Previously: Chapter 23: Into the Mists
Visions in the Mist
The party continues to trek through the mist fields, being careful not to disturb anything of danger or draw attention to themselves, so they try to remain quiet, and don't talk much. Without any warning, Willowbark suddenly stops mid-walk. The others start looking around to see where the danger is, but Verkenner sees through the mists. An old man sitting next to a small lantern. He has his back turned to the party and doesn’t seem to have noticed them. They decide to be on the safe side, as nobody should be in the fields by themselves, and take the long way around him. It seems to work, as the party cannot see anyone following them.
As the party continues forward towards the mountains, Demetrius can be heard muttering to himself “there are no voices here, there are no voices here”. Granny touches his shoulder to make sure he is okay, which spooks him, but he is fine, just a bit tense from being in the middle of evil murderous mists. They see the occasional shadow drift by, hinting at a large creature nearby, but luckily they manage to sneak past these as well.
A couple of hours have passed, and they can feel the wind picking up. Not enough to disperse the mists, but enough so that it is thinner, allowing them to see that they are nearing the mountains. They get closer and closer, and cannot stop the feeling of being watched from all sides. Verkenner peers through the mists ahead, and suddenly shouts to the party to run. Kal makes the horses go as fast as they can, racing towards the edge. Just as they pass through the border of the mist field, they can hear the sound of something massive getting close to them from behind, and they see a large shadow being stopped from exiting. The party has made it through, and are safely out on the other side.
The Twilight Peaks
Looking at the landscape surrounding them, they find that it is barren and almost without life. There are the occasional bushes, but wildlife seems pretty much non-existent. Looking up at the sky, it is well past noon, closing in on the evening, as the sun lies low in the sky. Verkenner and Rafik hovers behind, making sure nothing follows them out of the mists, whilst the party begins looking for a fitting place to make camp for the night. After searching for a bit, they come across a rock overhang that would give good cover against the weather, no matter how little there is. The barren lands at least have the benefit of providing them with plenty of dry firewood.
The horses seem to be very stressed by the situation they are in, especially Speed who had a close brush with death for the first time. Willowbark walks over to the horses, managing to calm them down with her soothing words, promising that the worst is over, and they will soon head back to the others. Speed and Henry both hold their heads against Willowbark, as she gently strokes their manes.
During the night, they watch the fog try to break the boundary separating them from it, but it always rolls back into itself, almost like a wave hitting the beach on the ocean. Granny sits admiring the stars during her watch, as nothing evil or malicious approaches. Willowbark is awoken as Demetrius and Verkenner are having a rowdy conversation, laughing and hollering. She tells them off, reminding them that dangers lurk around, so they finish the watch in silence. With the occasional giggle from Demetrius.
Theren and Kal take the last watch as usual, and as the sun is beginning to approach the horizon, they can see a large silhouette trudging across the barren landscape. They both think that there might be a tribe of giants in the vicinity, but it doesn’t appear to have noticed them, as it isn’t walking over. When the party wakes to Kal’s breakfast, she gives the horses an extra boost, as they might need it.
When they wake up, Penny goes over to talk to Willowbark. She gives the Doom Bloom to her, feeling it is more important that she checks on how her tribe is doing, rather than her trying to find her mentor. Kal remarks that she has prepared the sending spell, so she can try to contact Morgan, but she tells her to save it until later, they might need the spell slot.
Willowbark holds the flower in her hand, and is at first a little unsure about who to try to look at from her tribe. After a short discussion about who would be the best one, she decides that she wants to see what Sage is doing. She crushes the flower, and inhales the seeds, falling into a state of higher consciousness .
Her mind is pulled away from her body, as she soars through the sky, and down into a familiar forest. She can suddenly see Sage, who seems to be fine. It’s early morning, and they appear to be ready to pack down the camp, hoping to move on. She thinks that she can see Hawk in the distance, and suddenly notices a small goblin, Droop, walking past Sage. They acknowledge each other as they pass, with Sage giving the goblin a short nod. She can hear Lark playing a tune, but he is out of sight. Sage seems to be packing his stuff, and right before Willowbark is pulled away from the mission, she sees Aster, who approaches Sage. She asks if they have to move again, and that the people are tired about the constant move. Sage replies that they are being hunted, and that it is safer to move. They haven’t had any deaths or disappearances in a while, and they need to keep that going. Aster then moves on, and Sage scans the treeline, with Willowbark feeling as if he can almost see her, just as she loses the vision, and is back with her group.
Willowbark tells the others what she saw in the vision, and that Aster seemed to be alive. She also tells them that Droop made it safely to her tribe, and seemed happy. They all really seemed healthy, albeit stressed from being on the run from the sickness. Willowbark says she wants to find the tribe, but the rest of the party convinces her that it is folly, as it would be like finding a needle in a haystack considering they constantly move around.
The Entrance
The group starts to wander towards where the map says the treasure should be, but struggles as the terrain is harsh, forcing them to stay near the mist fields or the cart could be damaged. They occasionally check further up the mountainside in hopes of finding the signs referenced on the map, specifically the part where it mentions a dragon body, leading to a doorway. As Kal and Theren study the map one more time, Willowbark notices that they are standing right below a stone formation that looks like a mouth of some kind. She points it out, and they all realize they are standing amongst the bones of a gargantuan dragon. The first waypoint.
They take the horses, and carefully lead them further north as the map suggests, approaching the mountain wall of the highest peak. After about 200 meters, they reach a large boulder standing in front of the doorway, with another boulder having fallen next to it. Penny sees that there is some space between the boulder and the mountain, so checks behind it, and finds a narrow opening. They ask Verkenner to watch over the horses, as they all go investigate. Verkenner replies that they will be waiting for their return.
Within the cave, Theren can see a couple of statues, as well as a doorway with some writing above it, carved into the stone wall. He does not recognize the language, but if they get inside, they can decipher it to see what it says. Getting close to the door, Willowbark decides to listen to it, but she can hear nothing within, almost like there is a vacuum. Kal can understand the writing on the wall, and translates to the party.
“What does man love more than life, Fear more than death or mortal strife? What the poor have, the rich require, and what contented men desire. What the miser spends and the spendthrift saves, And all men carry to their graves?”
Willowbark hears this and enthusiastically says that she thinks she knows the answer. The statues that surround the door seem threatening, albeit non-moving. Penny says that she should go for it, if she thinks she knows the answer. She gets closer to the door, and whispers “nothing”, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect. Kal repeats the word in the language the riddle is written in, and the door suddenly reveals a crack in the middle, and swings open, revealing a room within.
The Steps
They enter the pitch black room, feeling the cold surrounding them. There is a stairway leading up into the darkness, and two, robed statues guard the interior. The place looks old, yet pristine; no dust or rust cover any surfaces. As the last one enters, the door closes and torches light up the stairways, which they can see turns further up. The party asks Kal how she knew what it said, and she reveals that it was written in celestial, which she claims she learned from her god.
The party ascends the stairs, and reach another room, with another statue to the right as they come in. Looking at it, it appears different, but similar. Getting closer to it however, causes it to glow up with dim blue light, as an elven looking spirit suddenly appears from it and greets the party.
“Attempting to climb the stairs is not an easy task. You should prepare.”
The spirit watches over the party, making eye contact with each and every one of them, before it slowly fades away. Penny decides to take out the compass they found in Cragmaw Castle, that points to what it deems to be the safest place, and it points straight forward, up the stairs. They decide to continue.
Ascending the next set of stairs seems to be rather mundane, as nothing happens, no spirits or traps await them. They reach a landing, with a large set of iron doors in front of them, as the stairs continue to their right. Theren walks over to the iron doors, and tries to open them. With a creak of metal against metal it swings open, revealing a hallway within. At the end of the hallway there are another set of doors, and the party can see through the cracks that it seems to be bolted shut from the other side. Thinking that the doors lead to their destination, they realize the only way forward is up.
Walking up the stairs, the party reaches another landing, with another statue in the corner, as the stairs continue to their left now. As the way is lit by torches, they see that the stairs lead to a hallway at the top, with small landings that break up the staircase into three segments. Penny examines the statue, finding it to be rather well made, but nothing comes out of it. Willowbark takes a step on the next segment, and as soon as she does, the torches on the wall dim, as four ghosts suddenly appear and attack the party.
Kal, being a cleric, uses her powers to force the ghosts away from her friends, knowing they can possess them. One of the ghosts lets out a blood-curdling scream, which causes the party great pain and horror. Granny is especially affected by this, visibly aging several years due to the stress. Demetrius comes to her aid, and strikes at the ghosts, holding them back, with the party working together to finish them off. As each ghost perishes, the flame on the torches rekindles, so Kal tries to light one herself, but it doesn’t seem to work. After all four torches are re-lit, they reach the second landing. To their right is another statue, and this too glows up, revealing a similar spirit as before, but distinctly a different individual.
“The stairs are difficult to climb. Good luck.”
Granny looks at her hands, and realizes what has happened. Feeling that she is beginning to near the end of her natural lifespan, she sits down for a bit to catch her breath, and tells the party that to reverse the aging, she needs a greater restoration spell within the next day. She muses to the party that she was looking forward to a man before she dies. Willowbark asks her if she is looking for a husband, and she says that she was looking for a husband to have children with, and to grow old with. She seems to be rambling, and Willowbark and Penny fears that she might be growing senile.
They decide to take a short rest before continuing, using the coffee pot to shorten the length of it. It works, makes coffee as usual, but it is silent. Penny shakes it a bit, asking for Bozuuth, but she gets no response. Penny worries that the coffee pot is broken, but Kal tells her this just confirms that it is indeed possessed by a demon. Granny, who has grown hard of hearing in the last half hour, advises Kal to not talk about her private life, having misheard what she said.
Willowbark braces herself as she places her foot on the next segment of stairs, but finds that it just seems to be extremely slippery, like it has absolutely no friction whatsoever. The party starts strategizing about what to do, as they see that it is just beyond the reach of a misty step, and they don’t have any more powerful teleportation magic. Theren sighs, and asks for a rope. Kal takes one out, so Theren grabs the end of it, and suddenly his feet are on fire, and he casually floats to the next landing. They all look at him, in a way that only conveys “how long have you been able to do that?”. He fastens the rope on one of the torches, as the rest of the party makes their way across the slippery stairs.
When the last person reaches the landing they see another statue, and once again, the statue glows dim blue, as a third spirit emerges from it.
“Trust, and do not get distracted from the path ahead. Good luck.”
Willowbark takes a moment to realign herself, saying she doesn’t trust the next segment of stairs, having seen what the last two segments did. The rest of the party points out that is the exact opposite of what the spirit said. Granny lays her hand on Penny’s shoulder, and says that she is sorry, but as she is easily distracted, she should stay close to her.
The last segment seems to be harmless, as they manage to reach the top without issue. The hallway leads to the left of them, and they can see two large statues looming on each side of the hallway. Both Willowbark and Demetrius check for traps, but cannot find any. They are a little scared about crossing the threshold, and close their eyes as they do, but nothing happens. Continuing along the hallway, there are several paths, but only one of them is lit up by torches to the west. To the south of them there is a large set of double doors, and to the north, on top of another set of stairs, they can see light and smell food. Realizing that these are just distractions, they tell each other to continue onwards wherever the torches lead.
The Monk
At the end of the hallway they reach another room, and can see that there is a chasm at the end of it, with a ladder that leads down. Demetrius peers over the edge, and cannot see the bottom. There is another statue in the room, which once again glows blue, as the spirit from the first room they were in appears.
“What comes next requires a leap of faith.”
The spirit vanishes once more. Theren peeks down, and cannot see the bottom either, indicating that it is a significant drop. He uses his flying powers to descend, and the rest of the party can see him disappear in the darkness, before yelling up at them that he is at the bottom. Penny thinks for a moment, and looks at the ladder, and recites the words. She doesn’t think, and just starts running, jumping into the chasm, much to the horror of the rest of the party. Penny falls, and just as she is about to hit the floor, she is slowed down, and floats mid air, allowing her to land safely. She sends a message to Granny, who doesn’t understand where the voice is coming from, wandering around in circles looking for her. Kal asks her if she is feeling okay, which she is, just a bit confused. She asks Granny to jump over the edge, as it seems to be the test. Granny starts to walk over to the edge, but just falls off it, instead of jumping deliberately. After this, the rest follow, and they all land safely.
Theren figures they must be getting close to the end, and after making sure everyone is okay after the fall, they continue down the set of stairs, that they can see lead into a bigger chamber. As they reach the end, they can see a figure sitting on the ground on the other side of the chamber. A woman, dark skin, white tattoos, with a staff laying next to her. She looks up at them, and announces to them that they have reached the final task of the Steps of Aranon. Kal has heard this name once before, with him or her being a builder that helped by assisting the gods with their requests.
“Welcome. Welcome to the final trial of the Steps of Aranon. You have traveled far to be here, Kalyssandra Merwen, Pine of the Woods, Penelope Roxley, Demetrius Archangel, Theren Amblecrown, Baraka. Your unity, your reliance on each other, has taken you this far. Fate brought you together, for a reason. I have seen the path that lies ahead, and it is a difficult path indeed. Do you have what it takes to persevere?”
The group looks at each other, feeling the journey over the last months has made them all stronger, as they feel they can all trust and rely on each other. They look back at her, with Kal confirming that they believe they do.
“Then let me see how powerful your bonds really are.”
The monk rises, grabs her staff, and goes into a fighting stance, ready to face the party.