13th Age - Online

The Lost Legacy

Characters

Daeris, High-Elf Occustist (Dani)

Here is what I know about my own story: I'm not really Daeris Amarthal, I am more. Exactly how much more and "what" more, that is the part that I'm still working on. I woke up about five years ago in this elven body feeling very confused and knowing something was off. The people that welcomed me into this life, all of them high elves, work for the Elf Queen and were kind enough to explain that I had been asleep for years and that it was their Queen who helped me in finding a suitable body for my stay in this world. They didn't know who I really was either. Oh… one small detail: I didn't have a shadow, but we'll get to this in a second.

I lived a couple of years among the elves, learning as I could about this world and looking for information on how I could...well, find myself. With time, some old memories seem to have awaken and I started to recall places that are not from this world and powers that I can no longer control. I remember enough to know that I'm trapped here and that I need to find a way out (or at least a way to be whole again); I also understand that the Elf Queen is mostly my ally, in the sense that she doesn't want any harm to come to me, but she would strongly prefer that I remain in this elven form and will not aid me into finding myself.

At some point though, I started remembering my own skills and that is when I decided to leave the elves and adventure into to world. Step 1 was finding my shadow - I know it may seem crazy to you that I would care about what really sounds like a small detail, but somehow I knew that this was important. It took a lot of traveling and studying, and I've been to as many libraries in this realm as I could reach, but I finally was able to find someone who could locate and help me in recovering that first piece of myself.

That person was the Archmage. Yes, I had to work hard to get his favor, but finally I learned that my dear beloved shadow was in the possession of the Diabolist. Don't even ask me what the f*** that bitch was doing with my shadow, but I found an honest enough group of adventurers and followed the clues that I had to locate and steal it back (yes, she knows it was me, and I'm sorry to say I was the only one to come back alive from that quest). Now, here is where it gets a bit complicated: it wasn't really my shadow, it was somebody else's.

I should probably mention at this point that while all of this is happening, something started changing within me, as if a part of my essence is growing more restless, or maybe as if whatever shell that traps me here is slowly starting to crack. My hair and my eyes started turning violet and my dreams of my previous life are growing more clear and frequent and my powers seem to have grown a lot faster in the last year than ever before. What that means, I really don't know.

What I know now is that my shadow is probably with the person who's shadow I stole from the Diabolist. It is unclear to me whether that is a good person or one of her minions that I'll have to face and destroy, but that doesn't really matter, either way, my main goal right now is getting back what is mine.

Tarak T'Sah, Half-Orc Ranger (Lia)

Tarak is a wanderer who traveled to many places in the Dragon Empire. She prefers to be close to the ocean and is a huge sailing enthusiast.

Once she joined a mercenary group on a mission to find the location of a shipwreck near the Iron Sea. The mission was a failure as they were attacked by demonic sea creatures as they approached the Iron Sea. Tarak woke up in an island as the only survivor. She decided to explore the island to find anything that would help her get away. In her search through this weird place, she met a talking serpent called Ainzuk. They became friends and Ainzuk lead Tarak to a strange orb. Tarak decided to touch it - what could go wrong? As soon as she touched the orb, she had visions she can't describe or comprehend and was unconscious for some time. Ainzuk was able to wake her up and help Tarak to gather remains of the ship to rebuild it and escape the island. Somehow, as she sailed away, she knew where to go and how to avoid the dangers of the Iron Sea. Something in the orb changed her... and now she is the only person who knows how to navigate the Iron Sea.

She sailed back to Horizon where she sold the Orb to the Archmage who was really happy with the transaction. The owner of the orb, on the other hand, wasn't happy about it...

Driz Xun'Atar, Drow Rogue (Rodrigo)

Violently spat out of the hellhole as soon as the Crusader claimed his First Triumph, the Drow was named Driz Xun'Atar for his grizzled, evil looks. Despite trying, the Crusader failed to bind him to his will like the other demons, and Driz ran away seeking refuge in the nearby towns.Without his memory, and a shadow that looked like it had a mind of its own, Driz still had understanding of how the world worked and. Perhaps he adventured too deep into the hellhole in search of loot, or perhaps he just hit his head while fleeing from demons, or perhaps he was the target of a powerful spell - his Rogue instincts still kicked in, and he knew he had to regain his strength and lay low for a while.

Driz headed to Axis in search of information and spent 2 years as an overnight dock worker. Due to his sensitivity to the sun, and the unpredictability of his shadow, Driz tended to avoid any work under the daylight. Unsure if he should seek help from the Icons, Driz headed to Shadow port to hone his skills and seek riches. There, he joined The Bloodletters guild and spend 4 years in service, raking up assassinations and major thefts. He read all kinds of literature on demons and dark magic, but still couldn't find out why his shadow behaved like it did. Perhaps he should seek the Diabolist for help? Maybe that would just spell his doom. Maybe he Crusader let him escape alive, and he should return to ask a few questions. Driz is constantly plagued by these questions that go without action.

Durbal, Gnome Rogue (Tom)

Durbal ("Durb") was raised by Dwarves growing up because his family was slain by the Shh-ka clan of Orcs.

He doesn't like Orcs!

The Dwarf family that raised him were particularly great at clock making. Clock making and machinery were of great interest to him. Due to his up-bringing, he has somewhat of a relationship to the Dwarf King. The relationship is somewhat conflicted because the King is rather upset that a Gnome has completely mapped the underworld.

During his youth he became detached from his Dwarf family and ran away with the circus, mainly spending his time performing acrobatic stunts and after some time started thieving and ultimately joined a thief guild called the Big Dogs.

Session Notes

Session 4 - The Slaughter House

Joanna says that the Map-maker looks like Durbal's dad.

The group is looking to buy a boat. Tarak T'Sah talks to Stan, a doppleganger that is a ship salesperson. Stan shared a brochure with the group (see Ships) with different kind of ships, from a couple hundred to almost hundred grands. Wyn reports that a drow priestess from House Barrison Del'Armgo is in the city. The city guard is really busy with the after match of the Archmage's Comet. Apparently the drow are dominating Axis underground.

Laberon is recognized by a girl at the city entrance, but she called him Lars. She said that her best friend, Liara, was Laberon's fiance. He goes to investigate, and gets back with the girl covered in blood: the farms are being attacked by mysterious wolf attacks. Rupert from the city guard asked the rest of the group to investigate a Slaughter House in the docks. Hengar, the butcher, reports that his son, Mikel, was missing. Also missing was his workers Alik and Jaleh. Jaleh was actually a Cultist of the Devourer, a cult to the Stone Thief, the largest living dungeon, awake with the arrival of the Archmage's comet. Although the party was able to save Mikel, she did summoned the Stone Thief (apparently). The group is now staying at the Lively Squirrel Inn.

Session 3 - The Sky Falls

During the eclipse, a lot of meteors fall from the sky. Strange creatures from the far realms inhabit the meteors. Some humans are mind controlled by them. The group try to avoid them, but they had to fight a couple. Nekrien Silverleaf, a necromancer elf with two Zombies, flee the creatures and later travels with the group. The group plunders bandits and grab some money. They also had a couple of magical items. The groups rests close to Nekrien's tower, close to Axis.

Session 2 - The Monastery

The group found out that the key they were looking for is actually a 12y old girl, Joanna. She is guarded by Thrug, a half-orc chaos mage. Under siege, the monastery is defenseless against the Trolls.

The leader of the place is a strange gnome that calls himself the Map-Maker. He owns hundreds of maps, and he claimed to have mapped the whole world. He finally completed the locations of all known seals of the Galchutt, the lords of the Far Realm. Only the Key (Johanna) can unlock the seals that binds all planar creatures to this world.

The group uses fire against the Trolls and reach out their cave, where they find a Goblin King using a necklace to control the creatures. The party kills the goblins, knocks out the king and take the necklace, ending the siege.

The Archmage appears in a remote communication magical device, and explain some of the weird talk from the Map Maker: The world was created to be a planar prision of sort. Mostly to keep the Galchutt scout here, and to not report back to the Far Realms. The gods didn't want to get imprisoned, so they mostly stayed out.

To create this prison, 50 seals was spread across the city and prominent groups of that time. The Gauchutt scouts were put to sleep under the Iron Sea. Their slumber affected the sea, creating all the behemoth monsters that inhabit that sea now. Over time, the seals started to fail. Only around half of them are still operational. The Map-Maker was able to pinpoint most of those. Because they are failing, it is getting easier to get out of this plane. Some gods discovered this and got close to this plane: that is why the Priestess is a recent icon, and that is why the Crusader got a stronger connection with the dark gods. This thinner layer didn't wake the dormant Gauchutt, but awake the Stone Thief, the largest of the living dungeon. With the power of the Stone Thief heart and the power of the remaining seals, the Gauchutt can be destroyed forever. The only known way of unlocking the seals and getting their power is to be touched by the creator of the seals (or his bloodline), the Wizard King. The Wizard King is now the Lich King, and Joanna his last decedent. Without the seals, this world won't be a prison anymore, and the gods (and other extra-planar creatures) will be able to leave it if they enter.

Session 1 - The obligatory tavern

The group returns from the sewers where they have fought dire rats and wererats for a bounty with Rupert from the imperial treasure. They are reached by Illara, an Archmage envoy, which provides Tarak a magic oil and a magic hat. She also explains that the Archmage is interested in a key being guarded at the Monastery of the Falling Sky. She also says that Yannos, former guide, can help them reaching the place. One Dwarf consular (Tordek) office from Anvil offers Durbal two runes (one armor and one weapon), but ask a magical item report from the monastery. Tavern brawl! Laberon takes the guard from the fight, which allow the party to just spend the night at the city jail (not for the first time). The group gets a detailed map from Yannos, and buy equipment for climbing/ropes. Three challenges: The party successfully climbs the mountain The party crosses a bridge over magma vents with fire imps with some minor burns. The party encounter a portal where paladins of the Crusader were spotted. Driz shadows goes inside the portal and brings back magical arrow. The portal is left behind. The monastery is under siege by goblins and trolls. Laberon charms the Goblin shaman leading the attacks, sending the trolls away, and the group fight the goblins. They met Thrug, the guardian of the Key, and get inside the fortification, that gets attacked by Trolls rocks again. The Key is actually a ten years old girl. Session 0 - Prologue In the middle of the Iron Sea, a large caravel slit the currents and high waves in a dense, heavy rain. The lightning flashes silhouettes of gargantuan creatures all around it, while tentacles, fins and horns are briefly seen in the water. For some reason, the creatures mostly stay out of the ship's path.

Inside the ship, a soak and heavily hurt crew constantly maneuver the sails. The captain, and old red haired grunt with a long beard, keeps screaming for directions to Tarak, a strong half-orc than stands on the bow, looking ahead. From time to time she points with one of her battle-hammers and screams back: "Starboard, 30 degrees... Now!"

A pair of Dark Elves look at each other on the stern. Despite their differences, Driz and Wyn have fought many battles together, and they eagerly wait for their destination, for very different reasons. As another lighting crosses the Iron Sea, they see their destination: a long spire of rock. On top of it, a bestial indescribable creature twirl its tentacles menacing.

On top of the bowsprit, Durbal the gnome is particularly intrigued by the spiraling carvings on the ancient door at the base of the spire. He recognize the key, the same key used to unlock the ancient doors of the Dark Forge. He screams at Laberon, the human that is barely standing due to his injuries. "The stone!", yelled Durbal, "the stone is the key!"

The crew prepares to fight and to throw out the anchor, as Tarak, Driz, Wyn, Durbal and Laberon jump into a side boat, to approach the spire. They try to keep spirits high under the freezing rain remembering when everything started so many months ago, on Axis, and how life changed so quickly. That first tavern brawl seems so distant now. They got out at the base of the spire, and the creature on top of that seems to avoid Laberon at all costs. The group stays together, and the human pushed the stone in the middle of the carved spiral. The door opens slowly and steadily, showing a dark path to the underground. The group takes a deep breath, and move towards its final battle.

Many months before (scenes):

A scene where Tarak, the half-orc pirate, sells something mysterious in Horizon to a robed figure. Next, she is unsuccessfully trying to buy a big caravel, and pick a flyer from the city's (Axis) wall: "Rat Tails Bouty: Dire Rats - 1 imp per tail; Wererats - 5 imps per tail" A scene in a tavern where Tarak shows the flyer to Durbal, where the gnome shows her some of his Axis' sewers map. A scene in the docks, where Tarak and Durbal are talking to a shadowy figure playing with his daggers (Driz), and delivering him a small coin sack. He follows them; when they cross a street lantern, they see the shadow of this person following them late. At the entrance to the sewers, they hire a soldier to go in the front with his shield. That soldier is Laberon. The next scene is the party fighting Dire Rats and Wererats in the sewers. A sneaky wererat almost strike Tarak, but she is saved by Wyn, a drow that probably had spent way too much time down there. The four heroes joins the drow, and get back to a tavern [The Drowned Ox] to collect their bounty.