Rainbowland Chronicles: The Guardians of the Void

Dougal blinked not quite sure how to respond to the wall melting away in front of him. Seeing the door he opened it on reflex. It revealed a small library and alchemy lab. He noted the excellent equipment of the lab as he passed to regard the library. The books of the library were coded into the seven colours of the rainbow and octarine. Curious Dougal picked up an octarine book, expecting exciting secrets. As he picked up the book a great flutter of pages rose as the library and the books and pages lifted from the shelves. They gathered into three swirling shapes and attacked.

Sir Boring had just reached Dougal to stop his reckless curiosity, in the background Grungar cursed. Facing a formidable foe Dougal fled, after all he is a fisherman not a fighter. Once at a safe distance he cast some fire down upon the literary wraiths. Grungar and Sir Boring faced down the infra-dead and ultra - violent shades of linguistic anguish. Yolo caught the blue wraiths attention and lead it into the machine. There he outmanoeuvred it and locked it in. He emerged just to see Boring being struck down, his flesh spelling out something in the forbidden script of the black city. He rushed over to revive the paladin with a healing potion. As Boring came to Grungar dispatched the red wraith but was struck down by the violet one. Similar writing appearing across his skin. This time Molly had to resurrect the warrior. Together everyone took down the violet wraith.

Realising that this dungeon may kill them our heroes decided it was time to depart. The escape however was foiled by the wraith guardians below. The fixed the group with icy stares "What have you unleashed in the machine? We feel it's presence, you cannot leave until it is destroyed."

Forced to choose between fighting a dozen undead abominations or one pile of blowing paper, we decided the paper was the safer course. Once again we descended to the machine, steeled ourselves, and opened the vault. A furious flutter of papers attacked the group. Outnumbered and it only downed Yolo before being destroyed. Yolo regained consciousness, and the group set off. This time the wraiths were ready to let them pass but counciled us that the chambers of the machine could be used to restore the party. Yolo, trustworthy as the young hero he was, entered the machine. The first chamber killed him, the second brought him back ... to undeath.

Sensing the life essence of his companions near by the undead Yolo attacked. The party was at odds what to do, but Molly raised the symbol of the Orange god. The devine presence drove Yolo away, and his incorporeal self slipped through the cracks in the walls. Morning the loss of their comrade the party moved to leave this accursed dungeon. They carefully approached the wraiths in the machine chamber to negotiate their departure. The wraiths were unhappy with the abomination that the party had created in the machine. So we deliberated on how to get past them as a muscular man lept into the middle of the wraiths. His impossibly far jump into the middle of the wraiths revealed that his savage was wearing nothing but a tattered loincloth underneath this fur cloak. Two bear paws, almost part of the cloak, pinned it to his shoulders like the pauldrons on an officer. His loincloth was held in place by an animal skull protecting his private parts. He landed on the machine with a massive thunderclap, and the wraiths were scattered across the room. Given this opportunity, half the party fled the other attacked.

Credit to Luka

In the pitched battle the wild man was knocked out, attacked from all sides after his impressive entry. The party managed a retreat after most of the wraiths had been dispatched. Sad about letting the heroic man die by the hands of the undead Dougal decided to retrieve him, and whatever the party left discarded in their flight. He used his magic to shroud himself against sight and sound. Then started flying back through the machine chamber. There he found the barbarian, and created a magical force to lift him slowly away. One remaining wraith stirred at the motion. Thinking quickly Dougal created some ghost sounds on the other side of the room. As hoped the wraith was distracted allowing Dougal to effect a silent escape.

Licking their wounds the party returned to the wizard tower they had rested in the night before. Here they made a fire and settled in for the night, but found only fitful nightmares and no rest. They beheld disturbing visions as they tried to sleep as the corners of the room warped into incomprehensible geometries. Something threatening was lurking in the non-euclidean corners of the tower.

Exhausted after a restless night the group tried to think what they may have taken that was such a problem. In the end resolving to take all the looted items from the tower, burying them in the desert, and returning for more rest. Still their visions returned, and they could find no respite. Unable to deal with the situation, the group packed the loot and gear and made for the Oasis of Laurence. The travel back nearly ended our travels but we managed it with the last reserves of our strength.

The group spoke with the paladins of the rainbowgods who had arrived at the Oasis after our reports in Pueblo di Mesas. The paladins suggested that the things lurking in the corners were demons unleashed to take those who had disturbed the borders between the planes. These demons were the guardians of the infinite void. Fortunately there were a group of heretics to be executed, so the paladins suggested the with some ritual the demons could be tricked into taking the heretics instead of our heroes. Grungar and Sir Boring went with this plan, spending the night in a ritual circle with the heretics crowded into the corners. After some time the heretics screamed and disappeared, lifting the curse from Grungar and Boring.

Molly and the wild man, whom the party had gotten to know as Thulsa, could not stomach the idea of sacrificing people in this way, so they sought the shaman Greeta's advice. She agreed with the paladins, but proposed to take Thulsa and Molly on a spiritual journey. They sat together and smoked a pipe leading them on a vision quest. They followed their spirit animal, defeated a riddling blue sphinx, and finally defeated their own images in combat. After this they were granted an audience with the demons that were hounding them. After explaining the circumstances of their quest with the dread machine the hounds agreed to let them go if they held a great feast to appease them. So it came to pass that Molly and Thulsa hosted a greatest outdoor roast festival of the Yellowlands. One hundred baby oxen were roasted and been and wine flew freely for a couple of days in the desert about the Oasis of Laurnce.

Greeta's smoking herb left Thulsa seeking ways to expand his consciousness in similar ways. In this way he became too meditative and curious about the void beyond to seek out his wild anger.