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| Image by Scott Purdy http://scottpurdy.deviantart.com/ |
The team of the Toybox discover more about Alal's past and take a visit to the Cave of Shadows.
Any internal thoughts I portray the characters as having are my assumptions rather than confirmed by my players. Any future conflicts of personality are more likely a result of my assumptions, rather than actual player inconsistency.
If you want to stay updated on the events of the Toybox crew, but don't want to read through the whole prose write-up, a summary follows at the end.
If you want to start the story from the beginning, check out the first episode.
If you want to see what just happened, check out the previous episode.
If you want to continue the story, check out the next episode.
For more information on the Toybox Campaign, check out the Toybox Homepage.
Episode Main Cast
Silver and Scarlet
They stood at the tree line, looking on at the camp, looking at the clock banner which waved from the flagpole in its center.
"Until we figure out what to do, we should avoid doing anything to draw attention to ourselves," Jack said.
As he did, the Toybox began to grow within User's pack.
"That's not conspicuous at all," the blue-clad man said.
"Dang it," User said, drawing it out and tossing it into the woods.
The Toybox grew to its 9X9 size, glowing with orange energy that wrapped itself around Jack and Sara. When the energy cleared, they were replaced with Alal, Zeke and Katrin.
"No, Jack!" User cried out.
"Hey guys," Alal said. "When we were in the Toybox, the orange energy from the console lit up, but then something stopped it. It was silver. It was from another device, I think. I don't really know much more than that."
"What do you mean, 'stopped it?'" the blue-clad man asked. "You're here now."
"No, I mean, when we were in there," Alal explained. "Not just now."
"Where's Scarlet?" Katrin asked.
"She's in the Toybox," the blue-clad man said.
"Scarlet never came into the Toybox, when she teleported," Alal said.
"Did she just go in right now?" Katrin asked.
"No," the blue-clad man said. "She's been in there since right before we went into Morio Tower."
"So, could that have been the silver thing?" User asked. "Could it have been Scarlet?"
"Does that mean that each time someone goes into the Toybox that they're going into a different...box?"
"I think the silver energy did that," Alal said. "I think it took her somewhere else."
"Maybe," the blue-clad man said.
With this, the crew gave Katrin and Alal a really detailed explanation of everything that had happened while they had been in the Toybox. The blue-clad man gave Alal the metal insect-device that had been given to them by Feste, and Alal discovered that it was an automaton which could be activated and sent to attack nearby targets.
“Also of interest,” Alal said. “The bugs in the Toybox are ultraterrestrials and they feed off of time distertations.”
“Time paradoxes,” Katrin clarified.
“Yeah, that,” Alal agreed. “And they were starving, until the silver energy thing happened. Then they weren’t starving anymore.”
They discussed if this could have been because of Scarlet and whatever happened with the silver energy, or if it might have been because of the Toybox being around Feste. However, no final decision was arrived at.
Outside the Camp
Before them, there was the camp. About twenty tents were spread out in a round perimeter. In the
center, a large pole stood over the tents, bearing the clock symbol that the Toybox crew now knew to be the symbol of Vinka. On the side of the camp nearest to them were three large carts. Within the camp, the Toybox crew could see several aneen-large bipedal beasts of burden. There were also some machines sitting out in the camp as well.
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| TM and © 2017 Monte Cook Games, LLC. |
“We should probably go around the camp,” the blue-clad man suggested.
“If it helps, we are carrying their banner,” User suggested.
“That might help,” the blue-clad man agreed. “But that should be more of a last resort for if they catch us.”
“I know that it’s good to not get killed by those guys,” Zeke, Alal’s automaton companion, interjected. “However, if you’re trying to stop them from doing whatever they’re doing, and you don’t know what they’re doing, that might be a problem. Cause, they could be here to go to the tower, in which case you’re not very far ahead of them, so you’d get there about the same time. Or, they might be going after something else, in which case you might want to get that, before they get that.”
“But we don’t have to get a whole bunch of the things that she’s after,” the blue-clad man pointed out. “Wouldn’t just one be enough?”
“Maybe, or maybe not,” Clio said. “Maybe she just needs a certain number of things, and if we take one of them, she’ll just go for another one.”
“There are a lot of really unique things in Vendernovem, however, it seems like a lot of the unique things were made by people who weren’t just making one thing at a time.” Zeke suggested.
“They were making a piece of technology with many parts,” Alal said.
“If you were to make something that could do something…miraculous,” Zeke started. “Like a lot of these artifacts. You probably wouldn’t just make one of them. You would want to spread the miracles and possibly profit off of them. So, getting one device might not stop her if there is a duplicate somewhere else.”
“Yes, but if they’re going after something different from the Band of Enigmas, then getting that might not stop them either then,” the blue-clad man pointed out.
“I think Zeke’s got a point, guys,” Alal said.
“That we don’t know what they’re doing?” User asked.
“I mean, either way, if there’s more than one of any of these objects, it doesn’t matter which one we go for,” the blue-clad man said.
“We could possibly pick off one of the guards,” Alal suggested. “Sneakily. Also, I have a mind-control dart thing which makes someone obey the next verbal command given.”
“If only we had that Volcanic Heart that Jack tried to use on the giant automaton,” User said.
The group decided to wait until the dark of night for the cover of darkness, and then to send people ahead to scout. The blue-clad man crept around to the left of the camp, Katrin went to the right, and Clio snuck back behind them through the trees to make sure there weren’t any scouts from the camp checking a perimeter. Returning, Katrin and the blue-clad man provided the group with a better idea of the layout of the camp, and Clio determined that there did not, in fact, seem to be any guards or scouts in the woods behind them.
With this information, the blue-clad man offered that he had the power to create illusions. They eventually, after several different ideas, decided to create an illusion of a campfire in the woods near them. Two guards came out to investigate, and the Toybox crew made fast work of knocking out the first one. Alal used a projectile launcher to throw his mind-control dart at the other, but he missed.
The other guard began to ran away. User and Katrin chased after him. They knocked out the remaining guard. As they did so, Katrin noticed in the shadows, a third figure-wearing dark clothing, running away towards the camp. It was too far away for her to chase after and stop before the figure could get to the camp.
User and Katrin pulled the body they’d knocked out and regrouped with the rest of the team. The blue-clad man was already taking the outfit of one of the guards. The group began to move back into the woods.
The Invitation
From the camp, there came a loud screeching sound. Looking, the group could see a jet of flame going up into the air above the camp. There was a cracking sound, and the flame spread out to form a glowing symbol in the air.
“This feels familiar,” Alal said. “I feel like it means that they know I’m here, and that they’re inviting me to see them.”
“That sounds like a bad idea,” the blue-clad man said.
“I’m curious,” Alal said.
“Well, you can go on,” User suggested. “We’ll go off, and then we’ll just pull you in with the Toybox.”
“If they’re inviting you in,” the blue-clad man suggested, “I doubt that they’re inviting you in to kill you, but they might not be inviting you in for anything good. My bet is that they have a couple more of you in there.”
“What?” User asked.
“More of my type?” Alal asked.
“Yeah,” the blue-clad man said.
“Can I have the teleportation disk?” Alal asked.
“No!” the blue-clad man insisted. “That is our back-up plan to avoid the calamity. I’m not going to send it into the camp of the people who are trying to cause the calamity.”
“Right…” Alal said. “But It could keep me alive.”
“You know what else could keep you alive?” The blue-clad man asked. “Not going into the camp!”
“If you were to bring friends with you, do you think they’d be welcoming to that?” User asked.
“We did just capture two of the guards,” Clio pointed out.
Into the Camp
In the end, it was decided that Alal, Katrin, and Zeke would enter the camp. Clio and the blue-clad man each took a uniform from one of the captured guards, and intended to sneak up to the camp, infiltrating slowly. User stayed back with the Toybox to see the results of their efforts.
As Alal, Katrin, and Zeke approached, four guards met them at the boarder of the camp. The guards flanked them on both sides, but they left a good distance on Alal’s side.
The guards led Alal, Katrin, and Zeke to a large red tent near the center of the town. There, they were met by a well dressed man with a short beard and long brown hair.
“Ilyas,” he said, looking at Alal. “It’s been a long time.”
“It has,” Alal agreed.
“What…brings you to this neck of the woods?” the man asked, hesitantly. Alal could see that this man was on edge. “One hears many things.”
“What sorts of things?”
“There had been rumors that you were…no longer with the cause,” the man said.
“It’s dangerous to listen to rumors,” Alal said.
“It can be,” the man said, nodding his head.
“Especially if they’re purposely created,” Katrin said. “For other ears.”
“I understand that that could be a useful tool,” the man answered. “So, my question stands. What brings you out here?”
“I’m on business,” Alal answered.
“For Vinka,” Katrin inserted.
“To visit Yrkallak Tower,” Alal said.
“I see,” the man said. “Well, that’s a good business to be in. I heard there was a different group dispatched to deal with that, but if you’re on it, I’m not one to question you. We’re here to explore the cave.”
There was a silence that passed between them.
“The cave of shadows,” the man clarified.
“Oh, of course,” Alal answered. “Any news, from the cave?”
“We haven’t been yet. We were going to head out tomorrow. If you’re headed to the tower, it might not be too far out of your way if you would want to come with us.”
“That might not be helpful for the image you’re trying to create,” Katrin said.
“I mean, I’m hoping we wouldn’t be running into any others in our journey,” the man said. “And, of course, if we were to run into one or two people, it wouldn’t be too hard to send any message from sending.”
“Of course, of course,” Alal said.
“We do have numbers, of course, but I’m sure that your presence here could encourage some of the troops as we approach that place,” the man said.
“I may join in the shadows,” Alal said, “of the cave of shadows.”
“Okay, great,” the man said. “We’ll pack up tomorrow morning. I’m sure we can find a bed for you if you’d like to stay here for the night. You’d be welcome to invite your companions in with us, of course. But, if you’d rather go back out to them, then you can do that.”
“I think we’ll stay here,” Alal said. “Let me go get my entourage.”
Alal brought User into the camp. The man introduced himself to User as Gaius. Clio and the blue-clad man remained undercover in the camp. The guards were left unconscious, tied to trees, and gagged.
To the Cave
The next morning, the camp was broken with military efficiency. The tents were taken down and packed with the odd machines into the backs of the carts which were strapped to the aneen. Gaius had Alal and his company lead the way as they headed towards the cave of shadows.
After a few hours of walking, a large rocky hill could be seen jutting up from the ground. At its base, there were two gaping holes as entrances. It was the cave of shadows.
“Ilyas, can I talk to you in private, sir?” User asked, as they drew nearer to the cave. Alal nodded, and the two walked a little ahead of the rest of the party. User whispered his question. “What happens if the Toybox opens here?”
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| Image by Scott Purdy http://scottpurdy.deviantart.com/ |
Before Alal could give an answer, the shadows of the hill began to stretch outward, as though the sun was moving to cast a greater shadow on the ground. As they did so, they grew darker and darker and longer. The shadows began to coalesce together as a dark-colored monster rose itself out of the ground. It towered over them, being almost as tall as the hill itself.
“Run into the cave!” Katrin shouted.
“Were you aware of this thing?” Alal asked Gaius.
“I certainly was not,” Gaius said, drawing out his longsword.
“You guys take care of the monster, we’ll take care of the cave,” Alal said.
Gaius raised his sword towards the beast, and the troops sprang into action, some drawing out swords and charging at it while others drew out bows to launch a volley of arrows. Still others moved towards the carts and began to work with the machinery therein.
The Toybox crew ran past the monster, towards one of the entrances to the cave. As they ran, they could see the beast swap it’s arm, knocking ten of the soldiers off their feet, sending them flying.
Inside the Cave
“I think that monster is made of some sort of shadow matter,” Alal said, when they were safely inside the cave. “Some sort of primordial energy.”
The interior of the cave was dark, but there were torches positioned in sconces around it. User began lighting torches along the walls as he went. The halls formed a maze of crisscrossing pathways. As they progressed through the cave, they began to feel dark thoughts and suspicions press themselves upon them. Some outside source struck at their minds, harming some members of the team.
After the strike, they saw it. A dark creature, made of shadows. They struck at it, dissipating it, but its dark whispers seemed to echo in their minds.
As they progressed, they were attacked several more times by these dark creatures, but they continued to press further into the maze of the cave.
Eventually, they came to a place where they could see light coming from down a hall. Moving towards the light, they came into a larger, open room. The walls and floor here were worked to be more smooth than the other parts of the cave. In the center of the room was a large synthetic tube, which stretched from the floor to ceiling and in which a dark shadowy substance moved about. A large crack was upon the tube.
Standing in front of the tube was a figure. The figure looked exactly like Alal-clothing and body and all.
“Welcome home,” the figure said.
“Home?” Alal asked.
“Yes,” the figure answered, simply.
“I assume he’s talking to you,” the blue-clad man said to Alal.
“Do you not remember?” he asked.
The other-Alal put out his hands, and shadows poured out of them, moving fast across the room and wrapping around Alal and Clio.
Episode Summary
- The Crew of the Toybox draws the attention of Vinka's camp.
- The camp launches a symbol into the sky which Alal feels is an invitation for him.
- Alal enters the camp to find that the leader of the camp knows him as Ilyas, and seems to believe that Alal/Ilyas was or is a member of Vinka's army.
- Alal (and, by extension, the rest of the Toybox crew) agrees to go with the members of the camp in their investigation of the Cave of Shadows.
- Upon arrival at the cave, a giant shadow monster attacks, separating the crew from Vinka's troops.
- Traveling through the cave, the crew comes to a place where there is a figure that looks like Alal. The figure welcomes Alal, and then extends out shadow energy towards Alal and Clio.
If you want to start the story from the beginning, check out the first episode.
To continue the story, go to the next episode: Episode 108: "We really should have asked more about this before we went in here."
If you want to see what happened immediately previously, check out the previous episode.
For more information on the Toybox Campaign, check out the Toybox Homepage.
Exciting! At first I was imagining the shadow monster as similar to something from KH, but the picture is much more frightening! :-P
ReplyDeleteI picture the way it formed out of the ground as more similar to KH. Some of the ones in the cave may have more resembled shadow or neoshadow heartless.
DeleteVery cool!:) Brandon and I have finally been watching cutscnenes of Chain of Memories, 358/2 Days, and refreshing on KH2. So I've been on a kick.
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