Dramatis Personae
- Tori, mixed-heritage Shamaness from Gal City
- Kildun Graax, Hyperborean Necromancer from the City-State of Khromarium
- Tyrm, Oonish (androgynous clone) Warlock from the City-State of Khromarium
- Saya'da (Say'), Yakut Berserker from the Plains of Leng
Wilderness Camp
The company made camp in the wilderness after their first day's march toward the Land of Endless Noon. The previous night had seen the full moon, but the dangers of the countryside were not thought to have ended with its passing. Wolves could be heard howling in the darkness, and none could say with certainty whether all of them were beasts of the ordinary kind.
The camp was secured with alarm snares and bells, and the companions divided the night into watches. Tori stood the first watch with Bran, Tyrm the second with Tannrhulia, Saya'da the third alone, and Kildun the fourth with Vall. As the hours passed, a light precipitation of sleet began to fall, eventually turning to snow.
Eira Wolf-Daughter
It was during Saya'da's watch, around the third hour of the morning, that two figures emerged from the mist.
The first was a woman dressed in weathered furs, carrying herself as a huntress accustomed to the wilderness. Beside her stood a white-furred wolf whose eyes shone golden in the darkness. Saya'da recognized that the strangers posed no immediate threat and chose not to awaken the others. Instead, she quietly approached the woman and spoke with her alone.
The huntress called herself Eira Wolf-Daughter, and the wolf was her companion, Ruff. Eira did not live in Bryn Celli and was not in the service of Blood-Reeve Maelcon. She lived instead in the wilderness, generally avoiding the company of other people.
Eira knew of the Master werewolf beneath Hollow Cairn and had been trying to find a way to deal with him while avoiding falling into his grasp herself. She had once worked with Rhodric in that effort, though she had not seen the ranger for more than two months.
On this particular night, Eira and Ruff were tracking three ordinary werewolves that traveled together as a pack. She warned Saya'da that the creatures were dangerous and should not be confronted without adequate preparation. Indeed, this was why she had stopped at the company's camp: to offer a warning rather than seek a confrontation.
Saya'da asked whether anything could be done to prevent such creatures from attacking. Eira said she could smell the wolfsbane carried by the company, and advised that as long as they kept it with them and possessed silver weapons, they should be able to defend themselves.
The two women found that they shared a preference for the wilderness over the company of other people. Eira also knew Rhodric well, and her manner changed when Saya'da told her what had become of him. She appeared angered, or perhaps saddened, by the news of his capture and his present condition.
Eira then asked about the strange shepherd from Bryn Celli.
She had found Marlí two days earlier, asleep in the underbrush with a lamb curled against him. Even in sleep he had remained wrapped around the animal, protecting it. When she woke him, he had no speech and could only bleat like the lamb at this side. Eira had assumed he belonged to Bryn Celli and guided him and the animal toward the settlement. When she encountered another shepherdess, she left Marlí in her care and returned to the wilderness without making herself known.
Before leaving, Eira offered one final warning. There was something wrong with Blood-Reeve Maelcon, she told Saya'da, and he should not be trusted. She gave no further explanation, but the subject clearly made her uncomfortable.
Eira and Ruff remained only about half an hour before continuing their own hunt.
Saya'da finished her watch after some time, listening as the wolves howled in the darkness. Eventually the sounds faded, and the remainder of the night passed without incident for her and later, Kildun.
The Journey Continues
The morning arrived bitterly cold. The snow had stopped during Saya'da's watch, leaving the previous night's precipitation frozen upon the ground at a temperature of roughly eighteen degrees.
When the company awoke, Saya'da told the others of her encounter with Eira. She gave them the principal details, including the warning about the pack of werewolves and Eira's knowledge of Rhodric. Tyrm examined the snow around the campsite and found tracks belonging to small animals, including rabbits and foxes, but nothing large enough to indicate that the party had been approached during the night.
Saya'da later spoke privately with Tori and gave her a fuller account of the meeting, including Eira's warning concerning Maelcon and the possibility that the huntress might become an ally.
The company then continued into the next hex.
Before long they caught sight of their destination far to the north. The Tower rose three or four miles away, appearing from that distance like an immense spike of polished steel driven into the landscape.
Fiadhan, Bran, and Galenos [whose players were unavailable this session] went among the nearby trees to gather wild berries and mushrooms. Their efforts proved successful, but they soon became divided over whether their discoveries were edible or poisonous. Rather than settle the question by taking an unnecessary risk, they began devising tests by which they might determine their safety. The others eventually continued onward, leaving the three to finish their experiments and catch up later.
Tori asked Khronus where he intended to establish their camp once they approached the Tower. The scholar preferred to stop near the outer edge of its apparent influence rather than remain at a greater distance. Tyrm and Kildun agreed, reasoning that the danger of werewolves in the surrounding countryside made it unwise to leave anyone or anything behind unnecessarily.
The company therefore continued toward the ruins, expecting the journey to take roughly half a day.
Temporal Revenants
Near the end of their first hour, while moving through rolling grassland broken by trees and occasional standing stones, they saw four humanoid figures coming around a hillock approximately sixty yards ahead. Neither side had caught the other by surprise.
The strangers immediately began moving toward the company.
Tyrm ordered the mercenaries into a shield wall, and the companions prepared for the encounter.
The creatures approached in a shambling run. Tyrm loosed arrows at once, striking one of them. Kildun moved to higher ground and fired his sling, though the shot went wide. Saya'da advanced to meet the creatures, while Tori held her spell until they came within effective range.
The figures continued forward.
Tyrm fired twice more at the same target, striking it both times. Kildun's next sling bullet also missed. By the end of the second exchange the creatures had closed to within roughly forty feet, and the wounded figure collapsed.
Tori released her spell.
Vines and vegetation sprang up around the approaching creatures, catching all three remaining figures within the area of her Entangle. Two failed to escape its grasp and became immobile.
The third managed to move only partway out of the spell's reach.
By then the nature of the creatures had become clearer. Up close they appeared to be some form of zombie.
Saya'da charged the mobile creature, wielding both her battle axe and broadsword. Her axe struck heavily, though the sword passed wide. The mercenaries maintained their shield wall while Kildun and Tori continued firing upon the creatures caught in the entangling growth.
Tyrm exchanged his bow for Rhodric's longsword and a shield, moving toward Saya'da's opponent. When he reached the melee he swung wildly and nearly lost his balance.
The next exchange went more favorably. Saya'da struck the zombie twice, once with each weapon, while Tyrm landed another blow with Rhodric's sword. The creature remained standing but was visibly damaged.
Tori's sling bullet struck one of the immobile creatures with considerable force. Kildun likewise found his mark after moving to a better position.
The mercenaries then advanced. Tannrhulia thrust with her spear and missed badly enough to leave herself exposed, allowing the zombie to strike her in return. Bran's spear failed to find its mark, while Vall remained just outside the melee to preserve the formation.
The wounded zombie attempted to press through the mercenaries but failed to break their line.
At the end of the exchange, it collapsed.
With the remaining two creatures still held fast by the Entangle, the immediate battle was over.
Kildun moved around the edge of the spell and approached one of the trapped creatures, using a Shocking Grasp to strike it directly. The others continued firing until both remaining creatures were destroyed.
Once the spell ended, the company searched the ground and recovered roughly half of the ammunition expended during the fight.
Khronus examined the corpses and identified them as Temporal Revenants, undead creatures produced by the distortions of time surrounding the Tower. He believed these particular creatures must have wandered a considerable distance from the Tower's influence to have been encountered where they were.
"Keep your wits about you, for danger now lurks very near."
Tyrm examined the bodies more closely and noticed that their clothing belonged to an ancient style, recognizable only from very old paintings or statues.
The Tower in the Distance
The company resumed its journey.
By approximately eleven in the morning, they had come within about a mile of the Tower and its surrounding ruins. Khronus stopped the expedition and announced that he could now detect faint disturbances in what he called the chronological continuum.
He removed a number of strangely fashioned copper bracelets from his pack and distributed one to each member of the company.
"These bracelets are for your protection. They should mitigate against most of the time warping effects of this region, though I cannot guarantee their potency against its stronger effects. Indeed, as this is my first experience here myself, I could only try to imagine its risks and prepare against them. But there will almost certainly be things that I did not anticipate. Therefore, even wearing these protective bracelets, you must take care with whatever you touch or interact with. When in doubt, ask me."
After a brief pause, Khronus added one further warning.
"Oh, I should also mention that the power of these bracelets is tied to my life-force. Should I come to harm, their power will weaken, or worse. So it is in your best interest to keep me alive and well, no?"
He laughed at his own dark observation.
The company now stood at the outer edge of the region where time itself appeared to behave differently, with the enormous Tower rising beyond the ruins ahead of them...
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