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[K72] 28 Oltaran, south of the ruins
May. 8th, 2006 10:48 pmWe were back at the nexus. Before we started discussing what to do next, I asked the shields if they'd been able to use the cloaks, and they had, but they'd needed to take them apart and put them together again. Thymelixsen suggested I should ask them to put out the supplies they most need so he can examine them, but we don't have time to do that now, because some of the party was going on the shields far south to find the arch. The rest of us were to leave the nexus and head for the other ruins. Before Cor, May, and Jack left on the shields, I used Touch of Purity on Cor; hopefully they wouldn't run into trouble, but better to be prepared.
The rest of us rode east towards the other ruins. Kaneturn asked me about obstacles, and I mentioned the fallen tower that I shouldn't pass through, and the tower that had zapped Cor. There were periodic pits, and the snow was still deep, so we weren't moving very quickly, and this time we stayed on the south side of the valley, not the north.
When those on the shields crossed to the next south valley, they found that the tops of the mountains were flattened, with more ruins on them, untouched. They saw roads coming off one mountain ridge, going across in the sky to the next ridge, only one of which was intact, the other pieces in the air. The bridges headed south and west, with one place where many converged.
Thymelixsen looked through his book about the towers lining the valley we were traveling, and he found that though the frames were normal (though the magic much longer-lasting than modern frames), the energy it was collectin was Shikomic, so probably a defense.
I started feeling ill, and it felt like some kind of spiritual energy that might be death energy. Thymelixsen sensed magic on the area in front of us (we'd all stopped, obviously), and found that it was time energy, there were time spirits ahead of us, which are associated both with travel and death magics. There was some kind of energy radiating towards us, wild time magics breaking up on its own when too far from the frame that had generated (a side effect of what the Sunk are doing with travel magics?). We backed up and went around, and were safe.
The shield travelers went over a valley with burned bits and smoking pits, there was active magic shimmering in the air. May felt a frame forming around her, but was able to break free before it was complete.
The next ridge had more ruins, more broken bridges. Two ridges over there was bright light glowing, which reminded May of the rainbow things. They went up higher to see what they could, and Jack saw a big circle beyond where the southbound valley (that they avoided) tapered.
The shields sounded an alarm, and Cor told them to go east. There was a flash, and oily glow flashing around Cor, who'd been hit from behind. It was a rainbow thing, attacking as we'd seen in visions. (People of the shield were fleeing and dying.) In the Sunk attempts to get the last bionlear light from the featureless plains using the Arch, they may have brought some rainbow things through as well.
The rest of us continued on in the valley, seeing Sunk fetishes in the trees, clearly visible. They hadn't been replaced, which implied that the temple we'd cleansed had been necessary to make them, and at a minimum it would take three Blessed some time to consecrate ground. It also implies that there's no consecrated ground in the first ruins (or they wholly abandoned the second ruins).
We saw the illusory wall up ahead, and I told Kaneturn and the others about it not being real, but we'd need to blindfold the horses; it's necessary to not believe it to get through. I went through to show them, and the rest came through without too much difficulty.
Cor found that the shields were periodically ignoring his directions, probably to avoid more attacks; the air screeched when a rainbow thing went by.
The next valley was filled with smoke, but no flashes of light; they stayed fairly high up, and the attacks ceased.
After the next ridge, the valley below was in night, with stars in the valley. They continued on quickly to the next valley, which was starting to angle southwest, towards the circular area Jack had seen. There was patchy forest and burned earth.
The next valley had forest and snow, and the ridge lines started to pull together.
The rest of us made it to the ruins; I could see the civic center up at the top. The snow was broken up; something had come up from under the snow. Two sunk tracks' went south, and we follwed them, circling the ruins to the south.
The shield travelers found a cleared area in the middle, the arch right there.
We continued following the Sunk tracks, then there was a steadily increasing sound in the air. Ragashor lost the tracks. Thymelixsen found that the pair had split, one staying, the other going into the ruins, then coming back. Ragashor went to check, then came back saying that the Sunk had circled some rocks.
We continued, and Thymelixsen fell off the horse as it and Ragashor disappeared. Thymelixsen sensed it was Gewalic energy, and it wasn't done; there were bands radiating out from the ruins.
The scouts went down to look at the arch, which was broken. Visibility through the arch seemed distorted at times. There were people around, as shown by tracks, but no structures.
They came back on the shields, so high that Cor passed out, but the shields knew where the rest of us were.
The rest of us rode east towards the other ruins. Kaneturn asked me about obstacles, and I mentioned the fallen tower that I shouldn't pass through, and the tower that had zapped Cor. There were periodic pits, and the snow was still deep, so we weren't moving very quickly, and this time we stayed on the south side of the valley, not the north.
When those on the shields crossed to the next south valley, they found that the tops of the mountains were flattened, with more ruins on them, untouched. They saw roads coming off one mountain ridge, going across in the sky to the next ridge, only one of which was intact, the other pieces in the air. The bridges headed south and west, with one place where many converged.
Thymelixsen looked through his book about the towers lining the valley we were traveling, and he found that though the frames were normal (though the magic much longer-lasting than modern frames), the energy it was collectin was Shikomic, so probably a defense.
I started feeling ill, and it felt like some kind of spiritual energy that might be death energy. Thymelixsen sensed magic on the area in front of us (we'd all stopped, obviously), and found that it was time energy, there were time spirits ahead of us, which are associated both with travel and death magics. There was some kind of energy radiating towards us, wild time magics breaking up on its own when too far from the frame that had generated (a side effect of what the Sunk are doing with travel magics?). We backed up and went around, and were safe.
The shield travelers went over a valley with burned bits and smoking pits, there was active magic shimmering in the air. May felt a frame forming around her, but was able to break free before it was complete.
The next ridge had more ruins, more broken bridges. Two ridges over there was bright light glowing, which reminded May of the rainbow things. They went up higher to see what they could, and Jack saw a big circle beyond where the southbound valley (that they avoided) tapered.
The shields sounded an alarm, and Cor told them to go east. There was a flash, and oily glow flashing around Cor, who'd been hit from behind. It was a rainbow thing, attacking as we'd seen in visions. (People of the shield were fleeing and dying.) In the Sunk attempts to get the last bionlear light from the featureless plains using the Arch, they may have brought some rainbow things through as well.
The rest of us continued on in the valley, seeing Sunk fetishes in the trees, clearly visible. They hadn't been replaced, which implied that the temple we'd cleansed had been necessary to make them, and at a minimum it would take three Blessed some time to consecrate ground. It also implies that there's no consecrated ground in the first ruins (or they wholly abandoned the second ruins).
We saw the illusory wall up ahead, and I told Kaneturn and the others about it not being real, but we'd need to blindfold the horses; it's necessary to not believe it to get through. I went through to show them, and the rest came through without too much difficulty.
Cor found that the shields were periodically ignoring his directions, probably to avoid more attacks; the air screeched when a rainbow thing went by.
The next valley was filled with smoke, but no flashes of light; they stayed fairly high up, and the attacks ceased.
After the next ridge, the valley below was in night, with stars in the valley. They continued on quickly to the next valley, which was starting to angle southwest, towards the circular area Jack had seen. There was patchy forest and burned earth.
The next valley had forest and snow, and the ridge lines started to pull together.
The rest of us made it to the ruins; I could see the civic center up at the top. The snow was broken up; something had come up from under the snow. Two sunk tracks' went south, and we follwed them, circling the ruins to the south.
The shield travelers found a cleared area in the middle, the arch right there.
We continued following the Sunk tracks, then there was a steadily increasing sound in the air. Ragashor lost the tracks. Thymelixsen found that the pair had split, one staying, the other going into the ruins, then coming back. Ragashor went to check, then came back saying that the Sunk had circled some rocks.
We continued, and Thymelixsen fell off the horse as it and Ragashor disappeared. Thymelixsen sensed it was Gewalic energy, and it wasn't done; there were bands radiating out from the ruins.
The scouts went down to look at the arch, which was broken. Visibility through the arch seemed distorted at times. There were people around, as shown by tracks, but no structures.
They came back on the shields, so high that Cor passed out, but the shields knew where the rest of us were.
