Game: Blades of Git'riban : Primal State

Elly lies sprawled over Ian's body, sobbing. Ian still beathes, but from his burns it is obvious that without magical healing that will change in a few minutes.

"Oooh! Ian! Why didn't we visit the temple earlier? Why didn't we get healing potions before they were all rationed out? {boo hoo hoo} I told you the city would fall! If I hadn't told you about the portal, you'd have died on the Overlord's swords like the rest of the academy {snif} and it would have been a kinder fate {uk ... uk ... waah haah haah ...}"

"{snif} Y ... You're ... You're robbing us? Not that it matters. Nothing matters anymore. Just kill me, I don't care. This is all my fault. Oh Ian, I'm so sorry {boo hoo}." Elly's once-pretty face is now half covered with acid scars. She craddles Ian's dying body in her lap, as if her falling tears could heal his burns. She does not even move as Daraz loots first the tiefers (not much jink there) then takes the luggage where Ian carried the items the primes took when they fled their homeworld. Their magical gear consists of three wands, two rings, and an Ioun Stone.

OK, that comes to, split 5 ways, about 5k g.p. for each PC, paid in merts (platinum).

Is Daraz going to keep or pawn the daggers?

The Heart of The Void, Half-Descending

The light of Sigil is fading, and torches are being lit throughout the City of Doors. The fogs and drizzles of the last few days have been blown away by a dry breeze with the smell of wheat that spills from the Market Ward. Many doors facing The Heart of The Void are open, but no street-carts grace the square. A circle of five Dabus float above the cobbles in the center of the The Heart, the only remaining sign that there was a riot here in the early morning hours, and a mark of The Lady's displeasure at pitched battles occuring in her streets.

There are a few gith loitering around the Heart, keeping a wary eye on the enigmatic keepers of Sigil, and speaking in hushed tones amoung themselves. Two Githyanki, both wearing ornate armor, stand on opposite corners of where Gith Lane spills down in a broad flight of steps into the Heart.

[DM note : It was at the arch at the top of these steps that the first portal opened. The cadre of githzerai were near the bottom of the steps, and there are still stains on the stones there. A total of five alleyways open up on either side of the steps at various levels, and some of the attackers charged out of these as well.]

The pair of githyanki, one male one female, stand proclaiming in loud voices, sometimes speaking to each other, but mostly preaching to the few assembled gith in the square. The first [The PC's recognize him as Xar'Sauken, the githyanki who fought with them and formed their rear-guard.] is a tall gith with a two-handed sword, which he often waves around while he talks. The other is silken-voiced, but no less fanatic.

"Freedom is the right of the strong! Death is freedom for the weak! Freedom or death, that is the choice of all free beings while the enslavers live!" Xar'Sauken shouts.

"To fight and be free or die in battle. That is what Gith chose, and what Her True still choose. To die in fear and horror, thralls to their cowardice, that is what those who turn their backs on Gith choose." the female Gish replies.

"The choice is Freedom! To slay or ally, that is our tradition. Our enemies will not be prisoners, they will not be slaves. Our enemies shall not be! They will die by our blades, spells, and minds. Those worthy will join us against the Great Enemies of All."

"Gith sees worthy allies, and Gith sees Enemies. She has freed us and given us our choice of life and death. Follow the True Gith and her teachings, for in them are honor and rightousness."

"Freedom is rightous! The choice is honorable. All mortal beings yearn for freedom. Those that would choose to resist the Great Enemy deserve to slay, or deserve to die attempting to slay. To deny them this freedom is to enslave them."

"Gith freed the thralls of the Great Enemy. Without Her, their domination would still be consuming the multiverse. But only those worthy of alliance shall be offered it. Forget not the Two Skies! To harbor treason in the fortress is to give an enemy the keys, so it is written in the fifth stanza of Lay of the Battle for Sifar!"

"The Sons of Zerthimon still stalk the ghaik, and when they do they are considered 'Not-Enemies'. They are free, and being free have chosen Rrakkma! Wars die, though the Great War can only die if The Great Enemy does, why shouldn't the Two Skies die someday?"

"The word of Gith is clear! Zerthimon opposed Her, and so he had to die! His followers opposed Her, so they too must die. That they die after they kill ghaiks, not before, does not change Gith's words. Follow the path of the True Gith! She has returned to her children in this troubled time!"

" ... Freedom, etc. etc. ... "

" ... Gith, etc. etc. ..."

[The PCs do not arrive at the Heart at the same time, so the particular sermons vary, but you get the idea.]

"True sons and daughters of Gith, harken! She has returned! The savior walks once more among Her children. All who would be loyal to the first and greatest of the People, come hear the words of The True!" the silken-voiced Gish announces.

"Freedom is the right of the People, who have struggled for it. Freedom has been delivered to them. Rejoyce, my brothers, in Freedom. Know that only the sacrifice of many has brought it to you. By the enslavers' deaths we shall free the mutiverse from the illithid's tyrany at long last!" Xar'Sauken retorts.

The Heart of The Void

"I saw the True return of Gith with my own eyes. I felt Her presence in my mind. There can be no doubt that it is She. I am not alone in my conviction. Ask any of the Band of Diamond, or of the Band of Lapis, or of the Band of Lead, or any other warrior at the Battle of the Darkfields. We were all witness. Those who have come after have faith of Gith's return, but for the first of The True, we do not need faith. We *know*!"

"Gith's soul has been kept from the People since the forging of the dragon alliance. If she has indeed returned it proves that Freedom cannot be denied. Cast off the shackles you have placed on your minds! Free your thoughts, then free your blades from their scabbards! Death to Enslavers!"

Haven Port Inn

The Inn is lit within only by blue-white runes that shine from the pillars lining the outer walls. The place is fairly busy, almost two dozen patrons in the large main room. More than half of the patrons are pirate-gith, and some are quite drunk. One knot of a half dozen pirates are notable in that they all wear bright red sashes and bandanas. The other patrons include a trio of githyanki [PCs recognize one as being the githyanki that jumped out of the balcony during the fight] and five grey-cloaked githzerai sitting with their backs to a far corner.

When Ar'dru enters, Du'minh is already standing at the bar. The bartender and a few servers are bustling around the place, filling orders, cleaning cups, and generaly being busy.

The three githyanki seem to be having a private disagreement. Two of them turn their backs on the well-armed warrior who joined the fray from Haven Port's balcony. These two, an older warrior and a younger one, take a table in the opposite corner of the room from the five 'zerai. The lone warrior just shakes his head at their departure. He approaches the opposite end of the bar from the party and orders a drink. He nods toward the party and raises his glass to them before drinking.

[Description from the fight in the Heart]

Only a few minutes after the warlock arrives, the door of Haven Port opens and in strides a gang of ten savage Athasian gith. They wear mostly leathers, and they carry primitive but masterfuly crafted spears of wood tipped with razor-sharp heads of dark volcanic glass. Strangely, each also carries a potted plant.

The first to enter is the same mage that Jhank'kor and Ar'dru saw in the lot, only now, they finally get a good look at her. She is tall, as tall as Ar'dru. Her long black hair is in many braids, held by beads of carved wood and bone. She has an eyepatch over her right eye, and her left is a smooth black orb. As she approaches the bar, Jhank'kor notices that around her 'good' eye are scars, left when someone removed her eyelids with a sharp blade.

She walks up to the bar and sets down her potted plant, a two-foot tall shrub with half a dozen small purple fruit. "A gift from the Black Spear Clan Gith to the Haven Port Clan Gith."

"Whistles and Bells! Not this again! Can't you bashers use jink like everybody else?" The bartender raves.

Close behind her are nine more Athasians. The closest is a bald gith who glances about with a nervous energy. He is bare to the waist and covered with burn scars. He has a bow and quiver in a leather scabbard strapped to his back. He carries a spear and twig of a plant with three bright yellow fruit and an orange-yellow flower.

The next is an older female gith, who carries one of the largest plants. She has long white hair in a single braid, and unlike the others wears a long robe of pale blue.

There are three gith, young females barely old enough for their first tests, who are identical in every way, down to their robes and their spears, which have embelishments in the form of small hanging pouches and bones with carven symbols. They are even carrying three of the same species of plant, a bush with shiney leaves and fat, silver berries.

Close by these three is a male gith of the age of first Rrakkma. He seems quietly alert. He carries a blue cactus.

A gith in ash-colored robes of about the same age carries a staff with a green gem instead of a spear. Perched near the top of the staff is a black scarab the size of a gith's skull. His plant looks sickly.

Close to the one with the scarab, acting like a bodyguard would, is the largest gith any have seen short of a duthka'gith. Ar'dru, in fact, scarcely measures up, and certainly can't compare in pure muscle size. In addition to the plant and the spear, he has a strange weapon wrapped around him. Three long ropes connect two stout wooden hafts with wicked heads shaped like four-way picks. The heads seem to be carved from massive pieces of chitin.

In the big gith's shadow is one that seems unremarkable compared to the rest. He is wearing sand-colored robes, and in addition to the spear, he has a large quiver on his back with three javelins with flights like big arrows. His plant is a large succulent [DM: like an aloe plant ]

"Your metal coins serve better purposes elsewhere. Do you refuse our gift, gith?"

"I'm just saying we don't normally take trade goods, but I can se your ... uh... plant ... is of highest quality." the bartender stammers,"Worth a round or two from the bar for a lady and her entourage. What'll it be?"

"Water."

Initially, maybe, but they've been in Sigil awhile, cultural attire not withstanding, so they know the score.

Besides, who's ever SEEN a lvl 23 dragon anyway? And there are plenty of reptilian races on Athas.

But yea, they still get more freaked at the word 'Dragon' than other gith.