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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7610067" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 298</p><p></p><p>The streets of Savek Vor were a different experience in the night. The moon had vanished, but the clouds that had thickened the sky since their arrival had mostly departed and the starlight was more than adequate for the adventurers to find their way. The night was alive with sounds, but they did not hear anything close by, and no more deadly creatures appeared to block their progress.</p><p></p><p>The destruction and decay that had claimed the ancient city was less pronounced as they made their way further toward its core, but they still had to navigate heaps of rubble where buildings had collapsed into the street and tangles where the resurgent jungle growth had to be hacked through to clear their way. But they didn’t encounter any more blockages like the one where they had first encountered the girallons, and for the most part they made better progress than they had during their initial entry into the city the previous morning.</p><p></p><p>They had been walking for maybe half an hour when they saw a more regular shape rise up out of the darkness ahead. As they approached, they could see that it was a wall, which looked like it encircled the entire inner precinct of the city. The wall was mostly intact, although there were occasional gaps along the top where pieces had crumbled away, and other places where the jungle growth had managed to gain purchase over the centuries. The wall was about fifteen feet tall, but they could make out the outlines of larger structures rising up beyond it, buildings that might have been the ones they had spotted from the mountains that rimmed the valley.</p><p></p><p>At first it looked as if they might have to try to climb over the barrier, but as the overgrown street passed a final set of ruined buildings they could see an opening ahead. There was a gap of about thirty feet between the nearest structure and the wall, a space that had probably been kept cleared at one point but was now thick with tangles of brush and tall grass. The cobbled path continued through that thicket to a gap in the wall that was roughly fifteen feet across. It was surmounted by the remains of an archway that had collapsed at some point, leaving just a pair of partial arms that ended in uneven claws of stone.</p><p></p><p>“This place gets creepier with each passing moment,” Glori said. She held her lyre tightly, as if resisting the urge to call upon its magic.</p><p></p><p>“There’s something there, in the gap,” Xeeta said.</p><p></p><p>They made their way carefully forward. They didn’t find any evidence that a gate or other barrier had once warded the opening in the wall, but they could see the object that Xeeta had identified. It was a block of stone about three feet thick, lying right in the middle of the street.</p><p></p><p>“It looks like it might have been the capstone of the arch,” Kosk noted.</p><p></p><p>“There’s something inscribed on it,” Glori said. Without waiting for comment from the others, she strummed her lyre and summoned a single globe of <em>dancing light</em> that hovered directly over the broken piece of stone. The light drove back the surrounding night and revealed a sigil, barely visible on the weathered fragment, that they all recognized.</p><p></p><p>“That was the mark on the tabaxi matriarch’s seal,” Quellan said. “And Bredan’s sword.”</p><p></p><p>“I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before,” Xeeta said. “Long before.”</p><p></p><p>“Maybe it was back in that shrine, in the Silverpeak,” Kosk said. “I can’t for the life of me remember what was written on that wall, but it could have been there.”</p><p></p><p>“Something happened to us there,” Glori said. “Bredan’s been affected the most, but we were all touched by that power. I remember that my magical powers expanded shortly after that encounter. And we’re all carrying a bit of that power with us,” she said, holding up her bow.</p><p></p><p>“I think you should drop the light,” Rodan suggested. Glori let her fingers stop and the glowing orb faded with the music. The night quickly enveloped them again.</p><p></p><p>“It’s quiet,” Xeeta said.</p><p></p><p>They all paused to listen. They heard what she did. Behind them the faint sounds of the jungle night stirred in the ruins, but ahead of them there was only stillness. The buildings within the wall appeared to be more intact than those outside, but they couldn’t see very far in the starlight. The street they’d been following continued more or less straight for as far as they could see, heading in the general direction of the huge structures that loomed like mountains in the distance.</p><p></p><p>“Like I said, creepy,” Xeeta said.</p><p></p><p>“Bredan’s probably somewhere in there,” Glori said.</p><p></p><p>“We don’t know that for sure,” Kosk said. “We’ve already covered more distance than Quellan’s spell reaches.”</p><p></p><p>“You could try casting it again,” Xeeta suggested.</p><p></p><p>Quellan looked thoughtful. “It won’t help if he’s underground,” he said, “Or if he’s warded by whatever power interrupted my earlier attempt.”</p><p></p><p>Glori stepped in front of the fallen capstone and turned to face them. “All right, we go on?” When none of the others offered any challenge, she started down the street again. One by one the others followed, but when Quellan passed through the arch he stumbled and clutched his head.</p><p></p><p>“Quellan?” Xeeta asked.</p><p></p><p>Glori heard and came rushing back. “What’s wrong?”</p><p></p><p>“I… I’m not certain,” Quellan said. “I felt… something. A disturbance. Almost like my connection to Hosrenu…”</p><p></p><p>He trailed off, but reached up to touch his shield. A moment later it began to shine with magical <em>light</em>. But the glow was weak, and it flickered briefly before stabilizing at maybe half its usual intensity.</p><p></p><p>“What’s causing it?” Rodan asked.</p><p></p><p>“I don’t know,” Quellan said. He stepped back through the gate, but the light did not intensify. “It’s something about this place, I think.”</p><p></p><p>“Do any of the rest of you feel anything?” Glori asked. She herself strummed her lyre, summoning a fresh cluster of <em>dancing lights</em>. The tiny orbs didn’t seem any different than usual. After a few moments she let them flicker out once more.</p><p></p><p>“Let’s hope it doesn’t stop you from casting more powerful spells in there,” Kosk said.</p><p></p><p>Quellan looked troubled by the thought, but he dismissed his spell and straightened. “I’m all right, I can continue.”</p><p></p><p>Glori’s expression lit up with a sudden revelation. “Maybe the city wall has an enchantment of some kind on it,” she said. “A ward of some sort. Maybe that’s what kept your location spell from working correctly.”</p><p></p><p>“It’s possible, I suppose,” Quellan said.</p><p></p><p>“If that’s the case, it might work if you try the spell again from inside the wall,” Glori said.</p><p></p><p>“It might,” Quellan said. “But again, only if he’s within range.” He didn’t repeat the other requirement, that the subject be alive; none of them needed the reminder.</p><p></p><p>“What about the version of the spell that locates objects?” Xeeta asked. “You said that you used that to track me in Li Syval, when I was warded by the fiend cult. You could try it on Bredan’s sword.”</p><p></p><p>“That didn’t work,” Kosk pointed out. “They had dumped your amulet in a well. And Bredan’s sword is bound up in the magic of this whole place somehow, for all we know it’s the thing that’s keeping us from finding him.”</p><p></p><p>“Still, it’s worth a try, isn’t it?” Glori persisted. “I know that you only have a limited number of powerful spells each day…”</p><p></p><p>“No, you’re right,” Quellan said. He visibly steeled himself before stepping back through the archway. This time he did not have any obvious difficulty, but he crossed over to the shelter of one of the nearby buildings before he readied himself.</p><p></p><p>“Do you need us to do anything to help prepare?” Rodan asked.</p><p></p><p>“No, this will only take a moment,” Quellan said. He put down his shield and hung his mace on his belt, then touched his holy symbol and closed his eyes.</p><p></p><p>It was clear to the others that the spellcasting was not as easy as the cleric had made it out to be. Quellan’s brow furrowed with effort, and his lips moved soundlessly as he focused his full effort on the effort. Finally, he sagged in release.</p><p></p><p>“No luck,” Rodan said.</p><p></p><p>“I tried to scan both for Bredan and for his sword,” Quellan said. “Whatever power is in this place, it’s blocking me somehow.”</p><p></p><p>“All right,” Rodan said. “So back to the original plan, then.”</p><p></p><p>The five of them continued into the city, the partially-ruined buildings looming up out of the darkness around them.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 7610067, member: 143"] Chapter 298 The streets of Savek Vor were a different experience in the night. The moon had vanished, but the clouds that had thickened the sky since their arrival had mostly departed and the starlight was more than adequate for the adventurers to find their way. The night was alive with sounds, but they did not hear anything close by, and no more deadly creatures appeared to block their progress. The destruction and decay that had claimed the ancient city was less pronounced as they made their way further toward its core, but they still had to navigate heaps of rubble where buildings had collapsed into the street and tangles where the resurgent jungle growth had to be hacked through to clear their way. But they didn’t encounter any more blockages like the one where they had first encountered the girallons, and for the most part they made better progress than they had during their initial entry into the city the previous morning. They had been walking for maybe half an hour when they saw a more regular shape rise up out of the darkness ahead. As they approached, they could see that it was a wall, which looked like it encircled the entire inner precinct of the city. The wall was mostly intact, although there were occasional gaps along the top where pieces had crumbled away, and other places where the jungle growth had managed to gain purchase over the centuries. The wall was about fifteen feet tall, but they could make out the outlines of larger structures rising up beyond it, buildings that might have been the ones they had spotted from the mountains that rimmed the valley. At first it looked as if they might have to try to climb over the barrier, but as the overgrown street passed a final set of ruined buildings they could see an opening ahead. There was a gap of about thirty feet between the nearest structure and the wall, a space that had probably been kept cleared at one point but was now thick with tangles of brush and tall grass. The cobbled path continued through that thicket to a gap in the wall that was roughly fifteen feet across. It was surmounted by the remains of an archway that had collapsed at some point, leaving just a pair of partial arms that ended in uneven claws of stone. “This place gets creepier with each passing moment,” Glori said. She held her lyre tightly, as if resisting the urge to call upon its magic. “There’s something there, in the gap,” Xeeta said. They made their way carefully forward. They didn’t find any evidence that a gate or other barrier had once warded the opening in the wall, but they could see the object that Xeeta had identified. It was a block of stone about three feet thick, lying right in the middle of the street. “It looks like it might have been the capstone of the arch,” Kosk noted. “There’s something inscribed on it,” Glori said. Without waiting for comment from the others, she strummed her lyre and summoned a single globe of [i]dancing light[/i] that hovered directly over the broken piece of stone. The light drove back the surrounding night and revealed a sigil, barely visible on the weathered fragment, that they all recognized. “That was the mark on the tabaxi matriarch’s seal,” Quellan said. “And Bredan’s sword.” “I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before,” Xeeta said. “Long before.” “Maybe it was back in that shrine, in the Silverpeak,” Kosk said. “I can’t for the life of me remember what was written on that wall, but it could have been there.” “Something happened to us there,” Glori said. “Bredan’s been affected the most, but we were all touched by that power. I remember that my magical powers expanded shortly after that encounter. And we’re all carrying a bit of that power with us,” she said, holding up her bow. “I think you should drop the light,” Rodan suggested. Glori let her fingers stop and the glowing orb faded with the music. The night quickly enveloped them again. “It’s quiet,” Xeeta said. They all paused to listen. They heard what she did. Behind them the faint sounds of the jungle night stirred in the ruins, but ahead of them there was only stillness. The buildings within the wall appeared to be more intact than those outside, but they couldn’t see very far in the starlight. The street they’d been following continued more or less straight for as far as they could see, heading in the general direction of the huge structures that loomed like mountains in the distance. “Like I said, creepy,” Xeeta said. “Bredan’s probably somewhere in there,” Glori said. “We don’t know that for sure,” Kosk said. “We’ve already covered more distance than Quellan’s spell reaches.” “You could try casting it again,” Xeeta suggested. Quellan looked thoughtful. “It won’t help if he’s underground,” he said, “Or if he’s warded by whatever power interrupted my earlier attempt.” Glori stepped in front of the fallen capstone and turned to face them. “All right, we go on?” When none of the others offered any challenge, she started down the street again. One by one the others followed, but when Quellan passed through the arch he stumbled and clutched his head. “Quellan?” Xeeta asked. Glori heard and came rushing back. “What’s wrong?” “I… I’m not certain,” Quellan said. “I felt… something. A disturbance. Almost like my connection to Hosrenu…” He trailed off, but reached up to touch his shield. A moment later it began to shine with magical [i]light[/i]. But the glow was weak, and it flickered briefly before stabilizing at maybe half its usual intensity. “What’s causing it?” Rodan asked. “I don’t know,” Quellan said. He stepped back through the gate, but the light did not intensify. “It’s something about this place, I think.” “Do any of the rest of you feel anything?” Glori asked. She herself strummed her lyre, summoning a fresh cluster of [i]dancing lights[/i]. The tiny orbs didn’t seem any different than usual. After a few moments she let them flicker out once more. “Let’s hope it doesn’t stop you from casting more powerful spells in there,” Kosk said. Quellan looked troubled by the thought, but he dismissed his spell and straightened. “I’m all right, I can continue.” Glori’s expression lit up with a sudden revelation. “Maybe the city wall has an enchantment of some kind on it,” she said. “A ward of some sort. Maybe that’s what kept your location spell from working correctly.” “It’s possible, I suppose,” Quellan said. “If that’s the case, it might work if you try the spell again from inside the wall,” Glori said. “It might,” Quellan said. “But again, only if he’s within range.” He didn’t repeat the other requirement, that the subject be alive; none of them needed the reminder. “What about the version of the spell that locates objects?” Xeeta asked. “You said that you used that to track me in Li Syval, when I was warded by the fiend cult. You could try it on Bredan’s sword.” “That didn’t work,” Kosk pointed out. “They had dumped your amulet in a well. And Bredan’s sword is bound up in the magic of this whole place somehow, for all we know it’s the thing that’s keeping us from finding him.” “Still, it’s worth a try, isn’t it?” Glori persisted. “I know that you only have a limited number of powerful spells each day…” “No, you’re right,” Quellan said. He visibly steeled himself before stepping back through the archway. This time he did not have any obvious difficulty, but he crossed over to the shelter of one of the nearby buildings before he readied himself. “Do you need us to do anything to help prepare?” Rodan asked. “No, this will only take a moment,” Quellan said. He put down his shield and hung his mace on his belt, then touched his holy symbol and closed his eyes. It was clear to the others that the spellcasting was not as easy as the cleric had made it out to be. Quellan’s brow furrowed with effort, and his lips moved soundlessly as he focused his full effort on the effort. Finally, he sagged in release. “No luck,” Rodan said. “I tried to scan both for Bredan and for his sword,” Quellan said. “Whatever power is in this place, it’s blocking me somehow.” “All right,” Rodan said. “So back to the original plan, then.” The five of them continued into the city, the partially-ruined buildings looming up out of the darkness around them. [/QUOTE]
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