Curse of Strahd [CLOSED]

[Epiphany]

Moire finds the tale distinctly unsettling. And worth further meditation. In the meantime, to avoid everyone staring at her waiting for her to finish thinking, the Paladin instead turns over her card of choice, curious to what happens next.

 

[Baba Luga]

The cards below Moire's fingers are well-worn and creased, like one of those ancient shipboard sets whose irregularities spawn constant, heated accusations of cheating.

"Ah, the Elementalist! From the court of Stars," cries the woman when Moire picks a card and turns it over. "An old favorite." She sweeps the remaining cards off to the edge nearest Tegan, so that the Elementalist is left alone at the center of the table.

"Gather round now and have a good look—you too, Hircus. I have graced you with my little tale, now kindly return the favor. Each of you in turn, please tell me something of this Elementalist. What do you see? What associations come to mind? Maybe a memory from your past, maybe a story invented here and now. It doesn't matter. You might even spin it into a homily for my edification, if it pleases you, priest of Torm. This is how we craft the doorway you will take out of this place."

 

[TemplePhantom]

Tegan places a finger on the card and deftly snatches the card, bringing it closer for examination.

"She's a fool." he says as he flicks his wrist to give the card a spin as it falls back onto the table's surface.

"She has all the power of the the natural elements at her disposal and the gall to think she can control them. She's one who will be remembered by the blackened mark left where her physical form exploded in spectacular fashion. Play with fire..." he pauses, looking pensive "... well you know how the saying goes."

 

[Baba Luga]

At the close of Tegan's animadversion, a faintly-glowing, orange-brown column, maybe eight feet high, blossoms into being just past the edge of the light from Hircus' stones. The old woman closes her eyes and nods in assent.

 

[ZombWie]

The orange-brown light draws Hircus' eye from the card table. The woman mentioned that this Zhudun resides in a place filled with an orange and sepia light and here now is a column of light in the same. She is opening a doorway but to where?

"I have heard of such a woman who leads an army against a tyrant lord. I myself have been approached by one of her followers to join her cause, but I no longer serve the orders of men. Torm draws my path. I only need to walk it." Hircus presses his open palm against his chest in an automatic gesture to his deity. "I was not aware of this army's fate. If they have been lost in battle then it sounds as if they died a noble death."

Hircus moves a few feet closer to the orange shaft of light to get a better look. As he does he speaks in a louder voice so that the old woman can still hear his answer to her question. "I see a puppet on the strings of the gods." Hircus pauses to look up at the star above them then continues, "A woman who is not a woman at all, but a creation of some trickster or worse. Tell me, crone, where will this door lead?"

 

[Baba Luga]

After Hircus describes the Elementalist, a second amber column appears maybe 5 feet to the right of the first. From this nearer vantage point the material is cloudy and translucent. Moving closer also extends the reach of the light from Hircus' stone, revealing tall, dark trees past the columns.

"We shall see where it leads. Two views of the Elementalist remain."

 

[jfish]

Ina swallows, noticing the columns appear, eyebrows raising slightly as the trees are revealed.

"Trapped in amber," she mutters, leaning forward to see the card more clearly, but very careful not to touch it or the table. She pauses, mulling it over in her mind.

"I see... someone who has finally managed to overcome some hurdle? They’ve achieved something they thought might be beyond them. To me, they seems joyous, excited. But they’re also dangerous, being new to such power. I know little magic save the odd trick, but from what I’ve seen, gaining any large amount of power too quickly... doesn’t always end well."

Ina stands, inclines her head to the crone and makes her way over to Hircus. She raises a hand as if to touch him on the arm, then reconsiders. She instead leans toward him and speaks under her breath.

"I dislike this as much as you, but we’re at a huge disadvantage here and I fear this may be the only way out. I remember the phrase ‘trapped in amber’, but what if that’s here?"

Whilst Moire is contemplating the card, Ina walks towards the columns, feeling the sense of dread she had before. She looks into the trees to see if she can get a sense of how deep they go.

 

[Baba Luga]

At the conclusion of Ina's cautionary assessment of the Elementalist, a heavy lintel made of amber forms atop the two columns, making the structure a proper portal. Moving closer, Ina can see a bit farther into the trees that surround wherever she looks. This seems to be the edge of a moderately-dense wood that would be where the old woman came from if she walked out to meet you. The trees are straight, with few branches and little foliage.

Near the amber portal the breeze carries a faint whispering to Ina's sensitive ears, what sounds like a woman's voice repeating a rapid, rhythmic phrase. She can't make out the words, or even the language, without getting closer.

 

[ZombWie]

Hircus acknowledges Ina and replies in a whisper. "I hope you are correct Ina. This may be a way out for us, but what if this is a way in for something else?" Hircus keeps his eyes trained on the amber columns as they become an archway. "We shall soon find out."

 

[jfish]

Ina grimaces at Hircus’ words, "It could be true, but if they had wanted us dead, it sounds like they’ve had ample opportunity to do so."

She frowns as she catches the faint sounds from the portal, "Do you hear that?" She moves closer, edging round so that neither the woman nor the portal are behind her if possible, straining to hear what the voice is saying.

 

[Baba Luga]

It is a low, female-sounding voice, coming from the space between the columns and most-likely humanoid. Though Ina does not recognize the language, much less understand the words, she can make out a phrase repeated again and again, with slight variations each time. It takes only a few seconds for the speaker to circle through the permutations and begin again. The tone is breathless, hurtling forward ecstatically through several cycles, until, gasping with exhaustion, the voice slows and lowers its volume, only to speed forward again after a brief refractory period.

 

[jfish]

Ina looks towards Moire and the woman to see if she has time to call Hircus over. She raises her left hand as if to itch her nose, a finger pointing towards Moire as she mouths quickly against the grey thread twirled around her fingers, invoking the message cantrip to say "There’s a voice coming from the portal, keep her busy if you can."

At the same time, she beckons Hircus over with a small hand gesture, unable to remember whether this group would be familiar with her gestures and subtleties but hoping for the best.

 

[Epiphany]

With Ina's message in her ears, Moire nods once and leans over to examine the card. She'd already listened thoughtfully to the stories the others had come up with. Instead, she reaches out and taps the card's surface near the top. "What is the court of Stars?" she asks, tapping the stars embossed on the card. "Are these them?"

 

[Baba Luga]

"Come now. You've seen playing cards before, with their four red or black suits. Tarokka has its suits as well. The stars are but one of these. As with all in Tarokka, the suits give rise to their own special associations. But for me to say more," she sucks her teeth, "would risk running my brush across your portrait of the Elementalist. Zhudun would not like that, nor would you."

"If you are truly interested in Tarokka, and not merely stalling your eviction from this lovely place, seek this countenance after you leave." She flamboyantly gestures at her own face like a vain beauty admiring herself in the mirror.

"Now, Moire, you may say your piece. Your friends wait impatiently at the threshold." She winks so that only Moire and Tegan can see.

This brief parlay gives Hircus enough time to approach the amber doorway and concentrate on the voice. Though the endlessly cycling words are as indecipherable to him as to Ina, he is reminded of some of the formulaic creeds that disciples of Torm repeat to themselves—"Torm shows the truth, I only need see; Torm calls my name, I only need hear; Torm draws my path, I only need walk it." Many faiths have these mantra-like recitations. Even the evil cults that are anathema to Torm mirror this practice in their own diabolical creeds."

 

[Epiphany]

So the stars are a suite then. Interesting. More interesting was the implication that this old woman really existed, that she wasn't just a human visage worn over some unknown entity like a mask but an actual individual that Moire might meet. ...Wherever it was that this portal led to at least.
The remark about delaying their departure drew a shiver from the Paladin, for though the field of grass and starry night was peaceful enough, it was cold here, the stars unknown and the corpse star baleful in how it stared at them. This was not the afterlife she would have sought and she saw no reason to stay here any longer than necessary.

"I see a woman using all of the power at her disposal to hold up the sky. Her expression is not one of peace but of fear, and it's not herself she's afraid of but failure. Her power is its own glory, but it's also responsibility and she fears it may not be enough. I don't know what threat she faces or what baleful star is turned against her but, whether her power is enough or not, she intends to use it all."

Moire tilts her head towards the portal to see what happens before returning to the old woman. "I don't entirely know if I should thank you or not. We find ourselves in a strange place for a strange purpose and, though you've given us a door, I've heard nothing to believe it will take us home. And yet I have the impression that you've been kinder than perhaps you had to be. For that courtesy and consideration," the Paladin says, bowing her head in respect, "I am grateful." Lifting her head again, the Paladin smiles. "May the next people you speak with be as grateful and blessed by their bargain."

 

[TemplePhantom]

"Well, unlike Ms. Moire, I've had enough of this particular card game." says Tegan while backing from the table.

"And I certainly hope I never again wake to find" he mimics the crone's flamboyant gesture "a countenace such as yours again. Next time, perhaps a more aesthetic disguise might serve to lessen the unease of your presence, eh?"

Frustrated by the ambiguity of his current situation, the well worded threats of psychological horror, and the poor quality of his garments, Tegan heads toward the portal at a brisk pace.

Tegan tils his head toward the crone while walking away and says "This is the way out, I presume? Have you any parting words of wisdom?"

 

[Baba Luga]

The woman waves off Tegan's barbs and turns her attention to Moire's question about the Court of Stars. As Tegan makes his way to where Ina and Hircus are intently focused on the doorway, he too hears the strange rhythmic chanting from the portal ahead, blended with Moire's description of the Tarokka card behind him. All three within earshot note that the voice from the portal, when it again reaches its point of exhaustion, this time seems to push through, ranting on to approach an apotheosis.

Moire: "... I don't know what threat she faces or what baleful star is turned against her but, whether her power is enough or not, she intends to use it all."

Moire tilts her head towards the portal to see what happens before returning to the old woman. "I don't entirely know ..."

At this point that several things happen in rapid succession:

Even at a distance, Moire too can hear the voice from the portal let loose a cry that encapsulates rapture, terror and pain, drowned out by the crack of a thunderbolt. The portal is suddenly clogged with a glowing orange fog that pushes forth to envelop Ina and Hircus. There's a hissing beside Moire as a plume of orange vapor shoots out of the face-up card on the table and quickly renders the woman across from her a shadowy outline. The obscured woman seems to leap back to standing and then transforms. Moire sees her dark silhouette grow taller, the arms extend, the shoulder's stoop and the head elongate into a doglike snout. The woman utters a phrase that Moire doesn't understand, then says, "I warn you, do not approach Zhudun again!"

The orange fog from the doorway and the Tarokka card has suffused the grove with improbable speed. None of you can see more than ten feet. Only a small patch of night sky is visible, where the pale star stares down on you, and now, that too is eclipsed by sickly orange fog.

Hircus and Ina are the first to be drawn into the doorway by the sudden jolt that propels all of you off of your feet. Close behind, Tegan sees their pinwheeling limbs pass between the amber columns, where he follows soon after. Near the blanket and table—if those things still exist—Moire is alone in orange mists thicker than any sea fog. Soon enough, she too hurtles forward across the grove and through the amber columns.

You all fly through amber clouds—Ina and Hircus side by side, Tegan close behind, and Moire somewhere in the rear. The clouds roll and undulate with a range of hues from pale yellow to deep brown. Perhaps more disturbing, small implike forms flit about nearby. They nearly blend with the mists and look like they too could be made of cloudstuff. Some seem to notice you and turn to leer with ugly grins. They smile to each other and swoop closer with outstretched talons.

 

[jfish]

Ina barely manages to get out a gasp before being wrenched through the portal, eyes wide as she scrambles to find purchase but finds only air. Her panic is lessened slightly as she sees Hircus within reaching distance and Tegan just outside it, but the feeling returns as she sees the impish figures moving towards them. She grips the small stone tightly in her hand, biting a lip as she considers throwing it. Hesitant, she instead reaches towards Hircus and offers it to him, brushing hair out of her mouth as she speaks.

"You might have more use for this," she sputters, wind buffetting her words, "I'm going to keep an eye out for...anything, really!"

She glances around, squinting. "Shit, where's Moire? MOIRE!" she calls.

 

[TemplePhantom]

"This day is bullshit" Tegan thinks to himself as his eyes quickly dry out from the winds whipping his face.

Though his vision is blurred, he is able to spot a fiend closing in on him, talons out, looking quite menacing. With a great heave, Tegan sends the still glowing projectile forth shouting "Eat rock, you ugly bastard".

The rock soars through the air at great speed, and Tegan is quite proud of himself. He rubs his eyes while grinning, certain that he's shown the imp what for. Unbeknownst to him, a combination of blurry vision and high winds send the rock in a majestic parabola far from his intended point of impact.

 

[Epiphany]

The rapid events that unfold bewilder the Paladin and, diplomatic as she is, she remains a warrior and a warrior rises when confronting possible danger. On her feet, Moire's eyes widen as the orange fog surrounds her, cutting her off from her companions.

"Understood," she replies to the shape that had, until recently, been an old woman.

Then she makes her way towards the portal, for all the good her steps do her. As her companions vanish, she too is suddenly seized and hurled across an impossible sea of fog.

Distantly ahead, Moire hears Ina call out her name. "I'm here!" she calls back. And immediately regrets it. For now she sees the imps in the orange fog banks.

"We travel by the Gods!" she warns as the first creature draws near. The slash of its claws rends the fog and she neatly twists away. Lacking a weapon, she can only throw a punch and, lacking a clear sense of leverage and positioning, her swing goes wide as well. Moire can't even circle in this environment! "Fight us at your peril!" she says, again warning the encroaching monster.

 

[Baba Luga]

The imp diving at Tegan connects, tearing the fighter's flesh and sending him into an out-of-control spin. The cloud creature holds on for dear life as other imps cheer with glee. This is in marked contrast to the imps observing Moire's contest, who hiss and mumble at another exchange of missed blows. One imp emerges from the crowd, beating its chest and pointing at the one that has failed to hit Moire.

 

[TemplePhantom]

Tegan, spinning, bleeding, and nearly half dead from the imp's first attack, fully enters an adrenaline fueled "fight" response. He cocks back a fist and delivers a blow to the imp's face, knocking loose a few fangs and drawing blood for the first time since his awakening.

In response, the imp rears back its head, clearly more threatened by its challenger, and spews forth a noxious cloud of dark brown smog into Tegan's face. Tegan shuts his eyes and holds his breath just in time to avoid the negative effects of the cloud, and retaliates with another well placed blow to the chest when the Imp attempts to flee.

Tegan brings his hand to his other shoulder, putting pressure on his new wound. As he judges the severity of his wound, he shuts his eyes and draws on his past experience defending himself in tavern brawls to deaden the pain somewhat.

Turning his attention back to his surroundings, Tegan sees the other imps mocking his recent opponent for what they must have considered an embarrassing display. Tegan adds to the jeers by fixating his eyes on his attacker and flipping two middle fingers high in the air as he continues his spiraling descent.

 

[ZombWie]

Hircus doesn't have time to react. Ahead of him, he sees Ina picked off her feet and dragged through the doorway, He tries to dig in as his toes drag along the wet earth, but before he can react there is nothing beneath him and he is swept away through the portal. The bites into his eyes causing them to tear up so that he must squint to see. Panic builds pressure in his chest so he begins to plead to Torm for guidance.

"The ground is... but gone and light the... Imps? No. No! Can't you... must stop... have mercy... Torm sav..." Hircus wails with confused speech and nonsense chatter that may or may not be bits of prayer and pleas to Torm. There is something around him that he must defend against but he is not sure what is going on, so he flails wildly at the air around him, but does not connect with anything.

He tries to gather his thoughts, so he once again calls on his military training and attempts to focus on assessing his situation, determining his assets and tackling one problem at a time.

I can't do much to stop my fall. Am I falling? Ina, she just handed me a stone. I have two stones. I must try to protect myself. What is that!?

Hircus swings and connects with something, a small flying creature that passes within the range of his swing. The yelp of pain let's Hircus know that he did some damage to whatever it was. He still raves and flails about without recovering.

Calm yourself Hircus!

 

[jfish]

Ina watches, bewildered as the imps begin to fly at her companions. Her breath catches as she sees the wounds left by the creatures. I honestly thought this was a dream, the misguided elf thinks, having never dreamt before. Can you bleed in a dream?

Her eyes catch the shifting colours and a bubble of hope expands inside her chest.

"Look - the clouds are changing! Maybe we'll land soon!" She yells, hesitating slightly at the idea of drawing attention to herself. She takes a deep breath, steeling herself to grab any imp that approaches her or Hircus - if only to help the cleric land a punch. She tries to keep an eye on both the nearest imps and the direction they're going, hoping she's right about landing soon as her head spins.

 

[TemplePhantom]

"Oh, shit" Tegan thinks to himself as his impish grin fades. He's realized that his last tussel has sent him careening toward a group of foes, waiting to recieve him with outstretched claws.

He impacts a member of the group hard, and they wrestle for control until Tegan places his right foot on the imp's chest and kicks off his opponent, gaining some much needed breathing room and shifting his trajectory back toward his allies.