Solaris' Heroes Events (season 2: 14-19)
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Session 14: After the Inauguration (20 Huenti 785 to
27 Huenti 785)
Weeks pass between the battle and the inauguration. Tchau goes to Iott to finish his business so that he can end his official service. Emmerick restlessly waits in Mydir for an assignment. Solaris and his cohort, Ri and Jonathon, spend a glorious time in Mydir. Olokas reads the holy book he was given and spends time learning the ways of the knights of the white sword from Sir Kaelis. Saren spends the weeks taking classes at the paladin academy. When time comes for the inauguration, they are all invited to attend.
Inauguration day is a huge spectacle. Solaris is mobbed by hundreds and can do little except appease the masses. The others gather for the first time in over a month and look around the area. They meet several dignitaries, including Aianna Cadmurren or the Destroytian Republic. She listens intently to their story of the recent battle and invites them to sit in her box to watch the proceedings. When it ends, she bids them farewell. The group decides to meet the next day to discuss the next course of action.
They meet at Saint Toppin's and are greeted by Roger, a cleric has been assigned to help them in the past. They talk about possibly going back to the desert temple among other things until Joseph arrives. He says that while they were relaxing, he was tracking down a lead. The source of the creatures that are smuggled into Mydir he believes is a cleric of Falan opposed to his and Emmerick's order that left Pacyr a decade ago. His name is Torrence. Joseph believes he is operating out of Hertoplowis right across the border. The group agrees to pursue that lead.
They go to question Riles, the smuggler that they arrested before the battle. He tells them again of the structure of the operation. He tells them that he has two competitors that smuggle meat into the city, Mod and Jackson. He tells them how he contacted others and the name of the messenger, Doug. Taking that information, the group stakes out the other two smugglers. They find nothing and decide on the third night to put a barrel out behind each of their houses, the signal for the messenger. Two nights later, Olokas and Ri see the messenger approach Jackson's house. They capture both of them.
The group interrogates the charmed captives. Emmerick removes an evil necklace from Doug. He tells them more about the operation, and about Torrence, the ring leader who is living in Hertoplowis. Unfortunately, the necklace, once removed activated. Clement reveals, through Joseph, that as soon as the necklace was removed, everyone nearby was scryable. The necklace should have also exploded in a fireball and killed the former wearer, but the magic of the University prevented those wards from activating. Olokas has some choice words with Emmerick. Doug further tells them when the next shipment is due in Mydir. The group decides to stake out Mos' warehouse.
Two days later, the find a Mos and a man leading sheep into the city. They capture and charm them. They ask the other man what he is doing and find out he is delivering sheep for slaughter. The next day, they confirm the story with two local butchers who were illegally buying animals for meat. The captured man has an item which he says can contact his associates and possibly Torrence.
Session 15: A Southern Diversion (27 Huenti 785 to 1 Kiusta 785)
The group discusses the options. Clement agrees to send Swift to speak with Jezzalia to determine what if anything is in the desert temple. Emmerick and Tchau will go and try to find Torrence in Hertoplowis, allowing the others, who will be more likely discovered in that nation, to stay in Mydir. The two are teleported to a nearby town and walk into Hertoplowis. They take Jarin, the dwarf who they had freed from the slavers and was willing to help identify Torrence.
Sir Kaelis visits Olokas the next day and suggest, if he has nothing else to do, that he spend some time learning how to ride a horse, in his continuing effort to become a knight. He suggest that they could ride to the Polar Rim Mountains, two days away and visit the mines to see if they had any mithral or admantium. Solaris agrees, wanting to get away from the worshipping throngs of Mydir after more the six weeks there. Saren goes as well. Ri, not being able to ride at all, remains.
For two days they travel and Sir Kaelis teaches mounted combat and riding. They reach the base of the mountains and camp. The next morning, they go up to the town of Desartalla, a sledgehammer dwarf mining town. They go to the inn, the Mountain Fountain, although Solaris stays at the shrine of Hemator. They ask the merchants about metals, and try to talk to the mayor, but it is his day off. The next day, they find Dean Major Icehammer, the dwarven military commander. He is at his office in the viewing station above the town. They introduce themselves, and like to everyone, Solaris is awe-inspiring. Olokas asks if their is anything that he can do to help the town. The Dean tells them he will consider it, and that they have horses and are fast makes them useful to him, as his dwarves are slow. They leave.
The day before, Solaris and Saren had noticed one evil man at the inn. They also noticed evil presences occasionally flying overhead. This day, they again notice the presence and soon after, the man at the inn, this time alone. Saren stares him down. The man leaves and they follow as discretely as possible. They follow him to another inn and then out of the town when he finally notices and begins to run. They give chase down the mountain and he begins to jump over boulders to speed his descent. Solaris tries the same but nearly kills himself. Surviving, Solaris is able to magically hold the man and the group brings him back to the town. When they reach the gate, the guard opens it and they are all attacked by icy winds and cold. The flying evil presence appears, and they more of them. The cold kills the prisoner. The gate guard falls to the ground and Aker takes him to safety. They others defend until Solaris is able to fly and engage them. Olokas jumps off the wall after he climbs it to attack. One of the creatures, humanods of air and ice, larger than the average man, descends and grabs the backpack of the dead man. It throws the pack to another one before Saren, Olokas, and Sir Kaelis destroy it. Solaris, having destroyed one, gives chase. Before he can reach it, it uses some illusion ann escapes. Solaris tracks it to one of the mine entrances.
Session 16: From Diversion to Mission (1 Kiusta 785 to 3 Kiusta 785)
Solaris returns to the others and they revive the guard. Soon many other dwarves arrive. They all wait for Langus Icehammer, the Dean Major whom they spoke to at the guard post. They tell him everything that occurred. He has the body taken to the temple and tells the others that he will have information collected and sent to them. They go and rest and wait.
As they are waiting, and Anklelent arrives. At first, they think it is Swift, whom they had met with Clement. It is not. Rather it is named Gales and it announced that it is there to aid the chosen one Solaris. Its first mission is to retrieve the other companions. After Solaris mentions creatures summoned with gems, it also says it will stop at the Guardian Temple and inform them, as they have been looking for such creatures.
Gales goes to Hertoplowis and finds Emmerick and Tchau. He finds them as they are about to attempt to capture Torrence. Unfortunately, his arrive sets off an alarm, and Torrence does not leave the inn. Emmerick convinces Gales to help them before he takes them away. His plan is simple, scare Torrence into surrendering. Emmerick enters the inn, followed by Tchau flaming and Gales. Torrence is frightened, but flees magically. Gales tries to do the same, but cannot. Instead, he flied the others out of the nation until he can teleport them to Mydir. Once there, he drops them off and goes to the Guardian Temple.
Gales tells the guardians what has occurred with Solaris. They agree to send someone to investigate, and pick Dovan (a former companion of Solaris) to go. The two teleport to Mydir, where they meet up at the University with Tchau and Emmerick. After introductions, Emmerick tells them that he will remain at the University to speak with Clement. They pick up Tchau's familiar Almantiro and teleport to Desartalla, where they find the others.
For two days, the groups is fed information by the Dean Major. He then meets with them. The group decides to go into mine 4 to look around. The Langus says he will provide a guide and get the mayor's permission. By the next day, the group has both and the go into the mine by late morning. It is raining. Their guide is named Bromek. Almantiro and Gales wait outside, as does Sir Kaelis, who just recovered from a stomach illness.
For nearly two hours, they go down into the deepest shaft of the mine. They find nothing. When the reach the last room, Dovan senses outer planar creatures. They notice the floor is illusioned. A gust of wind comes up them from behind and knocks Aker, Saren, and Bromek into the pit. Solaris and Tchau jump after them, quickly giving themselves the ability to fly. Dovan hides. Olokas searches the room. Aker hooks the floor quickly and stops his fall. Saren attacks the air and cold creature as he falls by it. Solaris and Tchau are bombarded by cones of cold, which exhausts Tchau's protection spell and nearly kills him. Solaris is attacked are barely hurt. Tchau flees, damaging one of the creatures as he does. Solaris follows after him and heals him. Aker climbs out of the pit. Dovan waits and watches. Olokas turns invisible. The wounded creature flees magically. The others, after a speech by Solaris, disappear. Dovan notices movement and senses a new outsider presence. He lets it pass him and rush down the tunnel towards Solaris. It attacks and hurts Solaris, showing itself to be a drow elf.
Session 17: Clash of Demigods? (3 Kiusta 785)
Saren and
Bromek catch themselves and realize that they are closer
to the bottom than the top. They begin to descend.The group moves to Solaris, attacking jinn as they get closer. Solaris, Tchau, and Olokas attack and do little to the drow. Dovan destroys a jinn. Aker aids Tchau. The jinn attack from outside the tunnel with more cones of cold, forcing Aker to flee into another tunnel and out of the fight. Solaris tries to help the situation with holy storms and blessings, but the drow dispels them. Tchau leaps into lightning form through the drow and several jinn, but he is attacked and nearly killed, although his magical defenses so badly harm the two that hurt him that Olokas is able to dispatch them easily. Another jinn throws Tchau into the pit, but is nearly destroyed in the attempt.
A new gust of wind knock Olokas into the pit, but he catches himself with his grappling hook. Dovan flees into hiding to avoid the drow. Solaris and the drow continue to exchange spells and attacks. Olokas goes after Aker and finds him. Dovan hides and senses another jinn and destroys it. Olokas turns invisible and with Aker's help destroys another two jinn. The drow nearly kills Solaris, who moves away and is soon joined by Dovan. The two magically light the area and the drow leaves.
Down in the pit, Saren and Bromek see the falling Tchau. They manage to catch him and heal him, but remain in a precarious position. Tchau magic does not function much, but he is able to send a message to the others before the three descend again. A voice from below them yells for help. When the get to the bottom, they find a human and many dwarves. The human tells the three that they all slaves, held for mining. They ask the man if there is another way out, and he says there is, but it is through frost giants. Tchau says he can defeat them, and the head out. On their way out, they are confronted by another jinn, who they destroy. Tchau sends a message to the dwarven guard post, telling them of their progress.
Solaris and the others make it to the outside of the mine and send Gales to tell the Guardian Temple what has happened. They look for the Dean Major.
Session 18: Do Not Engage (3 Kiusta 785 to 7 Kiusta 785)
In Desartalla, Solaris and the others tell the dwarves what has occurred. The Dean Major calls out the militia and begins to establish a defense. Solaris contacts Hemator for information about their new enemy and for guidance. Solaris also contacts Dourvan, the quasi deity, who sends the grandmaster of his knights and high cleric to the town. They will not arrive for several days. Dovan sends the news to the Guardian Temple, they tell him to remain and report.
In the mines, Tchau and Saren communicate as best they can with the outside. Saren get help in the way of potions from an unknown benefactor. They relay information they get from the human and the dwarves. A meeting is planned for the cave mouth, where Gales will teleport everyone to safety once they all meet. Gales scouts the cave and keeps watch. He notes that there are a dozen giants at the cave mouth. When the time comes, Solaris, Olokas, Dovan, Aker, and Sir Kaelis will teleport and meet Tchau, Saren and the others. The two days of preparation pass.
Finally, the time comes. Tchau sends word and shortly after flies out of the cave invisible to scout. He sees the giants. Then, for no apparent reason, the giants form up and ready themselves for attack. They do not see Tchau. Sensing the fight, Tchau attacks alone, killing a giant and wounding another badly. As the giants attention is turned to him, the other appear. Solaris is immediately almost killed and forced to defend himself. The plan turns away from any hope of defeating the enemy. Jinn appear and kill a dwarf, while freezing others. Aker, Sir Kaelis, and Olokas attack the invisible drow. Dovan hides and waits. Solaris defends and coordinates Gales in taking away the dwarves.
Tchau kills the jinn. Saren attacks the giants. The drow nearly kills Aker and Olokas, and then kills Sir Kaelis. Before he dies, the unnamed human and he recognize each other. The human makes it to Kaelis' body and is able to stop Olokas from dying after using Sir Kaelis' holy symbol. The giants attack and try to grab everyone, they luckily fail. Gales returns. Solaris takes the remaining dwarves in a plane shift. Sir Mital takes Dovan, Olokas, and Aker the same way. Tchau and Saren fight off the giants and then leave for Desartalla with Gales.
On the planes, Sir Kaelis awakens. He talks to Sir Mital, who is it revealed is his master, and Sir Kaelis the former squire. Sir Kaelis walks off into the heaven. The others wait for Solaris to be able to return them to the world. Solaris and Sir Mital go off and talk. Olokas trains with his new master. The dwarves are grumpy in the odd place. They eventually return to Desartalla, or at least nearby until Gales finds and teleports them.
Session 19: An Unwanted Exchange (7 Kiusta 785 to 18 Kiusta 785)
On the planes, Olokas is approached by Camet Gemblade, who offers to help him learn sword smithing. Olokas spends most of his time on the planes learning.
Saren and Olokas return to Mydir. There they meet with Emmerick and Ri, and also Tchau. They spend hours planning how best to get Torrence out of Hertoplwis. It is decided that they need more information and that Ri should go in and collect it. Ri travels and when he reaches near Torrence's home, bar, and temple, begins to collect information and relay it back.
In Mydir, Olokas trains and learns and the Radiant Shield and from Sir Matel. Services are held for Sir Kaelis. Clement readies scrolls and the wagon the group has requested for their mission. After more than a week, Ri sends to them that he has found Torrence in the temple where he is hold up with a dozen guards. The group sets off for the temple. After they reach it, they spend a day planning with Ri, who has charmed eight of the guards.
Emmerick enters the temple from the front with the other faithful. The others use the charmed guards to go in through the attached building. The servants flee from them. They make it to the entrance to the temple and hear Torrence and the acolytes go into the sanctuary to start services. They wait. Inside, right after services begin, Emmerick interrupts and condemns Torrence. The confused faithful listen to the two clerics for a few moments. One rises to stop Emmerick, but others subdue him. Some leave the temple. Emmerick signals the others and magically anchors Torrence, who casts spells to defend himself The room begins to fill with cold smoke, harming everyone. The other break through the door. Tchau turns into lightning and leaps through one acolyte and Torrence, killing the acolyte who soon rises as undead. Saren and Olokas each subdue another acolyte. Ri assaults Torrence mentally. Tchau eliminates Torrence protections by engulfing him in fire and putting a cloud over his head. Ri tackles him as more undead rise. They begin to drag Torrence away when another cleric, this one of Everentual, arrives with guards. They try to stop the group, but fail as they flee. Olokas and Saren begin to leave and are blocked by a cleric of Han~Sui, they are defeating him when Tchau shows up and incinerates the near helpless cleric. Emmerick remains to confront the cleric.
The group, without Emmerick, flees the temple and reaches the wagon. They tell Joseph what happened and he decides to stay and watch to see what happens to Emmerick. The other flee the city and cross the border without incident. In the temple, the cleric of Everentual waits with Emmerick. The living faithful leave, the undead are destroyed. A new cleric arrives, baring the symbol of Falan. He takes Emmerick into custody in the name of his sect.
Epilogue:
Upon
reaching Mydir, the group turns their prisoner Torrence over to Clement, and they all take turns questioning him. They learn little, as Torrence is a fanatic. He is eventually sent to a prison where he will languish
for decades.The group gets a message from Joseph. He is in Hertoplowis trying to stay close to Emmerick and relay information about what is happening to him and when might be the best time to attempt a rescue.
The group is left to wait. As the days roll by, Ri goes to Solaris and spends time with his mentor. Saren contents himself with study and practice in Mydir. But the short-lived Olokas and the fiery Tchau are not content. After two weeks, they take what they know and head into Hertoplowis. Their mission does not succeed, but they and Aker return to Mydir. Clement talks with them and tries to calm them. Their actions may well have put their enemies on an even greater guard. Clement decides that he will turn to plan B, which is to get other allies of Falan's religion, those unknown to Hertoplowis, to complete this task when needed.
Clement begins to collect his agents for the mission. Olokas after two months, with no word from Joseph and no events of note in Mydir or Pacyr, Olokas decides that it is time for him to travel home. He says his goodbyes and spends a week with his friends. He says that he will return if called, when needed. He and Aker leave, bound for the orcish town of Aslut. Soon after, with little fanfare or explanation, Tchau leaves as well. He mumbles some things about not liking in in Pacyr and nothing to do. He says his formal goodbyes and leaves heading north into lands with little power.
Continue to Solaris' Heroes Events (season 3: 20-29)
