Session 9: Within the mists report

General Summary

Smoke started to fill the large round chamber, obscuring the tall statue of the fierce dragon with ruby eyes that dominated the space. Reiko, the halfling shaman in charge of the newly built temple dropped to his knees as soon as he noticed the obscuring effect of the smoke. Reiko often used tricks to emulate the effect of his patron contacting him, so he was all too familiar with what was happening.
“Command me, my lord.”   A shadow seemed to form within the smoke. Darker than its surroundings, it vaguely resembled a dragon, taller even than the statue. Although its outline became clearer, its features remained vague, giving the impression that a large silhouette had manifested itself at the center of the chamber. As had happened many times before, the spirit spoke to Reiko in his mind, without making any sound.
“You have done well in finding Erwood and Sarva. They have agreed to aid me in my quest. Olma did not, and I felt the gaze of another upon her, but I believe it to be of little consequence to our goal.”   Tears of joy welled up in the eyes of the halfling priest. He longed for the day his master could return to this world, perhaps even more so than the dragon-spirit itself. His devotion to Shattenzahn was complete.
“I take it they shall be returning the dimensional anchors soon? I have procured another vessel to keep them in.”   Reiko glanced over at a beautiful wooden box that sat on a nearby table, barely visible in the smoke-filled room. It had cost him a small fortune, but the dimensional pocket it contained would be a safe place to house the stones until his master was ready to purge the ghost from them and take its place.   The spirit’s answer was lost to Reiko as a sudden burst of wind came out of nowhere, knocking him down. As the halfling scrambled back to his feet he could see the mysterious wind gather up the smoke and blow it out the opening in the roof above the firepit. In mere seconds the chamber was cleared of all obscurations, revealing a woman with pearl-white skin wearing a pristinely white robe. Most of her face was hidden in deep hood, yet Reiko could tell she was looking at him with disdain.
“You should be more careful who you deal with, young shaman. Believe me, you do not want to be beholden to any kind of dark lord.”   Reiko grabbed the wand hidden in his robe, one of the tools he used to trick those who came to see him and pointed it at the intruder.
“Who are you? What are you doing here? My master will…”   The woman stepped forward quickly and knocked the wand from Reiko’s hands.
“Your master is no-doubt howling in frustration right now as he is powerless to do anything but wait until I leave before he can contact you again. He is powerful, I know, but he is not back yet.”   More than a little taken aback by the stranger’s disregard for Shattenzahn, Reiko backed up into the nearest wall.
“Wh…what do you want?”   As she turned around and walked back towards the statue at the center of the chamber, the woman spoke, easing some of the threat from her voice.
“Nothing more than to offer a warning. I care little for your master’s plan, and he can involve Sarva and Erwood in it as much as he pleases. But tell him to stay away from Olma. She is claimed by a power that far exceeds his.”   His interest peaked; Reiko carefully spoke up.
“What is it with this group? They carry demonic marks and had attracted the attention of my master even before they came here.”   The answer Reiko received was little more than a whisper, as if the woman was talking to herself more so than him.
“A storm is brewing, one that I have been waiting for, far longer than you can imagine. They will either be the eye of it, or they will be swept away in it like the rest of this region.”   Whispering as well, Reiko asked:
“Which one is it?”   The intruder lifted her head and stared into the halflings eyes as she answered.
“I do no know yet, but that storm will serve my purpose one way or another.”   Reiko did not have time to contemplate her answer for he could feel her icy gaze bury deep within his mind. Her face was the first memory to disappear and was quickly followed by everything that had occurred over the past few minutes. When the trance finally broke, he was alone in his temple and all he could remember was that he had been visited by someone who had dismissed his master at a whim, and who did not want him to interfere with Olma.