Posted: 17 July 2022 (reading time: 9 minutes; 1897 words)
Recap by Joel Hermann
As Asgarday∂a prepares to depart Ylldrl’s cavernous home, they are informed that the two elf maidens, Hellryn and Alraystra, have already departed. Belnirith receives a message from Osk, asking for updates. Belnirith efficiently replies as to their intention to seek the library Gexxmor in Alfirheim. Osk offers to meet them with Viggo, and Belnirith agrees, with details to be arranged in a later message.
What should be a two-day trip by dragonnel takes a bit more than three, as a blizzard blows through on the second day, exhausting Belnirith and Laguza and forcing the group to land only halfway through the second day’s journey.
At the final night’s camp, Belnirith sends a spell that gives Osk more precise instructions to meet, and Vyshka attempts to contact her Order’s sisters, casting a message to the effect of “Headed your way. May need your help. Who is available?” First, she sends to Mother Thorthe, who cannot be reached. Then she reaches out to Sister Exebba, who responds “My god, so great to hear from you, praise Thor. xexta and I are away. Kinnae and Marlena are there. I’ll call ahead. Let them know you’re coming.” Vyshka replies with short descriptions of her companions so they can be identified as friendly.
Approaching the end of the journey, still flying, looking out to the left, really far in the distance, red oppressive skies can be seen.
Landing, goodbyes are bid to the faithful dragonnels, who show special affection for Karr, but seem to have grown as fond of Asgarday∂a as well, particularly Greunthrn, who took care to keep them well-fed with his hunting. Karr is particularly sad to see them go, and Vyshka attempts to cheer him up, to some effect.
Osk and Viggo arrive after about an hour. Osk lets them know she has been using walks with the more and more impressive dire wolf to raise spirits as she walks around Vogsal.
Belnirith asks Osk whether she has knowledge of the library, but she knows nothing of it. Her magic doesn’t have much to do with words on scrolls.
Soon the local militia, led by Sister Marlena, arrives on the scene. Marlena says, “It’s been a while, my sister.” Vyshka responds, “Yes. It has.”
Marlena apologizes for the armed escort, but times have been bad, with the kidnappings and troubles with the Nyrene.
The group begin the walk towards the nearest settlement and the members of Asgarday∂a explain their mission. As he walks, Greunthrn senses they’re being watched. 90 minutes later, signs of habitation become more obvious. The trunks of some trees have door handles, and there are canopy balconies. There are glimpses of birds and animals, but other than the group’s conversation, there is silence.
Coming to a very large tree. Marlena opens a door in a particularly large tree, and it’s as if the inside of the tree is larger than it should be. There, in the portal, are grand stairways leading up and down, and Marlena leads Asgarday∂a up. First heard, and then seen, they spot an exuberant and extraordinarily muscular elf woman descending the stairs whom Vyshka greets with a warmth that the rest of the group weren’t sure she was capable of.
At first, Kinnae is fascinated by the weapons of Vyshka and Laguza, and proudly shows off her own magical hammer. But then, in a sudden turn, she dissolves into tears and communicates that Mother Thorthe has passed on to the Feywild. Vyshka also breaks into tears.
Marlena, returning the conversation to Asgarday∂a’s mission to locate the library Gexxmor, indicates that she doesn’t know how to help. But coming up to speed with what she overhears, Kinnae indicates she may know people who might know libraries. In search of methods to more easily travel to visit the dwarves that she has befriended, she has met and become amiable with certain Drow who maintain tunnels throughout Alfirheim and beyond.
Belnirith wants to do her own research, and gives her stone to Vyshka, vanishing from their sight.
After Belnirith’s trip through the planes, Yuki says, “I know you’re here because something is up.”
Belnirith shows her the sigil of the library, and asks what she knows. She thinks, and responds “the only thing I remember is a fable I was told when I was young and beautiful. After the blood wars, in order to keep the knowledge of the multiverse from being destroyed, the library was created, by both gods and devils. I would be careful. The prime mover behind the library was Asmodeus."
Belnirith asks about whether it’s a safe place to leave Karr. Yuki thinks yes. Absolutely. Asmodeus is dangerous, but his bargains are kept.
Desperate for more information, Belnirith presses Yuki further, but she only replies, “If the library has been there a century, there are likely some beings thereabouts who have an inkling about it.” And with that Belnirith is returned to near the transport stone.
With little else to go on, Asgarday∂a agree to have Kinnae lead them to the Drow tunnels. They stop at another tree, this time without a visible door, and Kinnae gives a specific knock. A Drow opens the door and asks Kinnae accusingly why she has brought others to their hidden network. Asgarday∂a do their best to convince the Drow of the importance of their mission. Having Karr with them does some of the work as he confirms his relationship to Ylldrl.
The Drow have heard rumors that the library lies near the junction of two rivers and agree to lead Asgarday∂a there, or sneak them under the city of the Nyrene to the main library to try and search there. Any thought of encountering the Nyrene is a non-starter for Vyshka, so they agree to be led to the rivers to attempt their own search. It is an overnight trip in monster-infested tunnels, so the Drow indicate that during the darkest hours of the night, they will stop in an antechamber for safety.
All bed down for the night in the rough-hewn antechamber, but wake up in a stone room with no windows, only a door with a small barred opening to the hall beyond. There is a Shadar-kai elf practicing martial arts with a spiked chain. As soon as Asgarday∂a arrives, he bangs on the door and asks to leave. The shadow elf turns and says, “I know it feels like we’re imprisoning you, but we’re just protecting you.”
A dark, oppressive feeling seems to creep through the opening in the door, casting its shadow over all of them. Each of them begins to question their purpose. But as that is happening, the door opens and Hellryn, daughter of the Raven Queen, enters the room. Almost as if she had not met them a few days past, she asks for their names, and some find they can’t remember. She sighs, and then removes the gloom of Shadowfell from them, allowing them to think clearly once again.
She says, “I brought you here because I can’t stop thinking about what you’ve told me and what you’re up against. The loss of another world to the great old ones weighs heavily on me, as it will also mean the loss of the traffic of souls for the Raven Queen. And those souls are how she may find herself once again, eventually.”
She hands each of the group a black stone that will allow them to teleport to the Shadowfell. Accept them and thanking Hellryn for the boon, they wake back in the chamber with their Drow guides.
Another four hours of walking and they emerge up a stone ladder, through another tree door, into the forest near the junction of two rivers. Greunthrn is able to focus his senses and detect a portal, which tells them they are within a mile of… something.
Each member of the group focuses their senses, investigating, calling up arcane knowledge, looking for tracks or markers or any little clue that might lead them to their goal. After many hours of such effort, they are nonplussed to come across what appears to be a young elven boy, sitting in front of a tree.
The boy doesn’t seem happy to see them. They make overtures to play with him, and he just keeps saying, “you should go away.” Belnirith casts a spell that reads some of the boy’s thoughts. Inside its mind, the thoughts are much more like “Why the f*** am I always having to deal with s*** like this?” which doesn’t square with her perception of what small elven boys are commonly thinking.
Throwing aside secrecy they explain their mission and the boy transforms into a pit fiend. Xogak, as he is named, expresses a willingness to let Karr enter, but without the rest of Asgarday∂a. Belnirith has become more and more concerned about leaving Karr in the devil-run library and insists on being able to enter as well. Laguza notes that Ylldrl trusted them to deliver Karr, and Xogak seems to see the logic in this, but the back and forth is interrupted by the arrival of some intercepting demons. Xogak encourages Karr over to watch with him as Asgarday∂a moves to engage, and dispatches the new enemy relatively quickly. Xogak is still not impressed, but allows them entrance to Gexxmor.
They enter the tree portal, and shifting into a pocket dimension, arrive in the Gexxmor’s reception area. They are greeted by a succubus, who introduces herself as Insōlys, an einyes devil who is the librarian. She seems genuinely nice, and understands the situation without much explanation, leading them to a room much like a small dragon’s lair, where other young dragons, and the like, are being educated and cared for by the library staff.
After they say fond goodbyes to Karr, particularly Vyshka who gives him a little hug, Belnirith, who still has suspicions about the devils’ trustworthiness, manages to insult Insōlys with pointed questions about Karr’s safety. Insōlys can’t hide her indignation as she explains the extreme sensibility of it to Belnirith. It’s to the devils’ benefit to have good relationships with the great dragons. It follows naturally that taking care of and educating their children is both relationship building and, should worse come to worst, a readymade hostage, all in one.
At Greunthrn’s prompting, Belnirith then brings up the matter of Ulvik’s ring, and asks to see Glasya. Insōlys seems dubious that they actually should want to see Glasya, but acquiesces to sending an exceedingly ugly imp to fetch her.
Glasya is ferocity personified when she arrives, but softens when she sees Ulvik’s ring presented to her by Belnirith. She shares that she has only one fond memory in her existence, and that is of Frejya consoling her at Ulvik’s loss. She offers the group a boon and turns Viggo into a full-grown dire wolf with the touch of her hand. She indicates that she’s open to giving other boons, but they will come with price. Greunthrn can’t help feeling her devilish eyes upon him in particular as she says it.
She also gives them the advice that if they want to beat the great old ones, they must figure out how to close any portals to their worlds. The answer to their question of “How?” might be found in the library they stand in.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Filed under