Session One Hundred and Sixty-Four Summary (Graveyard of Empires: After the Fall)

Session 164, December 27 2023

Introduction

We continue at 10:20PM on the 16th of Anurilden (00.000.08.14 on the Apocalypse Clock) with the party following one of the monkey creatures into the animal testing area within Gharaz'Khel. The group has decided, based on the horrors they have seen and the possibility of running into this so-called Master of Revels, that they will try to flee the ancient dwarven fortress via the exit found in the lair of the these intelligent monkeys. Will they be able to pass through the area without violence? Can they convince the monkeys to abandon Gharaz'Khel? Will they make it back to rendevous with the Bronze Wizard? When exactly is the Jubilee happening? Find out next time, or not.

Larry's Summary

We decide how to follow the monkey that takes to the trees and the floor falls away.

Velkin asks the monkey if it is safe to cross on the floor. It points to our left. It comes back and pushes the vines aside and points and steps through as the vines fall in place.

We follow and the floor of the walkway continues.

The monkey stays ahead of us, but not so fast we lose him. The railing drops away, but he lead us to the stairs.

There is an ancient looking monkey bent over with a stick like a cane, just on the other side of the open area we have reached.

Velkin introduces us and asks if he is Dero. He answers in monkey as that is what Velkin is speaking.

He says in ancient dwarven to Dero, I can speak a bit of your language looking at Thorfus.

Velkin says good, more of us can understand you.

25 to 30 feet up it is clear of vines and it is apparent by other monkeys are watching us from above.

Velkin tells him that we are looking for a way to escape this place, is there a way we can pass through this area. Perhaps. I have questions first before your questions.

Velkin translates the ancient dwarven for the group.

How is that you came to this place? Not many have come here in my lifetime.

We are searching for the source of the aberrations of natural animals and perhaps a way to deal with a giant zombie.

Evidently there is a jubilee that will be happening and we do not think it is a good thing, so we'd like to leave.

The giant most likely did not come from here.

So you did not find what you seek? No.

But you have opinions about this place, this jubilee the rats speak of.

Not favorable opinions.

Yes, whatever is coming won't be nice and it will potentially wipe out this whole place, including your home.

What do you think this jubilee is? We have assumptions, we know what is below here, and it knows we are here.

So you just wish to leave? Yes, unless there is a way to stop the jubilee and live.

One is known, you ask of an exit, if there is one.

We do not understand the jubilee, we seek understanding.

We spoke to the ghost trapped in the residential section, do you know him?

Yes, I visited him many years ago. He was a prisoner and we set him free.

Thorfus says that this is an ancient dwarven place, and the master of revels

There is good here. Something about this place. My people have basked in it for generations, tho we can no longer go there, we have been cut off from the light.

This is why we question whether the jubilee is good, bad, or indifferent.

This place made us like we are and helped us understand.

The place of light is down the halls away from the vines.

A flash and explosion, but something lives there now and cuts us off from there.

The thing of many eyes and bathes in the light and grows larger and stronger and is jealous of the light and we can no longer go there.

Velkin asks if they know how to operate the machinery. Once we did. Let me think a moment.

Dero closes his eyes and seems to meditate.

He bangs his stick on the floor once, yes, shutdown procedures, two keys, overseer abandoned his post.

(The reservoir overseer may have ended up with the monkeys, and the other went to the residences.)

Our ancestors took that understanding from one who is dying.

The box that moves up and down, he came here, sick. We took the understanding from him then.

Switching to monkey, he says bring the ancient's items.

Velkin asks if it knows what is below the booming chamber?

We have an understanding that there are machines, panels, tunnels, the core, the reactor needs to be shut down. As he speaks he gets more confident.

We fear shutdown will set free DVLs.

We have no understanding of this.

Thorfus asks how you get understanding. We take the understanding from others in to ourselves.

We get understandings from the elders, none older than me.

Can you share your understandings. I will share when the time is right. A great tragedy if I stop before passing them on.

A monkey arrives with a much worse for wear environmental suit, no helmet, tank or breathing apparatus in sight. Dangling off the key is a override key for the reactor core. The old one Dero turns and says, these understandings and these things came from that one.

His Dero was Thymond.

These things mean something to you?

The key is for the override procedure. Understanding is faint, not as clear, it has been passed down many times.

Shutdown or meltdown. Thymon wished to prevent meltdown, he thought it would happen on its own without a shutdown.

Dero knocks at them and asks if we want these things.

Velkin says that there are areas here that make us sick. Are there areas that affect your people.

You understand differently than I. There are places where the power that gives us understanding leaks out.

Shirok Thymond overseer of the reservoir, got sick and died on the research level. He died terrified of the lab creatures, they had him, oh, we have them.

Core overseer was a female dwarf, Calna Barak, went to her residence on block C and Shirok never did get to her.

Kauri asks when did the moles first mention the jubilee?

Dero looks at his fingers. Maybe 3 or 4 months ago.

So either Jubilex frees himself in an explosion, or when Asmodeus ends the world.

We decide to relay to Dero how to slow down the reactor to enjoy the light longer, and ask for the way out in exchange, and healing.

It is possible that you have understandings we lack.

Would you offer understandings of outside. What would you like to know?

Everything.

Velkin asks if they can teach us how to get understandings? No, the light that gave us this understanding is bad for you, in exchange for this place and medicine to help you.

Taking understanding takes the memory.

When giving understanding, you live, but you lose yourself.

Felix is telling Lambertus to shut up and stay where he is.

Lambertus pushes his way forward, sorry, we don't hear so well back there. So what's being offered? So everything since the dark elves took me captive I would forget? Pretty much everything. Or is it just since I found out about Evenkeel and all that?

Velkin asks if you can select the memories or is it all? We go back. He is asking and has pain in his past he would like to forget? Would he remember his vocation? Would he still be able to do the things he's good at, or does that go too?

I would not want to give misunderstanding. Likely he will be as a blank screen.

We don't take everything. He will understand walking, talking, then learn again.

There's things I want to forget, I don't want to forget everything.

What about two years? (Since the start of the prior campaign.)

This time would be two years of knowing and understanding of this place.

I'll believe again. Why wouldn't I? I wouldn't have seen how everything is fake.

Kauri was hanging out with Kauri in the reservoir overseer's office and the schematics and knows how to operate the cube.

The trade of understanding for a safe way out and medicine?

I see you've dealt with unscrupulous traders in the past, we don't take understandings by trickery.

Two years and no further? Inexact, but nearly that.

Velkin volunteers to take the understanding. We do that first in case the understanding does not transfer, then you owe nothing.

Dero has a young one come forward and walks it through transferring the understanding to Velkin similar to mind meld.

Thorfus feels a tingle in his brain stem.

It kind of grows more, Velkin sort of gets it.

Thorfus can focus on it and determine that it is emanating from the younger monkey. It is also similar to the instantaneous moment of a psionic blast, but drawn out slowly.

Velkin opens up to it. He has flashes in his peripheral vision. Dero leans in and suggests it might help to close his eyes.

There is a blast of light and Velkin falls over and he is drooling. He is breathing.

Velkin awakes with someone slapping him. He knows the way to the surface.

It will be a climb upwards from where we are and will need a sling for Snuffles. It will not be easy, we need to rest.

Flowering buds that have healing properties. They can be collected and will last about five days.

Lambertus is motioned to move forward.

Velkin asks Lambertus if he wants to write himself a note.

Hey Lambertus these guys are your friends with quick descriptions and our names. If I have any questions, ask them.

Dero places his hand on Lambertus' head and mumbles the same stuff that he said for the young monkey.

Lambertus' mouth falls open and he is drooling adn the transfer goes on. Lambertus slumps for a bit. It goes on for the better part of a half hour. Dero then takes his hands off Lambertus.

The younger monkey comes over so Dero can lean on him.

Yes, we understand now. Yes, we must stop Jubilex. Stop the pain, the hurt. The sadness.

Must rest now. The deal, the understanding is traded, the deal is done, I must rest.

We decide to set up camp here for the night, as it is "safeish."

We decide to keep a watch.

Pirx joins Glompus in place of Lambertus on fourth watch.

Kauri will be memorizing spells.

We heal up and rest and re-learn spells.

We wake up Lambertus and have him read his note.

Were we on our way to Newton. Is this the expedition to Newton? The ground opened up in Newton.

Did we fix the problem? We're still in the process of fixing the problem. He looks around are we inside where the ground opened up.

We are in a place where you can pray to Evenkeel to get your spells back.

Lambertus looks at his hands, what have we been doing. He touches his hands and his face. It must be really something.

Lambertus is now 3rd level.

There are pockets of divine magic in the midst of the DVL invasion.

Can still turn undead, just not the strange disease caused undead.

We explain our goal to get artifacts out from under the undead giant and back to Dun Khel.

Velkin gathers some of the healing blooms that act like cure light wounds and last for 5 days.

Kauri casts levitate on Snuffles while Glompus rides him and Kauri hangs on.

We all climb up.

It takes 3 h ours and Kauri finds 43 buds.

Glompus, Snuffles, and Kauri are the first ones up and out of the viney chute. We are somewhere in the jungle and the ground slopes down and away to the South and we can see farmland. We see sunlight glinting off the river. We figure we have a few hours back to the headwaters at the cave.

We have escaped Garus Khel. Lambertus looks around, so this is Cresent Isle? Yes, I've heard of this place, lots of farms. So we are going down this river, the Khel Run to meet up with a ship.

We prepare to head to the river, hoping to find a boat, and meet up with the Bronze Wizard and head the Feldmark.

Glompus's Letter

Hey there Spud,

We followed the monkey I mentioned in my last letter to a very old and nearly blind monkey named Darrow. Velkin talked with Darrow in chirpy monkey speak (I really need to learn some better animal talking). Darrow explained the monkeys had a way to transfer "understanding" to each other, which he said they did when it was almost their time to shuffle off. He also had some of the other monkeys bring us the key for the override procedure.

To trade for the "understanding" of the way out and for medicine for the irradiation, we had to give one of these "understandings" in return. The monkeys made it clear this would wipe one of our memories. Lambertus volunteered, so he would believe in his god again. Can't say I was surprised, poor guy has been having a rough time. Velkin talked the monkeys down to just taking the last two years of his adventures where he learned all the stuff that was upsetting him instead of all his knowledge.

Velkin went through the understanding ritual to get the knowledge of the medicine and the exit first. Poor guy almost passed out from getting the info jammed into his brain. After that, Lambertus stepped forward and Darrow took the last two years from him. He did pass out, but that's probably for the best. I can't imagine the whiplash of all that happening while he was awake.. Darrow said something about stopping Jubilex, which was alarming. Wouldn't want the monkeys to get hurt, they seem nice, but he calmed down pretty quckly so I think it's alright. We rested there for the night to give Lambertus time to recover, figuring we'd try to leave the mountain in the morning..

When we woke Lambertus up in the morning, he seemed a bit confused. I think he thought he was back at the monastery worried that he missed morning prayers. He went to do his prayers then understandably told us he had a lot of questions (like Grandpappy always told you, any quest begins with questions!).

We filled Lambertus in on who we were to him and what we'd all been up to (minus him finding out the gods didn't exist). He liked Snuffles on the second time meeting him too, so it seems like he's a good person even after mind wipes (and I've definitely got to buy him a dog when we get back to town to keep his mood up). After we filled him in on a lot of what happened, we set out for the exit the monkeys told us about. Kauri made it so Snuffles and I floated up to the mouth of the cave entrance, which was a whole lot of fun, and we waited for everyone else there.

All that was at the top were some mole tracks, so we're heading off down the mountain as I write this from Snuffles-back. We're on our way to rendezvous with a ship called the Bronze Wizard, and then hopefully back to Dun'Khel. I'd really like to make sure a lot of the gnomes me and the other rangers got out are alright, and maybe pass out some of the treasure we got in those ruins to make sure everyone is set up nice in their new home. Miss you Spud, I'll give Snuffles an extra pat for you.

Love, Grandpappy Glompus 17th of Anurilden