Everyone present againt this week. I was going to write it had been a quiet week but when I came to write the session up I found I couldn't remember what happened and in what order - so it obviously was as quiet as I thought....
I'm not even sure I've got everything that happened in now.
Allagahn and Charity discuss what they're going to do whilst waiting for Alfred to return to normal so they can retrieve him. Allagahn decides to go and attempt to modify the Gaus rifle so that it will work in any shadow. He analyses Orac to see how it does it but can't comprehend what he sees. He decide to go ask the Unicorn for advice.
Charity goes to talk to Fred about summoning his Shaman for the gate to the Courts of Chaos. He's going to need several hours to make the necessary arrangements. He agrees to lend her two of his men for the assault on the Keep of the Four Winds.
Charity decides to go take a look at the Keep to see what is happening after their abortive assault. She's cautious in her approach but even so she's detected when she starts to scan the roof. As they appear to start to take action against her she retreats.
Looking for another way in she descends to ground level and begins scanning the courtyard. There are the usual patrols like last time, and an additional patrol she spots too late. As she frantically tries to back out her scrying lens is hit by two disrupt spells. It takes effort but she holds it together and backs away from the Keep.
Knowing that Alfred is in the cave she decides to take a look. As she flies in through the cave mouth her lens is hit by a logrus tendril and she collapses to the floor. Too tired to go find a bed she sleeps where she's fallen.
Charity is woken by Fred from where she collapsed on the floor last night. He and his shaman have been ready for several hours now.
She advises that she needs time to contact Merlin and arrange things at his end. She asks him how long they need for the ritual - about half an hour is the response.
Chairty contacts Merlin to advise him that they're hoping to use an abyss gate to allow his troops through to Elysium. He'd rather it wasn't broached inside the Courts. They arrange that the eruption point should be where his patrol first captured her in about 4 hours Elysium time.
At the appointed hour she contacts Merlin. His troops are in position waiting for the tunnel. It takes the Shaman, all 12 of them, about half and hour to create the tunnel. They think they can hold it open for 30 minutes. When it's complete Charity steps through to test its operation. Merlin, Mandor, and 500 troops are wating for her. She returns to Elysium, followed a minute later by the leading 5 troopers. The rest follow at 10 second intevals. The last one through is Mandor, who wants the Grand tour. Charity obliges whilst her generals handle the troop deployment.
Alfred reverts back to Gnome form. As he becomes accoustomed to the very low light level in the cave he decides to move from where he's been hiding. As he does so a voice remarks on the fact that he's now recovered. Given his paranoid nature he tries to pretend he's not there. The voice commentsthat he can stay there if he wishes but he's welcome to join them otherwise. Two non human shapes leave the cave by the only exit.
After a while Alfred follows them and finds himself in a largish cave. There are bedrolls for 4 plus table, chairs, and rations. Two demons relax in the chairs whilst a third sleeps near by. When he asks who they are they reply "Agent Johnson, Agent Johnson, and Agent Johnson". When he requests to be allowed to venture futher out of the cave system they request he doesn't; they don't want him alerting those they're observing to their presence.Everybody is now rested after their endevours. Allagahn is frothing at the mouth to do something. To apease him Charity contacts Deirdre and she and Allagahn trump into the Tower.
Hoping that Alfred has now recovered Charity uses her trump sketch of him to contact him. It takes a little while for him to realise what's happening. He explains about the demons in his immediate vicinity. Charity gets him to ask if Merlin sent them. They don't give him a straight answer. When they ask him who he's talking to he panic and gets Charity to pull him through quickly. Chairity is left with a picture of several demons rolling about the floor in laughter.
To add to Alfred's woes his dive through the trump gate and sprawling landing means the blanket is no longer covering his modesty. He scuttles of to the condo to find some clothes. Charity and Allagahn discuss approaches to the Keep of the Four Winds. The upshot is that she trumps Mandor and asks if he's been inside the Keep. He replies he has and gives her the imprint of the entrance hall that leads to the Fount of Worlds.
Alfred is now dressed. He impolitely asks Deirdre for a crossbow and gets a sarcastic response. Charity points out that being polite pays dividends, and he asks properly this time. Deirdre creates him a crossbow. Charity requests that they all be returned to the Greathall. In the process Deirdre molds Alfreds clothes so they fit.
Cordelia, Isla, and Sorcha are having breakfast. Sorcha's bump is now quite noticeable. A discussion of tactics follow. Charity then goes to find Fred to see in he and his Shaman can drive an Abyss Tunnel into the Keep in the entrance hall that leads to the Fount of Worlds.
It takes about twenty minutes for Fred and his cohorts to arrive. The three shaman start their ritual and establish the Elysium end of the tunnel. They then try to drive it through to the Keep. They fail and after half and hour are forced to give up. The party revert to Plan B.Cordelia begins sketching a Trump of the alley in Jithrikil and Charity begins a sketch of Alfred. Cordelia finishes about 5 minutes before Charity does.
With everything set she open the gate to Jithrikil and Charity leads the way through. Once everyone's through Allagahn begins the short shadow walk to Carnelian. There is a brief pause, whilst he goes on ahead to alert the castle that there's a contingent of them coming.
Once satisifed that everybody is who they say they are Benedict and Luke allow them passage into the castle. Brief amounts of news are exchanged on the way to the pattern room.
Alfred notes that the main trunk of Drasil now has a swelling in it that wasn't there before. Cordelia gives Charity a trump of herself and Charity walks to the center of the pattern. The party, including the two Abyss demons then trump to the centre of the pattern. A brief conversation is had with Fiona as they teleport out to the Keep of the Four Winds.
They find themselves in a largish hall, an ornate decoration of the floor and a pair of elaborately decorated heavy bound doors in front of them. Behind them a similar sized arch leads to the corridor giving access to the stairs to the floors above and below.
Charity tries the doors and finds they don't open. She tries Abyssal sight which reveals the presence of heavy amounts of pattern. She switches to pattern sight to get a better idea -its some sort of pattern lock but she can't determine exactly what. She asks Cordelia to take a look.
Allagahn has mean while determined that his sword is somewhere on the floors above, and the Book of Selheim that Alfred dropped when he went primal is somewhere below them.
Cordelia's assessment is that it is a pattern lock and can be opened with the right psychic signature and a pattern tendril. The alternative is to try and force it but they'll need to overcome the psyche of the instigator of the lock who was probably Brand - She's going to need everyone's assiatance. The two abyss demons take up guard positions either side of the archway, as the rest all link up.
It is a hard slog and they nearly fall when Cordelia inserts the tendril into the lock. After 5 minutes they feel the tell-tale click of the lock opening. They all collapse to the ground in relief - they've just done the equivalent of walking the pattern for the first time.
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