From the journal of Kenari Sanura
"The Nomad? You all came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" Violetta laughs as we get the last of the slaves through the portal and prepare to load them onto our ship. Space ends up being a bit limited… but considering the alternative, I don't hear anybody complaining.
"So…" Ef Utan begins after everyone gets settled in. "We've got a Dvati missing his other half who is going to die a slow painful death if we don't do something about it. I suggest we put him out of his misery."
Word and I nod in agreement as Vedis and Lenata gasp in surprise. "I'm not too comfortable with that…" Vedis begins. "How about we take his body and brain to the Temple of Nephtys where I can try to commune with this lands representation of my god? Melchot was a Dreamer, after all…"
"Can't argue with that I guess," Ef Utan replies. "Just as long as we do something before he starts to suffer."
After a few hours we return to the planet in the Shadowsphere with the Mulhorand outpost and Vedis and Lenata take the body of Melchot to the Temple of Nepthys. Prayers are said… offerings are made…and POOF! Melchot's body and the canister with his brain in it disappear in a cloud of smoke.
Vedis sighs in relief. "There… now we can go."
On our way back to the ship we pass the Temple of Maat and Ef Utan suggests we go in to make sure that everything is ok between the goddess and ourselves. "Last thing we need is for her cosmic foot to go stomping on us." The others agree… but personally I can't wait to get out of here and leave these temples behind.
Everything seems normal inside the temple this time… and when Ef Utan climbs into the scales, this time it balances. "Should we all take turns getting in again?" Vedis asks.
"Knock yourself out if you want to but I'm not doing it," I scoff. "There aren't any magical barriers keeping us in here this time, are there?"
"No…but…"
"Great, then the gods can keep their opinions about my personal life to themselves!" I roll my eyes and stomp out of the temple back to the ship. "I try to be good… I try and help people… travel across the galaxy to find them…" I mutter to myself.
When we get back to the ship I leap into the scaffolding and make an announcement to the ex-slaves looking at the settlement in wonder. "Those of you who wish to stay here in this city are free to remain. Once we leave with the Dream Stone the sleep should end and life should return to this sphere as it once was. Those of you who wish to stay, however, or go to somewhere else… arrangements can be made." Cheers go up in the crowd as those who wish to stay start filing down the gangplank. When they are done, 15 slaves remain as well as the Mithral Scarab.
"What about you?" I ask as she walks over and I leap down to the deck. "If you don't mind, I'd like to go to Braal. Like you, I am a Seeker… and I have much to tell."
"You and me both, sister," I smile.
"Ok… so what about the Dream Stone?" Vedis asks a few days later as we finally start our journey back to Bral. "I think we should take it to the realm of Dreams… I mean, that's what it's made from, right?"
"Sounds like a good as an idea as any," I reply. "Besides, I don't want to take my chances getting stuck in the flow and having that thing blow up. I'll go get the special sails!"
I head down below decks as Hatuk and his crew start removing the current sails, and Ef Utan hails the bridge over the pipes and lets Lenata know of her next destination.
Thankfully with our now experienced crew the change doesn't take very long… and with the proper recitation of a few special words, we find ourselves in the swirling mists of the realm of Dreams.
"Woaaah…. that's some good stuff!" Melchior mutters from his reclining seat on a pile of ropes on deck.
"I told you we'd show you some great things," I chuckle.
"All right then… let's get this over with," Ef Utan mutters as he walks to the edge of the deck and hurls the small crystal pyramid into the mists… where it rapidly expands until with a small POP it disappears.
The sound of clapping rings out behind us as we all turn to find the hazy image of Tain, that over-the-top Reigar with a love of inter-dimensional closets, and a mysterious woman with a large floppy hat and a feather in it. I'm about to ask who she is when I hear Vedis gasp and whisper behind me.
"The Queen of Thistles!"
Ah… this is the woman in Vedis' vision that holds those gladiatorial games in the realm of Dreams!
"That's my team!" Tain says in glee as he elbows the woman in the side. "You owe me three planets, now!"
That… that bastard! This was all for a BET?!
Before I can let loose my anger, however, the hazy image of the two fades into nothing yet again.
"Well that's just bloody fantastic," I growl as I slap my hands to my sides and walk off. "I'm going to be below decks. If anybody needs me, they can wait till the noises stop coming from my room."
A few days later Dassam and I finally decide to take a breather from showing just how much we missed each other, and I walk up on deck to find the familiar swirling skies of the Ethereal Plane. "What's up?" I ask Vedis as I join her on the bow of the ship with Melchior smoking his pipe nearby.
"We're heading back to the Sapphire Mage in hopes that he can properly dispose of the Witchlight Marauder Key," she explains. "Considering his access to the demiplane of Time, he should be able to make sure that nobody can get their hands on it."
"Sounds good to me… nobody should have access to that kind of destructive power, no matter what they say they're going to do with it." I clap Melchior on the shoulder and smile. "Hey, maybe we'll get lucky and Murlynd will stop by again!"
His eyes bulge and he rears forward in a series of coughs, nearly causing him to drop his pipe. "Easy Mel… don't forget to breathe," I chuckle as I sit down with him to share the pipe. "So tell me… what happened to you back with the zombies, anyway?"
"Craziest thing," he manages to say finally. "You know how theatre stages usually have an underneath for all the prop people and such?" I nod and exhale slowly, the swirls of smoke joining the other patterns in the ethereal. "I got grabbed by one of those zombies and pulled underground to find that the whole blasted realm was just one big stage! It was like a whole bunch of extras waiting for their turn in the spotlight down there. Thank Murlynd I was able to make my way through that mess and get back above again to rejoin you all."
"You have my sympathies and my apologies that we weren't able to find you, Melchior," I reply as I hand him the pipe. "Have I ever told you about the time when I got separated from the group? Floating alone in the flow isn't fun, I can tell you…"
What I can only assume is a few days later (hard to tell in the Ethereal) we return once again to the tower of the Sapphire Mage, who is more than willing to send the key back to the beginning of time itself. When Melchior asks about Murlynd, however, he shakes his head sadly. "I'm sorry, noble one… but Murlynd doesn't usually tell me ahead of time when he's going to walk through my doors; he just shows up when he needs me."
"Gods… never around when you need them, are they?" I chuckle as I wrap my arm around Melchior's shoulders and do my best to console him. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm still willing to listen to what you have to do to get one of those shiny star badges…"
"Well, what now?" Vedis asks as we return to the ship.
"I don't know about you all… but I've got a certain Reigar in mind that needs to answer a few questions," Ef Utan says grimly.
"Refuge it is, then…" Lenata says with a nod as she takes her familiar seat at the helm and we're travelling once again… but this time staying in the Ethereal Plane in order to make the trip go (hopefully) quicker.
Luckily for the Reigar, we found him at one of the fancier bars around town instead of having to go to his place… and after a few drinks (on his tab of course) I've calmed my anger down a bit. "Look, all I'm saying is… if you're going to make a bet on my life, you could at least cut me in on a percentage next time!"
The Reigar chuckles. "Duly noted… duly noted. I can't thank you all enough for coming through like that… I needed that planet for my new party house!"
Ef Utan rolls his eyes and Vedis stomps his foot under the table. "So.. who exactly was that other Reigar we saw?"
"Ah… that was Rakshen… more the fool him, thinking he could win a bet against me. Where is your lovely angelic companion by the way.. the one with the white hair?"
"She went to speak with the EIN and let them know that the key was 'lost' to everyone involved," answers Vedis. "I think she's also asking about the engineer they loaned us… she fit so well with the crew, it would be a shame to lose her."
"I think she's looking for you-know-who," I joke.
"Well we all can't be as fortunate as you to have our loved ones on board," Vedis replies with a snort. Dassam squeezes my hand under the table as I try to hide my blush by taking a long gulp of beer.
Once we've had our fill of drinks and finally unwound, we head back to the docks to find Violetta talking with Lenata by the gangplank.
"Thank you again for all of your help," she says as she shakes each of our hands. When she comes to me she pulls the deck of Harrowing cards from her pouch and puts them in my hand with a grin and a wink. "Be careful with these, now."
"Why don't you come with us on our travels?" offers Lenata. "Your skills would be incredibly useful, and we'd love to hear your stories."
"I appreciate the offer, but I've got my own family of freaks I need to watch over," she jokes as she waves a hand over her shoulder and walks away. "Besides… you've got your own stories to write!"
EPILOGUE
BOOM
If the loud noise that rung out over the ship hadn't already woken me from my nap, the group of teenagers stumbling over each other to get to my door first certainly would have. Just when I was getting to the part where Tain gave me one of those planets he won, too.
"Kenari… come quick!" one of the older girls who ended up on top of the pile announced in a rush.
"By Bast's left whisker… what's going on now, Jadana?" I muttered as I wiped the sleep from my eyes and stumbled after them down the hallway towards the stairs to the upper deck.
"It's the Dwarves!" said one of the excited boys behind me. Adanu… I think that's his name. "One of them started throwing these things off the side of the ship, and before you know it…"
"They started exploding!" finished another one of the boys.
Raelin, maybe? I'm too tired to remember names this morning. Silly me, thinking I'd finally get to sleep in after finally getting everything straightened out with the Dream Stone. Last time I let Hatuk convince me to join a game of Dragon Ante when his firewater is involved.
"And why did you guys come get me for this?" I moaned as I shielded my eyes from the bright morning sun shining down without pity upon the main deck.
"Well that big man with the swords, he yelled at the Dwarves, and when he asked them what they were doing…" Jadana replied.
"They said they were doing it for you!" Janros finished with a grin as he pointed across the deck at the two Dwarves, one of them bent over the rail laughing with the other slapping his back.
"And why would they want to do that?" I groan as I rub my forehead.
Dassam lands (thankfully quietly) next to me on the deck from the rigging above and smiles as he points towards the group of female elves talking on the upper deck and wraps his other arm around my waist. "It seems that the Emerald Scarab is full of stories about you and your friends, love… and when she talks about you, things tend to explode."
"Like with those monks!" says Jadana excitedly.
"Or against those pirates!" offers Janros.
"I like when she used those Thunderstones against the slavers the best," says Raelin with a grin.
"Okay…okay," I chuckle. "I just hope that for all that noise they've come up with something good. I'll go talk to them and see what's up."
Dassam looks to the Mulhorandi teenagers with a raised eyebrow. "And now that you've retrieved her, I know some people who are supposed to be helping me repair the sails," he says with mock sternness.
"Aw Dassam…" they moan.
"No complaints…it takes a working ship to have those adventures, you know."
I grin lopsidedly and walk over to the two Dwarves who have finally stopped laughing and caught their breath.
"Oh, that one is definitely a keeper, Atsu," Azibo says as he wipes the soot and tears from his eyes with a hankerchief he pulls from his pocket.
"But what do we call it?" says Atsu.
"How about we call it a day, guys?" I reply. "I love new inventions… really, I do… but do you have to test them so early in the morning?"
"Early?" scoffs Azibo as he whips out a pipe from his apron and lights it. "It's mid-afternoon at least, missy!"
"Afternoon?" I repeat incredulously. "That's it, Hatuk… no more of that firewater!" I call up into the rigging to a chorus of laughter from above.
"Yes, afternoon," says Ef Utan as he comes through the door from below decks and holds it open for some of the older Mulhorandi who have their arms full of food. "Now that you're finally up, why don't you help your new friends since they were nice enough to make us lunch."
The delicious scents of figs and meats tickle my nose as my stomach rumbles. "Ah… real food… magic rings are a blessing, but they can't beat a well-cooked piece of meat!"
A few hours later plates are emptied and bottles start to get passed around the circle of companions, crew and ex-slaves… but skip over the younger group to many moans of disappointment.
"How about a story, at least?" asks young Adanu as he yawns and lays his head in Syana's lap.
"Yes, I'd love to hear more about Sapphira," says Kagiri, a female Tiefling from the group of Mulhorandi slaves we saved. "Did she take out many of these slavers before she passed?"
"Monk Surfing!" shouts Raelin and Janros together.
Lenata coughs and sets down her cup of mead as she clears her throat. "What was that?"
"Monk surfing!" cheers Raelin. "That's when you were all chasing those monks on the rooftops when Vedis fell and Kenari took out that monk by grabbing his…"
"What exactly have you been filling their heads with, Kenari?" Lenata asks as she looks at me doubtfully.
"Wasn't me, honestly," I laugh as I lean back in Dassam's arms. "I kind of want to hear this one, though… it's one of my favorites too!"
"Afraid it's my fault," says Irisi, a bronze-skinned female elf with long dark hair. "My friends and I had been talking to the Emerald Scarab for the past few days, and she shared many a story with me about your adventures."
"But… how are there so many stories about us?" Vedis asks in wonder as she sips her drink.
The Emerald Scarab leans forward and shows her Seeker pin to the group. "Word tends to get around when members of our group do amazing things," she replies with a grin.
"Oh you've got no idea how right you are about that one," I chuckle to myself.
"So does that mean we can have a story, now?" begs Reilin.
"As much as I would love to hear more about what Kenari did to irritate the Shu," Lenata says with a roll of her eyes, "I think what we really need to talk about is the future, instead of the past." She looks around at her companions and the group of freed slaves. "Now that we've stopped the 10th Pit plots with the Dream Stone and freed you from your imprisonment… what are your plans?" She gestures to the Emerald Scarab. "We are currently on our way to the asteroid city of Bral in order to reunite her with the Seekers, if any of you wish to depart there."
A low murmur fills the air as people shrug their shoulders and begin to talk amongst themselves. Irisi and the two elves on either side of her lean in close to whisper to each other before nodding in agreement.
"If we may ask… what are your plans, Kenari?"
"Me?" I say in surprise, as I wasn't expecting to be asked so soon. I sit up and look over my shoulder at Dassam, who nods in approval. "Well… I was thinking of returning back to Mulhorand, actually."
"I thought you hated that place?" Vedis asks as she leans back and rests on her elbows.
I tug on my ear and laugh. "Not so much the place as the people… which is exactly why I want to go back." I clear my throat and do my best to put on my serious face. "After what I saw the 10th Pit do to so many innocent people… to all of you," I gesture to our new friends, "and to our lost friend Sapphira, I've decided that I want to continue aiding the anti-slavery movement. I mean really… who needs that kind of help more than the people of Mulhorand, right? Besides… I need to see if the Temple of Bast is still there, because I've got a doozy of a story to tell."
Lenata smiles. "I am pleased to hear you've taken up such a good cause, Kenari."
"Now don't think that this means you can leave me out of it if you guys come up with our next grand adventure now," I joke with a wag of my finger.
"Someone's got to go first to check for traps," Ef Utan replies.
"Well good… as long as I know I'm still needed," I chuckle.
"I too would like to fight the slavers," says Kagiri, the female Tiefling. I had seen her in the battle around the pyramid… she fought with determination and not without a sense of joy from what I could tell. Something tells me she didn't have the best of times with her captors.
"You're going to need new weapons in that fight now, so you better be taking us along!" pipes up Azibo to the agreement of his brother. "Besides, we just got the first prototype of the Boomer Bomb to work!"
Irisi laughs. "You will need a storyteller to chronicle your adventures, will you not? I have longed to be able to tell the stories of true heroes again."
Ef Utan snorts. "That's all she needs," he mutters.
"We want to come too!" announces the group of younger Mulhorandi.
"I don't know about that, guys… this isn't exactly going to be the safest thing for kids, you know..." I begin.
"Compared to being a slave for a bunch of foul demon worshippers who could send you to your death inside the pyramid at any moment, you mean?" replies Marosia, one of the older teenagers who had taken on a bit of a den mother role to the others.
"Well… when you put it that way…"
"Besides, we could help! You will need eyes and ears in town who can run messages, right?" continues Janros.
"Okay… okay… you guys have a point!" I reply as I raise my hands in surrender to their cheers.
"Mmm… temple ladies…" mutters Caelin, a male Tiefling. "I wouldn't mind coming either," he says with a wink as Dassam growls low behind me. I reach back and give his hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Okay… what about the rest of you? Is there anyone who doesn't want to come with me?" I ask, my brain running through ideas of what we could do with so many people willing to help.
One of the older humans named Ellatar stands up after talking to the remaining ex-slaves. "While not all of us are interested in battle, we too would like to aid the temple and give thanks to the Goddess for sending you to help us, Kenari."
"She didn't send me anywhere," I scoff. "I just got tired of waiting."
Lenata smiles as she gets up to return to the helm and pats my shoulder. "Mysterious ways, Kenari… mysterious ways."
I hope you all enjoyed the story of one of my favorite Pathfinder/D&D campaigns ever! You can also check out our site for the campaign where we have all kinds of artwork to go with the journals: campaigns/spelljoined