Here's Mud In Your Eye

Treas 3, 6640

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, bat familiar
  • Clench, Wardog War-Badger
  • Midnight, Panther
  • Noona, Lion
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
    • Aroof, Wardog familiar
  • Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate
    • The Metal Man, construct
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
  • Gimli Trollriver, Dwarven Fury
• Laurita Gomez, Priestess
  • Herman Thorpe, Ectomancer
    • Baelnar Grimtor, Dwarven Sapper
• Crolack, Thrassian Gladiator
  • Kurt Steinbacke, Dwarven Deep Monk
• Saphira Moonstone, Gold Skinscribe
  • Pentzkin Singletossle Pocketspringer, gnomish beastmaster
  • Alun Tsornyl, Sylph Ranger
• Aingeal Bàs Eleonara, Witch

The trek to find the Old Gods didn't take as long as they had hoped, so the party spent the rest of the time hanging around a while. Having spent 6 weeks for Saphira to get her tattoos finished, they were ready to go, and decided the next place to visit would be the scattered islands at the south of the large continent.

They headed for the capital city, and found the largest temple they could: a temple of Therapeftis (Thera-pef-tis), goddess of Stability, Healing, and Bedrest. The temperature was brain-meltingly hot - a rarity, but not unknown. After a lovely nap in the cool temple, the party attempted to teleport away... and realized that inside the temple, that was not possible. Outside, they managed to teleport to the other large island. As a note - the priest there spoke Majasten.

There, they eventually found a temple of Moenga Moe, the God of Dreams, the Elderly, and Judges - who owned the bone staff Aingeal tried to swipe. They set up an appointment with an ancient secretary, who asked that they come back that evening, at 1:30 AM.

Killing some time in a shop, they found a few water-based spells, items, and tools. After spending some money, they realized the entire city had a bit of a nautical flair - all the buildings looked like they were built from ships, down to billowing tarps as roofs.

That night, when they returned, they were directed to a large room, full of cots, one each. Falling asleep, they found themselves in a dream, and were soon able to speak directly with Moenga Moe. After filling him in on their adventures, and reassuring him that his staff was safe with Chaos, they asked about other Old Gods. He mused for a moment, then suggested a possible location, deep in the sea...

With the henchmen staying above the water on a lovely raft, the others swam beneath. It didn't take too long until they found the bottom; it was smooth and well-kept. Moments later, a number of mermen arrived, speaking, well, Mer. For a few tense moments, the mermen seemed intent on bringing them to their city, but when someone mentioned and Old God, they were suddenly all smiles. "Oh! Sure, we can take you there!"

Along the way, the four glimpsed shadows in the water - more mermen, at least one of which was riding a giant rockfish!

They lead the four to a steep incline, and pointed down into the murky water. "He's down there. Good luck!" - and with that, went on their way. Sighing, the group swam down into the depths. At the bottom of the incline, they found a hill, about 40 feet across. Crolack swam around it, looking for any possible entrances or portals, and was about to give up... when suddenly, an enormous head shot out! He kicked to the side, and the sharp beak of the enormous turtle slammed shut just inches away. His battle-reflexes kicking in, Crolack swung his sword, jabbing the turtle in the eye!

Realizing that... maybe that wasn't the best idea... Crolack quickly swam towards the others, hoping they could all teleport away. The turtle shook itself, revealing the previously-mud-covered hill was, in fact, its shell - covered in brilliant colors, every patch different! It rumbled, and a spell tore through the water! Only Saphira managed to avoid it - the others found themselves slowed. The turtle - actually the chaotic Old God, the Decorated Tortoise, readied another spell, but Laurita teleported them away, as quickly as her slowed action could.

Sitting on the raft above, miles away, they heard the voice of the tortoise growling at them...

List of Old Gods known and met:

• Lawful Old Gods
  • Old Mother, supposedly a six-legged cow, and Goddess of Earth, Strength, and Cattle
  • Chaos, God of Order and Intelligence
  • Odin, God of Wisdom and...?
  • Burli, God of Health, Constitution, and Manliness
  • Gyda Dyn (Glance Left, Glance Right), God of Thieves, Conmen, Charisma, and Get Rich Quick Schemes
• Neutral Old Gods:
  • Manu, The Hand of God, god of labor, construction, and work ethic
  • Hinengaro, God of Mathematics, Science, and Truth-Seeking
  • Moenga Moe, God of Dreams, the Elderly, and Judges
  • Therapeftis (Thera-pef-tis), goddess of Stability, Healing, and Bedrest
• Chaotic Old Gods
  • Wairangi, the Fool, Old God of fools, pigs, and ignorance
  • The Decorated Tortoise, Old God of Stubborness, Slowness, and Grumpiness
  • Sof Zamd, God of Sand, Feebleness, Heatstroke, and Dehydration
• Additional not-so-old-gods
  • Ooze Becky, Cubic Grace, Who Digests The World, goddess of... well, whatever gelatinous cubes are goddesses of
  • Görünmez, the Unseen One, god of Invisibility, Minding Your Own Business, and Staying Home.

• XP from Encounters:
  • Mermen (none, escaped from)
  • Giant Rockfish (pets of the mermen) (none, escaped from)
• XP from treasure: none
• Special XP: 1000 XP to each PC for discovering the Decorated Tortoise
• Special XP: 2000 XP to each PC and 1000 XP to each Henchman present for learning about Therapeftis and speaking with Moenga Moe
• Special XP: 1000 XP for Crolack, for stabbing an Old God in the eye, and living to tell the tale! Also... remind me to tell you about something new and interesting that your weapon can do...

So Two Old Gods Walk Into A Temple...

A'chiad 17, 6640

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, bat familiar
  • Clench, Wardog War-Badger
  • Midnight, Panther
  • Noona, Lion
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
    • Aroof, Wardog familiar
  • Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate
    • The Metal Man, construct
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
  • Gimli Trollriver, Dwarven Fury
• Laurita Gomez, Priestess
  • Herman Thorpe, Ectomancer
    • Baelnar Grimtor, Dwarven Sapper
• Crolack, Thrassian Gladiator
  • Kurt Steinbacke, Dwarven Deep Monk
• Saphira Moonstone, Gold Skinscribe
  • Pentzkin Singletossle Pocketspringer, gnomish beastmaster
  • Alun Tsornyl, Sylph Ranger
• Aingeal Bàs Eleonara, Witch

In the strange BNaaN city at the point of the 'arrow', Crolack, Laurita, and Rig (along with their henchmen Herman, Baelnar, Noona, and Kurt) investigated the reports of an Old God being worshiped there. They found a temple - later known to be a temple to Wairangi, God of Pigs. The cleric outside freaked out at the sound of Laurita's talking club, and the men inside the building seemed loathe to give out any information, preferring to communicate via unanswered questions. Moving on, the group spoke to a cleric of another nearby temple - again to Wairangi, but this time Wairangi, God of Fools. Narrowly missing a face-full of pie laced with a rather nasty spell, they moved on.

They found a pub, thankfully rather more normal than the strange priests and worshipers of Wairangi, and ordered some stew, beer, and information (and learned that the local economy used Shells, worth about 2 copper each). The barkeep directed them to a local, who lead them to a house at the edge of the city - the house of a shaman, an elderly woman. She told them the way to Wairangi's main temple, but warned that the priests there were real, and likely to cause quite a bit of trouble for them.

Instead, the adventurers decided to head to the mountains, where another Old God was rumored to be worshiped. Teleporting near where they heard the temple was, they were quickly met by a group of griffons; Rig managed to talk his way out of fighting them. That night, they set up camp, but were interrupted near midnight as the sky rumbled and... cracked! The clouds sheared apart as if a massive earthquake were taking place! Rig and Baelnar were deafened by the roar, though thankfully only for an hour or so.

Traveling on in the morning, the keen eyes of the party spotted a handful of bugbears waiting to ambush them! They spoke, managing to communicate through spells, and convinced the bugbears that they were very powerful... through using the Godstaff to turn a pile of rocks into gems. They were lead inside the mountain, where they realized this was no small encampment - there were over 200 bugbears inside! They were taken to King Egrim, Dragon Slayer (with the skull of a dragon to prove it), an enormous bugbear - Dire Bugbear, actually. The king offered them a deal; he would help them on their mission, if they would help him kill a pair of storm giants. The party quickly agreed, and left... intending to never go near the giants at all! Hopefully they would never see the bugbears again...

After about half a day's walk, they finally made it to the temple, a massive structure on top of a mountain. The moment they stepped into the path carved up the side of the mountain, the wind stopped; somehow, through the shape of the path, the wind naturally blew around them. The dwarves marveled at the intricate details carved into the solid stone; everyone marveled at the impressive steps, carved at different heights, so everyone was comfortable walking up them. Even though the steps went on for nearly a mile, the walking seemed easy.

At the top of the steps, they found two massive doors. Knocking, they heard a gong-like boom; the doors were built such that even the lightest knock was amplified. Moments later, a small window in the doors opened, and two eyes peered out. After a moment of hemming and hawing, the voice greeted Laurita in Mehastan! She was somewhat startled, but quite happy to hear her native tongue. The man at the door then proceeded to greet each member of the party in their own native tongue - no mean feat, since Dark Dwarf is hardly well known! Satisfied that they meant no harm to the place, the man opened the doors. The doors rolled sideways, easily enough that he could move them with a single hand, even though they were easily 30 feet tall and 40 feet wide stone doors.

Inside, he asked that they store their weapons and magical items, as those were not allowed inside the temple. They did so, making sure to remove the items from the bag of holding just to show off. The man didn't seem terribly impressed.

Inside, they saw countless creatures, all steadily working on projects - carving, building, lifting and carrying all over the temple. Not only that, but beside the humans, elves, dwarves, and gnomes, there were numerous beastmen - goblins, orcs, even bugbears and trolls! The man lead them to a Hall he called the Hall of History, and hurried them through, explaining bits and pieces of the Hall to them. It was, as the name suggests, the stone-carved history of the temple. The beginning depicted the split from the mainland, well over a thousand years before; it continued, every 15 feet or so a full year of events. Some events were large, stretching into multiple years, while others were tiny, a few square inches of wall-space. They walked on for nearly 45 minutes as the hall wound around and down (that's 3 miles, if you're interested). Finally, at the bottom, they came to a dead end, where a group of workers were tunneling out the next portion. They were directed by a large man - a giant, really, at 10 feet tall, though without the proportions of a giant. He was swinging a massive hammer, though through careful flicks of his wrist, he controlled the impact beautifully, carving rough shapes out as he tunneled! A loud gong sounded as they reached the workers, and they put down their tools, packing up and cleaning the area. Their guide introduced them: Manu, The Hand of God, neutral god of labor, construction, and work ethic.

Somewhat stunned, the party greeted him, not having expected to meet an Old God working in a mine shaft - even one as beautiful as this. He laughed, and explained some of his work. With a mighty clap, he teleported everyone to the surface, where a huge meal was already prepared. He introduced them to another Old God: Burli, Lawful Old God of Health, Constitution, and Manliness. He was dressed in... well, traditional lumberjack attire. It seems he and a few of his followers had been clearing trees, farther down the mountain. Together, Burli and Manu explained why the Old Gods were so... well, small. The other gods the party had met were huge, towering creatures.

The Old Gods were the prototypes, extensions of the very foundation of the world, individual personifications of characters themselves. They built the world, and shaped its foundations, but left the actual development and oversight to others. They gave up their mighty forms for something a little more practical, and gave up their hordes of righteous followers for the chance to actually be a part of the world. Unlike the gods the party had met previously, the Old Gods can act directly on the world, rather than being forced to act through their followers. As evidenced by the huge Temple that Manu is still building. Unfortunately, some of the chaotic Old Gods refused to give up their power, and stuck around causing trouble. Wairangi was one, but Manu and Burli kept him in check.

After a long discussion, where the Old Gods asked after Kaos (and if he still had Manu's Pick), and told stories of some of their old friends, they had a restful night's sleep in the temple, then said their goodbyes, gathered their stuff, and teleported to Nock, the more civilized city at the far end of the arrow... in the midst of a huge storm!

List of Old Gods known and met:

• Lawful Old Gods
  • Old Mother, supposedly a six-legged cow, and Goddess of Earth, Strength, and Cattle
  • Chaos, God of Order and Intelligence
  • Odin, God of Wisdom and...?
  • Burli, God of Health, Constitution, and Manliness
  • Gyda Dyn (Glance Left, Glance Right), God of Thieves, Conmen, Charisma, and Get Rich Quick Schemes
• Neutral Old Gods:
  • Manu, The Hand of God, god of labor, construction, and work ethic
  • Hinengaro, God of Mathematics, Science, and Truth-Seeking
  • Moenga Moe, God of ...?
• Chaotic Old Gods
  • Wairangi, the Fool, Old God of fools, pigs, and ignorance
  • Sof Zamd, God of Sand, Feebleness, Heatstroke, and Dehydration
• Additional not-so-old-gods
  • Ooze Becky, Cubic Grace, Who Digests The World, goddess of... well, whatever gelatinous cubes are goddesses of
  • Görünmez, the Unseen One, god of Invisibility, Minding Your Own Business, and Staying Home.

• XP from Encounters:
  • 8 Griffons (3520)
  • A huge village of bugbears (none; escaped)
• Additional XP from (knowingly) meeting Old Gods: 1000 XP each PC, 500 XP each henchman
• XP for each PC (Crolack, Laurita, and Rig): 1704
• XP for each henchman (Herman, Baelnar, Noona, and Kurt): 852

The Fifth Horseman

A'chiad 16 - Treas 3, 6640

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, bat familiar
  • Clench, Wardog War-Badger
  • Midnight, Panther
  • Noona, Lion
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
    • Aroof, Wardog familiar
  • Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate
    • The Metal Man, construct
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
  • Gimli Trollriver, Dwarven Fury
• Laurita Gomez, Priestess
  • Herman Thorpe, Ectomancer
    • Baelnar Grimtor, Dwarven Sapper
• Crolack, Thrassian Gladiator
  • Kurt Steinbacke, Dwarven Deep Monk
• Saphira Moonstone, Gold Skinscribe
  • Pentzkin Singletossle Pocketspringer, gnomish beastmaster
  • Alun Tsornyl, Sylph Ranger
• Aingeal Bàs Eleonara, Witch

Continuing the exploration of the strange rooms, Aingeal moved to the room full of items. As she was looking, Laurita used a Rod of Cancellation to un-freeze poor Saphira. After perusing the displays, she grabbed a wand, then a staff; and, spying a rather old, twisted staff made of bone, picked that up too. She and the others looked over some of the other artifacts further in - an ancient pick, a strange flask (which Saphira kept), and a number of other objects. Eventually, having found all they could find, they sighed and moved towards the darkened doorway. After trying a few things, like Continual Light and Dispel Magic, nothing seemed to work, so they shuffled forward, feeling their way through the darkness. It continued for a short way before a trench; they bottom was only about 5 feet down. After some careful climbing and jumping up and down to make sure there was no trickery at work, they each climbed down... and the trench immediately began sinking into the ground!

After a few minutes, a band of light suddenly flashed into the room; a moment later, and they were stepping out into a lush garden, full of... tomato plants? The various vegetables seemed well taken care of, orderly and free of weeds or damage. On the other side of the garden was a doorway, and a man stepped out, greeting them somewhat reservedly. Seeing the staffs in Aingeal's hands, he asked if he could have the ornate staff, then immediately spent a charge from it to Command Aingeal to return the two staffs where they had come from. She did so, though grabbed another wand on her way out, the sneakthief.

After some polite conversation with the young man (who introduced himself as Ronnie, though mentioned that he was also known as Kaos, Ancient Old God of Order, and one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse), the merry band was sent on their way, teleported to BNaaN, a strange, magical continent...

As long as they were there, Saphira decided to have her tattoos replaced... a process that would take six weeks. While they wait, Luce, Elenora, and Crolac have had birthdays... And, some information: two Old Gods are known of on BNaaN, one that lives in the mountains, and one that lives in the far village. One final thing of note: as the days pass, the weather changes, but the weather in BNaaN is... strange. Winds blow that give flight, for instance. How odd.

• Old gods found or heard of thus far:
  • Kaos, God of Order and Intelligence
  • Old Mother, supposedly a six-legged cow, and Goddess of Earth, Strength, and Cattle
  • Gyda Dyn (Glance Left, Glance Right), God of Thieves, Conmen, Charisma, and Get Rich Quick Schemes
  • Hinengaro, God of Mathematics ,Science, and Truth-Seeking (it was his flask)
  • Moenga Moe, God of ...?
  • Sof Zamd, God of Sand, Feebleness, Heatstroke, and Dehydration
• Additional not-so-old-gods heard of:
  • Ooze Becky, Cubic Grace, Who Digests The World, goddess of... well, whatever gelatinous cubes are goddesses of
  • Görünmez, the Unseen One, god of Invisibility, Minding Your Own Business, and Staying Home.

• XP from Encounters and Treasure: None
• XP from finding an Old God: 1,000 XP each, and 500 XP per henchman.