EFU:R Gossip, Major Events, and Rumors (IC Knowledge)

[Tala]

::[ Flamerule 19th : Year 166 : 1388 DR ]::

Last dark, the former Director of the now dissolved Black Guild, "Ma" Murik has passed away...

Citizens, it is with a heavy heart I must announce that on this Dhimani 18, ex-Director Ma Murik has sadly passed away after a period of illness. Director Murik was a true public servant and gave her best years to Sanctuary and its people ...
... who will remember her with fondness and gratitude for all she did! Director Murik was a modest and reserved woman who lived out her twilight years in peaceful reflection. She often enjoyed a cup of tea with her close friends, who described her as `just the sweetest old lady`.
Chief Herald Isolde Mhaille will be organizing the funeral arrangements for Director Murik in traditional collaboration with the Mausoleum of Sanctuary. The Spellguard expresses its condolences to any surviving relatives of the late Director.

Many of the Public Housing Vaults have gathered at the inns and taverns around Sanctuary, some just met out in the open with drinks in their hands. All have raised their glass, and cursed the name of Murik, cheering for perhaps a better tomorrow, though with the reign of Dhimani, no one is certain of what the future may hold...

[Howlando]

:[ Flamerule 19th : Year 166 : 1388 DR ]::

In the depths of the Dark Lake, strange and sorrowful thoughts pass through the alien and ponderous consciousness of the Elder Slime Slp'glp'ytthx'grlp'tnsslp'glub'psshg'luua'lshlpt.

It its own way, it feels something akin to - displeasure - at the loss of its old companion, Temrariel Mafeyja the Six Fingered.

Long ago the Slime rose at the bidding of Temrariel, and it had enjoyed washing over the docks of Traensyr.

It had enjoyed absorbing its own spawn at the bidding of the Slime Cults that Temrariel had shepherded across the centuries.

The Elder Slime ponders this strange and unfamiliar sense of loss.

In a sulky fit of pique, it chooses to abruptly concentrate itself and rise.

It rises from the waters of the Lake, and there is a terrible sucking sound all along the edges of the huge body of water as it does.

The slime rises, and washes over the kuo-toa island of Loblobliiiblop. In moments, the thunderous ooze tsunami smashes over its old Temples and Structures. Idols of blipdoolpoolp are torn from their altars and fall crashing down. The intense acid stripes flesh from the bone of the masses of kuo-toa in moments.

Ships crack and drow refugees drown in a torrent of foaming acid.

Relentlessly, in its great quivering sulk, the Elder Slime smashes Loblobliiiblop until the entire island is broken and disappears in its entirety under the waves.

Loblobliiiblop is no more.

Satisfied - for the moment - the great ooze settles back into the depths of the Lake....placid once more.

For now.

Gradually, acid-scoured flotsam floats to muddy shores. Word spreads among those brave few who still navigate the Dark Lake that the old kuo-toa island - one of the few remaining truly neutral ports... is gone. Gone utterly....

[Howlando]

::[ Flamerule 24th : Year 166 : 1388 DR ]::

Rumors spread of a squad of Dhimani's Army that traveled to the cursed, dead Isle of Ymph far above on the surface lands. It is said that there they slashed through the great growths of unliving vegetation, treated with the Warlock Nightrisers of old Nebezzdos, and passed through the barren dry wastes of the isle's western parts. At last they traveled high into the Prophets' Peaks in search of an old tomb of (it is claimed) none other than Frederick Bresley himself.

The bones were taken from its distant tomb and returned to Dunwarren, although as to what purpose few can say.

[Howlando]

:[ Flamerule 25th : Year 166 : 1388 DR ]::

Word spreads of events of great import deep in the Machine.... the long-sealed doors of the Tramway Central Station were ruptured by a powerful bomb, the discovery of Zyphaem Faussad, the Jewels of Dunwarren, and much more.

Streams
Part One
Part Two
Part Three

[Howlando]

::[ Flamerule 27th : Year 166 : 1388 DR ]::

With the passing of some darks, tales of recent events have become more clear.

It is said that the Covenant of the Pure, in league with the Man in the Mask, having acquired the 'Rupturer Device' from the hoard of the slain Temrariel the Six Fingered decided to use it to blast through the immense doors and gates of the Dunwarren Central Tram Station. After a slight misfire of the explosion at the hands of the scrapper Morro Springhand, a squad of Dhimani's army entered and the two adversarial groups put aside their differences temporarily when beset by a huge army of Chosen.

The two forces battled valiantly, but were eventually forced through the fissure and into long-closed chambers beyond. Within they found a great hall that led to nothing less than the Engine of the Machine itself.

Within the Engine, it is said that they discovered - at long last - that rumored treasure of the Underdark known as "The Jewels of Dunwarren." The Jewels, it turned out, were not gemstones... but rather a series of astonishing illusions and imagery located in a lightstone mine that depicted momentous events of the past.

As word has spread of the discovery of these huge new chambers within the Machine, a motley collection of pilgrims have begun to journey to the Engine Room and set up crude camps within. Many scrappers, tent-dwellers, wandering mercenaries, former residents of the Housing Vaults, Starag's Rest, Upper, Lower, and more have decided to put aside their differences and venture to this solemn hall of ancient Machinery and assemble there, waiting... waiting, for what?

[Howlando]

::[ Flamerule 30th : Year 166 : 1388 DR ]::

Another momentous day in the Underdark.

It began with the sound of a loud explosive crack, echoing through the Underdark.

The waters of the Dark Lake began to CHURN in an INTENSITY beyond description.

The great bulwarks and rock escarpments of the Middledark... cracked and crumbled. The acidic waters of the Dark Lake, of the Elder Slime that has slumbered there, churned those sections of rockwall that separated it from the great abyss of the Lowerdark.

The devastation is tremendous. Huge sections of the underdark have been swept away.

The waters flooded across this fresh chasm and poured in a titanic waterfall into the Lowerdark below.

The tsunami flooded into the Lowerdark with consequences uncertain. The middledark rumbled and churned with the intensity of the changes that have taken place.

Caverns and tunnels have collapsed. Thick acidic spraying mists have risen.

The waters have rushed from the Lake into the depths below. The waters have drained from the Dunwarren Canal and flooded Lower into the Lake. It was hours before a new equilibrium was established.

The canal  of Dunwarren and Lower Sanctuary remain damp, but have been drained. Much of the Dark Lake is now mucky and exposed.

The Lowerdark has become an ocean once more?

It is said that the Covenant of the Pure succeeded in their great mission. It is said that the man known as Marco "Bresley" and the Slime Sipper Tahver gave their lives in sacrifice to awaken the ooze and flood the depths.

It is said that they succeeded.

Much remains uncertain and unknown. Many speculate as to what has happened with the Dread City of Ysinode in the deep depths. Some, optimistically, suppose that it too has been swept away.

Some are more doubtful.

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[Ironside]

::[ Flamerule, Shieldmeet : Year 166 : 1388 DR ]::

At last.

At last.

A trembling leper, long forgotten by the powers that be in Sanctuary, awakens this night to find that the itching rot that afflicted him these five years has faded from his flesh.  Tumors, sores, boils and buboes all give way to smooth skin and thoughts of maidens locked away are pushed aside in favor of other fancies...

To those who have survived it, a small mercy has been granted  - the Withering Curse of H'bala is no more.

The tale of how this came to be is scattered and sparse, but a few details are universal:

That the Spellguard and their allies journeyed once more above to the isle Ymph, there to claim - by some technological marvel or sorcerous trick - a key component of their Machine.

That they plundered the depths of Nebezzdos, unshackling prisoners long entombed there... and laying one of that dark cities Wardens to rest.

That beneath the burning light of the Red Star, shimmering close above the deserts of Ymph, they touched its crimson Fire.

...And that this Fire brought an end to the work of the Lichess upon Ymph.  The Island is empty now, desolate and picked clean of both its mortal inhabitants and the fleshy dead things of H'bala.

Upon their return, two small gifts were brought before the First Citizen;  stories abound as to their nature, some claiming they are precious gemstones or orbs of light or most quietly... that they are seeds of the great and terrible Doom Tree.

Whatever the case may be, Dhimani has accepted the gifts with glee.  With a devious smirk, he has ordered another two steps to ignition completed.

Whatever these Final Instructions may bring, they near their foreboding terminus. 

// Streams
Part 1
Part 2

[Halfbrood]

Flamerule, Shieldmeet : Year 166 : 1388 DR

At a time of chaos, and uncertainty, a brief respite was had today as, following the recent cure of the Withering.

Long since hidden away in the alleys of the House Vaults, those of the 'Wither Pit' finally step out, free from the Withering.

First, they made their way to Mouldercrest's and ate their fill, then finding a guide, lead by a Weary Stygian soldier, they made their way to Engine Town.

Their passage to the Grand Hall was mostly uneventful, having only to content with a few scratches and bites from wayward Chosen.

However, on the last leg of their journey, it is said they were met with a strange sight. A small, polished-silver Animatron, with clean, well-kept, mechanical wings.

It seemed to greet them, and then with some manner of Lightstone Projection Arm, it attempted to converse.

It is said that it asked to help, apparently knowing the Great Work that was being done within.

The group entered Engine Town, the Animatron in tow, and as soon as it entered, it (with an almost childlike glee) set about working on the Great Engine, and busying itself with some work or another, that it seemed to know.

This same animatron, it is said, was none other than the Infamous Host, that in the Breaking of the Witch's Curse, seems to have been freed from its Withered, Infected Chains.

It was not the only happy ending to be had:

The nervous bartender Norrin the Duergar settles himself at the End-of-the-Line Bar, as if he`d never left the Wither Pit, cleaning mugs warily...

The weary Stygian rejoins his brothers, and share tales of their ventures since their parting.

Yors the Philosopher finds solace in conversation with Dogshit, muttering his hatred of the Gods in new surroundings.

And Dull-Eyed Bluto joins Norrin at the bar, eyeing those that come close with his usual, dim-witted stare.

More and more gather about the Great Engine, and it becomes more evident with each passing day that within those mechanized, machine-like walls, the fate of many is to be decided, for good or ill.

[Howlando]

PART 1

STREAM: Here or Here

For 166 years, Sanctuary has endured.

At 12th bell of Eleasis 8, Dhimani's Army mustered in the Halls of Governance. The First Citizen had announced a raid upon the Gemgrind Mines, and declared that it was a mandatory assault.

At the appointed hour, all of Sanctuary's strength gathered there. Hundreds of shiny new animatronic war machines, fresh from the forges. The remnants of the Watchers & Warders. The Society of the Ordered Mind. Scrappers and adventurers and mercenaries and nearly all the fighting folk of Sanctuary.

Towering above it all, was Dhimani's newest and great animatronic weapon, the "Sanctuary Siege Carrier," a huge bull with a compartment large enough to fit dozens of warriors within its belly.

Dhimani himself soon arrived in his own personal war machine, the great prancing "Eye of Dhimani."

He spoke:

"Melinda Bresley was afraid of the Dread...."
"She did not wish to antagonize them over much. Some part of her hated them, but some part of her thought it wiser to hide."
"She allowed them to conduct their experimentations upon our people... she allowed them to send out their Pale Boxes, and their Collared, unknowing slaves....."
"...my policy shall be different. They are a terrible foe, but they can be defeated. And the answer has been here all along."
"I know what the Machine does. It is a weapon."
"A weapon that will ensure none can stand against me. A weapon that can defeat the Dread Empire in its entirety. But first, it needs to be completed."
"To do so, we need more Dhimanium."
"For quite some time, we have been tracking the Dread - learning that they use the substance themselves to power their pylons and spires...."
"They have been mining it somewhere called the Gemgrind mines...."
"We have learned the coordinates of these Gemgrind mines. We have found evidence of its huge stores of Dhimanium."
"Now, we are mustered to invade them."

He then paused.

He walked up to Agent Bordax, the quiet Spellguard Agent who had long been responsible for maintaining many of the Mythallar's Teleportation Powers.

"Agent Bordax. Are the coordinates ready?"

"Yes, sir! The mythallar portal has been attuned. It will lead directly into the mines."

"Very good. There is only one problem."

"What is that, sir?"

"There are. Too. Many. Fucking. THRALLS in my Sanctuary."

"What...?"

And with that, Basian Dhimani reached forward with his animatronic replacement arm.... and he crushed the Agent's head with his steel grip. The Agent-Thrall's head popped and blue fluid sprayed everywhere, instantly marking him indeed as a nothing less than a thrall in the heart of Sanctuary.

Dhimani turned to face the crowd, grinning, as he worked to change the coordinates in the Mythallar Portal device...

"The Gemgrind mines await us, it's true."

"Their trap awaits us, it's true."

"So I have a better idea."

"Let's go straight to the problem of all of this."

"Sanctuary..."

"The time for HIDING is over. Ysinode is vulnerable, more vulnerable than it EVER has been. It possesses huge stores of dhimanium in its vault. Huge quantities of gold."

"Sanctuary, let's go to Ysinode."

"They are not EXPECTING US."

"Sanctuary! Prepare yourselves. The ELDER BRAIN OF YSINODE AWAITS YOU! Here, HERE is our chance to SHOW THEM WHAT WE CAN DO."

And with that, Animator Dhimani climbed up into its Eye... and, to the sounds of cheers and shouts and panicked mumblings, Sanctuary's army passed into the assault portal and prepared their assault.

Ysinode and its Elder Brain awaited them.[/I]

[Howlando]

PART 2

The attack on Ysinode was a battle like none other.

The Elder Brain of Ysinode had been forced to erect a psionic shield to protect its city from the great tsunami of ooze that had filled the Lowerdark some days earlier.  The effort was no doubt taxing even for its extraordinary mental powers.

Cut off from the surface, much of its forces had been diminished or drowned in the recent calamity.

Ysinode was certainly far more vulnerable than it had ever been, and yet....

It was still a terribly dangerous place.

The forces of Sanctuary raged against it, facing all kinds of new experimental monsters and terrible defenders. It was a war of animatronic machinery and the best of the brave free peoples of the world against the most elite of the Dread's monsters.

The battle raged across the Plains of Dread, through the obelisk-defended superstructure of Ysinode's gates, and into its very streets and spires.

The battle raged into the heart of Ysinode.  And as they approached the Elder Brain's sanctum, a sending from Sanctuary rang out:

"ALERT! ALERT! Thralls from the Dread have seized the House of Governance - they've taken the mythallar chamber - They have linked it to the Dread Empire's armies! THE DREAD ARE INVADING. HURRY BACK TO SAVE US!"

And so, the Army of Sanctuary was faced with a terrible choice. Do they return to try to save their home? Or do they continue to press the assault and perhaps slay the Elder Brain itself?

They decided to continue their assault.

One by one, they entered and destroyed the Shield Generator buildings that defended the Brain's sanctum.

The Siege Carrier then blasted a hole through the walls of the sanctum.

The horrors they found within are almost beyond description.

But, in the end, after terrible loss of life... the Elder Brain was slain, its pleading psionic shrieks and cries of horror cut short as its huge quivering bulk was pulverised and ruined.

[Howlando]

PART 3

Although a great victory had been struck in the depths of the Lowerdark, Sanctuary had been left undefended and - with its powerful portal-device linked directly to forces of the Dread that existed elsewhere - was soon overwhelmed.

In Sanctuary, abject scenes of horror play out:

--- The Grotto fills with shrieking civilians, and old Hoage Smeed has bolted down the hatch... outside the Freedom Square is slick with blood. Dread Thralls run wild on the streets, butchering wailing mothers and dashing their babes against the cobbles. The House of Governance is overwhelmed. ---

--- The House of Knowledge is aflame.. its scholars, those with any talent in the Arcane, usher what survivors they can into the looming bulk of Serena Tower...  ---

--- Sending stones crackle with the wailing of dozens, each new cry for aid cut short with the sound of blades. ---

--- ...The Grotto is overwhelmed. A hulking Umber gores the hatch open, and its ever friendly patrons die bravely - but futilely. ---

--- Smeed sinks a cleaver into the beast, only to be decapitated by a bite.  ---

--- Jarson Coddle claws at the doors behind, spilling sweetpie.. cut down in a flash. ---

--- The Seer of the House of Trade sees her death -- but with no real talent for prediction, she weaves left... when she ought to have rolled right. ---

--- Serena Tower emits a low frequency hum - a final civilian is ushered inside, and then - forgotten for a decade - its old Shield fires to life. A shimmering wall of force and lightning blasts the Dread host as they attempt the Tower`s climb. Whatever skeleton crew remains must have re-birthed the defenses that ensured survival for the Sanctuary that was. ---

--- Serena Tower is a lighthouse beacon atop a sea of madness. Again and again its wards are tested, and again and again they hold... but beyond... Sanctuary is a killing field. The work is methodical now. Precise. Each tenement of the Vaults is emptied, burned, and its meek dwellers enthralled. ---

--- Denizens throughout the Dark feel, as the Elder Brain psionically SCREAM in TERROR, before it is at long last, abruptly silenced ---

--- In Sanctuary, Serena Tower holds behind its flickering shield. The rest of the ruined city is silent... save for one sound. The sound of a wail - twin to the dying shriek of Ysinode`s Elder Brain. It rises from the throats of all thralls present. Their dull peace is broken. ---

--- They fly into a rage. And something thunders behind them... something forgotten.. much to the woe of all. The Monument of Hubris. Now, bereft of its piloting Elder, towers over the smouldering rubble, and raises a gargantuan grey matter fits. It batters the Shield of Serena Tower -- and with a groaning effort -- punches through...
It tears the Tower Serena in two. ---

--- The last survivors meet their doom with all the dignity of Commander Simms, facing down the maw of destiny. ---

But Sanctuary...

does not endure.

[Howlando]

PART 4

The survivors of the attack on Sanctuary returned in the Carrier Animatron to find their home had been devastated.

Strange aberrant growths have sprouted from within the House of Governance, and a steady stream of experimental "Bloats" - creatures that oddly resemble old dwellers of Sanctuary's past - have begun to emerge and wander aimlessly through the streets. It is unknown what faction of the Dread is responsible for this peculiar horror.

It is unknown what has happened to the Monument of Hubris, that mighty super-weapon of the Dread.

It is known that all of Sanctuary's survivors have traveled deep into the Machine, there to join the motley camp that has come to be called Enginetown.

What remains of Sanctuary has collected there, and some among them have assembled a hasty memorial. It reads:

Those who died to slay the Elder Brain of Ysinode

Watchers and Warders:

   Operative-Animator Claire Chambers
Agent 'Chief Herald' Isolde Mhaile
Sergeant Marcus 'Rusty' Goodman
Sergeant Westra 'Nothing Else' Hornraven
Warder-Adept 'Titles' Melissa Hardden
Watcher Waylon 'Forks' Burke
   Watcher Marcus 'Greater' Bryant
   Engineer Jebeddoc Sparklegem
   Watcher Holan Asen
   Watcher Athazar Oakrum
   

Ordinants and Oathsworn:

   Ordinant Davis Stagerdt
   Ordinant Rante Addams
   Ordinant Thavic Darstan
   Ordinant Mulonde Echo
        Ordinant Lothor Eardmarck
   Oathsworn Cecily 'Silver' Morasha
   Oathsworn Ivar Ragnarsson
   Oathsworn Penello Haventree


Citizens and Adventurers:

   Soto 'Survivor' Kon
   Gascoid Huntstag
   Miira Te'lissen
   Feyre Elenth
   Qattor Hazz
   Ordmor Cogswoggle
Mungo Hackney
Corlane Barrencrown
Golg Worgshurk
Ivassar Undolir
Scrivener Garenth Irkrule
Rhelnar Tyletho
Oshur 'The Brains' Aurumvarr
Ulf 'The Fists' Karogaev
Marshall Winter
Stein
Da'jaga Tk'kru

Divicacus Ap Brennus
Silari Moadi of Avoreen
Safira Havengem
Warden Kora 'Bramble' Bramblefoot of Yondalla
'Nails'
Ayrissa
Gyxtra 'Bird' Valix
Ikran
Shreya Berhta
Ramazir Al-Maladin, Protector of the Faussauds
Ianovar Blake
Mehalia

The survivors of all the fighting are left to consider their uncertain future.

Will the Dread forces move from the ruins of Sanctuary to hunt them deep in the Machine?

Will the Chosen muster once more?

And where is the key to the Ignition Switch of the Machine?

And if it's turned on, what will it do?

STREAM: Here or Here

[Howlando]

And what happened to First Citizen Dhimani?

It is said that after the raid on Ysinode the First Citizen - conspicuously absent from  the most dangerous parts of the battle - returned to a devastated Sanctuary and gazed with supreme indifference upon the scenes of murder and destruction of the city in which he had lived.

He, like so many others, then entered into the Machine and found refuge in Enginetown.

After supervising the delivery of huge quantities of "dhimanium" into the Engine's fuel receptacles, he dismounted from his Eye and went to the Ignition Switch.

Smugly producing his own specially designed-key mounted upon a finger of his animatronic hand, he declared that he himself would be the Key to the Machine.

When he inserted his 'key' into the Ignition Switch, however, something strange happened.

Something - or someone - seemed to take control over the proud Animator's animatronic arm, and caused his hand to lift slowly.... and throttle himself to death.

Many believe that somehow  some ghostly remnants of Melinda Serena Bresley lives on in the great Machine, and that - filled with fury and sorrow at the fall of Sanctuary - she found her revenge upon the old Animator for failing to ensure that Sanctuary endured.

[Howlando]

::[ Eleasis 12th : Year 166 : 1388 DR ]::

In the darkness far beyond, strange lights flicker upon a sickening world. Floating `midst the void, the terrible sinuous immensity that is that primordial devourer of gods.... the manifestation of the apocalypse itself....that great beast known as Dendar the Night Maiden....

.... dreams. She dreams in some strange slumber.

Long glutted upon forgotten nightmares, the Night Serpent dreams her own.

Her body writhes in the agony of her terrible dream.

She tenses - and awakens - hungry. The dream.... the vision?.... sends her into a frenzy.

The serpent hunts, and comes at last upon the form of Oghma, Lord of Knowledge. As the coils of the Nightmaiden wrap around the God of Knowing, he whispers to her a final revelation.... before he is silenced.

The Night Serpent is aroused to an even greater fury. She begins her killing once more. A terrible, wrathful feast.

All characters, depending upon their sensitivity to matters of the divine, begin to sense the terrible silences that follow during the following hours.

As the remaining gods go silent... it is clear the world itself has begun to die. Plant life, everywhere, starts to wilt and fade. Simple animals and insects begin to collapse into some strange lethargy.

// If your character is a cleric with full spell-casting abilities, please contact a DM //

[Howlando]

:[ Eleasis 13th : Year 166 : 1388 DR ]::

There is, abruptly, the sound of a terrible horn that echoes from the House of Governance.

Then, as your sending stones crackle, a sending:

"Greetings, monkeys. Allow me to introduce myself - I am Maszethilb, and long have been I tasked with the supervision of your society. You have been an interesting experiment, a place where we could study your kind in its natural form without the exertion of direct control. But -

You have broken from the limits imposed on you. You have acted wild and irregular. You have murdered Elder Ysinode, and for this you have been punished.

Now you hide deep in your Machine, protected by your Bull and little else. This we know well. Now you toy with things you do not understand

They will not save you. It is time to put your toys away. Abandon your Machine, de-activate your bull, and throw your weapons into the abyss. Your world is dying, your kind are so few now.... help me help you by preserving your kind in special new ecospheres I will design for you.

It is time to give up. Emerge from the Machine and surrender yourselves. If you do not - in twenty four hours, the Elder Brains have decided you will finally be destroyed. Your Mythallar connects us to their armies. You have twenty four hours, and then my kind will come for yours in our full strength.

Twenty four hours only do you have. This is my final warning."

.