The Sylvan Realm #24 (#68)

[GM Mad]

Sylvan Realm #24 (#68)

December 3rd, CR 571 or Deepnight 25th, 20,519 AP

Hundreds of elves have passed over the Rainbow Bridge and are now traveling back to their ancient Clan Holds all over the Sylvan Realm. The Chosen have split up to accompany them and carryout a variety of tasks.


Mealiel:

Just outside of the Mealidil Clan Hold, a barking cooshee has warned the settlers of danger up ahead! Onas and his forest riders move ahead to investigate accompanied by the Silver Maiden Fayrianna, his brother Arlen and two other griffon riders. The town is soon reached only to discover that a group of manticores are harassing a pack of cooshees! At Onas' command the riders split up and engage the enemy!

Fayrianna rides forwards on her unicorn. She lowers her lance as the unicorn gallops towards the middle-most manticore. The manticore drops lower to the ground to try and attack one of the swarming cooshees when Fayrianna acts! Her unicorn, Aeolus, suddenly 'blinks' in mid gallop and reappears right in front of the manticore! Fayrianna's lance drives deep into the beasts chest, wounding it greatly. The manticore hits the ground and is easy prey for the cooshees and the forest riders following Fayrianna.

As Onas charges towards a different manticore, the Golden Griffon Command Valis soars overhead. Valis reaches the manticore first and his longsword is driven deep into the manticore flank before it can even realize that it is in danger. The wounded manticore drops down to getaway from its attacker which only leaves it wide open for Onas to drive his lance into! If the manticore wasn't mortally wounded after that attack, the cooshees that tear into it afterwards does.

Arlen Brightsword flies toward one of the other manticores. This manticore has enough awareness to realize it is in danger. It flings its tail spikes at Arlen and several embed themselves into his griffon mount! Once close enough, Arlen leaps from his griffon, allowing it to veer off to safely. Arlen lands on top of the manticore!

The winged beast flies around the center of town wildly trying to throw its unwanted rider. Arlen has a death grip on the fur of the manticore and refuses to let go. Niles flies his griffon past the manticore, the griffon's claws tearing into one of its wings. The attack gives Arlen the chance he needs. Drawing his sword, he drives it deep into the manticores head! The manticore falls from the sky and Arlen lets go, tumbling away from the beast. Now down, the other forest riders finish it off easily.

The final manticore thinks better and flies away into the night.

The battle is quickly wrapped up and the down manticores have been slain. One did get away and with night having fallen, trying to go after it is a risky proposition. The cooshees here warmly welcome the arriving elves.

Golden Griffon Command Niles inspects the manticore bodies. As some know, he is a ranger in the service of Solonor.

“Manticore hides can fetch a high price to the right buyer,” Niles reveals. “I can see if I can skin these beasts before the cooshees ruin the pelts.”

“Gross!” is Fayrianna's comment on the matter.

Not long after that, the rest of the settlers come walking up with Clan Master Argus leading the way. Elora flies in on her own griffon and will ask, “Is any one hurt?”

“Some of the cooshees and my griffon,” Arlen Brightsword reports. “Healing for them would be most welcomed.”

[GM Mad]

Ehlonna's Shrine:

The Followers of Ehlonna have returned to the Ladies shrine hidden in the forest. Surprisingly, they have a new follower in the form of the centaur ranger Lakandras. The priests cast the cooperative spell Sanctify upon the altar. The combined magic is more powerful than any of the priests could have cast individually.

“It was my pleasure and honor.”he says to the High Priest. “What is the next step in which you speak? Laucian asks curiously.

“I must pray and fast for a day,” Klovar explains. “Upon completion, I must cast a Focus spell on the altar. That will allow me to control the devotional energy the altar gathers from the Followers of Ehlonna. When enough energy has been gathered, I will be able to erect certain spell effects here in the shrine and even craft magic items dedicated to the Lady of the Forests.”

He will also say goodbye to Jetter and Kaffa, “If you ever need of my assistance send word.”

“We'll stay to assist the High Priest in his work,” Kaffa explains. “We will contact you if the need arises.”

To Lakandras: “It was good to have met you, Lakandras. I wish you and your tribe good health and prosperity. I will see that our Griffons patrol your skies upon my return.”

“Be safe and visit our village when you can,” Lakandras says grasping hands. “There our others who follow the path of Ehlonna there who would very much like to meet you.”

When it is time to depart, Laucian will make ready to leave bowing before the Forest Lord, “It was good to see you and your kin again.” Once ready Laucian will mount up and be ready to fly to meet with his clan.

The male unicorn nods as Laucian makes his farewell. Mounting Aura, Laucian takes to the skies and is gone from the shrine. Valena and Annelwin also depart, but both simply vanish as their unicorn mounts 'blink' away.

Once above the trees, Laucian directs Aura in a southeasterly direction towards the geyser fields and the griffon stable by it. Its nearly a four hour ride to reach the griffon stables and Aura safely comes in for a landing.

Several from Clan Grunalf are present at the stable. They just arrived a little bit earlier and are just starting to settle in for the evening. Laucian's cooshee's find him first and then Elder Treelife and Onyx. Clan Grunalf made the journey without incident. For the first half of the day they traveled with Clan Mealidil and Red Arrow until the road to Mealiel was reached.

“I think your friends missed you,” Elder Treelife calls out upon seeing Laucian.

Valena and Annelwin are also present as they were meeting the potential new members of the Silver Maidens here. There Order Hall is in this general area.

[GM Mad]

Elfin Palace:

The remainder of the Chosen have reached the Elfin Palace and have started to explore. Accompanying the group is their cooshees. Lady for Lilia, Dapple for Kylie and a new one who has taken a fancy to Lia.

Kylie nods. "Yeah, I know what you mean. It will be good to have a real home here." Despite having been in the Sylvan Realm for weeks now, some part of Kylie finally feels like she is really at the point of leaving her old life behind and starting a new one here.

“It is always good to have a place to call your own,” Allurien adds. “A place to store your possessions. Speaking of which, one day we'll have to go to Feador and retrieve my belongings. The things I put into storage when I agreed to take the mission to rescue the Mother Tree.”

One tree portal is passed through and it leads to an area of living quarters or perhaps guest quarters. It was this same area where an illusionary dragon was encountered along with a simulacrum of Moorkroft. More tree portals are discovered leaving this area. Before trying any, Lilia suggests performing an experiment. Everyone is given a different pendent and asked to move away from the portals to deactivate them. Then each is to move closer and see if the portal activates. This will determine which pendent opens what portal. Kylie suggests going back to the landing area and determining where those three portals go as well.

There are five portals leaving the living quarters area. Of the five portals, four give identical results. The portal at 4 o'clock will only appear for a level 4, 5, and 6 pendent. The rest of the portals will also open for those three pendents plus the level 1 pendent.

Some of the group can remember that when they were originally here, it was Lady, Lilia's cooshee, that they were following as it was leading them to her mistress. Lady led the group to the 3 o'clock portal and it was that portal that led to the garden area. The group proceed past that area and through another portal to the area where Lilia was found.

With that experiment completed, the group passes back through the 2 o'clock portal and return the griffon landing area. The experiment is conducted once more on the three portals in the landing area. Predictable the one that leads back to where you came will appear for level 1, 4, 5, & 6 pendents. The middle and left portals will also appear for that same combination of pendents. However, a new portal will appear on the far left! This one will only appear for Allurien, indicating that only a level 5 pendent will trigger it!

“Hmm,” Allurien wonders. “Could this be the way to the Speaker's private quarters?”

[GM Mad]

GM Notes:

I'll work on getting a map up for the Elfin Palace and what pendent opens what portal.

I also made a sheet for Gweyr a few weeks back as well. Its among the character sheets for this game.

Now what?

[Onas]

Onas Brightblade:

After calling out instructions, Onas is buoyed by seeing how well his companions perform as a team and how well his tactics work. Commander Valis drives the manticore on his side down to a lower altitude, allowing Onas to drive his spear deeply into the creature's chest at the joint with the foreleg. It collapses, and the cooshees quickly finish it off.

Looking around, Onas sees that the others have had similar success; two other manticores lie dead on the ground. He was too focused on his own target to be able to observe how the others were slain. It seems the last manticore lost its nerve, as Onas can see the fourth winging its way off into the twilight.

"Good job, everyone! A quick victory, with only a few injuries on our side. I call that a fine day's work." He then turns to Sergeant Starglow. "Sergeant, take the Riders and search the town. I don't want any other surprises popping up this evening."

Despite their wounds, the cooshees seem quite pleased and happily greet the elven warriors. It is not long before the rest of the travelers start to arrive.

“Manticore hides can fetch a high price to the right buyer,” Niles reveals. “I can see if I can skin these beasts before the cooshees ruin the pelts.”

“Gross!” is Fayrianna's comment on the matter.

Onas chuckles in response to the Silver Maiden's reaction, then turns to Commander Niles. "Seems like a good idea. Please feel free if you are so inclined."

Not long after that, the rest of the settlers come walking up with Clan Master Argus leading the way. Elora flies in on her own griffon and will ask, “Is any one hurt?”

“Some of the cooshees and my griffon,” Arlen Brightsword reports. “Healing for them would be most welcomed.”

Nodding, Onas addresses Argus and Elora. "The battle was swift and decisive. Three of the manticores were quickly slain, and the fourth gave up and flew away. I doubt it will be back anytime soon. I've sent Starglow to search the town for any other threats before we start settling in."

_________________________________________________________________________
Looks like this is the second thread named Sylvan Realm #23.

[GM Mad]

Looks like this is the second thread named Sylvan Realm #23.

DOH!!! And fixed....

[Kylie]

Kylie Lanthorn the Half-Elven:

“Well, this is an area to avoid,” Talen notes. “Too many bad memories here.”

"I know what you mean,Talen," Kylie says with a grimace. "But I supposed it is important to face our fears - and bad memories - so they don't control us..."

“It is always good to have a place to call your own,” Allurien adds. “A place to store your possessions. Speaking of which, one day we'll have to go to Feador and retrieve my belongings. The things I put into storage when I agreed to take the mission to rescue the Mother Tree.”

"I would like to see more of the Elfholds someday. We passed through there pretty quickly when we were there last."

“Hold a moment,” Talen says. “Were there not only one other portal we found out of here before? Or did we take the first one we came to? These other ones might be new to us.”

Kylie nods. "Yes, but we only had a Pine Pendant then, which grant's the least access to the palace."

“Hmmm, that is a good question,” Lilia states. “What I was going off was the importance given to each pendent inside the lid of the chest. But, as you noted, there are flaws to this way of thinking. I mean the order indicates that students of the mage school would be able to access the quarters of guests. That doesn't make any sense. So perhaps the Redwood Pendent and the Maple Pendent are more on even level, overseeing the other four pendents?”

"That's pretty much what I was thinking," Kylie says. "While there is certainly some gradation of importance among the pendants, it doesn't seem to be strictly linear. More of a practical, function-based gradation, I think."

“The last thing I remember was being on the griffon landing area,” Lilia states with a shrug. “Then when we were fighting Moorkroft.”

Kylie considers this new information for a moment. "Oh. That's much earlier than I realized. It also implies that he was somewhere here physically at the time."

“Yes, that makes sense,” Lilia agrees. “Might as well start our mapping at the beginning anyway. However, lets us do my experiment here first, than we'll go back to where we started.”

Not seeing any reason to disagree, Kylie just nods.

“My basic assumption is that he had access to the Pine Pendent, as that is the ones that we also found,” Lilia explains. “But beyond that, we shall see.”

"That's likely true," Kylie replies with a shrug. "I just figured it would be good to confirm the assumption."

“Well, I'm sure he is dead, so if we find something that smells awful that'll probably be him!” Talen teases ghoulishly as he laughs. “Or maybe he's a lich now!”

“That's not very funny, Talen,” Lilia states while sending the half-elf a cold glance. “Moorkroft's spirit was destroyed in the mental plane. Even if his body did survive without his spirit, it has been ten days since then. I doubt it the body could have lasted that long.”

Poor boy. Talen attempts to crack a joke at probably a bad time, and Lilia is not amused. "Unless an animal got to the body, ten days isn't that long. From what I've heard, it can take years for a body to decompose. I hate to think what might be possible if a priest of one of the evil gods got ahold of the body."

As they are testing the pendants, Kylie pays close attention to how near a pendant needs to be in order to activate a portal. This may prove to be important in making sure that they locate and identify all of the portals.

After testing each of the portals in the main reception area, they check what they believe to be the other portal that they had used on their previous visit. It does indeed prove to lead to the garden area that they had visited when dealing with Moorkroft before.

Back out in the griffon landing bay, they test the portals found there, which appear to have the standard level of security. As they move about the area, the also stumble upon a new portal, which only opens for the Maple Pendant!

“Hmm,” Allurien wonders. “Could this be the way to the Speaker's private quarters?”

Kylie smiles. "Seems so, Mom. I guess we finally found that home we were talking about earlier. Wanna take a quick look?"

[GM Mad]

GM Note:

The map for the Elfin Palace is up in the map section. It just shows how the various areas are located in relation to each other and what pendents are needed to access it. So far it only shows those areas that the explorers have mapped. It is not to scale.

[Laucian]

Laucian
With Klovar-

“I must pray and fast for a day,” Klovar explains. “Upon completion, I must cast a Focus spell on the altar. That will allow me to control the devotional energy the altar gathers from the Followers of Ehlonna. When enough energy has been gathered, I will be able to erect certain spell effects here in the shrine and even craft magic items dedicated to the Lady of the Forests.”

“That would be a marvel to see.” the ranger cleric says to the high priest.

“Be safe and visit our village when you can,” Lakandras says grasping hands. “There our others who follow the path of Ehlonna there who would very much like to meet you.”

“And I them.” He says in return. “Until we meet again, Lakandras.”

“Oh, you're not getting rid of me that easily,” Valena teases. “We're meeting the perspective new Silver Maidens at the griffon stable down by the geyser fields. As I understand, that is where you are meeting up with your clan. So at least for this evening, we will be in the same place. But come tomorrow our paths will separate once more.”

A smile etches it’s way across Laucian’s features. “Who would try to?” he jokes back. “Aye it is. It should be secure for your meeting.” He says easily. “It is always doleful to see you go, but it always gladdens my heart to see you once again.”
Mounting Aura, Laucian pats her flank, “Ready to spread your wings?” which the griffon clicks her beak affectionately and pulls at the reigns.
Laucian feels Aura’s muscles contract and release as her wings flutter and she takes flight. Laucian feels the wind in his hair as he looks about. Several hours pass and he can make out the geyster field in the distance. “Come on girl, a little more then you may rest and have your fill.” Laucian says as he urges his mount on. Her wings spread out as she begins her dissent into the stables. Laucian feels the contact of Aura’s claws as she steadies herself and comes to a stop. Dismounting Laucian removes her barding and places it away. “Go hunting if you wish, my friend. You did well today.”he says evenly as he pats her flank and looks at her great amber eyes as she clicks affectionately toward the ranger.

Several from Clan Grunalf are present at the stable. They just arrived a little bit earlier and are just starting to settle in for the evening. Laucian's cooshee's find him first and then Elder Treelife and Onyx. Clan Grunalf made the journey without incident. For the first half of the day they traveled with Clan Mealidil and Red Arrow until the road to Mealiel was reached.

Several of his clan are present inside the stable. “I see you arrived safetly.”he says as Conall and Sana come barrelling toward him tails and tongues a wagging, perched atop Conall Onyx lets out a meow. As he says hello to all of his companions. “It is good to see you too.” giving each pettings and back rubs hello. He takes out some jerky and offers it to each in turn.
A familiar voice brings him out of his reprieve.

“I think your friends missed you,” Elder Treelife calls out upon seeing Laucian.

“And I them. I trust they were not to much trouble?” he says picking up Onyx and stroking it’s head to back. “I assume the trip went well, Elder?”
“Shall we explore our new home?”he asks Clan Eldertree. Moving through Laucian will begin looking about his new clan’s home. He see’s Valena and raises a hand in hello in her direction as he goes about to see what is about.

[Lia]

Lia

“No,” Lilia says giving Lia a strange look. “As I indicated earlier, everyone will step back far enough so that the portal deactivates. Then everyone will approach it individually to see if it activates. This testing will determine just what portals open for what pendents and if my notion of an ultimate pendent was in error.”

“You misunderstand me. What I am asking is if you are wearing a different pendant then I, Will the portals reject me if I try to go through a portal that my pendant does not normally allow or because you are near would it allow anyone close by to be allowed to have access to your portals, such as your private quarters or throne room. Almost like a bless spell that would affect any within a certain radius..” she explains. ( If it is triggered can anyone pass through it.)

“My basic assumption is that he had access to the Pine Pendent, as that is the ones that we also found,” Lilia explains. “But beyond that, we shall see.”

“Perhaps his magic was greater than the defenses in place? Or he had access to spells we could not fathom?” she asks rhetorically. As a thought comes to her, “If we did not find his body then so too his spellbook.”

“That's not very funny, Talen,” Lilia states while sending the half-elf a cold glance. “Moorkroft's spirit was destroyed in the mental plane. Even if his body did survive without his spirit, it has been ten days since then. I doubt it the body could have lasted that long.”

Lia shakes her head at her brother’s comments of a Lich.

“That's not very funny, Talen,” Lilia states while sending the half-elf a cold glance. “Moorkroft's spirit was destroyed in the mental plane. Even if his body did survive without his spirit, it has been ten days since then. I doubt it the body could have lasted that long.”

“I would not wish to fight a lich. Nightmist told us scary stories when we were little.”she says as she recalls the fear it insued. “I couldn’t sleep by myself for a week!”

Kylie considers this new information for a moment. "Oh. That's much earlier than I realized. It also implies that he was somewhere here physically at the time."

“Or he was scrying us the whole time…” Lia says excitedly. “How else would he know we had the medallions and were ready to free the mother tree and the elves.”
( Could be mistaken but the mother tree protects against scrying. If the Mother tree was not functional it was possible to scry?)
Seeing as Allurien and Kylie only have pendents it would seem that they are not able to help clear that section. Looking to Lilia, “Where to next? I would be curious what is the third portal.” She says

[Lilia]

Lilia:

The remainder of the Chosen have reached the Elfin Palace and have started to explore. Accompanying the group is their cooshees. Lady for Lilia, Dapple for Kylie and a new one who has taken a fancy to Lia.

By now Lilia is accustomed to having Lady trailing along side of her. She's seen Dapple enough to be used to Kylie's cooshee. However there now seems to be a third one traveling with us. One who is keeping near Lia.

“Who's your friend?” Lilia will inquire with a smile.

"That's pretty much what I was thinking," Kylie says. "While there is certainly some gradation of importance among the pendants, it doesn't seem to be strictly linear. More of a practical, function-based gradation, I think."

“A reasonable deduction,” Lilia agrees.

Poor boy. Talen attempts to crack a joke at probably a bad time, and Lilia is not amused. "Unless an animal got to the body, ten days isn't that long. From what I've heard, it can take years for a body to decompose. I hate to think what might be possible if a priest of one of the evil gods got a hold of the body."

“When it comes to Moorkroft, we cannot be certain about anything,” is Lilia's thought on the matter.

“Hmm,” Allurien wonders. “Could this be the way to the Speaker's private quarters?”

Kylie smiles. "Seems so, Mom. I guess we finally found that home we were talking about earlier. Wanna take a quick look?"

“That seems to confirm that the Redwood Pendent is not a skeleton key for the palace,” Lilia notes. “I do agree, that we should take a look around and see of Moorkroft had any presence here or not. It will help determine what level of access he had.”

“You misunderstand me. What I am asking is if you are wearing a different pendant then I, will the portals reject me if I try to go through a portal that my pendant does not normally allow or because you are near would it allow anyone close by to be allowed to have access to your portals, such as your private quarters or throne room. Almost like a bless spell that would affect any within a certain radius.” she explains. ( If it is triggered can anyone pass through it.)

“And this will allow us to perform Lia's experiment on just how a portal specifically keyed to one pendent responds to other pendents,” Lilia continues. “Allurien if you would remain near the portal to keep it open, the rest of us will try to pass through. Let us put this theory to the test!”

“Perhaps his magic was greater than the defenses in place? Or he had access to spells we could not fathom?” she asks rhetorically. As a thought comes to her, “If we did not find his body then so too his spellbook.”

“Both are equally possible,” Lilia states. “We have yet to find Moorkroft's quarters. No doubt he will have spell books present and possibly magic items as well. All of which will probably be heavily trapped.”

“I would not wish to fight a lich. Nightmist told us scary stories when we were little.”she says as she recalls the fear it ensued. “I couldn’t sleep by myself for a week!”

“None of us would, at least at this point,” Lilia agrees. “That is a challenge we are not ready for.”

“Or he was scrying us the whole time…” Lia says excitedly. “How else would he know we had the medallions and were ready to free the mother tree and the elves.”

“Or he simply concluded that we would gather all the other medallions and come here for the ones he had already acquired,” Lilia counters. “All he had to do was wait. As I understand it, those being scryed can sometimes tell that they are being watched. We may have noticed if we were being watched for a prolonged period of time.”

[Valena Feador]

Valena:

A smile etches it’s way across Laucian’s features. “Who would try to?” he jokes back. “Aye it is. It should be secure for your meeting.” He says easily. “It is always doleful to see you go, but it always gladdens my heart to see you once again.”

“Charmer,” Valena smirks as she gets ready to depart the shrine.

Mounting up on River Blossom, the unicorn blinks away with Annelwin as we make our way to the griffon stables down by the geyser fields.

After several hours of travel, we reach our destination. Valena thanks River Blossom for her service and tells the unicorn to go out and enjoy herself for the rest of this evening.

Clan Grunalf has already arrived at the Griffon Stable and most are settling in. Valena will try to locate the dozen or so ladies who stated that they wished to join the Silver Maidens the night before. Once that is done, Valena will look for a private area where they can discuss this further.

Along the way, Valena notes that Laucian has arrived and will wave at him off in the distance.

[Talen]

Talen:

Kylie nods. "Yes, but we only had a Pine Pendant then, which grant's the least access to the palace."

“That's not what I meant,” Talen counters. “A Pine Pendent would have shown us four different portals, but we took this one in particular. Why?”

“Oh! It was Lady,” Talen says answering his own question. “She had Lilia's scent and we were tracking her that way. That's why we didn't look for any other portals.”

“That's not very funny, Talen,” Lilia states while sending the half-elf a cold glance. “Moorkroft's spirit was destroyed in the mental plane. Even if his body did survive without his spirit, it has been ten days since then. I doubt it the body could have lasted that long.”

“Everyone is a critic,” Talen mutters his mood growing more serious.

We continue on checking to see what pendent triggers what portal. However, none of them seem to work with the pendent I or Lia were given.

“I think these are defective,” Talen suggests. “They don't seem to work at all.”

Otherwise, Talen just follows along. He figures if any danger comes up the cooshee's will be aware of it first and alert us.

[Kylie]

Kylie Lanthorn the Half-Elven:

“That's not what I meant,” Talen counters. “A Pine Pendent would have shown us four different portals, but we took this one in particular. Why?”

“Oh! It was Lady,” Talen says answering his own question. “She had Lilia's scent and we were tracking her that way. That's why we didn't look for any other portals.”

Talen's elucidation causes Kylie to think back to when they visited the first time. She recalls searching for a way to pass the portals and finding the Pine Pendants. Lilia and the cooshees were guarding the portals during the search. Lilia disappeared and Sherwood was attacked by some kind of air elemental. "Yes, I remember now. That was when Lilia disappeared. From what she said earlier, that must have been when Moorkroft possessed her."

“When it comes to Moorkroft, we cannot be certain about anything,” is Lilia's thought on the matter.

Kylie nods in reply. "True."

“That seems to confirm that the Redwood Pendent is not a skeleton key for the palace,” Lilia notes. “I do agree, that we should take a look around and see of Moorkroft had any presence here or not. It will help determine what level of access he had.”

Lilia doesn't object to checking the Speaker's quarters. "I agree, and it should be one of the safer places in the palace, unless Moorkroft had access somehow."

Lia and Lilia continue discuss Moorkroft, the pendants, and how they work. For the moment, Kylie has little to add so she just listens.

“I think these are defective,” Talen suggests. “They don't seem to work at all.”

Kylie chuckles at Talen's comment. "I think we just haven't found the mage school yet. From what Lilia said earlier, those pendants were for the instructors and students. We also haven't found the royal quarters yet; we don't know how large the palace is, so there could be quite a bit more to explore."

[Laucian]

Laucian

“Charmer,” Valena smirks as she gets ready to depart the shrine.

Laucian shrugs, “Elder Treelife taught me all he knows.” He says with a smirk as he mounts Aura.

[GM Mad]

Post Continued:

The elves are making their way back to the their Clan Holds all across the Sylvan Realm...

Griffon Stable:

Clan Grunalf has reached the griffon stables just north of the geyser fields. The Chosen were here several times during their quest to save the Mother Tree. Accompanying Clan Grunalf are units of Forest Riders and Golden Griffons. Valena and Annelwin of the Silver Maidens are present as well along with a dozen or so would be applicants. The Silver Maiden Fayrianna arrives later on. Having completed his assignment at the Shrine of Ehlonna, Laucian has arrived on his griffon Aura. He is greeted by his cooshees.

Several of his clan are present inside the stable. “I see you arrived safely,” he says as Conall and Sana come barreling toward him tails and tongues a wagging, perched atop Conall Onyx lets out a meow. As he says hello to all of his companions. “It is good to see you too.” giving each pettings and back rubs hello. He takes out some jerky and offers it to each in turn.

As Laucian greets his friends, Clan Elder Treelife approaches.

“And I them. I trust they were not to much trouble?” he says picking up Onyx and stroking it’s head to back. “I assume the trip went well, Elder?”

“No trouble at all,” the Clan Elder reports. “The only excitement was when a cath shee decided to look us over before going back into the forest. The first day of our journey is nearing its end. Only two more to go before we reach the Clan Hold. It is a good start.”

Night has fallen and everyone starts to settle in for the evening. There is more traveling to come in the morning!


Mealiel:

Clans Mealidil and Red Arrow have reached the town of Mealiel. There to greet them was a small flock of manticores fighting a pack of cooshees! Onas leads forest riders and others into a quick and one sided battle. Three of the manticores fell while a fourth flew away. With that threat dealt with, securing the town is the next priority.

"Good job, everyone! A quick victory, with only a few injuries on our side. I call that a fine day's work." He then turns to Sergeant Starglow. "Sergeant, take the Riders and search the town. I don't want any other surprises popping up this evening."

“Yes sir!” Sergeant Starglow calls out. Under the sergeants direction the Forest Riders move out. Several griffon riders accompany them.

Commander Niles of the Golden Griffons starts to skin the manticores saying that their hides can be quite valuable. The Silver Maiden Fayrianna seems repulsed by the idea.

Onas chuckles in response to the Silver Maiden's reaction, then turns to Commander Niles. "Seems like a good idea. Please feel free if you are so inclined."

“Will do,” Niles says with a nod as he sets to work.

Fayrianna removes her helm as she rides closer on Aeolus. “I must depart for a short time,” the Silver Maiden states. “The Silver Maidens are taking our new recruits to our order hall to see if they are worthy or not. I promised Valena I would join them. So, I must take my leave of you for a short time. I'll met up with you at Walltree.”

Having said that, Aeolus 'blinks' away and Fayrianna is gone. While Niles works on skinning the manticores, Elora and the other priests with her work on healing the cooshees and Arlen's griffon.

The Forest Riders return and have found no other threats in the Clan Hold. Clan Mealidil starts to settle in as night falls.

“A fine first day,” Clan Master Argus states. “Come the morning we shall begin the journey to Walltree and our ancestral home.”

The evening passes without incident in Mealiel.

[GM Mad]

Elfin Palace:

Down in the Elfin Palace, everyone else is exploring. Each is carrying a different pendent and using them to see which pendent is needed to open what portal.

"I would like to see more of the Elfholds someday. We passed through there pretty quickly when we were there last."

“Someday when time permits,” Allurien says with a smile.

This experiment is first tried in the initial area beyond the griffon landing area and then later in the griffon area. There a portal not noticed earlier appears, apparently keyed to the Speakers Pendent.

Kylie smiles. "Seems so, Mom. I guess we finally found that home we were talking about earlier. Wanna take a quick look?"

“That seems to confirm that the Redwood Pendent is not a skeleton key for the palace,” Lilia notes. “I do agree, that we should take a look around and see of Moorkroft had any presence here or not. It will help determine what level of access he had.”

“And this will allow us to perform Lia's experiment on just how a portal specifically keyed to one pendent responds to other pendents,” Lilia continues. “Allurien if you would remain near the portal to keep it open, the rest of us will try to pass through. Let us put this theory to the test!”

“Very well then,” Allurien says as she steps closer to open up the portal. Once the portal is open, everyone is able to pass through without incident. Allurien follows after the last person has passed through.

The group arrives in a large circular walkway that rings this new section of the Elfin Palace. At first glance it looks like the previous quarters area visited recently. Walkways lead in from the outer ring deeper into this area. But first, everyone walks around the outer ring to identify all the portals that are present.

The portal that you came through that leads back to the griffon stable is 10 o'clock in this new area. Moving counter-clockwise around the ring another portal is found at 9 o'clock and is triggered by pendents 1, 4, 5, and 6. At 8 o'clock is another portal, but this one will only appear to a level 4, 5 and 6 pendent.

At what would correspond to 6 o'clock is a portal that will only appear for Lilia, so it is a level 6 only portal. Continuing on there are three more portals on the outer ring. They appear at 2, 3, and 4 o'clock and seem to be the common portals for the Elfin Palace. They work for pendents 1, 4, 5 and 6.

When the group is near the portal at 4 o'clock Talen can feel something strange off in the distance roughly facing in that direction. Its not a sense of danger, but rather that something is close by.

“There is something of the Elders close by,” Talen will finally say. “I can feel it.”

[GM Mad]

GM Notes:

With the next post I will advance Laucian, Onas and Valena to the next day while the exploration of the Elfin Palace continues. At some point we'll need to wrap up this day for the palace group as well to keep everyone in the same time frame.

Now what?

[Onas]

Onas Brightblade:

With the manticores slain or driven off, Onas sends the Forest Riders to scout the rest of the town. Commander Varis and several griffon riders join in for aerial recon.

Commander Niles begins skinning the slain manicores. According to him, their hides are quite valuable. "So what are hides used for, Commander? Rugs, clothing, wall hangings? Or are they simply prized for their rarity?"

Fayrianna removes her helm as she rides closer on Aeolus. “I must depart for a short time,” the Silver Maiden states. “The Silver Maidens are taking our new recruits to our order hall to see if they are worthy or not. I promised Valena I would join them. So, I must take my leave of you for a short time. I'll meet up with you at Walltree.”

It seems our Silver Maiden companion has other responsibilities. Onas studies her eyes for a second before replying. "It has been a pleasure riding with you, Fayrianna. Give my regards to Valena and Elder Treelife. I will look forward to meeting up you in Walltree." Within seconds, Fayrianna and her unicorn are gone. What a pair!

Looking about, Onas notices Elora and a few other priests healing the wounded cooshees and griffon. Onas steps closer to Elora. "How goes the healing, Elora? I'm happy to help if needed."

It is not long before the Forest Riders return, and Sergeant Starglow reports in. No other threats were found. "Thank you, Starglow. Please set up watches for the night and make sure that everyone is well rested in preparation for tomorrow" Onas notifies the elders of both clans that the town appears safe. The settlers of Clan Mealidil begin the process of re-occupying the ancient homes here. Meanwhile, Clan Red Arrow prepares to camp for the night.

“A fine first day,” Clan Master Argus states. “Come the morning we shall begin the journey to Walltree and our ancestral home.”

"Good evening, Clan Master," Onas says when Argus approaches. "I am looking forward to laying eyes on our ancestral home. I think it will be a proud day for us all."

Onas will relax and brush down Carad Orod. He always finds the experience soothing. Afterward, he provides both Carad and himself with some supper before settling in for the night.

[Lia]

Lia

“Who's your friend?” Lilia will inquire with a smile.

“I dunno, he just started following me after I fed him some jerky. I guess I should name him if he sticks around, she says looking at the cooshee. “ Perhaps Feint or Umbra.”she says looking at the Queen with a slight smile.
Lia listens to the queen’s words. She has nothing more to add but agrees with her.
Walking through the portal Lia is on guard as she looks about the room seeing which portals open with her pendent. She follows through the portal that Allurien opens and looks about. Within minutes she hears her brother speak.

“There is something of the Elders close by,” Talen will finally say. “I can feel it.”

“Lead on Talen.” She says supportively. If there is portal we may have to seal it.” She says as she goes to follow Talen

[Laucian]

Laucian

“No trouble at all,” the Clan Elder reports. “The only excitement was when a cath shee decided to look us over before going back into the forest. The first day of our journey is nearing its end. Only two more to go before we reach the Clan Hold. It is a good start.”

“A Cath shee? They are rare from what I recall. To have one walk among you is a moment to cherish indeed!” Laucian says in surprise. “What did it look like? I heard elves can befriend them if they are lucky enough.”
“The alter at the shrine of Ehlonna was sanctified and blessed. We even befriended a tribe of centaurs along our way.”
Laucian settles in for the night. He begins to make his bedroll and takes out his bow and sees to it. Then goes through his arrows checking the fletching and sharpness of the tips. He then does his prayers to Ehlonna and then beds down for the night

[Lilia]

Lilia:

“I dunno, he just started following me after I fed him some jerky. I guess I should name him if he sticks around, she says looking at the cooshee. “ Perhaps Feint or Umbra.”she says looking at the Queen with a slight smile.

“Umbra is a good choice,” Lilia states. “It means shadow in Alphatian.”

Lilia doesn't object to checking the Speaker's quarters. "I agree, and it should be one of the safer places in the palace, unless Moorkroft had access somehow."

“My guess is that he was just as limited as we are,” Lilia suspects. “This thorny growth that envelopes the entire palace was impossible for us to penetrate. Even now we can't see much beyond the areas we are visiting. It's almost like being in a cave.”

Lia's experiment proves that only the pendent that opens a portal matters when it comes to who can pass through it. Allurien holds the portal open and everyone else can pass through. Beyond we find ourselves in an area that at first glance seems much like the living area we found before.

As we circle around the arrival area, more portals are revealed. Six more not including the one we came through. The portal to the south seems to only respond to the Redwood Pendent.

“Seems like we are neighbors,” Lilia notes. “Our living areas are just a portal apart.”

As we swing back up to where we first came in more portals are revealed and Talen tells us that he is sensing something.

“There is something of the Elders close by,” Talen will finally say. “I can feel it.”

“Lead on Talen.” She says supportively. If there is portal we may have to seal it.” She says as she goes to follow Talen.

“Is it calling to you, Talen?” Lilia wonders. “Much like that teacher did back in the ruins?”

“Yes, we should investigate this,” Lilia continues. “I've had a suspicion that something Elder related was here in the Elfin Palace. Let's find out for sure.”

[Talen]

Talen:

“I dunno, he just started following me after I fed him some jerky. I guess I should name him if he sticks around, she says looking at the cooshee. “ Perhaps Feint or Umbra.”she says looking at the Queen with a slight smile.

“Yeah, he was among the cooshee's we found back in the village,” Talen adds. “This one like her.”

“Umbra is a good choice,” Lilia states. “It means shadow in Alphatian.”

“Its a nice name,” Talen speaks up.

Kylie chuckles at Talen's comment. "I think we just haven't found the mage school yet. From what Lilia said earlier, those pendants were for the instructors and students. We also haven't found the royal quarters yet; we don't know how large the palace is, so there could be quite a bit more to explore."

“I guess,” Talen admits. “It just seems useless so far.”

When the group is near the portal at 4 o'clock Talen can feel something strange off in the distance roughly facing in that direction. Its not a sense of danger, but rather that something is close by.

“There is something of the Elders close by,” Talen will finally say. “I can feel it.”

“Lead on Talen.” She says supportively. If there is portal we may have to seal it.” She says as she goes to follow Talen.

“Is it calling to you, Talen?” Lilia wonders. “Much like that teacher did back in the ruins?”

“No, nothing like that,” Talen reports. “I can just sense that something of theirs is close. It's not trying to influence me.”

“Yes, we should investigate this,” Lilia continues. “I've had a suspicion that something Elder related was here in the Elfin Palace. Let's find out for sure.”

“It seems off in this direction,” Talen says indicating the portal at 4 o'clock. “I can't be sure just how far away it is. Let's go that way then.”

[Kylie]

Kylie Lanthorn the Half-Elven:

After some discussion among the group, Lia decides to name the cooshee that chose her Umbra. Kylie reaches down and pets the cooshee for a moment. "Hi Umbra. What a nice cooshee you are."

“My guess is that he was just as limited as we are,” Lilia suspects. “This thorny growth that envelopes the entire palace was impossible for us to penetrate. Even now we can't see much beyond the areas we are visiting. It's almost like being in a cave.”

"A very spiky cave," Kylie replies with an amused grin.

It is agreed to take a peek into the Speaker's quarters. Answering Lia's query, Allurien's presence with the appropriate pendent proves sufficient to allow everyone entry. The new area looks - at least superficially - like the other areas of the palace. Walkways lead off into the more private areas of the quarters from a central reception area.

A quick circuit of the reception area demonstrates that there are six other portals. One can only be accessed by Lilia's pendent, indicating that it leads to the Royal quarters. The others can be accessed by multiple pendents like those they have seen previously. Kylie finds this surprising. "I'm confused by all these portals. Based on the need to use Mom's pendent to enter this area from where we were before, I would have thought these quarters to be essentially private. However, these other portals show that just about anyone can come into the Speaker's quarters; they just have to enter from different directions. That seems kind of pointless. Do you think the same is true for your quarters, Lilia?"

Before Kylie can suggest that they explore the quarters a little more fully, Talen mentions that he senses something of the Elders nearby. Instinctively, Kylie steps toward him as the others ask about what he's sensing. He says that it doesn't seem to be affecting him the way the learning pillar had, so hopefully it is not dangerous. It is quickly decided to try to find whatever it is, so they head into the portal facing that direction.

_________________________________________________________________________
I think an updated portal map would be helpful at this point, as I'm as confused as Kylie. Is it possible that the portal access is direction-dependent? Perhaps entering is limited, but exiting is possible for anyone?

[GM Mad]

Post Continued:

The first day of travel is nearing its end. Clans Erendyl has reached their Clan Hold called Leromyr. Traveling with them is Clan Chossum who will start the final leg to their Clan Hold in the morning. That other clans have also reached their various destinations across the Sylvan Realm.

Clan Red Arrow:

December 3rd, CR 571 or Deepnight 25th, 20,519 AP

Clan Red Arrow has arrived at Mealiel, the Clan Hold for Clan Mealidil. Tomorrow the Red Arrows will start to their own Clan Hold, Walltree. These two particular clans share a special bond for once, long ago, the Red Arrows were part of Clan Mealidil.

The story goes that the founder of Clan Mealidil, Mealiden Red Arrow had a special honor guard that were dubbed the Red Arrows. In time this unit grew so large and evolved so far from the Mealidils life style, that Mealiden declared the Red Arrows their own clan. According to history, this split occurred during the great exodus from Evergreen to where they eventually settled in the Sylvan Realm.

Commander Niles begins skinning the slain manticores. According to him, their hides are quite valuable. "So what are hides used for, Commander? Rugs, clothing, wall hangings? Or are they simply prized for their rarity?"

“Prestige,” Niles answers as he works. “Those who possess the pelt of a manticore are referred as powerful hunters and warriors. I've heard tales of a cure manticore hides selling for as much as 10,000 gold to the right buyer.”

It seems our Silver Maiden companion has other responsibilities. Onas studies her eyes for a second before replying. "It has been a pleasure riding with you, Fayrianna. Give my regards to Valena and Elder Treelife. I will look forward to meeting up you in Walltree." Within seconds, Fayrianna and her unicorn are gone. What a pair!

“Will do,” Fayrianna says with a nod. “See you soon!”

Looking about, Onas notices Elora and a few other priests healing the wounded cooshees and griffon. Onas steps closer to Elora. "How goes the healing, Elora? I'm happy to help if needed."

“You're welcome to pitch right in,” Elora will say. “There are enough wounded.”

Assisting Elora is another priest that will be introduced as Kyo Delphinus. He's a high priest of Labelas Enoreth and will be in charge of that deities temple. Said temple is about a mile to the north of Mealiel. The pair plan to travel there in the morning.

It is not long before the Forest Riders return, and Sergeant Starglow reports in. No other threats were found. "Thank you, Starglow. Please set up watches for the night and make sure that everyone is well rested in preparation for tomorrow" Onas notifies the elders of both clans that the town appears safe. The settlers of Clan Mealidil begin the process of re-occupying the ancient homes here. Meanwhile, Clan Red Arrow prepares to camp for the night.

With the announcement that the town is secure, the settlers start to move in. Many just head off to the first quarters that they can find and settle in for the evening. The day of walking has exhausted most. Guards are set up for the evening and the Red Arrows simply camp out in the center of town. They erect tents to sleep in and keep themselves out of the evening rain.


December 4th, CR 571 or Deepnight 26th, 20,519 AP

The night passes quietly. There isn't the festivity as was had last night at the base of the Mother Tree. Most are just too weary to celebrate again. Morning arrives and the Red Arrows get ready to move out. Commander Niles and several of the Golden Griffons will be remaining in Mealiel to make sure it is secure. They plan to scout the immediate area and perhaps discover where the manticores came from. Sergeant Starglow and those Forest Riders under his command will remain as well for security.

Clan Red Arrow heads out after saying their goodbyes to Clan Mealidil. There are several cooshee's among the group that were not present the day before. After a few hours of travel, the road splits with one fork going north, the other south. The southern road is the one is the one that leads to Walltree.

As the group rides along, movement is spotted up ahead. Nearly a dozen centaurs are seen approaching down the road!

“Can anyone speak centaur?” Clan Master Argus Bloodmoon asks. “It seems that our neighbors have shown up sooner than we expected.”

[GM Mad]

Clan Grunalf:

December 3rd, CR 571 or Deepnight 25th, 20,519 AP

Clan Grunalf has reached the griffon stables just north of the geyser fields. This particular stable has been visited many times during the quest to restore the Mother Tree. Valena and Annelwin have arrived by way of their unicorn mounts. Laucian simply flew from the Ehlonna Shrine on his griffon Aura. The Grunalf Clan Hold is the most distant of all the towns and will take three days of travel to reach.

Clan Elder Treelife relates to Laucian their encounter with a Cath Shee.

“A Cath shee? They are rare from what I recall. To have one walk among you is a moment to cherish indeed!” Laucian says in surprise. “What did it look like? I heard elves can befriend them if they are lucky enough.”

“Aye, that they can,” Elder Treelife agrees. “Imagine your friend Onyx here only with gray-green fur and the size of a cooshee!”

“The alter at the shrine of Ehlonna was sanctified and blessed. We even befriended a tribe of centaurs along our way.”

“So as we suspected centaurs are as common here as they are in the Elfholds,” Elder Treelife. “That is good to know. They are good neighbors to have. Perhaps we shall find some near Einsun.”


Elsewhere in the griffon stable, the Silver Maidens have reunited. Traveling among Clan Grunalf were twelve elf maidens who wished to become Silver Maidens. There is only one requirement to join this exclusive group: be accepted by a unicorn and they will only accept those who are pure of heart and dedicated to good.

As this group converses and Fayrianna tells the tale of the battle with the manticores at the Mealidil Clan Hold, another lady shyly comes up to them. Its Sergeant Jorzana Silversword, the commander of the Forest Riders accompanying Clan Grunalf.

“Forgive the interruption,” Sergeant Silversword calls out. “I would be very interested in learning what is required to become a Silver Maiden. I saw my clanswoman Fayrianna atop her unicorn and I couldn't take my eyes off of them. I've been a Forest Rider for a long time, but to ride a unicorn... That would be special.”

“Then join us clanswoman,” Fayrianna calls out. “You should hear what Valena has to say.”


December 4th, CR 571 or Deepnight 26th, 20,519 AP

The night passes without incident at the Griffon Stable. After the morning meal, the Silver Maidens depart on their own journey through the forest to their Order Hall. Many are stunned to see the ladies on top of three unicorns!

Down on the ground below the griffon stable, the settlers are getting into formation once more. Dorotha Kenig lands close by on her griffon. She's one of the newest members of the Golden Griffons.

“I thought I would scout the road ahead,” Dorotha calls out. “Since we no longer have the Red Arrows or Mealidils among us we are more vulnerable than before.”

The geyser field is only a few minutes walk away from the griffon stable. Since the area is so dangerous, the Grunalf's keep to the edge of the forest. As the day winds on, they come to where the road picks up leaving the geyser fields and start down it heading east.

A visitor is noted flying overhead. It is a forest owl that seems to have taken an interest in the procession of elves. It passes back and forth several times as if keeping an eye on you. The owl seems like a larger version of Dusk, the normal owl that Lyonessa has as a familiar.

[GM Mad]

Elfin Palace:

December 3rd, CR 571 or Deepnight 25th, 20,519 AP

Further south, Clan Long Runner has already reached their Clan Hold as they flew to it on the Sunflower. The town has been cleared of danger and now attention is focused on the Elfin palace.

Inside the Elfin Palace, a small group of explorers are trying to find their way around. What is believed to be the living quarters for the Speaker and their family has been found. But while searching for exit portals from this area, Talen announces that there is something of the Elders close by. He can feel its presence, but it is not calling to him or influencing him in any manner. It is decided to locate this Elder artifact.

The group leaves the Speakers Quarters, area #5 on the Elfin Palace map. They take the portal at 4 o'clock and find themselves on the now familiar outer ring of the area. Talen keeps moving in the direction of the Elder artifact, but is frustrated to discover that there is no portal leading in that direction from this area, #20.

The closest portal seems to be at 6 o'clock and the travelers move on to yet another area of the palace, area #24. Once more, there is no portal that leads towards the area where Talen is sensing the Elder Artifact. The closest portal in this new area is either back the way you came, or at 4 o'clock in this new area.

The 4 o'clock portal is taken and the group finds themselves outdoors once more. You've arrived at a griffon landing area and riders quarters platform much like the one you entered the Elfin Palace from. However, this one is on the southern side of the island and not the north. This is area #27.

This move seems to have worked as Talen senses what he is trying to reach is now due north of him. A portal will appear in that location and for the first time Lia's pendent, level 3, will trigger it along with level 5 & 6. This new portal leads to the members of the Mage School's staff. This is area #25 and it seems to be the private residence of the instructors.

The Elder Artifact remains further to the north and another portal is found going in that area. Finally, this new area, also needing a level 3, 5 or 6 pendent, is your destination! The Elder Artifact is now below you! This particular area of the palace seems to be dedicated to magical research.

A way down is found and the group gets closer to the ground. However, the thorny growth is here as well. While it does not block your passage down the stairs and across the walkways, it does surround them. Finally, the travelers reach a small circular walkway that seems to be only ten or twelve feet off the ground. The thorns block you from going down to the ground itself.

As the group circles this small area, perhaps twenty feet across, they can slowly make out something on the ground in the open middle area of this walkway. Its hard to see due to the thorny growth, but enough can be seen to reveal a Portal Artifact just like the one found at the top of the tall tower in the ruins to the north!

[GM Mad]

GM Notes:

Given the hoops you had to jump through to reach the Elder Artifact, I just advanced the group to that location as part of an effort to speed things up just a bit as the other portions of this game have moved to the next day.

I think an updated portal map would be helpful at this point, as I'm as confused as Kylie. Is it possible that the portal access is direction-dependent? Perhaps entering is limited, but exiting is possible for anyone?

I ended up just putting up the entire map for the Elfin Palace instead of just doing it piecemeal as areas are uncovered. The key, however, will be updated as new areas are discovered,

Basically the portals work as noted above. The correct pendent is needed to GO to that area regardless of where you are currently at. Thus only a Speaker Level pendent will open a portal to the Speaker's quarters, any visitor can leave it as long as they have a pendent that can go to an outside destination.

Now what?

[Lilia]

Lilia:

"A very spiky cave," Kylie replies with an amused grin.

“But still a cave,” Lilia counters. “Give me the sky and stars anytime.”

"I'm confused by all these portals. Based on the need to use Mom's pendent to enter this area from where we were before, I would have thought these quarters to be essentially private. However, these other portals show that just about anyone can come into the Speaker's quarters; they just have to enter from different directions. That seems kind of pointless. Do you think the same is true for your quarters, Lilia?"

“But the quarters are still private,” Lilia speaks up. “These are the portals leaving the Speakers Quarters, not the entry ones. Based on what we saw, that way in only appeared for your mother and no other pendant. For instance, the portal that leads to my private area only appeared due to my pendant. I would imagine that the other side of the portal would only appear for the Speaker's pendant as it leads back here. It seems that the end point is what matters to the pendant, not where you start at.”

Talen suddenly announces that he can sense something of the Elders nearby. Immediately Lilia thinks that it is calling Talen like it did up in the ruins.

“No, nothing like that,” Talen reports. “I can just sense that something of theirs is close. It's not trying to influence me.”

Lilia will sigh in relief upon hearing that. “So you just know that it is there? Any indication what is is?”

“It seems off in this direction,” Talen says indicating the portal at 4 o'clock. “I can't be sure just how far away it is. Let's go that way then.”

“Lead on, Talen,” Lilia will advise.

From there we embark upon a multi-portal odyssey as Talen tries to lead us to this Elder device. We end up traveling in a mostly southeasterly direction and eventually exit the palace on one of the other griffon stables. At this point Talen feels we need to go north and a new series of portals lead us in this direction. Lia's pendant activates these portals telling us that we are entering a portion of the mage school.

After two more hops we arrive in another of the mage school areas. This one seems to be dedicated to research. The Elder device seems to be in this location, but somewhere below us. Stairs lead down but the ever present thorny growth is here as well, surrounding the walkways and even blocking the way to the ground. As we look around it quickly be comes apparent that down there among the thorny growth is a Elder Portal Artifact!

“I suspected as much,” Lilia will say. “Intelligence that we gathered from sacking the enemy forts included papers from the humans who worked for Moorkroft. Elora translated them to reveal that these humans had grown weary of serving Moorkroft and were seeking to remove him. Their correspondence spoke of finding the arrival point for the 'travel columns' as they called them. After what we found in the ruins to the north, I came to believe that is what they called the Elder Artifact. And now upon seeing that the thorny growth envelopes the pillar artifact, I can see why they were trying to find this place as their arrival was blocked by the thorny growth.”

“From what Argent told us, magic cast on a specific pillar would teleport the caster and others, depending on the strength of the spell, to another location. While it was initially thought that this pillars worked much like the tree portals here in the palace in that the pillars worked in pairs, a departure pillar and an arrival pillar. Instead Argent theorized that was not how they worked. Instead the caster was flung off in the direction the pillar was facing in reference to the center of the artifact and that they would simply travel until another pillar artifact was close enough to catch them. That was her theory on how she ended up in the ruins to the north.”

“I have to believe,” Lilia continues, “that the elves found this artifact when they arrived in the Sylvan Realm. This area of magic research was built here so that they could study the artifact in private. I have to wonder if this is the very reason why they built the Elfin Palace in this location. There must be notes and observations made by the ancient elves about this artifact.”

Realizing that she's rambled on for a while now, Lilia will look to Talen hopefully. “The Mother Tree said you had been touched by the Elders. The fact that you could sense the presence of this artifact seems to support that claim. Can you work it?”

[Talen]

Talen:

Lilia will sigh in relief upon hearing that. “So you just know that it is there? Any indication what is is?”

“No idea,” Talen reports. “I just know that there is something off in the direction.”

“Lead on, Talen,” Lilia will advise.

“Okay, let's go this way.”

Talen goes through the open portal and arrives in a new area.

“We need to keep going in this same direction,” Talen says upon arriving in the new area. However, there is no portal that leads in the proper direction! “It still feels off in that direction. The 6 o'clock portal seems like its the closest one to where we need to go.”

However the next section doesn't have a portal in the right direction either! “This is silly!”, Talen complains. “I think we are moving away from it now. It either we go back the way we came or keep going in the direction we had been going in. Let's keep going in this direction as we already know what is back that way.”

That idea seems to work as we reach an outside area, another griffon stable on the southern side of the island.

“Okay, this is more promising,” Talen notes. “We need to go north now.”

Finally we find a portal going in the right direction. “See even Lia's pendant works,” Talen states. “Mine really is a dud!”

We finally arrive at the location of the Elder Artifact after two more locations. It's now below our feet. “Down,” Talen will say. “It's below us on the ground.”

We come to a circular walkway that surrounds something wrapped up by those annoying thorns. It takes time to visualize but within that mess is an Elder Artifact just like the one we found on top of the tall tower in the ruins!

Talen closes his eyes and concentrates while Lilia goes on about her theories about there being an Elder Artifact here. After a time she directly asks me a question.

Realizing that she's rambled on for a while now, Lilia will look to Talen hopefully. “The Mother Tree said you had been touched by the Elders. The fact that you could sense the presence of this artifact seems to support that claim. Can you work it?”

“Yes,” Talen calmly answers. “But your friend had it wrong. This device isn't meant to be powered by magic. It works by willpower and directed by the mind. Magic can be used to trigger the artifact, but it wasn't designed that way. The constant use of magic is making it unstable.”

“You see all I have to do is concentrate and draw upon the power within the artifact itself to take us to a different artifact,” Talen continues. “There is no randomness to it. I can direct it to take us to a specific arrival point. Not from here, of course. We need to be on it for me to activate it.”

“We have an easy way to go home and visit!” Talen realizes with a grin. “I guess that teacher really did teach me something!”

[Lia]

Lia
Following her brother and the others sword in hand, she awaits the worst yet hopes for the best. Umbra begins to walk casually by her side and she looks down to the cooshee on occasion getting used to how the cooshee reacts to things about them.
As they follow Talen, her pendent initiates some new portals, showing them that they are moving within the mage school wing.

That idea seems to work as we reach an outside area, another griffon stable on the southern side of the island. “Two griffon stables, Laucian will be happy to know this.” She says aloud.
Within moments they are within the thorny hallway that leads to an elder artifact!

“I have to believe,” Lilia continues, “that the elves found this artifact when they arrived in the Sylvan Realm. This area of magic research was built here so that they could study the artifact in private. I have to wonder if this is the very reason why they built the Elfin Palace in this location. There must be notes and observations made by the ancient elves about this artifact.”

Realizing that she's rambled on for a while now, Lilia will look to Talen hopefully. “The Mother Tree said you had been touched by the Elders. The fact that you could sense the presence of this artifact seems to support that claim. Can you work it?”
“Yes,” Talen calmly answers. “But your friend had it wrong. This device isn't meant to be powered by magic. It works by willpower and directed by the mind. Magic can be used to trigger the artifact, but it wasn't designed that way. The constant use of magic is making it unstable.”

“Ünstable how?” Lia asks, as she thinks about the hive coming through the portal. “While our ancestors were researching this, I wonder if anything ever came through.” She says looking to the others. “I cannot help but be troubled, If something did come from it, it would have access to our leadership especially if it worked out the pendents.”
“I understand the benefits of such a device, but we need to be mindful of what may happen and be able to defend ourselves from it.”

“We have an easy way to go home and visit!” Talen realizes with a grin. “I guess that teacher really did teach me something!”

“Is this something that can be taught to others?” she asks her brother.

[Laucian]

Laucian

“Aye, that they can,” Elder Treelife agrees. “Imagine your friend Onyx here only with gray-green fur and the size of a cooshee!”

“I don’t know if my lap could handle Onyx that size.”Laucian gests knowing the cat’s tendency to lounge in warm places, “let alone finding enough mice for him to eat.” He says with a laugh as he pets Onyx lovingly.

“So as we suspected centaurs are as common here as they are in the Elfholds,” Elder Treelife. “That is good to know. They are good neighbors to have. Perhaps we shall find some near Einsun.”

“It would appear so. We are now allying with two tribes, They do not come together often though, but they do know of one another.” Laucian adds. “It would seem your lessons in diplomacy were not lost on a young elf that mostly sought to excel with a bow.”he says with a slight smirk. “Centaurs would be a welcomed guest at our fires. We could only be that lucky, if it were true. I look forward to seeing our ancestral lands and what dwells about it.”

The night passes without incident at the Griffon Stable. After the morning meal, the Silver Maidens depart on their own journey through the forest to their Order Hall. Many are stunned to see the ladies on top of three unicorns!

Laucian is up early, he takes a walk about the area, his cooshee and Onyx in toe. He takes a healthy meal of nuts and water and then begins to make ready for the day. He checks his arrows and his bow as he sees Valena and the other Silvermaidens and hopefuls. As they depart Laucian mentally says. “Good luck.”

Dorotha Kenig lands close by on her griffon. She's one of the newest members of the Golden Griffons.

“I thought I would scout the road ahead,” Dorotha calls out. “Since we no longer have the Red Arrows or Mealidils among us we are more vulnerable than before.”

“It makes sense.” ( What other Griffon riders are about?) to Elder Treelife,”Are there any other rangers in our ranks?” knowing as he asks it it is a silly question, as many of his clan are known to be the best when it comes to rangers.

A visitor is noted flying overhead. It is a forest owl that seems to have taken an interest in the procession of elves. It passes back and forth several times as if keeping an eye on you. The owl seems like a larger version of Dusk, the normal owl that Lyonessa has as a familiar.

Laucian notices the Owl above flying back and forth in the sky, For a moment he thinks to knock an arrow to his bow but holds off for a moment. “Aren’t owls nocturnal?”He turns to Elder Treelife as he rides aura, thoughts of Lyonessa's owl comes to mind and of Lyonessa herself. “Shame Valena was not with us. Perhaps it is confused.”
Laucian will take to the sky and look about in the sky. He will take note as to wear the Owl is flying about. He will have an arrow knocked and ready to be on the safe side.

[Lilia]

Lilia:

“No idea,” Talen reports. “I just know that there is something off in the direction.”

“Fair enough,” Lilia says. “So you can sense when Elder Artifacts are close. That can be useful.”

“Yes,” Talen calmly answers. “But your friend had it wrong. This device isn't meant to be powered by magic. It works by willpower and directed by the mind. Magic can be used to trigger the artifact, but it wasn't designed that way. The constant use of magic is making it unstable.”

“Mind and will,” Lilia repeats to herself. “These Elders seem to group things in bunches of sixes. Six pillars for each artifact, for example. They also had six ancient elements of the world. Our four, air, earth, fire and water, but they also had mind and will. I have to wonder if the Elders could direct magic-like effects with their minds?”

“Unstable how?” Lia asks, as she thinks about the hive coming through the portal. “While our ancestors were researching this, I wonder if anything ever came through.” She says looking to the others. “I cannot help but be troubled, If something did come from it, it would have access to our leadership especially if it worked out the pendents.”

Lia beats Lilia to those particular questions. She will say, “That could be why our ancestors created the thorny growth for protection. Anyone appearing among that mess would be killed instantly!”

“You see all I have to do is concentrate and draw upon the power within the artifact itself to take us to a different artifact,” Talen continues. “There is no randomness to it. I can direct it to take us to a specific arrival point. Not from here, of course. We need to be on it for me to activate it.”

“We have an easy way to go home and visit!” Talen realizes with a grin. “I guess that teacher really did teach me something!”

“So we can go anywhere in the world?” Lilia wonders. “That makes more sense than just traveling in one direction, I suppose. This revelation does open up many possibilities. But if it is unstable, we should not make use of it. I have no wish to have multiple copies of myself. I would rather remain unique.”

“I understand the benefits of such a device, but we need to be mindful of what may happen and be able to defend ourselves from it.”

“Agreed,” Lilia adds. “This device seems to be both a blessing and a curse. While we can go anywhere, anyone could now come here. I had hoped to remove the thorny growth, but now it seems imperative that it remains for our protection.”

[Talen]

Talen:

“Mind and will,” Lilia repeats to herself. “These Elders seem to group things in bunches of sixes. Six pillars for each artifact, for example. They also had six ancient elements of the world. Our four, air, earth, fire and water, but they also had mind and will. I have to wonder if the Elders could direct magic-like effects with their minds?”

“It's the best way I can explain it,” Talen says. “Concentration and focus.”

“Unstable how?” Lia asks, as she thinks about the hive coming through the portal. “While our ancestors were researching this, I wonder if anything ever came through.” She says looking to the others. “I cannot help but be troubled, If something did come from it, it would have access to our leadership especially if it worked out the pendents.”

“Unstable as in its not working right,” Talen answers as he closes his eyes once more. “But that's not quite right either. Magic was disrupting the way the pillars work, but there is something else at work here...”

After a few more moments of concentration, what Talen is seeking is revealed to him. “Someone altered the pillars around Cynalon to duplicate others! If someone used them by magic, instead of being sent where they thought they were going, that person was sent through each pillar at the same time! They all arrived in six different destinations. Someone at a place called Shelvestra did this.”

Lia beats Lilia to those particular questions. She will say, “That could be why our ancestors created the thorny growth for protection. Anyone appearing among that mess would be killed instantly!”

“Yes and no,” Talen adds. “When a portal appears its energy clears the platform of all obstructions. The thorny growth between the pillars would be destroyed. Obviously it grows back, so its still a good defense.”

“I understand the benefits of such a device, but we need to be mindful of what may happen and be able to defend ourselves from it.”

“But only I can use these properly,” Talen counters. “Oh, and whomever caused the portals around Cynalon to create duplicates. Everyone else just uses magic and have little control over where they go. They are not as dangerous as you fear. I can also just turn this on off.”

“Is this something that can be taught to others?” she asks her brother.

“Yes,” Talen answers, “If they can hear the teacher's call. Otherwise, no.”

“So we can go anywhere in the world?” Lilia wonders. “That makes more sense than just traveling in one direction, I suppose. This revelation does open up many possibilities. But if it is unstable, we should not make use of it. I have no wish to have multiple copies of myself. I would rather remain unique.”

“There is an entire... entire web of this pillar artifacts that cover the world,” Talen answers as his mind learns more about the Elder Artifacts. “There hundreds of them... no thousands... That's not right either. Half of them are missing! They simply ceased to exist thousands of years ago. Hundreds of others no long work. But many still remain.”

“Agreed,” Lilia adds. “This device seems to be both a blessing and a curse. While we can go anywhere, anyone could now come here. I had hoped to remove the thorny growth, but now it seems imperative that it remains for our protection.”

“This particular platform has only seen arrivals from the east,” Talen reports. “And then back again. It's been weeks since the last time this platform was used. I can control where we travel using this device across the web. I can take us to the Shillesta to the north. Karn's Keep, even underneath Gateway!”

[Onas]

Onas Brightblade:

As he walks about the clan home after the battle, Onas pauses to talk with several of the other elves.

“Prestige,” Niles answers as he works. “Those who possess the pelt of a manticore are referred as powerful hunters and warriors. I've heard tales of a cure manticore hides selling for as much as 10,000 gold to the right buyer.”

"Ah, the value of ego," Onas chuckles softly. "Not that I have any objection to letting others pay us so they can feel good about themselves. Seems like a very human trait."

“Will do,” Fayrianna says with a nod. “See you soon!”

The time has come for the Silver Maiden to depart to rejoin the rest of her colleagues. Onas gives her a warm smile as she disappears. Her return cannot come too soon. After a few moments, Onas turns away to see to other priorities.

“You're welcome to pitch right in,” Elora will say. “There are enough wounded.”

"You've got it." Onas will walk to the nearest wounded cooshee that is not currently being cared for. He greets the canine in a friendly and sympathetic manner while evaluating its injuries. With a prayer to the Triune Goddess, he converts one of his requested blessings to an appropriate healing. Holding his hands near the largest wounds, he channels the divine power into the cooshee. Once the casting is complete, he evaluates the effect to see if more healing is needed, and repeats the process if so.

Onas continues moving from cooshee to cooshee and providing any needed healing until all of the animals are returned to full health. As he works, Elora introduces him to another priest of Labelas Enoreth. "Hello, father Delphinus. A pleasure to meet you. Elora mentioned that you will be traveling to your patron's temple tomorrow. I can provide an escort, if you like."

As all of this is going on, the settlers from Clan Mealidil begin occupying the various homes in the town. Many of them will need cleaning and repairing, but they are too tired for that right now. Such work can wait for the morning.

Since they will be continuing on in the morning, Clan Red Arrow just sets up tents in the middle of the clan home. Another long day of travel awaits them before reaching Walltree.

As he cleans his weapons and prepares for bed, Onas muses upon the long and eventful day. They traveled all the way from Feadiel to Mealiel, encountered a cath shee, and slew three manticores. That seems like a full day from any perspective. Tomorrow could prove to be just as rich as today was.

Vague, half-remembered stories float through Onas' memory as he lies in his tent. As best he can recall, it had something to do with Clan Red Arrow having once been part of Clan Mealidil many millennia ago.


Morning comes, and Onas rises with the sun. Devotions are the first order of business, followed by a bit of food. Afterwards, Onas brushes, feeds, and re-saddles Carad Orod. "Good morning, my friend. We have another day of adventure before us."

Soon, it is time to start the day's journey. If Elora and Kyo requested an escort, then Onas will let Sergeant Starglow know to provide one of the Riders for that purpose. One should be sufficient, since there will be several Golden Griffons patrolling the area.

As they depart the area, Onas notes that several cooshees have joined Clan Red Arrow, which brings a smile to his face. Reaching a fork, they turn south toward Walltree. Every step brings the reality of seeing their ancestral clan home that much closer. Onas feels just a bit giddy at the thought of such a momentous event, despite how many others he has experienced during his short time here in the Sylvan Realm. He still cannot believe that he was there to see Mother Tree form a face and speak to them!


Riding near the head of the column, Onas is one of the first to spot a group of centaurs moving toward them. He holds up a hand, signalling a stop while bringing Carad Orod to a halt as well.

“Can anyone speak centaur?” Clan Master Argus Bloodmoon asks. “It seems that our neighbors have shown up sooner than we expected.”

Onas shakes his head in response to Argus' question. "I'm afraid I cannot help you there, Clan Master." He keeps his eyes on the centaur herd to make sure they pose no threat.

[Kylie]

Kylie Lanthorn the Half-Elven:

“But still a cave,” Lilia counters. “Give me the sky and stars anytime.”

As one might expect, LIlia prefers the outdoors to being underground or in any similar enclosure. "True, though lush vines, leaves, and flowers would certainly be more attractive and homey," Kylie admits as she envisions a more floral environment.

“But the quarters are still private,” Lilia speaks up. “These are the portals leaving the Speakers Quarters, not the entry ones. Based on what we saw, that way in only appeared for your mother and no other pendant. For instance, the portal that leads to my private area only appeared due to my pendant. I would imagine that the other side of the portal would only appear for the Speaker's pendant as it leads back here. It seems that the end point is what matters to the pendant, not where you start at.”

"Ah," Kylie murmurs as she thinks through Lilia's explanation. "I hadn't considered that the portals might be specific to which direction you were passing through them."


At Lia's urging, Talen takes the lead though he doesn't seem to know what it is that he is leading them toward. They pass through a series of portals; though Talen sometimes seems uncertain about the direction, they soon reach a griffon stable on the south side of the palace. Lia points out that they should inform Laucian of this, as it may impact the Golden Griffons directly.

There are a few moments of frustration, but then a portal is found that leads in the right direction. This new portal opens for the pendant that Lia is wearing, indicating that this new area is part of the school of magic.

The path leads on into another section of the school, and Talen confirms that they are in the right area, but the object much lower. It takes a few minutes to descend the ramps and stairs to the lowest accessible level. Further progress is blocked by the spiky growth that defends so much of the palace. Peering through the obstruction, they are eventually able to determine that there is a pillar artifact below!

Lilia provides a recitation on what she has learned of the portals over the years, including information gleaned from conversations with Elora and Argent.

Realizing that she's rambled on for a while now, Lilia will look to Talen hopefully. “The Mother Tree said you had been touched by the Elders. The fact that you could sense the presence of this artifact seems to support that claim. Can you work it?”

“Yes,” Talen calmly answers. “But your friend had it wrong. This device isn't meant to be powered by magic. It works by willpower and directed by the mind. Magic can be used to trigger the artifact, but it wasn't designed that way. The constant use of magic is making it unstable.”

“You see all I have to do is concentrate and draw upon the power within the artifact itself to take us to a different artifact,” Talen continues. “There is no randomness to it. I can direct it to take us to a specific arrival point. Not from here, of course. We need to be on it for me to activate it.”

"Wow, that's amazing, Talen!" Kylie exclaims. He seems to have succeeded in assimilating at least some of the information that he was given. "So they were designed to be activated and controlled by mental power, rather than magic? Incredible. The Eldar really were different from us, weren't they?" It occurs to Kylie to wonder whether all of the Eldar magic was mind-based rather than spell-based.

“Mind and will,” Lilia repeats to herself. “These Elders seem to group things in bunches of sixes. Six pillars for each artifact, for example. They also had six ancient elements of the world. Our four, air, earth, fire and water, but they also had mind and will. I have to wonder if the Elders could direct magic-like effects with their minds?”

Lilia puts forth a theory about the Eldar approach to magic, but Kylie wonders if she is assuming too much. "That makes some sense, but it seems to me that we have seen over and over that their perspective is much different from ours. I'm not sure that we should assume that they perceived the same four basic elements that we do. It may be that they ordered things in a very different fashion."

Lia brings up the dangers of having this in the middle of the elven palace, to which Lilia agrees and postulates that this may be part of the purpose of the spiky plants. Kylie had been thinking the same, though Lilia spoke first. Talen adds further information, explaining that the portals clear away any obstructions blocking the platforms when they are activated. This would leave any arrivals in a small open area with barbed vines all around. If they were unable to Teleport, then it seems that they would be trapped.

“Is this something that can be taught to others?” she asks her brother.

“Yes,” Talen answers, “If they can hear the teacher's call. Otherwise, no.”

Kylie muses for a moment, somewhat disappointed by his answer. "So only the young can learn as only they hear the call, and then only if sufficiently similar to one of the Eldar species. That's pretty limiting. I guess that makes you very special indeed, Talen!"

“Unstable as in its not working right,” Talen answers as he closes his eyes once more. “But that's not quite right either. Magic was disrupting the way the pillars work, but there is something else at work here...”

After a few more moments of concentration, what Talen is seeking is revealed to him. “Someone altered the pillars around Cynalon to duplicate others! If someone used them by magic, instead of being sent where they thought they were going, that person was sent through each pillar at the same time! They all arrived in six different destinations. Someone at a place called Shelvestra did this.”

“But only I can use these properly,” Talen counters. “Oh, and whomever caused the portals around Cynalon to create duplicates. Everyone else just uses magic and have little control over where they go. They are not as dangerous as you fear. I can also just turn this on off.”

“There is an entire... entire web of this pillar artifacts that cover the world,” Talen answers as his mind learns more about the Elder Artifacts. “There hundreds of them... no thousands... That's not right either. Half of them are missing! They simply ceased to exist thousands of years ago. Hundreds of others no long work. But many still remain.”

“This particular platform has only seen arrivals from the east,” Talen reports. “And then back again. It's been weeks since the last time this platform was used. I can control where we travel using this device across the web. I can take us to the Shillesta to the north. Karn's Keep, even underneath Gateway!”

Kylie listens intently as Talen talks about the pillar artifacts, piecing the puzzle together as best she can in her own mind. "Wait, let me see if I understand this correctly: These pillars are controlled by mental energy, and you can turn them on and off. Can you do that remotely by thinking through this 'web' at a particular pillar? You can also navigate to any active pillar, anywhere in the world? Can you also perceive and travel to other worlds where they exist, such as where that other Mother Tree is that we need to save?" Being able to deactivate the pillars would certainly reduce the danger of unwanted visitors.

"Also, someone has been messing with the portal network. Can you tell if it was done recently? And this is what caused Argent to... 'fracture' into multiple versions of herself? We've already encountered four versions of her, so that means that there are almost certainly two more... somewhere. Is this intentional alteration of the network possibly also what caused half of the pillars to cease to exist?

Do you have any sense of where this Shelvestra is? From the similarity of the name to Shillesta, it seems likely to be another Eldar city. From what you've said, you could take us there, or to the site connected to the recent arrivals and departures."

______________________________________________________________________________________
Thanks for the clarification!

[Valena Feador]

Valena:

The three Silver Maiden have reached the griffon stable and are now mingling with the new potentials.

As this group converses and Fayrianna tells the tale of the battle with the manticores at the Mealidil Clan Hold, another lady shyly comes up to them. Its Sergeant Jorzana Silversword, the commander of the Forest Riders accompanying Clan Grunalf.

“Forgive the interruption,” Sergeant Silversword calls out. “I would be very interested in learning what is required to become a Silver Maiden. I saw my clanswoman Fayrianna atop her unicorn and I couldn't take my eyes off of them. I've been a Forest Rider for a long time, but to ride a unicorn... That would be special.”

“Then join us clanswoman,” Fayrianna calls out. “You should hear what Valena has to say.”

“Yes, Join us Jorzana,” Valena adds. “As I have told the other potentials, the process is very simple. Tomorrow we shall travel to the Silver Maidens Order Hall. The only requirement to join is that you must be accepted by a unicorn and they only will accept those are dedicated to the cause of good and are pure of heart.”

“Do you wish to accompany us in the morning?”

[Lilia]

Lilia:

"Ah," Kylie murmurs as she thinks through Lilia's explanation. "I hadn't considered that the portals might be specific to which direction you were passing through them."

“Based on what we have witness thus far, that seems to be the case,” Lilia states.

“Unstable as in its not working right,” Talen answers as he closes his eyes once more. “But that's not quite right either. Magic was disrupting the way the pillars work, but there is something else at work here...”

After a few more moments of concentration, what Talen is seeking is revealed to him. “Someone altered the pillars around Cynalon to duplicate others! If someone used them by magic, instead of being sent where they thought they were going, that person was sent through each pillar at the same time! They all arrived in six different destinations. Someone at a place called Shelvestra did this.”

“That sounds like what happened Argent”, Lilia notes. “Someone did that on purpose. But why?”

“Yes and no,” Talen adds. “When a portal appears its energy clears the platform of all obstructions. The thorny growth between the pillars would be destroyed. Obviously it grows back, so its still a good defense.”

“That would make sense,” Lilia slowly agrees. “You would want the arrival point clear of clutter. Its just like the danger of a mage teleporting into a solid object, so they found a way around it.”

“But only I can use these properly,” Talen counters. “Oh, and whomever caused the portals around Cynalon to create duplicates. Everyone else just uses magic and have little control over where they go. They are not as dangerous as you fear. I can also just turn this on off.”

“What do you mean 'turn it off'?” Lilia asks.

“There is an entire... entire web of this pillar artifacts that cover the world,” Talen answers as his mind learns more about the Elder Artifacts. “There hundreds of them... no thousands... That's not right either. Half of them are missing! They simply ceased to exist thousands of years ago. Hundreds of others no long work. But many still remain.”

“This particular platform has only seen arrivals from the east,” Talen reports. “And then back again. It's been weeks since the last time this platform was used. I can control where we travel using this device across the web. I can take us to the Shillesta to the north. Karn's Keep, even underneath Gateway!”

“Then we really could travel the world,” Lilia says in wonder. “Or bring the world to us. If this can be done safely...”

Kylie speaks up with her own questions and Lilia looks to Talen to see how he answers them.

[Talen]

Talen:

"Wow, that's amazing, Talen!" Kylie exclaims. He seems to have succeeded in assimilating at least some of the information that he was given. "So they were designed to be activated and controlled by mental power, rather than magic? Incredible. The Elders really were different from us, weren't they?" It occurs to Kylie to wonder whether all of the Elder magic was mind-based rather than spell-based.

“That seems to be the case,” Talen agrees. “I find it hard to believe myself!”

Kylie muses for a moment, somewhat disappointed by his answer. "So only the young can learn as only they hear the call, and then only if sufficiently similar to one of the Elder species. That's pretty limiting. I guess that makes you very special indeed, Talen!"

“I don't know about it being only the young,” Talen suggests. “Seems to me that hearing the call shouldn't only be for the young. I never thought of myself as special, but yeah, I guess I am.”

“What do you mean 'turn it off'?” Lilia asks.

“Each of this artifacts...,” Talen says trying to find the words to express himself. “Is like a door. Its open right now, so anyone can pass through. But like a door, it can be closed and than no one could pass through.”

Kylie listens intently as Talen talks about the pillar artifacts, piecing the puzzle together as best she can in her own mind. "Wait, let me see if I understand this correctly: These pillars are controlled by mental energy, and you can turn them on and off. Can you do that remotely by thinking through this 'web' at a particular pillar? You can also navigate to any active pillar, anywhere in the world? Can you also perceive and travel to other worlds where they exist, such as where that other Mother Tree is that we need to save?" Being able to deactivate the pillars would certainly reduce the danger of unwanted visitors.”

“I can only do so much for this far away,” Talen explains. “Mainly read the information that it is providing me. To use it, or close it, I need to be on the platform. I don't sense anything beyond this world. Perhaps one of the larger pillars does that? But yes, its telling me what pillars are active and where they are in the world.”

"Also, someone has been messing with the portal network. Can you tell if it was done recently? And this is what caused Argent to... 'fracture into multiple versions of herself? We've already encountered four versions of her, so that means that there are almost certainly two more... somewhere. Is this intentional alteration of the network possibly also what caused half of the pillars to cease to exist?”

“The change was done around seven weeks ago,” Talen reports. “No, half the pillars vanished over twenty thousand years ago.”

“I'm digging deeper into these records,” Talen continues. “I think I can see what happened to the six versions of Argent. One went to Gateway, another to a place further west of Gateway. The one we found in the ruins certainly took the long way around! She was actually sent southeast and flung all the way around the world to reach here!”

“The ones that went southwest and west ended up in Shelvestra with the beings that made the change. The one that went east ended up...” Talen turns pale at this point. “I'm so sorry, Kylie. That one was killed almost immediately. The platform she arrived at was underwater. Her arrival removed the water around the artifact, but then it just came crashing in. She never had a chance.”

“Do you have any sense of where this Shelvestra is? From the similarity of the name to Shillesta, it seems likely to be another Elder city. From what you've said, you could take us there, or to the site connected to the recent arrivals and departures."

“From what I can tell, its south of Elcadan,” Talen reports. “There is a an Elder City in Cynalon!”

[Lia]

Lia
Lia listens to the others speak about the Elders and how they are mental based vs spell based. A lot of it is beyond her but she follows what they are saying well enough.

“Unstable as in its not working right,” Talen answers as he closes his eyes once more. “But that's not quite right either. Magic was disrupting the way the pillars work, but there is something else at work here...”

After a few more moments of concentration, what Talen is seeking is revealed to him. “Someone altered the pillars around Cynalon to duplicate others! If someone used them by magic, instead of being sent where they thought they were going, that person was sent through each pillar at the same time! They all arrived in six different destinations. Someone at a place called Shelvestra did this.”

“Argent.” Lia guesses, “Unless there was someone else playing with the portals.”
“Then we really could travel the world,” Lilia says in wonder. “Or bring the world to us. If this can be done safely...”
Lia is quiet for a moment and then speaks. “Perhaps it is best if we leave the mistakes of the Elders with the elders.”she says looking to the Queen then the others. “There is a reason why the Elders are no longer with us. Except the words of this teacher.” She cautions.

“Each of this artifacts...,” Talen says trying to find the words to express himself. “Is like a door. Its open right now, so anyone can pass through. But like a door, it can be closed and than no one could pass through.”

“And if one attempts to go through a closed portal.”She makes a smacking sound with her hands. “Or do you go to the next.”

“I can only do so much for this far away,” Talen explains. “Mainly read the information that it is providing me. To use it, or close it, I need to be on the platform. I don't sense anything beyond this world. Perhaps one of the larger pillars does that? But yes, its telling me what pillars are active and where they are in the world.”

“Can you tell us of the enormous pillar we saw to the north?”she asks.

“The ones that went southwest and west ended up in Shelvestra with the beings that made the change. The one that went east ended up...” Talen turns pale at this point. “I'm so sorry, Kylie. That one was killed almost immediately. The platform she arrived at was underwater. Her arrival removed the water around the artifact, but then it just came crashing in. She never had a chance.”

Lia looks to Kylie then to Lilia a stoic look comes over the follower of Eilistraee, “This furthers my point that this should not be used until we know all that we can. If we go through we will not know what we ae going into. Underwater, Unbearable cold or heat, Perhaps even the heavens themselves. The cost of of exploring is one thing, losing one’s life as partial Argent is another.” She states evenly hoping she does not come across cold or uncaring.

[Lilia]

Lilia:

“The change was done around seven weeks ago,” Talen reports. “No, half the pillars vanished over twenty thousand years ago.”

“Seven weeks ago does fit the time frame where Argent had her 'accident',” Lilia notes. “Twenty thousand years ago? I wonder... It was that long ago when Evergreen began to freeze over. It does make me wonder if these two seemingly separate events are somehow related.”

“Each of these artifacts...,” Talen says trying to find the words to express himself. “Is like a door. Its open right now, so anyone can pass through. But like a door, it can be closed and than no one could pass through.”

“And if one attempts to go through a closed portal.”She makes a smacking sound with her hands. “Or do you go to the next.”

“No idea,” Lilia notes. “I do know that I would feel safer if this platform here was able to be turned off when not needed. Keep unexpected guests out.”

“I can only do so much from this far away,” Talen explains. “Mainly read the information that it is providing me. To use it, or close it, I need to be on the platform. I don't sense anything beyond this world. Perhaps one of the larger pillars does that? But yes, its telling me what pillars are active and where they are in the world.”

“Are not these larger pillars part of this web of which you speak?” Lilia asks. “Or are they part of a different web or perhaps webs?”

Lia is quiet for a moment and then speaks. “Perhaps it is best if we leave the mistakes of the Elders with the elders.” she says looking to the Queen then the others. “There is a reason why the Elders are no longer with us. Except the words of this teacher.” She cautions.

“What mistakes did the Elders make?” Lilia wonders. “I am sure there is a reason why the Elders are no longer here. But we do not know what that reason is. Did they die out in the disaster that fell twenty thousand years ago or did they vanish with the missing pillars?”

“I'm digging deeper into these records,” Talen continues. “I think I can see what happened to the six versions of Argent. One went to Gateway, another to a place further west of Gateway. The one we found in the ruins certainly took the long way around! She was actually sent southeast and flung all the way around the world to reach here!”

“The ones that went southwest and west ended up in Shelvestra with the beings that made the change. The one that went east ended up...” Talen turns pale at this point. “I'm so sorry, Kylie. That one was killed almost immediately. The platform she arrived at was underwater. Her arrival removed the water around the artifact, but then it just came crashing in. She never had a chance.”

“That seems to support Argent's hypothesis that when using magic the user is sent off in the direction of the pillar they used,” Lilia states. “Just as we are taught that it is foolish to use a Teleport spell blindly, using this Elder Artifact this way is the same thing. Foolish. What is that the humans say? Look before you leap?”

Lia looks to Kylie then to Lilia a stoic look comes over the follower of Eilistraee, “This furthers my point that this should not be used until we know all that we can. If we go through we will not know what we are going into. Underwater, Unbearable cold or heat, Perhaps even the heavens themselves. The cost of of exploring is one thing, losing one’s life as partial Argent is another.” She states evenly hoping she does not come across cold or uncaring.

“In principal, I agree,” Lilia says. “However, if Talen can now direct where this artifact takes travelers, and if he can determine what the condition is at the arrival point is like, only then I would condone its usage.”

“From what I can tell, its south of Elcadan,” Talen reports. “There is a an Elder City in Cynalon!”

“My friends, from what Talen has told us we have picked up some very important clues,” Lilia continues. “Back when we fought the Hive, the Hive Queen did say,

“We never imagined that when we absorbed the last of the Chiliz that so many new possibilities would arise. That their methods of moving around this world would allow us to expand so fast.” The robed figure glances at the larger pillar formation when saying that last part. “They not only opened up this world, but now many others!”

“Given what we now know, I think we can safely say that it is the Hive who are the others who know how to control the Elder Artifacts. But seemingly not as well as Talen here can, so that gives us an advantage. They seem to be based in this other Elder City, Shelvestra and this place is somewhere south of Elcadan back in Cynalon. Than it makes sense that they were the ones who caused the Artifact to start duplication pillar users. Why? Simple. They needed bodies to infect to make more Hive. For some reason they choose the Argent we fought to become a Hive Queen. We can only assume this sixth and final Argent has also become a Hive Queen.”

“If Talen is skilled at using these devices, then we can take the fight to the Hive,” Lilia concludes. “If he can 'close the door' on those portals in this other Elder City, than they would trapped there. It'll make them much easier to wipe out.”

“The day grows late,” Lilia notes, “and we have much to consider. Let us retrace our steps back the way we came. We can still take a quick look a the Speaker's Area on the way back. Let us relax and spend the evening with those in Pinit. It seems to me that we underestimated just how big the Elfin Palace was. I would suggest setting up multiple search teams to fully explore this place tomorrow. As long as the thorny growth is here, we are unable to reach the Elder Artifact. It may take days to remove it, but when it is removed, I want Talen to close it, at least for now. One step at a time.”

[Talen]

Talen:

“Argent.” Lia guesses, “Unless there was someone else playing with the portals.”

“There were others who were duplicated six times as well,” Talen notes. “But none of those others reached the ruins up to the north. That's how I was able to track her specifically. The records just show when the device was used and where they went, not who they were.”

“And if one attempts to go through a closed portal.”She makes a smacking sound with her hands. “Or do you go to the next.”

“No idea,” Lilia notes. “I do know that I would feel safer if this platform here was able to be turned off when not needed. Keep unexpected guests out.”

“I don't know how to describe it...” Talen says while thinking. “It's not a narrow hallway filled with doors and if one is blocked you're stuck. It's a giant room and all the doors are along the edge. When you go through this portal, you appear in this room. From there I can pick which door to exit from. If one is close, another one that is opened is used instead. That one artifact is just, temporarily, cut off from the giant spiders web.”

“Can you tell us of the enormous pillar we saw to the north?”she asks.

“Are not these larger pillars part of this web of which you speak?” Lilia asks. “Or are they part of a different web or perhaps webs?”

“No, I can not sense them at all,” Talen reports. “I think, as Lilia said, they may be part of different spider webs. I'll have to go to them to find out if I can work them or not.”

Lia looks to Kylie then to Lilia a stoic look comes over the follower of Eilistraee, “This furthers my point that this should not be used until we know all that we can. If we go through we will not know what we ae going into. Underwater, Unbearable cold or heat, Perhaps even the heavens themselves. The cost of of exploring is one thing, losing one’s life as partial Argent is another.” She states evenly hoping she does not come across cold or uncaring.

“In principal, I agree,” Lilia says. “However, if Talen can now direct where this artifact takes travelers, and if he can determine what the condition is at the arrival point is like, only then I would condone its usage.”

“These artifacts are unsafe now because they are being misused,” Talen says to Lia. “I can tell if the arrival point is safe or not. If it is buried, or underwater or even in a volcano. The way I can do it is perfectly safe.”

“The day grows late,” Lilia notes, “and we have much to consider. Let us retrace our steps back the way we came. We can still take a quick look a the Speaker's Area on the way back. Let us relax and spend the evening with those in Pinit. It seems to me that we underestimated just how big the Elfin Palace was. I would suggest setting up multiple search teams to fully explore this place tomorrow. As long as the thorny growth is here, we are unable to reach the Elder Artifact. It may take days to remove it, but when it is removed, I want Talen to close it, at least for now. One step at a time.”

“Yeah, I can't do anything until I can touch it,” Talen agrees. “And I'm starting to get hungry anyway!”

[Kylie]

Kylie Lanthorn the Half-Elven:

“I don't know about it being only the young,” Talen suggests. “Seems to me that hearing the call shouldn't only be for the young. I never thought of myself as special, but yeah, I guess I am.”

Kylie thinks back to their visit to Shillesta. "I recall us theorizing that age was why you heard the call and not Lia or I, but perhaps that theory was wrong. Do you have any more insight into what makes someone able to hear the call?" A smile crosses her face at she looks at Talen. "And yes, you are."

“That sounds like what happened Argent”, Lilia notes. “Someone did that on purpose. But why?”

Lilia voices exactly the thoughts Kylie was having. The thought that someone would do this on purpose is terrifying.

“There were others who were duplicated six times as well,” Talen notes. “But none of those others reached the ruins up to the north. That's how I was able to track her specifically. The records just show when the device was used and where they went, not who they were.”

"This happened to others as well?!" Kylie asks, her eyes wide in a blend of concern and anxiety. "Do you know how many others? Is there anything we can do to help them?"

“I can only do so much for this far away,” Talen explains. “Mainly read the information that it is providing me. To use it, or close it, I need to be on the platform. I don't sense anything beyond this world. Perhaps one of the larger pillars does that? But yes, its telling me what pillars are active and where they are in the world.”

Talen's response doesn't quite get at what Kylie was trying to determine. "I was more thinking that if you were touching one of the pillars, maybe you could sense another well enough to turn it off or on. For example, we could keep this one turned off to protect ourselves. When we wanted to go somewhere, you could turn it on, take us through, then turn it off until we needed to return. I guess that's not really an option, though."

“Seven weeks ago does fit the time frame where Argent had her 'accident',” Lilia notes. “Twenty thousand years ago? I wonder... It was that long ago when Evergreen began to freeze over. It does make me wonder if these two seemingly separate events are somehow related.”

"An interesting point, Lilia," Kylie remarks. Lilia's knowledge of history is greater than her own, and it does provide an intriguing possibility.

“I'm digging deeper into these records,” Talen continues. “I think I can see what happened to the six versions of Argent. One went to Gateway, another to a place further west of Gateway. The one we found in the ruins certainly took the long way around! She was actually sent southeast and flung all the way around the world to reach here!”

“The ones that went southwest and west ended up in Shelvestra with the beings that made the change. The one that went east ended up...” Talen turns pale at this point. “I'm so sorry, Kylie. That one was killed almost immediately. The platform she arrived at was underwater. Her arrival removed the water around the artifact, but then it just came crashing in. She never had a chance.”

Kylie's hand goes to cover her mouth as tears well in the corners of her eyes. "Oh Argent..." Despite her feelings, her mind is still whirring through the information. "So that doesn't account for the Hive Queen Argent... Unless... she was one of those that went to Shelvestra. Which means the hive were from this Shelvestra."

“From what I can tell, its south of Elcadan,” Talen reports. “There is a an Elder City in Cynalon!”

And there's the piece that reveals the hideous danger behind everything that has happened. "And it must be controlled by the Hive! Gods, all of Cynallon is in danger!" Kylie spins and looks at LIlia. "We have to do something about this!"

Lia and Lilia talk a bit about the Elders and what mistakes they may have made, but there doesn't appear to be any concrete evidence one way or the other.

“That seems to support Argent's hypothesis that when using magic the user is sent off in the direction of the pillar they used,” Lilia states. “Just as we are taught that it is foolish to use a Teleport spell blindly, using this Elder Artifact this way is the same thing. Foolish. What is that the humans say? Look before you leap?”

Kylie chuckles for a moment at Lilia's comment. "And yet, that is pretty much what adventurers - like us - do on a regular basis to some extent."

“These artifacts are unsafe now because they are being misused,” Talen says to Lia. “I can tell if the arrival point is safe or not. If it is buried, or underwater or even in a volcano. The way I can do it is perfectly safe.”

"You did say earlier that you could use them properly." Kylie gives him a steady, confident look. "If you say that you can use them safely, then I believe you. We should also try to stop other people from using them incorrectly, as that will put them at great risk."

Lilia proposes that they return to Pinit, as the day is getting late. Not surprisingly, Talen is thinking with his stomach and agrees. "Very well. We should have plenty of time to explore further tomorrow."

Lilia's comment about splitting up when they return tomorrow is concerning. "I recommend that we don't split into groups that are too small. There still may be dangers here. Also, we need all six pendents to properly test all of the portals."

[GM Mad]

Post Closed