Gauntlet, Bubble, and Clubber
The Gauntlet, The Bubble, and The Clubber:
Special Thanks to Cyborg512 for the notes on this On Saturday, Dec.01/2018, Fangx (Ruler of the Monastery), and Purple Lace (Kabal Ruler of the Bastion) came together on Mount Illapse to entrust the care and duty of gauntlet.. along with its component gems..to Cyborg512. A number of other dreamers were present and aiding the effort with elemental energies to assist with re-bonding the stones to the Gauntlet. Snow Angel x (MoS); Blana (AoE); Nathan (BoC); Purple Lace (BoC); Nmoto (FrS); Dakkoth (FrS); Kailee (FrS); Kelos (HC); MzChievs (AoE); Erasmus (AoE); Oracle of Asmyr (FrS); and Brother Timothy (FrS). A couple of weeks ago, Cyborg agreed to act as the cities champion and wield the gauntlet to remove the sword in the stone at the Camp of Kings on Mt. Illapse.
As previously reported, the sword was planted in the stone by Eldryck Venym to entrap a small group that was traveling to the city. Eldryck Venym has maintained that the travelers were a threat to the city, but has steadfastly refused to provide any further information on their nature or identities, and popular rumor has it that Eldryck himself did not actually know who he had trapped and was acting on an instinct or for another agenda. Once he had used the Gauntlet and blade to imprison the "Bubble People", he had broken the gauntlet apart and scattered its fragments around. The Unknown dreamer, M. Valencia apparently placed clues with each of the pieces that would lead to each of the other pieces.
The Saturday removal of the blade started off with Cyborg receiving the set of artifacts from Fang X (who had held the main piece of the gauntlet, and four of the five gems) and Purple Lace (who had held the Insight Gem), then seating each of the gems in turn into the gauntlet. Once all of the gems were seated, a beam of white light erupted from the palm of the gauntlet with a boom!
The gauntlet then fully transformed into the "Divine Embrace". An amulet shaped device that appeared as follows when examined: "This variety of glove has been constructed of hardened leather in the interior. Shining metal plates offer layers of protection on the exterior. Thin links of chainmail cross over the knuckles, allowing dexterity. The wide extended cuff is long enough to shield a forearm. Below each finger, five settings cradle oval gemstones that radiate the brilliance of the five elements."
Once the Gauntlet was re-assembled, Fangx reminded the group of a riddle that he had been passed along with one of the pieces: "Now you've found the final piece, know not this is the full story. Return me to my former glory. To unlock the zone, a word must be set in stone, open the gates, your journey awaits.". The group went to the Camp of Kings, where they noted that the vines that had grown around the blade had vanished. Cyborg removed the embedded sword with a flourish, and a beam of light shot from the Small Dungeon towards the stone.
The blade itself appeared as: This unique masterpiece so delicately carved, with stones piercing in all directions. The blade is sharp, and rigged. The marker of it is unknown, but you can see a small etching near the tip that has a small letter inscribed. This blade holds certain powers not yet known. and was without standard function... so its powers are presumed to be something other than as a traditional weapon.
In keeping with the Riddle, Fangx provided the word made up of the letters from each of the clues... "ENTROPY". While Cyborg painstaking carved the letters to the word into the stone, some noted that Eldryck Venym had begun dreaming... though was not present at that location.
A slow built up below the groups feet as the carved word flashed brilliantly. After only a brief period of build up, the rumble shook the room hard enough to stagger the assembled group around the room. Once it had subsided and everyone regained their footing, the group went into the small Dungeon and found the portal to the Right Wing had been opened. Upon entry, the group found three individuals.. who's names and appearances are recorded below:
Jinky Weebles: She wears a dark green overall jump suite, the pants drag the floor with the hem coming loose. Her navy blue hair sits on top of her head in a messy bun. She has a golden pin stuck to one strap that reads "EC"
Gertrude: A small woman with her gray hair pulled back into a messy bun that sits atop her head. Her wrinkled face always has a layer of dust on it. She is dressed in a plain collared shirt, khaki colored pants, and some hiking boots. She carries with her a small leather bag filled with varying instruments used for delicately prodding at her work sites such as picks, brushes, and gloves.
Kaleido: A head full of colorful dreadlocks are pulled up into two massive pigtails. Machinist goggles with prism lenses rest on top of her head. She wears a short overall romper, buttoned down with gears and a patterned ascot tied around her neck. Elbow length gloves match her tall stockings, topped with knee-high boots. A utility belt is strapped around her waist, with various gadgets and tools poking out. She's covered in soot and dust from head to toe.
It was also noted that though there were three women present, during a previous evening.. Picco had entered their bubble and, upon exiting, dropped 3 female and 1 male dreamer essences outside of the portal where they still remain at the time of this writing.
The three individuals expressed their gratitude to the dreamers for being rescued, and were hastily moved to the nearby Mt. Illapse Sanctuary in the Keep, being blinded en-mass by an unknown force, and losing Gertrude somewhere in the transition...before having to run past Eldryck Venym to get to the sanctuary.
Once in the sanctuary, the remaining two rescuee's (Jinky and Kaleido) answered some of the questions posed to them. This included their names, and their membership in a group known as the Entropy Coalition (a very early group from the Lyran city that was recorded as being responsible for weakening the walls and allowing the Nightmares to enter the city, thus sparking what is known as the Nightmare Wars. I will try to put together, or commission, a full review and write up on the Entropy Coalition for a future article). They claimed that after accidentally causing the damage to the walls, this group had set out to seek answers from other cities in an attempt to undo the damage they had done. After some time of wandering, they claim to have found an ancient city of Dream Collectors (Historians that documented and recorded events from as many cities as possible) that had documents containing the answers they had sought... and they had returned to help because they sensed that the city was failing due to the Heart of the City being broken. Kaleido claimed that they had discovered locations that would lead the dreamers of this city to the heart in order to repair it. They also claimed that Eldryck had imprisoned them, to try and prevent the Heart from being repaired. It should be noted, that Eldryck has insisted he acted to protect the city FROM the Entropy Coalition dreamers. At this point, neither side has presented verifiable evidence of their claims.
While this was going on, Stalros (FrS.. affiliated with AoE) entered and let the group know that Eldryck Venym was waiting just outside of the sanctuary... and several expressed concern that he had gotten ahold of Gertrude, since had vanished from the city and was not locatable as dreaming. Jinky's expressed fear that Eldryck had done something with Gertrude, and felt that Eldryck would listen to her "this time". Kaleido and several other dreamers tried convincing Jinky's not to go, but Jinky's mind was set on trying to save Gertrude.. or discover her fate at least.
After a brief exchange, where Jinky's confronted Eldryck about doing something to Gertrude.. and Eldryck replying that he would now do something with her.. Eldryck stomped his foot firmly on the ground, causing a wave of paralyzing energy to erupt outwards... completely bypassing the groups Free Action, and affecting even those still within the Sanctuary. He then proceeded to collapse Jinky's a couple of times, with dreamers rapidly restoring her after each collapse, before finally landing a Dreamstrike on Jinky's before she could restore again (reliable accounts give the time between collapse and dreamstriking as less than 15 seconds). After which, Eldryck's only words were: "One down".. and then he left the area, teleporting to Cenotaph of Dread.
In the ensuing conversation back inside the Sanctuary, several dreamers attempted to comfort Kaleido... with Brother Timothy and Fangx in specific offering aid to restore Jinky's.. while others were less sympathetic, citing Jinky's lack of quick movement back into the available, unwarded, sanctuary... and lack of forethought in applying arts such as recall, as the cause of her striking.
Kaleido quickly became despondent, though put a brave face on things, and left to grieve for her friend in private, though left the group with the following: "It must be found. It is in pieces...it needs to be put back together. Dreamers, we left in search of answers to correct our mistakes...What we found could save you all from destruction, from the end. We came here to help you all find the Heart's pieces. It must be reassembled and returned to whence it came. I am too weary to go into full detail. I just lost a friend tonight. I assure you all I will return to show you the way. I must go now, I need to find Gertrude. But to start with, you must begin in Gloom Peaks. That is the beginning.".
A group left to search Gloom Peaks shortly afterwards, and ran into a set of wards placed by Eldryck Venym. Cyborg512 shattered the wards so the group could proceed, searching the rooms as they went, until Kailee found Eldryck Venym at the Ruby Cliffs. According to reports, there had been an energy field present there, that Eldryck destroyed in front of the group. One witness (Uthanatos, House Calenture ruler), noted that he believed the field indicated that the heart fragment lay up beyond gloom, within the Ruined Realm.
Are these Entropy Coalition dreamers truly who they claim to be? Is Eldryck Venym truly a hero trying to protect the city, or a villain out to use its vulnerability for his own bid for power? Is Gloom Peaks truly the first step in the path, or does that step lie beyond the peaks? When will some real answers and evidence come forth, and who will discover them?
Butterfly's Flight Through the Rift: This last week, Arlyana Jax (Butterfly as she is known to some), continued her work on altering the art of Know... and imbueing some of the rooms in Caudal Rift with aura's detectable by that art. Last week's work was in "The Black ID".... next to come, the "Horron's Lair"! What changes will this long time Calenturian's efforts bring to the city? and will the efforts of the Kotoken Darkmares warp what she hopes to achieve... or will those same efforts fall apart beneath her drive?
~ Arnaya, Soulmistress
Reference
https://forums.underlight.com/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=3324&hilit=Oracle&start=25
