(S25) Litany for a Hero

Combat

In that moment, as the group stared at the malevolent and delighted smile twisting Idris's features, it was clear that something had gone terribly wrong.  They had that instant, a mere second to process it, before a wave of dread at the sight filled them even as Idris's body started to change, dark splotches starting to be seen on his skin, and then the bulging nodes on his back that grew swiftly before piercing through the armour and growing, spreading, until black draconic wings stretched behind him.

The group were left in a muddle of fears and conflicting priorities, with Siax still threatening Ularan with his bow for threatening Idris's life, Ularan telling them he wasn't their enemy right now, Effie having become so utterly terrified of what she had seen that she drank a potion and became a soft mist in the air for her protection, Arya eyeing Ularan and his creature, while Pine was focused on what had once been Idris.

"That's not Idris any more," Pine called to the group, but mainly to Siax, before calling forth a huge plague of insects from the waters of the Mere to attack Ebonidris.  Although the swarm did some damage, this was not Idris truly any more, not with the dragon in the driving seat.  With a legendary action giving him a swiftness that should not have been possible, Ebonidris moved away, stepping behind Siax for protection against any incoming damage from Ularan.

 "That is not your friend any more, move out of the way," Ularan said to Siax, but the ranger was not to be moved.

"He's in there, he's still in there. You can't hurt him!"

This entreaty did nothing to Ularan's prerogatives, and he cast what would have been a truly devastating spell upon Ebonidris, pointing with one finger.  "Die!"  But the former paladin did not die, the spell washing over him harmlessly.  Instead, that grinning visage only grew more pleased with itself.

"Too late!  This form has been empowered to resist your magic."

Siax, too, did not follow what Ularan had wanted, for he fired arrows at the ancient elf in retaliation.  "He's still in there!" the ranger shouted, "Don't hurt him, he's still in there!  I told you!"  Whether because of the shout, or merely because it was tactically optimal, Ularan set down his staff, and it turned into a giant snake, which in turn cast a spell to attempt to paralyse Ebonidris, but much like Ularan's previous spell, it did nothing.

Behind Siax, Ebonidris reached out, hand hovering over Siax's shoulder forbiddingly, and the ranger got the sense that the creature behind him truly wanted to reach out and destroy him, but had been halted.  "Fine, fine," the creature grumbled to itself, then took off running to the south of the room instead and started to strike the wall with considerable force, bits of the old tower crumbling as the power of the paladin aided it, small bits of light starting to show between the thick stonework.

"Idris, if you're in there, now would be a good time to let us know!" Siax called, torn between wanting to protect his friend and dealing with the threat.  Across the room, Ebonidris kept pummeling the wall, but took a moment to give Siax a thumbs up.  It was so like Idris, and yet the ranger's sharp gaze, in his desperation, seemed all the more acute.  "That's not Idris!" the ranger exclaimed, turning fully towards him now instead of splitting his attention with Ularan. "You're not going anywhere until we figure out what's happened!"  And with that he fired an arrow into the ground next to the creature, vines and roots sprouting up through the stonework and pinning him to the wall.

Meanwhile Arya had her own priorities.  Her centaur had turned and lept upwards and grabbed Ularan's creature, dragging it down to the ground.  But it was not as successful as she'd hoped, for the creature turned, wrapping its tentacles around the centaur, and then in a horrifying act, opened its jaws wide and just like that, the centaur had no head.

Ularan, distracted, didn't notice Arya's gestures for a moment, and she warped him through space, until he was on the other side of the shimmering barrier and in the dragon's hoard room, startled and unsurprisingly displeased.

Pine, shocked that she was attacking Ularan instead of focusing on Idris, shouted questioningly at her motives, before turning and attempting to hinder Ebonidris, but much like the more powerful spells by Ularan, it had no effect.

Ularan runs forward and between one blink and the next he was back on the other side of the barrier, glaring at Arya, before firing a spell at Ebonidris.  Everything in the area withered and died, before Ularan's creature attacked and grappled the dragon, and the snake spit acid upon him too, but although the dragon took some damage from all those attacks, it wasn't enough, and his actions were not slowing down.

With a misty step to escape the grapple, the dragon's grinning on Idris's face mellowed ever so slightly.

"He says goodbye!"

And then with mighty flaps of his wings, Ebonidris dove through the hole he'd made in Uthtower's walls, and was gone, with Ularan's creature, and then Siax chasing after.

In the stunned silence in the aftermath, Arya looks to Pine while healing herself.  "I don't trust him."  But Pine was not to be placated by that, not when the dragon had just absconded with Idris.  In a fit of anger and utter frustration, he lashed out with telekinesis, shoving her away from him until she fell with a splat in the muddy remnants of the pool the dragon had been in, unharmed but certainly muddy in the aftermath.  She shrugged at him, no anger in her at the action, and although she looked as if she might wish to say something, a glance towards Ularan showed well enough the reasons for staying silent.

Effie, having finally able to overcome her fear now the dragon was gone, glared at Pine for his action with Arya, but she only gots a flat look in return, and instead turned herr attention to trying to asses the situation around her.  Siax eventually came back from tracking the dragon through tunnels that eventually had led outside and towards the north.  He had not found his friend, and of Ularan's creature there was no sign.

—

Talk with Ularan

Upon returning, Siax immediately started to question Ularan, who was checking his weapons and armour with a profound sense of dismay over the circumstances, about the possible locations the dragon might be heading.  But while he could hypothesise that the dragon would start looking for a more powerful form, his attempts at divining the dragon's location had been nullified by a protection the dragon must have cast.  Likewise Arya could not find him by her own means, the spell to locate Idris's armour working only enough for her to understand that it was still within range, but not where.

Although certain members of the group had harmed or hintered Ularan during the fight, he told them he bore them no ill-will, and reiterated that they were in no danger there in Uthtower from him.

Meanwhile Pine moved over to where Idris's sword still lay after he'd discarded it when making the deal with the dragon.  He reached out to the creature that inhabited the sword, and for long moments nothing happened, before finally a small voice murmured to him.  He asked Eefe about Idris's possible location, and what the deal he'd made had been, and when she eventually told him, it was with the voice of someone whose hope and drive for life had been shattered.

"He's gone.  I used to be a devil.  I know about deals.  I could hear him making it.  Stupid dragon," she said, cursing in various languages Pine didn't know.  "It made me unable to talk, but I could hear it, the mistake in the deal that Idris made."  She spoke of the deal, and Pine relayed the wording to the group in case it was useful, before asking her what she wanted to do now, who she wished to be carried by.  

In many ways he had expected her to choose Effie, or even Siax who could wield her in order to help get Idris back from the dragon, but that was not what he was met with.  "Find a blacksmith's forge, and throw me in."  Instead, she had chosen defeat, the deal Idris had made seemingly something she didn't believe could be overcome.  Pine acknowledged her request, and strapped her to his back.  He would ask again before casting her into a forge, for he had known enough of grief to understand it could mellow, but for now he would carry her until they came across one.

Moving across the room, Ularan tells Arya that the prisoner in the ship has been freed, before starting to craft a summoning ritual on the floor of the room .  When Effie asked what he was doing, he relayed that he was preparing to return Naralis to life, for he had lost the battle outside.  To this Effie did appear a little mellowed towards the ancient elf, for she herself had found, especially recently, how important friendship was.  However this was largely cast to the wind as Ularan continued to speak to her as he worked, telling her that it was impressive that she still lived, after having the sword he'd given her.  He himself had never used it because of the dangers, and mentioned that only someone of impeccable will would survive.  "It seems you have been doing great."  In his own way, it was a compliment, but his words had not been taken well by the rogue.

"I'm careful."  Her words were flat and had lost any hint of friendliness to them.

Pine, perhaps hoping to at least distract from what might turn more obviously hostile, asked again about the shards, stating that not being able to contact the Three had been detrimental to him.  It was not something that Ularan could help, however, as it was the nature of the shards that they wished to fuse together to make a new god, and they lost all personality when that happened.

Taking a black dagger, Ularan removes pieces of his armour before checking the dagger's sharpness then plunging it into his arm, dragging it along before holding it out, dropping blood into pools in the ritual circle.  Despite his knowledge of a great deal of spells, Pine was not able to make it out.  But then there was a burning and a flash, and the circle vanished, and in time, a silent and still body of Naralis lay in the space.

Seeing the ancient elf was once more free to talk, Siax took the opportunity to question him about the elven kingdoms and whether Ularan had been part of it.  Ularan told him that yes, what Siax was seeing was a form he had had, back from when he was a healer when the conclave stood.  He then, at Siax's prompting, told him, and the group, that in many ways he was still a healer, but that his target was the entire world, to cut out the root of infection that he felt Jergal was.

While Ularan was distracted, Effie too was distracted, but by something different.  "Plunge me into the barrier that separates you from the treasure," the voice of her sword said, "Not even a wish, I'll do it for free."

The treasure was a lure that Effie had been resisting until now, but she edged closer to the barrier, struggling to see through it.  She checks with Arya to make sure the fae can get her out if she gets stuck, before doing as the sword said, and carving a door into the barrier. 

Standing in there, she starts getting palpitations with the sheer scale of money in the area, probably over 150,000gp in total, as well as platinum and large black gemstones.  She ignores those though, and instead takes a potions belt that looks fancy, a crown that radiated a pleasant heat, and a backpack.  She was about to put the items in her own bag of holding when something makes her hesitate moments before disaster would have befallen her.  It did look a bit like the backpack might also have been one.  A close call!  Dropping a gold coin as 'payment' on top of the pile, she swiftly exits out of the hoard, and back into the room.  Behind her, the doorway she had cut was already wavering and would soon mend itself.

Arya had not been idle either, having changed her form into a bird, left briefly, before returning to the questions of the ranger.  "I just needed to chat with the quickling.  It needed to know we were safe and that it didn't have to just sit there and wait."

Everyone was tired and worn by the battles they had undertaken, and settled down for a brief respite.  A short rest to gather their thoughts.  Pine, as was his habit, started writing in his journal as his body started to mend, little by little, while Siax checks in with the bow and moonblade he carried in order to get their reactions to the events and their surroundings.

"It grieves," the bow told him of the moonblade, "none of its people are here any more.  They are all gone.  So it grieves.  The blade was interested.  It was interested with the man you spoke of.  He was its people, but no longer.  Now something else."  There was no acknowledgement of Naralis at all.

After a time, Pine put away his jorunal, and went to go and find Ularan, hoping, now that his thoughts were more in order, that he could speak with the elf about the circumstances that they found themselves in.  He found him outside staring up at a tree on which the skinned body of Naralis was impaled upon the branches, the skin itself draped across the tree like a bloody clothesline.  They both stared up at the scene, neither of them reacting overly.  Instead Ularan spoke of other things, of how he wasn't going to be chasing after Argon, but hoped that he merely never met him again.

"This has been a time of devastation," he said, "So close to my goals, only for them to be taken away."

Pine would offer a wry twist of the mouth, "I know how that feels."  After all, it was Ularan himself who withheld what Pine so desperately wanted.

Ularan noted his preoccupation, and likened the group to a hydra, with each head having its own goals.  A truth that Pine could only agree with, and warned the elf that it was unlikely the group at large would go along with his plans for the ritual.  This made the man turn from the tree and start heading back to the tower, intending to have a frank talk with the group, hoping, perhaps, to sway them.

Back inside, Ularan told the group a bit more of his past, of how he had been a healer for the elven god Naralis, and how their gods walked amongst their people.  One day Naralis had come back wounded, the wound black and could not be healed.  Before he died, Naralis gave Ularan a shard, and told him to hide, and he did.  But what he saw was Jergal coming, thanking him for the work he had done as a death god, before killing him and taking what remained of Naralis.  Ularan was insensed by this, and used the shard to uncover necromantic power and extend his life, long enough to recover Naralis, a pale shadow of who he had once been, and try to find a way to stop Jergal.   It became clear to the group that Ularan considered stopping Jergal his calling, and he used the deaths of the elven kingdoms, ones not instigated by himself but used nonetheless, in order to try and do that.  Merdelain escaped that ritual, and Ularan had spent many years recovering from that backlash, in order to finish what he started.

It is this information that leaves Pine more thoughtful, and perhaps more troubled than before, for he remembered that Jergal had not been one of the original gods, but he'd come from elsewhere once.  The elven gods, by comparison, were native, and so Ularan's claims that the world need not be in this cycle did have some validity perhaps.  It is not revenge that prompts the ancient elf, but the need to stop the God from using the material plane, and all the planes, as energy.  

When asked what his plans were now, Ularan, after ticking off each of the setbacks he'd had in recent times, said that his focus had to be on finding Merdelain and completing what he started.  He considered the dragon to be out of reach now, but his options are more limited than before and he would consider trying to make a deal with the Bramble Queen, something he hadn't wanted to do, in order to see his plans come to fruition.  The Talos cult, he said, had no greatly complex plans.  They merely enjoyed the benefits of having no death god, and were trying to make sure that another one was not created, as well as gain the ruinstone for their own use.

There were consequences to using the ruinstone.  It takes things away, but Ularan still considered it worth the cost. The Bramble Queen would demand the stone as trade for letting Ularan know and enter Merdelain, and he would prefer not to have to treat with her over it, as he doesn't consider it a good deal, especially as it would mean the likely invasion of fae into the material realm in bulk.

Arya had heard about how in the faewild the Mere is like the Jungle of Shadows there; an expanding patch that is slowly devouring the land there.  There were expeditions into the jungle to try and find what she is looking for, which may well be the ruinstone, but none of the expeditions had returned, as it was the domain of the Bramble Queen.  The ruinstone, Ularan told them, was the reason that she attacked the Enclave for the theft of that stone.  He told the group that what Merdelain had done should have been impossible, and he considers that only something like the ruinstone could have been used to achieve it, although he does consider this speculation rather than fact.

Pine offers the consideration that maybe the riverwater could alter the state or location of something if used cleverly.  The ruinstone, as any item, might have ended up in many locations, and tapping into one of them might be possible.  

Standoff with Pine and the group

But not everyone was as interested in the larger problems that faced the world in the future, for Siax especially was far more concerned with the here-and-now.

"Our first priority needs to be to find Idris and get the dragon that possessed his body out!"

Pine, in a somewhat rare show of active disagreement in the group, shook his head, easily visible to the ranger, and that sparked a growing anger in the elf.  The discussion became heated when Pine refused to back down despite Siax's impassioned speech about reciprocal friendship duties, and a percieved debt that Pine should feel obligated to honor considering the fact that Idris would have dropped everything to help him should it have happened the other way around.  Pine, in turn, disliked being acused of something he had never verbally agreed to, and further stated that it had been Idris's choice to side with the dragon over the group, and he wouldn't go chasing after someone who had abandoned them already.  Idris, in his opinion, had chosen his path.

However it was the next query that truly struck a line between the two.

"Do you think you can complete your task without him?" Siax asked.

"Yes."

"Do you think you can do it without Idris and me?"

Pine paused, his gaze focusing more avidly on the ranger, the fur on the back of his neck starting to stand up in hostility.

"You, Siax, made a deal with the Three.  Are you choosing not to honour that deal?"

"My deal and my loyalty is to my friends," Siax replied, "Not to Gods.  There was no deal.  There is no bond.  My loyalty is to my friends.  Idris is one of my friends.  You, Pine, are one of my friends.  There is no bond between me and those gods.  There is no bond between me and ANY gods.  My bond is to my friends.  And as your honour is your word, my loyalty is mine."

Pine watches him for long moments, and he understood that the Three had been weak back then with their limitations, and so there was no magic actively binding the ranger.  But that had never mattered to Pine.  The agreement should have been enough.  What Siax had just done was abhorrent to him; renagueing on a clearly stated deal.

Seeing the burgeoning hostility between the two, Ularan tried to temper things by reminding them both that a path walked alone is a difficult one.  He mentioned that Ebondeath would want to find a dragon host, and there was a green dragon in the region somewhere, and that might possibly be where Ebondeath would eventually aim for.

Arya, at Effie's urging, says that she might know a way to try and find Idris, but it had a time consuming cost.

"What are your plans, Pine?" she aked, but Pine was still bristling at the ranger.

"Perhaps you should join me," Ularan said lightly to Pine, but no firm agreements were made, and the group backed from each other in search of some time to make their choices.

After the combat concludes:

Ularan:
"So, I believe we should all talk."

Effie:
"Can we do that while having a short rest?"

Ularan:

"If you are willing to wait, that is all the best for me.  I would wish to go outside and see what can be salvaged from this disaster."

Siax:
"You haven't told us everything."

Ularan:
"Yes, I have told you very little, but I did promise that I would if you helped break me out of that.  And you did, although the dragon did escape.  But I shall follow my word.  I am happy to answer your questions."

Siax:
"Did you live in one of the four elven kingdoms long ago?  Were you a part of the Conclave?"

Ularan:
Ularan looks at Siax, properly.

"You are more perceptive than I thought.  Yes, I am an ancient creature.  What you see before is but a form that I have.  I was a healer back when the Conclave stood."

Siax:
"It seems time has not been kind, shall we say.  Once a healer, now you do the opposite.  What changed?  What happened?"

Ularan:
"I do not do the opposite, son of [Aguathen], I am and remain a healer. Everything I do is to heal.  Back then it was a body, my brethren.  Now, tis a world.  Our world is dying.  I am trying to stem that sickness, to find the infection and cut it at its root.  You might not agree with my methods, but that is why I do what I do."

Siax:
Siax turns to the others, confused and questioning as to their response, hoping one of them could step in and explain what Ularan is talking about, about the world dying.

—

When Pine speaks to Ularan outside after the short rest:

Ularan:
"You're conflicted.  I notice your group acted as a hydra, many heads each with its own decision.  You might be akin to me, and see things in a logical fashion, but I do not hold ill-will against your companions for acting as they did.  Your ranger friend shot me, but for all he knew I was about to kill his friend.  Things are not easy to see through for most, especially ones that have lived so little.  And I know, especially as you have spoken with Jergal, you must be frustrated with me.  I could accomplish your goals with but a touch and a thought, but I will not.  I'm afraid that is not something I would be compelled to do.  I need this power for a higher goal.  Once that is accomplished, I will give you the shards to do as you will, but not before."

Pine:
"The group will probably bite its own heads off over your plans.  I don't like it.  I think it's needless.  Although the group has been persuaded to work generally up until now, I don't think that will continue, based on what Idris found out about your ritual."

Ularan:
"Let us go down.  Let us find your companions, and let us speak together.  And if you all go your own way, or if you assist me, we will know for sure then."

Ularan walks down to find the rest of the group, and starts speaking.

"I believe it is time we had a conversation that is open and transparent.  My name is Ularan Mortus.  I was, as I said before, a healer that lived thousands of years ago as part of the Merdelain empire.  Through… many circumstances, I was able to know this man,"  He points down to Naralis. "Who was no man at all.  Naralis was one of our gods.  Not as you think of gods.  Back then, these creatures lived among us; great heroes, champions of the people.  But once, Naralis came back injured.  A black wound festered upon him and could not be staved off.  All my skills proved meaningless.  

"Before he died, he trusted within me something, told me to keep it safe: a shard of power.  He bid me to hide, and I did so.  What I saw next was Jergal appearing before Naralis, giving him thanks for work well done as a death god, and then killing him.  Taking what was left of Naralis.  I could not let that rest.  I used the shard within me to uncover powers that my people had never known before: the powers of necromancy.  I was able to live long, longer than any.  Eventually I was able to restore Naralis, not as he was but a pale shadow, but restored nonetheless.  

"Since then, I have been on a quest, a mission to stop Jergal.  To stop what he is doing with these shards; powering the domain of death with the aim of destroying the world.  As a healer, I have an obligation towards people, and this would mean everyone perish.  Not just death, but non-existence.  This whole plane, cease.  I cannot let that happen.  To that aim, I have used the deaths of the kingdoms of the Enclave as part of my ritual.  Merdelain escaped, and my ritual went awry.  It almost destroyed me.  I have spent many years recovering, to come back to this level of strength, to attempt to find Merdelain once more and finish what was started.  And that is my truth."

The way he speaks, it is with religious fervor.  It is something he truly believes in.  His eyes shine as he speaks of it.

Pine, with insight after having spoken to Jergal before, figures out that the gods came here.  Not all of them, some of them were native, but some gods were not, Jergal being one of them.  The Merdelain gods remind Arya of the Archfey.  What Ularan described Naralis being sounded way more like the higher-ups in the Court that the gods - primarily humans - now knows.  They were definitely home-grown.

Siax:

Continuing to look confused, Siax would say to Ularan:
"So let me get this straight, you need to perform this ritual again, which took out three of your people's kingdoms already, just to get back at Jergal?"

Ularan:
"The ritual did not take the kingdoms out.  The kingdoms fell.  I knew that they would fall and performed the ritual, but they were dying nonetheless.  Each was ravaged by a different cause.  Merdelain was attacked by Fey.  Many of them.  They would have succeeded as well if they (Merdelain) hadn't performed the ritual to take them to the shadow planes. I'm sure you've heard the name [Celestra] before.  It was her.  Her armada, her army that came and devastated this place.  I knew that it would happen.  I could have warned people here, but it would have changed nothing.  Instead, like the others, I used their death for something greater.  And it is not to 'get back on Jergal', it is to stop this creatures plan.  I expect the scope of it is too abstract for a mortal, but he is planning to destroy our plane, to use it as energy.  That is unacceptable."

Arya:
"What are your plans now?"

Ularan:
"That is a good question.  I am in a bad situation, that is true, partially due to your actions.  But partially due to your actions I am also not in danger as much as I have been.  You've dealt the Cult of Talos a massive blow, that is very good.  I have a lieutenant out somewhere that will probably return to slay me, your companion and the dragon are sure to be plotting to gain power.  The situation is desperate, and as such I would focus on finding Merdelain and completing this.  I have been attempting to find a way to pierce the veil that they raised up on their departure.  It is not as simple as moving through the planes.  No, the Merdelain elves have left safeguards.  I have not been able.  [Celephra], however, does know how to get there.  I have not treated with her to that extent, because to treat with her is to court destruction.  But I fear I am running out of options."

Arya:
"So you've given up on the thought of channelling the dragon's powers?"

Ularan:
"My hope was to find the [preclaim?], to claim the dragon's soul and find a host for it.  I could use its innate arcane mind to pierce the veil and enter Merdelain with my…" he peers out at the destroyed Dead Hand, "my armies.  This is still theoretically possible if I could find the dragon, but it is difficult to find things in this Mere."

Arya:
"What did the Cult even want here?"  [DM misheard and answered about the Dead Hand]

Ularan:
"This was primarily our base to explore the Mere, to try and find weak points between here and Merdelain, to attempt to enter.  We succeeded many times, but it was random, uncontrolled.  Any who travelled such, usually through the ruins that are left over, would never be heard of again.  We also attempted to find an artifact my people had acquired: the Ruinstone, if you have heard of it.  This was  stone recovered, fae in origin I believe.  With it, one could make his will, reality.  Similar to the sword that I gave to you, Effie, but much more powerful.  With it, I would be able to complete the ritual without even needing Merdelain for that ritual to be completed.  But the last place that I know the ruinstone was in was Merdelain, so it is either with Merdelain, or somewhere in this Mere.  It is one of our reasons for looking, scouring this place.

Arya:
"What did the Cult even want here?"

Ularan:
"The Cult of Talos is more simple than it might seem.  They are here to destroy us.  They have prospered through discovering that Death has been broken, and they have been told by their god that we are attempting to set it right.  They are unleashing everything they have to stop this.  They also know of the stone, however, and they wish to retrieve it.  Do not think that their actions stem from any complicated plans.  This is them merely acting on rumours and hatred."

Arya:

What Ularan is saying sounds to Arya like a garbled version of some things she knows.  In the Feywild she knows that there is the Jungle of Shadows, an ever expanding mad patch that is slowly but surely devouring the lands there.  The Mere does seem to be its equivalent.  It does match up to Arya, the ruinstone could be the thing that she has heard of.  She knows others of her kind, the Fey, who have entered the Jungles specifically to go seek it out.  There have been expeditions and various things like that, and none have returned.  It is known as the Domain of [Celephra].  Arya thinks its quite likely that it is one and the same as the thing she has travelled there for.

Effie:
"Finding Idris first, then finding the stone."

Ularan

"Ah, if you had the stone in your possession, you would simply wish for your friend to be here and healed, and he would.  But there were consequences to its use.  My people who used it, it takes things away, but still, worth the cost."

Pine:
"What is the power source of the ruinstone?  That seems like a major godly power.  Is it a shard, like we have shards, but a more powerful one?"

Ularan:
"Amusingly, we do not know what it is.  It was taken from a traveller captured  in the tower you have been acquainted with.  The reason [Celephra] attacked Merdelain was outrage for this theft.  It seemed like this was something that belonged to her.  I agree with you.  The power stated for this thing is beyond imagination.  It was examined by many," Ularan seems lost in thought for a moment, "Truly, the way Merdelain escaped, it should have been impossible.  It is my suspicion that they have used the stone to o this.  But this is merely speculation.  I share your frustration, Pine.  I do not know what this is, but it has worked."

Pine:
"Could the stone be the energy from a previous realm that has been destroyed, or a large god?"

Ularan:
"Thalivar, I'm sure had theories, but I believe you have sent him to rest.  When the tower was turned off, I believe the shade that was there was able to evaporate.  If anyone knows the nature of the stone, it is either going to be [Celephra] herself, or the high wizards of Merdelain, assuming they survive.  The cost for getting [Celephra] to help me find Merdelain is the stone, among other things."

Pine:
"That doesn't seem like a good deal."

Ularan:
"It would, and I do not mean this against your people, Arya, it would mean, I believe, invasion from the Fey to here.  I do not trust [Celephra] with this type of power."

Siax:
"Why would the Fey want to invade here?" to Arya, but she doesn't know.

Pine:
Pine reminds the group that the ruinstone was taken from Thalivar's tower by another Elf.  He also reminds the group that [Celephra] was trying to get into Leilon in order to go to the tower, which is a goal that makes no sense unless that is what she wants.  There was also Idris's vision where the different factions were fighting over what was in the tower.  

"I assumed it was a person, a Fey, trapped in the basement, but if its not, then that's possibly where the ruinstone is."

He would also, hesitantly, mention the lizardfolk river, questioning whether it could be use to change where the ruinstone was.

Ularan:
"So my next plans, to answer you, Arya.  It would be to try and get into a decent shape my forces here, an then to attempt to pierce through to Merdelain, as we have done before, but with more vigour.  This, of course, I do not think will succeed unless I try something different.  I would give myself two weeks for this, and if nothing, I would attempt to meet with [Celephra], promise her the stone, an see what happens from there.  There is, of course, another issue.  The Cult of Talos will keep coming after me.  No matter what, they will not stop. There are too many things to attend to.  Perhaps I could as your group: What are your plans?"

03:36:19

[Darren - Pine]

I have a theory about Naralis and Ularan.

I think that Ularan's initial response to Naralis dying is a bit too reactionary. He said the black wound couldn't be healed and Naralis was dying. But then he said that Jergal killed him and took his essence and this started his quest against Jergal.

And yet Jergal isn't usually active like that. He might ease a god's passing if there was no saving them, but Ularan's words sounded incensed.  I think it was redirected guilt.

I think that whatever hurt Naralis was somehow Ularan's fault. I think after finding out that Naralis had fallen foul of something he'd intended for another, Ularan had hope that he could find a way to save him. But then Jergal came to ease that passing, and Ularan's chance, his hope, to save his God was gone. And so instead of shouldering the blame and guilt, he chose to focus on the god who took away what he thought was an option. He needed Naralis back, and he needed Jergal gone.  And he needed a bigger cause to follow to hide the real reason, from others, and himself.

Jergal called Ularan 'a useful tool' and that backs up the theory, since he needs death gods to come and go. Maybe he let Ularan keep the shard (no way did he miss the fact that Ularan had it, surely) in the hope that Ularan himself would become the next death god over time, taking over after the demise of Naralis, but when he focused on other things, he no longer was useful.

[DM]

Some wrong but some right.

[Darren - Pine]

Gah!

[DM]

Give me a Pine insight roll

[Darren - Pine]

28

[DM]

Damn!

So 100% correct on Ularans response. He spoke about that section quickly and with more intensity than anything else.

With that high of a roll you can tell there's a ton of guilt there and self blame.

You don't think Jergal coming down to claim Naralis was false. But killed? Perhaps not.

When he said that Naralis passed his shard to him he seemed 100% honest.

Honestly with that high of a roll feel free to ask for clarifications

[Darren - Pine]

Okay so I have a couple of clarifications to ask, although they might be a bit outside the scope of his insight check.

If all this was to right the wrong of Naralis dying, and to stop it happening in future, then it does make sense for Ularan to craft the reasoning of Jergal being the bad guy so Naralis would be on board to stand up to him after the ritual.  But when the group spoke to Ularan first he basically said he didn't mind who was the next death god.  So was that a lie, and he fully intended to have Naralis ascend, or was there a breach between the two at some point and Ularan no longer trusts that Naralis will do what he wants?  After all, god power comes with knowledge, and supreme intellect etc If there was a breach between the two and Ularan lied to him or coerced him into trusting his vision then he might not trust Naralis to do what he's convinced himself is the truth

[DM]

You did not get the sense that Ularan planned to ascend Naralis. You got the sense that Naralis was utterly devoted to Ularan.

It was quick but when Ularan said he brought back Naralis it didn't sound particularly filled with triumph.

I think with the above insight you suspect that the Naralis here is lesser, perhaps as you said a copy of some kind.

A homonculus

[Darren - Pine]

I wonder then if Ularan was also a god back then

[DM]

Nope. He did not lie

Just a healer.

[Darren - Pine]

Oh... Oh of course! He has Naralis shard, and with the shards close together they lose individuality. He said that he'd tried following he voices in the shards before but lost that ability

From Pine's earlier insight check, would he understand that Ularan had chosen power over serving his God (with the shards)

Also, is Pine able to sense whether Naralis's god shard is now in Naralis's substitute body, or still with Ularan?

[DM]

No shard can be felt from Naralis. 

Yeah he basically came out and said that he used to listen to them but not for a long while the first time you met him