The gods taste some freedom 21NOV20
27
NOV/20
Through the Bronze doors into the final crypt:
Naga using his minor powers lit the room. The water column now behind them slowly dropped below the lip and flowed down again. Oni looked over the edge and knew they could not travel back through it. They were stuck here and could only move forward. As they the group exampled the room, they took a moment to catch their breath. Oni looked around. They were in a hallway like room. The water pit on one end and bonze doors on the other end. Selise almost instinctively moved up to search the door for traps. A smirk came across her face as she looked at new objects. She loved the puzzle of the search.
She spun around, “no traps”. Naga moved up and looked back at the group, “I think we should rest.” No one had any argument. The entire group pulled out their mats to rest. Oni was not sure if he wanted to sleep or not. Herman came crawling out of his sleeve. Oni pulled out a little dung for his friend. Herman grabbed it and started to munch down on the little bit. Oni often watched his friend eat as he fell off to sleep. He found the combination of the hum from Herman shell vibration and the little munch noises soothing. Sleep always came quick.
Oni’s eyes opened. He now knew this feeling and understood he was asleep and dreaming. He has in the dream realm of the gods. Or at least some of the gods. The tower was there. He never understood the tower. What was his mind of the gods trying to tell him with the tower? As he did not understand, he also never asked. It seemed like the most trivial of concerns in the realms of the gods. He placed this question on the edge of his mind, so that he could ask.
Oni looked around. This was now a habit for the first moments of his time in the dream realm. He liked to know how much of the realm was gone. It was becoming almost dark. Initially this was a plain of light. That light went out in all direction. It was a bright warm place that made Oni feel good. Now all the edges were dark. It was not even warm anymore. The feeling of joy was still there but was partially replaced with despair. Even within the light areas of the plain, dark space were everywhere, just like gas bubbles in cheese.
Oni finally found where they were located. They had used the light pieces to fortify their location. That location was becoming smaller and smaller. Oni thought it was not going to be long before all is lost. He shifted over to them. The four of them were still there. Arnia looked at him, “I see you brought a friend.”
Oni looked to his right and jumped. It was not his normal graceful acrobatic jump, but a panic jump back. In all his shock he stared at a six-foot Herman, wearing glasses and smoking a cigar. Herman’s eyes did something similar to blinking and he spoke, “yes my friend. I guess I get to come with you now.” He looked at Oni in a condensing manor and scanned down to his hand, “Let’s hope I do not lose any appendages while I am here.” Oni pulled his hand up to his face and looked at the missing finger, “fuck you Herman.”
They both stood for a moment staring at each other and burst into laughter. As their laughter started to subside, Oni noticed that the giantiss was laughing as well. Oni felt good bringing a small amount of joy to this place. The horned beast wandered off, only to return a few minutes later with a glowing piece of puzzle. He placed in on the ground shoring up a gap that was starting to form. The giantiss first looked backed to his horned friend and then handed Herman a large ball of dung. Herman grabbed it and started to eat. The giantiss laughed and laughed. The horned beast huffed a huge sign and wandered off.
Arnia broke the silence with her soft voice, “We are safe for now Oni. The end is coming soon. Oni, your action can help us.” She showed Oni a small puzzle that had the old Arnia’s sword in the hands of the young Arnia. Oni looked sadly at Arnia here and now. She spoke again, “you are not the chosen one. You are the bringing of the Dawn. She is the chosen one.”
Oni looked over to Herman, who smirked. Oni mouthed, “shut up,” to him. Herman went back to his large ball of dung. Arnia cleared her throat, “time is short. You still must hurry.” Herman looked at Oni, “I think it is time for us to head out.”
Oni opened his eyes. Sora and David were already standing next to the doors. Oni knew it was time to go. The room smelled of a stable. Oni knew he was the only one smelling the room. Sora was tapping her foot. David was joking with her, by grabbing the door handle. Pretending to open it. She was smiling and both were quickly laughing. Oni pulled out the last of his fruit flies. They were still good but did not give him the euphoria that the fresh ones give. Oni moved up, “okay let’s move forward my friends.”
Oni just remembered he forgot to ask about the Tower. Clearly it was Herman that distracted him. He peered at him with disdain as Herman crawled into his sleeve.
The group prepared to pounce as the double doors swung open. They made no sound and opened with ease. The group stood there for a moment. Oni looked into the room assessing the dangers that might be within. It appeared safe. Oni’s eyes bounced from the altar in the center of the room to another set of bronze doors on the far end. Sora and David stepped in. Oni followed them. There was a crumbling reed boat on one side and mural on the other side. The mural looked amazingly real. It was an image of the reed boat floating in on the clouds. Oni moved to guard the far door.
Selise moved up to the mural. David stepped into the boat. For now, everyone ignored the alter. David turned back to the group, “there are metal coins in this boat.” Oni with great concern in his voice, “leave them for now. I remember being warned to not take the treasure.” David stepped away slowly. Selise spoke with great excitement, “hey my hand just goes through the mural.”
Sora: “Maybe we should stick our head through the wall.”
Naga: “let’s step through.”
Oni: “really! do you not see that boat is floating on clouds.”
Mar’iya: “I have this.”
Mar’iya closed his eyes. Whisps of wings formed on his back. Oni thought he looked like the angels he had read about. Sora tied Arnia’s rope, now known as “The Rope of Arnia” around Mar’iya. The wings fluttered and he flew through the mural. The rope just disappeared into the mural. At first Mar’iya was not seen, but after several minutes he could be seen on the boat. He was so far away, he was difficult to see, and no one could see any details. The rope started to jerk. It was not a panic driven jerk, but Sora started to pull. It tightened but would not move. She pulled with all her strength. David joined in. Oni was not sure if he could help but gave a it pull as well. It did not move. Oni and the rest let the rope go.
Moments later Mar’iya came flying back through the mural. He had the white gem. Oni smiled as he knew they were close. Selise looked out the window, “maybe we can exit through the mural.” Mar’iya spun to look at her. He was nodding his head. He starting to speak in Vashir’s all-knowing voice, “it is like 10,000 feet about the pyramid.” With a smirk, “it is so far down, the pyramid is a dot.” Oni still standing over by the door, “I think we still need the staff.” He pointed at the door, “I think we still need to move forward.”
Selise and David moved up to the door. She started to look at the door. She mentally moved her sight through every inch of it. David stood watch. Sora was right behind them. Oni moved back to the Altar. Oni thought Selise had checked it out, but this was his first view of it. It was a standard prayer alter. It was covered in dust. Oni thought the wrights must not come up here to clean. It looked like you would rest your wrists on the top. Oni looked for blood. It looked like part of your prayer would be to have your wrist’s sliced open. Oni looked lower on the altar and found writing. He wondered if David or Mar’iya saw this. Selise backed off the door with her, there are no traps backstep. Oni read the Script, “Say the name”. Almost without thought Oni said out loud and boldly, “Amun-Ra”. A loud audible click came from the door
Mar’iya: “I thought it was Amun-Re”
David: “yeah me too.”
Oni: “it was written 2000 years ago, maybe there are translation changes. Amun-Ra, Amun-Re. They are the same.”
David pushed the doors open. It opened to reveal a sarcophagus. Oni looked in past David and Sora. This was the place. Resting on the lid of the sarcophagus was a wooden staff. Oni knew that was the staff. David moved to one side of the staff. Selise moved to the other. She started to rub her fingers as she started to look for traps. David grabbed the staff. Selise stood up, “you just grabbed it.” David smiled, “sometimes you just grab stuff. Oni looked past them to the statue beyond. It was yet another statue of Amun-Re. It was holding the staff and gem in its outstretched hands.
Oni turned to Mar’iya, “give me the gem”. He opened his backpack showing it. Oni started to reach in. Mar’iya jerked back a little, “are you just going to grab it”. Oni smiled, “sometimes you just grab stuff”. David smiled as he walked near. Oni shifted to him, “can I have the staff”. David handed him the staff. Oni stood in front of the statue and said, “Amun-Re let me pass”. Before he could finish everything had gone dark. As his eyes adjusted, he knew where he was. He was in some chamber behind the fire brasier. This was the exit, but he was alone. He moved the other end of the chamber to search for a secret door. Oni could not find one. He leaned back grabbed the two items and said, “Amun-Re”.
Oni reappeared in the crypt room. Everyone had a look of panic. Oni broke the silence, “I think I know the exit, but it might only work for me.” Oni shifted uncomfortably, “While I was holding the staff and gem, I teleported to a chamber just behind the fire brasier. You know the one in the entry chamber.” Sora moved to be seen, “maybe we can all hold hands”. Oni smiled as he thought that might work, “we will need to give that a try”.
David was bored and shifted the lid of the sarcophagus. A creature stepped out. It was wrapped from head to toe with cloth. It scanned the room with its glowing yellow eyes. The creature was scary enough, but then it spoke, “I will destroy you all”. Sora, David, and Oni moved up to attack it. Most of their initial attacked seemed to do nothing to it. Oni yelled, “anyone have fire”. Selise moved back to the other room, “I have nothing that can hurt it.”
The created tried to defend its tomb with clouds of killing gas and fireballs. Sora beat at it over and over. Finally, the creature fell to the ground. Oni pulled out a bottle of oil and set it on fire. Oni looked up to Sora, “help me gather the ashes.” They gathered them up. Sora followed Oni as he walked into the last room and tossed the ashes through the mural. Sora tossed hers as well. A black cloud of mummy dust fell upon the land.
David headed over to the boat, “I guess we should grab the coins”. Oni smiled, “indeed”. The group gathered around Oni. He held the staff and gem and said Amun-re. They were all teleported down to the room just behind the fire brasier.
David: “Cool, let’s step out”.
Oni: “no wait”.
David: “for what”?
Oni: “give me a coin.”
Mar’iya: “What is the coin for?”
Oni: “look! This is the fire brasier. If you step in it while it has fire, you will be teleported. Let me throw a coin in it. It will teleport it and make it safe for a few minutes.”
Oni tossed a coin into the brasier. It was gone in seconds and the fire went out. The group moved fast. They went out into the brasier. They stepped off to the side and went down the stairs. They all gathered in the room. Oni moved to the entry to listen for the horned beasts and guards. He heard none. Oni looked back, “it seems safe.” He looked over to Naga, “can you cast your silent image over the door.” They gathered in the main chamber.
Selise: “we need to destroy the gem.”
Oni: “why”
Mar’iya: “it is a powerful magical device”
Oni: “why”
Selise: “that is what the puzzle cat said”
Oni: “really, I do not remember that”
Mar’iya: “It is a gem of true seeing. We could use it.”
David: “the longer you keep it, the harder it might be to destroy.”
Oni: “I do not remember that we must destroy them.”
Selise: “yep. White, Black, Blue, Green, and finally Red.”
Mar’iya: “we could just keep them all, and destroy them all at the same time.”
Oni: “Mar’iya, we must destroy it.”
Mar’iya pulled it out. He placed it on the ground and pulled out the metal dagger. Naga finally looked over in some confused manor, “what are you guys doing. I do not think we should destroy it.” Sora took his arm and guided him out of the room. Mar’iya smashed down on the gem. Nothing happened. Oni charged across the room. He leaped in the air and over Mar’iya. Oni did a twist and flip in the air over Mar’iya and the gem. He had the new magical staff in his hands. As Oni came to land of the ground, he brought all of his weight to bare and smashed the staff into the Gem. It shattered.
The Narrator:
The walls disintegrate around you, allowing you to see out into the desert. Stretching under the sun to the sharp and distant horizon, a silence hangs heavy in the still dry air. Then slowly the vast sky is completely filled with the image of the head of a white dragon. The head turn as if looking for something when it locks on you. Then as if the sun itself was burning through the image, it is burned away leaving only the blue sky. Time itself seems to be stopped in its flight, holding all the world in the balance. You then see a lone figure, unmoving in the distance. As you ponder those pitiful robes, a change begins to take place and these words fill your ears:
“Thank you for freeing my soul. Hundreds of years I have been trapped here dwelling on my mistakes. I sent countless kindhearted adventures to their death in order to break this curse. The includes mothers with families, with children waiting for them at home. But finally, you crossed my path. You are a good and strong indeed. You just might be those who have been prophesied.
One word of warning: Nuatuhl has been made mortal, she knows who and where you are now. Tread softly. She also knows of the prophecy and has destroyed countless people for less suspicions.
I pray for your success…”
Amen-Re turned and walked toward the setting sun, becoming more translucent with every step.
The roll of distant thunder comes gently across the far-flung sands. The horizon blurs in the distance and shifts to the left at all the compass points and starts to spin around the massive pyramid. As it tightens its circle, the wind comes closer, blocking your sight of everything beyond it. That endless track and the lone figure have vanished. The tightening whirlwind rises to a jarring crescendo as the sand and wind crash in upon the temple and tomb. Whirling winds and sand sing past you, a chorus of a thousand voices: the hopes and cries of a land long dead, and the name of a hapless pharaoh—Amun-re. Only the awesome pyramid itself can be seen. Its forbidding form stands in dark majesty through the winds. The sandstorm turns to a spiral above the tomb, rising in its rage to glorious heights, bends westward—and takes flight.
And all is still once more. One more piece of the puzzle placed, made permanent with your blood and sacrifice.
The sand in the air drifts slowly to the earth below in silence and all is as it was. Yet not quite, for the silence is not complete. Down below, as yet unseen through the settling dust, lifts the cool sound of running water. The clearing air soon reveals a cracked pool, now overflowing with spring-clear water, and a long dead channel, taking, at each step, its own parched drink before passing the flowing river on. It will take time to heal this land, but there will be blossoms in the spring, for Draj of Faerûnd has returned from her exile—and with her comes life.
The road to the Black Gem:
Oni stepped out of the Pyramid. Thoughts poured through his head. He could hear the water starting to flow. This could be the greatest oasis in the world. Who could be setup here to protect this place? His thoughts went to his dreams. He looked at the tattoo on his arm. He could not even remember how it got there but he knew this was the symbol of the new dawn. He had come to his first goal. Now to restore them.
Oni stood on the edge of the courtyard. He could almost see the flowers starting to bloom. He knew it was not possible. A renewed joy came over him. The other dawn bringers gathered around him. They stared out over the area. They were looking for the other false priests but they were not there.
Oni: “let’s find a good place to rest”
Selise: “on it”
Oni watched as Selise went off one direction, David went off another direction and Mar’iya went off a third direction. Oni smiled at Sora, “We should find a spot not so exposed, while the look.” Oni, Sora and Naga just moved off the plaza. They hid while the others looked for a spot. Selise was the first to come back, “I found one.”
She found a place where water was gurgling out to form a little creek. They all unrolled their mats. The cool water cooled the area a little. Oni side was no longer in pain. He felt his side. Resting had become easier since the great healing. Oni layed down to sleep. He was the first up. This had not happened before. He wondered why he did not dream. He wondered if Herman had dreamed for him and taken his dream. He wondered if Arnia, the chosen one had a dream. Herman crawled off his mat to find a little sun. Oni looked at his friend with jealous disdain.
The sun was starting to rise high enough to fill the pyramid courtyard. Oni found a place where he could stand in the early suns glory. He remembered a prayer to the sun he had found years earlier. He closed his, and faced the dawn. He started to breath to calm all his thoughts. He quietly started to chant, “May the new dawn give me the wisdom to know the correct path.” He said this over and over. Oni started to move into the forms that Ippi had taught him in his early days. He never opened his eyes, just letting his movements and the warmth from the sun guide him. He never stopped saying the words.
In his mind’s eye he saw cracks within the darkness. These cracks had never been there before, but from this day forward he would always see them. Even as he moved about during the day. One word came to him during his meditative state. “Lathander”. He had no idea what this word meant but he knew it was important. A strange joy passed through him. This joy changed his guided steps and made them almost a dance. He kept going. Power and strength moved into his hands and feet with every punch or kick. Protection through offense. He moved into a shadow and a new set of strikes came to him. This was a new form that moved through the shadow, as he understood the cycles of the month and the seasons. These seasons had not been seen on this land in over 1000 years, but he understood them. A cold darkness came over him. He knew to not fear this. Darkness moved through him. Although he never opened his eyes, he could feel his skin become dark and part of the shadows. This was the crack in the darkness.
Oni opened his eyes. He felt dark, and could see it on his skin, but he was standing in the brightness of the light. That light washed over him to remove the shadow of night. He was whole for this moment. This was the first whole moment of his life. He knew that they were not safe yet, but they might have saved many of the gods, even some less desirable gods. The name “Lathandar” was strong in his mind, but other names came in as well, “Lliira”, “Torm”, “Selune”, “Shar”, and “Cyric.”
Oni searched the area. He looked for small pieces of bamboo and dried grasses that could be weaved. He found a small piece of petrified wood about the size of his palm. He placed them in his backpack. He moved over to where Sora was starting to break camp. Oni was always amazed with her ability to move forward. She was making everyone ready to move out to into heat of the day.
Oni wondered if they should move at night. Mar’iya had said the sunken temple was about a half days travel and they had decided to move quickly. If Tiamat was now watching them, they had to move fast to recover the next gem, before she could move against them. With Nuatuhl’s ability to watch them at night, daytime travel was safer. They moved out into the desert.
The ground rumbled about mid-day. They all knew that a giant worm was coming. They spread out just enough to make no grouping more attractive than any other. Oni moved to the far side to the area. There was some ruined old building. He thought they would all move to the ruins for safety. Naga and Mar’iya took flight. David and Sora engaged the purple beast. Selise moved to the far side and hid. She tried to distract the creature, but it never seemed to follow her.
Oni had connected to the staff of Amun-Re and wanted to use some of its power. He was about to blast it, when a second worm appeared. He through a fireball from the staff and blasted the first one. Oni felt stupid. He was naïve and only blasted one of them. He could have blasted both but had no idea. He would need to remember that in the future. Sora and David continued to punish the burnt worm. Mar’iya used his powers to weaken the beast. Naga flew around healing and attacking it. Selise continued to shift and hide.
Oni circled around and attacked the still smoking worm. He stunned the creature. Mar’iya shifted his weakening powers to the other worm. Sora struck true and killed the first worm. They all shifted to the second worm. Selise moved up to engage it with her sneaky attacks. With the entire team attacking the last worm fell.
Oni stepped back to amaze in the scene. It was just a week ago a creature like this would have killed them all. Now they took two out. Mar’iya pulled out his dagger and without missing a beat started to yell to the group the pieces we wanted to save. He yelled out; we might find gems within. Oni watched the group work as a team, then shifted his gaze out to the scan the horizon. He wanted to search for other dangers.