D&D Campaign One: Scalebreakers - 017
Echoes
Before the Scalebreakers finally left the camp of the Forgotten behind, Jebeddo had a deeply unsettling encounter with the dwarf Bramm. He seemed completely mentally shattered and spoke in confused hints. Although Jebeddo sensed that something was massively wrong with the dwarf, the exact nature of his madness remained an ominous mystery in the shadows of the caves.
The First Day
The first day of their descent led the group through the singing glass canyons. On extremely narrow, natural bridges, they had to maneuver past razor-sharp obsidian stalactites. The nerve-wracking climb was mostly successful, but it took its toll: Skarn lost his grip on the treacherous edges and could only be saved from a fatal fall by using a precious healing potion.
The Second Day
On the second day, the environment changed drastically. Gravity seemed to be suspended in places within a massive cave, while dense dust and ash danced weightlessly through the air. The hostile aura of this place grabbed directly at the group's minds. No one could resist the psychological pressure, and they were plagued by cruel hallucinations that mercilessly focused on their deepest inner fears and emotional wounds:
• Skarn experienced how his beloved mechanical arm was corrupted by pitch-black obsidian and toxic purple liquid, while his master's voice bitterly reproached him for misusing the runes.
• Jebeddo felt a complete, cold rejection from the mountain. The ash screamed with the voices of crushed rock, and he was deluded into believing that he had failed as Thavax and arrived too late.
• Keithara was cut off from her goddess in her vision. The comforting stars went out, replaced by a sickly purple light, and a mocking voice from the deep ridiculed Sehanine's power.
• Arrin was stripped of all his protective masks, his deceptions, and his sharp mind. Completely exposed, he saw his reflection aging rapidly and crumbling to dust, accompanied by the terrible realization that his clever tricks could not save him down here.
The Third Day
The third day revealed further horrors of Sector 9. The group came across an abandoned Kuori camp, but instead of survivors, they found only obsidian armor that had fused with the rocky ground in an unnatural way. All skeletons were missing. The only explanation was provided by a hastily scribbled logbook with the cryptic note: "...the runes are not holding... the barrier is flickering. The mountain is fighting back. We must...".
The Fourth Day
On the fourth day, a magical puzzle stood in the group's way. At a T-junction, the right path led into a chamber full of pedestals, while the left path ended in absolute and impenetrable darkness. Through trial and error, the Scalebreakers figured out the mechanics: only a very specific, hidden path through the darkness was safe. Every wrong step on the rock mercilessly teleported them back to the chamber with the pedestals until they finally mastered the correct route.
The Fifth Day
The fifth day brought them to a seemingly insurmountable barrier. A raging, massive river of lava cut off their path, and a trained eye revealed that this rift in the mountain was still relatively new. In this moment of hopelessness, Jebeddo connected deeply with his destiny. He sent his echo into the rock and asked the mountain for help. And the foundation answered its Thavax: with a thundering rumble, massive granite pillars shot up from the boiling lava and formed a safe bridge through the inferno.
The Sixth Day
After six days in the hostile depths, the Scalebreakers finally reached their destination. They stepped to the edge of a massive abyss and looked down upon the outskirts of Sector 9. The sight that presented itself to them was of apocalyptic violence: gigantic Primeval Wardens struck incessantly in a deafening frenzy against the shimmering barrier that protected the massive drill.