Session 14: Wheelhouse Rock

General Summary

7th Myrkule 234 4E   The party pushed further through the caves. After a while, the rough and rugged cave walls ended and transitioned to a smooth tunnel that twisted through the earth, as though burrowed by a great creature. This tunnel broke out into a mineshaft, long-abandoned with rotten beams and forgotten tools. Down at its end, a pale light could be seen. At last. The mineshaft led out to a large crevasse. Its walls were lined in several layers of scaffolding and supports and pockmarked with the mouths of other mineshafts. High above, a crack in the crevasse's roof opened up to the bright sky and falling snow. The crevasse dropped down below, its bottom lost in darkness, and a crisscross of bridges spanned its width. The party could see a crooked staircase carved into the stone at the crevasse's tip, leading upwards and out.   The party slowly made their way across the crevasse and towards the staircase, across rock lips and ancient wooden bridges. The journey had been hard and they needed to make it to the surface where they could rest. As they made their way closer to the steps, Tawny picked up a low grinding coming from one of the nearby mineshafts, similar but of greater magnitude to those he had detected in the caves before. Avina sent her familiar to investigate. The skeletal creature progressed into the shaft, rounding the corner and out of sight. Avina used its eyes as her own.   An arm of rock hurtled from the shadows and smashed down on the floor, crushing Avina's familiar. It was followed by a whole form. The giant two-armed form was constructed out of swirling rock and earth that shifted around a pulsing ball of orange light. As the light moved it pulled more material from the mine's walls and was gradually encased. It ploughed through the ground towards the party, heading at speed towards the main bridge that spanned the crevasse. Avina acted quickly, sending her surviving reanimated to stand in defence on the bridge. But as the form continued its singular drive towards them, one of Tawny's bolts cracking off its stone casing, it was clear that the reanimated would only hold it for a mere moment. So Meridas made their move, pulling at the Veil and erupting a percussive explosion at the base of the bridge. The shockwave split the wooden beams and stone foundations alike. In an instance, half the bridge fell apart and dropped down the crevasse, taking Avina's reanimated with it. It left a gap of over nearly 10 yards between them and the rock monstrosity.   But it did not slow. The hulking figure kept its pace and headed straight for the crevasse's edge. Straight over the edge. The mass of stone sailed through the air and slammed into the crevasse wall beneath the party. The form broke apart and fell, chunks of dirt and stone tumbling down into the void after the bridge.   Huh.   Most of the party spent a moment confused and hesitant. From where they stood it looked like the creature had just ended the fight itself. But Willum, already up ahead scouting the top of the staircase, had spotted something from his elevated position - the light hadn't fallen with the stone and earth. It had disappeared into the rockface. He called out a warning to the others just as the ground beneath their feet erupted. The huge monstrosity now stood amongst them, new material ripped from the ground to converge into its new body.   The ensuing fight was tough. The party weaved and ducked, constantly moving to avoid the long reach of the creature's weighted limbs. The few times they weren't fast enough they were crushed into the floor, half a ton of stone falling upon them. They fought back with spell and blade but each time they hew and broke off material from its body, more just ripped out of the ground to replace it. They quickly realised they needed to go for the core. They swung and stabbed, rolled and dodged. At last, an opening appeared. Tawny's and Willum's attacks from above drew the defence of the creature, its stone shell shifting to deflect their missiles, and through a gap in its armour Odhran could see the pulsing orange light. He drove forwards, plunging his axe through the gap and into the core. The form collapses, its momentum pushing it over the edge and into the crevasse.   Their foe vanquished, the party pulled themselves up the staircase and out into the open. They all blinked and winced in the light. The days underground had left them little adjusted to the brightness of the winter landscape. Cavendish especially was having a hard time. Willum found them a clearing a mile away from the mine's entrance and they set up camp, exhausted and bruised. They would rest for two nights and restore their form and energy, and then continue onwards into the mines.   On the second night, they all decided that they should touch the stone again and see if it revealed anything. Avina, Tawny, and Willum all volunteered. Each one of them managed to fend off the mental spike that followed the searing pain, and each one of them caught a glimpse of a different vision. Avina heard screams in the darkness and smelt the stench of burning flesh, followed by the sensation of pathways growing through the ground like the roots of a tree. Tawny saw a dry, rocky landscape, stretching out beyond the horizon, and a giant tower of dark stone looming above him, its peak lost in the sky. Willum looked from the precipice of a tall cliff, the salt spray stinging his face as the waves crashed below.  

Session Log - Meridas

Meridas Starlight - day unknown. I've somewhat lost count at this point. The High Inquisitor won't like that, but the old dear can adjust her records after she has to travel through a tunnel for consecutive days.   We've just fought a giant rock monster, which was not exactly in my wheelhouse. I believe my compatriots see me as confident in dealing with such matters, but I hate to admit that I am starting to feel... outpaced. The threats I am used to dealing with are often human in nature. Powerful wizards, deadly cults - but rarely monsters. And yet, we seem to be encountering them. And these... soulless creations. They aren't human, and I can't fight them on that level.   In doing so, I've identified one potential flaw in how our organisation does business: we are so often fighting alone. Granted, we'll all get together if there is a particularly powerful mage. But we are, for the most part, casters, sleuths and spies. This is not a bad thing, per se, but it leaves us without versatility.   Everyone in this group so far has been instrumental in dealing with such threats. Tawny's connection with the divine and unerring aim. Odhran's steadfast shield. Avina's arcane prowess. And Willum - I am so, so glad we have someone as physically capable as he is on the team. And his cooking is not bad too.   We are entering a modern age of magic, I just know it. The chains of old oppression will be cast off, others will be enlightened, and we will begin to thrive and better deal with the Nightfall's threats. Not by rejecting its gifts, but by embracing them. Even firearms, although I am loath to admit it, better arm the common man against the tyrants and creatures of this world.   As this happens, we need to diversify. We could learn something from our cousins here in Eorin, but maybe we should build something... better than a military. A guild, perhaps?   This would, of course, necessitate a step into the spotlight. It is one thing for the monarchies to turn away and whistle. It is another for them to start acknowledging us publicly. Acknowledging that dirala can be useful to the common man, rather than something to sneer at.   But maybe if there had been more of us. A wider pool of talent. Maybe Oberon wouldn't have   I'm getting sentimental. That probably means it's time for bed.

— Meridas Starlight