11/17/2018 Live Session Notes from The Rift: Part 3
As you emerge into the inner gulf of the Rift, you gaze out at the expansive mountains in the distance. To the left and right, the sea glitters a strange poisonous looking blue-green color, with large fields of inky violet. An even more oppressive, static weight hangs in the air, and gusts of wind making the ship creak. More tall mountains can be seen in the distance along this central seam. They make you uneasy; their long and slender forms devoid of fauna or rocky features, and seemingly bleached white by millennia.
There’s enough room to navigate around them on either side, and you dare not fly too high lest you miss the cove’s entrance. But your navigational equipment still offers no assistance. Where before the values were whirling erratically, they now stand still, all pointing due North or completely empty. You are forced to travel slower as you journey here, continuing to navigate by sight and skill only.
Thorin, still at the helm, attempts to navigate the ship by skill and Hikaru’s direction on the deck. The wind steadily picks up and he struggles with the steering, hoping to prevent any accidents.
The tiefling stands nearby, muttering, “Unnatural…” as they pass mountain feature after mountain feature, feeling uneasy from the large stark white objects. He turns to head downstairs to his room.
From the attacks earlier, one exhaust port from engine A has been damaged. Rodrick tries to weld it back up, and after several minutes is able to find the leak. Deftly strapping it and spot welding it, he’s able to complete the temporary fix without much issue. Grumbling under his breath as he puts his tools away, his voice suddenly echoes loudly, twice as loud as it normally is. ”STUPID 10 MIL SOCKET, WHERE ARE YOU…?”
Ruby is pouring over her maps and documents, looking over everything. It seems that we have finally emerged into the inner gulf of the Rift. We are out of the frying pan… for now. Taking a break from her notes, she goes to check on Azandar. He seems to be asleep now, in the room next to where the tiefling is. She notices he is pale and has a bit of sweat on his brow. Thinking it best to let him get some rest and not interrupt his deep sleep, she heads off to check on the rest of the ship.
Coming up on the deck to get a good view of everything, Ruby (and Hikaru at the edge) spot a cove up ahead. “Thorin,” she shouts, “there’s a cave up ahead there. We’re still pretty north of where Samuel said he found things… but it may not hurt to check it out?”
Thorin calls down the talking tubes to Rodrick, “You wanna go check it out down there? We spotted a cove.” “A COVE? WHATDA MEAN?” “Rodrick, can we turn down the volume a little bit?” Rodrick tries to whisper, “…OKAY.” “…Are you okay?” “NO.” “Oh boy… okay.” Thorin puts his hand over the tube after saying, “Well we’re in a cove with plenty of space.. but maybe firelord will be able to find a route down, faster than other ways? Like our friend desciding to jump off the boat?” It’s quiet until you hear a loud steam hiss and loud footfalls in the hold. “Well there’s my answer I guess…”
Parking the ship in the cove, Firelord prepares to exit the belly of the ship. Being about 700 feet above sea level and a few hundred feet from the side of the mountain, the light still glints through the peaks of the mountains. The glare reflecting off of the cockpit windshield, Rodrick squints to see as he readies the boosters. Firelord’s sensors engage, helping make the search easier for the cave. It blips up on his radar screens. Stepping off the ship, Firelord…. Suddenly shuts down. He begins to fall.
Cursing loudly and flicking buttons furiously, Rodrick struggles to engage Firelord again. The water and rocks below rush up quickly. A few hundred feet from the water, the boosters flare back on, misfiring as they struggle to slow the descent. Too late to slow completely, he slams into the side of the mountain face, rolling and tumbling. Clawing his robotic fingers into the rocks, the tumbling slows and the fall reduces to a stop. Engaging griplock button so he stays in place, Rodrick exits the cockpit with a hiss to look and see why the boosters failed. Studying the tubes carefully, he can see the misfire has been caused in multiple locations running down the legs to the boosters, rendering them useless until they can be fixed. The boosters in the hands seem to be running well though, so climbing back in, Rodrick tests the rocks beneath the machine and slowly slides down the mountain.
Finally reaching the bottom, he makes a beeline to where Firelord spotted the caves. Taking a quick look at his surroundings, he cautiously moves forward. A plank lies near the entrance, which could work as a dock. Down below in the water, he can see something moving. Something large.
He communicates with the ship, letting Thorin know about the dock. Shooting a jet of fuel from his hand to signal his friends, he keeps an eye on things around him. Thorin struggles to lower the ship, slowly descending, scraping a few rocks from the cliffs.
The tiefling, in a deep sleep, dreams. Instead of finding himself in some kind of open area, or large, icy plain, or even a hell-scape, which is where you’ve found yourself in times past, you find yourself tied in fiery ropes, in a place that is burning… burning, burning. The ropes sear his flesh as he thrashes around. An all too familiar voice asks, “Comfortable?”
Growling, he looks over in the direction he thinks it is coming from. It seems to be everywhere. “You will free me. You will be the impetus through which I will be made whole. Your power, your soul… will be mine.” The ropes grow even hotter and burn more ferociously.
“NO!” He cries out. “Defiant is the soul I need… the one who is defiant.” All of a sudden, materializing above him in the air, a smoky face with glowing orange eyes. The ropes around him suddenly turn into hands, as if massive fingers are grasped around him, holding him in place. Desperately struggling to fight the hands as best he can, lashing out and biting.
“Do you know where you get your strength from? Your rage…” It’s as if his bite did nothing, but it seared his mouth and teeth and caused him to burn. “I… give you your strength.”
He screams back in anger, “My ancestors gave me my strength!”
The voice responds, unwavering. “Your ancestors are a ruse… a plague on the weak minded. I’m the one who gave you strength. You never knew. But it is from me that you get your strength.”
He growls, “You give me strength… I will RIP IT FROM YOU! YOU WILL DIE!”
“Perhaps… perhaps not. We shall see, my little pet.”
Then the fires begin to consume him, and the huge mouth opens, and fire erupts and engulfs him in it. He screams through pain and rage. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!”
He jolts awake, sweating profusely. He’s steaming everywhere, as if smoke is coming off of his body.
He leaps up, charging up to the deck. Seeing that the airship is close to one of the mountainsides, he looks down and spies Firelord down near a cave entrance. Going to the helm, he sees Thorin steering.
The dwarf looks over as the tiefling speaks. “We should leave… leave…” He pauses. “More dangerous…. More dangerous than I thought.”
“Well we knew that coming here, didn’t we?”
“This is… more.” He turns and leaves, a trail of smoke coming off of him.
The team fires the ballista into the rock of the mountain, anchoring them close to the shore. One lands near Firelord, who holds out an arm. People aboard are able to zip line down and land on him for safety. Thorin hops up, grabbing the line and sliding down below with the others.
The tiefling watches, noticing Ruby nearby. She stands near the railing, watching the others and looking nervous. She doesn’t seem to want to join them in the unknown caves below.
Feeling he wants to stay with her, he stares at her. She stares back, very nervous, then looks away trying to avoid eye contact with him.
He keeps staring. He pulls out his axe with a buffalo head on it, approaches her, and holds it out for her to take. "The buffalo is strong because of its friends. They stand strong together. Like you are strong with your friends."
She jumps a little in surprise, and looks at the axe. He holds it out for her to take. She sees the sincerity on his face, and reaches for it uncertainly. Grasping it in her hand, her arm drops immediately with the weight of it. “Holy cow, that’s heavy!”
Feeling weaker than ever, not going down below and not able to even hold his axe properly, she chuckles. “Well it’s nice to have strength in somethin’, I suppose…”
Without pause, he responds. “This strength is important. Without it all fall.”
She looks at the buffalo, and the superior craftsmanship of the metalwork. It's truly something beautiful.
“Was made by my tribe.”
She nods quietly, and hands it back to the tiefling. “It’s very nice… it suits you.”
“Now it suits you.” He pushes it back.
She furrows her brow in confusion, and looks down at it, then back up at you. Realization hits, and she stutters.
"Oh! No no, it's okay! I know these are... precious to ya, ain’t they? I'm not sure I could even wield it, to be honest... not that I don't appreciate it! I..." She stumbles over her words, not sure what she's saying, but trying her hardest not to anger or offend the very large, dangerous-looking fellow in front of her.
He looks at her. “Your strength makes you worthy. This axe is to remind you of the strength you have, and the strength you need. It is for you to keep safe. And to judge as the buffalo.”
She looks back down at it again, holding it carefully and reverently. “T-thank you… I really appreciate it.”
He nods.
* * *
The team explores the mountain cave, but only finds kuo-toa inside. They are strong fighters but the group prevails. Rodrick, while in Firelord, prevents the last few from fleeing by purging his fuel into the water. It boils it instantly. They search for any interesting artifacts, but find little more than shipwrecked bits, some small trinkets, and workmanship of the kuo-toa.
Later, after returning to the deck, Rodrick approaches his tiefling friend. “I’ve been thinking… Brave one. Strong one. Both have a similar meaning. It comes across in the common tongue as, “Mutiger”. Does this name sound… correct to you? Does this appeal to you, or should I keep thinking?”
Mutiger nods his head. “I am honored.”
Thorin, carrying some of their treasures back on board with them, approaches Ruby. She’s walking back outside, having just deposited the axe in her room. She pauses at his approach. She doesn’t speak with him often, not being fond of dwarven company, but tries to be polite. “Yes?”
He hands her a beautiful pewter coffer. “Thought you might enjoy it.”
She looks surprised but smiles. “Thank you, Thorin… I suppose you found it below?” She takes it, used to items being retrieved for Mr. Luther. She opens it to see it is empty, and chuckles. “Figures… dwarves.”
“Thought you might want something to keep some nice things in.”
“OH! I see…” She seems very embarrassed now, but looks at it gratefully. “Thank you… again. I’m appreciative. I… hope you were all okay down there?”
* * *