Through Ultan's Door

Campaign News for 6/1: Upon your return from the cleanup of the cavern, the guards at the harbor cheer you, swords raised. As they help you from the boat, they inform you that something strange happened at the pagodas during your trip to the waking world. A great vine, thick and green rose wavering out of the canyon, entwining itself around the rope bridges. The guards hacked at its thick stem, but to no avail. Forming a pod at its front, it pushed its way into the pagoda of a terrified Malichar. When the pod opened, the onlookers saw a pale white face staring out from its interior. At this point a dark screen descended over the windows and door, obscuring the scene and sound within from the many figures pressed in to look. After a period of ten minutes, the vine withdrew, sinking back into the jungle below. They tell you that Malichar is eager to speak to you. After congratulating you on your assault of the Lurid Toads, and appraising your goods, Malichar carefully posts sentries outs...

I'll open up a little discussion space for things we did in Rastingdrung last session, perhaps? Salinger wants to shop around the black roses and shadow-insect eggs to anyone who might be able to give info or be interested in purchasing them. I'm imagining large globes of shadows and rose-headed creatures plucking war-crows from their perches, but keeping those thoughts from Sir Treskan. Money money money...

Session 15: Siege of the Lurid Toads Our intrepid party made a trip back to Rastingdrung in this session. They fed poisoned meat to the Lurid Toads on the way in, popped some dreamy looking bubbles, and collected oeniric pudding. On the way back they utterly destroyed the parasitic infestation of Lurid Toads. While many toads were laid up with terrible gastrointestinal pains, they took out the sentries, and managed to destroy the dam before they had to face any real opposition. This drained the cavern, and destroyed the strange bubble structures they had excreted. It was a complete route. When the water had washed out, and the remaining toads had fled, this is what the party finds when it returns. The remaining bubble structure has begun to dry out and crack up. Within is a yurt made of animal hides, and several tents. The yurt contained meats and chum hanging on racks and resting in tubs composed of the same weird excreted substance as the domes. It is utterly revolting to be in. The ...

Session 14: Battle for the Petal Blade The party began the session paused at a dramatic moment. The shade of Laloria, the handmaiden of Lady Shirishanu, had just challenged the champion of the party to single combat. Should the champion prevail, her service would be at an end, and she would finally pass through the gates of Ushanpoor, the brass city of the dead, leaving the party free to take the Petal Blade. Should she prevail, the party would have to leave the room of Petal Blade, and never return. To provide the party’s champion, Salinger employed his necromantic ring, summoning up the shade of Valkum the Slayer to do battle on their behalf. Valkum was tall and strong, with muscular white skin and the white hair characteristic of the Zyanese, piled up in a bun on his head. He wore the armor of a reaver, and had at his back an immense sword. He stretched, praising the gods for the feel of real flesh on his bones, and asked the party where “that slack-jawed moron Ulaptaloom” was. Afte...

The background below comes from the visions received during the reverie of Sir Tresken. The Twin of Vyanir’s Saddle In the late afternoon of the Incandescent Kings, Sir Garanax tracked the Sanguine Wyrm to its lair. Returning to the Summer Palace where the courtiers feasted and made merry, he called on them to assemble a hunting party. The bravest of them rode out, the noblemen and women arrayed for hunting on their strange mounts, with a splendid retinue in train. Surprising the beast, they drove it forward for three days and three nights, at great cost, for the old Wyrm was desperate in its rage and its thirst for survival was boundless. Crafty Garanax attacked always from below, driving him ever upwards until the great beast, exhausted, was tangled in the densest jungle where the boughs grew in thickets, and had no choice but to face him, hampered and constrained by the cutting branches that ensnared him. There the Wyrm slew many, as its terrible jaws gnashed the life from many well...

The aftermath of the last session is going to take a while to unfold. You seized three significant artifacts from the Cenotaph. I will do a session recap with the reaction of Malichar, XP, etc. But I'm going to share a description of the artifacts as I complete them. In this case, the backstory that proceeds the description of the Petal Blade is one that Malichar was able to provide to you. The Petal Blade Lathanon, last of the Incandescent Kings, had the Petal Blade forged for his concubine Lady Shirishanu. Against the advice of his sages, he had his sorcerers pluck a blazing comet from its path in the heavens above to supply its substance. With this mercurial metal, he had his alchemical smiths mix the living essence of the massive orchid that has grown from beneath the stones in the council chamber of the visible king since Zyan’s founding. (This orchid now is, sadly, dying. Many say that the hopes of Zyan will die with it.) The Petal Blade is a long and thin sword. It sits in ...

Final players map of the Cenotaph of the Lady Shirshanu.

Session 13 recap and take This session began paused in the Cenotaph of Shirishanu in the room north of the altar room. (Map here: https://plus.google.com/106146496996956180494/posts/i5tRTUWVxAY ) As Salinger, the one-eyed thief worked to disarm the trap he found on the coffin of a strange lion beast, Cletus stood guard out in the altar room. Suddenly a ball of darkness emerged from the inexplicably dark rent in the floor, and Cletus felt stabbing sensations as the pincers bit into his flesh and dragged him back towards the crack. The party emerged quickly. Dozar priest of the Slumbering God dispelled the blackness revealing a hideous white insect. The party was able to free Cletus and pinion the insect horror. It would still have gotten away, but for a lucky bulls-eye shot into the darkness by one-eyed Salinger. From the north and south rooms the party uncovered the coffins of two strange beasts, recovering a gem-like serpent eye, and snakeskin, and a gem studded collar. They then proc...

This is the current hexmap of Level 1 of the White Jungle. Note that I've FINALLY fixed the hex numbering. This is the canonical numbering, moving forward. We will refer to this map for your return trip from the Cenotaph of Shirishanu. I will not alter the numbering in the future and will use the same numbering system for all lower levels.

This is the current map of the Cenotaph of Lady Shirishanu

Some doctrinal disputes among the followers of MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI concerning the nature of the dreamworld and its relationship to the waking world. Of special interest to Eric Boyd

Session 12 Recap 6/28 The party struck out into the first level of the jungle heading into the hex SW of the hanging merchants. From there, they followed an easy trail to the hex NW of there. Here they came upon a charming path that was a little too easy for their liking. Skirting it, they stumbled upon dense bramble cages suspended from the branches above. The party released one occupant, a birdlike humanoid rose with glorious but filthy plumage. As a reward he informed the party that there was a place where the worthless shining baubles that stupid man craves can be found, “a house of man idols”, to the south of the “small mountain” in the densest part of the jungle (level 2). A large lumpen man, claiming to be a hermit, then confronted the party, trying to lure them to “his home”. He was knocked off the brambles but sprang back with a leap and began uttering incantations in the voice of a crone. Cletus immobilized him with hold person and he was kicked off into the depths of the jun...