—Nikki Littlefoot, Book of the Masters
With the doors closed and the danger on the far side of them, the Pilgrims looked around the chamber in which they found themselves. The vestibule was a circular room about sixty feet in diameter. On the far wall opposite the entrance door there was another set of closed doors, metallic with no visible handle or hinge. Between the doors were large faceted gems corresponding to The Six Dragons, each about five feet by three feet, spaced evenly and built directly into the walls as permanent fixtures. In the center of the floor was a thirty-foot-diameter mosaic—a beautiful representation of The Six Dragons flying around the blue world of Aethmira. The room was strangely quiet. Sounds from the battle outside could not be heard within the thick stone walls of the tower. Even when all of one’s attention was focused on trying to hear anything from the outside, all that could be heard was a faint hum, or vibration, emanating from the tower itself.
DM: Alright, the time is yours!
MELISSA: Wait, what?
DM: Well…
The Pilgrims turned their attention to one another. This was the first time during which they found themselves alone—the group chosen by The Six to help the world on the road to its destiny. The path up the tower awaited them all, yet it seemed to them a few moments could be spared to become better acquainted with each other.
MELISSA: Oh. Whew! Okay, change of pace.
DM: Yeah, I know it took a while to get here and things got pretty intense outside—there are important reasons the story needed to start this way, and hopefully we make it to the point in the campaign where you understand them. But now that you’re in the tower, you actually have a quiet place to make sure that everyone is introduced. You’re also good to move ahead at your own pace as a party. You’re officially Pilgrims on the Pilgrimage.
“Well, uh, anyways, it’s great to meet all of you. My name is Tizhaus,” the Naghid boldly offered, “and I’m excited for our long, magical, destined, intimate, travels together. As well as our life-long friendship.”
JOHN: Mugen is going to investigate the metal doors that go further into the tower.
NICK: I’ll go with you! It’s what friends do.
“Oh! Going to look at the doors over there,” Tizhaus said, as he noticed Mugen leaving the group. “I see… Great idea! Wouldn’t want to lose momentum—I’ll join you!”
Mugen put forth no effort to hide the scowl that crossed his face as Tizhaus joined him in walking across the room to inspect the doors leading further into the tower.
AMY: I want to investigate the gems in the walls—that sounded interesting.
Zara made her way to the Amethyst wall gem—the closest to where she was standing with the group. It was cool and smooth to the touch. It seemed to hum ever so slightly, as did the rest of the tower.
MELISSA: Wait, you guys! I think we should continue introductions. We’re just jumping right into things, but we’ve barely even spoken to each other. Hi, I’m Melissa. I haven’t met Amy and Devon, but I’ve played with everyone else.
“It is good to meet you, Tizhaus!” Vadania called after Tizhaus, who was making his way across the room with Mugen. “I am called Vadania, and I have traveled from Kryuuk to be Amethyst Pilgrim.”
AMY: It’s good to meet you, Mel! Nick has told me a lot about you—glad I’m not the only girl playing.
“I’m Zara,” offered the Felikind, turning from the gems she was investigating and moving back toward the majority of the group. “I’m glad I’m not the only pilgrim of the fairer sex.”
DEVON: Yeah, likewise. This looks like it’s gonna be fun.
“Dinto,” came the deep voice from the Pah-Khi as he introduced himself, “I do not know what this journey has in store for us, but I am glad to share the road with you.”
“Call me Iss,” added the Tenku. “I am not used to having this much company, so please don’t mistake my silence for dislike.”
“I am also long accustomed to being alone,” said Dinto.
“You don’t get much quiet in Venicia,” followed Zara. “The days start early and end late.”
JOHN: What do I learn about the door?
DM: Oh, right—
Mugen was only half listening to the other Pilgrims as he looked over the doors on the far side of the room. They were ornate, metallic, and had no handles nor discernable means of opening them.
JOHN: Damn.
“The doors are sealed and they’re not going to open normally. We’ll have to figure out whatever we’re supposed to do to force them open,” Mugen informed them as he returned to the group. “You,” he said, gesturing toward Zara, “anything of note about these gems on the walls?”
“Not that I could find, though I didn’t look long,” Zara replied.
“Mugen, was it?” asked Vadania. “What is rush? Our road is long, maybe we should get to know each other little bit?”
“I expected more attention to detail from a ranger of the wilds,” Mugen replied, coldly. “Didn’t you hear the old man? He said we’d be safe only beyond the vestibule. We’re still in the vestibule. I highly doubt the meager forces Larion mustered can stand against that battalion of SIUs, so our lives are still very much in danger. I suggest we move quickly.”
“SIUs?” asked Zara.
“Semi-autonomous Infantry Unit,” replied Mugen, looking around the room for some clue to help them open the doors. “You saw the gauntlet Ordric was wearing? That’s how they receive their orders.”
“And how exactly do you know this?” asked Zara.
“Not important,” replied Mugen, who had located the diamond gem in the wall and was making his way toward it.
NICK: I liked “clockwork soldiers” better. More steam-punk.
Mugen halted a moment before the diamond gem in the wall, looking it over. He took a breath and reached out to touch the gem. The diamond immediately illuminated at his touch. Shocked, he pulled his hand away. The light faded just as quickly as it had appeared.
“Whoa! How’d you do that, friend?” marvelled Tizhaus.
“I don’t know. I just touched it,” Mugen replied, ignoring his frustration at Tizhaus.
“Why didn’t the one I touched light up?” asked Zara.
Mugen thought for a moment before asking, “Which one did you touch?”
“The amethyst,” Zara replied, gesturing over her shoulder.
“But you’re the Sapphire Pilgrim—touch that one,” Mugen responded, pointing to the sapphire in the wall to the right side of the door.
NICK: We could call them “clockers?” …No, that’s lame. “Bots” is too generic…
Zara walked to the gem and touched it. It immediately illuminated beneath her hand. She removed her hand and the light faded.
“There—see? That’s it. We’ll all need to touch the gem corresponding to the Dragon that called us.”
NICK: I got it! “TIKTOKS!”
MELISSA: God, that’s terrible!
JOHN: Thanks! I hate it!
NICK: Let it breathe for a minute—it’ll grow on ya.
DM: No promises. Anyway, Pilgrims?
The other four Pilgrims exchanged looks and then walked to their respective gems. They all reached out and touched the gems at the same time. Once all six gems were illuminated, the mosaic on the floor flashed and settled into a soft glow. From it arose strange, dancing lights which swirled in a luminous cloud of color. Within the cloud, six dragons of radiant light began circling one another before launching forward and passing through the metallic doors. There was a loud thunk as the doors unlocked and swung open revealing a stone staircase winding up and to the right.
JOHN: Do we all go up?
MELISSA: I’m good.
AMY: Yup.
CHARLIE: Yes.
DINTO: Yeah.
NICK: My old nemesis: stairs.
The stone steps led the party around the tower longer than they expected. It seemed to them that they circumambulated the Tower before finally reaching the next door. The door was unlocked and, passing through it into the next room, they saw that it was mostly the same as the chamber below. On the far side of the room was another locked, metallic door with no handle. To their left as they entered, they saw two statues carved out of white stone facing the opposite side of the room. The statues were roughly humanoid, but there were no characteristics by which race or gender could be derived. One appeared to be in the act of sprinting, and the other was holding a javelin behind its head as if ready to throw. Before and between the statues was a large, metallic lever. As the party approached the center of the room, two more interesting features were discerned: two rectangular holes, one in the ceiling, one in the floor directly below it. Both were the same size, about one foot by five feet. Only darkness could be seen within either.
MELISSA: Well, now that we’re here maybe we’re safe enough to finish introductions?
JOHN: Mugen is going to walk right up and try to use the lever.
MELISSA: Why!? We just want to talk.
JOHN: Oh, this is strictly in character. Mugen knows, and feels, that he has to be here. But he’s also anxious to get it over with. And it should be obvious that he’s, like, very uncomfortable with everyone else.
NICK: Yeah, I get it, best buddy—between you and me, these guys all seem like weirdos.
DM: Are you communicating this in character?
NICK: Absolutely.
“Well, now that we are here—” Vadania began, but stopped short as Mugen again turned his back on the group and began investigating the lever near the two statues.
“Look, you’re just gonna have to understand something about my best friend—” Tizhaus gently began.
“Not best friends!” Mugen called back without looking.
“He’s under a lot of stress, he’s not used to long walks, spiritual journeys, or traveling with a bunch of weirdos like you,” Tizhaus continued.
“Us?! What about you?!” Zara countered.
“What about me?” Tizhaus asked, genuinely confused.
“You’re a… snake-person! You’re not any less weird than we are!” Zara said.
A look of shock came over Tizhaus. Clutching the colorful, button-up shirt—
NICK: Hawaiian shirt.
DM: Hawaii doesn’t exist here—this is Aethmira. So, it can’t be a Hawaiian shirt.
NICK: Okay, sure. But it’s a Hawaiian shirt.
DM:
Tizhaus did his best to look horrified. Clutching the colorful, exotic, floral-patterned, button-up shirt at his chest, he gasped and said, “Madam! I am indeed shocked to hear you so brazen in your bigotry!”
“Enough!” Mugen shouted.
The group fell silent and turned toward Mugen, who was standing with one hand on the lever. His jaw was set and he was breathing heavily—too heavily for the shout alone to have exhausted him. He inhaled slowly through his nose and pulled his long hair out of his face. When he spoke, it was with strained patience.
“I’m sure we’ll have lots of time to get to know each other. We’re pretty much stuck with each other until the end of this Pilgrimage—one way or another. I’m just… I can’t do it right now. I think we all just need to focus on the task at hand.”
JOHN: I pull the lever.
DM: Roll for strength.
JOHN: Oh, okay.
Mugen attempted to push the lever. It didn’t budge. Turning, he attempted to pull the lever using all of his body weight, but to no avail.
DEVON: I got this.
Silently, Dinto approached Mugen. Placing a hand gently on his shoulder, he said, “I am also feeling many things. I don’t really know what I expected, but it wasn’t all that has happened today. But we are Pilgrims now—allies. I think we will get farther cooperating with each other.”
JOHN: Yeah, that’ll do it. That was awesome, Devon.
Mugen looked up into Dinto’s face. Dinto offered him a gentle smile.
“You’re right,” Mugen offered.
“May I?” Dinto said, gesturing toward the lever.
“Sure…”
DM: Roll for strength.
DEVON:
Taking hold of the lever, Dinto easily shifted it forward to its opposite position. A few clicks and a chime followed, and then the party watched as a golden ring, about four feet in diameter, fell from the rectangular opening in the ceiling into the opening in the floor below.
NICK: What.
MELISSA: Does it fall again? And can I look in the hole and see if the ring is in there?
Tizhaus stood confused, mouth agape. Vadania waited a moment to see if the ring would fall again, but nothing happened. She stepped forward to investigate the opening in the floor, but saw only darkness within.
JOHN: Devon, can you pull the lever again?
DEVON: Yup.
As easily as he did the first time, Dinto pulled the lever back to the position in which he first found it. Again, the group heard a few clicks followed by a chime and the ring falling from the ceiling to floor where it disappeared.
JOHN: Okay, can someone catch it this time?
CHARLIE: I’ll try.
DM: It’s a dexterity roll to catch.
CHARLIE: Okay.
Mugen directed Iss to stand by, ready to catch the ring, before signaling Dinto to again push the lever. When the ring dropped just after the chime, Iss easily snatched it away from the opening in the floor. The metallic ring was heavier than Iss expected, however, and it fell from his hands and clattered to the floor.
CHARLIE: Got it! …What now?
JOHN: Umm…
Mugen hurried over to Iss, congratulating him on the catch before inspecting the ring. It appeared to be made of solid gold, but it did not scratch or dent as expected. Otherwise, it appeared to be a completely normal, metallic ring.
MELISSA: Maybe the statues are a clue?
JOHN: Maybe… They’re not doing anything with a ring though. Hmm…
NICK: I think the secret is in the hole. I take out a copper piece and drop it into the hole.
“Watch closely and be amazed!” Tizhaus said, moving to the opening in the floor. Taking a single copper piece from the money purse tucked within his exotic, floral-patterned, button-up shirt, he let it fall into the darkness of the hole in the floor. Watching the opening carefully and listening for the sound of the coin hitting the bottom of the hole, he was startled as the coin fell from the opening in the ceiling, struck him on the head, and clattered to the floor.
NICK: Huh. Okay, let’s put the ring back in the hole and see what that does.
JOHN: We already know what it will do, I don’t think that’s the answer.
NICK: OOH! What if we put a person inside?
MELISSA: Okay, but why would we do that though?
NICK: For the love of the game! Also, we’re the Pilgrims and this is the Tower for Pilgrims—how bad could it be? Amy, Zara’s a cat, right? Cats love small enclosed areas. Hop in!
AMY: Snakes like holes too, Nick.
NICK: Ah. That’s fair. Okay, here I go!
“Fellow Pilgrims, I will now demonstrate my devotion to our cause! Weep not for me, though I have gone into that gentle night,” Tizhaus said as he lowered himself into the hole.
“Wait!” Vadania shouted after him, “I do not recommend!”
JOHN: Please don’t stop him—something terrible might happen if he goes through with it.
DM: So, you’re just gonna stand there like Gene Wilder, “Stop. Don’t. Come back,” huh?
JOHN: Yeah, pretty much.
NICK: I’ll lower myself down slowly, nothing bad will happen.
DM: That’s a strength or dexterity roll to keep from slipping, your choice.
NICK: I’ll take dexterity.
Tizhaus began lowering himself down the hole slowly, but just as his head was about even with the floor his grip gave way and he fell. His final cry, cut short by his fall, echoed for a moment in the silence of the room as the party looked on in shock. The cry returned a moment later, however, as Tizhaus fell from the ceiling.
NICK: Crap! Someone catch me!
DM: They weren’t standing near the hole where you disappeared—I don’t know if they can react and make it to you in time.
MELISSA: Vadania did say, “I do not recommend.”
The party watched in shock as Tizhaus fell twenty feet from the opening in the ceiling and landed prone—face down—on the cold stone floor beside the very hole he fell into. Clearly stunned, it was a wonder he was still conscious.
“Please… heal… me…” The Naghid wheezed.
AMY: Umm… who’s the healer?
MELISSA: Shoot, do we not have one?
JOHN: Dinto’s the healer—he said so.
DEVON: Nah, I said “mender.” I fix things.
MELISSA: Charlie?
CHARLIE: No, I punch things. With fire. I don’t have any healing spells.
NICK: Geez, don’t everybody rush to help me at once…
“I am overwhelmed at your prompt, courteous response to my urgent request,” Tizhaus growled.
Dinto moved to Tizhaus’ side and knelt, raising his serpentine head enough to administer a deep-red potion from a small glass bottle.
DEVON: That’s
NICK: THANK YOU!
MELISSA: But where did you get that? Potions aren’t part of the starting equipment, are they?
DM: They’re not, no. Devon bought the potion at the festival.
JOHN: Oh! We never went shopping!
DEVON: I did.
“I am very grateful to you,” said Tizhaus as Dinto helped him to arise. “It’s a welcome apology for the trouble you caused me at the festival. Think no more of it, friend!”
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Heaving a deep sigh of restraint, Dinto turned and walked back to the lever.
DEVON: Lemme know when I need to pull this thing again.
JOHN: Yeah, I had an idea about that… Mel you said it might have something to do with the statues—DM, what did you say they were doing again?
Mugen looked again at the two statues. As he saw earlier, the statues were roughly humanoid, but there were no characteristics from which race or gender could be derived. One appeared to be in the act of sprinting, and the other was holding a javelin behind its head as if ready to throw.
JOHN: Yes, okay, so the statues are in the middle of movement. And that movement is toward where the ring falls. I think we need to throw something, or someone, through the ring.
MELISSA: I can shoot an arrow through it?
CHARLIE: Or I can jump through it? Which do we want?
MELISSA: You go—that’s cool! Let’s see what happens.
Mugen thought a moment more before he shared his thoughts with the group.
“I believe that, as the ring falls, one of us must leap, or launch a projectile, through it. Any volunteers?”
“Happy to help,” offered Iss.
A quick jump with his wings spread to slow his descent, he landed in perfect position to jump through the ring.
“Excellent. Listen for the lever to change position and then wait for the chime,” Mugen continued. “Dinto, are you ready?”
“Just give the word,” Dinto replied.
“Alright, now!”
Dinto pulled the lever, with predictable results. The clicks and the chime gave nimble Iss more than enough time to elegantly leap through the air, passing through the ring like a dark-feathered arrow, before landing gracefully ten feet from where he began. This time, however, when the ring dropped into the hole in the floor, a loud thunk from the door on the far side of the room alerted the Pilgrims that it had just unlocked and swung open.
MELISSA: Neat puzzle!
DM: Thanks!
NICK: Wait a minute… You literally have us jumping through hoops in this tower!
DM: I have no idea what you’re implying, sir.
MELISSA: Next floor!
JOHN: How many floors are there?
DM: We’re only doing a few more right now.
NICK: Right now?
DM: The Tower is a teacher, and there’s more lessons to learn.
The group moved up another flight of stairs and entered the next chamber. Again, the room was roughly the same size and shape as the one below with a locked metal door on the far side. Standing in a semi-circle before the locked door were six suits of armor.
NICK: Hey, how is this place lit anyways? You haven’t mentioned any torches or windows or anything.
DM: Magic.
NICK: …Acceptable.
MELISSA: I think this might be a trap.
NICK: The magic lightning?
MELISSA: No, the suits of armor!
NICK: Oh.
JOHN: I don’t know… should we even expect combat inside the tower?
NICK: One way to find out!
“Oh, Dinto!” Tizhaus called.
Dinto took a few large steps until he was at the front of the group with Tizhaus.
“Be a dear and, uh, investigate one of these armors for us?” Tizhaus asked, his voice as sweet as honey. “I value your deep experience in this subject matter.”
DEVON: Hmm.
DM: Should Nick roll to persuade?
DEVON: Nah, I’ll just do it. I’m curious.
Reluctantly approaching the closest suit of armor, Dinto began his investigation. The plating was a dark gray, or the color of charcoal. It had a rough, matte surface that appeared more stone or clay than metal and which did not reflect the ambient light of the room as one might expect. Dinto extended a hand to touch the suit’s pauldron when its left hand suddenly swung up and snatched him by the wrist.
DEVON: Whoa!
Before Dinto could react, the armor struck Dinto in the chest with its clenched right fist.
DM: Five bludgeoning damage.
DEVON: Noted.
Dinto staggered back a few feet and watched as the other five suits of armor rattled to life and converged on him.
DEVON: On me?!
DM: You’re the first one they saw.
NICK: Perfect—all according to plan!
DM: After that first surprise attack, everyone is free to join the fight. I know that not everyone has played the UMTTRPG before, so it’s time to learn how combat works! First, everyone needs to roll a d20 so we can determine the order of combat. You’ll be taking your turns in groups between the enemies based on what they roll. On your turn, you can select between a number of actions—
NICK: I have been waiting ALL NIGHT to kill something. I rolled a seventeen and I’m attacking now.
DM:
NICK: Zippity ZAP, mother-trucker!
Tizhaus, who had been watching Dinto’s interaction with the armor carefully, had also readied his signature spell. Laughing, he extended his clawed hands and a crackling bolt of dark, magical energy surged from his shoulders and out his fingertips. It found its target, briefly stunning its target before the energy surging through the suit exploded. The armor fell to one knee, smoke rising from its cracked plates.
As the armor attempted to rise to its feet, a dark shape landed on the ground before it. The last thing the armor saw before shattering was the Tenku warrior unleashing a flurry of deadly, flaming punches and kicks to its helm and cuirass. The other suits turned to see the destruction wrought on their fellow, but Iss swooped quickly and silently away before any retaliation.
CHARLIE: Flame on!
JOSH: “Flame on?”
CHARLIE: Yeah—that’s what Iss says when he activates his flaming fists.
JOSH: Oh, like a command word?
CHARLIE: Nah, he just thinks it sounds cool.
Zara’s posture lowered, her shoulders rolling forward. She hissed at the approaching suits of armor, but the sound changed suddenly to that of a howl. Turning, the other Pilgrims saw that Zara had taken on the shape of a direwolf. She lunged at the suit which had struck Dinto, toppling it to the ground and using sharp teeth to tear at the leather straps holding the armored plates together. Another suit moved to support its comrade and landed a swift, strong kick on the wolf’s ribs. Direwolf-Zara was thrown from her target with a yelp.
DEVON: Nope. I don’t like that.
The remaining three suits of armor converged on Dinto, their closest target. The suits swung at Dinto and easily landed a few more punches. Dinto, for his part, did nothing to stop them. Instead, he focused on the intense, burning rage within him that grew with every blow. Finally, he allowed it to erupt in a scream of primal fury. Dinto’s runic tattoos and eyes glowed a deep bluish-green. The Pilgrims watched as, in just a moment, Dinto grew even larger and bulkier—his muscles bulging and expanding before their very eyes.
CHARLIE: Whoa…
DEVON: Yeah. Time for the beat down.
NICK: Even bigger?! Weren’t you already, like, seven feet tall?
DEVON: I’m over ten feet tall now.
DM: Dinto now qualifies as a ‘Large’ creature and takes up four of these squares on the board.
NICK: Sweet, scaly Jaysus…
JOHN: Snake Jesus shed his skin for your sins.
DM: You know, there’s actually some really cool inter-cultural connections between snakes and Jesus. There’s the obvious serpent in Eden—
NICK: THIS IS THE HOUR OF DEATH! Back to the killing!
DM: Sure, I just thought… you know, snakes? Tizhaus is a snake person?
NICK: No, it’s awesome—I’m, like, thoroughly aroused. But combat is happening.
DM: Oh, very well. Blood for the Blood God and all of that… Sorry, Devon, it’s still your turn.
DEVON: Cool.
NICK: OH MY GOD that’s hilarious!
DM: You’ve got two swings, though, right?
DEVON: Yeah! Okay…
JOHN: No way! You rolled even worse!
NICK: One of us! One of us!
Dinto looked down at the suits of armor, now standing just over half his massive height. He took his warhammer in his mighty hand and swung at the closest suit. And missed. He swung again, but the suit jumped back just outside of Dinto’s reach.
DEVON: Damn.
DM: It happens. Just lean into it. Part of the story is what I do, part of the story is what the players do, and the other part of the story is what the dice do. Melissa, John, you’re up next.
Vadania, who had moved to the far wall, let two arrows fly. They found their target, but fell to the ground with little to no effect.
MELISSA: Oh, I thought I missed, too?
DM: The “Armor” number you’re trying to hit is a combination of the difficulty in striking the enemy and the difficulty in penetrating defenses and damaging the enemy. In this case your roll wasn’t high enough to beat the enemy’s armor, and we’re just being creative with how it looks.
MELISSA: Ah! Okay.
“Dinto, brace yourself!” Mugen shouted suddenly. A few paces behind the suits of armor engaging Dinto, a small sphere of swirling dust appeared in midair. Just as quickly as it appeared, it imploded on itself and a deafening crash echoed throughout the room. Dinto winced as the shockwave washed over him. Three of the suits in front of Dinto, however, were not so lucky—they shattered in the blast and the fragments flew forwards into the Pilgrims.
Tizhaus repositioned himself and again let fly from his fingers dark lightning bolts which—
NICK:
—unfortunately failed to find their target. Iss swooped down with a kick to the suit Zara had taken down, cracking the suit’s plackart. Direwolf-Zara, now recovered, leapt again. She shattered the suit, tearing the helm away from the broken pieces and flinging it several yards across the room.
Dinto eyed the sole remaining suit with contempt. In a single bound and swing of his hammer, the suit buckled and broke beneath Dinto’s rage.
DEVON: Finally!
JOSH: Hooray! You did a thing!
Their test completed, the metal door to the next floor unlocked and swung open. The Pilgrims took stock of themselves and then turned to each other. They watched as Zara regained her Felikind form, and as Dinto, breathing deeply, regained his composure and usual size. Mugen strode past the others and stopped before the door.
“Let’s keep moving,” he said, turning to the others. Then he turned and started up the stairs.
“Right behind you, best buddy!” Tizhaus called after Mugen and then hurried up the stairs behind him. The others exchanged a few glances, understanding that there would be no rest or conversation for a while yet, and followed Mugen and Tizhaus in silence.
Beyond the door waited a rectangular chamber, roughly eighty feet long and twenty wide.
JOHN: Wait, didn’t you say this tower was round? All the other rooms have been round so far as well.
DM: Magic tower is magic—each floor will take whatever form the next test requires.
JOHN: Ah, okay… Speaking of, I want to cast this spell that will help me detect magic in the vicinity. I just want to see where the magic is coming from and how much of it there is.
DM: So, you cast it?
JOHN: Yes. And every spell, glyph, enchantment, or other magical object should now glow with a perceptible aura. What do I see?
DM: Okay… have you ever seen what happens when you try and look through night vision goggles during the day?
JOHN: Oh, god, EVERYTHING is glowing?
DM: Every stone, every door, every object. Magic seems to be swirling in the very air you breathe.
JOHN: Okay, I’ll just turn that off now…
At the top of the stairs, Mugen was already muttering low chants and tracing arcane gestures. They watched as a few seconds later he winced as if in pain and then covered and averted his eyes.
“The… the magic here runs deeper than I could have ever imagined,” he said once he had recovered. “I can see it everywhere.”
MELISSA: What else is in the room? You didn’t finish.
Turning back toward the long room in front of them, the Pilgrims saw a pedestal with a blue crystal sphere fixed atop it, set into the cornice.
NICK: Do you have a thesaurus behind your Game Master screen?
DM: Why? Because I know that a pedestal is composed of plinth, die, and cornice?
NICK: Exactly! And all the different names for parts of armor.
DM: Well, just saying “the crystal ball is stuck to the top of the pedestal” doesn’t have the same ring, does it? And neither does “the shoulder part of the armor.” So I learned the names of the constituent parts of things to help tell this story.
NICK: And then you just remembered them?
DM: Yes. Do you… not remember things you read?
NICK: Bold of you to assume that I read.
CHARLIE: That’s okay, Nick—twenty percent of adults in the United States are functionally illiterate. You’re not alone, and we’re here to help.
NICK: I meant that I don’t read, not that I can’t read!
The orb atop the pedestal glowed with a soft, blue light. On the far side of the room, roughly fifty feet away, stood a second pillar and crystal sphere identical in every way to the first, save that the second crystal was glowing with a soft, red light.
MELISSA: Can I investigate further? See what else I can discover?
DM: Sure! Give us a roll.
Making her way around both pillars, Vadania investigated the two pedestals with all the care and deliberation of an expert tracker. While there was not much more to ascertain beyond what was immediately apparent, she did get the distinct impression that the two crystals were connected somehow.
NICK: I’m gonna touch the orb.
MELISSA: Wait, shouldn’t we—
JOHN: Nah, let him touch it. We’re gonna have to do it eventually, and at least he’s not making Dinto do it this time.
“Let’s just get this over with,” said Tizhaus, approaching the blue orb. He stretched out his hand and placed it onto the orb. The orb immediately glowed soft red, like the other orb.
DM: I need everyone to roll for wisdom.
MELISSA: I knew it! We weren’t supposed to touch it.
DM: Don’t worry so much about trying to do everything perfectly. It’s more important that you put yourself in your character’s shoes and try to act like they would—that’s how we’re gonna get the best story.
MELISSA: Yeah, okay… How do I do this roll?
DM: It’s a d20, and then you’ll just add any relevant bonuses and modifiers.
The Pilgrims watched as, for well over ten seconds, the orb glowed soft red before turning back to the soft blue it was before.
“That’s it?” Tizhaus asked aloud. “Nothing happens?”
“Something happened, I’m just not sure what,” answered Zara. The Pilgrims turned to face her, noticing that she was now on the opposite side of the group than before. “The light changed for five or six seconds, and you all went still. I walked right through the group and waved, but none of you even seemed to notice.”
“The light changed for much longer than six seconds,” said Mugen. “I would have noticed if—” he stopped short. “No! This is incredible!”
“What is incredible?” asked Vadania.
“It’s chronomancy!” replied an excited Mugen, turning toward her. “Time magic! Touching the orb causes a temporal distortion which slows our perception of time. Zara’s mental reaction must have helped her elude the field of effect…” Turning toward Zara he added, “I’m honestly impressed.”
AMY: Oh! Well—
“Thanks,” Zara replied, “but I still don’t understand what we’re supposed to do here.”
Mugen thought for a moment before asking, “Zara, would you go stand by the other orb? Once the temporal change takes effect near this orb, touch that orb and see what happens.”
“Okay, I think I see where you’re going with this,” Zara said.
She hurried to her position on the far side of the room. However, she had not made it more than a few paces before the lights in both orbs went out—as if the room refused to let them stray too far from either pedestal.
NICK: What.
AMY: Did I break it?
“Wait!” Mugen called after her. “Look!”
Zara turned and saw the light had gone out. She made her way back to the orb and, when she was close enough to touch it, the lights returned in both orbs.
“Fascinating…” Mugen said to himself. “Oh!”
MELISSA: What?
JOHN: I figured it out! Okay, so the first orb casts a spell to “slow” us, right? While the spell is active, we’re supposed to touch the other orb. That’s the puzzle: touch this one, then run over there and touch that one. If we’re slowed down, we can’t make it to the other orb before this one changes. If we get too far away from the orb or try to cheat, the spells don’t activate. So, Amy, if Zara remains unaffected she should run as soon as the color changes and try to touch the other orb.
AMY: Got it! Can do.
MELISSA: But you said “if” she remains unaffected?
CHARLIE: Maybe we should all try to run so that whoever isn’t affected by the time spell has a chance to make it?
JOHN: Perfect. Sounds like a plan.
NICK: Go team!
“I believe I have solved this riddle,” Mugen told his companions. “When this orb is touched a time-slowing spell is cast upon us all. This will slow time for all affected, but not for anything or anyone else. Everyone should prepare themselves mentally—brace for the effect. Try to resist. After the color of the orb changes, we should all try to run to the other orb and touch it as quickly as possible. Any who remain unaffected by the temporal distortion should succeed. Are we clear?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, uh, I’m not much of a runner,” Tizhaus inserted.
“Yes, well, slither your hardest, I suppose. Ready?”
“I ask, how do you resist time magics?” asked Vadania.
Mugen sighed impatiently, “How do I explain this simply… Alright, have you noticed that when you are engaged in an interesting or exciting activity that the passage of time seems to move faster?”
“Yes, I understand this.”
“Good. Then you’re most of the way there. Time is perceived differently for everyone. Chronomancy targets perception first. Convince the mind, and the body obeys. Understand?”
“But what do I do to resist?”
“Just—gods, I don’t know! Push. Back. Mind over matter! Take a deep breath and flex your brain. Just… try it.”
NICK: Tiz is gonna touch his fingers to his temples, hold his breath, and just try to flex his brain until his eyes bug out of his skull.
DM: Will your scales go “red in the face” like skin?
NICK: Yeah! But it’s blue! There’s a definite change to blue under his scales while he strains.
DM: Can he just deliberately fail? It would be so funny if he just passed out at the starting line.
NICK: You had me at “funny”—let’s do it!
“There are six of us, and one has already succeeded against this spell by accident. I am trained to resist. We have good odds. Everyone ready?” Mugen continued. “Alright. One, two, three!”
DM: Rolls, please.
Mugen touched the orb, and everyone started forward. Vadania, Iss, and Dinto were running as quickly as they could in slow motion. Tizhaus, who had been concentrating on flexing his brain so much that he had forgotten to breathe and was now “blue in the scales,” collapsed face forward. Mugen and Zara, who had escaped the effects of the spell, were moving forward, as it seemed to the Pilgrims they left behind, at an incredible pace. Mugen was clutching his robes and running as fast as he could, but Zara was far quicker. Bounding forward elegantly using all four paws, the Felikind moved nearly twice as fast as Mugen as she sped toward the goal.
As soon as Zara touched the second orb, both orbs turned the same soft blue color, and the effects of the time spell ended. Everyone heard the now familiar sound of the metal door ahead of them unlocking and swinging slightly open toward them. Dinto turned back and picked Tizhaus off the floor and stood him up. He almost immediately collapsed again, so Dinto again retrieved him and swung him over his left shoulder.
“I’ve got this one,” Dinto said, pointing at Tizhaus’ unconscious form. “Let’s move to the next floor. Don’t want to lose momentum.”
Dinto walked past him toward the newly opened door.
“Right…” replied Mugen.
As the group headed up and around the next staircase, Mugen found himself walking next to Zara. “You resisted the slow spell twice in a row. That’s not bad for a… uh… a—”
“Felikind,” Zara cut him off. “Pretty good for any kind of person, really, though,” she added, quickening her pace and moving past him.
CHARLIE: Oh, snap!
AMY: We’re not gonna tolerate Mugen’s racism. Speciesism?
NICK: Personally, I don’t see species.
AMY: Oh, god.
NICK: It’s true! You’re all equally terrible to me.
The next chamber was even larger—a square room nearly a hundred feet across. The door to the next level was on the wall opposite the entrance. Otherwise, the room appeared empty.
DEVON: I’m gonna put Tiz down—I smell a trap.
DM: Is Tiz conscious yet?
NICK: Yeah, he’s up—he was just enjoying being carried.
DM: “Tiz, honey, wake up—we’re at grandma’s.”
CHARLIE: I’ll do a quick sweep of the room to see if there’s traps. How high is the ceiling in here?
DM: It’s twenty feet or so.
CHARLIE: So, I can fly around, right? I just don’t want to step on any floor tiles until we’re sure there’s no traps.
DM: Totally! Just don’t bonk your head.
“I suspect a trap,” offered Dinto, scanning the room for anything out of the ordinary.
“I’ll take a look—stay here where it’s safe,” Iss said, taking off across the room. At about the time Iss reached the middle of the room, a sudden noise from the party’s left caught their attention.
Bark!
Turning toward the sound, the Pilgrims saw what appeared to be a large dog with tall, pointed ears. The canine’s short brown fur sparkled, reflecting lights that did not seem to exist. Its tail wagged furiously as it stood panting and looking at the Pilgrims.
MELISSA: Puppy!
AMY: Aww!
JOHN: What? Why is there a dog here?
MELISSA: I wanna pet him!
DM:
Vadania—who held a deep love of hunting dogs—gleefully approached the shimmering hound. As she drew near, however, the dog vanished in a flash of sparkling light.
Bark! Woof woof!
The Pilgrims turned to the source of the barks, now on the opposite side of the room.
JOHN: It just… blinked over there?
NICK: OOOOOOOOH, I get it.
DEVON: Get what?
DM: Ladies and gentlemen, tonight’s game is called: “Pet That Doggo!”
NICK: Oh! It’s like that game at the fair where you have to catch the greased pig—but this one’s a magical, teleporting dog!
JOHN: The more I learn about you, the less I wish I knew.
The dog offered a play bow and barked again.
AMY: I’m gonna catch it.
CHARLIE: I’ll race you.
For several minutes, the Pilgrims gave chase. Iss and Zara were the fastest and most agile, often coming very close—seemingly—to catching the dog. Vadania wasn’t a whit behind them. Her elven grace combined with years of hunting in the wild gave her an edge in reaction time. Dinto lumbered along at the rear of the pack, looking a bit more like he was out for an uncomfortable, indoor evening jog.
NICK: That’s it! Gonna attack it.
MELISSA: NO!
AMY: NO!
NICK: C’mon! No one is gonna catch this thing! But if we hit it with a spell or something maybe that can stun it long enough for us to get a hold of it.
AMY: Out of the question!
NICK: Fine! But let’s at least work on a strategy—come at it from two sides or whatever.
JOHN: I have one more chronomancy spell available today. I could try to freeze it long enough for us to catch it. And before you ask: no, it won’t hurt the doggo.
AMY: Fine, give it a shot.
MELISSA: Hmm… we're missing something. I want to stop and watch things for a while and see what I learn—is there anything that stands out?
DM: Go ahead and roll for perception, Mel.
MELISSA:
Vadania decided to still herself and observe a moment or two—the habit of a conscious hunter. She watched as the Pilgrims—often literally—tripped over themselves chasing the animal across the room.The dog, absolutely delighted to have this many playmates, barked and jumped and wagged its tail as it disappeared and reappeared over and over again across the space. Mugen, who was waiting for the moment when the dog reappeared nearby, finally got his chance. He quickly released this time freeze spell, but the dog merely shook it off as if shaking off rain. Completely unfazed, it barked again and turned in a few circles.
JOHN: Damn, I wasted it.
MELISSA: Aha! That’s what I was watching for!
JOHN: What?
"Hah!" Vadania laughed excitedly.
Vadania strolled slowly and confidently up to the hound. It vanished and reappeared elsewhere in the room. Vadania gave no chase, but stood in the spot from which the dog vanished and waited. The others continued to give chase, employing different tactics to attempt to catch the dog by surprise by approaching it from multiple angles at once. Vadania watched and she waited. Finally, after a few more disappearances, the dog reappeared directly in front of her and she quickly reached out with both hands to pet and scratch the dog.
MELISSA: YES!
They all heard the door at the far end of the room unlock and swing open. The dog, very pleased with itself, licked Vadania’s face before rolling over to expose its belly for even more scratches. Vadania, of course, knelt down and happily obliged.
Mugen, who stood nearby, walked to Vadania’s side. He knelt and asked, “How did you do that?”
“Simple!” Vadania replied. “I watched closely. Dog always appeared in same spots. Seemed random—but spots were always same.”
Mugen stood and started moving toward the newly opened door. “Not bad,” he said.
“For an Elf?” she asked.
Mugen continued walking, but gave no answer.
JOHN: Alright—that was clever, Mel…
AMY: Can we keep the dog?!
MELISSA: Yeah! Can we please?!
DM: You are welcome to try.
This chapter was shaped as much by hesitation as by action.
If you’re curious how moments like this come together—or want to read ahead—the road continues on Ream.
Ream: