Lunar: Magic Empire Session 87 Log ============================================================ Cast of Characters: Rune as "GM/Narrator, Nightmare, Figure/Zara, and Trevor" 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-------- The Nightmare leads the party out of Nissa's temple in the Urdian world of Maharahd. He head is carried low, and he has an air of quiet about him. Valina walks next to the Nightmare. Kadan remains silent. GMRune: Once outside, the Nightmare raises his flaming eyes to the village square and a light begins to shine about it. It is roughly at shoulder height for now, but it continues to grow brightly and beckon to you. Rein eyes the Nightmare warily but follows. The Nightmare gestures his head towards the growing light. "That. When it opens it will be the gate back to your world. But I am afraid your quest will only become more difficult upon your return. Many sacrifices are going to be made." Ayeye: Sacrifices? More? What? Valina: But we know what we need to do... The Nightmare's eyes glow hotly. "There will be more. But not of you. I think that you and your friends have given enough. It is others now who must lift up the burden so that it becomes easiest for all of Lunar." Ayeye: Oh... Ayeye looks into the light. "Goodbye..." Valina walks with Earendil now. Ayeye: I take it we will not see you again? The Nightmare bows his head to Ayeye. "Take care, young one. You know your past now." Kadan: Ayeye... Nightmare: I doubt it. I will remain in this world. I cannot leave it. Valina pets the Nightmare one last time. Valina: Thank you. Rein fidgets, anxious to be gone from this place. Ayeye sighs. "Goodbye then... I will remember you... and... this world... my world..." The Nightmare noses Ayeye gently. "Do not forget. Sometimes it is the worst thing to forget." Ayeye stares at the light for a moment before dashing into it. GMRune: The light whirls open in a vast tunnel bridging the boundary between worlds. You cannot see the end of the light, only that it is growing in distance before you, creating the path through which you can return to Lunar. Kadan follows the path. Earendil goes forward. Rein wastes no time. Geint thinks about stuff and goes, too. GMRune: As the party heads through the path to Lunar, the tunnel closes behind you as a mesh of darkness, perhaps forever sealing away the world of Maharahd. Ahead of you the light comes closer. It shines of marble and crystal, the fabric of the Goddess Tower. But there is a figure standing in the tunnel between you and Lunar. You can cannot see its face because of the light behind it, but it appears to be that of a woman. Valina follows Earendil. Kadan: ...? Who's there? Ayeye looks at the other party members and then steps forward. "Hello." Valina: Oh my. Earendil: Who is it? The figure steps forward, the light changing to reveal a face of hardened features surrounded by a mane of red hair pulled back into a braid. Ayeye: Oh... Zara: You have turned against us. Here in this limbo between worlds I have one last chance to see my people earn the home they deserve. Ayeye: I have not turned against you... Kadan: Zara, you don't understand. Ayeye has no treachery in her heart. Rein gazes past Zara to the Goddess Tower beyond. Zara: I once said this world could be our salvation. You have now seen what it was like where I once lived. You know what I lived through before I saw this world you call Lunar! Ayeye lowers her head. "Yes..." GMRune: The view past Zara appears to be that of the inner sanctum. However you cannot see the Goddess from where the tunnel is facing. Ayeye: I have not betrayed you... Zara: Then why do you aim to stop Lord Kargeth? He will give our people the world they deserve. Valina: He'll destroy the world! Kadan: Kargeth doesn't respect anyone but himself. Ayeye stands tall in front of Zara. "Because he is doing it the wrong way!" Valina: Is that what the people of our world deserve? Zara snarls. "How? There is not enough room for both our people. Their world was nearly destroyed and they stole the life of ours to allow their's to survive. They should be dead by rights!" Kadan: I don't agree with Althena's methods any more than you do, Zara, but what you propose is too rash. You have already made up your mind against native Lunarians. Ayeye looks Zara in the eyes. "They were wrong, but killing them for it is not right! I doubt that the people who did it are still around anyway..." Rein alternates between glancing darkly at Zara and trying to see past. Ayeye: Zara, to let Kargeth do what he wishes would make us no better than them... Zara: Perhaps they are not. But all of our people still are! Do you know what it is like to not have a place for your soul to rest after death? Without our god and trapped in this world there is no place for us to go. Althena will not shelter us." Zara laughes darkly. "But that is no longer." Zara: Only the strong survive, daughter. That is the lesson this Althena has taught us. Kadan: What Althena did wasn't right, but neither is punishing mortals for her actions. Ayeye: There must be a better way... Ayeye: There has to be a better way... Ayeye: I will find a way... Zara laughs again. "Perhaps, but you are too late. When you opened the tome Nissa passed from Maharahd to Lunar! We will take back the life you stole and we will be able to live like a comfortable people again." Zara: I am afraid that if you wish to pass, you will have to defeat me first. I do not want to fight you Ayeye, but you leave me little choice. Ayeye: Oh... not good... well, if that is true, then why are you here? Ayeye: That answers that question... Kadan: Nissa is where?! Ayeye: Err... I would rather not... You are misguided, but not evil... Zara smiles evilly. "Nissa is in your world. Nissa has come to Lunar." Zara lifts her hand and her spear jerks from Ayeye's side and through the air. Zara catches the weapon neatly and brings it to bear on the party. "Fight or die, Ayeye. There has never been another way of life for our people!" GMRune: -----round 1----- GMRune: target: Zara Ayeye equips her new claws. "If I must... I am sorry." Rein whips out his sparklies. GMRune: Ayeye leaps forward and attacks Zara! GMRune: attack 1: *critical* 109 damage GMRune: attack 2: *critical* 57 damage GMRune: Valina lifts her new sabre and uses Power Strike on Zara! GMRune: 592 damage! Valina: Ha! Valina: I love this new sword. ^_^ GMRune: Kadan uses Ancestral Call! The Shadowcat magics glows with savage red light as he summons the energies of shadowcats long past. Magic gathers itself from his party members (everyone save Kadan loses 50 MP) to enhance all of Kadan's stats by 343! GMRune: Zara lunges forward with her spear and attacks Earendil! Valina: HEY! GMRune: attack 1: 39 damage GMRune: Zara then turns and attacks Valina. GMRune: attack 2: 198 damage GMRune: Finally Zara attacks Kadan. GMRune: attack 3: miss Valina: Argh! GMRune: Zara lifts her spear skyward and uses White Heat! The party is blasted by immense balls of fire! Valina: Ahhh! GMRune: Ayeye is struck for 224 damage! Valina is struck for 426 damage! Kadan is struck for 366 damage! Rein is struck for 327 damage! Geint is aligned with fire and struck for 1 damage! Earendil is struck for 445 damage! Arzel is aligned with fire and is struck for 1 damage! Tarrant is struck for 1 damage! Kadan: Ga Kadan: G Kadan: G'ahh... Valina: AHHH GMRune: Ayeye is knocked out. Valina sreams in pain. Ayeye falls to the ground. "You...cheated..." GMRune: Zara casts Fire Soul on herself. Zara becomes aligned with fire. GMRune: Rein casts Calm Litany over the party! Everyone gains 306 hp or goes to max. Valina: Thanks, Rein! Rein nods. GMRune: Geint uses Strong Grip! Her attack power increases by 102! GMRune: Earendil uses Power Strike on Zara! GMRune: 642 damage! GMRune: Arzel uses Pulse Laser on Zara! Beams of light appear and concentrate themselves on her! GMRune: 152 damage! GMRune: Tarrant casts Vine Scourge! A plantlike tendril whips out of nowhere to strike Zara! GMRune: 884 damage! GMRune: -----round 2------ GMRune: Valina uses Power Strike again! GMRune: 636 damage! GMRune: Kadan attacks Zara! GMRune: attack 1: 978 damage GMRune: attack 2: 868 damage GMRune: attack 3: 783 damage GMRune: Zara casts Ice Sword on Arzel! GMRune: 657 damage! GMRune: Zara uses Hypothermia on the party! GMRune: Waves of cold spread out over the party. GMRune: Valina, Kadan, Geint, and Earendil are frozen stiff with paralysis! GMRune: Zara attacks Kadan! GMRune: attack 1: miss GMRune: Zara attacks Earendil! GMRune: attack 2: 1 damage Kadan takes a moment to convulse in recognition of how well he can avoid attacks while numb. GMRune: attack 3: 52 damage Rein prepares a never-before-seen kind of sparklie. GMRune: Rein uses Movement Litany on the front row! All four paralyzed people are free of paralysis! GMRune: Geint leaps in the air, swinging out her morning star with a Shatter Blow! GMRune: 1207 damage! GMRune: Earendil uses Power Strike on Zara! GMRune: 646 damage! GMRune: Arzel casts Healing Litany on himself! He gains 405 hp. GMRune: Tarrant casts Pegasus Wind! An ethereal forest springs up about the party and Zara, bringing with it the warm, moist scent of the morning dew and the chill of the spring breeze. Ghostly shapes of winged white horses stream through the translucent trees and sail straight through Zara's spirit! GMRune: 2242 damage! GMRune: ------round 3------ GMRune: Valina uses Power Strike on Zara! GMRune: 570 damage! GMRune: Kadan attacks Zara! GMRune: attack 1: *critical* 1482 damage GMRune: attack 2: 832 damage GMRune: attack 3: 856 damage GMRune: Zara casts Ice Sword on Tarrant! GMRune: 381 damage! GMRune: Zara casts White Heat over the party! Valina: Ahhh not again! GMRune: Valina takes 484 damage and is knocked out! Kadan takes 424 damage! Rein takes 385 damage! Geint is aligned with fire and takes 1 damage! Earendil takes 503 damage! Arzel is algined with fire and takes 1 damage! Tarrant takes 1 damage! GMRune: Zara uses Cancellation! All stat ups are lost. GMRune: Rein casts Calm Litany over the party! GMRune: Everyone gains 288 hp! Rein struggles to keep up with Zara's damage spells. GMRune: Geint uses Shatter Blow on Zara! GMRune: 1105 damage! GMRune: Earendil uses Power Strike on Zara! GMRune: 642 damage! GMRune: Arzel casts Calm Litany over the party! Everyone gains 391 hp or goes to max! GMRune: Tarrant casts Pegasus Wind! Again again the fey forest springs into being, bringing with it the mythical winged beasts which soar through Zara's spirit with chilling precision. GMRune: 2526 damage! GMRune: Zara's spirit screams and fades away. GMRune: ------victory!------ Geint blinks. Valina wakes up. Rein casts health litany a couple times, trying to bring everyone up to full. GMRune: Valina and Ayeye wake up with 1 hp. GMRune: The party earns 2100 XP, 1498 MEXP, and 0 S. Tarrant is recovering his strength as his vigor returns. Ayeye cautiously stands up, brushing off a few ashes from the fires. "I could have handled her..." GMRune: Rein casts Heal Aura twice. The party is healed a total of 612 hp each. GMRune: The way to the Goddess Tower is now open to you. Kadan shakes his head. "I used to think force was the only way to achieve peace as well." Ayeye: I hope it is not. Valina stands by Earendil. Geint pokes Valina. Tarrant: Well, shall we enter? Rein hurries through the far end of the portal. Kadan goes with Rein. Valina talks to Geint. GMRune: The party exits the transdimensional tunnel and enter the top floor of the Goddess Tower. Gausuton's body is no longer in the chamber. Neither is the Goddess Althena imprisoned where she used to be. GMRune: The tunnel closes behind you. Kadan: Hmm... Ayeye waits after everyone else has left, and looks upward. "I will do as I promised, Zara, I will find another way..." Ayeye dashes after the rest of the party. Ayeye: This is probably not good... Geint looks around nerviously a bit, but otherwise doesn't react much to the situation. Geint seems to have other concerns. Rein hurries over to the wall where the Goddess used to hang out. GMRune: The wall is quite bare. There are not even residual traces of energy. Kadan: This is out of my league. I can't tell exactly what happened here. Rein shakes his head in confusion. Geint finishes talking to Valina and paces around a bit, looking here and there. Earendil: So, where did she go? Geint: ...Where is she... I don't feel anything like I did before... Arzel looks oddly at Geint, then goes back to staring at nothing in particular Geint: Like it's hidden... Yes. That's what it feels like... Valina: I dont like this... Earendil: Like what's hidden? Geint: Althena's energy...... or maybe even her herself... GMRune: The tome, the one that opened at the touch of the pendant bearers, is still lying on the floor. Earendil: But isn't that impossible? Geint: I don't know!! Arzel: Nothing is impossible, Earendil.. Geint: I wish I understood this more..... Maybe.... *Trails off and thinks of something else* Earendil starts sounding angry. "But we came so far . . . and I want answers." Rein approaches the book, and examines it. Geint: I have one last idea... Arzel laughs quietly to himself and continues to stare into nothingness. Ayeye: What is it, Geint? Earendil: Yes? Geint looks down. "Well. Maybe another dragon would be able to help us a bit more..." GMRune: The book is lying open and face down on the floor. Geint looks back up. Ayeye: Who? Geint then brings her hand to her face and looks at her ring. Earendil: Quark? Valina: Quark! Geint: Yes... Kadan: ... Geint: Now I'm going to make up my mind. He asked me something. Geint: And we need him. Geint: And so... Geint looks over to Arzel. Earendil looks intently at Geint. Arzel stops staring at nothing and looks at Geint. Geint: Well.... He said he could only come if I gave him the ring... and he gave me an option and said I should think about it. And I did. Geint: So now I'm going to summon him and give him the ring. But before I do.... just in case.... I should do something.... Geint walks over to Arzel... Arzel looks at Geint with a questioning look. Geint then throws her arms around Arzel and gives him a big kiss! Valina: ^_^ Arzel looks shocked, but doesn't protest. Earendil: O_o; Valina: Well Geint... that was effective. ^_^ Valina: Not as subtle as I imagined ... but effective! Rein continues to study the book. Geint finishes and backs off, her cheeks reddened. Arzel blushes slightly, and remains quiet. Earendil: Um . . . Rein: This is totally blank... hey... what's eveyone staring at? Geint: Okay. *looks down, blushing cootly* Now I'll do what I must. *Takes a step back* Geint tries to remember what Quark said to do... O_o; Geint raises her gaze again and stands up straight! She raises her hand with the ring to the sky and with her other hand slips it off and holds it with both hands above her head. After doing so she shouts, "Quark!! I have made my decision! Please come to help us in our battle!" Geint closes her eyes and waits. Rein holds the book awkwardly at his side and watches Geint. GMRune: The ring shines with a white light, then the ring slips from Geint's hands to hover in the air before the party. Geint reverts to her pink "air bunny" form. A figure of light then forms around the ring, so that it rests on the hand of a human figure. GMRune: The light recedes... revealing an oddly familiar figure. Trevor. Kadan: ... What? Ayeye: Err... I would not have expected this... Valina: Trevor... Trevor looks around at the party and then at Geint. "I see you made up your mind, Magintna." He face is quite solemn, not at all like Quark's. Earendil: I have sort of suspected this. Rein swallows hard. Geint nods to Quark. "Yes." Geint: So can you tell us where the goddess is? Trevor nods and looks to the members of the party. "Sorry about deceiving you all this time, but it is not easy for a dragon to outwardly meddle in human affairs." Valina: O_O Valina is surprized she didn't make the connection earlier. Kadan: So you are... Kadan squints at Trevor. Trevor: The goddess rests. You have been gone for a long time. We dragons are shielding her from being found. Ayeye: How long? Earendil: And how do I go to her? Geint hears her slightly changed voice and looks at herself sitting on the floor. "Oh right..." She takes to the air and flaps at eye level. Kadan: This is amazing. Why did you come to our aid so many times, Trevor? Trevor turns to Kadan and smiles. "I am the dragon Quark, who you met in the white dragon cave when you came to purify the Dragon equipment. But when I use this form I prefer to go by Trevor. I have built something of a name up around this character." Valina: .... Valina: Long time? Valina: How long? Rein lowers his head in deference. Arzel slowly draws his hood back over his head. Trevor shrugs. "I believe you have been away from this world for about a week. It was only a few days ago that Shea found the Goddess here and Gausuton dead. Kargeth is on the move. He has leeched the information from the tome that he needed and has the Serpent Staff at his disposal. Now he need only attract Nissa to him." Kadan: Blast... the Serpent Staff... Kadan hangs his head. Earendil: A week?! It has not been nearly that long for us. Geint nods, and smiles to herself, glad that Quark is here. Kadan: You would think that the premiere magic hunter of Lentol could at least get that wicked thing before Kargeth managed to use it, but I wasn't fast enough. Trevor: Do not worry, Kadan. There is still time. And now, we will have a Dragonmaster among us. Trevor turns meaningfully towards Earendil. Valina cuddles next to her Dragonmaster. Earendil: I am ready. Kadan: ... Trevor raises a hand and closes his eyes. "Thought. Memory. Angels of dragons past come to me. There is one who seeks to prove himself and earn the blessing of Althena during this time of greatest need. I, Quark, White Dragon of Althena summon thee." GMRune: Two pinpricks of light appear behind Trevor/Quark. They flash brillantly to reveal two humanoid dragons with reddish scales. They are dressed in flowing robes, and between them in a marble block is an ornate sword with a dragon's hilt. Geint smiles widely, her felineish fangs showing. Earendil looks at the new figures questioningly. The first angel steps forward. "I am Thought, and encompass all that transpires within the mind as they happen. Do you seek to wield Althena's Sword as her Dragonmaster to save the world of now?" Earendil: Yes. I am prepared to accept the mantle of the Dragonmaster. Valina cheers Earendil on... "You can do it!" The second angel nods. "I am Memory. Do not forget the lessons you have learned on your journey, because they will give you the strength you need to succeed in the battle to come. Let the trial begin. Dragonmaster, step forward so that we may test your prowess." Earendil unsheaths his sword and goes forth. GMRune: ------end session------