A lunar Calling ('Hotel') - 02/06/2022 - A Kavel Perspective

Overheard Conversations at the Dragon

“Copernicus?”

“... back to the moon…”

Is what I could overhear as I was eating my breakfast of steak and oats at the Three Headed Dragon. I stood up and went to find who was talking and by the stairway to the guest rooms was a bearded, human archeologist-ranger and the City Watch’s premier, dragonborn investigator; comrades Gerhard and Derthaard.

I made an apology to comrade Derthaad. It turned out he sent me a letter requesting my help in putting an end to the hag cultist nonsense around the Sunset Spine. I did not receive the letter in time, as I was in Phlegethos, the fourth level of Hell. Had I not been preoccupied, I would have gladly joined him. As a fellow adventurer and good comrade, he understood, and it was good to hear the team he ended up with were able to close the book on his case… and, as it turned out, prevented the second level of Hell from having a permanent gate open to our plane.

Comrade Gerhard was keen to go back to the moon. He said he has some mastery of the Staircase now. Previously, he had to listen out for a ‘calling’ to find a pre-generated portal for us to travel the Staircase. Now, he is confident he can open portals himself without first travelling to an echo of one of the Staircase’s silver tears in reality. In addition, if we go back to the moon, Gerhard reckoned he could learn more about the Staircase and as a bonus maybe we could recruit the nice pit fiend, Copernicus, as an ally against the Githyanki invasion. I remembered the moon, under the protective dome, had a nice temperate climate, unlike Hell where I had recently been, so I was up for joining my friend on his mission.

A pair of rabbit ears were hopping up and down next to me, and when I looked I saw a harengon. She could not have been more than two and a half feet tall. She was familiar with comrade Gerhard, who introduced us. I was about to reach down when I offered my hand for shaking, since I am so tall and she is so small, but her powerful legs bounced her up to my hand level to shake hands. It turns out that Lolli, the harengon is a wizard, somewhat like comrade Derthaad, but much smaller.

Speaking of small adventurers, there was a minor crash up on the roof and the sound of a familiar voice giving instruction. We could see through a front window, a humanoid man being lowered by a beetle fairy. ‘Jeremy’ was being dismissed, and afterwards comrade Beets came in through the front door. My Thicc-Bois newest thicc member was teaching citizens parkour to help with the invasion. Very good.

There were five of us adventurers now - the adventuring magic number.


To The Feythorn For The Right Ambiance For Staircase Calling

I ordered a big lunch hamper for 7-10 people at the Dragon before we left. I had seen other adventuring comrades bring hampers to people we had business with, and thought this would be good for Gerhard’s mission too.

A two hour walk later, and we were at the edge of the Feythorn.

“Mister is not going to mess everything up?” I asked Gerhard as he showed off his ‘Call’/longbow’s new upgrade. Gerhard then explained to Beets and Lolli who Mister was, or at least, what we know of him, which is that he is powerfully connected to the Staircase and has some sort of control over Gerhard’s friend, Henri. With the mention of Henri, Gerhard also warned our smaller adventurers that the Staircase was dangerous; it can get into your mind - both me and Gerhard had a funny spell on the Staircase. We walked off away from our comrades, me into a door that opened up to a plane of lava, Gerhard towards a door to Hell. In addition, given Gerhard’s friend, Henri’s state, when we saw him; the Staircase was clearly addictive. I was not worried though. I have a strong body, but also a strong mind, or at least I think so. Travelling the staircase is not that fascinating to me, I personally can’t see how one could get addicted to it. I only travelled it with comrade Gerhard because he asked me too, not because I wanted to.

Obligatory last minute warning out of the way, Gerhard drew his bow, aimed it and concentrated his will on a fixed point in front of him. The space ahead of him rippled and then split with a silvery tear and the sound of something cracking.

Amazing! Gerhard had opened a silvery portal with his Call, easy-peasy. We could see through the portal and like before there was a white marble staircase with a silver outline, but more importantly for us - the moon.

“Well done comrade!” I said praising my friend. I didn’t understand much about his magic, but I understood that he must have gotten better at it to be able to open the portal by himself, without having to hear a thread of the Staircase’. What I really didn’t understand though was why he was facing the opposite direction than he was a second ago. What magical purpose did that serve? But then comrade Gerhard explained that for him, we froze and much more than a second had passed.

Gerhard said that he hadn’t successfully opened the portal, it was Mister who did it, and said he’d keep it open for a return trip too. But, only if Gerhard would retrieve a diamond panelled box with metallic swirling liquid inside from his sister on the moon. When asked what the liquid was, Mister did not respond, he only mentioned to be careful, since the liquid would whisper to you, and it’s best if we don’t open it, just retrieve it for him. Gerhard made no promises, but Mister was happy to open the portal for us, since the request he had for Gerhard was placed out of morbid curiosity, and he was happy to see how it played out.

“Comrade, if you don’t plan on taking the box, maybe we can just ask our friend Copernicus what it is?” Was my sage advice. Gerhard responded that he’s planning on taking it though, but to what end he wasn’t sure.

Gerhard’s honesty about meeting Mister just then was appreciated. Being honest is part of being a good comrade. With discussions done, we walked forward into the portal and on to the moon.


Back On The Moon

As we stepped out of the portal on the moon side, and looked back at it, we could see it was very stable - Mister was right; we were under no danger of it closing soon.

For my new comrade, Lolli, it was the first time being here. First time within the mile wide, transparent dome that allowed us to breathe in space. First time being able to see Toril as you look up to space, and being able to make out the continents of Faerûn and Kantas. For the rest of us, even though this view wasn’t new, it was still very breathtaking.

As I looked back at the open portal, it occurred to me that travelling the staircase is what led to the breathtaking view of Toril, and this wonderful experience of being on the moon. You know, despite the warnings about travelling the Staircase, and this being probably my sixth journey via a silver portal or directly on the stairs… It's pretty awesome. And to think, the more planes I go to, the more thicc people I could meet! I wondered at that moment, if comrade Gerhard would be asking us to join him on another journey via Staircase?


Moonbase

Just like before, the extremely large, red hand of a pit fiend held the door ajar, and then fully opened it to reveal Copernicus, the friendliest pit fiend I ever did see. At fifteen feet tall, he is a giant. He was also wearing the largest apron you ever did see, with smiling muffins decorating it.

“Brother you have returned!” Copernicus exclaimed to Gerhard. There is comradery between fellow people who can use a Call.

We were waved in and brought to the living quarters. I gave comrade Gerhard the hamper to give to Copernicus - it was Gerhard’s to give, I felt. Copernicus lifted Gerhard off the floor and gave him a big hug - that’s what I do, too. It’s a big man thing.

Lamelle, the water genasi and other Call owner we met last time came to greet us too. She explained it’s rare for them to have repeat visits, since most travellers of the Staircase are busy seeing new world after new world.

Gerhard had many questions for our moon friends. Lamelle explained that Andromeda was the best person to ask, but she was currently busy in another room. However, Lamelle was able to tell us that the base we were on is roughly two hundred years old and is one of the oldest. Travellers tend not to stop, when they travel, but when they do; they build outposts, but then eventually the travellers move on and abandon their outposts. We saw many ruined ones when we last travelled. Lamelle mentioned there were a handful of active ones.

We were told we had free reign to explore the compound while we waited for Andromeda to see us, which was convenient for Gerhard if he was planning on finding and taking the box Mister wanted without the compound’s occupants realising. There was also an individual called Jaccobi on the compound too.

Copernicus shivered a little when explaining to us that Andromeda is great, but not someone you would like to get on the wrong side of. She could also send us places via the staircase like Mister, which was interesting to me, I couldn’t wait to meet her.


Exploring the Compound

Lolli opted to stay and chat with Copernicus and Lamelle. As the rest of us left her to go exploring, I looked back and realised that if the size disparity between comrade Lolli and I was conspicuous, the size difference between her and Copernicus was even more so.

Gerhard and I went into one room, and Beets and Derthaard went to the adjacent room.

Given free reign to explore; we were very nosy adventurers. We started opening up crates to have a look at what was in them, and in each crate there were a vast assortment of different trinkets. I remembered when I was here last time, Copernicus gave me a purple banana, which he said would never rot. But, if I ate it, it would taste like saltwater - and I did, and it did. Gerhard on the other hand - possibly because he was favourite for being another person capable of using a Call - was given a small bar of orichalcum, a metal only mentioned in ancient literature.

Me and Gerhard blindly rummaged in different crates to pull something out and inspect it. We were chatting away, when Gerhard turned his nose up in disgust at what he’d just pulled out of the crate in front of him - a large, stinky pair of socks.

“Put that back!” I said in response to his find. The whiff had already reached me on the other side of the room as I pulled out a postcard from the crate in front of me. The small card was from a friend in a foreign city, but I didn’t recognise the friend, so I put the postcard back in the crate.

“Look what I found!” Came Beets’ voice from the adjacent room, as she walked in to show us a fancy clock.

“Gerhard found socks,” I said informatively. Gerhard shook his head in response.

Lolli joined us, bouncing into the room, and she held her nose when she did so - the smell of the socks had travelled further.

“Ah! That’s where my socks went,” exclaimed Copernicus from the living quarters.

As my comrades and I stood together deciding where to go next, we heard shouting coming from the south of the compound.


Jaccobi

A few winding stairs later, and we entered a room with writing on the floor and on the wall by an altar, and were met by an old satyr, approximately six feet tall with goat-like horns and beard, and three books floating about his person. This was Jaccobi - the source of the shouting.

Jaccobi was a surly fellow. He made up for this quality in two ways though; firstly he was very informative, secondly he had the most unique looking Call - Gerhard has a bow, Copernicus has a short sword, Lamelle a hairpin (practical), but Jaccobi’s right leg is his call - practical and stylish.

Jaccobi informed us that he has been studying the Staircase himself for many years. It is a primal force, a doorway to many places, but no one knows how it started. Jaccobi is unsure how Mister fits in, but what he is sure about is that the Staircase has taken its toll on Jaccobi himself. He explained that there is a price for travelling the Staircase. The Staircase has a power source, and that power source is souls. Everytime someone travels, it feeds the Staircase a little, and the Staircase can guarantee travellers will repeat travel, because travelling the stairs is addictive. At that point, I don’t know why Jaccobi looked directly at me, and comrade Derthaad, too.

Jacobi was aware that Mister and Andromeda are charged with a task. There is a reason so few are aware of the Staircase until they travel. Jaccobi was currently trying to figure out how to travel to multiple locations at the same time, which was frustrating him.

Gerhard discovered that in his short time learning about the Staircase, he had acquired an understanding of the runes Jaccobi was marking on the walls, similar in level to Jaccobi.

“Can people just cycle their use of the staircase to prevent addiction, and reduce an excessive loss of soul?” I asked this… for no particular reason, of course. I was just interested. Jaccobi said no one can stop themselves from going back frequently, but on the addiction side, Jaccobi mentioned that for obvious reasons people without a Call rarely travel the Staircase, so in that sense are less prone to the addiction. However, those that have the Call travel with a reduced cost to their soul, so it’s better to have a Call if you set foot on the Staircase. Alternatively, if you can provide a very powerful energy source; then you can open and travel the Staircase free of a toll on your soul.

Lolli asked a question about Calls. I explained that we found a Call on the ground during one of our previous travels. It was a large silver cane, big enough for a tall built humanoid like me. But, when I touched it, thinking I had found a Call suitable for me, I was hit by a psychic blast. Only ‘touched’ people like Gerhard can hold Calls. I then explained the weirdest thing that happened, “and then when comrade Gerhard picked up the silver cane, he absorbed it into his forearm. The cane was bigger than his entire arm, I wasn’t sure where it went! If I’m not mistaken, that Call enabled him to make the upgrade to his own Call.”

“Upgrade? Absorbed Call?!” Jaccobi was Astonished, he explained that normally when people die, their Call goes back to the Staircase. Jaccobi rushed to his altar and casted some magic with his own call.

“Wait!” Gerhard had one more question for Jaccobi, “you mentioned the cost. What if someone travelled for so long?” He asked, referring to his friend, Henri.

“You join the Staircase for eternity,” came Jaccobi’s reply, “you’ve seen the doors, have you not? The doors are former travellers - if a travellers eyes are going silver; they are going through the motion of becoming another door. The process usually takes around five years to complete. If you wish to save someone, that’s a question for Andromeda.”


Andromeda

Lamelle showed us where to go, and advised us, “not to piss her off.”

We climbed some stairs, knocked on the door and heard the chiming of bells as the door opened by itself. Sat at a desk facing us was a creature much like, albeit a female Mister, this was Andromeda.

There were questions back and forth between comrade Gerhard and Andromeda.

Gerhard explained the upgrading of his bow, whilst leaving out mention of Henri, until pressed by Andromeda, who revealed that even she has a call, in the form of an earring, which brought a question to my comrade’s mind, which Andromeda confirmed for him - you either become part of the Staircase or you become like Andromeda or Mister. It takes a great display of will to break a connection. The irony is that people are free to leave. Mister was in fact honest when he said he isn’t preventing Henri from leaving; it’s the addiction that’s holding him to the Staircase.

Andromeda explained that she nor Mister control the Staircase. Mister is in fact a guide, but seems to mischievously be up to something and going against his nature, and if Gerhard did manage to willfully break the Staircase’s link to Henri, he would in fact lose the protection of his Call, and since he had travelled the Staircase quite a bit now, he could be quite vulnerable to a growing addiction… which is not something I have, at all.

Andromeda will not break Henri’s bond for Gerhard. She argued that as she is part of the Staircase, she is not willing to do so. But, she had a deal to offer my comrade. Andromeda would keep Mister at bay for Gerhard. Mister will no longer be able to enter his head and show up at will. The cost here is that Andromeda would establish a connection of her own between her and Gerhard.

Gerhard had made his mind up to go through with the deal - it seemed the best way to get Henri back, which ultimately is all Gerhard wants. At this point, Andromeda shifted in her chair and we saw the diamond box behind her seat on a ledge, and Gerhard admitted that Mister wanted him to retrieve it.

Andromeda was very amused by this. If she and Mister were siblings, then the remaining, dull grey liquid in the diamond panelled box was their father. Opening the box would set him free. The father had tried to permanently open the Staircase for all realms to enable everyone to travel for free. Unfortunately this good deed shattered part of reality, scarring parts of it forever.

Holding the box, Gerhard could hear the father, who had been trapped in there for a very long time. After conversing with Father, Gerhard told us, “the Staircase lets you travel through time as well.” Not that I’m becoming addicted to travelling, but the Staircase did sound a lot more appealing hearing that.

Gerhard accepted Andromeda’s deal, and was allowed to take the Father - or Gentleman - who Andromeda explained might be able to provide the cost free energy source necessary to free Henri from the Staircase, if Father is taken to the Library plane. But, Gerhard himself will have to display a very strong will, because Father was immensely powerful. I agreed I would join my comrade in travelling… well in helping him attempt once again to get Henri back, which naturally involves travelling the staircase again.

“I thought you’d also ask about the gith invasion? Copernicus loves a fight. If you want him to join you, give us a call.” Andromeda was really smart! Andromeda’s eyes then turned silver for a second and from the other room down the stairs we heard a loud cheer from Copernicus.

Business concluded, Andromeda insisted we all take a trinket as a parting gift.

Beets got to keep the silver clock she picked up earlier that told the time correctly no matter what plane you were on. Derthaad got a dagger made of folded parchment. Gerhard got a can of black pudding, which stung. Lolli got a miniature, contained beehive full of bees that evidently were not happy. I got - the deeds to a plot of land in the middle of the ocean. I’m a landowner now! I wondered how my fortunes had changed so quickly by chance. I think this time round, I definitely got the best gift.

We said goodbye to Copernicus and Lamelle. Lolli offered to make Copernicus a new apron and have it sent to him via Wendy Eldottir, who I was unaware of, but it turns out she runs a postal service that can reach the moon.


Returning to Daring Heights

We walked back to the portal. Mister was there, and he was very pissed off. We couldn’t hear him, because there was now a magical barrier preventing him from walking up to us, and from us hearing the amount of swear words I could easily read from his flapping lips. Mister was magically pushed backwards, enveloped in a silvery cloud and shunted away.

Mister’s rage would have been a horrible way to end our adventure to the moon, but then Gerhard had an idea. He picked up some moon rocks, saying it would make a nice gift for comrade Orianna. I agreed. I liked the idea so much, I picked up some rocks for Sorrel and the Temple of Selûne. My sister Sorrel gave me a couple of stones recently, so I’ll give her some moon rocks in return.