Session Log 3 - 07-05-04


* DamaGM sets the stage. "When we last left our intrepid heros, they
were in a bit of a bind. Balam was under attack by a host of Shev, one
of who was neatly dispatched by mighty Kayden. Then things kinda went
to hell.

DamaGM: While most of the fighting was outside, the trio charged up
the stairs to find a scene of slaughter... and one of Lady Evayne's
Axe-Wielding twins on a complete rampage. After nearly killing Jasper,
the Axe Wielder was taken down by Kayden. They found Evayne alone in
her room, chanting.

DamaGM: And just when they decided to leave, the roof burst into
flames as a -thing- tore through it.

DamaGM: Currently, the group (Jasper, Jacen, Kayden, and Evayne) are
out in the hall. Kayden is dragging a dazed Evayne. Gevan, who was in
the hall earlier, is gone. The Axe-Wielder is still sprawled on the
hall floor, where Kayden left him.

* Jacen stares in dawning horror at the vaguely humanoid flaming
emanation ripping through the roof. "Uh...Kayden? Is she awake? We
want her to send this thing back now!"

Jasper: "If she's of the light, and summoned it with her own powers,
bringing it here may be the extent of her control over it."  Jasper
warns.  "We should probably flee... unless you two think you can take
it."

DamaGM: Kayden gives Evayne a little shake. "Come on, wake up!"
Evayne mumbles something thickly. She barely seems aware of where she
is.

Jacen: "Uh," Jacen temporizes, "Uh...my physician made me promise I'd
stop fighting horrible hellbeasts. Bad for the joints..."

Jacen: He draws his sword though, and stays between it and the
others.

DamaGM: Kayden scowls at the fire. "I'm not gonna die in this heat.
Let's go."

DamaGM: The fire in Evayne's room has grown considerably. Something,
it's hard to tell with all the heat, seems to be forming in the center
of the burning maelstrom.

* Jasper nods, preparing to do so.  He tries to get a good look at
what's going on in the burning room... but not so good that he'll risk
being incenerated.

Jasper: Retcon:  Jasper prepares to cover the rear of the retreat.

Jacen: "Right then! We run!" Jacen seems hugely relived. He shouts,
"Fire! Everyone wake up and run! Fire in the inn!" He follows Kayden
and Jasper, shouting warnings in his piping youthful voice.

DamaGM: When you think of "salamander," you think of a type of
lizard. The thing in the room doesn't even vaguely resemble anything
lizard-like. It looks vaguely humanoid, in fact.

DamaGM: The trio flee downstairs, half-dragging Evayne with them. The
common room is empty of people, save for the hideous Mistress Lime.

DamaGM: Lime is made more hideous by the large piece of wood
currently jutting out of her neck. She's dead.

Jacen: "Someone knocked over a lantern in the fight!" Jacen yells at
Lime without missing a beat. "Fire's spreading! We gotta get out!"

Jacen: Then he pauses, noting the wood. "Well, that simplifies
things."

* Jasper grimly confirms Lime's state of deadness before following the
others out.

DamaGM: Several of the ceiling beams begin to smoulder and smoke.

* Jacen darts to the door and holds it open for Kayden and his cargo.

Jacen: "Hurryhurryhurry," he urges, looking up.

DamaGM: Kayden draws his sword. With his blade in one hand, dragging
Evayne with the other, he looks grim as he heads outside.

* Jacen instantly leaps outside, his much shorter sword at the ready,
as if expecting a pack of Shev to descend on them.

* Jasper has his quarterstaff drawn by the time he's through the
door... looking for some Shev heads to crack or (preferably) some
lives to save.

DamaGM: Outside, there's even worse chaos then what you saw before.
At least the entire town has to be involved in some fight or another,
and not against the Shev, either. Bodies lay everywhere. Many are Shev
barbarians. The vast majority seem to be everyday commonfolk. Two of
the mercenaries from the tavern go running past, chasing after two
others.

* Jasper tries to get a good look at their faces... seeking evidance
of dazed berserker-ness.

Jacen: "What the...this isn't a Shev raid! What's going on?!"

Jasper: "Looks like the madness that came on the bodyguard isn't
isolated."  He replies darkly.

Jacen: "Bloody hell," Jacen mutters. "We gotta find someplace to put
our heads down..."

DamaGM: Evayne abrubtly jerks upright. She glances around, notices
Kayden, and pulls herself out of his grasp. She looks confused.
"What's going on? Where am I?"

Jasper: "Dark magic making people kill each other.  You summoined a
fire elemental which is burning down the inn."

* Jacen jumps and looks at her narrowly, as if suspecting she'll
summon more horrors on their heads.

Jasper: Jasper reports rapidly, scanning the area for any sign that
he might be able to help -somewhere- without facing certain death...

DamaGM: "*I* summoned," she begins, confusion turning to irritation.
"What do you mean, *I* summoned-" Her impending tirade is cut short as
the interior of the inn collapses in a firey blaze.

DamaGM: Howling is heard within the falling structure.

* Jacen points at the inn. "You summoned it. You were muttering magic
words..."

Jacen: "You were in a trance kind of...uh, could we get moving?
Sounds like it's not happy."

Jasper: "You stabbed one of your bodyguards, and the other tried to
kill us.  People are being turned against one another... and any one
of us could be afflicted next.  We can't just stand here talking!"

Jacen: "Right...this way." Jacen starts across the street carefully,
seeking some kind of natural cover nearby. A tree or large stone...or
even a ravine. Somewhere out of sight.

DamaGM: She looks around at the battle royal. "It's just like the
others..." she mutters. She spins on Jasper. "We have to flee. Now. Do
you have horses?"

Jasper: "No, but there were some in the stable last night..."  He
reports hurriedly.

Jacen: "Uh...no." Jacen turns to look back at them. "Think we'll need
some?"

DamaGM: Evayne nods. "We have to get as far away from here as we
can!"

Jacen: "Right then. The stables!" He starts out for the large
outbuilding, near the inn.

* Jasper looks for a safe route to start heading to the stables...
taking the rearmost position, and watching their backs as they run for
it.

DamaGM: Evayne and Kayden both follow.

Jacen: Jacen peeks cautiously through a knothole in the door before
entering the stable.

DamaGM: The stables, for the most part, seem untouched by the chaos
in the rest of the village. Several of the stalls are empty, but two
horses do remain. A tall, black gelding, and a small white mare.

* Jacen yanks the door open, gestures to the others, and darts inside
to secure the horses.

DamaGM: Kayden moves to the gelding. "Jacen, get the other one
ready." He points to a pile of tack.

* Jasper backs in nervously.. taking care to eye the ceiling of the
building... people rarely look at ceilings, and bad things know this,
and tend to hide there.

Jacen: "Sure thing!" he replies cheerfully, and starts pulling things
he vaguely recognizes as being 'horsey things' from the pile and
draping them on the horses back.

* Jasper helps with readying the horses as best he can.

DamaGM: Evayne glances out the stables nervously. "Efreet. That...
thing was an efreet... Impossible."

Jacen: "Hey, you called it."

DamaGM: Within a short enough time, the three of you manage to get
the horses saddled.

Jacen: He glances up. "It...it's still in the inn, right?"

DamaGM: "I didn't call an Efreet," Evayne says shortly. "I can't."

* Jasper tells Evayne the words she had been repeating... taking care
to say it flatly and quietly, to avoid any magical content they may
hold on their own.

* Jacen leads the gelding out of its stall. "Yep. That's what you were
saying."

DamaGM: Evayne listens to Jasper, then shakes her head. "Those are
the words for a salamander, yes. But, I can't summon efreets. No one
can."

* Jasper looks for a bit of horse he can hop on.  "Who else knows how
to ride?"

DamaGM: Kayden leads the mare outside.

* Jasper describes the other... thing... he had seen forming in the
room, as well as he can.

Jacen: "Evayne...start using your eyes. Whatever that thing, YOU
brought it," Jacen says impatiently. "Maybe you weren't yourself when
you did it, but..." He looks at Jasper a bit uncomfortably...and tries
to get up on the horse.

Jasper: "Could a salamander call an Efreet?"

DamaGM: Kayden more or less manages to get on the horse without
falling off.

* Jacen hops confidently astride the steed as if born to the saddle!

DamaGM: Evayne scrambles up behind Kayden, slightly more gracefully
then Kayden did.

Jasper: "Where do we want go go?"  Jasper asks.  "If we're interested
in fighting this... the ruins outside of town seem ominous enough to
look into."

DamaGM: "Away," Evayne says quietly. "Just away. I can tell where
they went afterwards."

Jacen: "Evayne seems to know what's going on," Jacen says darkly.
"Let's just get clear of town so she can tell us."

* Jasper heads out in a direction that will quickly and stealthily get
them 'outta dodge'

DamaGM: After a bit of effort, Kayden gets the horse moving. First
into a walk, then a trot, then into a gallop. Jacen's horse begins to
follow instinctivly.

* Jacen holds on tight to Jasper as the horse starts its uncomfortable
bumpy gait.

Jacen: "You do know what you're doing, right?"

Jasper: "Yeah... just haven't had much practice lately."

DamaGM: With Kayden in the lead, the quartet thunder through the
ravaged town. Most of the fighting seems to have died down to a few
isolated brawls. Several people make a half-attempt at attacking, but
the speed of the horses deters them.

* Jasper cringes at the thought of the hurt people who could be saved
if he just had a chance....

DamaGM: Swiftly, with the burning inn behind you, you quickly pass
the town limits. The houses give way to rolling fields of grain...

Jasper: "How far away do we need to get?"  Jasper calls ahead to
Evayne.

DamaGM: Fifteen minutes after leaving the city limits, Evayne points
to a distant hill, higher than the rest of the plains. "There!"

Jacen: "If she's not leading us to a trap," Jacen mutters, barely
audible to Jasper over the hoofbeats.

DamaGM: "I heard that," Evayne says, irritated.

Jasper: "Then we go down beating up the forces of evil."  Jasper says
to himself calmly, not necessairily expecting Jacen to hear.

Jacen: "Talk more quietly Jasper," Jacen demands, slapping Jasper's
shoulder. "She heard you."

DamaGM: Soon enough, the two horses reach the top of the hill. Evayne
dismounts almost immediatly, with a grateful sigh.

* Jacen stays on the horse, kind of liking the unusual sensation of
looking downward at people.

* Jasper hops off with the aid of his quarterstaff.

Jasper: ...taking care to secure the horses as well as he can.

DamaGM: Kayden gets off as well, grumbling under his breath "I'm too
old for this."

Jacen: "I still think you should have just killed the efreet," Jacen
says, scratching the horses' mane affectionately.

DamaGM: Evayne shoots Jacen a glare. "If it was possible to kill an
efreet, don't you think I would've done it?"

Jacen: "I meant Kayden," Jacen says, unconcerned. "He can kill
anything."

DamaGM: Evayne snorts derisivly. Kayden simply smiles. "Another time,
perhaps." He sets about securing the area.

* Jasper looks at Evayne gravely.  "So, what are we dealing with?
That was a brother-against-brother bloodbath... not just 'dark-
bringer' hedge wizardry."

* Jacen shrugs and finally dismounts, though stays near the horse to
pat its muzzle and feed it grass.

DamaGM: Evayne is watching the burning town. She frowns, and says, "I
don't know what you're talking about."

Jacen: "Oh, this is just like the other times," Jacen says in an
imitation of Evayne's voice. He's pretty good at it.

Jasper: "You summoning irate elementals... townsfolk turning on each
other.  That wasn't a shev raid we just saw.  Not just that, at any
rate."

Jacen: "Nope. And you say it's happened before. So spill it. What's
going on?"

DamaGM: Evayne stiffens. "It's not your concern."

Jacen: "Oh come ON. We're trying to HELP," Jacen complains. "In case
you didn't notice, your two bodyguards are spitted and roasted by now.
So unless you want to deal with this alone, you'll do some
explaining."

Jasper: "I beg to differ."  Jasper says politely.  "If it's happened
before, I can only assume it's going to happen again... and if people
are going to get KILLED it's very much my concern."

DamaGM: Kayden returns from his short patrol. "This became our
concern when your friend attacked us."

DamaGM: Evayne glances at all three of you, then away. "I... I'm not
supposed to tell anyone... They told me not to..."

Jacen: "Well, they're not here now," Jacen points out reasonably.

Jacen: "Promise we won't tell 'em."

Jasper: "If we have even a chance of doing good... of helping... you
have to tell us.  The light must go above the law, must it not?"

DamaGM: Evayne takes a slow deep breath and releases it. She turns
her back on Balam. "All right. But, you must swear not to tell another
soul of what I am about to say. It could mean disaster for many, many
people, okay?"

Jacen: "I'd say it's already meant disaster for many people," Jacen
says nonchalantly. "But okay."

DamaGM: Kayden glares at Jacen's lack of tact, but nods to Evayne.
"All right. I swear."

Jasper: "So long as telling the truth will do more harm than good...
and I trust you to make that determination for now... I so swear."

DamaGM: Evayne nods at each of you. "Okay, it's like this...

DamaGM: "Four weeks ago, a group of Shev attacked the Holy City.
Although no one was severly injured, an artifact of great power was
stolen. I and... I was sent to retrieve it."

DamaGM: Her eyes darken. "A task that I seem to have failed
dismally."

* Jacen leans against the horse and watches Evayne,.

DamaGM: "Since the night of the attack, I have been chasing the
culprits trail, to this backwater town in the middle of nowhere. Then,
I lost it. Magic seems to have confused the sylph. And no one has seen
Shev in this area for days."

DamaGM: "Well," she adds bitterly, "Until tonight, that is. Then
there's more than I can count."

Jacen: "The...what?"

Jacen: "Sylph?"

DamaGM: "Sylph. Elementals. Air spirits."

DamaGM: "I'm sorry. I sometimes forget that there are people that
actually don't know what magic is." Her tone borders on condescending.

Jacen: "Oh." Jacen nods knowledgeably.

Jacen: "Yeah, some people." He sniffs, also in contempt for those
poor mundanes. "Anyway, go on."

Jasper: "So this berserker madness is the direct influence of this
artifact?"

DamaGM: "At any rate, I was about to give up when there was a
breakthrough... of sorts. We captured a Frostbreath clan member. We
were in the process of interrogating him when the Shev I was chasing
showed up to silence him."

DamaGM: "The madness is..." She shakes her head. "I honestly do not
know what that is. I have heard of nothing like it."

Jacen: "But you've encountered it before."

DamaGM: "No. Up until now, I've only ever heard rumors... or seen the
aftereffects." She shudders briefly.

Jacen: "Then..." Jacen rubs his forehead. "You're saying this weird
madness has nothing to do with you, or what you're doing?"

Jasper: "Can ther be any doubt that this is the work of the cult of
the tree?  ...  That they are in league with, or using, the Shev to
further their dark ends?!"

DamaGM: Evayne glares at Jacen. "That's what I've been telling you!"

Jacen: "Well why didn't you just say so?"

DamaGM: "As for the Theodists, I wouldn't put it past them to join
with the Shev. Murderers like to stick together."

DamaGM: "But, as I was saying before I was interrupted," She stares
pointedly at Jacen. "I know now at least the general direction the
Nightwolves have taken. I should be able to track them now."

Jasper: "Who else could or would use such power for such ends?"
Jasper says darkly.  "And neither do the Shev strike me as
independently cunning enough to strike at the Holy City with any
specific plot in mind."

DamaGM: "Who knows?" Evayne says glibly.

Jacen: "So what was the artifact?"

Jacen: "What's it do?"

DamaGM: "Only clerics of the Light are allowed that kind of
knowledge," Evayne says loftily. "You don't have to know to help me
get it back."

Jacen: "Well, see...here's what I'm thinking," Jacen replies. "I'm
thinking you're telling us at best half the story, maybe only a
quarter of it. I think it's pretty silly to think you're chasing after
some magic relic, and just HAPPENED to stumble on some -totally
unrelated- massively powerful magic effect."

Jacen: "And since you're obviously not immune to it, I think you
should tell us a bit more...since we may be looking at an efreet
appearing at every campsite from now until you get that thing back."

DamaGM: "I told you, I didn't summon that efreet! That was, well, I
don't know what it was, but it wasn't me! That isn't how the magic
works."

Jacen: "I know what we saw."

DamaGM: "Well, what you saw was wrong."

* Jacen shrugs. "Okay. If you don't want to tell us what we're getting
into, I guess we don't have to get into it. Good luck finding the
thingy...especially when you keep getting possessed along the way."

* Jasper does his best not to look like he's going to try and help
regardless (which he is)... in case Jacen's gambit pays off.

DamaGM: Evayne starts, clearly not expecting that. "What?"

DamaGM: "You're not leaving me, are you?"

* Jacen looks laconically back at her. "Look. If we're going to help
you, you have to help us. What we don't know might kill ALL of us. Get
it?"

DamaGM: She huffs and crosses her arms. "Oh, I see now. It's always
about money with you people, isn't it? Fine, then. If your pockets
matter so much, I can see to it that you are well-paid for your
services."

* Jacen looks confused. "Money? Did I say money?" He looks at Kayden.
"Did I mention money?"

Jacen: "Not that I'll be turning any money down, mind you...but no. I
wasn't talking about money. Yet." He grins impishly.

DamaGM: Kayden shrugs. "If she's offering money, who are we to
refuse. Although, I'm more interested in... other payment options."

* Jasper looks gravely insulted.  "-If- I can help you for this, I'll
be doing it because it needs to be done.  Money has more useful places
to be than my pockets."

Jacen: "This is about the whole story. You are leaving important
parts out. You are thinking..." he taps his temple. "Stupid warrior
types...they are stupid. They will not ask questions. They will do as
they are told."

Jacen: "I am here to tell you...no. We are not stupid. If we work
with you, you will tell us what we need to know. Like what this
artifact does. And why you are so not surprised to be exposed to this
magic madness you supposedly know only rumors about."

Jacen: "Whole story."

Jacen: "That's the price."

DamaGM: "Goddess save me from idiot mercenaries!" Evayne snaps. She
stalks a few feet away. "You want the whole story?" she shouts without
turning. "Fine! The truth is I *can't* tell you the whole story!" And
abrubtly, she slumps to the ground. "Because I don't know it..."

Jacen: "You don't know what it does..." Jacen says, feeling poleaxed.
"So for all you know, the madness IS caused by this thing?"

DamaGM: "I don't know," she says quietly, just loud enough to be
heard. "I was on guard duty when the Shev attacked. I got knocked
unconcious. When I woke up, the Praetor told me to find the artifact
and not to come back without it. He didn't bother to tell me what it
was or what it did, though."

DamaGM: "And.... and I've only been out here for a week or so. We had
just arrived in Balam when... whatever it was happened to us."

* Jasper regards Evayne with deep sympathy... briefly.  Something in
her story touched a nerve.

Jacen: "Hey..." Jacen goes to sit beside Evayne. "That's good enough
for me. So okay then. You do your thing, get another sliff...then we
go find the thingus and bring it back. If one of us goes mad, we knock
him out. Unless it's Kayden, in which case we all run."

Jacen: "Piece of cake." He grins.

DamaGM: Evayne nods. "But, you've got to believe me about the efreet.
I would *never* summon something like that. Even if I was possessed or
whatever you said I was."

DamaGM: "Believe me, if I was capable of summoning such a powerful
middle elemental, I would've been equally capable of banishing it."

Jacen: "Well, maybe whoever possessed you knows what you can do
better than you do," Jacen suggests.

Jacen: "Maybe you could have banished it, if you weren't so busy
telling us you couldn't have summoned it."

DamaGM: Evayne's eyes glimmer darkly. "I think I know my own
abilities," she growls.

DamaGM: She stands, and licks a finger to test the wind. "The air is
about right..."

* Jacen nods, gets up, and gives Evayne some space.

DamaGM: "Um... this might spook the horses a bit..."

Jacen: "Hang on, I'll move 'em away."

DamaGM: Kayden grabs the reins of the nearest horse and leads it a
short distance away.

Jacen: "Or...he can do it. You're quick for an old-timer."

DamaGM: "And you're slow for a youth." Kayden gives Jacen's hair a
quick rub in passing.

Jacen: "Gah..." he immediately reaches up and musses his hair. It
winds up looking identical to before.

DamaGM: Evayne calls out. "That's good enough. Stay there, all of
you."

* Jasper observes the procedure quietly.

DamaGM: Holding the edge of her cloak with one hand, Evayne lifts her
other arm, palm out, fingers spread. "And this is how you summon a
wind elemental." She closes her eyes. "Seren dulyoth, Slyph. Uren da
bare. Viggen da bare. Urena cammoth uk..." She repeats the chant
softly, half-singing the words.

* Jasper whispers to Jacen, "It's not as easy as she makes it look."

DamaGM: A gust of wind swiftly answers her, whipping her hair and
clothes about her. A faint bluish light, circles her hand. Evayne
smiles slightly. "My friend, go." The sylph circles her once, twice,
then shoots straight up into the night sky. It hovers for a moment,
then flashes off directly north.

Jacen: "Viggen," Jacen repeats, finding the word kind of funny.

* Jasper raises an eyebrow.  "If you were to summon a salamander...
would the casting only last as long as for the Slyph?"

DamaGM: Evayne drops her hand and turns. She looks a little dazed.
"What? A salamander?" She blinks. "Oh, no. A salamander takes about as
much time as a sylph." She pauses to consider.

Jacen: "The thing in the inn took a lot longer," Jacen observes.

* Jasper nods.  "Much longer."

DamaGM: "Well, the sylph follow me where ever I go, so there's always
one nearby to answer a summons."

DamaGM: "For a salamander, I'd need to have a fire nearby."

* Jasper nods.

Jacen: "But there wasn't a fire."

DamaGM: "So, even if I was summoning one, unless there was a fire
within the vicinity, nothing would show up."

Jacen: "It came from the roof," Jacen muses.

Jacen: "Maybe there was a fire on the roof...and we didn't know."

DamaGM: "But, if what you saw was an efreet..." She shakes her head
in disbelief. "I can't even begin to think of the heat source required
for an elemental like that."

Jacen: "It tore a hole in the roof..."

Jasper: "This artifact you were guarding... do you know it's name?
Did you ever see what it looked like?"

DamaGM: "In the roof? That's... unusual."

Jasper: "...and do you know of anyone else who might be interested in
obtaining it?"

DamaGM: "Unfortunetly, I don't know the name or what it looks like."
She glowers briefly. "But, I'll know it when I see it."

DamaGM: "And as for anyone looking for it, I don't even know what
*it* is..."

DamaGM: "So I couldn't tell you."

* Jasper nods.

Jacen: "Hmm. Maybe that's where we should start."

Jacen: "I mean, how can we find something if we don't know what it
is? We should do some research."

DamaGM: Evayne nods. "But first, we need to get off this hill and
find shelter. Sylph has informed that it's going to rain in about an
hour."

DamaGM: (And.... cut! That's a wrap! I want that tape in my office by
5, ya hear!)