Tethered to the Past (25/3/20)
Mar 30, 2020 13:14:45 GMT
Pieni and Merla, the Daughter of Summer like this
Post by BB on Mar 30, 2020 13:14:45 GMT
The snake stone brazier is back and once again on the floor of the flower field, and BB is once again studying a yuan-ti book of rituals. Sitting in one of the wooden chairs outside the permanent tent that resides on the flower field, she doesnât notice Ranulf standing in front of her as she slowly flicks through the pages and mutters incantations to herself. Ghesh sits nearby, also too distracted to really notice Ranulf, heâs busy giving intent stares towards Phalange the skeletal cat as it chases a bug across the grass.
âBB? You in there?â
BB jolts upright, nearly drops the book in her shock âRanulf! Sorry. Sorry I didnât see you there. Everything alright?â
The gnome man lets out a quiet but hearty chuckle âItâs alright BB. I was just here to pick up some more flowers for the stall. Good book then?â He adds as he nods to the old tome in BBâs hands. Pieni, Owlbert, and Blue at this point poke their heads out of the tent to check in on the comotion, and seeing itâs just Ranulf, pops their heads back in.
âItâs certainly an informative read, not the best narrative however. But the flowers are just back here, I was letting them get some last bits of sunshine before you arrivedâ
BB puts the book down on the chair she was just sitting on and makes her way round to the back of the flower shack, where premade bouquets patiently wait in their buckets. Ranulf follows closely behind, looking slightly perplexed at the number of bouquets and adventurers present.
âThereâs quite a few here? You really went for it seems.â
âAh yes, Iâm just preparing for the worst really.â
At this Ranulf pauses in his process of loading the bouquets into the cart to give BB a very concerned look.
âIs this another adventurer thing? Youâve been on many a scary venture in the past and you never did this. Well, apart from when you went to that desert.â
âAh well, Iâm possibly going to be talking to a god on the Astral Plane. I guess you could say Iâm panicking slightly.â BB awkwardly chuckles as Ranulf looks at her in shock. âActually I think itâs a good idea if you avoid coming round tomorrow, thatâs when the whole thing is going to happen just so you knowâŚ..â
Ranulf is stock still as he looks up at BB, before blinking himself out of his shock. âRight okay. Will do.â BB nods as he turns to load the last of the flowers into the cart. âAnd good luck I guess BB?â
âThanks, hopefully see you in a few days Ranulf.â BB says, adding a small smile as she waves Ranulf off with the flower-packed cart in tow. On the way out, and still processing what BB just said, he bumps into Sunday, Baine and Markas. Resulting in an interesting catch-up between Markas and himself before he continues on with the cart further into New Hillborrow.
With everyone gathered inside the tent, Traavor for once a visible presence, BB finishes off the day long preparation for the ritual by sitting down in front of the stone snake brazier, itâs snake flames once again lit. As the final component, some strange silvery pellets are chucked into the brazier, the snakes take on a new silvery and translucent form. They reach out towards her, one particular snake leans towards BBâs extended hand and begins to slowly slither around her hand and up her arm. As the snake makes progress towards BBâs neck, she looks up to her friends that surround her.
âNow's the time to get comfortable everyone, I think weâre about to project to the Astral Plane. I would really recommend not standing for it.â
At about the same time BB finishes this sentence the silver snake has finished its circuit around BBâs neck and has made its way to curl around her other wrist. Any other words BB has to share are cut off as the flames rise and they all drop into a sleep-like state, leaving Sunday alone with the huddle of their sleeping bodies.
I didnât realise quite how draining this magic would be. I knew the spell was powerful, something I couldnât possibly do on my own accord. But I felt that silver snake and the brazier literally drain the life force out of me. My magic felt weakened the entire time we were in that temple, the way I reached for my magic felt more clumsy, like when I was younger.
I was relieved to find my casting had worked, and that we had arrived right on top of the Astral Temple. It didnât seem quite in as good shape as when we were last there, beams of bright energy blasted into the walls of the building as we made our descent. Whole sections of it crumbled away to reveal the endless darkness of the Astral Plane just next door to us.
The plan was to go in, find this One Serpent (whatever it is), ask some questions, hopefully get some answers, and then get the bloominâ hell out of there. Once inside the temple that plan rapidly began to change, especially once we bumped into Akna.
She seemed in a pretty bad state, supposedly Githyanki had been attacking the temple since weâd last been there. She also casually mentioned that she had managed to get rid of the astral dreadnought! Even if it was with the help of the âtemple guardiansâ, thatâs still, wow.
Lo and behold as Akna mentions the Githyanki attacks, one emerges from the back of chamber, beelining straight towards her. It was strange to see someone with a solid form on this plane when compared to the silvery translucent ones that we all had. But even with their translucent forms and new hovering movement, the others were able to take the Githyanki down before I could even blink.
Though Akna hadnât taken the brunt of the blows from this recent attack, she was obviously still slowly losing health and her grip on the magic that held her form in this plane. I only managed to get some limited information before she faded. But she said that the One Serpent hadnât actually formed yet, that to do so it needed various gods from multiple dimensions to converge at this temple. There were various pools present, these are what allowed these gods to emerge here, but one was unstable and preventing access.
This unprecedented instability was the last barrier between a world with the One Serpent in it.
Solving this instability of the pools would also conveniently allow me to see into my past. To see the events I so desperately want to know. Apparently it seemed the yuan-ti tribe hadnât given up on trying to drag me along with promises of knowledge. To get the One Serpent released.
I was so relieved. So so relieved this âreleasingâ had supposedly gone wrong. My only worry was what this instability was. In a temple filled with portals linked to different planes of existence, what if this was leaking into our plane?
The others werenât so convinced of this, or were just confused. Baine seemed truly worried that I would actually go ahead and solve this instability and continue on with releasing the One Serpent. I think my desperation to find out, to get this over with, came across wrong.
Either way we all cautiously continued into the temple, Traavor and Owlbert scouting ahead in the darkness. The rest of us opted to stay close to Baine and his blinding maul as the walls continued to explode and crumble. Eventually happening upon a room with a large golden statue of a winged snake with arms, a staff gripped in each hand.
Where was this instability Akna had talked of? As we fanned out into the room, looking for whatever it was, another Githyanki appeared from the darkness. But instead of reaching for its sword, it began to mutter words of the arcane, speaking out loud to all of us âThe best course of action for you all is to leave this place.â
I managed to barely resist the spell, fate looking out for me once again, but most of the others werenât so lucky. I could see the magic settle over them all apart from Pi, thank goodness. Pi managed to grab the staff the Githyanki was trying to remove from the statue and swoop out of there.
I tried to get the other staff but Ghesh had grabbed onto me in some attempt to drag me away, leaving me open to the sword of the Githyanki as its silver edge dug into me multiple times before retreating towards a dark blue pool at the edge of the room. Markas actually came up to defend me? I donât know what his logic with the spell was, but it was welcome as Ghesh started raging next to me for not moving. And then Baine. Baine was right there in my face, demanding I get us out of there. Now.
Fuck, it was terrrifying. I was shaking, Iâll openly admit to that. But I knew it wasnât all them really, it was that spell in their heads. Saying that seemed to catch something in Baine and Markusâ minds, but it still held.
And then the magic stopped. Ghesh had chased the Githyanki out the room through the dark blue pool. I hadnât even noticed him let go of me, his rage had brought him angry clarity.
Just when I thought we had some freedom to investigate, to understand, Teoshi spoke to me again.
âChild. Akna is back here with us, she says the instability is in that room with you all. The dark blue pool filled with lightning. Cross the threshold and help the god to pass through. See your past. Release the One Serpentâ
Baine was still there in my face, grasping it even. Telling me to not listen. Oh course I wouldnât listen to Teoshi and release it. This was my chance to stop it, to set things right. I made sure to say this out loud to everyone, to Teoshi.
âCross the threshold. Find your answers. Release the One Serpent.â
No. No. Iâd heard enough of these persuasive lies. But all the voices, both in my head and from my friends, it was all so loud. The lightning was so painful. So I grabbed the last staff, made sure the Githyanki wouldnât have it, and I got us the bloominâ hell out there.
As I reached for my magic, I felt my grip slip and punch through too far, raw power slipping through as our silvery forms disappeared. I wasnât surprised really, my wits were all about the place. But what I was surprised by was a new voice in my head. It was new, but somehow I recognised it, like an old old memory.
âI need you to release me. Itâs why I gave you my signâ
What?
They all wake up in BBâs tent, blinking away the magic that held them all in a suspended state. BB looks down to notice her wrists, both now have a faintly glowing mark of a winged serpent that encircles them.
What!?
âBB? You in there?â
BB jolts upright, nearly drops the book in her shock âRanulf! Sorry. Sorry I didnât see you there. Everything alright?â
The gnome man lets out a quiet but hearty chuckle âItâs alright BB. I was just here to pick up some more flowers for the stall. Good book then?â He adds as he nods to the old tome in BBâs hands. Pieni, Owlbert, and Blue at this point poke their heads out of the tent to check in on the comotion, and seeing itâs just Ranulf, pops their heads back in.
âItâs certainly an informative read, not the best narrative however. But the flowers are just back here, I was letting them get some last bits of sunshine before you arrivedâ
BB puts the book down on the chair she was just sitting on and makes her way round to the back of the flower shack, where premade bouquets patiently wait in their buckets. Ranulf follows closely behind, looking slightly perplexed at the number of bouquets and adventurers present.
âThereâs quite a few here? You really went for it seems.â
âAh yes, Iâm just preparing for the worst really.â
At this Ranulf pauses in his process of loading the bouquets into the cart to give BB a very concerned look.
âIs this another adventurer thing? Youâve been on many a scary venture in the past and you never did this. Well, apart from when you went to that desert.â
âAh well, Iâm possibly going to be talking to a god on the Astral Plane. I guess you could say Iâm panicking slightly.â BB awkwardly chuckles as Ranulf looks at her in shock. âActually I think itâs a good idea if you avoid coming round tomorrow, thatâs when the whole thing is going to happen just so you knowâŚ..â
Ranulf is stock still as he looks up at BB, before blinking himself out of his shock. âRight okay. Will do.â BB nods as he turns to load the last of the flowers into the cart. âAnd good luck I guess BB?â
âThanks, hopefully see you in a few days Ranulf.â BB says, adding a small smile as she waves Ranulf off with the flower-packed cart in tow. On the way out, and still processing what BB just said, he bumps into Sunday, Baine and Markas. Resulting in an interesting catch-up between Markas and himself before he continues on with the cart further into New Hillborrow.
With everyone gathered inside the tent, Traavor for once a visible presence, BB finishes off the day long preparation for the ritual by sitting down in front of the stone snake brazier, itâs snake flames once again lit. As the final component, some strange silvery pellets are chucked into the brazier, the snakes take on a new silvery and translucent form. They reach out towards her, one particular snake leans towards BBâs extended hand and begins to slowly slither around her hand and up her arm. As the snake makes progress towards BBâs neck, she looks up to her friends that surround her.
âNow's the time to get comfortable everyone, I think weâre about to project to the Astral Plane. I would really recommend not standing for it.â
At about the same time BB finishes this sentence the silver snake has finished its circuit around BBâs neck and has made its way to curl around her other wrist. Any other words BB has to share are cut off as the flames rise and they all drop into a sleep-like state, leaving Sunday alone with the huddle of their sleeping bodies.
I didnât realise quite how draining this magic would be. I knew the spell was powerful, something I couldnât possibly do on my own accord. But I felt that silver snake and the brazier literally drain the life force out of me. My magic felt weakened the entire time we were in that temple, the way I reached for my magic felt more clumsy, like when I was younger.
I was relieved to find my casting had worked, and that we had arrived right on top of the Astral Temple. It didnât seem quite in as good shape as when we were last there, beams of bright energy blasted into the walls of the building as we made our descent. Whole sections of it crumbled away to reveal the endless darkness of the Astral Plane just next door to us.
The plan was to go in, find this One Serpent (whatever it is), ask some questions, hopefully get some answers, and then get the bloominâ hell out of there. Once inside the temple that plan rapidly began to change, especially once we bumped into Akna.
She seemed in a pretty bad state, supposedly Githyanki had been attacking the temple since weâd last been there. She also casually mentioned that she had managed to get rid of the astral dreadnought! Even if it was with the help of the âtemple guardiansâ, thatâs still, wow.
Lo and behold as Akna mentions the Githyanki attacks, one emerges from the back of chamber, beelining straight towards her. It was strange to see someone with a solid form on this plane when compared to the silvery translucent ones that we all had. But even with their translucent forms and new hovering movement, the others were able to take the Githyanki down before I could even blink.
Though Akna hadnât taken the brunt of the blows from this recent attack, she was obviously still slowly losing health and her grip on the magic that held her form in this plane. I only managed to get some limited information before she faded. But she said that the One Serpent hadnât actually formed yet, that to do so it needed various gods from multiple dimensions to converge at this temple. There were various pools present, these are what allowed these gods to emerge here, but one was unstable and preventing access.
This unprecedented instability was the last barrier between a world with the One Serpent in it.
Solving this instability of the pools would also conveniently allow me to see into my past. To see the events I so desperately want to know. Apparently it seemed the yuan-ti tribe hadnât given up on trying to drag me along with promises of knowledge. To get the One Serpent released.
I was so relieved. So so relieved this âreleasingâ had supposedly gone wrong. My only worry was what this instability was. In a temple filled with portals linked to different planes of existence, what if this was leaking into our plane?
The others werenât so convinced of this, or were just confused. Baine seemed truly worried that I would actually go ahead and solve this instability and continue on with releasing the One Serpent. I think my desperation to find out, to get this over with, came across wrong.
Either way we all cautiously continued into the temple, Traavor and Owlbert scouting ahead in the darkness. The rest of us opted to stay close to Baine and his blinding maul as the walls continued to explode and crumble. Eventually happening upon a room with a large golden statue of a winged snake with arms, a staff gripped in each hand.
Where was this instability Akna had talked of? As we fanned out into the room, looking for whatever it was, another Githyanki appeared from the darkness. But instead of reaching for its sword, it began to mutter words of the arcane, speaking out loud to all of us âThe best course of action for you all is to leave this place.â
I managed to barely resist the spell, fate looking out for me once again, but most of the others werenât so lucky. I could see the magic settle over them all apart from Pi, thank goodness. Pi managed to grab the staff the Githyanki was trying to remove from the statue and swoop out of there.
I tried to get the other staff but Ghesh had grabbed onto me in some attempt to drag me away, leaving me open to the sword of the Githyanki as its silver edge dug into me multiple times before retreating towards a dark blue pool at the edge of the room. Markas actually came up to defend me? I donât know what his logic with the spell was, but it was welcome as Ghesh started raging next to me for not moving. And then Baine. Baine was right there in my face, demanding I get us out of there. Now.
Fuck, it was terrrifying. I was shaking, Iâll openly admit to that. But I knew it wasnât all them really, it was that spell in their heads. Saying that seemed to catch something in Baine and Markusâ minds, but it still held.
And then the magic stopped. Ghesh had chased the Githyanki out the room through the dark blue pool. I hadnât even noticed him let go of me, his rage had brought him angry clarity.
Just when I thought we had some freedom to investigate, to understand, Teoshi spoke to me again.
âChild. Akna is back here with us, she says the instability is in that room with you all. The dark blue pool filled with lightning. Cross the threshold and help the god to pass through. See your past. Release the One Serpentâ
Baine was still there in my face, grasping it even. Telling me to not listen. Oh course I wouldnât listen to Teoshi and release it. This was my chance to stop it, to set things right. I made sure to say this out loud to everyone, to Teoshi.
âCross the threshold. Find your answers. Release the One Serpent.â
No. No. Iâd heard enough of these persuasive lies. But all the voices, both in my head and from my friends, it was all so loud. The lightning was so painful. So I grabbed the last staff, made sure the Githyanki wouldnât have it, and I got us the bloominâ hell out there.
As I reached for my magic, I felt my grip slip and punch through too far, raw power slipping through as our silvery forms disappeared. I wasnât surprised really, my wits were all about the place. But what I was surprised by was a new voice in my head. It was new, but somehow I recognised it, like an old old memory.
âI need you to release me. Itâs why I gave you my signâ
What?
They all wake up in BBâs tent, blinking away the magic that held them all in a suspended state. BB looks down to notice her wrists, both now have a faintly glowing mark of a winged serpent that encircles them.
What!?
