The Mission
A deputation of Elves approaches Grettir, Paradoxides, Gadan and Kinness with a highly dangerous mission to save the world.
“So, just so I understand”, says Grettir, “If we have three Sarn Tur – these immensely powerful High Elven gems – we have half a chance of defeating the Ogri. There were five, but one was broken and three are lost. We currently have just one – Tur-na-Mir – the one that had been quite happily keeping the Ogri imprisoned, until someone moved it. We’ll say no more of that. You need us to go to these Lands of Dust where at least one of the lost ones is said to be.
“The Lands of Dust are inimical to Elves. If you go there you get sick and die. You believe that humans might be able to survive (though definitely not thrive) long enough to come back with the goods. So for this purpose we have been elevated from the status of “talking rabbits” to valued “friends and allies of the Elves”.
“Of course I will go on this quest. If the Ogri stir up the orcs it will be my people in Sequarl who bear the first brunt. No-one is opening any Rainbow Bridges for them, so it is my duty to do whatever I can to protect them.”
Shopping
Preparations were made. Though all the party save Grettir could cast at least some magic – and Paradoxides rather a lot – it seemed that magic would work differently in the Lands of Dust. It was a lifeless place from which all Power had been sucked in the ancient war between the High Elves and the Ogri.
Paradoxides set about writing scrolls. The alchemists of Chittagong were scoured for healing potions and iron rations. Kinness produced a Bag of Holding that allowed them to carry a great deal of equipment without weighing them down over much.
Grettir had his house magician magic him to the dwarven city of Katelgroth in search of weapons and amulets that might aid them in their quest. There he purchased at great price a Magic Helm known as the Master of Fire. For Grettir, apart from protecting his head from hard knocks, it offered the twin benefits of immunity to fire and the ability to see in the dark. As it turned out it had other important virtues.
The Elves sent them on their way with elven bows, magic arrows and elven cloaks. Finally they gave Paradoxides a shard of The One that was Broken. This would be a source of magical power in the Lands of Dust. It would also, it was hoped, be able to sense its whole siblings and act as a lodestone for their discovery.
The Journey to the Tower on the Edge of the World
They were to travel to the uttermost West, to the Tower that stood where the land beyond was broken and sundered from Middle Earth in the Great War between the Elves and the Ogri. There they would find the Endless Stair that led down to the Lands of Dust. Paradoxides teleported the party as far west as he had ever been – to the western slopes of the Shehalion Mountains. However, there was still a long way to march. They had many encounters – a huorn (evil sentient tree), ogres, hippogriffs and forest trolls. They also spied a dragon out hunting and hid from it under their elven cloaks. Then as they moved ever westward, they followed what seemed to be a friendly bear. So they came to the hall of Styrbjorn, the bear-man, a shapeshifter of the most ancient race of men.
In the home of Styrbjorn they had an hospitable welcome – perhaps too hospitable for Paradoxides and Gadan. Offered the choice of mead or pure mountain water, they chose the latter, only to find that it was an ardent spirit. They nevertheless drank it, out of politeness, for Styrbjorn was not the sort of host you wanted to disappoint or offend. Grettir and Kinness wisely drank the mead and so were better able to sustain the conversation that evening. Styrbjorn seemed to understand the import of their quest and knew of the Tower which was not far distant. He warned them that it was guarded by a strong force of Orcs and Kur.
The next day Styrbjorn himself led them to the environs of the Tower – Gadan and Paradoxides nursing their hangovers. They arrived at nightfall and could see the forces guarding the approaches. It was a dark and cloudy night and Gadan managed to conjure a storm to cover them as they sneaked forward in their elven cloaks. Later he said he thought that Styrbjorn must have contributed something and that not all the lightning that crackled from the night air was his doing. They managed to reach the Tower undetected. However, their difficulties were not over for they found the Tower to be completely smooth with no visible door or entry point. Fortunately Paradoxides, by his magics was able to locate a hidden door which he opened with the aid of his shard of Sarn Tur. They were inside.
The Tower and the Endless Stair
Searching the tower they found at the top what appeared to be an observation point. To the west it looked out on an unbroken carpet of cloud or fog far below. The observation room was occupied by the skeletal remains of a man, who by his accoutrements seemed to be an Ancient Imperial soldier. Indeed the whole structure of the Tower seemed to be of Old Imperial style: relatively recent in the context of their quest. Clutched in the hand of the skeleton was a crystal cube. Some experimentation revealed it to be a device by which a strong enough mind (even Grettir eventually managed to make it work) could conjure up a visual representation of a memory. No doubt its owner used it simply to summon up the images of loved ones in his lonely vigil long ago. Paradoxides took charge of the device, which he named the “Porno-cube”. In the years to come it would become an invaluable aid for sharing and disseminating information, but for now it was just a curio.
Exploring downwards they came to the “Endless Stair” of which the elves had spoken. Though at length it proved not to be literally endless, it was a long and arduous descent. It took them more than a day to wend their weary way to the bottom and they were forced to spend an uncomfortable night upon them.
At the bottom of the stairs was a door which seemed to be designed to open easily enough from the inside. Curiously, scratched upon the lintel was a graffito in Imperial script. “Those who are about to die, salute you. K.” Paradoxides speculated that K might be the monograph of Koraleff, the mighty sorceror of the last days of the Empire, who was said to have simply disappeared. He certainly left his library behind (see B53 – The Tomes of Korraleff). Could it be that he too came to the Lands of Dust in search of a Sarn Tur to save the Empire? If so, he must have failed in his endeavour, for the Empire fell.
The Lands of Dust
The door opened upon a bleak landscape – grey skies, rough, broken terrain with jagged rocks and everywhere covered in a dark gritty dust. Nothing grew. The only water was to be found in foul-smelling pools. It was fortunate indeed that Gadan had the power to purify water. However, they were all aware that like so much else this ability was a limited resource – no sun rose in this place of persistent twilight and there was no dawn for Gadan to greet and refresh his druidic powers.
Almost as soon as they came through the door a band of fire demons descended upon them. Grettir was thankful for his new helm that protected him from their fiery assault and they were soon cut down by the blades of the Grettir, Gadan and Kiness. Paradoxides was reserving his magical resources. The demons slain, Paradoxides indicated a direction and they set off following his lead.
Progress was slow, but Gadan the Ranger was an excellent wilderness guide and charted as easy a route as could be found through the rugged terrain. They spent several nights in this hell-hole and after a while all four of them began to feel somewhat unwell. Of the four the worst affected by far was Paradoxides who developed a persistent cough. After the first night Paradoxides was able to say that he could actually sense the presence of two Sarn-Tur. However, one was considerably stronger than the other – presumably reflecting proximity – and that one was the one he was leading them towards.
After some days they could discern on the horizon what looked to be a shattered pyramid, jutting into the horizon like some great rotten, broken, black tooth. As they approached the pyramid they were ambushed by three giant scorpions that had plainly lain in wait for them. They were swift and deadly with their claws and stings. Their black carapaces were hard to pierce with even enchanted blades. The party saw them off only to mark the approach of a fourth. This scorpion was truly gargantuan. Nickar the Dangerous had gifted the party a device that contained one of his great fireballs. They had determined to hold this back against some great need in the pyramid itself, but Kinness seeing the great size of the behemoth decided it was now or never. He cast it right into into its maw. The front half of the gigantic scorpion exploded into pieces, leaving the rest of it twitching in the black dust. The party moved on, grateful for Nickar’s art and forethought, but fearing that there might be even greater need in future with their most powerful weapon expended.
In the Ruined Pyramid
Though the top had clearly been blown off the pyramid, the lower levels, though damaged were still a maze of tunnels full of deadly creatures. There were fights with roving bands of minotaurs and Kinness was nearly eaten by a some sort of trapper-demon in the form of a chest. They took much treasure, including a finely decorated magical mithril mail shirt that fit Paradoxides well enough. As they neared the centre they were surprised to find a perfect marble statue that appeared to be of an armed and armoured elven warrioress. A little further down the passage there was another statue, this time an Imperial guardsman. They were both facing down the passage which took a sharp turn to the right shortly after. Listening at the junction, they could hear a sort of rustling sound – as from a long robe dragging on the ground – coming from the passage around the corner and getting stronger.
Grettir put together the pieces of evidence in his mind.
“Medusa!” he cried. “This is mine. Everyone, stand back, close your eyes and make not a sound.”
Grettir drew his sword and took station at the corner, eyes tightly closed. It just so happened that Grettir had practised for this – not for a Medusa per se – but blind-fighting was part of his training regime. So he bent all his concentration towards listening for the rustling as it came closer. Soon it was accompanied by what sounded to be the hissing of snakes. He wound himself up for a mighty sword-blow at the point when he deemed the creature to be rounding the corner. The dwarf-wrought sword came down in a glittering arc and ………. missed. He never knew whether he was too early or too late (probably the former) but his blade met thin air.
He had another plan. Dropping his sword, and drawing his dagger, Grettir stepped in to grapple. Eyes tightly closed, he was safe from the creature’s petrifying gaze and it turned out that the demon was no match for Grettir in close combat. However, as he thrust his dagger home again and again, he was aware of a hissing, as from many snakes, where her hair must be and the pitter-patter of their strikes upon his helm, his coif and his shoulders. At least one bite penetrated. So, even as the hissing ceased and the demon fell heavy in his grip he could feel a deadly venom coursing through his veins. Casting his cloak over the creature’s visage, Grettir called to his comrades for aid.
Swiftly Paradoxides located a scroll he had prepared before their departure and cast Neutralise Poison upon his friend. The venom in his blood dissipated immediately but Grettir was severely weakened. He realised that he would be unable to continue on the quest without further magical intervention. Paradoxides sucked his teeth. He could cast Forceheal, but there were terrible risks inherent in that powerful magic. If it went awry, it could leave the subject permanently weakened or even dead. However, Grettir trusted Paradoxides’ skill and judgement and bade him go ahead. Paradoxides drew another scroll from its tube and began to incant. Paradoxides was a skilled practitioner of White Magic and the spell went as well as it could. Grettir was returned to full health – though ever after you could see the black marks of the necrosis left by the venom upon the skin of his shoulder.
Tur-na-Math
They continued on their way, down the passage that the Medusa had been guarding. Paradoxides sensed from his shard of Sarn Tur that they were now close. They came to a room with a dais. Scattered around were several suits of plate armour made of some crystalline substance with sword and spears made of the same substance. In the middle of the room was the headless skeleton of a man, his skull nearby. Upon the dais was a great black gem. They had located Tur-na-Math.
As they approached a great blade materialised in the air above their heads. They stopped dead in their tracks. No doubt the body was that of Koraleff and this was how he had perished. There ensued a long conversation between Paradoxides and the Gem that none other could hear. The blade winked out of existence and the party relaxed. Clearly Paradoxides had been more persuasive than Koraleff. Kinness and Grettir began to gather up suits of crystalline armour and weapons. Grettir found a sword of a different manufacture – though still clearly elven – a black blade of some sort of metal.
Eventually, Paradoxides reached out his hand and took the Gem. As he did so he began to bark out orders with an authority that was quite unusual for the mild mannered wizard. “Drop all that stuff”, he said gesturing at the crystalline armour and weapons. Grettir and Kinness voice their disappointment but comply. “Bring that.” He points at the black sword. “We are leaving.”
Using the plentiful power lent to him by the Gem, Paradoxides Plane-Walks the group to the Prime Plane once more. They land briefly upon one of the Reef Sisters, a secluded group of islands south of Chittagong that Paradoxides knows well. From there he teleports the party back to Sequarl. He continues on alone to the Elven homelands, that Tur-na-Math might be reunited as soon as possible with Tur-na-Mir, its sibling, and so that he might take counsel with Eggo and Nickar who had been researching the whereabouts of other Sarn Tur.
Earthil – The One Alone
Eggo and Nickar by their researches had determined that one of the Sarn-Tur was in the City of Brass in the possession of the God-Emperor of the Efreet and seemed functionally inaccessible. They were delighted with the news from Paradoxides that there was a second ping from the Lands of Dust and determined that this must be Earthil – the One Alone. Nickar accompanied Paradoxides back to the Lands of Dust. With the powers of Tur-na-Math at their disposal they could function so much more effectively in that desolate realm. They tracked Earthil to the lava pool in the midst of a volcano.
Grettir receives a visitor. It is Paradoxides and he is in a hurry. He would like to borrow Grettir’s helmet. There would come a time when Grettir would become quite irritated by the flood of magicians who would regularly seek to borrow his helmet (while invariably opining that it was wasted on him). However, Grettir was entirely happy to lend his friend the Master of Fire – especially since Paradoxides left him the mithril armour as a surety in case he was unable ever to return.
Paradoxides uses a plane-walking artifact or mighty spell to return to the volcano in the Lands of Dust where Nickar waits and watches. Nickar dons the Master of Fire and descends into the hellish interior of the volcano. There he finds a gigantic demon – a salamander – set to guard the gem for eternity. Nickar does battle with the salamander and finally bends it to his will. The salamander is dismissed, surrendering the wondrous Gem to him. Paradoxides and Nickar return to the Elven Homelands to plan an attack on the Ogri, as the mountain of fire spews forth a torrent of lava across the barren wasteland.
Ref: C-12
OE Date: July-December 685
Characters: Grettir, Paradoxides, Gadan, Nickar (at the end) NPCs: Kinness
Real World: When – 1989; Where – Totton