=====
@mrz84
Zataka, you resolve that it would be best to rescue the lord of the manor. Unable to open the tent flap, you draw your massive sword and slice the tent to pieces. But underneath, all you find is a bedroll. Without the shape to form a doorway it seems the space has defaulted to what should be expected. You go in search of another door, winding up in the hedge maze. The place is ablaze and the heat bites at you through your armor. Also, the lattice openings have all been incinerated; the last one burns to ash behind you as you pass through. You see an opening through the flames that leads to the tavern, but it is too small for you to pass through. The inferno threatens to swallow you.
Suddenly, a frigid breeze blasts out of the opening in the flames, extinguishing the flames as it spirals up towards the sky. A collection of PHOENIX FEATHERS fly past you as the breeze carries them skyward. You catch one, while the rest vanish into the tempest. Suddenly, the sky clears up, and a light snow begins to fall in the shadow of a magnificent full moon. You look around you; the entire maze has been reduced to dust and you are standing in a field, with the edges of the mansion clearly in view. The air feels clean and crisp, and as you look around you see that the abyss below you has vanished as well. It seems the danger has passed.
You make your way to the front door. As you approach, you see the crossbow thief pulling away in a wagon full of loot. She takes off over the plains to the EAST.
To the NORTH, you see a MOUNTAIN VILLAGE. Smoke is rising from the houses; it seems the breath of industry is wide in that place.
To the SOUTH, a FOREST seems to cling to darkness in an almost ominous fashion.
Where do you go?
=====
@TheDarkOne
Sancireph, you fret about the Aasimar presence, but then you consider that this world seems to change the rules, and perhaps that energy is indicative of something else. This thought doesn't just extend to the ghost reality; this entire dimension seems to treat the Aasimar state differently. After some thought you decide that the sensation must be associated with natural magic instead of that which comes from ritual or incantation. This calms you slightly because it means there may not be an infernal force at work, but it also worries you because it might mean you WON'T BE ABLE TO SENSE ANOTHER AASIMAR. Still, you resolve that you've had enough of the manor and its master, so you lead the merchants up the natural grade of the mine out to the surface. As you approach the mouth of the mine, a cyclone of flames sweeps across the walls, threatening to ignite the coal contained within and cause a massive explosion. Yet strangely, you don't sense any danger as it passes. A single phoenix feather floats past you as the flames surge and you catch it.
When the inferno has passed, you finish your exit from the mine. You emerge in the PUMPKIN PATCH, but you can't sense any darkspace bends like before. Also, the tempest in the sky has vanished, being replaced by a full-lit moon and a gentle snowfall, signalling the first winter. It seems the danger has passed.
The merchant troupe's leader appears disoriented, claiming that the mansion grounds are certainly the same but they seem to be at a completely different locale. Upon looking towards the MOUNTAIN TO THE NORTH, though, his disposition improves. He says this was their next stop anyway, and invites you to join them for the walk up to the mountain settlement.
You've seen this region before; it's the same as when you departed Telivar's office. There's the settlement to the NORTH, the ominous forest to the SOUTH, and an expansive plain to the EAST.
Where do you go?
=====
@bigjoe
Jerias, you hold up the femur of the other Telivar, as if to tell him that he need not fret being broken as he can rise again. Subsequently, Atticas tries to reason with the dragon taking hold in Telivar's body.
You hear their conversation in your head.
Atticas- Hey, what the heck are you doing? Can't you see that this guy's too much for you to handle?
Bankraz- Buzz off, gnat, find your own wizard. Why don't you try that apprentice over there, he looks scrawny enough for you.
Atticas- Take a look through his eyes. Do you see what he's doing to try to break from you?
Bankraz- Huh, would you look at that. But so what?
Atticas- You want him to tear a hole right back to the homestead? Are you really that eager to go home? Because I'm not.
Bankraz- ...Well....
You're distracted from their conversation by the appearance of the RANGER, who leaps into the swirling mass of pages with some CLOAK OF FEATHERS. As he wraps these feathers around the wizard, an incredible nova of flame erupts, blasting the room to pieces. For a moment there is nothing but a warm, comforting light. When it passes, you find yourself in the shattered remains of Telivar's tavern. The wizard is on the floor, completely purged of his corruption. He appears to be unconscious.
Atticas says it might be a good idea to leave before he wakes up. You depart the mansion.
It's cold, but strangely for the first time in forever you don't feel the hungry rage of the flame within you. A light snow falls in the brisk midnight air. To the NORTH, you see a settlement in the mountains. To the SOUTH, you see an ominous forest. And to the EAST, you see an expansive plain.
Far to the WEST, you can also see the ocean.
Where do you go?
=====
@SUCCESSOR
Reven, you leap into the whirling vortex of storm pages and find yourself in the eye of the spell, standing next to Telivar. From here you can see the entirety of the mansion: the face of each page is a window to a different room. A phantom of the dragon that attacked during your earlier meeting with the wizard moves from page to page, searching. From here, you can clearly tell it is a fabrication of the imagination… some specter of dread given form by the terrors of a powerful and panicked man. You wish to inform the wizard that the dragon that stalks him now lives only in his imagination, but you still can’t get his attention. Shock is a tricky thing like that.
You call out to Toma and the Dragoon, but just as your words could not penetrate the tempest of pages from the outside it seems this spot is insulated from outside influence, save the paper windows to other segments of the mansion.
Taking a gamble, you remove the cloak of phoenix feathers and throw it over the mansion lord, thinking back on the beast’s words about corruption and embracing the inferno. Each feather pulses with an intense orange glow, brightening to white and blinding you as the room, the spellpage tempest, and even the wizard fade out of view. You feel a blast of heat and then you grasp around, trying to find your senses in the flood of white.
You catch a vision of the wizard Telivar, with the draconic scales on his right side ripping free and gathering in a cluster to his right. When he has been purged of the features, he fades back into the white. As for the cluster of scales, it pulses with the pace of a heartbeat and grows until it is roughly the size of an elephant, unfurling into a dragon of azure and silver.
“That heat… I’d heard about phoenix fire but I never expected it to be so intense. I couldn’t hold on.”
He looks at you inquisitively.
“…Just who are you?”
[Act Medias Res]
Recruiting Bankraz
~~~~~[/Act Medias Res]
~~~~~
The blinding white gradually fades after his departure. Bit by bit the world reconstructs itself around you. Telivar is on the floor, unconscious. Toma is trying to rouse him, but the dragoon is gone. In fact, much of the room is gone, likely destroyed in the explosion when you shrouded Telivar in phoenix down. Roughly two thirds of the feathers remain, hanging in the air and pulsing as the light strikes them. You take a few minutes to gather then and you hide them in your cloak.
Telivar begins to rouse. He notices the corruption is gone, and in an ecstatic cry asks if you slayed the dragon.
Your answer is dependent on the result of the Act Medias Res
He says that a refilled flask isn’t nearly enough to pay you for your deeds today. He reaches into his gaudy robes (who wears stars and moons on blue felt in this day and age?!) and pulls out a miniature statue in the likeness of himself, carved out of onyx. You are hesitant to accept this ‘gift’ which feels like a marketing gimmick until he explains.
“This is my boon. Break it on the ground once, and I will come. Anything you want, if it is in my power to perform, is yours.”
You thank him and stash the idol. Telivar turns to his apprentice and informs him that they must begin repairs to the mansion at once. Feeling you have overstayed your welcome, you silently slip out.
Standing on the widow walk on the roof of the mansion, you take in the cold winter air that accompanies the gently falling first snow of the year. The moon is full above your head, and you pause to take in what this winter will bring. The big fish… are you really the one to front this offensive?
You scan the horizon. To the NORTH, you can see a band of merchants making their way to a settlement in the mountains. To the EAST, you can see the CROSSBOW BURGLAR cutting across an expansive plain with a wagon full of loot. To the SOUTH, the cries of an ominous forest draw and repel, like the breath of a great beast. Could another dragon be there? What is this sensation that you’re just now beginning to notice? Is it the Phoenix’s doing? Finally, far to the WEST you can see a port town against the rocky shores of the sea.
Where will you go?
=====
@Xyvol
Malichor, you tell Toma Bartrand the Elder that the immediate threat needs to be dealt with if you have any hope of facing the threat to come. You therefore ask him to dispel the ghostworld, no matter what cost may be inflicted upon the caster. He raises his hands, preparing to split the spell and set the world right again, when suddenly a flash of flames washes over the mine and swallows you. You flinch, anticipating this is the fire in the library spreading into the mine and igniting the coal in an explosive flash, but strangely as the inferno envelops you you feel the heavy sensation in the air evaporate. When the flames pass, you notice that the workers of the colony have each recovered from their petrification. They turn your praise to you, hailing you as a savior, but you really don’t know what happens. Then, you notice a few Phoenix feathers hanging in the air. Quickly you gather them up, though you decide to let Toma the Elder have one.
He asks you if what just happened was a result of your incantation, but you say you don’t have any idea. You go to check the door back to the library, but now it leads to the mine’s office.
“The phantom world is dispelled! Did somebody get to Telivar?”
You and TtE lead the colonists out of the mine, emerging in the pumpkin patch. They look at the sky, amazed. One of them points and asks what the light in the sky is. “That’s a star”.
TtE looks confused. He turns to you. “This is your timeline. Why are we here? Shouldn’t we have been sent back when the spell ended?”
You say that maybe this is his second chance, to get a better outcome.
“Perhaps you’re right.”
He looks to the colonists.
“But someone needs to look after them. They’ve suffered too much at the hands of magic; this is no place for them. I’ll take them far away from here.”
He then looks around at the surrounding scenery.
“This looks like the Audamar region. I’ll take them west, to the sea. We can catch a ship there.”
He bows to you.
“Thank you for all you have done.”
With that, TtE collects the colonists one at a time and vanishes, apparently stepping through a portal of darkspace of his design. You take in the region around you.
To the NORTH, you can see an industrious MOUNTAIN SETTLEMENT. To the SOUTH, a forest seems to pulse with dark energy. To the WEST, you can see a vast plain with a single wagon moving away from the mansion.
Where will you go?
