Tag Archives: Alexis

Before the brewing can begin

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The morning after the talk about brewing potion Ethelred approaches both Ca’ramine and Gustav.

“Gentlemen if we are to brew potions we will need supplies! Beyond the mushrooms I have continued to ask for, with limited returns, I will require more items.

  • 5 bunny skins each larger than a foot
  • a fist sized ball of honey
  • bark of the toughest tree you can find
  • mushrooms of all kinds
  • fat from any animal, deer or rabbit would be best

Next Red turns to Alexis and Rask.

“You can aid in the brewing of potion by grinding metal to powder. Here are 3 bags one for copper, silver and gold. The files. If you need coins search the horse bags. We can never had too much”

That’s the Power of Raiden

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Facing the bole of a beech tree, Ca’armine sits cross-legged in repose. He’s staring at the silver shield of Raiden in front of him. His body is relaxed. His mind is elsewhere.

Alexis asked him, “can the energy that pushed away the demon, be used to draw in a similarly powerful good creature?” Or something like that. Ca’armine said no, quickly, or at least, not through his agency, but now, he realizes, that in a profound communion with Raiden, he does walk beyond the boundaries, not of the plane, but of the visible world. Maybe more is possible than Ca’armine had believed!

He walks in the garden of Raiden’s delight. It’s not a place, he’s not walking with his feet on any ground, but this is the vision in his mind as he communes with his god. Raiden seldom speaks to him here, but he senses the Presence. “Raiden, please hear me. My team walked in, and out, of a dark place, looking for a powerful artifact. Is this something we can use? Will this help us defeat the enemy?”

When he says “the enemy,” a ripple runs through the vision. Ca’armine raises an eyebrow.

“Raiden I feel you guiding me. When I reach out for your power, you give it freely! I believe I am following a path you are laying in front of me. Are you guiding me toward the enemy? Can my team and I defeat the enemy? With your power I feel anything can be possible.”

“Raiden thank you for guiding me, for empowering me, and for leading me forward. I trust you will help me and my team, and guide us in your righteous path. I pray you give me strength that I might access– or the team might use– the power in the artifact! I pray you show us the enemy, and guide us to defeat him!

A spear of light arcs into Ca’armine’s chest, filling him with bliss. It is the same spear he throws when he heals a fallen team-mate. The beam illuminates him and then disperses.

Remember The Peacemakers

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Alexis dances a silver coin across his knuckles, watching the firelight play off it.

“So. Bandesingh.” He catches the coin. “Two Tears of Avv. Enslaved how many humans now through the Dark Hand? Sold them to goblins and orcs. Used blood magic to make those orcs nastier. Had gnolls digging for an artifact tied to the weeping god. Until he found out we got there first. Then he sacrificed all those gnolls. Fed them to his evil working.”

He pockets the coin, looking up.

“End of the Second Age, every race turned on humanity. Tore down everything we’d built. We’ve worked with some of them since. Carnoah, the litigious dwarves, the invisible dwarves, kobolds. Not all of them are monsters. But Bandesingh’s making deals with the worst ones. Goblins. Orcs. Making them stronger while he weakens humanity from the shadows.”

He adjusts his hat.

“We get that Tear from Nodden-Torr, we might actually have a shot at stopping him. So that’s the job. Let’s not forget it when things get ugly in there.”

Is Tarkus’ Shadow Tunic Helpful?

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The group’s put Nodden-Torr behind them, heading east. Gustav and Ca’armine say they’re close to where they’ll camp for the next few weeks. Alexis digs into the saddlebag and pulls out Tarkus Vell’s very fine tunic. He turns it over in his hands, then holds it out to Ethelred.

“Have you studied Ontic Instantiation within those scrolls? Summoning things that aren’t from around here?” He shakes the tunic slightly. “Would this help?”

Brewers, Light Your Burners

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A week into their time in the hills east of Nodden-Torr, the group gathers for a meal. Some look sharp, invigorated. Others are worn down. Alexis pulls his hat off, sets it beside him, and leans forward on his elbows looking at Gustav and Ethelred.

“Follow-up to what I said before. We should brew potions before heading back in.” He glances at Gustav. “Takes you more effort, Gus, but brewing’s still quick work.”

He shifts his boots under him, turning to address both Ethelred and Gustav jointly again.

“Let’s inventory what we’ve got for vessels. Flasks, vials, jars we can reuse. We’ve got Hadonis’ evil stuff, and I still have that resistance vial from the Emoi mage.” He pulls the vial out, turns it in his fingers and the Collegium ring catching firelight as he does. “These need thorough cleaning. Any trace of Hadonis’ god or the Emoi has to go. I can handle that. Just get me fresh moss.”

“The vessels for Hadonis’ oils and perfumes, the mundane stuff, we can be less careful with. But still clean.”

He looks between them. “Two questions. What other containers do we have? And what can you make that’ll actually help us down there?”

When We Delve Back Into The Dungeon

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The group’s been walking for an hour since the Monastery of the Eagles fell behind them. Two keys secured, two weeks of open sky ahead. Alexis adjusts his hat against the late sun, boots finding steady ground. His Collegium ring catches the light as he gestures ahead.

“Watching Gus die and Raiden’s power couldn’t even bring him back. And before that, nearly losing all of us.” He turns to face the others, but still keeping his stride. “We need to do this differently when we go back.”

The sound of ring clinking on ring is heard as Alexis brings one hand down into the other.

“Every passage so far has had two threats. Both can be beaten with enough raw power, but the first one’s been a puzzle. Perception, thought. The second’s a fight. And each fight has had a touch of insanity.” Alexis thinks on this a moment and then continues. “There appear to be patterns.”

He shrugs. “But these are short runs. We don’t need endurance. Just the right approach.”

“Red and I have been holding back in case things get worse. I think we stop doing that. New plan: we use everything we’ve got to crack the puzzles: The trapped door and the mural room. And when we’re ready to test our theory, we fortify ourselves first. Assume we’re wrong and plan for the consequences.”

He looks around at them. Ethelred, Ca’armine, Rask, Gustav, and Sally perched on Gustav’s shoulder.

“Thoughts?”

Summoning Happy, Fluffy Things

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As the blood-sweet-rot dimension collapses in on itself, Alexis turns to Ca’armine and Ethelred, pulling his hat back into place.

“Everything summoned we’ve seen so far has been evil. Can we summon something good? Angels exist in the stories.” He adjusts his belt and his shirt. “What about something that makes you forget nightmares like that?”

“And how do we prepare for the next time we meet something like that? What lessons can we take away from this time? That… thing fought Raiden’s magic hard. For a second, I thought it was going to shake it off.”

Red’s Special Purpose

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As Gustav is inspecting the room for tracks and to understand the story of the bugbears, Alexis is standing in the back of the room with Ethelred, leaning against the wall playing with a coin across his knuckles.

“Hey. Thanks for knocking out the bugbear back there. You’re hands-down my best man for taking someone to meet the lord of sleep in one shot. Rask gets it done, but it’s not as clean.”

Alexis flicks the coin in the air and catches it. “Thanks.” Alexis nods his head slightly towards Ethelred in thanks.

The Mystery of the Reset

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During the rest period after the group has gotten the first key of Nodden-Torr, Alexis addresses the group.

“We’ve been talking about the ‘reset rooms’. Maybe they reset when the four-part key goes in the door. That’d explain the bugbear bodies still being there when we came back.”

He pulls his whip off his belt, coiling it loosely in his hands.

“But if Hadonis came back after getting thrown out, there should’ve been dead bugbears from his fight. Blood. Something. Maybe the portals let you skip the room entirely; teleportation. Would’ve been a lot more hospitable if the dwarves put that bypass before the summoning chamber.”

He shakes his head, half a grin. Then he looks up at the others, settles on Ethelred.