As noted by GM Ian Grey…
The Drow are on the move, and heroes on several worlds find themselves forced to take action, leading them from their homes through Gates & Shadowlands & various roads to the Traveller’s Rest. Hobb & Z find their rest in Gold Rush San Francisco interupted by the arival of Rook agent Mr. Flow who tells them of the Drow Incursion & gives them a list of new Gatecrashers they are to meet. While the House begins shifting from world to world, they find Eve & Vinnie caught on their doorstep. Ariving on the other side of the road from the Traveller’s Rest they disembark to meet the others and inform them of events, but are caught by suprise when Hobb is shot in the back. They turn just in time to see Genevieve screaming “Payback’s a bitch!” before throwing a lever on the control device the Rooks had added to the House years ago. As they watch the House (& Genny) vanish.
It is about then they spot a large force of Ogre Zombies are bearing down on them. Soon they and their newfound allies, plus the suprise cavalry brought by bard and Gatecrasher extrordinare Jillian Greenbottle, engage this latest Drow incursion, winning the day. Aldier Destante the Necromancer and his own undead Horde, Henk the renegade Gythzeri Monk, and two Brother Space Marines wielding technological death hit the enimy by suprise, while the barbarian king Godric, Vinnie Veritas, Eve, and a trio of elvish scouts aid Z & Hobb in hammering the Drow and their minions to powder. Only the Priestess escapes.
Disturbed by another report from the Rooks, it is decided the large company be broken into two smaller teams. Henk reapears having found and killed the Drow Priestess who had led them, with a nice little note mentioning a Gate & someplace beyond called the Styx Orsman that might prove useful. Hobb and Z are distrustful of “Team Chaos” (Jillian & Henk) given they apparently were the ones resposible for Genevieve’s new lease on life, but they decide the only way to handle things is to have Hobb lead one team off to seek the House, while Z gathers the rest to continue investigating the Drow threat. Torture reveals little except these Drow are particularly fanatical, and so they set out to follow their trail. They meet up with the the strange “superhero” Doc. Quantum on the road, and finaly reach a cave wherein they quickly defeat two Drow sentries but are in turn nearly killed by a particularly visious Verok.
Recovering from the fight with the demon, they find themselves joined by two more adventurers (one known to them), the elf Mezail and the Dwarven Priest Ron. Mezail decides to scout ahead, not knowing Henk has decided to invisibly follow. They find the Gate chamber, but Henk in his enthusiasm triggers a fight with another Verok lying in wait, and the Party soon finds itself on the ropes yet again before triumphing over evil. They pass through the Gate and...
...find themselves in the City of the Lady of Pain. There is a carnival where they arrive, and a carnie boasting of a way home for those brave enough to try. Dagoron is brave enough, enters the tent, screams, and is not seen again. He is soon replaced though by the barbaric little goblin warrior Musubi, who’s goal – fighting the Drow incursions – and interests – getting some action with that sweet lil’ Jillian – coincide with traveling with the Gatecrashers. The party also find Aldier Destante, last seen with the other expedition, who apparently was dropped off here by Nightgaunts for unknown purposes. Z notices a Drow in the crowd, gaudily dressed in bright red doublet & pants, but he vanishes before any action can be taken. They quickly make the acquaintance of a young Plaintouched named Nick Matchstick, who agrees to lead them to a safe place to stay, and later the Styx Oarsman. He also sells them a guidebook to the planes (which they even occasionally reference). But before they can properly set out on their way, a Djinn advances on them, asking them if one of them is named Henk. Henk nods, and the stranger reads a message for him – only to late do they realize it is actually a spell! A flux of magic destroys much of their magic items, and the Djinni flies away, shouting that this all was courtesy of Henk’s rival Calahan! Sadly, Henk has no idea who this Calahan might be…
While Nick leads them to the inn, they find themselves in an alley threatened by voices in their minds, demanding they not choose sides (“be neither martyrs for angels or trusting of devils, thrice-liars all…”). They readily agree, though only a few notice the strange rats in the alley with them, their scalps translucent, showing their brains.
While most of the party beds down at the Queen’s Prison Inn, Team Chaos (Henk & Jillian) wander off to look around, and run into none other than Eric Destante, (aka Darksong, or one of his many Clones). He tells them Aldier should be expecting a new contingent of followers soon, and that he is working for a party not unsympathetic to their cause. Even so, he states he’d happily gut some of the more heroic types they’re currently traveling with. Then, stating he’d shaft them one way or another, he “takes advantage” of the not-unwilling Jillian to Henk’s amusement in a nearby alley, before taking his leave. Jillian can’t help but feel dirty and cheap somehow.
The next morning, Z awakes in a sweat from dreaming of the mysterious Drow from the day before. A rose lies next to her pillow, and she finds (to her and her companions confusion) her natural Drow powers have been strengthened.
The company sets out to re-supply at the Merchant’s Quarter. As the others shop, Z & Doc. Quantum seek out a “Visa” booth they have heard exists here. The shop-keepers seems genuinely happy to see them, showing them into his booth. Once inside, the mysterious shop-keeper destroys their cards and gives Z some gold in return, then – while they are distracted, reveals a Mirror from which duplicates appear which immediately attack! Before the heroes brawling with themselves can get out of hand, the mysterious shop-keeper draws a Kukri, slips up behind the mirror-Quantum and cuts open his head. As the body dissipates, he deftly cuts open the forehead and devours the NR-Node which made him a Nova, then explodes with energy. And then he is gone. Meanwhile Z plays gun-fu with herself, until “Dark” Z uses a grenade to cover her escape.
Elsewhere Musubi & Godric indulge in some Shyden cooking takeout, ordering the “Fighting Food” and end up dueling a Chronovore. They triumph, but not before Godric is restored to his prime and Musubi to the throws of adolescence.
Gathering together in the wake of confusion in the market, they move on before they can be questioned by the Sons of Mercy, and follow Nick to the Styx Orsman. Struggling with paranoia, they take great precautions not to be seen entering together, and filter into the bar. Z makes contact with some Drow keeping a low profile, but finds out little. Godric & Quantum make some headway with the Marileth bartender, and hear about Rules-of-Three’s booth in the corner. Z has a short conversation with a Gythzeri scholar which leads nowhere, except that he proves to distrust Drow. The others later determine he is, in fact, Rule-of-Three, and is likely the one most useful in providing them with answers to their questions regarding the note. They have a rather confusing conversation with the old rhymer, but the gist of it results in his offering to help them along in their goals. The first of three missions he suggests is to travel to the Tower of the Prophet. Godric afterward has a paranoid fit though, reminding the heroes of the warning given by the Rats.
The Gatecrashers follow Nick to the Tower, where they are scrutinized by the Bear-like guardians. Only Doc. Quantum, Ron & Mezail are allowed to come close to the eye and receive a prophesy (a strange event in and of itself), and then take their leave to share their findings with the others, and later to the Orsman and Rule-of-Three. Rule-of-Three recommends (after listening to the prophecy) they travel to seek a legendary weapon to aid in their fight, and gives them a key and directions to a Gate to the World Tree, and how to traverse it to the Beastlands where said weapon may be found.
As they travel back to the Queen’s Prison Inn, they are ambushed by two hot-headed young temple guardians who are convinced they serve dark powers. Cooler heads prevail, and the group returns to the temple, faces a more compelling round of questions, but eventually proves their worth to the Celestial’s satisfaction.
Finally
they get back to the
Doc. Quantum orders everyone to sneak out the back while he flies out the window to distract the stranger. Everyone else decides they’d rather get involved, and spill out the front to make for one heck of a battle royal. Spells and energy bolts fly, and they quickly ascertain their tormentor has gained many of Doc. Quantum’s powers, and that he’s potent enough to fight them to a stand-still. Worse, the more they fight, the more he seems to be learning about the powers he’d gained. Still, they manage to drive him off, but find themselves forced to flee Sigil before the Sons of Mercy (or worse, the Lady of Pain) can arrive to object to the wanton destruction of property their little rumble has caused.
Stepping through the Gate, the Gatecrashers find themselves immediately set upon by three Winter Wolves. The monsters do their best but are disposed of in short order. No with time to take in their surroundings, they are amazed at the scale of Ygdrasill. They travel for a day on the branch they appeared on, before pitching camp. Henk climbs a branch and takes hold of a star. Aldier tries to follow suit, but slips and falls out of the tree, disappearing many miles bellow in the foliage. It is decided he must be dead, so they leave him to his fate.
As the rest of the party sleeps, Godric (currently on watch) notes a strange bearded man floating in thin air, wearing a bright red fez cap. The man motions to him, and thoughts in his head appear, asking permission to enter his camp (which he gives). The stranger comes closer, and asks if he knows where Aldier might be found, and Godric tells him of the Necromancer’s fate. The stranger shakes his head, but thanks him, and gives him a small brown box with an ornate beetle-broach. Not to be outdone in the arts of hospitality, Godric in turn gives him his armband, and the stranger takes his leave.
The
following morning the party awakes to find Musubi bashing the nuts out
of the
mouth of a giant squirrel, ticking off said squirrel and his half-dozen
friends. Some fancy negotiations in
Sylvan manages to defuse things, and the Ratatosk agree to lead them
back to
their village and give them a guide (though they continue to show much
distrust
towards Musubi & Z). In the village they make the acquaintance of a
curious
Air Elemental, and Jillian hears many curious rumors (including reports
of
Drow, and sightings of a half-man, amongst others). Most curious of all
is the
rumor of a “Demon-Quelling Sword” held by Frost Giants. The group
decide, once
joined by their guide, that the Sword would be a good addition to their
armory,
and have the Guide take them to the Gate leading to where it may be
found.
Leaving a small contingent behind to guard the Gate, the Party steps off the World Tree’s roots into the realm the Ratatosk call Rime Thuras, the land of the Frost Giants. Pulling their furs tight about them they stomp through the snow for several hour until they find the Fortress they seek, and after an intense battle, slay the two Giants guarding the place (but not without cost – the friendly Air Elemental is killed during the struggle). Taking a little time to recover, they find two things of interest: a golden horn Jillian determines is a Gate Key of some sort, and a giant-sized Bastard Sword that takes a bit of Godric’s blood when he draws it and speaks. This is the “Demon-Quelling Sword” which they seek, and it claims to know of a Gate nearby that can lead them to demons. They decline at this time, and instead head back to the Ygdrassil Gate just before a snowstorm hits.
But on the
tree they find a man… well, half a man. Z recognizes him – Topsy-turvy,
aka Mr.
Cranston – and only the left half of him. He turns to her and titters
her name…
Having recovered from
their
celebrations, they set out to the Portal to the Beastlands. Once there
however,
while getting their bearings in the realm of trees & perpetual
night, they
are ambushed by a pack of Displacer Beasts. Just as they finish
dispatching them
though they are met by an angry Fae, a member of the Wild Hunt who’s
rather
unhappy they’ve stolen his kill. After yet another violent romp
however, Doc. Quantum
manages to subdue him, and they persuade him to make nice.