Echoes – Session 2

Cast

Roshan



Zephyr



Smallest

Synopsis

The rogues entered the Badlands in order to retrieve an artifact for a merchant in Dutchtown.  Well within the Badlands, the rogues struggle with the oppressive heat.

Zephyr and the rogues are determined and pushing forward when Zephyr trips and tumbles and nearly plummets down a precipice.  Down below in the canyon are ruins of red sandstone and a small stream running through the canyon.  Stairs built into the canyon wall lead down into a tower below.  The rogues hug the wall as they descend the steps.  Smallest’s heavy steps drop a loud cascade of stone down into the valley.  The lush valley comes to life as forms begin to stir below, boiling out of greenery.  These are beast of rumor, beasts with the ability to subsist on pure energy.

The weight of smallest draws attention from the beasts as the stones beneath his feet crack.  The eyes of the beast glow red as they glare at the rogues before giving chase.  Zephyr leads the rogues to within the ruin, noticing that the beasts have gone quiet and probably stalking them.  He has everyone dash into a dark room and roll a boulder in front of the entrance.  They have blocked the danger but now find themselves in pitch black darkness.

After wandering and trying to find a way of this darkness, Roshan closes his eyes and assumes a yoga-like pose.  A faint glow begins in the back of his neck, travels down the tattoos on his arms, and as he touches the wall, the light begins to trace through the cracks in the wall.  Roshan points to a weak spot in the wall and Smallest smashes a hole there, revealing a passage to the canyon floor.  As the rogues venture out, the glow spills from the hole in the wall.  It now traces cracks in the ground, creating crevices that expand and erupt in crystalline light.  The beasts emerge to feast on this new abundant source of energy, growing in size and power.

As the energy begins to wane, the beasts target Roshan.  He presses more energy into the earth.  Plants begin to grow quickly.  Even the moss on Smallest’s rocky mask begins to thicken.  A beast leaps onto Roshan, knocking him to the ground and wraps its fleshy proboscis around Roshan’s head in search of the crystal at the base of his neck. Roshan pulls out his curved dagger, cutting off the proboscis and freeing himself from the grasp. Upon seeing the death of one of their own, the beasts begin to organize and target the other two rogues.

Zephyr retreats, running into the thick growth as Smallest lumbers behind him.  Zephyr soon realizes he has run far and finds himself alone among the canyons now dense foliage.  The plants begin to die and wither and from these remains are born more of the same beasts but in more miniature form.  These small forms of the beasts begin stinging and biting Zephyr.  He swats a lot of them off but notices more and more of these small beasts are converging and merging with the plant life and each other into a life form much more massive.  Zephyr finds himself standing below a beast as tall as a house.  He jumps in the air and climbs up to the head of the beast.  He wraps his cloak around the beasts head, blinding it, and the beast begins lumbering in the direction of Smallest.

A massive foot lands in front of Smallest, shaking him to the bone.  Smallest is kicked and flies through the air toward Roshan.  The smaller beasts jump onto the larger beast and merge with it, increasing the size of this giant even more.  A huge proboscis emerges from the giant’s mouth and encloses around Smallest and Roshan.  Smallest goes into a fury, smashing into the proboscis before wrapping a chain around the giant’s neck and crushing it death.

Later on, the rogues are deep within the humid ruin which pulsates with deep, sonic rhythm.  Roshan crushes a crystal into dust, lays it on the ground, ignites it, and breathes in the rank fumes.  The smoke leads them through the ruin until they come upon a large ornate gate.  Smallest thinks about the past, his initiation.  He remembers a similar gate and his father telling him the objects that are sealed behind those gates are sacred.  After passing the gate, the rogues pass murals depicting the deaths of various saints and holy idols.  They finally come upon the artifact, a chalice that chills the air around it, sitting upon an altar.