, he stands, and slams his axe on Cassio. Cassio is ready for this and has casted a shield over him and heals his wounds. Pearl then casts her flame waver hitting the King and the Giant in front of Cassio. Her flame wave kills the King and throws the other Giant backwards. The Stone King is growing more angry by the second and he bludgeons Jeroy. Good thing Amon had just healed him. The Stone King then moves to Garnet because one thing Giants hate the most is dragons. Especially a dragon that is killing them. Ci shoots his flaming arrows at one of the Frost Giants almost killing him. Another tries to slam his axe on Garnet but misses. I decide we need the Stone King out for the count for a time so I poly-morph him into a rat. Garnets flames then burn two of them. The Frost Kings bones knit back together once again, he stands, and throws a huge rock at Cassio. Whats with this guy?!?! Cassio then attacks the Giant next to him sending him to his grave. He then attacks the Frost King almost killing him once more. That honor goes to Pearl this time as she casts her wall of thorns through several of the Giants and the King, killing him once more. She then tries to run out of the way and the Frost Giant that is closest to her grapples her and she is unable to move. Amon then uses his staff to age the Giant holding Pearl. This seems to backfire as the Giants muscles become larger. One of the Giant's pushes out of the wall and throws a boulder at me. It hurts a great deal, but I press on. Ci then shoots his flaming arrows but misses. He closes the gap and sends a fist and flurry of blows at it. The Giant holding Pearl does the unexpected and hurls her at me. We collide which hurts both of us but Ci is able to sneak attack him for us. Unfortunately my concentration is disrupted and the poly-morph spell fails on the Stone King as he turns back into himself. However I recast it and he once again turns into a rat. I vow to keep him like this until we are able to fight him all together. Garnet once again blows his fire breath burning two of the Giants. Jeroy's attacks one of them and misses, but hits on his second attack so he summons an ancestor. The Frost King's bones once again knit back together. He lurches himself out of the wall of thorns, but dies instantly. Thank the Gods! Cassio then moves in between two of the Giants, slashing them down to their deaths. Pearl and Ci then notice the sky is growing darker by the minute. They inform us all. The Giants in the holes start to unnervingly moan, this cannot be a good sign. The Frost King once again reanimates, but Ci shoots him down dead. I really wish this guy would quit the crap! Jeroy runs to the Frost King to carve out his heart so he can make a belt. He realizes four of the heads on it are still alive. The King would keep coming back to life if Jeroy hadn't taken his heart. Thank you Jeroy for wanting to craft a belt of Giants strength. All the Giants that are not in holes have been struck down so we circle around the Stone King getting ready to attack. Cassio is first and he charges the rat King with his flaming sword. The rat immediately turns back into the Stone Giant once Cassio has attacked. Luckily he takes a nice chunk out of him. Jeroy is the second to attack and almost takes him out. Ci is third and misses his first two attacks. He then runs up the King's body and punches him in the throat twice killing him.

We then cut the stone Steel out of the Giant and I cast greater restoration on him and he returns to his flesh. Steel then looks up at the dark sky and says this is what he's been waiting for. We are all perplexed. I look up and see a huge shadow growing larger and larger until a massive red dragon emerges from the clouds. Steel immediately shields our party as the gigantic dragon blows fire over the entire battlefield killing the remaining Giants in the holes. She then turns to us and says "Thank you for that". She takes off and lands one hundred feet away firing the ground once again. We are again perplexed by this. Thanks to Steel we didn't turn into a pile of ash! He says that the dragons name is Vala and she has been seen around these parts. He then tells us this is where we part ways because he needs to see the Seer. He says he will return in two days and then teleports away. We had luck on our side today and remain whole to battle once more.

Recollections by Jeroy

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We sit around our camp on a frozen and barren plane.
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Beside us is a gaping hole, burned into the ground by an ancient red dragon that nearly killed us along with 6 giants we had trapped.

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Four more dead frost giants are strewn about frozen land
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Two giant kings lay dead, their hearts has been cut our.
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The reason we are here is simple - we were asked to do a favor in exchange for information on someone we seek but how this will end we are unsure.

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Between push-ups I look around our campsite, Ember plays with Garnet. They have earned a more relaxed night than this. Garnet fought bravely and Ember's powerful magic may have saved us all from a Giant King, but not any Giant King - the one that our dear fallen comrade, Jorg, was killed for. Tonight we hope Jorg rests in peace and bestows on us a similar peaceful night sleep. Pearl rests on a bed of leaves and nurses her wounds. During the battle she fought mightily but for a moment allowed herself to get too close to one giant. She was thrown into ember, nearly killing both. Her powerful magic was able to stop multiple giants in their tracks. Without her Cassio may have been killed. He fought bravely, I must tip my Soulmate to him on that. He fights as though someone is watching him - or like many people are watching him. Amon is already asleep. He appears taxed after his first battle with his new fighting style. Cleric works for him but he appeared at times lost on the battlefield. His natural instincts gone, his movements were slightly off-step. As if he was reciting a spell but for the first time. I cannot hold that against him for he fought bravely and he has earned his sleep. Finally there is Ci, scribbling feverishly, as if this is his last testament. Though he is a man that seeks inner peace and tranquility it is clear to even a barbarian his mind is never at rest. He fought with honor for his order and should be proud.
We all fought with honor for our Order, the Eternal Order. But our fight is not yet done. As I turn to towards the hole beside us I wonder if we will finally be able to track down the wizard Imphraezl. This time we may have the drop on him, I just hope it is enough.
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Recollections by Pearl

Pearl pulls from her clothes what appears to be a knot of roots and branches. She opens it to reveal a journal that she keeps on her, or as part of her, at all times. She begins to write before settling in for the night.

Our adventure seems to grow more dangerous every day. From a wizard and druid summoning creatures, to sailors with ghost cargo, to pirates kidnapping fellow sailors, to a cult that raises the very bottom of the ocean – but now giant kings, giants, and dragons. This battle may have been my toughest yet. I learned many lessons today – the importance of preparing for a battle, never get too close to giants, and the strength of a team comes from all of its parts. Like the world around us, nature is best when it is in balance. I fear that the plots that we are uncovering may lead to an imbalance in the world around us. I simply hope that we can be the proper counterweight.

-Pearl, 11/27/346