Warhammer Quest: The Sylvan Epic
- Thread starter Oversoul
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Oversoul
The Tentacled One
So obviously I've been late getting back to this. I already had notes for the stuff in the dungeon after this next part, but this part itself has some long exposition and I totally forgot to finish it. So when I realized that I thought, "That's OK, I'll find some time to finish writing that exposition and get back to this thread before Spidey gets back from vacation..."
Turns out I've had a lot to do and still haven't gotten around to this.
Holidays and such. Soon though. Soon...
Turns out I've had a lot to do and still haven't gotten around to this.
Holidays and such. Soon though. Soon...
turgy22
Nothing Special
Exposition, perhaps.
Oversoul
The Tentacled One
As the last member of the party enters the room, things start to get blurry. You turn toward the door, but the room and everything in it seems to be growing so rapidly that the door moves a vast, unreachable distance away from your position. You feel that the fabric of reality has warped and then you black out.
The gentle breeze is crisp and pleasant, stirring through silver-bark trees and huge, blossoming bines. The night sky is clear, full of stars. A series of lanterns give off a soft glow and trail off in the direction of a path paved in white stones. Far brighter is the light from Throg's lantern, which sparkles on every surface. You can't remember how you got here or how long you've been here, but the place feels so pleasant, so serene, that you feel as though you could rest here forever, breathing in the night air and watching the light scatter through the foliage.
A voice alongside you cries out...
"Oh no! How did we get here? It exists? This is bad. This is very bad..."
It's Jekaena. You notice her and remember her name, but you don't feel like paying attention to whatever it is that she's saying. Ignoring her chatter, you get back to enjoying yourself and this place. Now she is chanting or something. Her voice seems to fade away, although maybe you're just getting better at ignoring her and focusing on what's important. But then, abruptly, she grabs both sides of your head and bring her face right in front of yours. Sparks of blue magic radiate from her eyes into you. And you start to remember what you were supposed to be doing. A flood of realization hits you. The Sylvan Epic. The quest to save the Heart of Welhallas. You'd gone inside a tree. Painstakingly, methodically, Jekaena intones...
"Snap out of it. We need to take action. Somehow, we've wound up in the Idyllic Copse, a place I didn't think was even real. Among the mages of my people there are those who specialize in magical traps to thwart invaders. These traps manipulate space and time, so our enemies find themselves wandering through mazes for centuries and then succumbing to old age once they've made it out. And some of the people I knew in school worked on deadlier traps. There was a legend of the ultimate trap meant only for the most dire threats of all: the Idyllic Copse. Somewhere in the Loren forest there was supposedly a perfect paradise, crafted with extraordinary magic. Containing beings too powerful to defeat, too dangerous to be allowed to walk free, they'd be endlessly satisfied, forever appeased by the splendor of their paradise. A prison without walls, chains, or guards, permanently entrancing its victims. I thought the stories were entirely factitious, a student prank. But this place matches the description of the Idyllic Copse in every way. And if the stories are even half-right, we're stuck in a place no one has ever returned from, and trapped amidst the most dangerous creatures that the people of Loren have ever found.
I figured out how to use my magic to counteract part of the psychological effect that this place has, but I can't do this for much longer. Figure out what we should be doing now. I'll hold this spell for as long as I possibly can..."
The gentle breeze is crisp and pleasant, stirring through silver-bark trees and huge, blossoming bines. The night sky is clear, full of stars. A series of lanterns give off a soft glow and trail off in the direction of a path paved in white stones. Far brighter is the light from Throg's lantern, which sparkles on every surface. You can't remember how you got here or how long you've been here, but the place feels so pleasant, so serene, that you feel as though you could rest here forever, breathing in the night air and watching the light scatter through the foliage.
A voice alongside you cries out...
"Oh no! How did we get here? It exists? This is bad. This is very bad..."
It's Jekaena. You notice her and remember her name, but you don't feel like paying attention to whatever it is that she's saying. Ignoring her chatter, you get back to enjoying yourself and this place. Now she is chanting or something. Her voice seems to fade away, although maybe you're just getting better at ignoring her and focusing on what's important. But then, abruptly, she grabs both sides of your head and bring her face right in front of yours. Sparks of blue magic radiate from her eyes into you. And you start to remember what you were supposed to be doing. A flood of realization hits you. The Sylvan Epic. The quest to save the Heart of Welhallas. You'd gone inside a tree. Painstakingly, methodically, Jekaena intones...
"Snap out of it. We need to take action. Somehow, we've wound up in the Idyllic Copse, a place I didn't think was even real. Among the mages of my people there are those who specialize in magical traps to thwart invaders. These traps manipulate space and time, so our enemies find themselves wandering through mazes for centuries and then succumbing to old age once they've made it out. And some of the people I knew in school worked on deadlier traps. There was a legend of the ultimate trap meant only for the most dire threats of all: the Idyllic Copse. Somewhere in the Loren forest there was supposedly a perfect paradise, crafted with extraordinary magic. Containing beings too powerful to defeat, too dangerous to be allowed to walk free, they'd be endlessly satisfied, forever appeased by the splendor of their paradise. A prison without walls, chains, or guards, permanently entrancing its victims. I thought the stories were entirely factitious, a student prank. But this place matches the description of the Idyllic Copse in every way. And if the stories are even half-right, we're stuck in a place no one has ever returned from, and trapped amidst the most dangerous creatures that the people of Loren have ever found.
I figured out how to use my magic to counteract part of the psychological effect that this place has, but I can't do this for much longer. Figure out what we should be doing now. I'll hold this spell for as long as I possibly can..."
Oversoul
The Tentacled One
Whether illusions are involved or not, Dorgath would have felt the effects and the difference once Jekaena used her magic to partially block them. It's certainly unusual and probably unlike anything in Dorgath's past experience. He didn't feel numb or pacified or controlled. Instead, it was like the place was constantly making him feel content, even mildly stimulated. At no time since somehow arriving here did Dorgath forget his quest or lose control of himself. He just found that his attention was always wholly focused on aspects of his environment that would normally be in the background. Even now, it's overwhelming: Jekaena's magic is less of a shield and more like an undercurrent of magic that disrupts your tendency to focus on the Copse. The place is so attention-grabbing at such a deep level that fighting it would seem impossible. Instead, the effect is still here, but there's this kind of mental alarm bell that keeps reminding you, "Hey, you have something important to be doing right now."
Having experienced the place, Dorgath could probably see how there might be a certain sense in using this on dangerous enemies, if for some reason one could not simply kill them. If they were sealed away, they would try to break free. But if they were put somewhere that they liked too much to be bothered with leaving, then they could be removed more securely than imprisonment.
"I think we were just trapped here as the 'bad guys' have turned this trap to their own use, so I don't think we're supposed to free anyone or anything else here. We just need to escape without them doing so as well. Hopefully. But still have no idea how to get out... follow the path?"
Mooseman
Isengar Tussle
"There's a path? Why didn't someone say so before? It's almost like an arrow pointing the way."
Oversoul
The Tentacled One
You follow the path. It seem to be leading you closer to a large pond in the distance. As you continue, you hear some soft rustling, but can't spot the source of the sound. Then vines spring forth and form a barrier across the stone path. Other vines reach through the trees, pushing branches out of the way and creating a narrow trail leading in another direction.
The lanterns lining the white path glow brightly and hurl beams of energy at the path-blocking vines, incinerating them. The glow from the lanterns softens again and returns to normal. Now it looks like you can continue forward on the path that bends left toward the pond or take a right turn, following the trail of the vines.
The lanterns lining the white path glow brightly and hurl beams of energy at the path-blocking vines, incinerating them. The glow from the lanterns softens again and returns to normal. Now it looks like you can continue forward on the path that bends left toward the pond or take a right turn, following the trail of the vines.
Mooseman
Isengar Tussle
Carrow whispers, "pond scum."