19th Dravago, 999 YK
- Naze is very uncomfortable in this place, but doesn't say anything because he's afraid of conflict. He awkwardly follows the others around because he doesn't want to be here.
- Jumping back to Bhaltair and Valaari, with Bhaltair telling them what they saw in the final memory, of the summoning and the uncertain result for the ancient dwarves.
- Valaari doesn't know what the entity was, but does feel a sense of familiarity with it, like they've encountered it before.
- Bhaltair does another object reading, trying to perceive something after the summoning. The memories are too hazy and damaged by trauma to get details, they just see snippets and images, in particular one of a bunch of mind flayers clutching their eyes and falling to their knees.
- Valaari listens to all of this, and then decides to inform the others (and Three Mushrooms Concealing the Name of God) about their dream.
- They describe the city, with the spire, and the constructs. Totally abandoned. Like nothing they've seen in the Demon Wastes.
- Three Mushrooms is taken aback by the place they come from being called the Demon Wastes. Wow.
- Three Mushrooms asks Valaari to describe the constructs they saw, and they do seem to match the memories.
- The question is, why did Valaari have this dream? What does it all mean?
- They have a quick conversation wondering about future communication with Krisek Yor, and perhaps communication.
- Three Mushrooms is concerned about her people being exposed to the "demons".
- Bhaltair suggests that the way the Krisek move through the Glitterdrift might allow them to liase with the Kastar without revealing the location of Krisek Yor.
- Valaari is keen on making allies, they need them, and the Krisek could offer a lot, even without them having to directly get involved in the conflict. Just the technology would be huge.
- The Ghaash'kala are isolated, they need every edge they can get.
- Valaari mentions that Bhaltair is from outside the Demon Wastes, they cannot leave it now that they have entered. Three Mushrooms asks why they would do that?
- They were looking for a friend.
- Valaari asks what they would like? Three Mushrooms doesn't know what they could offer! They've never left the Glitterdrift!
- They could provide metal, more varied foods! Knowledge from the surface.
- Knowledge is incredibly valuable. Three Mushrooms thinks some of their people would be open to further cooperation, but won't allow her people to be exposed to the corruption of the Wastes.
- She also asks if the party will investigate Arak Yor, the possibility of resettling it have them excited.
- Valaari is personally invested, so they'll look into it. They ask if Three Mushrooms knows anything about the path taken to find the Glitterdrift, maybe they can retrace those steps, but she doesn't.
- Bhaltair thinks that Runmae might have an idea?
- Naze is just sitting on a bench near Warren and Runmae, waiting for the others to be done so they can go home.
- Runmae goes back to see Four Ragged Hides Stretched Over a Rack and ask about the leatherworking, and he's just as unpleasant as last time. It seems their leatherworking techniques are pretty similar. Naze hangs around awkwardly.
- Bhaltair goes to find Naze, and drags him to see Six Cracked Bottles Forgotten on a Shelf. Naze does what he's told, and Bhaltair asks him if he's okay. He hasn't said a word since they got here.
- Naze isn't comfortable here, it's too quiet and he doesn't like not being able to see properly.
- Bhaltair nods and says they're going to visit the doctor. Naze says okay.
- Runmae asks if they're feeling under the weather? Why see a doctor?
- Bhaltair whispers to her that they need to get Naze out of his shell a bit.
- Runmae is on board! Time to go see a doctor!
- Valaari comes too.
- They go to the mushroom hut that was pointed out to them before, the door is slightly ajar and there's a weird smell coming from it.
- They've smelled worse, this won't deter them! They pull faces but nevertheless proceed.
- Bhaltair pushes Naze through the door.
- Naze stumbles into what looks like an apothecaries lab, where a morlock is slumped in a chair and deeply breathing in fumes from a stone bottle. The morlock says "oh hey" and holds the bottle out to Naze, who steps back out of the room without a word. Six Bottles calls out that it's fine there's more than enough!
- Naze says "I think we've found the wrong place? I'm looking for the hospital"
- No this is the right place
- Naze is very uncomfortable.
- Naze asks some questions about how medicine works here? Six Bottles explains that they don't tend to get very injured, so mostly anything can be resolved with medicine, psychoactive substances (to encourage healing behaviours) and mushrooms, some of which are also the first two things!
- Six Bottles asks if Naze's tusks are a display structure or for self defence? Naze doesn't understand the question.
- Six Bottles then asks if Zaphkiels wings are a display structure or if they actually work?
- Anyway that's cool but do either of you wanna see the visage of God?
- Naze politely refuses and leaves. Six Bottles takes a swig of the bottle he was sniffing, and then goes "Oh I shouldn't have done that" as Naze closes the door.
- The others are baffled at how Naze interacts with others.
- Runmae comments that it makes sense that he had to summon himself a friend from another plane (ouch).
- They are baffled that he turned down an opportunity to see the face of God. What would he have seen!?
- They'll never know now.
- They ignore the pending medical emergency and go to see Weota.
- The minotaurs occupy a separate cavern, where everything is larger to accomodate them. The buildings are arranged in a circle, all facing inward, with a ring of benches in the middle where the minotaurs are socialising.
- Tinvak is just mentioning the outsiders he met, when those same outsiders walk in! How cinematic!
- Weota gets up and introduces herself.
- Weota thanks them for not attacking Tinvak when they met him, and asks what they think of what they've seen.
- Bhaltair loves it!
- They ask Weota some questions, asking if she knows how her people found this place. Her people don't interact with the mycelium, they have their own customs, so no details unfortunately. Only stories based down by word of mouth.
- She asks about the surface and the world outside of the Glitterdrift.
- Bhaltair says that they think her ancestors made the right choice, they are better off away from the Labyrinth and the corruption it offers.
- Weota asks why they came to this place?
- Bhaltair loves the lights and the way everything looks.
- Runmae says they were looking for resources, specifically the creatures and what can be gathered from their corpses.
- They ask what Weota would want to see from an alliance, but she's not particularly bothered. She doesn't overly see how her people would benefit, but does see benefits for the Morlocks.
- She offers for the group to spend the night among her people, if they wish.
- They ask her about future communication, Weota mentions that her people use a simple language of clicks and whistles to communicate throughout the Drift. Valaari asks if they could teach the group some, enough to get a minotaur's attention.
- They agree to try.
- There is some discussion of capturing a gnome and forcing them to send messages for them.
- Bhaltair asks if there have been any signs of the The Postmen (Orien Expedition No.3) in the Glitterdrift, but Weota shakes her head.
- They spend the night with the minotaurs, learning how to make the sounds that they use.
- Bhaltair is the only one able to reproduce the sounds, but they can try and pass it on to the others later.
- Warren wakes up on a bench somewhere else in the village and is confused. Where is everyone?
- He goes and tries to find them.
- They all long rest
20th Dravago, 999 YK
- Before they leave, they get a few potions from Six Cracked Bottles Forgotten on a Shelf. He doesn't ask for anything in return, they don't really do commerce here, they just give people what they need.
- With that done, Tinvak and Gears escort them back to where they found them.
- This is the happiest that Naze has looked in a while.
- Lanterns work again!
- Naze kisses the ground, he's so happy to be back in normal, natural darkness. He can talk now! Oh it's a good day.
- They head back to the nexus beneath Kastar Dar, and then make their way to the Pinnacles Sublime.
- They send Warren, the most expendable in the party, in first to scout the environment and see if they need to wear their cold weather clothes before going in.
- Warren has never seen snow before! There is a tiny ratman inside of him that wants nothing more than to play in it. He suppresses this small, childlike part of him, and goes to tell the others what he's seen. He tries to describe the snow, says "it's like ash or something".
- Runmae is like "you mean snow?"
- Runmae imparts the wisdom that you can touch snow, but if it's yellow, don't eat it.
- Is that because it's frozen rain? and rain in the DW is acidic?
- "No it's because it's piss, gods"
- Anyway Warren tries to describe mammoths, as "minotaurs on all fours, but their tusks are on their face instead of on their head, and they have an arm coming out of their face as well"
- Runmae gets it from that, anyway.
- They put their cold weather clothing on, not planning to up into the scorched earth.
- They enter the Pinnacles Sublime!
- Runmae surveys the surroundings, and reckons the group is currently at an altitude of between 5000 and 6000 feet, with the peaks of the mountains reaching about 15,000 feet.
- Bhaltair looks around with their spyglass, looking for anything interesting. They linger on the phoenix for a bit, it's majestic, and then pan down. They see a fire elemental and a water elemental locked in a fight to the death, and an isolated mammoth being hunted by two large wolves. One of the wolves uses a frost breath weapon.The mammoth also has fingers at the end of its trunk, all of which are clawed. Bhaltair doesn't know that this is not normal for mammoths.
- They decide to go for the wolves, they can use those!
- Valaari also asks Warren to map as they go, to make sure they can get back to the portal.
Description of the Pinnacles Sublime
You exit the tunnels into a boreal forest on the side of a mountain. You seem to be on a gigantic mountain range, which stretches in every direction you can see. There is a deep red sun, low in the sky, which appears to be melting the peaks of the mountains, which flow down as lava before rapidly cooling. It seems like the clouds in the sky are just steam coming from the cooling rock.
Looking down the mountain, it seems that the temperature drops dramatically and the terrain becomes frozen and inhospitable not even 1000ft from your current position. It's like there's a narrow band of habitability, surrounded by extreme temperatures on both sides. Where you are currently standing is a comfortable temperature, perhaps a bit cold for you, though you are walking distance from both scorched earth and snow.
The wind is howling, threatening to drown out all other sounds, but you can nevertheless hear the telltale sounds of a glacier breaking apart somewhere, and the hiss of the steam above you. That same howling wind is also bringing snow up from below you.
In the distance, you can see a herd of mammoths, grazing on the tundra grasses in the green belt you find yourself in. Far above you, a gigantic bird that is seemingly made of fire takes flight from one mountain peak and lazily scans the environment.