RECAP:
- Legion had been following up on dismantling the rest of Rasputin‘s shadow network
- learned that his activities were not limited to the Dragon Empire itself, and were in fact, interplanar
- he used portals to move around, and probably loot and even kept in contact with his homeworld
- it was not completely selfless however, as Legion was clearly interested in seeing if he could manipulate this same magic to control his own travels
- at least some of Rasputin‘s allies were Githyanki pirates, and had taken Ursel captive
- their first base was an illusion-covered mountain-base
- but the heroes put their ship in hover mode and broke through their protections, following them (and their captive) through a portal
the heroes ended up somewhere they did not expect….
- a strange place… is this a different plane… their recollections are of stories of things called “planets”… teeming with life both giving and hateful
- If Legion is right and we are on a different planet… everything seems “ossified”.
- No fish, the trees don’t seem alive – it’s all just light from this huge portal
- they can’t help but feel that this is odd… pirates are usually about money… they’re not acting like pirates…
- it’s also not clear how we’ll leave – the portal they travelled through first disappeared the moment they stepped through – they think the same will happen again
- Legion tries to place an anchor at the foot of the portal, merely as a means of measuring or finding their way back, but has little confidence it will work
- Stepping through the portal, the heroes emerge in a very, very different place
- Legion gets weird results
- on one hand, it feels like you’ve travelled a great distance,
- but the magic also says you’ve hardly travelled at all
- Legion smiles – looking around – lush vegetation – teeming with life – is that two sunss?! Everything is infused with energy and electricity – did the flowers just SMILE at yoU!?
- Legion recognizes they are in the Feywild
- Legion explains overlapping planes:
- The Astral Plane acts like a gateway to many other planes, using the astral to interconnect
- The feywild – as if you’re in the dragon empire but everything was made and rebuilt as fey-type stuff
- the emperor‘s palace – in the feywild – it might be a gigantic treehouse – or living crystal
- a gladitorial arena – would look like a wide opening in a beautiful forest
- mirrors to everything
- they shadowfell – very similar, except the opposite – darkness, life-dragining
- the emperor‘s palace – might be a ruined, abandoned building
- a gladitorial arena – might be a vacant, haunted graveyard
- it’s not obvious – sometimes just deja vu
- Legion cautions everyone – in these planes – even physics do not behave the same.
- Not all the feywild is like this – some of hte most monstrous creatures are in fact, fey.
- Don’t drink the water, don’t eat anything – easier to be kidnapped
- Legion is very uncomfortable
- Nidalru would, but she’s still an elf…
- Nidalru tries to track the githyanki who were carrying Ursel, but can’t see anything – it’s almost like sensory overload
- The heroes see another portal in a gazebo-like stone structure with a fast-moving stream and a bridge between them
- Sure the bridge and it’s magical illuminations is a danger to the party, Nidalru tries to cross on a log, and touching the water ever so slightly, she is infused with refreshing energy
- at the same time, a swirl of the water foams up into a vaguely elf-like form, a beautiful woman and she screams out in a sonic sound that make the heroes try to protect their ears, “Get out!”
- the water of the stream starts racing, and gushing, and water elementals rise as if she was calling to them
ENGAGE!
- The heroes are immediately aware of the sheer power of the water-based creatures – their viciuos power drawn from the earth itself
- Legion‘s necromantic essence offended them greatly
- it was only through Idris‘ incredible diplomacy that they relented and allowed the heroes to leave, with Legion as their prisoner
- Idris: “Stop the attacks, we did not mean to dishonour you, this is our first time here
- Naiad: I will release you from my anger, Golden One, but that one, brings creatures from teh shadow, he is a disease on this land, he must pay!
- I: Unfortunately that thing is our prisoner, and we are bringing him to a proper justice. You like games, don’t you? perhaps there’s a less deadly game we can play to resolve this…
- N: He is your prisoner? But then why was he able to use his magics?
- I: The attack you sprung broke my concentration for my magical restraint
- N: But he is still free, golden one!
- I: If you permit me, we will restrain him once again – you just need to prevent your colleagues from attacking us as we focus on him
- N: Colleagues? No, those are just manifestations of our anger
- I: I am glad you are no longer upset with us
- N: Yes – it would have been terrible for you…
- Idris alters the magic of his Burning Leash as handcuffs on Legion
- I: thank you for permitting us to restrain him again
- N: Where are you taking them?
- I: He and his colleagues have kidnapped another of our colleages and we are chasing them. We believe they may have escaped through this other portal (describes Ursel & githyanki)
- N: I have seen one that you may be referring to – yellow skin – mighty blade – accompanied by one who looked like her (points at Nidalru) but with fairer skin, she seemed to know the way. They seemed to know our ways, so there was no reason to stop her
- I: Thank you very much for your help and your calm, I hope to run into you another day, perhaps when there are games to play
- N: I would like that… read of our ways before next time, stranger… mistakes like your friend made, often result in death…
- Going through teh portal, the heroes arrive in the Shadowfell, and are almost immediately set upon but those waiting in ambush!
ENGAGE!
- After the battle, Legion looks noticeably shaken – seemingly even at the appearance of these “shadar-kai”
- he eludes to being concerned with a particular shadar-kai, but does not name him specifically…
- shrugging it off to avoid the other heroes asking him about it,
- Legion uses Speak with Dead:
- Were you waiting specifically for us? Yes
- Under whose direction? The Leader of the Syndicate
- Who’s the leader of the Syndiate? Rasputin
- Was Ursel abducted to get us specifically here? Yes
- Where was the syndicate agents located: North of the Wood
- Why are they doing this? Because they hate you
