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The Godstone Event

Brilliant white light exploded from the Godstone, blasting the companions from their feet...

Zook’s mind felt as if it would burst as thousands upon thousands of thoughts flooded in, blanketing him in a cold magical embrace. He saw the founding of the world, as darkness finally yielded to light for the first time. The drama continued to unfold as the first of the elves awakened on the sands and the dwarves first emerged from the mountains that spawned them.

The knowledge of the rise and fall of a hundred civilizations touched his consciousness, each one filling a hungry void deep from within his soul, one that seemed as if it would never be satisfied. He saw and understood, for the first time, the nature of magic, not only its characteristics but the building blocks that made it work. He opened his eyes, horrified and blessed by the doors open before him.

Asavil squinted, straining against the darkness to see the tiny point of light no bigger than a candle’s flame far in the distance. It seemed as if life itself had slowed. A gleaming unicorn galloped across the black horizon, in a place Asavil could not go. Her heart sunk in her chest as the horrid forms of creatures she instinctively knew as Proteans closed in to slay the majestic creature. She tried to call out, tried to go there, but was forced back after two steps, blackened rocks falling for infinity from beneath her boots. She was at the edge of a cliff of enormous height – unable to get to the unicorn.

She desperately pulled out her bow and arched it high in the air as she nocked two arrows. With uncanny ease, she loosed the string and bolts of bright white light arched toward the unicorn’s attackers. Impossibly, the Protean monsters fell, run through by Asavil’s arrows.

Krysalis floated downward, into the abyssal depths of a foreign sea. Light scarcely shone here, and he could sense the anticipation the abominations that dwelled in this silent place held for devouring him. Tentacles tightened around his body, pulling him downward and eventually releasing, dropping him to the ocean floor.

In the stillness, a surge of what felt like electricity coursed through his chest and out to his limbs. He rose to his feet, despite the crushing pressure, and breathed in the water deep inside him. He coiled his legs and sprung upward like a bolt of lightning, in no time bursting upward from the waves into the tempestuous skies above…

Anji screamed out in terror as he saw the flames envelope him, but halted when he came to the realization his skin remained unburned. Indescribable radiance flowed into his eyes, but his vision was as clear as it ever was. The flames seemed to burn inward, through his very core, eliminating any blemishes they found.

He felt the heat inside him and he thought for an instant his bones would disintegrate, his blood would boil, and his skin would explode with the force of a nova. Just as this fear surfaced, the flames outside him dimmed, the flames within contracted, leaving warmth like he never experienced before. Anji saw the sun shining at its zenith and felt its pull heavenward.

Bastion saw the huge rocks of the vault's ceiling falling above him. He scurried to his feet and began to run toward the open door, but the distance was too great. He knelt down and shielded his head. The first rock landed square on his back, likely breaking his spine. The next crashed into his head and he descended into darkness... He awoke seemingly centuries later, finding himself buried beneath tons and tons of stone. He shifted into a squat and firmly grabbed the rocks directly above him. Bastion roared defiantly as he sprung from the would-be coffin, boulders flying all directions as he went.

Rylian leaned over, shaking the contents of his hands vigorously. He knew perfectly well what he held – a pair of small dice, stark white with dyed black dots for the numbers. With each rise and fall of his hands, he felt the weight of destiny, the maddening comprehension of the endless possibilities that eventually found their way into realities not necessarily known.

He delayed just a moment longer, the importance of the roll sinking its teeth more firmly into him. He, and he somehow knew the world, needed this roll to come out true.

He blew into his hands and opened them, the dice finally escaping their organic prison. They tumbled end-over-end for an eternity, both finally coming to rest with a single dot on top. As Rylian looked into the dice, they morphed into a pair of eyes. The eyes poured into Rylian’s, and Rylian knew he stared into the eyes of the Lady herself…

Not an instant after the explosion, the Praetorian reappeared in the chamber, to the sight of his fellow travelers strewn across the cave floor. They each rose to their feet…they exchanged knowing glances. They knew they had shared an experience of singular significance.

Surrounded by Incompetence

“You underestimated him,” came the condescending statement from the impossibly old man seated behind the large crystal ball. The ball swayed back and forth from the eternal waves of the waters of the Brennish Main. Across the table from the man, a silent Vanlok the Gruesome released his frustration by throwing the table over on its side. The old man, seeming to anticipate the outburst, easily slid backwards in his chair and cupped the expensive crystal of the scrying device in both hands, keeping it from shattering on the damp ship’s deck below.

“I’ll just have to kill him myself,” shouted the half-troll pirate lord, “I’m surrounded by useless dung-heaps of incompetence.”

“Shall I continue to follow them, captain?”

“No, make ready to depart. We set sail immediately.”

“But, the contract –“

“Is my concern, Tolliver!” Vanlok spat back. “Now, ready the fleet.”

The old man, with unusual calm blandly replied, “I cannot guarantee I can find them again.”

“It matters not…they will cross our path soon enough. We might even use them for a while before we send them into the arms of Neremus.”

Unexpected Hosts

“Get it open, Reginald,” an irritated Vanlok the Gruesome commanded, “I don’t care what you have to do – burn it, pry it open with your head…just get it open.”

“What was that?” Reginald peered past Vanlok, into the darkness beyond the reach of the small party’s torches. Vanlok ingnored him.

Reginald, Vanlok’s quartermaster for the past decade, turned back to the huge metallic door that barred their entry. He had spent the better part of the day trying to come to its understanding. His concentration was broken when he heard an inhuman sound from behind. He spun, already pulling out a wand that would allow him to jalt from the immediate area…

He caught a brief glimpse of Vanlok fleeing from the chamber across the way. He waved his wand and the magic began to take hold, but not before he heard the screams of the others as they were cut to shreds from a pair of horrid creatures he could hardly see in the dimly-lit cave…

The Godstone Event

Brilliant white light exploded from the Godstone, blasting the companions from their feet...

Zook’s mind felt as if it would burst as thousands upon thousands of thoughts flooded in, blanketing him in a cold magical embrace. He saw the founding of the world, as darkness finally yielded to light for the first time. The drama continued to unfold as the first of the elves awakened on the sands and the dwarves first emerged from the mountains that spawned them.

The knowledge of the rise and fall of a hundred civilizations touched his consciousness, each one filling a hungry void deep from within his soul, one that seemed as if it would never be satisfied. He saw and understood, for the first time, the nature of magic, not only its characteristics but the building blocks that made it work. He opened his eyes, horrified and blessed by the doors open before him.

Asavil squinted, straining against the darkness to see the tiny point of light no bigger than a candle’s flame far in the distance. It seemed as if life itself had slowed. A gleaming unicorn galloped across the black horizon, in a place Asavil could not go. Her heart sunk in her chest as the horrid forms of creatures she instinctively knew as Proteans closed in to slay the majestic creature. She tried to call out, tried to go there, but was forced back after two steps, blackened rocks falling for infinity from beneath her boots. She was at the edge of a cliff of enormous height – unable to get to the unicorn.

She desperately pulled out her bow and arched it high in the air as she nocked two arrows. With uncanny ease, she loosed the string and bolts of bright white light arched toward the unicorn’s attackers. Impossibly, the Protean monsters fell, run through by Asavil’s arrows.

Krysalis floated downward, into the abyssal depths of a foreign sea. Light scarcely shone here, and he could sense the anticipation the abominations that dwelled in this silent place held for devouring him. Tentacles tightened around his body, pulling him downward and eventually releasing, dropping him to the ocean floor.

In the stillness, a surge of what felt like electricity coursed through his chest and out to his limbs. He rose to his feet, despite the crushing pressure, and breathed in the water deep inside him. He coiled his legs and sprung upward like a bolt of lightning, in no time bursting upward from the waves into the tempestuous skies above…

Anji screamed out in terror as he saw the flames envelope him, but halted when he came to the realization his skin remained unburned. Indescribable radiance flowed into his eyes, but his vision was as clear as it ever was. The flames seemed to burn inward, through his very core, eliminating any blemishes they found.

He felt the heat inside him and he thought for an instant his bones would disintegrate, his blood would boil, and his skin would explode with the force of a nova. Just as this fear surfaced, the flames outside him dimmed, the flames within contracted, leaving warmth like he never experienced before. Anji saw the sun shining at its zenith and felt its pull heavenward.

Bastion saw the huge rocks of the vault's ceiling falling above him. He scurried to his feet and began to run toward the open door, but the distance was too great. He knelt down and shielded his head. The first rock landed square on his back, likely breaking his spine. The next crashed into his head and he descended into darkness... He awoke seemingly centuries later, finding himself buried beneath tons and tons of stone. He shifted into a squat and firmly grabbed the rocks directly above him. Bastion roared defiantly as he sprung from the would-be coffin, boulders flying all directions as he went.

Rylian leaned over, shaking the contents of his hands vigorously. He knew perfectly well what he held – a pair of small dice, stark white with dyed black dots for the numbers. With each rise and fall of his hands, he felt the weight of destiny, the maddening comprehension of the endless possibilities that eventually found their way into realities not necessarily known.

He delayed just a moment longer, the importance of the roll sinking its teeth more firmly into him. He, and he somehow knew the world, needed this roll to come out true.

He blew into his hands and opened them, the dice finally escaping their organic prison. They tumbled end-over-end for an eternity, both finally coming to rest with a single dot on top. As Rylian looked into the dice, they morphed into a pair of eyes. The eyes poured into Rylian’s, and Rylian knew he stared into the eyes of the Lady herself…

Not an instant after the explosion, the Praetorian reappeared in the chamber, to the sight of his fellow travelers strewn across the cave floor. They each rose to their feet…they exchanged knowing glances. They knew they had shared an experience of singular significance.