Loose threads Nothing, probably
Participants Murphy Saorie Tylmae Akhelios Mildspire Shirkad
Locations Visage
Short summary:
Guided by the will to repair a Rod of Wonder, we have traveled to the Visage to meet with the Maskmaker, a seller of items, masks and other wonders magical and mundane.
There we have been informed of an issue with some "memory vampires", which we have found one example of within {S: an unassuming place nearby}. Murphy had her mind drained to unconsciousness, but we have managed to defeat the creature, which turned into dust and glitter.
Full Report
Given a hint, that The Maskmaker might be able to repair the newly acquired Rod of Wonder, Murphy gathered a group of allies to travel with to Visage, place where this strange seller of dubious goods, not because of their quality, can be typically found.
Traveling to the Temple of the Two Suns was simple enough, and there after some gossiping we have found transport with Marsyas . After reaching the harbour of Visage, the group split, some of us moved to a tavern known as "The Winding Witness" to search for information on Maskmaker's whereabouts {S: and have a delightful meal with Ampella}, while others, distracted, remained in the Harbour to acquaint themselves with one Lady Flavianne .
This investigation lead us to the Gaiety of Visage, where we have found said Maskmaker. Oh, and Shirkad wandered off again, finding himself in the backstage where he acquainted himself with Hyalos. Anyway, Maskmaker in no clear terms said they can repair the Rod, but under the condition {S: it's a secret!}. Though at first it came of as a metaphor, it turned out to be one on top of being literal {S: also a secret ;p}. We were tasked with extermination of a creature Maskmaker called "memory vampire". Or multiple, should there be more than one.
Following this lead, we {S: followed all laws and were completely respectful of all local traditions}. Intending to merely take a quick look inside and prepare the path for the future once we are better prepared, the lizard moved in too deep, and so we went in.
Walls of the {S: non-descript locale} were covered with a swarm of mantis-like creatures, which seems to have had a hypnotic ability, but using enough pesticide, both poison- and ice-based, seems to have done the trick. Going deeper we found a strange chamber with an altar. When looked at from outside, it seemed perfectly normal, once inside, however, it would mess with your senses. Front was back, left was up, and pointing at the altar could well result in you poking yourself in the eye, as if the space inside was not based on a flat surface, but rather behaved like crinkly bedsheets.
There was also this Unicycle-riding Sprite there, named Space Insect, which we assume was a victim of the vampires.
At least eventually we reached the altar, where in three rings it reads:
Outer Ring By three, it came, From the distant stars; A dead and fallen star – A trifold face, to scar; The face of our world. By three, it came, From the distant sky; Tore open our skies – A gem, a flame that cries; And emptiness within. By three, it came, From the distant reach; And for our lands it reached; Before the veil was breached; We halted its descent. Middle Ring By three, it changed; Its polished surface shines; Encrypted in that shine; As our will designed; Rich stories of a traveler. By three, it changed; Its flicker – all the colours; And within each colour; Never weaker nor duller; A song of shackled plight. By three, it changed Its void longs to fill; For hunger to be filled; Its belly we have thrilled; With that remembered gold. Inner Ring By three, we bound it With chains we made of stones; Unrefined, its stone; Cannot withstand alone; The vastness it contains. By three, we bound it With rings we made of flames; Unrestrained, its flame; Were it left untamed; Itself it would devour. By three, we bound it With rules we took from stories; Unstructured, every story; Could hardly learn of glory; Never break the rule of three. |
This mystery was, however, the least of our worries. In a fork of caverns we have found above this place, we have found evidence of a party camping there for many days. Evidence of us camping there. When our minds finally started adding two and two together, the creature got bored with devouring our memories of the days we have spent investigating this place, and controlling those of weaker minds among us pushed us to interfere with our allies' hunt. This finally resulted in a fight, {S: mostly due to the vampire's arrogance and the random luck of one Rod-obsessed individual} and eventually broke the creature's hold on. Though it managed to drain Murphy to unconsciousness, eventually we managed to whittle this weird, mantis-like creature down to extinction.