Abyssals - Dark Future - IC

[Sherwood]

Knowing that both The Artificer and The Deliverer are both considered 'weaker' Deathlords, this is going to be a great opportunity for the two of them, and for Whisper herself. "We must prepare for whatever it is that Mother needs us to do."

 

[Psychie]

It takes an hour for The Deliverer to return to the dining hall. As she sweeps in, she gracefully takes a seat and motions for you to do the same. "I have learned much in my examination. First, they continue to claim that they are from the insides of the Primordial Autochthon, from a nation of people named Yugash. They have their own unique society, far removed from that of Creation, and have broken something called the Seal of Eight Divinities to make a beachhead here. This is a war of conquest, stripping the resources from our world to be used in their own. Apparently, The Great Maker is 'sick', and the raw materials that they have depended upon for thousands of years are starting to dry up." She pauses to let this fact sink in.

She flashes a wicked grin, showing a hint of her fangs. "There is more. With their isolation from Creation, they have not been exposed to the Great Contagion like those of our lands. If we are able to introduce the Contagion to their population, it will do the same damage to them that the initial outbreak did here in Creation, wiping out on average nine of every ten people and creating vast swaths of Shadowlands inside the traitorous Primordial. Between my own forces and those of the Artificer, we can be in a position to lay claim to some of these Shadowlands, expanding our power and gaining vital resources and power. Even better, if we can find a way to capitalize on this 'sickness' of Autochthon, it might be possible to kill him and turn this whole domain into a new vast Underworld."

Leaning back in her seat, she steeples her hands as she looks at each of you. "The Great Contagion was a crafted disease that was unleashed upon Creation by another Deathlord, and as such, The Artificer is now busily working on a means to deliver a large volume of the Contagion to the interior of Autochthon. Your mission will be to find a way inside this Great Maker and unleash the Contagion upon them in their most vulnerable location. I don't care by what means you get in, either by honey or by stick, get it done. But you must be careful. These Autochthonians have their own Exalts, one of which Soulcatcher tangled with. These Champions will most assuredly resist your work to spread the Contagion, so the utmost caution must be used."

"Now, your first step is to go to see the Artificer and retrieve the weapon with the disease in it, and find a way to get it inside the Primordial. I suspect that the Artificer will have his present done for these Autochthonians by the time you get to his citadel. Next, either sneak in, force your way in, or with sweet words, learn what you can about these people and deliver unto them the greatest gift of all: Death."

"Do you have any questions for me before you go?"

 

[Rykon]

Zakas nods, "Of course Master. For starters, are any of these prisoners willing or able to divulge how we might enter into Autochthon's private world? Or at the very least, an indication of where their beachhead is... Secondly, I'd like some additional intelligence on their motives. They say they are here for resources. Could be Jade, could be Orichalcum, could be godsforsaken dirt for all we know now. Still, regardless of the path we take, the more we know, the better we can anticipate and prepare. Actually, speaking of our chosen method..." The day caste rose from his seat in order to make his sales pitch. As he began to speak, he stepped to and fro, animated yet with his signature malicious smirk etched on his face like an epitaph.

"While I and my siblings here would love nothing more than to obliterate their number into submission on contact, I think we all want to start with a course that has the highest chance of success, yes? You've graced us with much to think on, to be sure Master. However, I think we should all realize that these foreign invaders have us at a significant disadvantage. They have knowledge of the way in and the way out and evidently the means to seal it shut or throw it wide open. Oh, but it gets better... You see, the great maker, a living, unchanged Primordial is sick! How does that even happen? What are the symptoms? Who else could contract such a thing? Master, with your blessing, I think we should start this venture as not only a learning experience but an exchange of goods, if you will. Imagine the looks of envy the other Deathlords will have when they see us clad in new equipment, wielding new plagues, leveraging secrets even Gaia or the Neverborn themselves hadn't conceived of. The thought of getting to steal it, all of it, just lifts my spirits in a way I hadn't thought probable. My my... has Calibration come so soon?"

Zakas paused to address his peers more directly. "What do you say, brother and sisters? Shall we try to play nice?" He said, nearly having to stifle a maniacal cackle, of all things.

 

[D. Rex]

"So let me get this straight... what you are proposing, Zakas, is a strategy of gentle death?" Judge asked. "To play nice, several things must go in our favor. Firstly. We would need things that they want... that is the easy part. We already know that they want magical materials. A suitable trade could provide entry. To set up a means where we provide them materials, they give us things. An easy way to earn trust... that is if they cooperate. This initial force that Soulcatcher dealt with greatly hints that they are not above just taking what they need by force. If they are brazen, they will lure us into an ambush position and just take it. But four deathknights can handle that. It could get us close enough to an opening to their world that we can enter."

"But to more along the lines of what you are hoping for, if we can get inside 'nicely", it would make things much easier. They could see us as a way to learn more about creation. Would help their invasion. Of which the destruction they lay will bring us one step closer to our goal anyway. The amount of death they can cause with that knowledge is something we can take advantage of."

"The most interesting, point, I feel, is the sickness of Autocthon. The neverborn will no doubt be interested in a potential vulnerability to themselves and the Yozi. Information about this could please them greatly. And if this primordial fears death, who but us could give him hope that death can be conquered? Or convince it that is simply the more advanced evolution of life. Would give you a fun opportunity to play doctor, Zakas."

"Still, I share the same zeal as my brethren for our mission. Yet the challenges can not be ignored if we wish to make the most of this opportunity. Too many times have the Knights and Lords of the Underworld shown us the folly of haste in the name of greed and ambition. We need to make sure the blight we leave on Autocthon is a permenant stain, and not a blip in time. We are playing for keeps."

"Mother, I humbly then ask you for supplies that assist this venture. Essence batteries, for example, should the primordial world not give us essence, and their denizens of dust and jade not sustain us. And perhaps a word with the prisoners on how closely that world resembles creation. For should they have a sun equal to that of creation, it would be a hindrance we should take note of."

"Materials for your Starfall's idea are easy... a simple raid can procure materials and artifacts the golems will want. Even better if we can incorporate the Artificers gift in with it. As the trade spreads... so would the contagion."

Judge looked at Zakas. "I am keen to see where his plan takes us. Should it please mother, of course."

 

[Sherwood]

Whisper slowly smiles as she hears more of the mission that Mother has planned for them. This will truly be an epic adventure! To bring low a Primordial . . . that feat has not been accomplished by any Exalt since the Great Primordial War. I like it.

"Yes, I feel that once we make contact with these . . . Autochthonians? We should offer the velvet glove of friendship to get inside their circle of trust, then once that has been accomplished, we can slip the dagger between the ribs of our gracious hosts and infect as many of them as we possibly can. My only fear is that this prize may be too big for us to take all for ourselves, and that we will end up having to share the spoils with the other Deathlords."

She stands and begins to pace back and forth, her mind racing. "I have many questions, but I fear we will have few answers for some time to come. How large is the weapon that The Artificer of Twisted Toys making? If it is too large to conceal, it will make placing it into the heart of the people harder, but not impossible. Are we susceptible to the effects of the Great Contagion as Deathknights? If so, in order for us to complete our tasks, we will have to find a means to survive the infection. All of this is overshadowed by our lack of information on the people of Autochthon and what may lie inside. So many questions, so few answers."

 

[D. Rex]

"Even if the prize is something we must share..." Judge said to Whisper, with no warmth in his voice at suggesting such a thing,"...there is no reason why we cannot get the choice cuts and leave the dregs for the other Deathlords to fight over. That is, if we can not find a way to claim all of it." He gestured to Soulcatcher,"But Mother and our friend the Artificer, I am sure have healthy appetites. I am sure we can find a way to not share."

"But as soon as the other Deathlords get a sniff of this opportunity, they will no doubt jump on it the same as we are doing now. It behooves us to get there first. The invasion of the Autocthon people will not go unnoticed for long. Our best bet in that regard would be learn how the travel between these worlds work, secure the entry ways... and deny the other Deathlords access altogether as we indulge ourselves."

"The deaths caused by contagion there... will be immense. So long as we can keep them from treating it, there is more than enough of a possibility that necromancy can raise an army sizable enough to keep it in our hands."

Judge let out a growl in his throat, as if he was about to admit something he didnt want. "But you are right, sister. There are too few answers. And if it comes that we need the aid of another Deathlord in this venture, then it would be at the behest of Mother's wisdom. We must be sure to send her whatever information possible, so that her judgement remains infallible. As well as pursue every opportunity so that we wont have to share."

"The Artificers gift will no doubt be the crux of our initial plan. Those answers, at least, will be answered once we meet him."

 

[Sherwood]

Whisper offers up a grin. "Well, there is one sure way to get the answers we need: go see these people and play nice with them." She turns to look at The Deliverer and asks, "Mother, are there any special gifts that we can prepare to offer up to these Autochthonians? Something that can be given to them to open the door to us having a diplomatic way of getting the weapon inside their defenses?"

 

[Random Word]

Sometimes they didn't speak in words. Sometimes they spoke in waking dreams, and though ephemeral and strange they felt far more real than the words ever did. For the briefest of instants when the visions were upon her she felt she had what passed for their attention. Epiphany sat quietly and half listened to the ideas being bandied back and forth while the tips of her fingers idly rendered on the table in blood stylized drawings of the all too vivid images that filled her mind; all the countless reasons why the things that haunt her dreams hate the being her Liege calls Autochthon. Swords that cleaved mountains; bows whose arrows parted the sea; many-limbed giants of metal and smoke that sheltered entire armies from tsunami and storm; legions of metal soldiers armed with lightning in bottles; fires so hot and lights so bright they reduced rivers that girded the world to steam and forests whose roots stretched back to the beginning of time to ash; and above all else the illimitable engines fit to shatter the heavens and unmake the earth that he gave to their enemies. Weapons of neigh unimaginable power. Weapons fit to lay low the Gods themselves. Who knew how many more lay beyond that portal?

A terrifying prospect, yes, but also exhilarating. The instruments of her vengeance, there for the taking. Zakas and Whisper were undoubtedly correct. To fight such power head on was folly; misdirection the surer path. She smiled to herself, beside her drawings writing Autochthon's name in the Old Realm style indicating a work dedicated to the memory of one deceased.

 

[Psychie]

At this point, your first step will be to travel to the Artificer's domain to pick up the special 'gift' that he is now preparing. Soulcatcher is planning on traveling with you, along with his small honor guard that came with him to Castle Black, and The Deliverer is adding an additional fifty soldiers, giving you a total of one hundred as an escort to the Artificer. This will aid you in getting through the Underworld safely, because even for Exalted familiar with the lay of the land, there are dangers in the Underworld that can challenge you.

Your escorts are going to be ready to leave in less than an hour, unless there is any reason for you to delay your departure?

 

[D. Rex]

Judge would just get his armor and don it. That would be all for him.

 

[Random Word]

Epiphany fetches her sanxian then steps into her carriage.

 

[Sherwood]

Whisper is ready to leave anytime.

 

[Rykon]

Zakas taps his amulet to change into his dark traveling cloak. "Ready anytime. Y'all sure you don't want me to summon the stormwinds to take us?"

 

[Sherwood]

Whisper looks to Mother, asking, "Is time an issue? While having the escort would be welcome, with Zakas' spell we can travel much faster."

 

[Psychie]

The Deliverer pauses to think, then says, "Yes, the sooner you get to the Artificer's domain, the better. Soulcatcher, you are welcome to stay here, travel with your soldiers back to your Master, or you can join my children to return to your home as you wish."

He replies, "M'lady, I will gladly join my fellow Deathknights for the faster trip back. I will give the order for my escort to begin to make the trip back to my Master's citadel at the best speed they can."

"Very well. Prepare yourselves, my darlings. You are about to embark upon the most dangerous and possibly the most rewarding mission I have ever sent you on. I am confident that you will make me proud. Now go with my blessing, and I will marshal our forces and prepare them for battle against this enemy, all the while I send them gifts to bedazzle their eyes and keep them from seeing the true threat about to land upon them."

 

[Rykon]

Zakas steps outside, a good distance away from the entrance before he begins to weave his spell. When the area was clear he poured his corrupted essence outward from the soles of his feet and into the ground. He raised his hand slowly to draw forth whirling tendrils of black smoke upward in greater and greater ferocity. within a short moment the spiraling force of shadowed wind would lift the small group off of the ground and toward the Artificer's workshop.

 

[Psychie]

When Zakas' spell is cast, the whirlwind gathers up the group and begins to race through the Underworld towards the Artificer's citadel. The first few miles are made through the domain claimed by the Deliverer, and so they are relatively safe. It is not until you get farther out into the more untamed lands of the Underworld that things start to get dicey. But the great speed of the spell allows you to avoid any confrontations with the horrors of the far reaches.

It takes several hours of travel to get to the lands claimed by the Artificer, and as you approach, Soulcatcher directs you to stop before getting too far. He says, "There are many necrotech creatures that guard these lands that would be a threat to us unless the creatures know who we are and that we approach with the blessing of my Master. From here on, we need to approach on foot. But even so, it will not take long before we are at the citadel."

Sure enough, before you get far into the Artificer's lands, you are approached by one of the horrors that have come out of the Toymaker's workshop. It is a hulking figure, easily fifteen feet tall with multiple limbs and several gnashing, gaping mouths in its body. It approaches, but stops when it sees Soulcatcher, bowing down before him in supplication, allowing you all to pass.

Several more times during your approach you see more of the twisted creations, but these simply watch you from a distance.

At the gates of the Artificers' castle, the doors yawn wide open and let all of you in. Several servants come running up and bow deeply. "Noble Exalts! Welcome to the Workshop! The Master has been told of your approach, and he is waiting for you in the Animation Chamber."

 

[Sherwood]

Whisper has been to the Artificer's citadel before, but as a guest here she allows herself to be escorted through the halls by Soulcatcher and the servants. No need to offend by walking on her own, especially with the Artificer's creations running around. Right now, she is quite excited at the prospects of being involved in this mission, and all the possible rewards that will surely be placed upon them for successfully completing their assigned task.

As they are walking through the corridors to the Animation Chamber, she says, "I wonder . . . what form will our 'present' to these outlanders take to make it as appealing as possible before we unleash our surprise on them?"

 

[Rykon]

Zakas gives a polite wave as he steps past the attendant. "I'd hope so. It'd be rather annoying if we hurried here just to get attacked for our trouble, don't you think? Especially with one of your own Deathknights in tow, no less." As each of the Deliverer's Exalts had a degree of familiarity with the place, the Day caste strolled confidently through its corridors maintaining an air as if he belonged. When they arrived at the animation chamber, Zakas held the way open for his circle mates as proper. "I don't think I could say this trip was record time or nothing, but I think you can tell we're chomping at the bit to get work, Lord Artificer. What nightmares have you cooked up for us this time?"

 

[Psychie]

While the Deliverer of Dark Dreams and Desires has attempted to maintain her appearance as 'normal' as possible, The Artificer of Twisted Toys has done no such thing. He is a horrible thing to behold, with a rough skeletal appearance and long sharp claws on his hands. Mostly covered in a dull grey robe, he hides the true extent of the modifications that he has made on his body from prying eyes.

As you enter the Animation Chamber, there is a number of skilled workers laboring over a large corpse that is sprawled out on a large table, while the Artificer himself is off in one corner of the room, his attention on a trio of small black boxes that he is carefully working on. The Deathlord looks up as you enter, his expression unreadable on his bone-like face. With one claw, he motions for the five of you to come over and join him.

Once you get closer to the work station with the small black boxes on it, you can now see that it each box is a cube about six inches to a side that looks to be made of a combination of obsidian and soulsteel. In a raspy voice, the Artificer says, "Welcome to my workshop. You made better time getting here than I had expected, but I shouldn't be surprised. I know that the Deliverer is a very ambitious woman, and would seize on to this opportunity with both hands."

He continues. "I am nearly done with my latest invention, a gift of goodwill to the people of Autochthon." He chuckles at his comment, then continues. "These are communication devices that can link our worlds together, but inside them there are hundreds of tiny insects that carry within them the seeds to plant a wondrous thing; the death of a Primordial. When released, the insects will spread the Great Contagion throughout the interior of Autochthon, and each of the infected people will become even more carriers for the plague that will sweep through the populace like a wildfire, causing Shadowlands to take root, opening up the interior to our other gifts."

Chuckling again, he motions at the dead thing that his workers are laboring over. "With my creations and our necromatic prowess, we will go into the cities of the dead and raise up the bodies by the thousands, making the numbers of our armies swell with every victory. With you five working to identify prime targets, our Nephwracks will lead the undead army forward and will smash everything in our path until the Great Maker himself is pushed into the heart of the Labyrinth, joining the rest of the Neverborn and providing our forces new and exciting technologies to make the art of death one truly horrible to behold by the weak eyes of the Creation bound."

 

[Random Word]

After being forced to sit still in the tornado for so long, the moment her feet touch the ground Epiphany slips between the strands of fate and flits between the shadows, dancing to a music only she can hear, invisible to all whose minds have not been directly touched by the Neverborn - few and far between in this fortress. Where Zakas and Whisper stride confidently she follows softly behind, casting neither reflection nor shadow. She leaps from chandelier to chandelier, slides down bannisters, runs along walls, and otherwise plays a game of traversing every space along their route in the most acrobatic way she can, delighting in the pleasure of essence fuelled movement.

When they finally arrive at the Artificer's Animation Chamber she makes a whirling circuit of the room as she listens, weaving between artisans at breakneck pace without causing them to miss a step, admiring everything and touching things she almost certainly shouldn't. She doesn't even notice the way her dance always pulls her claws away from a near-fatal strike on those she passes at the last possible moment.

To slay a God - he makes it sound so easy. Like child's play. Perhaps that is why they all hide away in Heaven.

 

[Sherwood]

Whisper is feeling quite excited at the explanation from the Artificer. With this 'gift', we will make history! She smiles, saying, "Thank you, M'lord. I am very hopeful that this will work as well as we have planned. Which ones of these have the insects? I don't wish to give the Autochthonians the wrong ones."

 

[Psychie]

The Artificer motions to another table, saying, "There is the master communicator, so any of the three there can be 'safely' delivered to our new friends in Autochthon, while we leave the master here to be able to talk to them. I will be done with our three gift boxes shortly. You will then be able to take them to the outlanders and let them take these back into their own land and spread the Great Contagion all around."

 

[Sherwood]

Whisper smiles in undisguised glee. "Thank you, Master Artificer. I am sure we will be able to put these to good use." She then turns to regard her fellows, and asks, "Now, what we need to do is to come up with a plan to get us into their good graces, in order to be able to present these gifts to the outlanders. Obviously, just walking up to their troops and asking to be taken to their leaders poses some risk, but it may be the simplest way to make contact. Being open and direct, and sell them on the story that our two Masters both wish to work with the Autochthonians to remake Creation. What do you think of this?"

Random Word Rykon D. Rex

 

[Rykon]

"I think we should surveil them from the shadows before we come up with a specific story or strategy. If we're caught, then I will simply say we're trying to understand these strange newcomers who've appeared out of nowhere and that 'We have no idea whether they are friend or foe.'" Zakas eyes the contraptions for a bit and starts to conceal one within the pockets of his coat. "Once we understand a little bit more about their social proclivities, especially their language, then I think our way forward will be clear. If nothing else, we approach under the auspices of a potential trade deal regarding Soulsteel... or Starmetal if a vengeful mood takes us... but when doesn't it?" He added with a short laugh. "For now, I say we try not to draw too much attention to our 'gifts' less we risk spoiling the plot too early."