Infinite Possibilities: 1/2 - 28/07/2022 - A Kavel Perspect

Portal Plaza

“So the plan is to go to a library for a two-for-one, right?” I held my hand up with two fingers pointing up.

“That’s right, Kavel,” Gerhard, my human, ranger, map-enthusiast friend replied. I slapped him on the shoulder, approving the plan.

The plan itself, this two-for-one, was to finally rescue Henri from the Staircase, but also Orianna, who had been kidnapped by Mister to get to Gerhard. How we were going to do this was vague, but Andromeda - Gerhard’s Staircase ‘patron’ (and Mister’s sister?) would advise us.

Gerhard had the Gentleman’s box prison with him (Andromeda’s father or sorts) and was looking overwhelmed by adrenaline. I adopted a coaching position behind him and gripped his trapezius muscles and began to do what Sampson used to do for me and the boys when getting us ready for a big lift; I alternated between massaging Gerhards traps and slapping them. The massage was relaxing and would help cope with excess adrenaline, and the slaps refocus an overactive thinking pattern.

Marto arrived. Marto had a couple of healing potions he had just purchased, and he gave one of them to Gerhard and stored the other in a pouch on the waist of his exquisite full plate armour. My halfling comrade had all his gear, and yet looked a little light. I looked at Marto’s person. Hmmmm.

Marto looked back at me, “... something the matter, Kavel?”

“Have you got everything, Marto? You seem a little light?”

“I haven’t got a hamper with me, because we’re not planning on staying overnight, if that’s what you mean?

Ah - that’s what it was. To be fair, I’m pretty sure I owe Marto for food and drink, since he’s so generous about sustenance. I told him so. He said we could worry about that and have a good meal together when we were all back. Good plan! Although, I was then wondering if I should have filled up more at breakfast now that I knew there would only be rations at hand.

“Hey! I’ve got peach and pomegranate pies from Paradise Frost!” A hovering, excitable fairy arrived with a large food bag filled with pies. Comrade Beets had arrived, and I happily took one of the pies.

Marto mentioned to me that they, him and Beets, had talked, and Beets now understood that Marto wasn’t interested in any romance with anyone at the moment. There was also the matter of Beets’ rages now having their own personality. As if Beets didn’t have enough, there was the death of her dragon friend Qirliria. Poor Beets. Although, that said, she was remarkably cheerful - her usual self. I guess, this was, to be fair, a good thing. Far better she be her usual cheerful, full-of-life self than miserable. I touched her shoulder supportively anyway.

“What’s the matter, Kavel? You want another one?” Beets asked.

I refused a second pie for now, and said that maybe later I’d have another one - I squeezed her shoulder again though.

Lastly my investigative, dragonborn friend, comrade Derthaad arrived. Or, from a more recent perspective, the Legacy’s cook arrived.


Back Alley Staircase

With the whole team together, Gerhard contacted Andromeda, and then led us to where Andromeda had created a portal for us, up in Castleside in a back alley away from curious eyes.

Deep into the alleyway, a silvery mist outlined the appearance of a door that did not belong to the wall it appeared on. The door opened as we approached to reveal a forest behind it.

“Who’s first?” Gerhard asked.

“Is there lava on the other side?” I asked, cautious of a previous time with the Staircase’s doors. I was eager to pass through, despite my understandable trepidation. I poked my head through the door to look - no lava. So, I stepped through and the others followed. Gerhard stepped through last, taking time to look out at the city, or what we could see from the alleyway. I saw comrades Derthaad and Marto exchange a look, and then Gerhard joined us, and the portal door closed behind him.

“Ah bug it! I left the Paradise Frost bag in the alley!”

… I did have a feeling I should have taken a second pie when offered!


Return to the Beastlands

This was the place where we were able to travel the actual physical Staircase in all its glory, and I almost stepped out into the lava plane. Nevertheless, I was looking forward to another staircase portal, and feeling a bit itchy at the same time. Strange, I haven’t changed my shower soap…

We had to walk an hour or so down a beaten path through the immense trees that occupied this land. We came to an opening in the forest, but we did not emerge where last we found ourselves in front of the structure that gave us access to the Staircase. We instead found ourselves in front of a mile high conical structure of stone, that had a glass stained window that extended from the peak of the conical tower down above the entrance. We advanced towards the gigantic, fifty foot double doors, which opened as we approached. I had time to stop and admire the handcrafted masterpiece on both doors that appeared to be a history of the universe - we had reached the library. Andromeda was there to greet us.


The Library

Andromeda was quite tall. Maybe six foot three? Slender, her gold coat came down to the floor. Andromeda had reserved a room for us, so we could talk undisturbed.
We entered the library. This one was more formal looking than the Runaway Library. Books everywhere, which was the same, but no flumph lighting, no friendly mimic caretaker, no cool armoury room from what I could tell, and no memory eating arsehole. This library dwarfed the Runaway one. At a mile high, it dwarves many cities.

There were thousands of humanoids inside the library. The atrium extended to the peak of the cone, and I could see many floors with open balconies towards the atrium all occupied with fey, devils, flying people, teleporters. Everyone minding each other's business under the watchful eyes of the brass-masked librarians. Andromeda cautioned us of the librarians powers. Beets obviously wanted to fight one.

Andromeda led us up a narrow staircase to our reserved room. It was too cramped for Beets to fly - she then discovered she was not a fan of stairs.

We entered a large room with bookshelves and in the centre of the room; an enormously large, long table with books and scrolls spread out over the top. At one end of the table, the northern end, was the outline of a ritual circle. Andromeda asked us to sit.


The Plan

Andromeda explained that Mister - her brother of sorts - has Orianna captive in a demiplane of his own creation, which he has nudged out of sync with the rest of the universe. This, Andromeda explained, is why she was not able to find Orianna sooner. However, since Mister allowed Orianna to contact Gerhard a day or so prior, Andromeda was able to finally track his location. The way the location was revealed, felt like a trap. But, at the very least, Gerhard was able to gain some information from Orianna as she cleverly left a code for him to decipher in the poetry she read him.

As Gerhard came to the end of his reading, Andromeda’s eyes shifted into a full silver colour, while she appeared to consider what she had heard. When her eyes shifted back to their normal appearance, Andromeda explained that the Gentleman had wanted to permanently open the staircase to everyone, not just those who had the benefit of a Call like her and Gerhard. But, when the Gentlemen built his contraception to permanently open all space, time and planets; he obliterated a solar system instantly. This is why the Gentleman was locked away in the silver box Gerhard held. While the Gentleman had altruistic reasons for wanting to make the Staircase available to everyone, Andromeda noted that the Staircase consumes - it does not care how it consumes, and it pushed Gentleman towards the direction he took, it can force beings such as Andromeda to act against their instincts. It is assumed that Mister has been pushed in the same direction now, and needs the Gentleman to repeat the work he did to open up the Staircase universally.

Tha plan, as laid out by Andromeda, was to bind the Gentleman to Gerhard. With a fraction of the Gentleman’s immense power, Gerhard would take us to Mister’s demiplane where we could free Orianna, and also free Henri - at the expense of the Gentleman’s power inside Gerhard and his protection from the Staircases’ pull. Andromeda would distract Mister and also have the power to bring us back, and continue to prevent Mister from interfering with our lives.

Gerhard was silent through most of the explanation of the plain. Was this because he already knew the plan? I was unsure. Us, his comrades had many clarifying questions. Marto pressed for unknown information. I asked why Andromeda hadn’t imprisoned Mister like her and her kind had done to the Gentleman. Andromeda said that her kind were undecided on what action to take with Mister yet, so would not support a hostile act against their own.

The plan mostly made sense to me. I put my hand on Gerhard’s nearest shoulder, “are you ready for temporary, partial god power?”

“Yep,” came my comrade’s reply, and Gerhard unwrapped the coverings that held the Gentleman’s box.


The Binding Ritual

At the far end of the table, Gerhard stood where Andromeda instructed him to stand. The rest of us also took positions where instructed - we were part of the ritual too. The brazier in front of Andromeda rose from the ground, as her silver brooch changed into a stiletto dagger with which she pierced the box that contained the liquified Gentleman. The silver liquid of the Gentleman poured into the brazier.

“I apologise, Gerhard. This may hurt…” Andromeda said before chanting, and before Gerhard started screaming.
For our part, it seemed like we were all experiencing double as if the Gerhard was both before us in the centre, but also in our minds. This made no sense to me.

The silver of the brazier poured over Gerhard, completely encapsulating him, until it was absorbed through his pours and the silver tattoo of his arm was now a full body tattoo.

“The others don’t see him, do they?” Gerhard spoke to Andromeda. It turned out Gerhard could see the Gentleman now. Beets attempted to fly into the spot where Gerhard said the Gentleman appeared, until asked to stop.

“How are you feeling? Do you feel like you have a fraction of god-like power?” I asked.

“I feel really good,” Gerhard said, “like I’m fully alert, like I’ve had the perfect night’s rest and am full of energy.”

“So you reckon you can bench more than me?”


How Much Can You Lift?

Gerhard smiled, “let’s see.”

I looked around the room. It seemed the extremely large and long table was the heaviest and most accessible object to lift. I went up to the nearest breadth of the table, placed my palms under it, tensed up, and in one single motion I cleaned the end of the table into the air. I locked my arms out and let the heavy end of the table rest on my hands. Elbows, shoulders, knees - fully locked. Back straight. Abs, glutes, thighs - tensed. I held the table up on its end for three seconds, and then gently placed it back down.

“Your turn, comrade.”

I vacated the space for Gerhard, who adopted a similar starting position to me, and without any explosion of movement, he lifted the table - both ends! - up into the air with his arms outstretched!

“Comrade! Nicely done. I don’t understand how you are gripping the table like that, but I feel better about the plan now!” It was impressive.

Beets wondered if Gerhard could carry out the rest of the plan alone. Andromeda cautioned that Mister would not have left his demiplane undefended. Marto cautioned that strength wasn’t everything. But, this is incorrect; strength comes first, so it kind of is everything.

Before I could correct matters, Andromeda’s expression changed:

“No! He now knows where Gerhard is!”


Mister Brings Some Minions!

Silvery mist appeared behind the northern bookcase. Andromeda reacted, transformed to mist herself and engaged the foreign mist as it appeared above the bookcase and tried to descend on Gerhard. The two silvery mist beings rose up into the air, as four figures walked out from behind the bookcase.

From the left hand side of the bookcase, a male minotaur in full plate armour carrying a silver greataxe, Axel, was accompanied by a yuan-ti woman carrying a silver staff, Sandra. From the right hand side of the bookcase emerged Alexandra, a drow woman with a silver longbow much like Gerhard, who was accompanied by Poppy, a fire-genasi woman with silver knuckle dusters.

Derthaad tried to make a case for avoiding conflict, “can’t we just have a nice tea together instead?”

“Not really. Mister’s minions responded. It was on.


Gerhard’s Gang vs. Mister’s Minions!

It was on. So I quickened my breathing and got a battlerage going, and sprinted toward the archer, Alexandra. Why? Can’t use your fancy bow too well, if someone is in melee range punching your face. I reached Alexandra before she could nook an arrow and smashed her face with a left hook chased by a right hook. Alexandra was not fond of my Stonehand Fighting Techniques, so she teleported away out of danger - convenient. She then shot me with an arrow that magically appeared nooked on her bow - it hurt a little. Alexandra teleported again, I then realised she did this to get a better line of sight on Gerhard who got an arrow to the shoulder himself. The arrow felt weird, like it was restricting my body from healing. Damn silver magic bullshit. Was this what Gerhard’s arrows were like?

Alexandra was now out of my striking range, but her ally Poppy decided to come to her aid anyway. The fire-genasi activated something that shimmered in silver, and walked into my range. I tried to intercept her fists. I caught the first one, but the second one smashed me in the face. Not bad. Not Dwarven MMA, but solid. She then stepped back, extended her palm at me and tried a flame spell. I think it was the Burning Hands spell, because Glint, also a fire-genasi, does this. It hit me full whack, but I saw it coming and just decided, “I don’t feel fire!” and as usual when I see fire magic about to hit me, it just doesn’t hit like you would expect. Poppy looked surprised.

I heard Beets fly toward Axel from behind me. Her claws seemed to be finding the gaps in his plate. Axel for his part seemed to be finding the gaps in Beets armour - and Beets wasn’t wearing armour, except for her legs. The greataxe was finding its mark higher up. I turned to look, and Axel’s body convulsed as a duplicate of himself ran towards Marto.

Gerhard appeared before me with a silvery glimmer. What? I guessed that god-power comes with teleportation? And instead of using his silver bow, he extended a palm towards Poppy and blasted her with force magic. Enough magic to hit Alexandra who was standing far behind Poppy and was pushed into the bookcase behind her.

Derthaad hopped on to the table and hurled a curious ball of lightning at the bookcase by Axel, which seemed like poor aim with a new spell. But then the ball of lighting spread out in three directions and hit Axel and Sandra on the left, but also Poppy by me and Gerhard without hitting us. I guess there was some precision to comrade Derthaad’s aim! Sandra, protected only by a staff, took a big hit of lightning magic. Axel with his full plate seemed to be hurt much less. But, unfortunately, Poppy had some reflexes and completely dodged the lightning aimed at her.

Marto obliterated the duplicate Axel with ease, but wasn’t fast enough on his path towards Axel and Beets to intercept Axel from landing two thunderous axe slashes to Beets - these axe swings and their thunderous impact were eerily similar to Marto’s own axe strikes, which I got to witness immediately as he obliterated another Axel duplicate, moved to flank Axel and furious swung his axe three times at Axel striking his strong plate armour with enough percussive damage to hurt him badly.

Sandra, singed from lighting magic, attempted some strange magic. But Derthaad quickly intercepted with his anti-magic spell and stopped her.


When Lightning Strikes - Punch!

Poppy may have evaded Derthaad’s bouncy lightning spell with her awesome footwork, but she now had her weight firmly on her backfoot, which made it hard for her to move - to move out of range of a more pugilistic attack! I swarmed her with punches. I missed the first, but the second, the right-straight cracked her jaw hard, and I followed up with a blistering uppercut, which thanks to my Stonehand Fighting Techniques, I felt invigorated by the impact; taking Poppy’s vigour and making it mine.

Alexandra decided to pay back the favour to Poppy and loosed an arrow into my exposed sides. It hurt a little, I’ll give her that. She then teleported to line up a shot at Derthaad on the table and pierced his sides. Again I felt like her arrow was restricting me in some way. Gerhard probably felt the most restricted though as the arrow that hit him went in deep.

Poppy adjusted her jaw - she wanted payback. She stung me with four blistering punches, but a silver spark from Gerhard’s fingers seemed to reduce the impact of one of her strikes. My body took care of the rest.

“You got this buddy,” Gerhard said, patting me on the back, before teleporting onto the table and joining Derthaad. Gerhard drew his silver longbow and loosed two arrows at Alexandra in the north eastern quadrant of the room. He got her good with the first one, and the second one caused a magical material to wrap around Alexandra and restrain her.

Derthaad, centrally located, focused his next attack on the left hand adversaries; Axel and Sandra. Twin psychic lances hit both of Mister’s minions affecting Axel more.


Catch As Catch Can

Poppy was fast and slippery. I tried to grip her neck with a clubbing blow, but she slipped out. I tried again, but feinted. She bit, and I managed to wrap her arm up with an overhand grip, and from this position I punched her in the face with an uppercut. Dirty boxing. Dirty Dwarven boxing!

Alexandra teleported out of her bindings! I thought Gerhard’s fractional god-power would be more impressive! The drow archer let loose with arrow shots on Gerhard, Derthaad and me. Derthaad was looking bloodied. Gerhard, despite all the silver tattoos, was not doing well at all. I turned to face the left hand side of the room. Marto was ace. But, Beets was battered...

To be continued in Part 2…