Solhaven Cataclysm (storyline)

Part One: Exposition (Long)

Category: Towns
Topic: Solhaven
Message #: 12393
Author: ENCELADAN
Date: 8/6/2009 2:17:33 PM
Subject: Part One: Exposition (Long)

I thought that, since there's some new faces that've showed up to see what's going on down here, I'd write up a not-so-brief synopsis of what has happened thus far. Bear in mind that this is in no means complete or definitive, but hopefully is enough to answer some questions and give an impression of what has happened already, and what we believe is to come. If I omit a key detail, I invite anyone who knows of it to share.

Over a year ago (I want to say it was about a year and a half ago) a water hag showed up in Solhaven, ranting and raving about how "we" had stolen her jewels. Thinking she meant this in anything other than a symbolic sense, we started offering her gems in an attempt to persuade her to leave, because she was rather hideous to look at and smelled terrible. She also had a tendency to throw around rotting fish and squid. Here's the part of it, though, that I'm still a bit murky on. At some point, the hag did something to Eugenides, which resulted in a hex being placed upon him. This would have many effects that we still see occuring today.

Roughly one year ago, the first of the invaders began appearing in Solhaven. Several of us met them in battle, and we were aided by the Huntsman, Roame. To many of us at the time, Roame seemed to be almost aloof and callous to our plight. Often, he would chide us for making "obvious" mistakes and falling for ruses, which implied that he knew things regarding our foes that most normal folks could never have known on their own. It was through Roame that we first learned that they were from a plane of water, and that they seemed to be attacking us in retaliation for something that had yet to happen.

This is also around the time that the first of the portals began appearing. The very first one appeared on Market Bridge, and was quickly closed by Roame. This, unfortunately, came at the cost of his life, or so we believed. It seemed that Roame was far, far more than we realized. At the time, we tossed around the theory that he was a spirit, though it seems more likely that he's an earth spirit or even an earth elemental. Regardless, after a time he was able to restore his physical form, though he was quite weak as a result. Over time, Roame began sharing more and more details about our foes, such as their weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and nature.

As word got out that the troubles in Solhaven weren't going to go away anytime soon, aid began to come from afar. Several militias and others arrived in Solhaven to assist in the defense. In particular, an Eorginian mage named Maieva offered her aid. She had been instrumental in remedying an unrelated problem in Wehnimer's Landing, and offered assistance in our efforts. Around this same time, we were informed that Baron Malwind of Vornavis had appointed his cousin, Paidreg Venquinor, as the Provost of Solhaven. He quickly stepped into a needed role of leadership and direction in this war, though it could be argued that he really had no other choice.

Meanwhile, it seemed that our foes had brewed a rather nefarious plot. They began infecting several people in Solhaven with slug-like parasites, and infected countless others in Vornavis, many in high positions of power and influence. This had the effect of cutting us off almost completely from any support from the city. As for the citizens of Solhaven, several were infected, but remedies for most were quickly discovered due to suggestions from Eugenides. To his credit, the suggestions of using salt, fire, and pickle brine killed many of the parasites, though this also had the end result of causing people's heads to explode. Unfortunately, this didn't work for everyone, including Misun, Rimalon, and myself. In my case, our foes seemed to show a wish to learn more about us, and this tugged at my Lumnisian tendency to aid others in learning. This was a mistake that played upon my sympathies, and to this day I still believe we paid a price for it. Eventually, I became fed up with the parasite and decided that if it wished to learn more about us, I was going to make it happen the hard way. I began to mentally recite passages from the Book of Chivalry, which seemed to piss the thing off.

During this time, two more portals opened in Solhaven, one near the pawnshop, and the other outside the entrance to the zoo. On several occasions, Roame placed faewood trees in front of the portals to act as a sort of temporary ward to limit the influence of our foes. For some reason (still believed to be Roame but I don't believe anyone was at the portal when it happened), the portal near the pawnshop was closed. A few nights later, the defenders of Solhaven made a push to the portal near the zoo, which proved successful after several fierce battles. Roame came to our aid once again, closing this portal as well. Again, this had the result of destroying his physical manifestation, but one of the faewood trees (I believe the one by the pawnshop) was moved to Imaera's grove, where it still remains in safety today. It's widely believed that this faewood is part of Roame, which would explain the occasional emerald green light that manifests in town and sometimes restores us to life after falling in battle.

This first encounter with our extraplanar foes ended with the closing of this portal. While we were more than aware that this war was not over, we took the time to rest and prepare for our foes to return. My own parasite died upon the closing of this portal, but the same could not be said for Rimalon and Misun, and this would become a key factor in the days to come.

-Aydan Mursilis, Protector of Solhaven-

Part Two: Feints and Bluffs

Category: Towns
Topic: Solhaven
Message #: 12394
Author: ENCELADAN
Date: 8/6/2009 2:40:50 PM
Subject: Part Two: Feints and Bluffs

Around the end of the summer, our foes finally returned to continue the fight. By now, we had a rough idea of their capabilities, but they were still more than able to throw us a few surprises.

Lord Venquinor and Mirke, a blade for hire (amongst other things) in his service had taken the time during this lull to learn more about our foes, and also attempt to hinder their efforts in Vornavis. For security sake, they were a bit reluctant to share the details of what they had been doing and how they were accomplishing this (due to the fact that we were aware many might still be infected with the parasites and thus under the influence of our enemies), but eventually it was divulged that Lord Venquinor had received a device from the Hall of Mages that could detect the presence of the parasites in a host's body. With a sufficient power source, this device could be used to determine the location of all the parasites in a general area, which allowed him and Mirke to strike against them.

It was also during this time that we were informed that the elementals had opened a new portal, and unfortunately, this one was far beneath the ground, further than any of the old sea caverns and tunnels seemed to go. From this portal, our enemies were able to come up from the ground, with little fear of reprisal or intervention on our part. Still, we fought back as we could.

Once again, things would soon come to a head. During one of their assaults on the town, our foes launched an attack on Lord Venquinor's home, and despite the best efforts of the defenders, they managed to capture him and take him deep underground. Soon afterward, we encountered a dangerous new foe, the wave ascendants, who were more than aware that Lord Venquinor possessed a device that could be used against them. Fortunately, prior to his capture, Lord Venquinor placed wards on his home that would prevent entry, as it was believed the device was hidden inside.

Over the course of several more days, attempts were made on both our part and our foes to gain entry to the house. Eventually, we were successful in penetrating the wards, and the race was on to find the device within his home. We quickly discovered, however, that this was a bluff: the device had never been hidden in the house in the first place.

At this point, we began to take steps to attempt to rescue Lord Venquinor. Mirke possessed a ring belonging to him, and it was believed that someone with sufficient power could use it to draw him back to us. It was believed that Maieva would have sufficient power to accomplish this, so a successful attempt to contact her was made, and she lent her aid to us once more. Using the ring, she was able to draw Lord Venquinor back to us, and after he had several days to recuperate from his capture, he summoned us one evening to show us the device.

It had been, all this time, hidden in Koar's Fane. The powerful wards placed upon the entrance to the fane were more than enough to protect it from our foes, and it was arguably the safest place in town. A person simply had to touch the device to determine if they were infected or not. All of us present touched the device, showing that we were not infected.

This second encounter with our foes ended without any real climax or epic showdown. After Lord Venquinor was recovered and the device revealed, our foes withdrew for several more months. They were not, however, idle. In an attempt to protect the infected folks from reprisal, Lord Venquinor had altered the device to show a false negative when Misun was tested in front of everyone. Rimalon, too, was also still infected, and over the next few months these parasites would continue to grow, setting the stage for the next encounter.

-Aydan Mursilis, Protector of Solhaven-

Part Three: Ascension

Category: Towns
Topic: Solhaven
Message #: 12395
Author: ENCELADAN
Date: 8/6/2009 3:12:36 PM
Subject: Part Three: Ascension

Now I will take some time to explain the wave ascendants, who showed up during the second encounter. While vaguely humanoid in form, a mass of tentacles and other fish and squid-like features cannot be ignored. Their story, however, is both tragic and terrifying.

Anyone who knows much of the history of the Solhaven and Vornavis region is aware that long before humans settled in the area, a clan of dwarves resided in the region, which had once been known for its pristine shores and wealth of gems within its caverns. Before recently, it had never been known exactly what befell these dwarves, except that it was quick and destructive, with little evidence to show what happened or that they'd even been there in the first place.

It turns out, though, that these dwarves were attacked by krakens. In their desperation, they cried out to whatever would answer for salvation, and it seems that there was, indeed, something listening. The elementals. It's believed that they gave the dwarves the parasites in exchange for their lives, resulting in them becoming completely subservient to their new masters. It's also believed they willingly sealed themselves away, and over the course of centuries, transformed into the form we see today. And finally, it's also believed that this happened for the sole purpose of our foes recognizing the need for agents on our plane, in order to better assist them in defeating us.

The importance of including the above is to better explain what we now faced. The parasites that infected Misun and Rimalon were quickly growing to the point that they were altering the appearance of their hosts. While it was somewhat slow at first (a mild discoloring of the skin around the area where the parasite was believed to be located), over time this went on to include tentacle-like growths, scaly skin, fish-like eyes, and loss of hair. While the early symptoms were easy to conceal, eventually it reached a point where the secret could not be kept any longer.

The "third encounter" began around the turn of the new year. Much of what happened during these days revolved around Misun and Rimalon. It seemed that our foes regarded Rimalon as little more than a tool, though this opinion would change several times over the course of about two months. Misun, on the other hand, was regarded as something different: a potential queen for the ascendants, and they would, on several occasions, act in deference to her, and even express signs of devotion and adoration toward her.

Several weeks of fighting against our foes ensued while all of this was going on. Most of it occurred in secret, as it was believed that this knowledge would prove a potential liability if word got out about what was really happening. Late one night, after another round of fierce fighting, our foes succeeded in pressing us back long enough to open another portal. This one is the aperture that is still in the Old Market Plaza in South 'Haven. At one point before this, they had attempted to open another portal in the triage tent, but this attempt had been thwarted, though we're still not real sure how we managed to stop this from happening.

A plan was formed around this time, in an effort to thwart the parasites and, hopefully, free Misun and Rimalon from their influence. It was believed that the device in Koar's Fane could be altered to act as a weapon, which could potentially kill the parasites within the entire region. It required a suffencient power source to accomplish this however, and we didn't really have one at our disposal.

Our salvation came from an unexpected and unrelated source. One evening, we began noticing a swarm of cats running amok in town, preceding the appearance of a several mile-high spire in the north market. The details regarding Suicide Spire are another story entirely, but suffice to say, it resulted in our acquiring a means to convert an elemental into a raw, concentrated source of energy called Plinite, in honor of the gnome who resided atop the spire. This required a special form of chalk to draw a circle which would bind the elemental, and Lord Venquinor sent word to Ta'Illistim to acquire this chalk. Due to its nature, the chalk had to be carried overland by courier, and unfortunately, this courier perished on the way.

A rescue or recovery mission was launched one evening, and after making their way through the Vipershroud and several attempts on our foes part to stop the expedition (showing that our foes weren't unwilling to extend their reach beyond Solhaven when necessary), the chalk was finally recovered, and after a harrowing battle in Solhaven, a storm oracle (at the time considered to be the strongest of our foes) was lured into a trap, and was turned into a shard of Plinite.

A couple of nights later, the attempt was made to strike at the parasites. A pitched battle ensued in the streets of Solhaven, some of the fiercest fighting we'd ever seen. Eventually, a small group, including Lord Venquinor and Misun, reached Koar's Fane, and soon after Rimalon was summoned to the fane as well. A ritual was performed, which seemed to have the intended effect. Misun and Rimalon seemed to have been freed from the parasites' influence, their appearance restored, and we later learned that several bodies had been found in Vornavis, each having a rather large hole in the head.

This seemed to be our first real victory against our foes. Again, the war was far from won, but the effect this had on the effort was impossible to measure. Unfortunately, even in our celebrations, hints were made at the dark days that lie ahead. A vision shared by Misun and Guarrin, afterward, showed a massive tidal wave approaching the town, and in the coming days, more hints were made that all of this would happen, and conclude during the final days of summer.

We are now in those final days of summer, and time is running out.

-Aydan Mursilis, Protector of Solhaven-

Part Four: The Grapple

Category: Towns
Topic: Solhaven
Message #: 12397
Author: ENCELADAN
Date: 8/6/2009 3:31:29 PM
Subject: Part Four: The Grapple

As things stand now, we've come a long way over the course of a year. While I would hesitate to say that we've reached complete parity with our foes in the field, we've had plenty of time to refine our tactics, strategies, and abilities against them. We know what works, what doesn't, and when it's time to withdraw because we're in over our heads. Sometimes we manage to throw them back entirely, and sometimes they have us pressed against the wall, waiting for the killing blow to be delivered, only for them to draw back at the last moment. It is, in every sense, a continuous grapple, with victory and defeat looming behind every struggle.

The portal beneath town has continued to grow, causing many quakes in the process while also continually eroding the foundation of the town. This is the underlying cause of many of the sinkholes seen throughout the town, and it is expected to get worse if something is not done soon.

These last two months have had one big, key detail sitting in the back of everyone's mind: this war would end soon. There was a lot of prophecy regarding this event, much of which centered around something known as Cataclysm's Eye. Evidence pointed toward this being Misun, though her role in this, and what it actually meant, still has not been made clear.

The ascendants are in disarray. Some of them have decided that their old elemental masters are false, as they have been cut off from contact from them after our attempt was made to kill the parasites. This faction has taken to worshipping the krakens, believing that they too wish our destruction.

As things stand, the goal at this point is to attempt to close the aperture in South 'Haven, as well as the portal underground. It's believed that sympathetic magic can be used to link the two portals, so that in closing one of them, the other can be closed as well. Several weeks ago, it was revealed that a new tunnel had been discovered underneath town and claimed by a gang of thugs. At the end of these tunnels was something described as a large, glowing blue puddle in a massive chamber, filled to the brim with our foes. With all luck, Lord Venquinor will be meeting with these thugs this coming weekend to attempt to strike a deal which would allow us entry to these tunnels.

With a little more luck, we'll be going down there the following weekend. Raelee and Lord Venquinor have been working on a plan to close the portals, and while few are privy to the details at this point, it sounds as if this plan would work, if we're able to put it in place.

Until then, the general goal for the defense of Solhaven is a holding action until these plans can be put in place. While we are definitely on a deadline in regard to the end of summer, each day that passes without our defeat is another day that brings us closer to our attempt to strike once again. Make no mistake, however: closing the portals is likely not going to be the final resolution. Our foes have proven, time and again, that they are able to open portals once closed.

This will, however, buy us time to pursue a final solution. If the means to close the portals is repeatable, then it would, hopefully, be a relatively simple matter to close others that appeared. Again, this would not be a lasting solution as they would be able to open more, but we'd at least be able to respond in kind and hopefully slow them down.

Until then, we'll continue to keep fighting. So much relies on our efforts, and the price for backing down is far greater than we would be willing to pay.

-Aydan Mursilis, Protector of Solhaven-

One Way to Win

Category: Towns
Topic: Solhaven
Message #: 12543
Author: ENCELADAN
Date: 8/16/2009 1:33:57 AM
Subject: One Way to Win

Around the ninth hour this evening, Shannivar reported that she saw a group of black-clad men walking through the streets. At the same time, we were also noticing that the enemy was beginning to withdraw from the town. We began a search through the town, with other reports of shouting, screaming, and such coming from the streets. Eventually, we found a corpse of a halfling outside of Jastev's temple. The throat had been cut, and a green paste smeared on the lips. Before an in-depth inspection could be performed, the corpse decayed away (likely through magical means). A further search was made through the town, and another corpse, an elf, was found outside of Lord Venquinor's former home. It too had its throat cut and a green paste smeared on the lips.

Finally, Lord Venquinor alerted us via thoughts that a scuffle had occurred outside his room. We made our way to the inn, where a third corpse was found, similar to the previous two. This one, though, had a letter, mostly smeared by blood. It implied that a splinter faction of the thieves were willing to cooperate. It was also believed that the substance smeared on the lips of the corpses was deathwort.

After discussing this for a few moments, we were informed that a giantman had reached the Lance, and was requesting to speak with the Provost. We returned to the Lance, where the equivalent of negotiations were held between the Provost and the thief. The gang is known as the Painted Masks, and there was dissent within their ranks. At least nine of them attempted to rebel against the leadership, seeing that the town was in such a dire state that it went a bit beyond money. They wished amnesty in exchange for the means to reach the portal, though only the Baron could grant this amnesty. Lord Venquinor agreed to petition the Baron, and if all goes well, an exchange will be made tomorrow evening.

This means, then, that we will make the attempt to close the portals tomorrow evening. Even now, we are beginning to make the final steps and preparations in order to accomplish this. This plan has four steps.

Step one will be to ensure that the runes are viable. If so, we will make use of them.

Step two will involve us going into the tunnels, potentially clearing a path to the portal, and then providing the necessary cover for Raelee to draw the needed circles and arrays to allow for the portal to be closed.

Step three will involve the battlegroup returning to the surface and reaching the aperture at Old Market Plaza. Upon reaching the aperture, they will then provide the cover for Raelee to once again draw the necessary circles and arrays.

Pending success of the previous three steps, the needed ritual to close the portals will be performed. This will be performed on the surface, and cover will need to be maintained throughout this process.

Note, there is expected to be significant magical backlash from the closing of the portals. While it will not completely mitigate the effects of the backlash, I am recommending that everyone intending to be present obtain a mithril shield. The time to use them will likely be when the rite is performed, but Raelee may have more information on that when it is time.

Furthermore, I am recommending that everyone come fully prepared for a long, pitched battle. While I'm sure we will make some attempt to set up a triage effort to ensure support, it is a distinct possibility that we will not have this avenue open to us. As such, I would suggest that everyone going down there have a goodly supply of herbs, both for wounds and scar removal. Also, come prepared with whatever spells, magical items, and protection you can spare. Given that we've fought creatures capable of causing the dropping of weapons and shields, I would also suggest (but this is not required) that you leave your best stuff behind. I would also suggest a goodly supply of deeds, as well.

We weren't given an exact time for when this will be happening, except that it would be evening. In light of this, I'm going to ask that if anyone is intending to go down into the tunnels with us, that we begin assembling around five in the evening, as elves reckon. While we may end up waiting a good while, Solhaven is still under attack, so we will have plenty to occupy ourselves with in regard to running patrols and suppressing the enemy.

I will be available most of the day tomorrow, to answer questions and discuss things, should the need arise.

-Aydan Mursilis, Protector of Solhaven-

Descended.

Category: Towns
Topic: Solhaven
Message #: 12567
Author: ENCELADAN
Date: 8/16/2009 11:43:51 PM
Subject: Descended.

Well, to say that things didn't quite go to plan tonight would be an understatement.

We began by meeting with the Provost in the Lance, and were joined shortly by what appeared to be the same giant from the night before. The deal was made, and the rune map was given to the Provost. We gathered our forces and marched on the aperture, clearing the way for Raelee to do her work. After the circle was drawn, the Provost created a portal using the map to an ancient cavern.

Something seemed wrong right from the beginning, though since we didn't quite know what to expect, it wasn't entirely obvious that we'd ended up in the wrong place. A corpse was found at the entrance to the cavern, in the same condition that the other three from the previous night had been found. A makeshift stone wall blocked further entry, but it was easily bashed open. We proceeded onward into a larger cavern that overlooked a large, subterranean pool. We were also greeted by an ascendant within this cavern.

The ascendant implied this had been a trap the whole time, that even without their collective, they were able to influence the thieves to give us the runes that lead us to them. The ascendant then went on to explain that at first, they truly had been dwarves, and then served the elementals, and had leaned toward the kraken. After a time, though, they realized they were a stain on the world, perhaps even an abomination, and they had agreed to destroy themselves... and take us with them. We also saw a very, very large tentacle reach up from the pool, and then they began to scream in unison. Our exit was sealed, and the cavern began to collapse around us. A large rock fell into the pool, seemingly impaling the kraken. The ascendants in the cavern all began to willingly turn to stone and crumble away. The situation seemed dire. That's when it happened.

Misun's eyes began to glow, and a white, almost blinding light surrounded her. She spoke in a voice, not her own, stating that she wouldn't allow it. She stated she was all that was left of the Commonality (my opinion is this is what was left of the hive that we'd destroyed earlier this year), and that she could stop this from happening. The cavern continued to collapse around us, and as some of the rocks fell toward Misun, they were disintegrated by the light. We gathered close to her, waiting to see what, if anything, might happen next. Finally, she opened a portal, and we were able to escape from what was sure to be certain death. Several quakes and such struck, and before we left the cavern, water began to fill up, so we swept through the town to see if anything had been damaged.

We discovered quickly that in the chaos, Baron's Bridge had failed. It's believed that the cavern we were in was located beneath it.

We traveled to the aperture, and were met by an oracle. It screamed that "they" were "theirs" to do with as they pleased, likely meaning the now dead ascendants. We returned to the Lance, where we were met with Mirke. Unfortunately, in all of the chaos, it seems that Mirke has lost his entire gang. He seemed to be completely and utterly broken. Before he slipped away into the shadows, he said that he would see this through to the end, as all that mattered now was the contract. After that... he was gone.

Lord Venquinor took the rune map back to the inn to study it further. He believes that he can decipher the proper rune coordinates for the portal, and we will meet again tomorrow night to discuss our next step. As things stand, the plan is still to enter the real tunnels at some point and deal with the portal. Keep your mithril shields on hand for whenever this goes down.

We battled the oracles for about another hour, striking down a fair number of them. Afterward, things began to quiet down. As things seemed to calm for the moment, something that can only be considered bittersweet was noticed.

We began to see the souls of the dwarves, once the ascendants, passing on from this existance. In light of everything, they've finally found peace.

-Aydan Mursilis, Protector of Solhaven-