Lunar: Magic Empire Session 77 Log ============================================================ Cast of Characters: Rune as "GM/Narrator, Par, the bush, Voice/Anti-Kadan, ~Earendil, ~Tarrant, and ~Valina" Seath as "Earendil" GORN as "Rein" Hahn as "Kadan" Aes as "Valina" Mia Ausa as "Geint" SOLaike as "Tarrant" Dyne as "Arzel" Ayeye as "Ayeye" ============================================================ GMRune: -------game on-------- Kadan appears in a braced position, not liking the sensation of teleportation. GMRune: The party appears from the white swirl of the Dragon Wings' magic. You find yourselves beside a gigantic stone edifice. It has the vague appearnce of being a castle, however it is unlike any castle you have ever seen before for it is seemingly hewn straight from the mountain stone itself. A ring of large rough stones stands near the base of the fearsome shadowcat lair. There do not appear to be any doors. Kadan looks up at the mountain curiously, still not fully understanding this place. Ayeye runs around looking for a door. "Hello?" Kadan: So here we are, huh? ... Well, we know this mask isn't working properly, so I'll go see what I can do about it inside. It might be dangerous, so I don't expect any of you to come with me. GMRune: The sky above you is that of late afternoon. GMRune: There does not appear to be a door leading into the castle, much like the last time you came here. Rein raps on the wall. "I wonder how they built this... did someone really carve it out?" Kadan shakes his head, looking dejectedly at the ground. "There's a lot I don't know about this place... or who I am, Rein. Not too long ago I was pretty content with myself. Sure a lot of bad things have happened, but magic hunting made me feel good. Now I'm not so sure what I want." Ayeye: I don't know... but I really prefer doors to this thing... it is... weird... Geint has her hands pehind her back and is glancing around, waiting to move. Kadan: I'm not sure what magic is anymore. It's not necessarily evil, and I don't think it comes from Althena either, or else mine... wouldn't exist... I just know certain people abuse it. That's all. I still want to fight, but my heart isn't entirely in it. I hope I can find something that'll clear my confusion here, then I can concentrate wholly on the mission at hand." Ayeye: You will find whatever you are looking for, I know it... Kadan: If you guys head to Lentol, I'm sure you could find a safe place to rest with my friends there. I'll meet up with you tomorrow probably, maybe a couple days. It's not fair of me to ask any of you to come in here, as I don't know what will happen. Ayeye: No, I want to go with you. Kadan: Last time I came in here, my vision of the shadows took form without me even trying. I wouldn't want any of you in danger. Kadan gives Ayeye a rare expression that doesn't look annoyed like he usually does. "You... well, why do you want to, Ayeye?" Rein looks around at the other party members. Geint shrugs. ~Earendil casually slings the Whtie Dragon Wings into a holder on his back. Ayeye: Err... because... I don't want to lose you in there... Kadan: Well... I guess it's just as dangerous for me as it for anyone else. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to have a helping hand... I'll try to protect you, Ayeye. Will the rest of you be alright? Ayeye smiles at Kadan. "And I will try to protect you." Geint: .....Hmm? So are we going in now? Par nods. "We'll be fine. I think we cleared out the worst of the danger the last time we were here." Rein: Did you really think we were going to let you go alone at this point Kadan? Kadan nods. "Very well. Just watch your backs. The Shadowcats are different from most creatures. They... well, I guess I should say... we... are rarely seen before we act. Kadan: I guess you're right, Rein. I should know you guys better. Just... try not to get into any trouble, and don't break anything. And don't forget I'm in command of this mission! Kadan shakes his head for a bit, then turns around and walks into the entrance. Ayeye follows Kadan closely. GMRune: Seams appear within the blank granite wall where there were none before, forming an entrance upon Kadan's approach. A massive shape more than eight men wide and five high melts into existence. The "doors" yawn to either side of the opening, revealing the musty darkness within. The long passageway ahead is only sparsely dotted with enchanted torchs and stretches deeper inside than you can see. Many wooden doors lead off from each side of the passage. They are all closed. Like the exterior, the inside of the lair appears to be made of a single piece of stone. Kadan closes his eyes and tries to remember which way he entered last time. GMRune: Kadan begins to concentrate, and the Shadowcat Mask on his face glows with a soft red light. Kadan hustles down the hallway and opens the door on the left side, second from the end. Par oogles and chases after Kadan. O_o Ayeye tries to keep up with Kadan. "Wait for me!" Kadan: Hey, I didn't ask any of you to come. Ya gotta keep up! Geint follows along with everyone else. Ayeye smiles and runs right up to his side, from there, keeping pace with him. "Well, you could have warned us at least." GMRune: The door opens to reveal a modest-sized firepit, with a couple ready made spits standing nearby. There is a larder and several cabinets lining the room and a large black cauldron in one of the chamber's corners. A ventilation shaft rises above the firepit, presumably leading to open air. Kadan: Hmm... Kadan: Nope. Kadan exits and opens the second-to-end right side door. ~Tarrant catches up with the party significantly later. Ayeye stays alongside Kadan as he moves around. "No sight seeing today?" Rein considers taking a look at what's in the pot, but decides he'd better keep up. GMRune: This room is empty, made of unbroken solid stone like the rest of the castle. There is a worn carpert covering the main section of the room, but the colors and smudged and its pattern has faded with time. Geint makes sure Arzel is keeping up and gives him a glance. =b Kadan: This isn't right... I can't hear any of the departed Shadowcat spirits here. Kadan exits and goes to the nondescript door at the very end. Par takes in a deep beath from all the running. "Maybe they're taking the day off." Kadan: Oh, it's good for you, Par. You mage boys all need some cardiovascular work. GMRune: The door at the very end of the long passageway is unremarkable in appearance, but you remember passing through here before. Geint: ;b Kadan handles his mask. "Those tunnels... I heard them there before..." Kadan goes through the door. Rein follows Par: Tunnels? What tunnels? Kadan shakes his head. "You weren't there." GMRune: The door swings open easily, revealing a small, almost cozy room behind. There's a stairwell at the far end of the room, which is otherwise unfurnished. No ghostly images light this chamber this time. Ayeye looks at the passageway as she passes through with Kadan, "Sort of non-descript, I would have expected more." Kadan reflexively falls to one knee. "Not this room again..." Geint looks around. Arzel folds his arms into his robes. GMRune: The room is somewhat dusty, covering the footprints you left before. Kadan holds the sides of his head. "No... No! Kate, I was so close! You didn't even know I was watching, but I could have done something... Anything... but I was too afraid... Even though you're the one that told me not to fear anything... Why was I such a coward...?" Rein mumbles, "Maybe we should keep moving..." Ayeye stands beside Kadan. "Kadan? It is alright..." Geint: .... Kadan 's other knee slumps to the ground. "Why do I have to see that memory again...? I tried so hard to move on..." Kadan finally reaches some clarity and shakes his head, then tries to stand up. Geint bites her bottom lip. =| Ayeye watches Kadan with a concerned look. "Are you going to be alright?" Kadan: I've just... tried so hard not to make any more true friends after that. I was afraid that a moment of fear might cost somebody their life like it did that day... ... Listen to me, using the word 'afraid' again. What happened to the hunter I used to be?" Ayeye looks around at the group. "I hate to say it, but you failed...you have true friends, and no reason to fear..." Rein nodnods. Kadan shakes his head. "Kate taught me the only person looking out for you is you, but she was always there for me. I guess she didn't really mean it either. I wonder if things would have been different if we could have only learned the truth about our family before that... stupid, senseless day." Kadan bows his head. "I'm sorry... I just needed to get that out. That's why I've been so cold around Earendil and Valina ever since the Blue Dragon Cave." Arzel: Humans try to bury painful memories Kadan, we beleive it makes us feel better, but it only compounds our problems. Geint sniffs. ;_; Kadan: Ever since that day, I've wished constantly for a way to see Kate again or a way to go back in time to replay that moment. When Valina was killed, I sympathized with Earendil, but to have her life breathed back into her so easily, I felt nothing but envy and rage at why some get to live while others die. Who decides this anyway? Who's to say that certain people are better than others? Who made the rules?" Ayeye lowers her head. "Sorry... I see how hard it would be... I...don't know... I wish I could help you." Kadan: I'm beginning to realize that my gripe is with someone else, but not with Valina or Earendil. I'm sorry... maybe it's not a gripe at all. I shouldn't be complaining. I should just walk forward and do the best I can do. It's the only way to keep a grip on myself." Kadan walks up the staircase in the far side of the chamber. Ayeye looks up at the departing Kadan. "If I may ask...who?" Kadan: ... Circumstance. Ayeye looks confused for a moment. "Oh..." GMRune: The staircase spirals upward, carrying you several yards above the ground. There is a branching leading out into the hallway of the second floor, and the stairs themselves continue up even further. Ayeye quickly follows after Kadan. Arzel follows after, a bit behind. Kadan: I refuse to believe we're just acting out some pre-destined parts handed down to us by a distant Goddess or some ethereal fates. It's all just stupid luck and chaos. Nothing has any meaning. Ayeye: You do not believe in fate, but you believe in luck? Kadan shakes his head. "Everything is just chance. Who meets who, who lives, who dies... Kate was right. The only person looking out for me is me... Now, anyway." Kadan looks at the floor. Rein: I can see why you're... reluctant to follow Althena's way if you've seen her like that, Kadan. Geint: -_-; Kadan: The second level... Have I been here before? Ayeye looks at Kadan. "I am looking out for you... for what it is worth..." GMRune: Kadan's Shadowcat Mask glows red once more. Kadan: We'll check out this floor. Kadan proceeds along the second level. ~Valina: But we've already been through here... GMRune: Much like on the first floor, there are many doors to either side of the passageway, totaling in almost twenty altogether. Several of the doors are open, revealing rooms full of beds; communal sleeping chambers. Kadan takes a quick peek in the nearest shut door. GMRune: Kadan finds another communal sleeping room. It does not appear to have been disturbed for decades. Thick dust covers each one of the dozen beds and the few sturdy trunks that much have housed personal belongings. Kadan: This is creepy... I wonder if... other shadowcats slept here? What happened to them all? Kadan casually walks down the hall, inspecting each room for any that are unusual or have other passages within them. Rein: They must have been pretty easy-going... or just fought with each other all the time Rein: If they're like humans, I mean... GMRune: Each of the doors reveal more communal rooms, though the two at the furthest end are much smaller and have several small pens in them. In a small shelf by one of the pens you find what appears to be many wooden toys. GMRune: One of the communal rooms seems to have been lived in more recently than the others. Kadan: Hmm... Kadan saunters into the room and performs a search. Rein looks at the toys. GMRune: The room appears to have been searched before because there is nothing new to be found. Kadan rubs his chin. "Hmm..." Kadan: If someone has been in here, then the shadows will have seen them. I'll ask them. GMRune: The toys are composed of small multi-jointed dolls of cats, humans, and catman as well as building blocks and small wooden wagons. Ayeye: You can talk to shadows... Rein pockets one. GMRune: Rein acquires Shadowcat Doll. Kadan touches his forehead. "Oh... yes, of course. Garreth. Let's move on." Kadan exits and goes toward the staircase. Kadan: Ayeye, what was in that backpack anyway? Ayeye: What? Oh... some leaves or something... I don't remember... The bush slobbers in agreement. Kadan peers up and ascends to the third level. GMRune: The hallway on third floor extends to the left and to the right of you. A short distance ahead is a pair of partially opened silvery doors. They enscribed with runes and various designs of furry humanoids with feline heads and tails. Beyond them you can see a large squarish chamber with a high vaulted ceiling. Kadan closes his eyes. "Those doors... look familiar." Kadan looks to the left and right to try and spot any suspicious looking doors or entryways. GMRune: Each of the passages to the left and right continue on for a short distance before turning and going forward. Kadan: Hmm... I wonder... Kadan goes down the left path and peers around the corner. Kadan disappears around the left corner, going to the end room to investigate. Rein looks at the rest of the party. Par shrugs and follows after Kadan. Ayeye shrugs and dashes after Kadan. Rein: Should we follow him? What's he doing.... Rein follows Ayeye ~Earendil: Whatever it is, he hasn't been telling us. GMRune: The party finds Kadan in a small dusty room adorned only by a single large cabinet. Kadan paws through the cabinet. Ayeye: Kadan? GMRune: The cabinet is empty. Some of you seem to remember getting some spears and halberds here; unusual weapons made for someone with the size and girth of the shadowcats. Kadan shrugs and sprints out of the room, returning the stairwell. Kadan stops for just a moment before heading around the right corner. Par oogles a bit. O_o o_O Then reluctantly trudges after Kadan. Ayeye keeps alongside Kadan. "Any idea where you are going?" Kadan shouts back while running. "Don't worry. I'm being systematic about this. Just keep up." GMRune: There is another small dusty room with an open door at the end of the right passageway. Kadan hurries into the room and searches. GMRune: You find a small and neatly organized room. You see a large bedframe, a desk, and a trunk. The wood is extraordinarily well-preserved on all of them, without any signs of decay. GMRune: The trunk is open. Kadan examines the desk. GMRune: There is a set of writing quills and an inkwell on the desk. Geint follows along. She looks to Arzel. Kadan: Hmm... Kadan checks the trunk to see if anything is inside. Arzel doesn't notice Geint, immersed in his own thoughts. GMRune: The trunk is unsurprisingly empty. Kadan: Hmm... Kadan stops for a moment, even looking a little disappointed. "Then I guess the only thing that remains is..." Kadan skulks back through the hall, almost bowling over Tarrant before he returns to the staircase. ~Tarrant stumbles out of the way. Geint follows Kadan. =b Kadan stops and looks into the vaulted chamber ahead, then takes off his mask and examines it, running his gloved fingers over the textures carefully. Kadan: ... Warm...? Why? Must be... Kadan closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before slowly walking into the vaulted chamber. GMRune: In the very center of this chamber is a small marble pedastal surrounded by a blue ring and a larger red ring. There is no longer anything on the pedastal, but you can clearly remember that battle that had taken place here. Rein fiddles with his Shadowcat doll. Kadan stops for a moment and groans slightly, as if feeling something. GMRune: Rein discovers that if he rearranges the limbs the right way he can get the doll to change shape from a cat to a human and in between. Kadan instinctively reaches for his mask and places it on the alter delicately. "I have come, ancestors who departed from this world. What would you have of me? The climax of a great conflict draws near, and your presence needs to show itself in this world once again. Please... give me some direction..." GMRune: Kadan's mask flares with a red light, dissolving everything around you into darkness. You all feel yourselves sinking, as though there is no floor beneath you. Kadan seems comforted rather than startled by the loss of light. GMRune: After a short while your feet touch something solid, and with that feeling the area around you begins to light up. You find yourselves in a small circular stone chamber. In front of you is a long passage leading out, and elsewhere you are surrounded by three continuous stone walls. GMRune: Red eyes glow softly in the darkness of the passage ahead of you, then dwindle away. Rein grabs the nearest person to him. GMRune: Rein gets a firm hold on Tarrant. Kadan calms himself and eagerly awaits anything that is about to happen. Ayeye tries to be comforted by the fact that Kadan is not nervous, "W-what is going on?" Kadan: Just relax. I don't think they have any reason to hurt you. Kadan: They're dead, after all. Kadan: None of you have been here before. Just be silent and don't meddle with anything. Kadan marches slow and calmly forward. Ayeye walks nervously along side Kadan. "If you say so..." Kadan: Don't fear what you don't know. GMRune: As you go through the stone passageway, you see it ends in a two way division. There is a brass plaque on the wall. It reads: "When evil and ignorance gathers it is easy to say one fights for what is right. But what *is* right?" GMRune: A wooden sign saying "justice" adorns the passage to the left. A similar sign saying "truth" is hung beside the right. Kadan examines the signs. "I've been here before... but... I'm not the same person I was back then. My travels have changed me... Who am I now...?" Ayeye looks at the signs. "Truth... at least, I believe in truth..." Geint decides against giving her input. =b Rein realizes this is Kadan's choice. Kadan closes his eyes and concentrates. Kadan: Justice... fights those who follow the path of evil... but the truth keeps people off the path to begin with... Kadan closes his eyes and almost hypnotically follows the right path. Rein nods. Geint follows after Kadan. GMRune: You travel a short distance, and then hear a loud grating sound behind you. A large stone wall lowers solidly into place, cutting you off from where you were earlier. Kadan doesn't seem to notice the stone. GMRune: Further down the way, you find a second division. Again a there is a sign hanging on the wall between the two paths. This second plaque, a bronze one, reads: "Destiny chooses what will happen and when it will. Is it a trap, a blessing, or both?" Rein looks back at the stone with alarm. GMRune: Additional signs saying "both" leads up, "trap" leads to the right, and "blessing" leads to the left. GMRune: The sign for the upper passage has a ladder beside it, leading up through a hole in the ceiling. Kadan squints, a familiar expression of a pained memory. Kadan: The fates measure the thread of life... It is the same fate that weaves it to begin with, and snips it at the end. Kadan calmly starts to ascend the ladder. GMRune: The ladder brings the party up to a new passageway that continues straight ahead of them. Once you have passed a certain distance away then you hear the grating sound as a new wall slides into place behind you. Kadan is not fazed by the crashing wall. GMRune: Soon a copper plaque arises at yet another two way division, saying: "The perils you have seen have been fearsome, and those ahead more fearsome still. Why then do you fight?" GMRune: A wooden sign with the words "because it is right" lies on the left, and a sign with the words "because I believe in myself" is on the right. Kadan: The world has no 'right'. Every person perceives it differently, and no notion can guide everyone. All the light and shadow we live in is ultimately in our own domain. Our entire world is a sum of the light in our eyes, the sound in our ears, and the thoughts in our minds... What more can a person do but to stand for what they are... Kadan goes down the right passage. Geint follows. GMRune: A third grate announces the closing of the third wall. This one seems to have fallen a little sooner than the others. It's not long before you find a silver sign between two paths. GMRune: The plaque reads: "Powerful magic created this world, and powerful magic will destroy it. What then is the fate of magic?" GMRune: Glowing words on the left read "to be curbed, to be regulated". And the words on the right say "to be destroyed when it at last grows too great". Kadan squints with obvious pain, showing this question piercing deep into his mind. Kadan falters to one knee. "What... am I? A magic user hunting magic...? I... I know the answer, but why is it buried so deep...?" Kadan: How can I fight while believing in myself, accepting destiny as both an enemy and ally, and believing in truth over justice if I don't even know what I am...? Kadan clenches his forehead with obvious distress. "How can I condone the force that robbed me of my sister? How can I condemn the force that has saved the lives of myself and others?" Rein looks away. Ayeye mumbles, "It wasn't magic that did it... magic is just a tool..." Kadan: How can one measure the good and bad caused by it? Magic .... it is... the distilled essence of fate... of destiny. Pure potential. Pure imagination wrested by the will of man to re-write a page of fate. Weaving a new section or tearing an old one in the tapestry of existence... Creating the tapestry in the first place... Kadan: What's behind it? The color of magic is observed through the lens of he who uses it... This power over fate MUST exist unless we are to be mere slaves of destiny. The force that gave birth to this world CANNOT die, no matter how many lives it takes, for without it, those lives would be condemned to follow the pages written for them... Rein looks back with surprise. Kadan eventually stands up. "Magic should not be destroyed. All this time I have been mistaken. Even the magic within me has not convinced me of this until now. My hunt was misguided..." Geint: O_o Kadan: It is not the magic itself, but the vessel through which is it conducted that is to be addressed. Manipulation of fate can save or destroy us, and it the abuse that must be avenged, for the sake of all who cannot fight for themselves. With this critical juncture approaching, we're the only ones that can do it! Ayeye looks at Kadan with something approaching confusion. Kadan: Having a future whose outcome is uncertain is the only reason to be alive, isn't it? With the Empire oppressing humanity, the future is bleak and offers little hope. What choice have we but to restore the possibilities for the future of this planet? Ayeye: You are... right? Kadan: The fates must not be cast in stone, but neither should they be burned. They should be firm, yet yielding. A balance is to be sought... Kadan goes down the left path. Ayeye stands back in confusion for a moment. "What did he say?" GMRune: As the party follows Kadan, a fourth wall grinds into place behind them. GMRune: A golden plaque appears at the end of the hall. There is no exit that you can see, simply a dead end. The plaque simply reads, "What will you sacrifice to win?" Kadan stands and shivers with a slight chill at the gold plaque. "Sacrifice..." Kadan looks down solemnly and sincerely contemplates what he could possibly have left that would be worth anything to anyone. Kadan: But I don't have anything left in this world... Kadan suddenly realizes that may be the answer. GMRune: If that is the answer, the stone walls are very silent. Kadan: This planet... Yes... my new friends, my home... If I could secure a future for those unable to fight, and release this world from the grip of those who would abuse fate, I would bid farewell to this planet. There is nothing more for me here. I don't care where I go or what happens to me after that. Voice: Coming down on yourself a bit hard there, aren't you? Kadan: I think perhaps I was born in the wrong time, or maybe the perfect one. Fate is... funny that way. Ayeye bits her lip and tries to stay silent... GMRune: The wall with the plaque grates, lifting upward to reveal a small chamber decorated in red and gold. Kadan looks up and around, wondering what it came from. GMRune: There are nine figures cloaked in black standing before an altar in the small room. Kadan opens his mouth and peers in with fascinated curiosity. "Whu...?" GMRune: One of them steps forward. "We walk the echoes of the past, speak with the ghosts of the future. And thus we know what you, what all of you, could have become should you have taken different paths. We, are your final test." Kadan: You are... GMRune: The figure's voice is deep, and timorous, and unspeakably familiar, for the voice had spoken to you all along your journey through this maze. Kadan: If I... If we had followed different paths...? Kadan: Who...? GMRune: The figure draws back its hood and reveals Kadan's own face. Its companions reveal themselves as well, showing the faces of the other party members. Anti-Kadan: Can you defeat yourselves? Kadan takes a deep breath, mildly confused. GMRune: ---------end session---------