/q/ - Quest

The party now returns to Kaco Island, having accomplished many things during their time on the small satellite island:

First, they learned more about aura and developed their potential even further, culminating in the creation of new abilities for some and improvements on current abilities for others. Second, they recovered a large cache of red herbs, called Helltongues, which would enable them to cure people from infection by Queen Toko's white parasites. Third, they resued an alien from outer space whose spaceship had crashed at sea during his research for his dissertation.

Now, Cutlass and Thessaly are heading back to meet with the leaders of the Three mafia Families who rule over Aristar and who have rapidly become the last stable leaders on Kaco Island following the Queens' thorough destruction of Potnia and other towns on the southern half of the island. Meanwhile, the rest of the party has plenty of time to kill before Alder and Cerulean are due for their circus performance in Aristar at 6. Thus they're heading back to check out some of the destroyed towns and pick over what might remain.

Post sheets.

Our heroes have returned from the Shifting Sands, where in a forgotten vault they encountered someone they did not expect: a petrified Discord, god of chaos, now known as Persolus. Seemingly under an enchantment forcing him to always tell the truth, he told the party that he had figured out a way out of the Echoes, but it required freeing him and messing with some sort of egg that was being kept in the vault. Sensibly, the party chose not to trust him, and declined his offer.

From there, they have made their way to Braildorn, one of the few places in the Echoes that most closely resembles modern society. However, while they sought respite within its walls, they soon found their troubles were far from over: Lysander, an ambitious and greedy dragon with significant influence in the Echoes, saw to the kidnapping of their friend Violet, replacing her with a spy to study the party and assess them. The party soon rooted out the spy and followed a trail of clues (including striking a tenuous alliance with the nefarious Tiger Clan) which eventually led them to Lysander's ship, the Lady Luck. From there, they proceeded to fight their way to Lysander himself, rescue Violet and take the Lady Luck for themselves - which was not a ship at all, but rather an enchanted construct called a Sanctuary. They soon found that overtaking a Sanctuary did not come without its failsafes, however; the Fulcrum, a unique magical object that controls a Sanctuary, was bound to Lysander and Lysander alone, and no one else could use it without risking severe mental harm or even death.

Via one of their newfound acquaintances, however, they may have figured out a workaround. Fumblemore, a bumbling but good natured wizard, knows of a way to break the Seal of Dominion, but it is a dangerous ritual that requires the participation of the entire group; their spiritual forms would entre the Fulcrum, according to Fumblemore, and have to physically bypass whatever defences Lysander has placed.

Meanwhile, the party have made themselves quite busy while in Braildorn:

Hermodur has accepted a contract to hunt down a creature plaguing the town's citizens, a particularly large and intelligent balaur known as the Beast of Braildorn.

Norv has expressed his interest in performing a courier task for Carnifex, a servant of Black Pudding. He has also commissioned a new sprayer to be made for him by the master craftsman Hadrian, which has dug deep into his pockets.Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

Two candles flicker on either side of a dusty old tome. The leather-bound cover creaks open and words slowly etch themselves into the paper. This old book begins to spin you a yarn. A tale of a small mountain village. A grand quest gone wrong. Self-sacrifice gone unrewarded. And, perhaps most of all, biting off a little more than you should chew.

Post Sheets

It's happening!

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Hermodur, Norvegicus, Rabi, Silver and Zunden have traveled to the cruel, unforgiving expanse known as the Shifting Sands with their companion Violet. On the way, they became allies with the monks of the Lunar Monastery after helping them solve a murder case. The culprit, a bat pony mare named Aurora d'Arbanville, has also joined the party on their travels.

Back in the Dominion, Hermodur has had visions of Ailuros' continued campaign. Against her normal wishes, the would-be princess has contracted a Fire Witch, members of a sect of Celestia that are known for their prophetic powers. Ailuros is using the Fire Witch's abilities to routinely check on Hermodur. Hermodur himself has also encountered a Fire Witch called Fever Ray, who suggested trying dragonfire to transmit messages out of the Echoes.

Meanwhile, Zunden encountered a crippled mare called Dawn, who was under the care of the monks, who was found by them under bizarre circumstances. She soon found that this was the same Dawn whose ruined journal they had found at the start of their travels, although she was unfortunately not able to say much to Zunden before passing out. However, her most grevious wounds have been healed, and she will recover in time, although it is unlikely she will be able to see well again.

The Shifting Sands have proven themselves as deadly and treacherous as their reputation. A vast expanse of crimson sand, the Sands are populated by all manner of monstrous creatures, such as the predatory Terreocti or the elusive but deadly Bone Shambler, and the few that live there have been driven to madness and desperation by the desert. To make things worse, the party have discovered that the desert itself is alive, comprised of millions and millions of tiny treasure-loving insects masquerading as grains of sand.

Not all is despair, however. The party have not only grown in number with the addition of Aurora, but also made the acquaintance of a pair of traveling merchants, Rosen and Gilder, from who they acquired clothes for their journey as well as a disparity of magical trinkets. After having claimed water supplies from a reaver camp nearby, the party stand poised to embark on a long and arduous stretch of their journey traversing a vast salt flat. Beyond lies the center of the desert where Violet has heard great treasures can be found in forgotten ruins, as well as the heart of the Shifting Sands: an immense spire known as the Hive.

Old threPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

You've returned safely and unscathed from the nightmarish well. A good meal and sound sleep later, you feel yourself ready for more adventure.

Twinklebreeze mentioned he had another potential location for an artefact. Such an artefact would be enough to get you at least 500 bits after Twinklebreeze's finder's commission. Combined with your reward for the Moondial, that's enough to fund the airship construction!

It's a grey and dreary morning. The ground is still damp and wet from last night's terrible stormy weather.
As you fly outside the inn towards Ribbon's bed in the barn, you notice a Breezie once again wearing a Tinker uniform. This Breezie wears a peculiar hat with lights going on in and off in different patterns. He has short white hair and white short beard. His coat is blue.
Ribbon seems to have noticed the breezie already and is eying him suspiciously.
The Breezie turns and flies to you both as you go outside.
"Observation." He announces quite dramatically. "You are…" he gets out two little cards "Pattern Pitch and….Fairweather."

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Hermodur, Zunden, Rabi, Silver Song and Norvegicus have been exiled to the world known as the Echoes. Upon exploring their initial surroundings, they found an old diary belonging to someone called Dawn, and later met a fellow exile called Violet Moon, who had found a strange brick cylinder in a boat that had washed ashore nearby. Violet has so far been acting as their guide through the Echoes, and they are accompanying her on a quest to a far off desert called the Shifting Sands. According to Violet, an inscription she found in the tomb of an ancient king has led her to believe they will find something of great value in the center of the desert.

While staying in the small settlement of Ironbrook, the party ran into a notorious bandit gang called the Bloody Mummers, having gotten into a barfight with some of their members. This led to them taking a long path around so as to avoid the Mummers' attention, leading them into a treacherous stretch of swamp known as Durenwol. There they met the sorcerer Black Pudding, who had apparently had dealings with Violet in the past. Pudding promised to aid them in return for their service, asking them to bring him parts of a terrible beast called the Berrengaith.

The party agreed to this and ventured into the Rotten Wood, eventually coming across the beast. However, they soon found that there was more to it than they'd anticipated: the Berrengaith is host to a swamp spirit, which used to have dominion over Durenwol until it was overthrown by Pudding and trapped inside a monstrous boar. They were offered the choice of either slaying it now or gathering the required items to free it: a black lily from the Dreaming Spring, the eyes of a deer, and the skull of its former body, which is in the possession of Black Pudding. The party have not agreed to either choice yet, but as a sign of good faith the swamp spirit let them take the blood and teeth that Pudding had asked for; in return, they received a slew of items that will aid them on their journey. Upon returning to Violet, they also discovered that the loss of her eye was due to Pudding having taken it from her, after she tried to take the skull herself.

With their business in Durenwol finished, the party set off towards the Shifting Sands once more, eventually coming across a lakeside monastery dedicated to Luna, where they took shelter for the night. While there, they learned that the monastery were currently sheltering a severely injured pony wPost too long. Click here to view the full text.