Episode 6: The Golden Castle
Their Quest:
To find the Egg of Rodan and return it to its nest before it returns to find it missing and destroys half of Creation.
Previously on Exalted: the Egg of Rodan:
The Circle arrived in the town of Norhund only to find the small village occupied and blockaded by an Imperial naval squadron with Dontesse’s ship nowhere in sight. They are met by Som Tang, a secret monk of the Gold Faction, who tells them the captain of Dontesse’s ship left instructions for them to meet the ship on the Isle of Myste some forty miles offshore. Since no ships can come in or out, Som Tang has arranged passage for them on a Haslanti Airship docking in the morning.
And now:
The Airship
The engines of the airship thrummed monotonously as the great dirigible passed through the billowing cumulous clouds 3000 feet over the White Sea. It’s a short trip to the Isle of Myste, less than an hour. The captain, Meskalin, conversed with his passengers in between shouting orders to his crew.
They began to descend as the island came into view. The island was a rocky basalt atoll approximately a mile and a half wide sheltering a steaming lagoon, apparently an ancient volcanic crater. The outer slopes of the atoll were covered with fir trees and ferns. No ship could be seen and the Circle once again steeled against disappointment. As a shaft of sunlight briefly illuminated the island, Netiso notices something strange. He grabbed Headless and indicated the large shadow on the clouds and sea just to the north of the island. They followed the line of the shadow to find its source.
The Floating Island
High above them, a hazy spot of sky wavered, coalesced, and materialized into a large floating island, some fifteen thousand feet above the atoll below. The island hovered serenely, orbited by boulders and rocks of all sizes. The top of the island was covered in fir and cedar, ferns and mosses. Streams cascaded off the side for thousands of feet only to fade into mist. A gleaming golden castle stood atop a precipitous cliff on one side of the flying island. Great stone stairs led from the foundation of the castle to a dock.
Headless and Netiso were amazed and indicated the wondrous sight to their companions. They were equally impressed and turned to request Captain Meskalin take them to the dock. Meskalin, and the rest of the crew, were in a state of shock and awe. They had traveled this route from Crystal to Icehome hundreds of times, and never have they known anything of the sort was there. Meskalin was stricken with fear, but was convinced to take them to the dock, though he warned the Circle that he would not stay.
The Golden Castle
The Circle disembarked from the airship at the dock and ascended the long stone stairway to the main entrance. The castle was a large multi-level structure capped with a dome, with four smaller domes connected by walkways surrounding the center structure. A long straight rectangular structure led from the entrance at the top of the stairs to the center structure. The entire complex was built atop a heavy stone base. The roofs on the castle were adorned with large magical symbols carved out of milky white translucent marble-like stone. An obelisk hovered in mid-air over each of the five domes. A golden hemisphere encircled in a golden ring hovered above the entrance. Two giant articulated armored automatons stood silent guard to either side of the entrance, their armor streaked and pitted with centuries of elemental abuse.
Headless, sensing a kinship to the place, reached out with his real hands towards the doors. With a touch, the doors opened revealing a long hallway. At the end of the hallway was another set of doors guarded by two automata. The hallway was illuminated by the translucent stones seen from the outside. Halfway down the hall stood a chest-high pedestal adorned with a marble bust. The bust was the spitting image of Headless, only older and wearing a golden circlet on its brow.
As the Circle entered the hall, the automatons on the far side activated and approached. The automatons matched the advance of the Circle until they met in the middle and prepared for battle. There was a brief moment of concern until Headless took the circlet off the bust and placed it upon his own head. The ordered the automatons to stand down, and they obeyed, returning to their post.
The Main Chamber
Past the inner doors, the Circle found the main chamber of the castle. The chamber was overgrown with tropical plants and the room was hot and humid like a greenhouse or arboretum. A stairway led upstairs and down into the floor. Four doors led to the outlying domes. Something skittered behind some bushes and the Circle spread out warily, each choosing a section of the castle to explore.
Guest Room
Netiso chose a door that led down a short passage to one of the outer domes. There he found a sumptuously appointed bedchamber. Movement under the bed caught his eye and he approached warily. He looked under the bed and was attacked by a crab-like automaton. Netiso easily dodged the attack, but the automaton skittered across the room and climbed up onto the ceiling. Netiso, shaken, recovered his wits and tried to capture the machine. The machine managed to escape to an access port built into the floor. Netiso returned to the main chamber.
Dining Room
Jade, followed by Traha, chose a different dome, opening a door on a humanoid automaton. The humanoid automaton was so startled it dropped the earthenware crock it was carrying. It desperately picked up the shards and left the room in a panic. Jade was studying the remains of the mess on the floor when a crab-like automaton emerged from an access port in the floor and cleaned up the remnants.
The room itself featured a large round tale, some decorative statues, and some smaller tables. Jade returned to the central chamber. Gleaming Warrior, returning from exploring another guest room, commented on the humanoid automaton that disappeared down the stairs to the lower levels.
Sitting Room
Headless explored a third dome. Within he found a sitting room with trinkets and mementos from around Creation. He thumbed through a log book of his own handwriting. Within he read of the aerial wonders of the First Age as observed from the sitting room by his previous incarnation.
The Upper Levels
Dontesse climbed the stairs to the upper levels, steps floating magically in mid air with no connection or means of support. Upstairs he found a laboratory, a training area, and a locked room. Additional stairs led further upwards. Dontesse could see additional automata standing guard over the top of the stairs on the upper level.
Dontesse gathered the rest of the Circle, minus Broken Mountain Forge, who had rejoined in the central chamber and the group ascended the stairs. As they approached the top floor, doors closed over the opening and locked. Down below, more guardian automata left their chamber in the lower level and ascended the stairs towards them.
The Lower Levels
Broken Mountain Forge followed the quarried stone stairs down to the lower levels. There he found a hall that led to a large door. When he tried to open the door, it slammed itself back shut. A few moments later, a humanoid automaton hurried downstairs and was so shocked to see another human being it dropped its tray and was forced to pick up the broken shards once more. Broken Mountain Forge touched the automaton, which was so panicked it jumped and fell over, unable to get back up. Broken Mountain Forge helped the automaton to its feet and continued down the stairs.
The next lower level housed the kitchens and cellars. As Broken Mountain Forge was preparing to leave, he heard the forbidden door on the level above him open and marching footsteps head upstairs. Simultaneously, three automatons left their alcoves in the walls, grabbed kitchen knives and cleavers from above the preparation tables, and advanced menacingly towards him.
The Guardians Attack
Four Guardian Automata marched up the stairs. Headless’ attempts to order them to stand down failed, his control had been overridden. The lead Guardian fired darts from its fingers but the mechanism jams. Gleaming Warrior leapt onto the head of the lead Guardian and hopped downstairs to engage the three on the main level. He was soon joined by Netiso. Gleaming Warrior’s and Netiso’s first attacks had little effect. Gleaming Warrior then used Iron Whirlwind Attack to focus on one Guardian. After a moment of rending ginsu action, the Guardian burst apart like a piñata. The Guardians, for their parts, continued to jam their dart hands and get their spears stuck in the floor.
Upstairs, Dontesse protected Headless while he prepared a spell. Jade scurried out of the way to gather up the discarded darts. Headless then cast Sapphire Countermagic, producing a burst of light that caused the Guardians, as well as the floating stairs, to collapse. A thud of collapsing Guardians could be heard from upstairs as well.
In the kitchens, Broken Mountain Forge prepared to fight off the cooking automatons, but they collapsed to the floor as mysteriously as they came to life. Broken Mountain Forge continued to explore the lower levels, discovering storage rooms, a foundry, and a smithy.
The Hearthstone Chamber
Upstairs, the Circle managed to get the door open to the upper level and climbed up using ropes. There they found a milky-white Hearthstone hovering in a shaft of golden sunlight, focused by the light-transmitting stone in the ceilings and walls. Below the hearthstone was a fractured cone of gray stone lined with orichalcum tracery. Headless recognized the stone as a magical First Age thinking stone used to control Automatons. He deduced that the stone had controlled the automatons during the long centuries since his former incarnation had lived here, and that it was acting in self-defense when the Master-who-was-not-the-Master had returned.
The Island in the River
Headless, Dontesse, Netiso, Jade, and Broken Mountain Forge then gathered around the Hearthstone to pray and meditate, attuning themselves to the magical energy of the Manse. Later, Headless studied the Hearthstone and identified it as the Island in the River, with which he could imbue Essence and slow the passage of time.
Attunement to the Manse also revealed one of its special properties. The entire Manse resided in Elsewhere. Time flowed differently within the Elsewhere surrounding the Manse. One month in the Manse equaled one day outside. Also, only Solar Exalted could open the passage to the Elsewhere.
The Circle decided to rest in their newfound sanctuary. They would stay here 4 months, recuperating from injury, learning new spells, and practicing new Charms. After their stay is complete, they will return to the real world to continue their quest.
Storyteller’s Notes
Phew! The end of Act I. I designed this place to be a nice resting spot for the PC’s. They’re on a quest with a timetable so they won’t have many chances to spend their XP to train, so I thought I’d give them a quick break.
Of course, there are certain mysteries that spring to mind. The encounter with the Imperial squadron in Norhund was impossibly easy. Why would that be? What are they up to? Also, there are more wonders to discover in the Manse.
The Manse, by the way, is a level 3 Manse.
The Hearthstone is also level 3 and provides the bearer up to 3 additional free turns (not actions) at a cost of 3 Motes per extra turn. Activating the Hearthstone is a Reflexive Supplemental action.