The Path of Spirits

The caravan descended from Ovorikheer Pass, leaving the plateau of the High Ice for the last time, and travelling down to the rolling plains below. The ground was still frozen tundra, but the sun was in the sky (at least for a handful of hours), the cliffs behind them cut off the biting wind, and the party could actually imagine that they might see spring again in their lifetimes.

And they had three new crewmembers traveling with them. They’d left Ul-Angorn at daybreak the morning after their ambush, and they soon noticed that there were three unknown figures trudging alongside Nicki’s wagon. They wore loose-fitting clothing, and shuffled along with heads down. Marie assumed Ulf must have hired some new help, and came over to introduce herself and welcome them to the caravan. But as she got closer, she saw that they had bone-white skin – or rather bone-white bone, with no skin whatsoever. They were a trio of skeletons!

Before Marie could whip out her holy symbol and turn them to dust, Nicki leaped to their defense. “Wait! They’re just my servants! They’re as harmless as kittens!” Marie looked at their empty eye-sockets and the rusty scimitars thrust through their belts, and decided that ‘kittens’ was not the word she’d have chosen to describe them. Nicki continued his rapid-fire defense as the rest of the group gathered to see what the fuss was about. “I’d had this scroll of Animate Dead ever since Ravenscraeg, and was anxious to try it out. And when I saw the bodies of those thugs who attacked us, just ready to go to waste on a funeral pyre … well, I figured it was the perfect chance! I’ve never actually created an undead before – I only took control of that one zombie, but he was already zombiefied. And you just can’t find good help out on the road. I couldn’t even buy a single slave back in town! I’m sick and tired of fetching my own food, and carrying my own gear. They’re just here to help me out, and watch my back in case we get in a fight. They won’t be any trouble – I promise! Can I keep them? Please?”

There was a short debate, but the outcome was never in question. Helgarval and Spivey were again opposed, but their hearts weren’t in the argument. They’d learned that once Nicki started whining like this, he usually got what he wanted. Marie also didn’t think traveling with skeletons was a good idea, but decided that when it came to Nicki, she’d need to pick her battles. In the end, the caravan continued on, with a plus-three. Nicki introduced his new servants as Larry, Moe, and Curly, and to his credit, he kept them mostly away from the rest of the group, making his tea, driving his wagon (because none of the other crew would), serving his meals, etc. It was clear he was used to being waited on, and he fell back into the old patterns with a palpable sense of relief.

The next three weeks passed without incident. Without the challenges of travel on the High Ice, they were covering much more ground each day, with few obstacles to slow them down. They came to the village of Jaagiin, where they stopped for a couple of days while Ulf topped off supplies. Jaagiin was a little larger than Ul-Angorn, and the villagers here seemed uninterested in the foreign travelers. Nicki kept his entourage out of sight, since Ulf had warned him that local customs had little tolerance for necromancy, and the townsfolk would likely host a barbeque in Nicki’s honor if they saw him being waited on by skeletons.

Two weeks after leaving Jaagiin, the Path was climbing towards the peaks of the Wall of Heaven, the last mountain range separating them from the lands of Tian Xia to the south. The rugged wall of mountains was broken by a narrow saddle, which Ulf pointed out. “That’s the Last Pass, the Altan Zuud. Once we’re over that, it’s down into the grasslands of Hongal!”

But the temperature was dropping steadily, and ominous storm clouds were building on the southern horizon. As the party began the ascent towards the pass, a group of storm clouds raced overhead, moving much swifter than the wind, and they heard a fell, feminine laughter mocking them from the clouds, interspersed with peals of thunder. “I thought we killed that bitch!” Bella grumbled, but apparently Katiyana had returned. The clouds that had passed over them soon joined with those over the mountains, and began to spiral into a storm of amazing intensity. The peaks ahead were swallowed up in a roiling blizzard. Jagged bolts of lightning flashed down onto the mountainsides, and even from this distance, they could see avalanches cascade down the mountain face to block the pass. The full fury of the morozko lay ahead of them.

As he watched the storm attack the Altan Zuud, Ulf’s face fell and his shoulders slumped. The exhaustion of the difficult crossing of the Crown seemed to fall on him all at once. “Well, that’s it. There’s no crossing the pass now.” He dropped back down into his wagon seat, reins held limply in his hands. Finally Sandoval roused him from his funk. “Is there any other way we could go? Other passes?” Ulf shook his head. “There’s no other pass through the Wall of Heaven. The only thing I can think of is to head east. There’s an Erutaki town, Keskerlet, about 200 miles from here. If we get there, maybe we could get a ship across the Gulf of Khorkii. Or there are some dwarven delves there – we could take shelter in them until this storm passes. If it ever does,” he added almost to himself.

Bella had been watching the storm. She had keen eyes, and she didn’t like what she saw. “Umm … is it just me, or is that storm getting bigger?” Ulf jumped back to his feet, and stared at the storm for long minutes. Then he swore. “Gorm’s balls! You’re right, and it’s moving fast. If it keeps up at that rate, we’d never make the coast before it catches us!”

A furious debate began about what to do next. There was no cover on the frozen tundra around them. Bella suggested digging a hole to hide in, but no one had the magic required to carve a shelter out of the frozen earth. As the party argued, Marie heard a small voice inside her head. “Mistress – what about the Path of Spirits?”

As soon as Helgarval said the words, Marie was overcome by a wave of memory. She saw a temple complex, somewhere deep underground. Priests and priestesses of Desna tended to the dead and dying, while half-seen spirits marched in solemn procession up a long, winding tunnel towards the surface. In the center of it all was a large tree, glowing with holy light. She knew she had been there, but where – or when – it was, she couldn’t say.

As quickly as the memory came, it faded. Marie shook her head, and then turned to Ulf. “Do you know of something called the Path of Spirits?” The guide shook his head, but Koya became animated. “The Path of Spirits? Yes! I do know something … What was it?” The old woman paused, straining to remember, and Nicki rolled his eyes and got ready to make a snarky remark, when she suddenly snapped her fingers. “Yes! The Path of Spirits! I’ve made a study of the worship of Desna in many cultures – sort of a hobby of mine over the years. I remember reading the account of a traveler from long ago who crossed the Crown of the World and wrote of the Uqtaal clans. They were tundra nomads who worshiped Desna as the Queen of the North Star, their guide and protector in the long arctic night. The Uqtaal believed that souls sought to follow the North Star even in death, and through long years they excavated a subterranean necropolis within caverns at the feet of the Wall of Heaven. Beyond the stony tombs of the fallen, the Uqtaal carved a passage—called the Path of Spirits—for the souls of the dead to make their way onto the High Ice to follow the North Star to the top of the world, where Desna would carry them home into the stars. The account was hundreds of years old, but the traveler claimed the necropolis was very real and that he had found the northern exit of their tunnel, as wide as a highway, flanked by twin stone statues of Desna. He said that there was a line of three hills, all exactly the same size and shape, that would point the way.”

Ulf cleared his throat. “Kind of like those hills?” and he pointed to the west. Sure enough, three identical hummocks stood in a straight line, pointing towards the mountains. Nicki snapped his mouth shut. He had to admit – a necropolis sounded kind of fun.

And so another cross-country race began. Following Koya’s landmarks, the caravan hurried southwest, while to the east, the arms of the morozko grew in ever-expanding spirals. They traveled for a day and a half, with the storm growing closer with each passing hour. Finally they came to a narrow defile between two arms of a rugged mountain peak. The mouth of the canyon was flanked by a pair of statues. One was broken off at the base, leaving nothing but truncated legs, but the other still stood. It was a primitively carved image of a woman with butterfly wings, eternally facing north, with a roughly carved eight-pointed star graven into her forehead. A quarter mile beyond, a cave mouth yawned at the head of the valley, with a carved stone lintel and doorposts etched with faded stars: the entrance to the Path of Spirits.

They arrived not a moment too soon. As they rushed towards the entrance, the storm exploded around them. They struggled into the tunnel opening just as a tremendous bolt of lightning struck the cliff face above it, accompanied by a shriek of frustrated rage from the clouds above. With a deafening rumble, tons of rock and snow tumbled down the cliff, blocking the entrance and sealing them inside.

Zhustin and Sandoval quickly cast Light spells, and they took stock of their surroundings. They were in a broad, flat-floored cavern that ended in a tunnel leading deep under the mountains. With nowhere to go but forwards, they set out, hoping there would be another exit. The broad tunnel quickly narrowed; it was clearly man-made, but whoever had carved it had followed natural faults, rifts, and existing cave systems. Travel slowed as they had to maneuver the big wagons and balky yaks through narrow turns and down steep, slippery paths. After months of sub-zero temperatures, the cave air felt positively balmy, and they quickly stripped off their layers of fur and quilted underwear.

In many places, the tunnel would branch off in multiple directions. At each of these, they found cairns of stones, with skulls embedded in their northern faces. Each of the skulls had been painted with a red, demonic face. Spivey was incensed. “These markers were clearly made by Desna followers, but they’ve been defaced by some other cult sometime since.” Marie examined the painted faces; to her, they looked like the image of Fumeiyoshi, a Tian god of dishonor, envy, graves, and the undead. While grisly, the cairns held no magic or other threats, and seemed to always indicate the correct path to follow (or so they hoped).

The group traveled all that day, ever deeper beneath the peaks. As the began to talk of stopping to rest, they rounded a corner to find a procession of glowing spectral figures marching towards them. The apparitions wore nomadic tribal dress, and all of them were headless. Zhustin, Sandru, and Sawyer panicked at the sight of the ghostly figures, and dashed pell mell back up the passage, but everyone else held their ground. Spivey and Helgarval both affirmed that the apparitions were not evil, and the marched slowly forward, passing directly through yaks and wagons, taking no notice of the party whatsoever. “I think they’re spirits still trying to find their way to the North Star,” Spivey whispered. After several minutes, the three cowards sheepishly returned to the caravan, and as soon as they found a wide spot in the cave system, they made camp.

After a night of uneasy sleep, they continued on. The next day passed much as the previous one had. The tunnels seemed to have no end, and the strange cairns still guided them forward. After many hours of travel, they rounded a corner to find another group of headless figures coming their way. But these were not the same ghostly, harmless apparitions they’d seen the day before. Their flesh was solid, if dessicated, although each was surrounded by dozens of wisps of spirit-stuff, which swirled around them, making the figure within difficult to make out clearly. Their hands were tipped with long claws, and they surged forward at the sight of the party, claws outstretched.

As soon as they drew close, Sawyer and Sandru were overcome by a wave of crushing despair, and simply stood paralyzed by feelings of hopelessness. (DM Note: the party is beginning to realize that Sawyer’s lack of willpower could be a real problem if they keep running into enemies with powers that demand a strong Will.) Nicki poked Shinjiro with the Wand of Mage Armor, and the monk charged to the front to try to hold back the creatures as best he could. He hammered one hard, but the Headless Wardens pressed forward, forming a solid wall attacking Shinjiro, Ulf, and the paralyzed Sandru. They clawed at their victims, and flakes of dried flesh and grave dust drifted into the wounds. The spirits surrounding them struck, too, like tiny mouths sucking the energy from their victim's body. Bella tossed a flask of Holy Water over her friends’ heads and onto one of the wardens, and it shattered on its mummified skin with a satisfying sizzle. Ameiko unfurled her banner, while Zhustin moved forward to cast Haste on as many of the party as possible.

Marie and Spivey flew overhead, Channeling the power of Desna against the clustered undead, while Koya offered up a Prayer to the goddess. Sawyer finally shook off his crippling ennui, and charged forward, and one of the wardens dropped under Suishen’s flaming blade. Nicki fired off a pair of Scorching Rays, dropping one warden and badly scorching another. He grinned as he saw how quickly the flames consumed the wardens’ dried and dessicated flesh.

Bella leaped and tumbled around Shinjiro and his attacker, coming up in prime position behind it, but its neighbor managed to sink its claws deep into her leg. Ignoring the pain, she sank her rapier into her target’s back. Suddenly she was aware of an enormous presence behind her. Whirling, she found herself face-to-face with a large Earth Elemental. It raised its mighty fists and brought them crashing down … onto what would have been the head of the Headless Warden that was about to hit her from behind. “Don’t worry – he’s mine!” Zhustin called (a bit belatedly) from the other end of the fight. Spinning back around she slashed with rapier and sword, and another warden hit the ground.

The remaining wardens still harried Ulf and Bella, inflicting more wounds, but the tide of battle turned. Sandoval swept in with his echoblade, and found the withered heart of a Headless Warden. Spivey and Marie each cast Channel again, and Ulf parried his opponent’s attack and hit with one of his own. Sawyer stepped forward and sliced a warden into ribbons, and Nicki’s Scorching Ray took down the last of the undead attackers.

The party began catching their breath, and Marie started dispensing healing. Despite her healing magic, Sandru and Shinjiro were still feeling very weak. Nicki glanced at the monk, and did a double-take. “Ewww! What happened to you?” he asked diplomatically. The others turned and saw a cancerous looking dry scale that was beginning to spread across Shinjiro’s face, spreading out from one of the wardens’ claw marks. Sandru had a similar affliction where one of the creatures had slashed his chest. Koya examined the wounds and nodded gravely. “Classic case of Mummy Rot. Nasty stuff. You won’t survive the week if it’s untreated, but it’s hard as hell to get rid of.” Marie nodded. She’d never seen Mummy Rot, but knew that it was both a disease and a curse, and both needed to be treated in order to effect a cure. Luckily she had the right spells on line. She cast Remove Disease followed by Break Enchantment (which dispelled the curse) on Shinjiro. But she had no more spells for the caravan master. Koya went to her wagon and rummaged through a trunk, coming back with a pair of scrolls that she used to cure her adopted son.

Expecting another ambush at any second, the party again made camp. After another restless night, they set out again. The tunnels seemed endless, and there was no guarantee they’d lead to any exit. Luckily, they frequently passed underground streams of running water, and still had plenty of provisions to keep them alive – for awhile.

Suddenly they found themselves face to face with a pair of huge, hairy, ape-like creatures with red, glowing eyes. As soon as he saw them, Ulf sprang to his feet, and began calling in a strange language, making motions with his hands. Spivey, who seemingly understands every language ever spoken, was surprised to hear him speaking a pidgin form of Aklo, an ancient language of the First World. “Us friend! Us nice! Us be bad folk not! Me friend First Snow People!” But whatever peaceful message he was trying to convey, the Yeti weren't buying it. With a roar of fury, they charged.

The Yeti were no match for the party. Sandoval had a chance to cast Good Hope at the beginning of the fight, and Zhustin got off his customary Haste. Bella charged and hit the leader, and Sawyer followed up with a critical hit from Suishen that took it down. Marie cast Flame Strike on its brother, and the battle was over.

As the party searched the bodies, Ulf stood shaking his head sadly. “I don’t understand it. Yeti are usually gentle, shy creatures. I’ve dealt with them before, and they’ll usually go out of their way to avoid a fight. Their culture abhors anger. I don’t know what would make them so aggressive.”

“I have a feeling this whole necropolis has been turned upside-down,” Nicki muttered, but no one could do any more than speculate.

An hour or so later, the passage began to widen again. The tunnel floor and walls here were smoothed and decorated with faded cave paintings of starry skies, colorful auroras, and pale, headless shades marching along the path. Regularly spaced hewn stone pillars decorated with star carvings stood on either side of the tunnels. Atop each pillar sat a bleached human skull, painted with a red demonic face, all facing north. “What’s with all these skulls?” Zhustin asked in a hushed voice. Koya frowned and shrugged. “I’m not sure. The Uqtaal separated the heads from the dead before sending them on to Desna, but I don’t know why.”

The tunnel soon opened into a vast cavern. Its walls were 20’ tall at the edge, but the ceiling vaulted up out of sight in the darkness. At the edge of their light, they could just see a wide crevasse that split the cavern. A carved bridge of stone spanned the fissure. At each end of the bridge, stone pillars supported a flat lintel, and the pillars were carved with star-shaped niches, each set with a red-painted human skull.

On their left and right, octagonal stone watchtowers were half-buried in the stone walls of the cavern. The towers reached from floor to ceiling, and were set with rows of narrow arrow slits, covering all approaches. The party paused at the tunnel mouth, unsure who or what might be watching from inside the towers. Detect Magic didn’t reveal anything, but their spells could only cover a limited part of the huge open area. “I’ll go peek inside,” Spivey whispered, and flitted off to the right-hand tower. She flew up to the top row of arrow slits, and looked inside. From her vantage, the tower appeared to be open on the inside, with a spiral staircase leading down from a narrow platform at the level of the arrow slits. The platform blocked her view of anything on the lower levels.

While Spivey reconnoitered up high, Bella decided to go in low. She crept stealthily across the cavern floor, hugging the walls until she reached the door of the right-hand tower. She didn’t see any sign of traps, and carefully trying the latch, it didn’t seem to be locked. Not waiting for Spivey to gather any more intelligence, she pushed the door open.

And of course found herself facing three more Headless Wardens. Knowing that discretion is the better part of valor, she let out a yell of warning (seriously – it was warning, not abject terror), and backed away as fast as she could go. But as she went, she pulled out the Terra-Cotta Warrior Talisman she’d gotten at Dead Man’s Dome, and called up a Spiritual Ally in the space smack dab between the towers, hoping he’d draw the wardens to him.

Tiny Spivey, hearing Bella’s scream … er, warning, squeezed through the arrow slit and flew down the tower’s center. As soon as she was close enough, she unleashed Channel Positive Energy on the undead clustered below. Sawyer rushed forward, and as soon as he saw one of the wardens through the open doorway, unleashed an arrow. Zhustin cast his requisite Haste spell, but unfortunately, Sawyer had already moved out of range.

The Headless Wardens came charging out of their tower, heading straight for Sawyer. As soon as they appeared, Nicki zapped one with a Ray of Exhaustion, but unfortunately the spell was wasted on its undead target. As the first of the wardens reached the fighter, the door to the other tower flew open and more undead guardians boiled out, and Sawyer was quickly surrounded by clawing, diseased undead. Shinjiro rushed to his aid, pummeling one with a Flurry of Blows, and Marie flew overhead Channeling the power of Desna. Koya moved close enough to add her own Channel to the mix, but Ameiko and Sandru wisely stayed back out of reach.

The PCs earned 3,086 XP for the night, putting them at 88,255 XP with 105,000 required for level 10. We’ll be at Joette and Rich’s next week, although Scott will be singing (for real, not just in the game) and Roger will be on-call.