Part I
At the Farmlands, outside of Baldur's Gate
“I will need you to contribute with the spell energy of three or four ninth circle spells to complete the incantation.” the elven woman said.“Reckon I can do that.” the gnome man replied.
With a quick nod, the elf begun her spell. An elaborate incantation in the elven tongue accompanied swift, twitching gestures. A faint iridescent mist began to surround the two, causing the parchments around to slowly dissipate into nothingness, one by one.
The elf nodded and the gnome cast a spell, the mist thickening into several wisps of arcane energy, swirling around the spell circle. It was working.
She nodded again, and the gnome complied. The spell was quickly building strength; something it needed in ample amounts to fulfil its purpose.
In a shower of purple sparks, the last of the scraps of parchment strewn about disintegrated, their glyphs powering the magic further. Another spell supplied by the gnome and the elf seemed content.
“It's working! Let the spell draw more power!”
The resonance glyphs were every bit as effective as she had hoped. With the spell sustaining itself, there was no need to cast again and again, or using countless mages of significant power just for this one spell. As the final stage approached, the wisps of iridescent energy began congealing around her. In the gnome's eyes, she slowly began to fade away with the rest of the spell's power, until it was all gone.
Foggy now stood alone in the gentle evening breeze, patiently awaiting the elf's planned return...
Varalla's Passage, the Underdark
The human's resolute steps echoed through the dark passages. He had hunted his mark for many days, yet his determination had never been stronger. For the vile atrocity, the drow wizard would die. Vengeance would be his. Unseen, unknown, undetected by all those around the elf followed. Now confident in her spell's ability to conceal her from any and all, she strode recklessly through the passage, trying to match the quick steps of the human.
The purple banners of the drow city towered in the final approach. Sticking to the darkness around the edges of the cavern, the human had little trouble staying out of sight of the guards. The elf followed, unseen, for her presence wasn't one truly there.
Down a massive spiraling spire, the human continued. He knew his goal, for he had left the city once before. Northwards he headed, across streets bustling with drow and countless others of “lesser” races. Vengeance would be his.
Finally he reached his mark. Out on the open street stood the drow wizard. With him stood a priestess and a soldier, idly conversing in front of their house. With fierce determination, the human approached.
“You!” he exclaimed.
The wizard looked back with an amused grin.
“I didn't expect you to come back. I granted you freedom after you murdered your friend.”
“I will have my vengeance! You will not draw another breath, drow filth!”
“Who is this, master? What is he saying?” the soldier asked in the drow tongue.
The wizard ignored him and the human charged at the drow, who had been ready for it. Bright orange fire enveloped his hands, sending a row of flaming spheres to burn the human to cinders, just as the other two drow readied their shields to block his path.
However, the human was faster, and with unmatched speed he dodged the fire, sending them harmlessly flying off into the cavern passage behind, straight in the direction of the elf.
They passed right through her, as if she wasn't even there.
With a fierce roar, the human jumped over the heads of the soldier and priestess, headed straight towards the wizard to snap his feeble neck with a single, well-aimed strike.
The wizard was quick too. As the human closed the distance he raised an icy black shield of force, harmlessly knocking the assailant to the side and down at his feet, with a grunt of strain and groan of pain.
“Now, fulfill your destiny, pathetic fool.” the drow said with a smirk and a ray of brilliant green struck out from his finger and struck the prone human in the back.
Before the other two drow had even turned around, the human was reduced to dust.
The elven woman who had witnessed it faded away from the place and moved elsewhere.
The wizard and warrior chuckled arrogantly, but were interrupted.
“I sense something...” said the priestess, her eyes glazed over in white. “The human. His spirit... No god is claiming him.”
The wizard frowned, pondering the situation.
“He is bound for the Wall” she continued.
“Bring me his soul” said the wizard and cast another spell.
Just as the human had, the priestess fell apart in a cloud of dust at his feet.
The Wood of Sharp Teeth, the Sword Coast
The elf had her plan set. In the guise of a spirit, she would seek out the whereabouts of a shaman she knew in present time, she would acquire the soul and bring it back with her. Simple enough. Of less power than when she knew him, he was easy to find, roaming the Wood of Sharp Teeth.“Bearheart...” she said.
The gnome turned around, startled, but relaxed as he noticed the spirit nature of the being addressing him.
“Who you?” he replied.
“I... Have come to ask you... On behalf of a spirit unjustly torn from the world...”
“Who spirit?” the gnome asked.
“Go to the spirit realm... Seek out... Faithless Ujio... Bring him back...”
“I help if you help.”
“Speak... And we will listen...”
“I help you, you make Bearheart strong!”
“It will be as you ask... Bearheart...”
With those words, the brave gnome cast his spell and entered the realm of spirits as he knew it...
Sshamath, the Underdark
“Someone” hissed the drow wizard, closing his eyes in concentration. “Has seen us.”“What do you mean, master?” replied the soldier.
“Power. I have sensed power – not a stalker hiding in the shadows.”
“A wizard, master?”
“Much more powerful, warrior. A planeswalker, a time-traveler, a reality-shaper. Pick one.”
The soldier nodded.
“I understand. What should we do, master?”
“Wait.”
“Yes, master.”
“The priestess has to be successful. If she fails me, I will forever banish her soul from her body.”
The wizard narrowed his eyes to mark his point.
“Yes, no shame will be brought to our house, master.”
“This... Might mean more than disgrace to our house.”
“How so, master?”
“If such a powerful being is interested in the human's fate, then possessing his soul means to have power over it.”
The Realm of Spirits
The gnome found himself in the familiar reaches of the Spirit Realms as he knew them. Not far away loomed the Wall of the Faithless. He saw the spirit clearly; recently passed, it was still awaiting to be shaped into its final form.The priestess saw the realms of death around her. Spirits of countless deceased beings walked around her, their faces locked in emotionless stares. She easily found the spirit she sought. Recently passed, it was still awaiting to be shaped into its final form.
Approaching the same spirit as they had chosen, they soon noticed each other as fellow spirit wanderers. Concern struck them both as they realised they were seeking the same mark. The laws of the realm binding them both, they prepared to battle as they both best knew how.
“Destroy the wretch! I will not lose this soul!” exclaimed the priestess, a large wraith taking shape in front of her.
The gnome nodded grimly.
“Winner take spirit.” he said.
“Fight, bear!” he continued, a hulking spirit bear manifesting by his will to meet the wraith.
The first battle was evenly matched; the wraith and bear fought with life-draining touch and maiming claws as their masters struggled to uphold the projections. The fierce battle was long, but in the end the bear succumbed.
The gnome grunted, and the priestess laughed with arrogance.
“I see a fool was sent to oppose me! You will lose more than the soul, little gnome!”
As the wraith dissipated, the two spirit combatants shaped their next warriors.
A ghostly spider, and a being of pure fire roared across the open field between the shaman and clashed. As the spider's venomous bite failed to affect the elemental, it was quickly reduced to ashes.
The gnome howled in triumph.
“Oh, Lolth, hear my call! Send a great handmaiden to cull this battle, and see fit to place the soul in my hands!” continued the priestess, confident in her power to call on Lolth's favoured to win the final battle.
Unsure as to what to expect, the gnome responded with a spirit being of vine and bark.
Seeing what it was up against, the shapeshifting yochlol changed into a massive demon of fire and scaly flesh, intent on searing the shambling mound out of existence.
The priestess had overestimated herself, but she needed not keep the yochlol for long. With fiery powers at its disposal, the mound was reduced to ashes and she stood victorious. The gnome defeated, he was forced back to the material plane to tell of his failure.
The yochlol then turned to the priestess and punched at her in the air. A stabbing pain surged through her heart, and in its hand the demon suddenly held a red, shimmering light, dripping as if by blood on the barren ground of the plane.
Without a word, it vanished.
As she finally recovered from the searing agony, the priestess turned to the wall, the soul of faithless Ujio now shaped as a brick of living shadow in the massive Wall. Thinking as quickly as she could, she took it out before more were stacked on top and then she returned to the land of the living, unsure what exactly the yochlol had done to her in exchange for its service...
The Wood of Sharp Teeth, the Sword Coast
The elven woman had waited for long. Finally, the gnome reappeared in front of her.“Bearheart fail!” he exclaimed.
She was almost unable to maintain her guise of indifference, cursing under her breath.
“Bearheart did as we asked... For that... You have our gratitude... Strength will come, Bearheart... Strength will come.”
“Drow shaman come take soul!” he exclaimed. “Bearheart not strong enough to stop!”
Though she felt for the gnome, she had no time to console him. The entire purpose of this excursion was at stake.
“You did... What you could, Chongo of Bearheart... Strength will come... And your help delayed them enough... We will still succeed...”
With those last words, she left the gnome to walk his path as he saw fit once more.
Sshamath, the Underdark
The priestess' eyes fluttered open. Out of thin air in her hand materialized her prize; the brick-shaped item, seemingly composed of living shadow. Triumphantly she rose to her feet, but nonetheless throwing a harsh glare at the wizard.“Our plan was foreseen. Another was sent to claim his soul.” she proclaimed.
“Yes... As I expected.” the wizard replied, with no apparent surprise in his voice. “Give me the prize” he continued and extended his hand without awaiting the priestess' reply.
She smirked.
“But the fool proved no match for Lolth's will, and I was able to bind the soul as you requested.” Wearily, she handed over the brick-shaped item.
Weighing the stone in his hand, the wizard produced another gem.
“Apparently, this human's soul is of value to some powerful entity.” he said. In his hand, the brick dissipated into wisps of shadow, which swiftly transferred into the round gemstone in his other hand. An eerie, pulsating purple glow sparked to life in the gem's heart.
“And this benefactor your speak of?” the priestess asked.
“Just a human. Not worth to be mentioned by name. However, we cannot risk this entity confronting us. I cannot estimate its power... Yet.”
The two walked into the house, leaving the soldier outside to stand guard.
“We will set a trap” the wizard said to the priestess.
They walked into a large corridor, the entrance hall to their house. From a pedestal intended for art he removed a statue and placed it on the floor, replacing it with the purple soul gem.
“I will establish a connection to Cania, the medium this stone, the trigger its touch.” he proclaimed as he begun weaving the intricate spell of entrapment.
The priestess curiously watched his proceedings.
“Whomever is interested in this human's soul will be trapped in Baator for eternity... And beyond.”
A mischievous grin played across his lips.
“Whatever that means.”
With a final flourish, the trap was set.
“Come, I will make us unseen to the unwanted eye.”
The elf took shape outside the drow house, once again unseen by all she wished not to see. Like a ghost, she passed through the outer door and into the entrance hall. Though she went invisible to the wizard, he knew instantly of her presence.
To her eyes, the soul gem glowed with a light like that of the sun. Noticing it placed on the pedestal, she smirked.
Decoration? He truly has no idea what is happening, she thought as she quickly approached it. Effortlessly she picked it up, examining it for imperfections or damage.
Perfect.
Suddenly, a searing pain burned through her, and her spell of hiding broke.
Ice blue flames lashed up around her, and from the shadows in detonations of crimson fire appeared the trappers. Large, scaly beings with horns and batlike wings with eyes of burning red pounced on her, and unable to defend herself from agony and devils both, they jumped on her. The blue flames enveloped them all, and in a final cascade of light and fire, they were all gone with only her tormented screams echoing through the halls telling of her passing.
Elivani had sprung the trap.
Having now seen the moon elf, the wizard appeared again alongside the priestess. A smug grin played across his lips as he spoke.
“Not as powerful as anticipated. Not as smart as expected.”
“Mhmm, she will enjoy Lolth's web, the foolish surfacer.” the priestess replied.
“A moon elf” the wizard corrected her, tilting his head as he approached the pedestal.
The soul gem was gone.
“I have overestimated this surfacer, yet she has taken the soul gem with her to Cania...”
The wizard stroked his chin in thought as he carefully pondered the situation.
“Damn her!”, cursed the priestess. “Curse the vermin! Although she and the soul will still have to face the Hells.”
G'eldriira smirked.
“Should she even survive.”
“Her soul is trapped until...”
Belados Noqu'afin said and knit his brows.
“We will see.”
(( First of all, I want to thank Magicshisha deserves major cred for doing the major part of spinning ideas for this event (don't deny it
). Second, we wish to thank DM Kelsfar for making it possible at all.
Third, Magicshisha and I extend our thanks to Foggy, G'eldriira, Zaknatar and Chongo for the roles played (and done so very well!). Fourth, a big thank you to Zealote for killing off his character in such a way that attempting to bring him back is quite the adventure!
Finally, I would also like to extend my thanks to those who participated/witnessed the Rift event this morning, and I hope things start making more sense now than it did back then!
~written by Chaotic~