#63 - Mazes and Mansions

As told by Magnus of the Island of Seren.

Rendar was gone.  Really gone. We were so busy as he left that I sort of didn’t pay attention to it. But now, it’s just me and Cypher who remember all the things and all the reasons and all the people who are after us and I don’t remember all that well. I hope we can see this through, whatever that means.

Now that the battle was over, we took stock. The only one of our foes who got away was that woman, a mage who summoned an air elemental. She was spotted by a local climbing onto the back of one of the wyverns. I don't know if the wyverns themselves are still a problem for us or not. They're not too smart; not half as smart as the least of dragons.

We worked with the halfling to get his inn back in order and discovered the cellar with its five corpses—a pair of locals and some Brelish lawmen. We all realized that it was our fight that got all these innocent people killed and threatened. We didn’t do it but we accidentally brought death to this little hamlet. Trouble follows us whatever we do.

We emptied Drazul’s pockets and gave the money to the innkeeper (it was quite a lot, so I'm told). He in turn let us stay overnight and then gave us some horses to ride. Aleae took a gray mare called Whirlwind, because the horse, addled by some past injury, tended to twirl around when left to idle. I took the other one, an old warhorse named Torc, for myself.  He was past his prime, but he has some fight left, and he has some armor. It will be fun to fight with him beneath me and I am ready to travel without walking every step!

We set off the next day with the warforged keeping pace beside the walking horses. It would be nice to be tireless as these constructs are, but I don’t want the half-life of a warforged. They have none of the delights of the flesh to amuse them when the fighting is done.

Once we were far from the buildings, Aleae tested out some of her new magic. She sprouted wings! She can't fly all day, but she can take to the air and scout around. We are becoming more powerful.

The first day we made the road and then a light camp without incident, though it did begin to snow light. I never saw much frost on Seren, except the snow-capped mountains of Argonnessen which loomed to the east, or from the breath of a white dragon.

White dragon....that is what Vensharatyrx was. Lucerix knew all about her, too...

The second day we passed some small caravans going away from Wroat. Soon enough we caught up to a small family travelling slowly in our direction. Rungo the warforged dog had spotted them first and somehow didn’t understand that the small human with them was a baby.  The man's name was Cord and he was a former soldier of the great war on this continent some years ago. They seemed peaceful and we offered to let them travel with us. (Are they safer in our company or left alone without us drawing trouble? I am disturbed, I cannot offer protection to those around me.)

The weather continued to worsen, the rain freezing into sleet. My travelers cloak is fine, but if we ever head north, I think I will need some furs.

As the day darkened, we saw a little firelight off to the right side of the road and could soon make out a house and kept grounds. The other members of the party started talking about some rich clan and some foul events in the past; this house is part of that story, I guess. They said a name: ir'Valish. Whatever that is.

 I personally was drawn to the place, though, or to that fire. Somehow the light in the upper window was telling me that I should come to it. Or avoid it. Not sure which.

I spoke up, letting them know that I want to investigate. The travelling family had heard the old tales and begged us to stay on the road and to make a decent camp with them, far from this place of foreboding ill.

We decided to investigate anyway, the family can leave and make camp, we may catch up with them again.
The distant firelight stays on as we approach the house and see a huge crater blasted in the front, removing the direct approach to the door. The blast must have been made by a spell in some past battle. We made our way to the side and left the horses tethered to a tree.

Soon enough we see a great hedge wall and, holding Aleae up on our shoulders, she told us that it was a maze of sorts, cut from the hedges.

The light in the window then extinguished. So our presence had been noticed.

Aleae saw some sort of statue in one corner of the maze and used her new flying spell for a better view. She grew leafy wings and went aloft, planning to guide us through the maze. We entered and soon enough find a figure encased in some strange crystal. We studied it overlong before moving on. Aleae guided us to the statue that caught her eye.

In this clearing, we found a huge crystal statue of some sort of clawed or blade-armed woman with flowing robes. Looked elven. Surrounding the statue, we see many smaller (normal-sized) creatures held in crystal. Aleae swooped down and started pulling the vines that wrapped the statue. Cypher and I start smashing at the crystal surrounding a figure, but it is too hard for us to really break. Cypher’s armbow dealt some acid damage to the crystal and I poured some of my acid on there as well to try to free the trapped creature. We could get to the skin on the hand, but nothing happens.

Clarion uses his magic to determine if any of these creatures are still alive and we learn that they are—or at least some of them. A trapped dwarf woman nearest the giant statue drew our attention, since her crystal was clearer. We went to work on her again, smashing and poking to break the crystal. As it broke off, the crystal chunks began to melt into the grass. Not normal crystal! And soon the dwarf is sort of exposed and begins to scream. The screaming changes from rage to agony as her skin and flesh begin to burn and melt, as if he veins were set on fire. We were horrified. This was not the way to free these people. I said that we should go into the house and kill the magic at its source.


Aleae sensed a creature outside the maze and changed her focus to that. Cypher sent Rungo out to investigate, too.

Clarion started a holy ritual around the next closest figure, this one was human. His holy magic worked faster than all our weapons and soon after a woman is revealed wearing some sort of tree armor. She reminded me of some of the natural shamans on Seren, though this one is much too frail, unpainted, and wearing fewer bones.

She said she was from fighting some group when this crystal trapped her, a group called the Children of Winter. (Related to the Winter Coalition, I wonder?) She was trapped before the end of the war, she had been in there for years. I could not understand all that she said.

Moments later, the giant crystal statue came to life and we all joined in combat. We smashed at the thing and Cypher managed to get a big crack through the middle of the statue/golem with a simple magic touch. The newcomer, the human female, managed a spell that I hadn't seen before. She summoned lightening from the stormy skies overhead and two blasts blast at the thing. It burned the golem but strangely, its crystal bounces the light around us all, blinding some of us.

Aleae, flying up above, spotted an old witch behind the shrubbery and they begin a flying magic battle.  I wish she could bring the fight to earth where I could smash the crone with my mace and end her foul magical spells.

We fought on.