There are no warnings against wild mages and artificiers being friends. A cynical mind might wonder if there is a very ominous reason for that...


Meri's workshop was a haphazard place of wonders. Some were hidden in plain sight wrapped in mundane forms. Others were wonderous from afar, yet yielded new secrets when looked at closely, in fine engravings or subtle twists of form.

The workshop did not just buzz with the faint aura of magic from its creations though. There was clearly a potential that filled the room. Even the simplest and newest of tools or freshest of delivered materials seemed to vibrate. As if their enchantment was already certain, wrapping itself around the item awaiting the final melding.

In such a rich yet ordered atmosphere, a wild mage - one whose magic screamed where an artificers magic whispered, and pawed for attention instead of gently wrapping - was bound to have an effect.

And so one day, when Nym's magic flared to grant her a new form, the artificer and the mage heard a 'tink' from the floor by one of the workbenches.

The item in question was a round sphere, about fist sized and most likely made of metal? It was one of the various items lying around, and who knew what it had been for - perhaps a pommel for a large sword, the top to a special stave, or some other wonder. The 'tink' from the sphere's fall would be the last time a sound would be heard from it.

The Ball was able to levitate, drifting as if an ephemeral bubble caught in local eddies of wind when it had the mind too. However, its normal method of motion and 'standing still' was to bounce on the ground to chest height, a tireless rubber ball bounced by an invisible child, yet making not a sound nor mark no matter the surface.

The thing was maybe iron, but it was hard to tell. It tended to either take on an irridescent form similar to Nym's colouring and style that day, or a delicate pattern and surface as if a mirror to one of Meri's latest creations. Its choice of appearance, it could be suspected, depended upon which of the two it was trying to curry favour from at that moment.

The Ball seemed to know the minds of those that approached it, for it would drift and dive out of the way if the intent was to grab for it, yet would hover happily to be plucked from the air if gentle curiosity was the reason. The weight and even texture of the thing changed on a whim too. If it did not want to be moved, if sad on the ground petulantly feeling like a ball of snow - damp even though no water came to the hand - and if was so heavy that not even a giant could probably shift it. Yet when it was the centre of attention, ot would feel like warm and soft to the touch, as if a small kitten had curled itself up to sleep happily in the palm of a hand. At such times, one would swear a purring could be felt.

However, The Ball was no mere pet, no quirky item of magical curiosity. It had a purpose. From that first day of its awakening, it had bounced and floated, slowly indicating a wish to leave. The direction appeared to be south. The time appeared to be as soon as possible.


The reason was unfathomable. Yet could there be a harm in following it? After all, there were no warnings about the results of such accidents when artificers and wild mages were friends. Thinking on it more, of course, it was hard to think of another example of a wild mage and artificer being friends. Atleast, no living example anymore...
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:03, Tue 02 June 2015.

Meri and Nym finally gave in to the urgings of The Ball to go journey after two weeks, and followed it south skirting the great forest and forest road.

They came to a ruined village called Stonebridge, thathad once been a thoroughfare until the 'Shy Orc War'. A group of orchish warriors and 'weirer' orcs had come south, destroying villages and making for some unknown point beyond Stonebrige.

The orc army had been stopped at a place known as The Falls, where the ground had been broken by magic on the final battle.

Meri and Nym made the acquaintance of Tym, a blacksmith, Jorri, an innkeeper, and Holder, an artificer, who still lived in the mostly ruined buildings, eschewing the New Stonebridge reformed up on the nearby hill.

Nym and Meri learned about the history of the area, including learning that other odd magical things had occurred in the area about two weeks ago. The group then came under the attention of a bandit group that had followed them south. The bandits dared to launch an assault on the village, and were soundly defeated.

Meri managed to secure a stone that seemed to communicate to the 'employer' of the bandits, whilst Nym managed to make a friend of the surviving bandit, a young man named Crass.

Meri contacted the bandit's employer, being spoken to by The Voice. However, despite its protestations that there had been a misunderstanding, that it didn't want The Ball, and that the bandits had attacked in error, the voice sent a Force Specter to kill the captured bandit leader Banlee and also seemingly Meri.

The attack was repelled, the specter killed before it could report back and the stone destroyed. Meri suspected that The Voice was some form of orcish shaman.

Nym and Meri left Stonebridge - with Crass partially accepted in to the village - and carried on towards the falls. There, they found an area with odd vegetation, odd magical energies that reacted to The Ball and diverted the path of The Falls, and a cave network beyond The Falls itself.

Exploring, it appeared that the cave network had revealed some deeper buried structure. It appeared a group of goblins had excavated and once lived in this area, indeed apparently digging up the bodies of fallen solders for the orcish shaman.

However, the shaman seemed to have had most of the goblins killed, only a demented chef that minded the spirit of the clan boss whilst eating intruders, and a blind bat handler and his 'chilren', remained to guard. The chef was killed in battle, and his lord banished. A dead wizard whose cat familiar had also been changed two weeks ago was found. The familiar - The Dog - was still amazingly alive, perhaps still imbued by an echo of its master, and energised by the magic that had changed it. The Ball and The Dog seemed to have a magical reaction to each other, speaking of a similar magic affecting them both.

The bat handler's children were defeated, but the handler itself  - named 'Gobbat' at Nym's urging - was spared, seemingly happy to give Nym another chance, and allowing the group to go ahead to meet its master.

It also seemed that the shaman had bound some of the older spirits of the dead soldiers, using their bodies to both communicate and press in to service the once passed spirits.

However, Meri and Nym had destroyed the device that bound the spirits, leaving the way clear.

The heart of the place, and the thing that called to The Ball, appeared to be a large magical portal. Taking the shaman unawares whilst he was still deep in study, the two companions slowly tried to solve the mystery of the portal's operation.

Eventually Nym was forced to do what she did best, and speak incessantly to the orc. She managed to pacify his obvious suspicion, whilst Meri tried to complete the ritual once more, as a means of reversing the effects and close the portal.

Meri succeeded, though it seemed there was something tricky happening behind the scenes. The shaman had his power over the portal removed, but his petitions to the entity beyond appeared to allow it to come out.

The shaman was dismissed by the very twisting of a wish he had feared, whilst the figure that emerged - a shadow man who called himself Magic itself - offered his thanks, and a true wish to each of the companions.

The Shadow revealed both a brief history of the ancient world, and also that he had been imprisoned by the gods after not quite being the shackle of mortals he was supposed to be. The Gods - good and evil - feared mortals enough in ancient times to come together and banish him to limit the potential power of mortals - the power of The Wish.

The Dog discovered its master's soul in the helm of Krunluc - a helm The Shadow then neutralised and gifted to Nym. The Dog freed all the spirits of people from the hall, leading them and its master away but disappearing itself to the next life, becoming a tiny dragon in the process. Meanwhile, The Shadow freed The Ball from its shell, revealing it as a tiny beholder that the two companions had created. It called itself Many, and The Shadow positied that because of its origin, it had the potential to be good when the rest of its kind were usually pulled quickly to evil.

The Shadow left the companions with Meri's wish granted - that Nym was given the potential to manifest a familiar as a true and permanent friend. Nym herself still possessed one wish left too, though The Shadow warned that it would now be a conditional wish. Although always, the selfless wish could be the most powerful and least corrupted.

The companions discovered Gobbat had departed the area, and so departed themselves with The Stick - an elf apparently turned to a staff by a dryad, a dryad somewhere south east of the dungeon.

They briefly stopped in Stonebridge to let the others know what had happed, though disagreements on exactly what to do with and who to tell saw Meri leave quickly after an argument with Jorri.

The group carried onwards, following the urgings of The Stick to eschew habitation and take quieter paths towards Blackwood. Along the way, Nym finally manifest the familiar Meri had wished upon her, a companion for now she called 'Wuffles'.

After hearing tales that 'ruffians' were discouraging travel to Blackwood, the group found the ruffians themselves blocking the bridge to The Blackwood forest itself. Although the leader - Allyn of the Red Hand - said she and her band were empowered by the Blackwood village elders, a fight ensued. Allyn herself escaped, her fate uncertain, however her band were left mostly dead and the companions could continue unmolested.

The Stick's reluctant urgings made the companions go in to the village itself to look for someone named 'Blace' rather than go to the dryad directly.  The Stick's rudimentery method for communication also let the companions know its name may well be 'Goodwin'.

The village was in festive mode, celebtrating some festival or another, and the companions found Blace easily enough after a warm welcome. However, despite her friendly demeanour, things did not go well. It seemed Goodwin seemed to have tried to take The Dryad's voice, against the advice of Blace whom he had confided in after an attack of conscience. Blace herself confirmed that Allyn had been epowered to investigate the mystery of the dissappearances, because as unpleasant as she was, at least Allyn wasn't actively antagonising the degenerating the peace between the percecuted dryad and the scared populous of the village.

Blace couldn't convince the two magic users not to interfer, and the group sadly left to find The Dryad for themselves once Blace realised Allyn's band had been attacked by the pair - leaving Goodwin in Blace's care.

The group found their reverence of the forest was rewarded by the odd animal inhabitants guiding the group to a peaceful glade, presumeably to await the dryad. Sadly, what should have been a sacred place was broken by an attack by a Phystal - a wild elf with fey magic, commanding the old guardians of the forest.

The group beat back the Phystal, and luckily The Dryad then found them. Blace's fears appeared unfounded, as the dryad seemed to welcome the group. She was also happy to join with them to track the Phystal, for the Phystal was daring to come to the forest and commit such sacrilidge. And apparently the fey blamed the dryads of old for not doing more in some ancient war, despite all the dryads dying to protect the forest.

The Dryad however possessed something of worry - The Stick had been attacked and snapped in two, and thrown in to the river. Only luck brought the pieces back to The Dryad's path, and now to the companions' again. The group managed to reconstruct Goodwin, though not able to change his form. The Dryad seemed as surprised as the others at his change, and the fact he'd been able to leave the forest. And worse yet, Goodwin was not helpful in letting the others know if Blace was still alive or not, leaving her fate uncertain too.

The group tracked The Phystal to a tributary in the river, where he and his small band were clearly trying to leave. They had laid a small trap for the group, but were no match for The Dryad's anger and the sheer power of Nym and Meri. Although Meri wished The Physal to be taken alive so his purpose and Blace's fate could be discovered, Nym unleashed her full power on the foe, ending his life in a blast of magic.

While the group recovered from the battle, across the water a mysterious figure was seen briefly. It seemed to be a revenant of the Raven Queen, and it seemed to be very angry at the death of the Phystal.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:12, Sun 06 Nov 2016.

The dead Phystal revealed itself to have been carrying some form of Blight, which tried to control Celindara. Meri and Nym managed to spot and stop the infection in time. Seeing and feeling its effects first hand, Celindara now realised the terrible truth - that the cult had now been destroyed. She also took back her part of the spell on Goodwin, though it became clear that something else needed to happen.

While the group recovered from the battle, Meri saw the clear stone was trying to come loose, and on touching it had a vision of The Shadow. He warned that there was a twin to him, one that had already appeared to Meri in her dream pretending to be The Shadow. He was the reason The Shadow had been cautious on who freed him. He warned her not to trust his followers now, for they might be following his Twin - willingly or not.

The group minus Celindara went to look for Blace, fearing she might be in trouble. Instead they learned that Blace was working in secret against Celindara, and had been working with The Phystal - or at least working to keep him offbalance. In the altercation, Blace revealed she had been the one to break Goodwin in half. Goodwin himself then broken the second part of the spell, apparently his feelings of betray restoring his sense of self. Blace and her ally - the mysterious revanant, a dire rat and sometimes strange looking man called Farren Wyde - departed on the increased odds.

Returning to Celindara, Celindara led the group onwards to her home, from there planning on speaking with the Spirit of Winter it formed a pact with, ending the war. She wanted to demand answers as to why the cult still existed. However, while the group rested at her home, Blace and Farren - together with Alynn -  appeared.

The group exchanged words, where it became apparent that Farren was at least open to listening to the group, while Blace was driven. Meri's taunts drew more of Blace's tragic story, her fight with the cult, and the cult itself. The cutl#s leaders appeared to be called The Teachers. Celindara admitted her mistake, though was still bitter over the betrayal. Blace however took Celindara's sudden change of heart, and the reason for it, very badly. She saw it as a betrayal herself, and seeking the cult to be a reckless threat.

The matter was on the verge of coming to blows, when the fact of The Shadow's existence was hinted at. Blace grew cautious of Meri's and Nym's power, and the co-incidences of the past few days. Blace and Farren departed without any obvious words, leaving Alynn alone. Many had been able to translate the speech of Blace and Farren, allowing the group to know a fight had been averted but a new problem was dawning. Blace was seeking answers to this new power.

In the meantime, Alynn was captured, and then left in Celindara's home while the group moved towards the centre of the forest - and the edge of the living lands. In what had been the Great Tree, the Spirit of Winter held residence. While Meri left some doubts in the minds of his followers, Celindara debated with the spirit. Meri and Nym managed to at least uncover the truth, that the agreement had been to stop the cult from comng to the land. The dryad's influence - and hence the spirit's - stopped at the depth of the roots.

Celindara was angry, and refused to take on the spirit's offer - that he could destroy the cult if she emplanted his gem in their domain, givng her the dead lands. Instead, taking the location from the spirit, she went to war on her own.

The forest respoded, and anceint titans and living animals came to her aid. The warband carried on to the blasted location of the First fey city that had fallen. Celindara relased somewhere buried deep was the anceint altar, and it seemed to be through this that the cult still held on to this world.

The group descended in to the catacombs where the blight had consumed. The Teachers tried to stop the group, but were repelled, as were their minions. The group was able to find an altar to Melora, that the cult was using to cling to this realm. It appeared to be defaced by the symbol of Thrazidum, and his name was uttered by The Teachers.

Celindara was able to cleanse the altar, while Meri and Nym defeated The Teachers. With the cult removed, it seemed that Melora herself used her influence to blast the area clean, and replant a World Tree in its place.

However, the exercise in power allowed The Shadow's twin to temporarily appear to Meri and Nym in their minds. As well as gloating, it hinted it had been one of the two Shadows Meri had seen, and sent Meri to see The Shadow and Nym to go back ot the real world. The Shadow was surprised, for he had not spoken to Meri, nor warning of a twin. And through Meri's appearance in his realm, The Shadow had no recourse but to reveal himself his return to the gods. His last words to Meri were to not trust the appearance of The Other, and instead seek The Shadow's followers...
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:11, Sun 06 Nov 2016.