CHAPTER 1: First Steps into a Larger World

[flightcommander]

Cneve struggles clumsily with the koi for a moment before realizing he must let it go. He gently places it back in the water, holds it gently for a moment, and then releases it. Looking about at the others in shame, he pulls his yellow raiment about him likewise, and falls in with the others.

[chicagowiz]

I smile kindly at Cneve and pat him on the shoulder.

"I, Carig, will never forget the first kindness that was shown to us after leaving the prison of fire. The no-fish will not be forgotten. I, Carig, swear it."

[Bastet1002]

"Cneve, never mind Abasire," says Zinon. "Carig is right. The guppy fish was good, and his memory should stay in our hearts as a model of kindness...."

Then Abasire abruptly blurts out, "We must pray to him from time to time for salvation! Get down on your knees!"

"Nonsense!" retorts Zinon to Abasire, but to everyone else, he is speaking to himself. "Well, let us go and see this high king of the priests."

[tombowings]

OOC: I'm a teacher and it's the end of the school year. This week has been a mess for me. I will be back to my normal pace soon.

[chicagowiz]

May 25, 2023 12:19:58 GMT -6 tombowings said:

OOC: I'm a teacher and it's the end of the school year. This week has been a mess for me. I will be back to my normal pace soon.

No worries! It's almost over... for a few months

[tombowings]

OOC: I apologize. I've been totally consumed with hiring new teaching staff this past week and a half. I had 6 posts to fill, which meant dozens of interviews, demo lessons, meetings with the ministry of education, and so on. My brain couldn't hold any more.



Several of the priests share Cneve and Carig's melancholy at the koi's vanishing cognisance.

"I wonder if there's a way to restore it," one mutters.

His companion shrugs. "It's never happen if he swims away."

"I'll never look at dinner the same way again."



Meanwhile, Alexander chuckles at Zinon. "Not a king. The High Priests. If you want to meet that warlord posing as a king, you'll need someone of higher status than me to introduce you. Thank, Zeus!" Alexander coughs. "Excuse me. This way, everyone."

Alexander leads Cneve, Bruno, Tormon, Carig, Sebastian, and Zinon across the grass and into the circular marble temple. As they near, they can see that the strange contraption jutting out from the temple's roof is composed of many overlapping metal sheets that together form a long cylinder. "That's the observatory," Alexander points out. "It'll give you a heavenly view of night's sky - not that you'd know much about it, I reckon."

The young priest rushes over to open the large wooden double doors for Alexander. "Thanks, Keleus." Alexander enters.

The temple is composed of one large circular room. Dozens of strange symbols have been carved into the stone floor (see image 1, below). One symbols bears special importance. The depressions have been filled in with a bright white metal. It depicts a pair of androgynous faces, identical in appearance.

In the center of the room, an ancient man lies on a while blanket. His head is bald. His chin bears a long flowing white beard. But most striking of all is the color of his skin. Bright green! "Yesterday, he was blue," Alexander mutters to Bruno.

Kneeling next to the man is Leonardo . It's hard to tell what he's doing, but he's clearly hard at work. Beside him sits an usual device (see image 2, below). Leonardo leans over and places a tube in the High Priest's mouth. He flips a switch on the device. "Please Athena, let this one work!"

The gears of Leonardo's device church. A hum reverberates through the temple. Smoke rises into the air. A dull orange liquid sweeps through the tube and into the High Priest's mouth.

Alexander's eye open wide in horror. "What have you done?" he screams, charging to rescue the High Priest from Leonardo's mad experiment.

Leonardo leaps to his feet and cuts Alexander off.

"Turn off the machine!" Alexander shouts to Cneve, Bruno, Tormon, Carig, Sebastian, and Zinon.

"It needs to finish," Leonardo calls, straining to hold back Alexander. "I swear it will work!"



Image 1



Image 2

[flightcommander]

Cneve is much too timid to stop the machine, and far too dim to figure out how to do so. He looks plaintively from face to face among his companions.

[Bastet1002]

"I'll save him, Zinon!" screams Abasire rushing over to stop the experiment. ((Zinon would like to resist Abasire. Can he make a saving throw of some kind to let the 'medicine' do its work?))

[tombowings]

Jun 2, 2023 21:06:11 GMT -6 Bastet1002 said:

"I'll save him, Zinon!" screams Abasire rushing over to stop the experiment. ((Zinon would like to resist Abasire. Can he make a saving throw of some kind to let the 'medicine' do its work?))

Sure. Zinon will make a saving throw versus spells to resist Abasire's influence.

[chicagowiz]

Carig will motion to Bruno to help him restrain Zinon/Abasire. Whether he helps or not, I will still attempt to do so.

"It is not our place to interfere one way or the other." I say to my Janus-minded companion. "Had we not been here, it would have been their fate to deal with this as they must. Let it unfold as they deem it."

[Bastet1002]

/roll 1d20 --> online roller rolled a whopping 4!

[dtspurrier1]

bruno will help restrain Zinon

[tombowings]

Bruno, with his 15 Strength, manages to restrain Zinon (11 Strength).

The orange liquid streams through the tube into the mouth of the High Priest, still the color of grass. Bruno and Zinon wrestle with one another, grunting like cave men. Alexander and Leonardo do the same.

After several second, the stream of dull orange liquid dries up. A small pop and a burst of blinding light follow. Everyone in the room has no choice but to cover their eyes. A second later, when the flash fades, and High Priest is still asleep, only he is no longer grass green, but hot pink!

How embarrassing!

Alexander and Leonardo both rush to the High Priest's side.

"I could have sworn it'd work this time," Leonardo mutters, obviously disheartened. "I knew I needed more blue lotus powder. If only someone were willing to brave the Mists ."

Alexander swats him across the back the head. "Fool. No one goes into the Mists. The Mage of Mirrors is the master of Light and Color. He's the only one who can fix this."

[Bastet1002]

"What are you doing?" blurts out Zinon to Bruno. "Oh, you aren't Abasire. You chased him off did you? Thank you."

Then looking very philosophical with his matty beard, Zinon continues speaking to the priests, "Does your pharaoh still breathe? I heard somewhere the best way to preserve a great king is to wrap them in bandages... but I'm not sure where I heard that before - perhaps from Abasire. Do you have any bandages to begin the wrapping? Now pray tell, if we are able to unpuzzle your puzzle and awaken the pharaoh, what are these symbols on the floor? What is this Age of Mists, and who is this Warlock of Mirrors? And this weather machine... how does it operate?"

[tombowings]

Alexander leans down and listens to the High Priest's heart.

"He breathes," Leonardo says coolly. "No need for drama."

Alexander nods in agreement. "Luckily for you," he spits at Leonardo.

"As to the bandages," Leonardo adds to Zinon, "mummifications can preserve the dead, though I aim to preserve the living. To that end, I became a priest of Gemini, the twin spirits of invention."

"The spirits of sense and reason, you mean," Alexander butts in.

Leonardo dismisses his companion with a whimsical wave of his hand. "That is the sign of Gemini." He points to the gold emblem. "The other eleven represent the other Spirits of the Zodiac - Leo the Lion, Taurus the Bull, Virgo the Virgin. Each lays out a way of life, the Twelve Paths that lead to Heaven."

"Though my friend Leonardo here appears to have stepped off the written path and into the quagmire of interpretation," Alexander says, eyeing Leonardo with loathing. "The Mage of Mirrors can aid us to heal the High Priest. Color is his domain, and the High Priest has been off color for a month. We must persuade him."

"I can heal him myself," Leonardo insists. "The Mist contain an herb - the Blue Lotus - from whose juice a powerful antidote can be brewed. It banishes both curses and disease. The Lotus Masters can supply it to us."

Alexander scoffs. "Those assassins are followers of Kali, the black earth goddess of destruction. Trust them not. Better to deal with the mage. And that is to say nothing of the Mists themselves. I would not brave that swamp unless no other choice was left to me."

"And if the Mage of Mirrors refuses?" Leonardo asks. "He has already refused us twice."

"The we approach the Fire Wizard," Alexander says. "he will burn away this cursed pestilence."

"That mad prophet who bathes in pools of Lava?" Leonardo snaps. "You think he will help?"

[dtspurrier1]

Bruno waits to do what is next

[Bastet1002]

"Ah, then bandages are not helpful for your pharaoh." says Zinon grimly. "These signs with the many paths of life. How interesting. Is there a symbol for the quagmire of interpretation? Where does it fit in this large series of diagrams? Is there a symbol for it?

And then to Bruno, "Well, certainly we need to help them Bruno. And this Mirror Mage sounds the most reasonable, don't you think? Why don't we gather Abasire and our many several men, and seek him out?"

[chicagowiz]

"I, Carig, have questions. Was it not the Mage of Mirrors who sent the brave no-fish to you with the answer of 'no'? Why do you still seek his help when he has indicated he will not provide succor to your High Priest."

I consider a bit longer then ask "If the Mage of Mirrors has the domain of colors, and your High Priest has been 'off color'; could this perhaps be that they are at odds? It would explain the answer of 'no' as delivered by the no-fish. What is known of the state of affairs between the two?"

[Bastet1002]

Then Zinon eyes glaze over until he is no more, and an impish grin forms on Abasire's face. Then it is quickly replaced with an angry frown.

"The Mage said 'no' and killed our Mr. Koi!" he shrieks. "No! No! We mustn't go to him. We mustn't!"

He suddenly pauses, and stares hard at Leonardo, "I underestimated your talents, doctor. Our only path is to help get this locust in the mist, so you may complete your vivisection of your Pharoah!"

[dtspurrier1]

Bruno agrees to find this minor mage

[tombowings]

Bruno is in favor of travelling to the Mage of Mirrors, Zinon for the Mists. Carig is undecided.



Alexander turns to Carig. "For a cave man, you're rather observant." Alexander scratches his chin. "Even if the mage did cast the curse, it might be useful to discover why? The Mage of Mirrors is obsessed with a coming apocalypses - 10,000 years in the future. He believes that now is the time to act. Somehow, he's got it in his mind that Gemini Temple might play a hand in the end of the world. Completely mad, if you ask me. But while me might have our disputes, I can't imagine the Mage of Mirrors doing something like this to the High Priest. To Leonardo, perhaps, but not the High Priest."


Meanwhile, Leonardo answers Zinon. "Vivisection of a Pharoah!" His eyes widen. "You, sir, are a genius. I can't believe I hadn't considered it before. If you're interested, the tombs of the White Sand Desert are the perfect place to find one. You can find locusts there, too, but no blue lotus flowers. They prefer a wetter climate. If you can't be convinced to seek the blue lotus, perhaps, you can fetch me a mummy. It won't do this poor follow much good, though." Leonardo points to the High Priest with his elblow. "But we might discover the secrets of immortal life!"

[chicagowiz]

"I, Carig, have more questions. What sort of activities was the High Priest engaged in before he fell ill from these color changes? Was he doing something that could have caused this? And if the Mage has spurned you once, why do you think continuing to press him will bring you a different answer?"

"You mentioned a warlord and you've named many places. Do you have a map that shows the place of things so that we might better know what it is you're asking?"

[tombowings]

Alexander sighs. "The natural world holds many secrets. Magic cuts thought the natural law, but the laws of nature hold the potential to change the world. As much as I despise Leonardo's tinkering, he has begin to unlock the secret of the universe. The Hera, Celestial Lady offers them in her bare hands."

"I accept your begrudging compliment," Leonardo adds coolly. "But I have something to add. The High Priest and I had begun work on a new invention. A chariot with wings, if you could image that. The Mage of Mirrors fears innovation. Perhaps we crossed his metaphorical line in the sand. But just imagine landing on a cloud! Discovering the lost Atlantis, the city that rose* from the sea."

*Not a typo

"Crossed the line is an understatement," Alexander breathes. "But it's too late now. At least the High Priest still lives. If it were a disease, I would send him to the healing springs at the Temple of Pisces, but I fear our medicine is no match for this curse."

Leonardo goes to bag and pulls out a piece of paper. He briefly sketches a map. He hands it to Alexander, who notes down a few more locations. Alexander passes the map to Carig. "You are there," he says, pointing to the Temple of Gemini. "if you follow the river south east to the lake, you'll find the Mage of Mirrors. The warlord who rules these lands had made Avander his throne. Stay away from them if you know what's good for you. You have a sturdy look about you. He'll want you for his armies."

[chicagowiz]

I bow at the waste.

"I, Carig, thank you for your freely shared knowledge. Please allow me to speak to my fellow travelers to see what they wish to do."

Carig will show the map to the other players and confer with them in whispers.

"None of this helps us to answer what I, Carig, view is an existential question - who we are, why we were locked up in the caverns? It seems that before we get too involved in the affairs of others, we might want to settle our own. Perhaps this Mage of Mirrors can give us another piece of the puzzle, in some way as these priests have. We can simply tell him our story, that we guided and assisted the no-fish, and that we have more questions than answers from these folks here. Perhaps he will give us some idea of what is the nature of things."

[Bastet1002]

"For some strange reason, born of nothing, with no past, we, Abasire and I, can read this map and its words." says Zinon.


He studies it more carefully thinking on Carig's wise council for a moment and says, "The Mystic of Morals is suspiciously close to the fire tomb from which we emerged. A cat might protect us from the underworld, but none us plan re-entry for certain..."

Zinon continues, "For all we know, the Mystic may have fed us all to the fire to begin with, or cursed us, ordinary men, to have no past. But, if so, Carig raises a prudent point. Yes, we deserve answers, Carig! We need to know who we are. It is close as far as distances go. We may even broker some measure of peace for the Temper of Gemini and the Pharaoh of Alexander and Leonardo and all the rest of the hem-hetjer. If harmony and balance sustained the world through an underlying force of meka or magic, I say man, know yourself… and you shalt know the gods. If we fail with the Mystic of Morals, next to the Mists with us, I say."

[tombowings]

OOC: Am I right in gathering we have decided to head to the Mage of Mirrors?

[chicagowiz]

OOC: Aye!

[Bastet1002]

OOC: Yes, sir! And Bruno?

[dtspurrier1]

"yes sir" says Bruno. He then asks, " do you have any extra armor, shields or weapons we can use in case the journey is dangerous?"

[tombowings]

Alexander calls on one of the lower priests to escort the cave men to the armory, located in a squat marble building nearby. Inside they find:

* 4 breastplates
* 3 helmets
* 5 maces
* 4 shields

"It's all made of tin, the sacred metal of Gemini Temple," the priest explains. "It isn't as strong as the stuff made by the priests of Taurus, though. If you want real armor, that's the place to visit." The priest pauses and points a breastplate hanging from the center of the wall. "That breastplate there has been beset with emeralds. If you take it, you'll have to make sure to return it within a month. Otherwise, it will be considered at act of theft. It was once worn by Helbric the Yonger, the hero who slew the Bronze Boar. Too bad his magic sword, Dorilix, was lost to the eons. They say he dropped the sword in the White Sand Desert."



OOC: You rolled very well on the armory's contents. I gave it a d6 for each. Nothing rolled below a 3.