Duendewood vs Sol Povos 3: Options and Alternatives

(OOC: This is our DM filling in some additional information for things our characters might do next.)

Geddy looked around. "Alternatives? I mean, we can't exactly stay here with an ancient white dragon hunting us. Fanaxia's not that big."

Alexej nodded. "Many nasty undead, too. I think they come for us if we don't go back."

"Still a bad idea," Ruin said, "but I think you're right. We may not have a choice."

“It’s pretty metal, if you think about it,” Azrael said quietly, “We’re like, almost destroying a world – discarding it, like gods!”

“Come again, brother!?” Martini looked at him as if he were even crazier than she remembered.

Azrael tossed his hair back and sneered, “Well, obviously, if there’s no way to get to this drab, worthless world, then it effectively ceases to exist.”

“The little nerd has a point,” Marshall said, “We ain’t coming back.”

“Right,” Geddy nodded, understanding, “The artifacts of Vecna were related to The Sundering, and they were also the threads that connected this world to our own.”

“The Sundering?” Tavros asked, curiously.

“Oh,” Geddy said, “It’s what the people of Fanaxia call the event which severed this land from Povos. Or well, they don’t know that, but it’s pretty obvious once you hear it. I talked to several of the locals about it. You see, pretty much all cultures on the island, from the Centaurs to the Lizardfolk, have what they call The Sundering as part of their history. Whether its oral or written, it pretty much all goes the same way: A god or gods or some such became very upset and tore the lands around Fanaxia away, leaving them an isolated island. They think everybody else is just… gone. The curious thing is that nobody seems to know when The Sundering occurred.”

“Obviously, the Dark One used some wicked magic to obscure his past,” Azrael said.

“Horse man talked about brothers over sea,” Alexej said, “You think they mean in Sol Povos?”

“I definitely think that,” Ruin said.

“Duh,” Azrael shook his head in disgust at their stupidity, “I mean, isn’t it obvious? Everything is in the right place. The centaurs live in Serpente Selva, directly north of where the Centaur Groves would be in Sol Povos. The Dragonwood is in the northeast, which would be next to the Uncharted Region of Duendewood, which is known to be an area with, I don’t know… dragons? And the Griffon Hills of Fanaxia in the west, if you put them where Mar Dentro would be, oh yeah, it’s next to the Griffon Peaks of Sol Povos. Gosh, I wonder if it fits?” He tossed his head back arrogantly.

“You’re such a child,” Martini chided.

Ruin blinked, processing what Azrael had said, and nodded, “Yes, now I very, very much, definitely think this place was ripped out of Sol Povos.”

“The first connection was the Eye, but it only seemed to allow passage of our souls,” Geddy said, “but the worlds were still connected by the hand, which quite literally held them together. When we possessed the hand, the sky broke open and the connection was broken, both the portal in the south that the Archmage created, and the one in the ocean that we piloted the Apparatus of Kwalish through. The thundering turbulence in the sky must have literally been this whole world breaking apart.”

“I thought we had all concluded that I was the one done that,” Marshall said tentatively, no longer quite as convinced of his words.

“Which means,” Tavros said quietly, “that we either aren’t leaving, or if we do escape, we’re not coming back.”

“Awww,” Leria cooed, “you want to save the nice girls in Kuldas Keep! I wish Sacha would rescue me.” She crossed her legs and made a production of sitting back in her chair, pouting.

“Well, actually,” Tavros looked at others, who were silently waiting to hear the end of his sentence, “actually, yes. It bothers me to leave the business undone. Lord Crowe is a bad man.”

Alexej put a hand on his shoulder, “Uncle say if you try to save all people from bad men, you be very old when done and can no longer drink beer.”

“You certainly can’t save everybody, I’ve seen that proven time and again,” Ruin nodded his head solemnly. “But it brings up a good point. If we have any unfinished business, we need to take care of it now.” He looked at Geddy. “Tell me again about the elf.”

“The elf?” Martini raised an eyebrow.

“A Pureblood supposedly lives on the northern island,” Geddy said. “Lord Crowe – the good one, who’s a merchant lord here in Styre – he told me about it. I think he’d take us there if we want.”

“An elf, Martini. A True Elf, here in Fanaxia.” Ruin said.

“Damn,” Marshall said, “That feller might be old enough to remember all the shit that went down.”

“There’s more,” Geddy said, “Supposedly also a titan, or rather the Last Titan.”

Tavros stood up suddenly and spoke with great seriousness, “A titan? They are the sons of Amun himself. Remember that he is known as the Titan King and was raised to godhood in the beginning times by Nepthys to oppose her evil child, Anubis.” He turned a stern look on Geddy, “These are not things to discuss as idle rumors. Titans are sacred beings, who vanished from the world long ago. Tell me truly, do you believe these rumors you hear, or are they farfetched stories spun by bored sailors?”

“I believe,” Geddy thought, “that Lord Forthwind Crowe believes the words he spoke to be true… and that he is not a foolish man.”

Tavros nodded and sat, retreating into quiet contemplation.

“I also heard some rumors of Kroni,” Geddy said, dropping a bomb in the room. Everybody stared at him, incredulous that he had not shared this information sooner. “I was getting there!” He waved his hands in defense and did his best to look innocent.

“That’s the empty coffin, right?” Leira asked in a singsong voice.

“One of the empty coffins,” Alexej corrected, “Also tiny boy coffin empty.”

“That’s right, the only body we found was Kas.” Marshall confirmed.

Ruin looked at Marshall and his companions, aghast, “Wait, you dug up their bodies!? In the cemetery!? When we went to the Black Acre, we only looked at the headstones!”

“Yeah, that was dumb.” Leira said.

“The little lady’s right,” Marshall said, nodding in agreement, “now we know which ones are dead-dead and which ones still out to get us!”

Geddy cleared his throat, “As I was saying, when I talked to Lady Maerwynn – another one of the merchant lords, the one they call Griffonsinger and Beastmaster – I was asking about The Sundering and the Dark One, and she knows of Kroni. Turns out he’s somewhat of a local legend in Vrist, to the northwest.”

“Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?” Martini looked at him accusingly.

“No, that’s it.” Geddy said.

“So, it seems we have some options in front of us,” Ruin said, “we can save the people of Kuldas Keep from the rule of evil Lord Crowe, we can travel to Vrist to learn the history of Kroni, or we can travel to ‘Tooth Island’ in the north in search of ancient elves and the last living titan. Whatever we deem essential, must be done now, for we may not be able to come back. At the same time, as Alexej’s uncle says, we can’t save everyone or we’ll be too old to drink beer afterward.”

“Ahem,” Martini cleared her throat, “there is also the business of the ancient, murderous dragon that is hunting me.”

“Right, add that to the mix.” Ruin agreed. “Anything else?”

Around the table there was silence. Azrael appeared to be zoned out, periodically flipping his hair. Leira was more than a little bored, Tavros was deep in his contemplations, and the rest needed some time to absorb all that had been said. Geddy seemed to sense the feelings of the group, and stood up. “Well, everybody needs some time to think before we decide. Let’s get some sleep.”

As they stood up to leave, Tavros grabbed Ruin and pulled him to the side. “I did have one more thought… do you have a moment to talk?”