The Cradle of Souls - Chapter 3: Beyond the Mortal Realms

You're dying. I can grant you life.

That would be good. But what do you need from me?

Undying devotion. Your soul. The whole bit.

Um... Perhaps you could promise to save some people for me first.

Some people? I'll give you one. Then you are mine. Who will it be?

One? That's it? ...I guess it will have to do...

The god appeared amused as Corwin thought over his choice. Who could help them? Who would be the best one to save if he could. Finally he nodded.

I've made my decision.

Yes? Who.

Arden Krueler.

Very well, it is done.

Now what?

You are mine. Your first task; you will go back and harvest their souls.

- An exchange between Corwin Degalli and Brashq

True to his word, Degalli would return to the group but in a far more terrifying state than when he had left them. Hoping to find a way out of the Ethereal Plane he walked back to the Councilate Tower of Persyfn, the same building the group had just fled from with a wraith hot on their toes. He opened the main doors, marching purposefully through the antechamber and into the council room where the ritual had been done. He only noticed the black orb in a suspended boiling roll at the center. The swarm of wraiths flowing overhead were ignored. His hand reached toward the orb and clasped shut. Four lines of black energy laced up his arm, pain shot through his body, his back arched and his mouth gaped in a silent scream. The pain was so intense that no sound could exit his body.

He found himself standing before Brashq upon the stream of souls. He made an offer and the god accepted, flaying his body through the black orb before he was brought back to life with a sinister task placed in his hands.

The rest of the group had gathered at the doorway to the inn. The door to go in was wide open, revealing a spacious wood floor. No one was attending to it inside, but they figured that would be alright. They needed rest and the spirit boy had indicated that this would be a safe place. When they stepped through the door they discovered that they had left the Ethereal Plane and were back in the real world. A planar rift remained where the door was.

Glorving confirmed that they were in the real world, almost 100 feet below the surface according to his acute dwarven senses. There would only be enough air for a few to sleep comfortably. Krueler, Glorving, and Amarad decided they would take their chances inside the room. The others felt it was too risky. Altherton even posed the question “what if the gate between planes were to close while we were in there. We would be trapped!” They opted to rest outside and keep watch for dangerous spirits. Most closed their eyes and drifted into peaceful sleep. They did not expect what would come next.

Degalli returned to the Last Stop Inn looking considerably pale, though for those outside of the inn they figured it was fatigue. The door to the inn was open and he stepped through it. Walking into the underground room, Degalli snatched up a Propulsion Dagger and directed it toward Amarad's throat. The dagger flew forward hitting its mark perfectly. Amarad's eyes flew open for a moment before she sunk out of consciousness.

Glorving and Krueler went for their weapons, but it was then that Brashq transported Krueler back to the surface. Shocked, the wizard began to seek a way to learn what had just happened to him. Glorving on the other hand, squared off with Degalli. A dagger was flung in his direction, but glanced off the dwarf's large shield. With war hammer in hand he struck a mighty blow to Corwin's shoulder, shattering bone.

Seconds later the bone reformed, and Corwin shot off another dagger. It landed a light hit, but was returned by a full force hammer to the skull, bringing the monster to the floor. Glorving scooped Amarad up and pulled her outside. Anya-Star immediately set to work trying to heal the wounds, using magical healing potions to restore her. As she tried, an undead Degalli stepped through the door, dagger already primed. The blade lanced out, striking Hamish a deadly blow, dropping the old wizard in the blink of an eye.

Another blade was out and flashed toward Amarad, dealing her another blow to her already beaten body throwing her back into a critical state. Glorving cast his shield to the side and grasped his warhammer with both hands, swinging down with such power that he nearly split the abomination in two. Once more Degalli fell. His bones quickly began to mend. The group knew that in moments they would be in trouble again. The graces of the gods were with them in that dire moment, for a mighty Gallowshrike flew down an attacked the undead Corwin, biting the body in half.

Brashq's voice boomed with laughter in the Ethereal Realm, calling out, “Not this time Father!” Degalli's form vanished in a trail of putrid smoke, leaving only the legs behind. The Gallowshrike flew away as though it had not noticed the rest of them.

I can hear the screams approaching already. The women have been ordered to flee to the caves and cut the rope bridge. A couple of them insisted on staying behind. I don't give a damn what they do now. If they're going to argue to hell with 'em. We're going into that damn void thing. Krueler did it and he came out just fine...

- Ulias Brend, Expedition Leader

Lord Savant Arden Krueler returned to the site of the wizard's shelter, hoping that there would still be a means to contact the Towers. He was disappointed to find nothing left. He next sough out the second passage into the other Plane hoping to locate others who might still be around. It was abandoned, with digging tools still laying about. Hoping this meant they had sought shelter on the other side of the void, Krueler stepped through the rift. Sure enough, there were survivors, and to his horror no rift by which they could leave.

A sudden shift in the Slip caused Krueler to phase between planes for a moment, jumping between them with little control over where he was going. When he phased back into the Prime Material it shocked the survivors and even caused Ulias's resolve to falter. Krueler took over the lead, recalling what the spirit boy had told them about how they could get out.

With the groups stuck in separate places and despite the little rest they have gotten they began heading toward the Academy. Their hopes were set that this place would allow them to leave this plane and safely return home.

Persyfn, The Ethereal Plane somewhere over Ephyrne - 6th month of the year, Day 13 - Summer 985 LD

The spirit of a boy (I think Altherton called him Mahteyu) claims that somewhere inside this place resides the key to leaving this realm. Ghost or not, I think its our best chance. This place leaves my skin crawling in ways that a mentalist couldn't even begin to replicate. It's strange... the interior of the structure exists in shades of gray. The Guardians and Research team split up into groups to explore leaving the rest of us near this monotone servant golem. This is far from a defensible location...

- Joy Ames, Camp Upkeep

Upon entering the Academy the group discovered a very lifelike golem that they tried to get information from. When little was yielded it was suggested by Lord Savant Krueler that a search of the facility was performed to try and get a feel for its layout and where the key (called Xirsz Phasygn) might be located.

Manir and the dwarf Glorving ventured into the lower portions of the Academy, discovering it in an aged state. Few bones scattered the floor in the dining hall, but little else remained beyond the rubble of tables and chairs left to the test of time. As they delved further into the basement however, they discovered a summoning chamber with masses of magical components available to them. Down one of the hallways in the basement was an unmarked mirror. As they passed down the hall they began to hear voices, and opted to leave it be.

Glorving ventured back up to tell the others, but Manir decided to continue exploring, venturing down a hall that led him to a room with a vault door. The door was far from unguarded as he soon discovered, for as he approached the room it was contained in, a large wraith-like spirit appeared, unable to venture from the room, and very angry. Manir chose to gamble with his luck against the spirit and entered the room. The gamble failed when he became trapped within a vortex of souls which inevitably consumed his essence.

The rest of the group (Anya-Star, Krueler, Kaden, and the Ephryn warrior Brawl) chose to explorer the upper floors of the facility. In their venturing they stumbled across the spirit of Torren Chavez, one of the professors of runic magic. They convinced him that he was dead and the ritual that was meant to save the city had partially failed. Upon his realization the buildings lighting transformed into a pale crimson to match the anger of the spirits who now realized that they were dead. Many of them began to transform into wraiths.

The group dashed back down the the base floor to protect the civilians. With Glorving's help they moved them into the summoning chamber and protected the entrances with mundane spirit warding (lining the doorways with silver dust). Krueler and a few others took this opportunity to inspect the mirror in the hallway, each of them finding a “mentor” in the mirror and the following message:

Seek ye the in-between,

Tore and Saw-Rez.

Speak ye the sigil,

'neath the ever-verdant.

Uncertain of what this meant and convinced it was a riddle, the group began to search for answers. After hours of searching and several close calls with wraiths the group stumbled upon a stroke of luck. Inside the library on the second floor they found a friendly spirit being turned by wraithform ghosts. They fought tooth and nail to free the spirit from its tormenters and succeeded. The ghost offered to assist them however it could to repay them for their kindness. They presented it with the “riddle”.

The ghost, dubbed Libraricus by the group, determined that Tore and Saw-Rez was not a place so much as a person, Torren Chavez. Krueler insisted that this could not be the case, but many others in the group found the answer to be convincing. The 'in-between' referenced the 1st floor of the building, sandwiched between 2 floors from below, and 2 from on top. The sigil was unknown, but a rune called the ever-verdant kept a garden growing on the third floor.

After receiving the information they decided to pay Torren Chavez a visit in his first floor study.

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