Sage Marin had prepared a ritual circle to allow them to project into the Astral Plane. He told them that any harm that might come to their astral forms while projecting would *not* be mirrored on their bodies… with one exception. Certain beings in Astral Space could sever the astral cord linking them back to their bodies. If that were to happen, their soul would be permanently destroyed… He would attempt to project them somewhere close to the Tomb of the Gods. From there it would be up to them to locate the Spear and the Cage.
They sat still while he completed his ritual, and then abruptly found themselves floating in Astral Space!
It took a bit to orient themselves and understand how to move, but then they quickly located a massive floating skull which seemed likely to be their initial target.
Inside the eye they came upon a cavern containing a settlement of some kind. A strange knight guarded the entrance. He greeted them dismissively as “Ghosts”, and advised them not to admit allegiance to any deity while within “The Pimple”. Apparently the settlement was dominated by a faction called the Atheus – a cult which was staunchly opposed to the worship of any and all gods. He advised them not to lie about their allegiances – as that could both anger the gods and be detected by Atreus priests. But he also suggested that they not answer any questions about such allegiances unless directly asked.
The settlement itself was an amazingly bizarre place, with all sorts of odd beings going about their business.
Asking around about the Spear, they were eventually directed to the head of the Atheus temple – Rhera the Iconoclast. Rhera immediately asked them if they believed in or worshipped any gods. Hans cut in before Marty could open his mouth, and explained that while their academy maintained a shrine to Pakri – goddess of knowledge – it was not dedicated to any particular deity. Rhera stared at them shrewdly for a moment, and then looked right at Marty and asked that he tell Pakri to kiss his !@!. Marty objected, naturally, but Rhera refused to assist them unless he did so. Eventually Marty caved and cursed as requested, praying under his breath that the goddess understood.
Rhera smirked – claiming that the lack of response proved the goddess was powerless here. He claimed to have an “astral cartographer” in his employ. Winny objected that that should be impossible, but he merely shrugged. “And yet that is what she is“. He was willing to allow them to speak with the cartographer… in exchange for a service. It seems one of his cultists had been found murdered, in a manner that distinctly suggested ritual sacrifice. This suggested both a killer in their midst and the potential involvement of a God. Rhera wanted them to sniff out the culprit and report back to him. It seemed they had little choice.
Investigating the site of the murder, the traces looked a little sloppy for a ritual. And they found a bloody rock with bits of hair.. suggesting that the murder weapon was not the ritual knife the guards had found.
Exploring further they found a shrine hidden in a secluded cave, with an odd mix of artifacts dedicated to an array of completely unrelated gods and goddesses. Some they recognized, most they did not. But among them was a tome to an ancient god called Oderin, detailing a blood sacrifice quite similar to that which had supposedly been performed on the victim. They also found an odd flute dropped in a dark corner.
Asking around it seemed the shrine was a known area where residents would sneak off to engage in worship away from the eyes of the Atheus. The Atheus knew, and tolerated it so long as it was out of site and nothing sizeable and organized.
The flute led them to an odd man in a bar, who had dropped it running from two Atheus cultists arguing inside the hidden shrine. One of them the victim… They tracked down the other cultist and began to question him. At first he denied any knowledge, but his story soon broke down. He admitted to having been worshipping in the shrine in secret, and had killed the victim for seeing him there out of fear of being exposed. He claimed the Oderin ritual had been intended as a cover.
But when they reached out to take him to Rhera he began laughing. A deep guttural sound. He said after perfoming the ritual Oderin had spoken to him. Had offered him the strength to defeat his enemies. And he had accepted…
So Yana and Hans battled the possessed cultist…
While Winny and Marty dealt with the flaming hellbats he summoned to assist him.
After reporting their findings to Rehra he agreed to allow them to meet with his Cartographer, Ednah. Ednah could not tell them where to find the Spear… but she knew someone who likely could. Eriell the Wanderer, an explorer who had ventured further into the Astral Seas than anyone she knew. Eriell lived in a place called “The Last Drop” – a dwarven distillery which had been snatched from its home plane long ago. Seemed simple enough… with one catch.
The Last Drop was in an area claimed by a race called the Grayth. The Grayth were religious zealots native to the Astral Plane. Utterly devoted to their evil Goddess, and vehemently opposed to the Atheus. So Ednah knew where they needed to go. And she could take them where they needed to go. But it would be on an Atheus ship travelling into Grayth territory…
They didn’t seem to have any alternative.
Her “ship” was like nothing they had ever seen. Much like a ship back home in some ways, very unlike it in others. But the view was spectacular!
Unfortunately, although Ednah did her best, they were unable to evade the Grayth. A Void Cruiser approached and grappled them closer..
The initial hit was big. A void dragon. Black as night with silver eyes. Marthy and Yana fought it off as best they could.
While Hans and Winny were occupied with the Grayth boarding party.
After they fought off the initial incursion, the Grayth mysteriously stopped. They asked Ednah what they were waiting for. Her simple reply? “Reinforcements” If they wanted to escape before more Grayth arrived, they would need to assault the other ship and disengage the grapples…
Unfortunately that proved easier said than done. The elite Grayth fighters were as skilled in mental combat as they were in martial, and Yana was not quite up to the task of shrugging off that kind of attack.
Marty shielded his own mind, and then kept the leader occupied while the others tried to salvage the situation.
Winny decided that if these Grayth were so fond of mental attacks they should try being on the receiving end – and unleashed a massive psychic assault on the entire squad.
This was effective, but it also led the remaining Grayth assassins to consider Winny the prime target. Fortunately Winny always had someone watching her back.
They quickly released the grapples and were on their way. When they reached the Last Drop, Hans was overjoyed. He couldn’t wait to see what sorts of extra-planar dwarven specialities they might have concocted!
Inside was a rather unusual establishment, with a large but well-spoken ogre bartender squeezed in tending a dwarf-sized bar. Hans selected a particularly tempting vintage for Yana to try, but it turned out a bit spicier than she expected…
Meanwhile Marty and Winny traced down Eriell’s room. She had apparently been holed up inside for a long time, refusing all visitors. They eventually convinced her that her help was critical to the survival of their world, and they wouldn’t go away without it. So she slid a hastily scrawled map and diagram under the door to get rid of them.
Hastily scrawled it might have been, but it led them to their destination. Not a “spear-like” projection, but the actual point of an actual spear hurled by a primordial god long, long ago. A spear which pierced the veil between the planes,.
Above the protruding point a cave led into the surrounding rock, and as they entered they were once again beset by Grayth.
Past that the opposition grew more unexpected. Mortino the goblin mage again? Backed up by kobold warriors?
Regardless this was an opponent they knew. Rather than killing off the irritating goblin immediately this time, Winny held him paralyzed in the air so that he could not transform.
While the others dealt with the surprisingly tactical and resilient kobolds
And after they passed that chamber… they found Master Iban waiting for them. With several more “Mortino”s waiting in the shadows. Iban noticed their gaze. “You thought he was unique? I mass produce them in a workshop!” And then he got serious. He knew the purple wolf amulets were fake. And Iban was here working with draconic kobolds. Which meant… he was now working for Nezbal. She had assaulted his tower, massacred his army, and then “requested” his cooperation. And he was given the “privilege” of hiring Grayth mercenaries and guarding the Cage… just in case they found an alternate way in. While she went looking for information…
By taking the closest and most obvious source. Margarite. And then he let the other shoe drop… “Do you really know where your bodies are?” He suggested they simply kill themselves to return to Solasta. But they weren’t inclined to give up so easily. So he gestured behind him and two unsettling Grayth stepped out of the shadows. “Soul-shearers,” he said. “Experts in the specialized art of psionically severing the Astral Cord. In a blink they could eliminate any of you. Permanently. Beyond even resurrection.“
They really had no choice. They needed to find out what had happened back in Solasta. With Margarite. With their friends at the Academy. With their own bodies. And they simply couldn’t risk Iban’s threat.
They awoke in a dark cavern – sealed with a large iron door. They had clearly been there for some time. Their bodies must have been taken shortly after they projected into the Astral Plane.
And then the door opened. Nezbal. She said she had spared the Academy, and only taken them and Margarite. She needed Margarite’s knowledge… and she liked their “spunk”. She had somebody working for her inside the Academy. Some who gave them a very high recommendation.
She was being “gracious” and “merciful”… because she wanted them on her side. As she took the power of a God to remake the world to her liking. To tear down all that was “broken” and rebuild. To remake the world into a paradise… for the “chosen few”.
And then she left them. Off on her trek through the planes to find the real Purple Wolf, enter YenYue’s Cage, and become a God. And when she returned they could join her Chosen Few… or die fighting.
Bugger that for a lark! Step one, break out. Step two find Margarite and find out what she told Nezbal. Step three follow her and prevent her ascension. And all that was in the way was a fortress full of fanatical kobold champions. And whatever other servants and guardians served Nezbal here. That and and a big iron door….
Author’s Notes:
So the “Grayth” are essentially Githyanki with the serial numbers filed off. Can’t really blame the mod author for being careful given how litigious Hasbro can be nowadays.
I liked that in the final confrontation with Iban you choose whether you believe he’s bluffing or not, with your Insight skill directly giving you odds on how you read him. And if you choose to attack its not auto-lose. The soul-shearers have high mental saves and their own insta-death attack is a pretty high save to make as well. But not impossible. Tried the battle route a few times out of sheer cussedness, but couldn’t quite lock them both down hard enough and fast enough to prevent perma-deaths. So I don’t know if the game will actually progress differently from there or if you are still rail-roaded into the Nezbal’s clutches. I suspect since she’s literally holding their physical bodies hostage winning isn’t really an option.
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