Game: Blades of Git'riban : Primal State

"Well, psion, experianced hunters will certainly prove useful where we're going."

Up close, Ya'shenn now sees that Pale is not undead, contrary to first impressions.  He draws breath, which is actually somewhat raspy.  Though she half-expects a smell of death, or at least of grave-dirt, instead there is a strong odor of incense about him.

"Go, slay any graith you find."  He addresses the risen.  The undead created by his staff are not mere zombies.  They move as quickly as the living and have a more intelligent look in their undead eyes [ghouls].  They rush into town, seemingly eager to attack the living.

[Ch'r'ai?]

[His state of health is hard to determine.  He seems to have asthma, and he has not exerted himself.  From the little of his body actually showing, he almost seems to be partially enbalmed while still alive.  Perhaps he is dying, but if so Ya'shenn would not be surprized to find it was all part of a plan.]

[Sense motive:  Well, he obviously has a very low opinion of Cultists and Apocalytes.  He seems to consider the githyanki a comodity, to be used at his convienience, and likely thrown away without remorse should their usefulness to him lapse.  Not really surprizing since, as a necromancer, he is in the habit of seeing others' flesh as a tool.]]

"We go where I order us to go."  Pale replies darkly.  "Where I say we go now is aboard the brig Knife.  Gather those of your own group and have them all come aboard."

"Kirath gather your command staff and board the Knife.  Your brigs have been gathering horses from the caravans.  This may be useful.  They will continue and be joined by the Ash, the Hail, the Echo, and the Stiletto.**  All other operations and skiff skirmishers will be recalled to aid and guard this alone.  Make it so."

Moments after they board the Knife, Ii'jyka'vaar's wyvern comes back into view.  He lands on the top of the brig she indicates, having been briefly contacted by Ya'shenn.  She leaps from Nah'Mizh'Aar's back and down into tohe top hatch.  [Ya'shenn introduces her now].  The necromancer's posture and attitude undergo a sea change.  He gives the knight a small bow.  "An honor to meet one of The Lich Queen's Chosen."

.......

The flight deck of the Knife is empty except for the pilot.  In their wisdom, the designers of the astral ships enabled the control skulls to be operated by any sentient being.  This brig is piloted by a githyanki swordwraith [FF].  There is a subtle smell of blood and alchemical admixtures in the air, though the first tends to overpower the second.  It is coming from the hatch to the lower deck.  Those with any experience with necromancers would rightly guess that this particular brig is used as a workshop (of sorts) from time to time, though how active it is now would be debatable without going down there.

:::::::

** Astral brigs are named with single words or things.  Planar raiders are named with phrases.  So brig names might be Fume, Knife, Fear, Rain, Heavy Flail, etc., while the larger planar raiders are named things like Moonless Night, Shining-in-Darkness, Stones-of-the-Mountains, etc.

Master Pale turns to Kirath, acknowledging him for the first time since he came aboard the Knife, "That is good, Heretic, and wise."

Kirath's commanders are present; Gib, Xyk'kt, and Tar-Geel, as well as Na'rai. Pale issues orders as to the flight position of their flying ships. Everyone present cannot help but notice that Pale's orders effectively separate the three blocs' forces, and while their positions are certainly useful in the defense of the convoy, they also make the strikeforce quite vulnerable to any enforcement action by Pale's own forces.

Master Pale dismisses Kirath's sub-commanders, but keeps the warlock and Na'rai of Jade. He continues to question the Git'ribani, especially Ya'shenn, about their rrakkma. A few times, he asks clarifying questions of other individuals, especially Gy-Nath and K'tch, but gives an icy glare to the bard when he tries to speak out of turn.

Pale's questions fluctuate from a demanding arrogance to pointedly insightful, and back again. So it goes on, and some lines of questioning are dropped or suddenly change focus after what seem like mumbling arguments with himself. The rest of the githyanki believe that Pale is emotionally unstable (actually a fairly correct observation), but Ya'shenn knows there is another reason for his seemingly dual personality.

Ya'shenn finds herself answering quite a bit, more than she actually wants to, in fact, about the party's actions, their gear, and their motivations. The subject of bloc affiliation is raised many times, but each time is quickly dropped, sometimes after Pale spends several minutes mumbling to himself. The questioning takes a few hours. Pale (Mist, actually) even spends a good length of time asking about Git'riban itself, and Sigil in general.

Towards the end of the session, Ya'shenn senses that Pale's regard for the party seems to have increased from his original attitude. He still seems to consider the native Git'ribani little better than graith, but begins to show some respect for those that took part in the Incursions. The former attitude really rubs Sark'ja the wrong way, and the psion can feel her hurt pride swell into anger. Before it can boil over, though, Pale stops his questioning of Ya'shenn.

He then turns to Na'rai. The Heartforce leader is far more reticent than Ya'shenn. She states outright that she is under orders not to reveal her own power bloc's sources to anyone. This, of course, does not go over well with Pale. He flies into a rage, and threatens the masked Jade with a dire and painful death, followed by an undead resurrection, and finalized with utter destruction. However, he suddenly calms again before he can carry out his threat, though everyone present is totally convinced he was about to. Instead, the cold mist again seeps from his body, this time slipping behind Na'rai's mask. The experience leaves Na'rai a quaking, feeble mass on the floor before the mist returns to the necromancer. Seemingly satisfied, he bids all farewell, using far more formality and ettiquite than any now expect of the arrogant death-mage, then d-doors away.

===========

The planar raiders fly more slowly than the skiffs or brigs. They are headed in a northerly direction, but a bit more towards the west than Kirath's strikeforce's original heading.

Aboard the Knife, the githyanki make themselves as comfortable as they can. They find out that the lower deck was indeed a necromantic workshop at one time, though all that is left are are pair of metal tables and a large collection of blades and surgical instruments. Dried blood and spilled alchemical solutions still give the place a disturbing atmosphere, though, and all agree to bivouac on the flight deck instead.

The pilot does not need any rest, and does not surrender control of the brig. Though certainly not talkative by the standards of the still-living, she turns out to be surprisingly friendly towards the githyanki, giving them due honors that contrast with Master Pale's suspicious arrogance. N'ach't is the name she gives, and she is a swordwraith, a sentient undead githwarrior. She was slain in battle with the graith of this world, but due to her skills, Pale raised her up and recruited her into his honor guard. She serves the Queen's Necromancer out of a strong sense of duty and loyalty that she is well aware is augmented by her undead nature. She also readily admits that Pale could probably reduce her to ash with a wave of his hand.

N'ach't invites the party to speak freely amongst themselves; she is not under orders to gather information on Master Pale's behalf, and though she admits that she would report anything of pressing tactical concern, says she has neither the interest, the nature, nor the training to act as a spy.

Of course, she could be lying, and there's no way for Ya'shenn to know for sure, since her undead mind is immune to the psion's reading. Still, she seems to all to be sincere and straightforward, a bladeswoman without a hint of duplicity about her.

[DM - Opening it up for possible inter-party conversation, including with NPCs, before the next scene-change. Also, if any seem interested, N'ach't will gladly, even enthusiastically (though it might seem ironic), relate the story of her own demise.]

[A physical description of N'ach't follows.]

The swordwraith's skin is very pale and almost translucent. Bloodless veins are visible under her skin, which is bone-white with just a tint of ghostly green. She once had hair, but no longer. In fact, a long braid of black hair is worn over her armor like a bandoleer. Her armor has been modified to remove all traces of former warband affiliation, though each of the githyanki believes they can tell by its design that it is not the work of any of their own warbands. She wears a longsword on her side. There is also, in a holster slung across her back, a spear whose haft has been cut or broken such than only a couple feet of wood remain behind the head, which is of graith design. If asked, she replies that it is in fact the weapon that killed her.

...

[Actually, Pale doesn't restrict Ii'jyka'vaar's movements. Aal-Zet contacts her if she gets near Kirath's brigs (or the Ash, Hail Echo or Stilletto, which joined their raid on the caravans). Her mount is allowed a horse, but no more than one every few days.

She can therefore ferry supplies too.]

****************
The Tale of N'Ach't
****************

"I was a career bladeswoman. A varsh-caste trainer at a major varsh'isk, teaching each new cohort the ways of the blade. My skills were highly regarded, and elements of my style could be seen in githwarriors from half a dozen major warbands.

"That is, until the Incursion

"I answered the Lich-Queen's call, of course. There were many of us, varsh-caste without a warband. Some returned to the band whence they originally came, some joined new ones, but many, like me, had no longer any loyalty to one band over any other. We tended to join specialist units that were otherwise drawn from several bands anyway.

"I joined the Swift Razors. We were practiced with the astral ships, especially the skiffs, but to a lesser degree the brigs. We would sweep in and 'port in to battle before the graith knew we were there. Many other divisions wanted their pilots trained in our unit.

"I served well, but pined for battle whenever it was my turn to pilot. Still, I took pride it too, for especially when our flying armor was new to the graiths' sight, we conquered them with such bewildering speed!

"It was battle that I craved more, though. Generally, I was not disappointed.

"After we conquored the Moonsea nations, we moved south. The graith nation of Sembia was to be attacked for its riches, which were vast. Its neighbor, Cormyr, is a strong kingdom with elite soldiery. To the north of these was a sparsely populated land of farms, forests, and little villages, known as the Dalelands. The plan was to take Sembia from the south, cutting it off from its neighbor. Part of this strategy involved cutting off Cormyr, deemed the stronger nation, from its other neighbors as well.

"Thunder Pass leads from Cormyr to the dales, and is the closest pass to northern Sembia by that circumspect route. The thunder peaks are nigh insurmountable heights otherwise, so it was imperative we cut off the pass. We did so readily, leaving the garrisoning of the pass to others, but the beauty of the mountains enamored me, and whenever I could during the Sembian campaign, I served in an area where I could see them from the air.

"I was also enamored with my commander, and he with me. What began as mutual respect flowed ever deeper. We shared many nights, and many battles, and eventually became sho-dai. I wish I could tell you much more. I wish my heart were still full of poetry for love of another. But those feelings, that passion, died when I did. Or perhaps when I arose." she cocks her head, considering.

"The Sembian campaign ground to a stalemate. We controlled the countryside, and cities in the southern half of the land, but the northern cities remained smoldering dens of resistance (laughs) and literally smoldering in the case of their capital.

"To the north, the Dalelands had an odd sort of protection. Vlaakith issued a decree early in the Incursion that the region was not to see harm by githyanki blades. We could forage, of course, but no thinking being was to be slain in the Dalelands. The penalty for transgressing and killing a graith in the dales was death. Usually this was carried out by stripping the offender of all githyanki gear, outfitting them with graith blades, and assigning them to a suicide squad.

"The first town inside the Dalelands descending from Thunder Pass is called Highmoon. My unit was eventually circulated back to watch Thunder Pass. A small number of us went into town to obtain some supplies. We had to be careful, but generally interactions with the graith were cordial in the dales. We used coins instead of blades to get what we needed, and kept our dealings short. The dalefolk had no idea why we refrained from violence in their land, and we too only had rumor to guide us.

"By this time, though, many refugees from Sembia had fled to the dales, and they looked on us with avenging eyes. The first encounter with them went very well for us. We defeated them soundly without killing one. Later, however, some of them caught me tarrying outside of town, looking at the snow-capped peaks. They attacked from behind, and as I was outnumbered, I had to use deadly force.

"The local graith soldiers agreed that I had merely defended myself, but my commander was furious. He knew that that wouldn't matter one bit. He was hurt at the prospect of losing me, in many ways, but he could not take his frustration out on the graith. Not directly.

"And so, instead of brigging me back to sector command for punishment, he brought me to the center of Highmoon. He announced in the graiths' own tongue that I had been found guilty of murdering a barbarian, and that my sentence was death. He then ordered me to encamp there, and to attack Highmoon and conquer it at dawn. Then he left me.

"I proudly told the graith who had gathered to gawk, 'Any who would attack should do so now, for if dawn comes and I still live, I will slaughter any children or cowards I find!'

"Attack they did. A dozen of their bravest accepted my challenge, and all lay at my feet before the rest decided to come at me all at once. Six more fell then, but a seventh skewered me.

"They must have buried me nearby, for I arose to look upon first the snow-capped peaks, then Master Pale. He told me my sho-dai had related the story of my fall, and that my skill and honor at the last were given high regard.

"My first act was to seek out my killer. I found him in town and issued a personal challenge. He was a fine warrior, for a graith, but you see that it is I who posses this," she holds up the severed spear, "Not he."

"Of course, a sentence of death no longer deterred me. I have served in the Pale Guard ever since."

N'Ach't replies to Ar'dru, "Choice? No I had no choice. I chose to die like a githyanki, when I could have easily walked away from the graith and lived a life of exile. None would have opposed me, they had already declared as much, if you could trust the word of a graith. Regardless, my death was my choice. Arising, I was not given a choice at all. I had no more choice in that than you did in your own birth, duthka'gith.

"Compulsion? Is loyalty a compulsion? Is honor a compulsion? Indeed they are, and the best kind. If your sibling githyanki saved your life, would you feel a compulsion to return the honor? Master Pale made me, in a way that you cannot understand. He wasn't there to save my life, but he gave me this unlife. This blessing, this curse. He has my undying loyalty.

She falls silent, and seems to be considering something....

"I don't really know if I should tell you this ... Master Pale didn't mention this, not even to psion or the knight ... though I almost expected him to, the way he fawned over them.

[That was fawning? - thinks Ya'shenn]

"But ... due to my experience with the Swift Razors, I am his personal pilot. The Knife is Pale's own personal ship. It is in fact quite an honor that he housed you here, sparse as it is, now that it is decked for war.

"He must be very unhappy aboard the Moonless Night. He is fond of solitude.

...

"And solitude would be fond of him! They should go off somewhere together, and stay there." Sark'ja mumbles.

Ii'Jyka ferries supplies, and visits Kirath's troops on board the Lantern. The duthka'gith warmed to the dragonrider early on, but the Apocalytes do not talk to a knight unless addressed directly. It is therefore from the Cultists that Ii gets most of her information.

The githyanki empire in Faerun is in collapse, but still includes certain key areas. Their flying ships command the Sea of Fallen Stars from several bases in the Pirate Isles. The slowest planar raider can overtake all but the fastest ships, and nothing on the seas can outrun their brigs and skiffs. In addition, every graith pirate fears the githyanki as much as merchant captains do. The difference is that the githyanki will spare a certain number of pirates, and able seamen in general, for their own navy of seized ships.

In the North-East, the countryside of The Vast and the surrounding mountains are the territory of a mated pair of old red dragons who are Incursion immigrants. They are very friendly with the Cult of Tiamat, and they welcome other Incursion dragons as honored guests. The graith city of Mulmaster was the first taken in the Incursion, and still welcomes the githyanki as travelers from a friendly state. There are hidden redoubts in the Earthspur Mountains that guard a tunnel network, each one leading down to Kuragolomsh. This new githyanki underdark outpost lies in the middledark, and it is a long trek from the surface. It was damaged and partially collapsed by the void bombs, but the rubble has since been put to good use as building blocks. It is now the true seat of githyanki power in the North, and totally unknown to the graith.

In the east, Sembia and the Dragon Coast were conquered during the Incursion. The Dragon Coast is a lawless region with a great many desperate graith who were once pirates, but whose ships were burned, sunk, or taken by the githyanki. There are also a great many graith who are desperate because they were robbed by former pirates. In a few towns and cities, the githyanki are not despised. Starmantle is githyanki controlled, the southern-most outpost of the Pirate Isles fleets. The City of Westgate is a dangerous city full of cutthroats. It has always been so, but the current rulers are former pirate captains who served the githyanki during the Incursion, so githyanki are wlcome to take their chances along with the graith on the streets of Westgate. A day's sail from Westgate is the southern Sembian city of Urmlaspyr. The githyanki sometimes refer to it as "The Dead Stones." The city took the brunt of the githyanki invasion of Sembia, and almost the entire population was slaughtered or driven out. The githyanki garrison lives in the fortifications of Urmlaspyr Keep and among the stone towers of the wealthy on top of the ridge. The few living graith in the city are mostly dockworkers and sailors. There are also a few gangs of survivors, thugs, and rebels who use the extensive sewer system. Not even a githyanki walks the streets on Urmlaspyr alone. Inland from Urmlaspyr is the second Sembian city still under the githyanki boot is Daerlun. This city is controlled by a dracolich, once an ancient red dragon, now known only as The Claws of Death. It is, in theory, both a Cult of Tiamat ally and a member of the Court of Vlaakith (undead from the Neg-E), and so not fully trusted by either.

The githyanki in the south are cut off from those around the Sea of Fallen Stars. The Kirath's githwarriors don't know as many details about them. Of course, the first major power center there is a growing empire in north-eastern Tethyr ruled by a graith lich, the ally of Master Pale. The second power center is in the Nelanther Isles, based at the light-towers on the isles of Irphong and Nemesser. The pirates of the Nelanther were not conquered like the pirates of the inland sea. The githyanki there do not bother learning the ropes of graith sailing vessels, and raid pirate ships at least as often as merchantmen.

There are a number of commanders, with varying numbers of troops in their direct command and influence among the whole. Both the Apocalytes and the Cultists each lack a single, overall leader for their bloc. That is why Kirath, respected for being a veteran of the Darkfields, was able to pull together a strikeforce when he does not technically command any troops of his own.

The intel for their rrakkma in Hlondeth was provided by N'rai. The dutka'gith suspect it came from the Silver Eyes, but that they had to deliver the message through a color pool controlled by the Heartforce. They sent their own strike team along as a result.

[DM - You'll have to tell me if you plan on checking out any of Pale's ships or visiting his flagship, since that would be an encounter of its own.]