A week's time has passed since the Battle for Fildegarne. What forces remained of the PCA outside of the city gates have been decimated, burned, and the refuse in route to mass burial sites dedicated miles from the capitol city.

The heroes Shiaran, Beloc, Sypher, and Rebort have received a much needed respite given the events of the previous weeks. Tired muscles, weary minds, and strained spirits have been revitalized by the rest within the confines of Garamune Manor. Cleaning crews appointed by royal staff have came and went, day in and out, rehabilitating the decrepit home into something resembling a livable space. Fresh foods and drink of all variety available have been catered to the group. Even King Ghendrake himself has made a visit mid-week to ensure everyone is well taken care of, insisting they take time to rest and recharge for the coming battles.

At best, the battle-hardened group is beyond stir crazy by the week's end. The time spent has felt like ages and ages, far beyond the scope of a normal week.

Darius has sent word the previous day to expect his arrival soon. Oro, Gazra, Kallium, and Sigurd have all came, went, and came back again to the manor, waiting for Darius.

After a morning meal and milling about, Lyle Pence makes an entry.

"Good morning everyone. In one hour's time, I'd like to gather everyone around out in front of the manor for our guest of honor".

DM's Notes: Welcome back to Fildegarne! Sure has been a long and strange downtime from this. I'd like everyone to take a post or two to describe how their week went and what they did, be it shopping, research, etc. Rebort will have had his lab set up, and the rest will have had whatever provisions they needed accounted for"

Sypher will have been a barely seen ghost at the manor.  When he is not eating or sleeping, which are rare in themselves, he is out in the town healing those who may not be otherwise seen by the city's healers in the needed time.  He offers no slight to the overworked healers, instead offering words of compliment and gratitude for them.  Sypher also gives way to them and their authority whenever he encounters them, bolstering not only their work, but his and the group's reputation within the city as much as possible.

If circumstances permit, Sypher will summon Garyl Hendricks to the home and begin him down the path of a paladin.

Where possible, without slowing the work of his hands, Sypher also spreads the word of Iehovah.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:31, Tue 26 Jan 2021.

Shiaran determines that this manor is likely going to turn out to be a central base of operations for the group.  Going on that hypothesis, she finds an enormous cellar to set up as her laboratory.  The work takes all week reinforcing walls, etching protective runes, creating a workbench suitable for her needs, and just generally cleaning up.  As she performs the physical labor, her mind is free to wander, to calculate.  In her working daze, she creates a list of areas she wants to work on researching spells:

Rust-monster type attacks for metal.
Entropy type spells to hasten the decay of undead into uselessness.
Geomancy.
Flight.
Duplication

Not only does she want to learn these spells, but she wants to create the capacity in her workspace to forge the magical items necessary to use those spells without having to memorize them.  The first item she considers is a box of bullets to enchant with the Rust Monster effect after she learns the spell.

She also scouts the grounds of the manor to see if there is a place suitable for housing "pet" rust monsters, or for creating such a containment area.  Such a corral would need to be exceptionally large, built entire of stone and/or strong wood, and have an interim room between secure inner and outer doors to prevent the creatures from escaping.  Her purpose is not only to study the creatures properties for the purpose of spell casting, but to study their ecology, their habitat, diet, and everything about them.  Should the rust monsters fare well in captivity, she would most likely turn the room into a full habitat with a thick glass wall and an outer hall for viewing.  Access to the hall would not be through the manor, but from the outside as a kind of terrarium viewing.  The idea for this gives her an idea for a whole menagerie in the future which makes her contemplate having the whole thing a bit separated from the manor depending on what the king permits.

Shiaran works like a machine, eats like a pig, and is only seen - looking as hot as she can manage in her rogue's leather and long slate-colored robe - when diplomatic visits are announced ahead of time.  At those times, she compartmentalizes her magical side in favor of the svelte diplomat.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:54, Thu 28 Jan 2021.

Beloc spends the better part of the first day resting up physically, however, the magic imbued upon him makes the work go quicker than expected.

When not sneaking away to find time to commune with nature, he spends time with the troops, guiding them and sharpening their skills as well as his own. He knows they won't be here much longer to help protect them, so the more apt they are to defend themselves, all the better.

Initially, R.E.B.O.R.T. makes it a point to work opposite of Shiaran. While she works on reinforcing the walls and tracing her rune, he concentrates his effort in the center of the room. A machining table for crafting all manners of hand-held implements, weapons, and ammunition.

To one side of the table, he starts constructing what looks like a forge. R.E.B.O.R.T. places his hand on his chest and fiddles with the mechanism holding his docent in place. He removes the fiery red stone from his chest and places it on the forge. He concentrates for a moment and then the forge roars to life. Though smaller than what you might find in a typical smith’s workshop, it generates enough power to turn mithril into quicksilver and bend adamantium to the crafters' will but is nearly cool to the touch thanks to the Artificer’s Heart. With the forge ingited, he quickly places the docent back in his chest.

On the other side, a table lined with all sorts of beakers, vials, and tubing meant to refine and distill all manner of alchemical substances.

Without the need to eat or sleep, R.E.B.O.R.T. works through the majority of the week with the exception to rest and regain any magical energies used during the setup of the lab. When his work is done, he takes the small vial containing the soul leech and places it on the alchemy table. He stares at it thoughtfully for a while, as if to try and reverse engineer its mysteries and identify a counter to its effects.

23:01, Today: R.E.B.O.R.T. rolled 25 using 1d20+13.  Knowledge: arcana roll vs. soul leech.

This message was last edited by the player at 13:54, Tue 26 Jan 2021.

In reply to R.E.B.O.R.T. (msg # 5):

The soul leach proves to be mid level necromancy. Through Rebort's studies he deduces the leach attaches to the central nervous system to feed, and as a bi-product of its unnatural existence, the leach is bound to a creator. This attachment allows the creator to control the subject as if under the effect of suggest, but with permanent effect so long as the leach is attached, and with no chance for the victim to resist via force of will.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 05:09, Tue 26 Jan 2021.

As the week-long respite draws near to an end, R.E.B.O.R.T. clears a space in the far corner of the lab and starts assembling a somewhat odd contraption. A three-foot titanium rod planted securely on the floor with a large iron ring resting on top of it. He fastens a thin metal clamp at the top of the rod, locking the 18” diameter hoop in place.

He walks back over to his workbench and picks up a virtually identical ring and inspects it for a moment. Satisfied with his inspection, he looks over at Shiaran and asks “I have been working on an experiment in translocation. Can you hold this?”

Shiaran, being so lost in her own work, completely misses the request.

“Shiaran?”

“Hmm?”, her ears finally perk up and looks over at R.E.B.O.R.T.

R.E.B.O.R.T. holds the ring out in front of her. “Hold this.”

Reluctantly, she reaches out and grabs the iron ring. “Translocation experiment”, he says walking back to the corner of the lab with the other ring.

“Wait, what?”, she exclaims. “If I get translocated anywhere, so help me, I’ll…”

Before she is able to finish her threat, R.E.B.O.R.T. whispers the command word and the ring mounted on top of the rod crackles to life. At almost the same instant, the ring in Shiaran’s hand does too.

R.E.B.O.R.T. gestures for his messenger, EM-01, to approach. He whispers something to it and directs it over to the mounted ring. It flits over happily and circles around to the back awaiting further instruction.

“I do not expect any complications as long as you hold the ring by its edges.” He look over his shoulder at Shiaran. “The probability of catastrophic failure is … low.”

“What!?”, Shiaran shrieks.

R.E.B.O.R.T. motions for the tiny messenger to pass through the hoop before Shiaran has a chance to react. With a pop, the messenger disappears the instant it passes through the center of the ring. Seconds later, another audible pop comes from Shiaran’s location, and from the other side of the ring she is holding, the messenger emerges unscathed.

EM-01 takes a moment to orient itself, then flies up to Shiaran and whispers back “Mission accomplished.”

R.E.B.O.R.T. speaks the command word again and the rings fall dormant once more.

The corner of Shiaran’s mouth almost starts to curl upward before she suppresses the emotion, still slightly annoyed at almost getting teleported into who knows what. “Not bad, Rebort. What’s the range on this contraption?”

“For now, not much farther than this room. After another modification or two, not much farther than the continent.”, he states flatly.

Shiaran raises an eyebrow, nods appreciatively, and then returns to her work. She sets the ring down and pushes it away from her. Far away.

Later at the time appointed by Lyle, everyone gathers just outside the steps of the manor. The courtyard to the street is around fifty yards in length, with a long driveway forming a horseshoe shape from the city streets up to the stairs.

Lyle flashes a grin as he produces a piece of chalk, and begins etching what looks to be some sort of summoning circle on the driveway. He works rapidly and is done in a few moments, before chanting command words that cause the circle to spark to life with a crackle of electric blue energy.

"Alright everyone, stand clear!" he shouts over the loud hum of the circle. Clasping his hands together and closing his eyes, he begins to mumble an incantation. The hum of the circle grows louder and the blue light coming from the chalk lines blazes brighter to white. It becomes hard for everyone save for Rebort to keep their eyes on, given the intensity of the light.

In an instant the sound and light flit away, leaving behind an eerie silence for a few seconds. Without warning, a blast of energy descends from the skies above and sounds like a thunder clap.

There now covering the circle, is the Badger. Tendrils of smoke trail off of it, and the smell of ozone can be detected in the air.

Lyle claps his hands together and let's out a laugh. "Ladies and gentlemen, I do believe you'll have been wanting this?" he asks rhetorically.

The door to the side of the Badger's driver side swings open. From within, a man dismounts the seat. He wears a heavy robe with the hood up. Light wisps of smoke trail from him as well. He takes a few steps forward, having a slight limp. Removing his hood, you're greeted with a familiar face.
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 18:34, Sat 30 Jan 2021.

"It feels as if it's been ages, my friends" Darius says, flashing a handsome smile.

Sypher steps forward first and shakes Darius's hand.  "Glad to see you in one piece, my friend.  Welcome."

Darius smiles warmly and clasps Sypher's hand. "Tell me, how did things go? Apart from what I've been informed of. Elm is dead. Have you gained any traction on what your next moves will be?".

"Things went well," Sypher said.  He stepped back to allow others to greet the older mage.

"We managed to fix the...problem...here, but we still have more."  Shiaran stepped forward and gave the mage a warm, but brief hug.  "Inside might be a better place to talk about these things.  Rebort and I have been creating a lab, but I've also put up some anti-scrying wards around the building with the help of the Warforged, Lyle, and others with the talent.  Your help would be appreciated, too."

Shiaran stepped out of the hug and then around Darius to the Badger to check its integrity after the teleport and from the action it had seen before they left it.  She and Rebort would need to pull it into a garage off the lab for work.  Just another thing to add to the list.  Her need for earth-based spells was growing geometrically.

Darius agrees to speak more inside, while at Shiaran and Rebort's request, Lyle and the others agree to get the Badger inside.

Once in the lab, Darius marvels at the works that have been done. "All of this in a week's time? I suppose it's good to have friends in high places with deep pockets". He turns to Rebort and Beloc. "So tell me, what tales do the two of you have since we parted ways?".

Beloc greets Darius with a bow. "It's good to see you again, friend."

"I don't have much more excitement to share outside of what of the others shared since we last parted ways, but I found it obvious the military force here wasn't trained in how to defend against an opponent that's both faster and stronger. I spent the better part of the week observing and training with the higher ranking soldiers so that they may be better prepared should a few of Elm's minions be lurking around."

He shows off a couple new enhancements to his gear, "As you have surmised, the King was most generous. Rebort and Shiaran have been quite busy seeing to our equipment and ensuring we're prepared for the road ahead."

"It is good that you have returned.", R.E.B.O.R.T. responds in acknowledgement of his former masters' presence.

"My training, as you have prescribed, is going exceedingly well. By blending in with the other sentients, I have become nearly indistinguishable from the rest of them."

As the others trade puzzled glances, he pulls a number of ellipsoid clay objects from a compartment in his abdomen.

"The encounter we had with Elm and his minions inspired some research, so I created these." R.E.B.O.R.T. holds up a single pellet and tosses it across the room. The impact shatters the crystal within and the room erupts with a brightness equivalent to daylight at high noon.

"I call them daylight pellets. Should you find yourself cornered or outnumbered by those types of creatures again, break one of these and you should at least have a fighting chance." He hands a pellet to Sypher, Shiaran, and Beloc.

"There is one for each of us. You may refer to my notes if you need to create more. Once the Badger is secured inside, I expect to incorporate the makeshift lab into what we have started here."

He looks over to Shiaran, "If we plan to use the Badger for the next part of our journey, we might want to fortify the hull and add some enhancements."

Each PC has a Daylight Pellet now. When thrown, the pellet shatters. That location is the center of a Daylight spell.

Darius takes in the swarm of new information and experiences shared by his compatriots. He definitely stifles a smile when Rebort mentions becoming nearly indistinguishable from "the other sentients". Once the telling of the past few week's tale is complete, his demeanor shifts to a serious one.

"You've all overcome impossible odds thus far. That much is definitely true. But by my reckoning and gatherings, you have quite a few avenues ahead of you. The bulk of the PCA army is broken. The Navy's battle groups shattered the backbone of the enemy. They aren't gone, but already they are a shadow of their former self. That being said, they still potentially have control over several if not all Spectral Faults. It will take them some time, but our enemy is not yet banished from our homelands, and could regroup some of its former numbers. Several towns, LeMuereville especially have been compromised. It's believed the Marquis Laucian LeMeure has become a sympathizer to the PCA".

At the mention of Laucian, both Oro and Gazra fold their arms, concerned with what's being said.

"I've been informed that the military has lost contact with a vital research facility at Reef Lake as well. I have reason to believe that a Spectral Fault may be in LeMuereville and at the Reef Lake facility. I will also be rather blunt with Reef Lake. If that facility is compromised, you'll need a task force larger than the one you've previously ran with. LeMuereville would be a more clandestine approach. I believe Master Oro here would be your chief guide in that endeavor".

Oro nods his head. "Yes. Laucian is an old friend of ours. He was there when we fell into Gheevorah's trap, and Gimble sacrificed his life to save us. I would indeed like to speak to our old friend and see how the years have fared him, much less investigate the allegations of Laucian being a turncoat".

Darius listens and turns back to the group. "There is also the matter of simply hunting down rogue cells and platoons of PCA that may be still living on our island nation. If they're snuffed out, the spectral faults can be dealt with as they're discovered and closed. Al Mawt Port City on the south western tip of our nation is fully controlled by them. It would be the foremost place to get into and gather details, but even still that would be potentially throwing a rock at a hornet's nest. Not impossible in the slightest, but difficult at every turn".

Darius takes a moment to wave his hand over his other with an open palm, producing a glass of water from thin air and taking a drink.

"Lastly, from what you've described, there is a vampire den somewhere north of the city. I highly doubt they'll be a problem for long, but things such as this should be dealt with in time. Now then-"

"If I can interrupt for a brief moment" interjects Lyle. "Our heroes here have a massive undertaking in front of them yes, but they aren't without help from friends and the Crown. We have crack teams of commandos that can perform reconnoiter missions to gather intelligence on any of the four tasks listed. They'll get in close, they'll get out, and they'll provide full reports within a few week's time. That is, should our champions request this. The last thing we want is our saviors to go into a mission blind".

"I'm going to LeMuereville. Don't send your men. I'll need more specialized individuals if any at all come along" states Oro coldly. "Laucian was a patriot. He loved his country. The allegations against him dont add up, and I intent to find out the source of this foul smelling plot". There is a certain tone to Oro's voice, that has an edge to it.

To all: roll for sense motive

"I agree" says Gazra. "However.. You and I both know some of the things they were working on down at Reef Lake. I hate to do this to you buddy, but I'm going down there whether alone or with the commandos or what. Some of that tech is downright scary".

Oro nods in approval of his friend.

"It would seem that the bulk of the party will be scattered to the winds then. I imagine everyone else will pick and choose which of the four objectives to chase after".

"I will heading to the vampire's den says Sigurd. "I have a feeling that is where I will find Irja, and bring her to justice".

At the notion of heading to the den, Krem nods at Sigurd and smacks his fist in an open palm.

"So then says Darius. "What do the four of you think should be the primary objective?".



DM's Notes: Here we go, four open ended campaigns to choose from.

1. Investigate LeMuerville for evidence the Marquis has sided with the enemy and evidence of a spectral fault with Oro

2. Hunt down the vampire den and bring Irja to justice with Krem and Sigurd

3. Infiltrate the Reef Lake Research Facility with Gazra and secure the site and its weapons of war from the enemy.

4. Go alone (or request remaining friends to accompany) across the country to Al-Mawt Port City, a locale teeming with PCA and PCA sympathizers among the melting pot of cultures making up the populous, in an effort to sniff out high ranking enemy generals and informants to better pinpoint the locations of the remaining enemy forces.

The choice is yours, but I'd like the core 4 to stay together. I've crafted up the skeletons and fleshed out a bit of each of these four story arcs, so I'd like to not have to tell two tales at a time. And don't forget, you're military officers who just saved a nation. You will at your request be given trained soldiers to send off like with the commando squads to recon situations. Just keep in mind, some missions are more clandestine than others. The bigger the group, the bigger the chance to be found out too soon if at all.

We're playing 4D chess here now my friends.

Sypher takes in the information without a word.  Once the mages  and others with informational input are done speaking he steps forward.  "Let us all have time to consider these options, talk to one another, and reconvene in one hour to discuss as a group."

He turns to the Tiefling.  "Oro, a word?"  Sypher beckons the tiefling to follow him out of the room to a place of seclusion to talk privately.

Shiaran hears the word 'lab' and immediately perks up with hightened interest.  She listens intently knowing full well her brother's mind and already disagreeing.  When Sypher calls for smaller groups, Shiran approaches Gazra on the side of the room, leaving room for anyone else considering the lab to join them in conversation.