New Page 2

The Story Continued

These notes will keep up with the campaign from this point forward, or at least attempt to. But first - some notes on other developments - some of which happened concurrently with the other page's notes that focus entirely on his Lycanthropy.

Feng had already been "lost" in a sense - though still lingered generally unseen by anyone but Zita - Jean, the thief had also mysteriously disappeared (though Ambrose and he had been at odds since the beginning)- suspicions on his disappearance fell to a foe that he had battled earlier that seemed to truly be a Demon (this shook Ambrose as he had never been that devoutly religious due to his generally very rational outlook and belief that change in ones' life was self-brought.)

However, during their travels a few new faces joined with them over time - one being Jerrard - a very large Falcovnian man who had fled the country and its corrupt military government. He was a very willful man - as big as an ox and very set in his beliefs. He was a challenge to Ambrose's self-assumed leadership to the party. One one hand, Ambrose was a military man and used to taking orders - however in his time here he assumed leadership of their group - seeing himself as the only one capable of doing so - and during this time the lycanthropy started to edge in on his perceptions - seeing the group as a pack and himself as Alpha - so Jerrard's commanding presence seemed a challenge - though Ambrose did waver in this due to his upbringing. Also, Soren - a man from Kartakkas - and a ladies' man in every sense of the word - his songs as beautiful as any Ambrose had ever heard. It was shortly after this pressure in both leadership and relationships (a little more than subconsciously seeing Soren as a threat to his relationship with Angelina) that Ambrose proposed to Angelina.

In sum (and a lot of backstory) Ambrose was by far the not only one in the group who went through changes - though he felt that his were the most difficult to deal with. Angelina discovered after arriving that her body seemed to naturally react to the environments that she visited - taking on adaptive characteristics that got more extreme the longer they stayed - to the point of becoming a full mermaid in the ocean, barky and covered in leaves in the forest, taking on characteristics of a desert lizard in the desert, and so forth. Caroline's features began to sharpen and refine - until the point she became a full elf (of whom Ambrose was very jealous - seeing no disadvantage to this change - more beautiful, elegant and graceful, not needing to fully sleep, AND agelessness - compared to his own changes he was silently rueful of the benefits the noblewoman garnished.) Zita began to see spirits, though developed an animosity to those besides Feng and the crew of the ship - between being controlled (mentioned in the first summary) by a spirit, the ghost that sent them here to begin with, and a few other more minor encounters she was getting quite touchy on the subject. Jerrard, while not from the same realm that they were, was also touched - and Ambrose felt the closest thing to sympathy towards him - stolen away at one point they found him in a coffin - apparently sealed so that the occupant could not escape - they rescued him and got him out before the time at which he would have been released - halting the changing spell that had been put on him - that would have changed him into a vampire - while it did not fully change him - it did leave its mark on him - and he was no longer really human either. Ambrose began to wonder why their group was changing so much - though took comfort in the fact that at least they had all beaten any detrimental mental effects... though wondered that if they were ever able to get home... if the effects would last.... how deeply this land had tainted them..

Between the changes going through the group, seeing Feng bound to the realm even after death, and one final straw - as they stayed longer and learned more of the individual lands they quickly learned that NONE of them was really a "good" place. Through their own eyes and speaking with others they learned that something about the land itself kept evil men in power - and even if one were to be defeated the infrastructure would see that only another evil person would take their place. In one instance in Dementileu they worked together with Alanik to bring down the men controlling the people... only to see a woman step to power that Ambrose knew was hardly better than the men they brought down. He felt sick with the realization - and the more he saw of the lands the more he saw it was true. All of these things led to one conclusion in Ambrose's mind: he wanted to go home.

One clue they had - just one. A vistani woman -whom they had done a favor for told them that there was indeed a way out - through the same man that had brought him there. He was a ghost and tied to the realm as they were... but if they were to find two of his mortal possessions - a sickle and a hat((I think... it's been a while)) - and return them to him - they he would return - and at the same time be both more powerful... and vulnerable... through this... they might return.

Adventure Summaries since then

* Caroline was captured and stolen off to Barovia to Strahd's castle itself. ((Tied in with the storyline of the reincarnations of Strahd's wife)). Party had to get in and rescue her. They traveled to Barovia through the aide of the Vistani, and met a group of wereravens whom had been seeking to destroy Strahd. The next night (a full moon night ^^; ) they attempted to disguise themselves as creatures of the night (Mostly Ambrose's suggestion - feeling still very out of place and sorts with himself at this point.) Long story short, they are successful in getting out without getting themselves killed, and flee Barovia before Strahd comes back and comes after them (and soon after discover that the borders are locked from them).

*They've fled to the adjacent country Hazlan and stay at an inn. Ambrose keeps himself pent up in the room for the next two night of the full moon (See the notes on the Lycanthropy story update for his mindset at the time). However, a few nights later (as the group is recouping from this very dangerous escapade) the mists rise up and separate the party - Jerrard, Caroline, and Soren go missing. Angelina and Ambrose wake to also find Zita missing - the two of them alone in the inn. ((OOC - major reformatting in the player group.))

* They find a little information that Zita was spotted leaving town from a man who wished to hire them to bring back a criminal who cast a spell on his fiancee to make her sleep with him. They agree to help him find the man - as he was headed in the same direction Zita was seen going, and Ambrose's has a VERY low opinion on manipulation magic.

*They travel to Valachan and do meet this man they seek, Arman. However, while the man turns out to be a mind-mage, he is a very charismatic man, and honestly not half as bad as he was made out to be. Furthermore, he was also from their homeworld - recognizing Ambrose's musketeer tabard. He had been stuck in the realms for nearly 10 years, and while he still carried a strong desire to return, had almost given up hope. He convinces the group of his innocence, and agrees to accompany them upon hearing that they had a clue to how they might get back (though was more than just a bit nervous when he heard it involved bringing dead ghosts back to life and fighting them.) However, his knowledge and experience with the land was invaluable. They traveled on, following clues to find Zita, finally locating her in a smaller village in Valachan. They learned of the sudden misty disappearance of the rest of the group, and she was heartbroken on Soren's disappearance. In her depression, she had been captured and controlled by a Paka (an evil and powerful cat-person) bent on dominating the realm and settle a personal score with the lord. She's been changed into a Paka as well, and is loyal to her, even her memories a bit hazy. However, the woman agrees to cure her if they can find an object in Tepest.... letting her go with them, though her loyalties were still with the other woman...

* Along with Zita, they traveled northeast, headed vaguely towards Tepest, Ambrose still rueful about more delays to trying to find a way home, as well as the disappearance of half of their group, and Zita's new... look and loyalties. Along they way, they stopped in a city in Mordent, seeing a young woman being apprehended by a mob. Upon investigating, they learned she was Fey, and accused of the murder of the mayor and several guests. She was pleading innocent, but her race alone was nearly enough to condemn her. As they were waiting on the hopeful appearance of the ship in the town, they investigated the matters - learning that it was indeed not she who had killed him but another Fey (a sith, shadowfey). Through much investigation around town, and delving into the cursed woods, speaking with ghosts in long-abandoned cursed manors, they found the sith in question - who had killed the mayor to retreive a painting of himself drawn hundreds of years ago that contained a map to his hidden residence. They bargained with him (knowing a powerful foe when they saw it) to get the copy back of the painting Arman had found by appearing in town dramatically to steal it back, thus proving the girl's innocence. In exchange, he also gave them a map back to the Shadowrift - the domain of the shadowfey - and the place the fey girl had been trying to find (its location is cursed so that no one can remember how to enter, even if they came from there.)

* However, right before they were about to escort her to the edge of the shadowrift (which conveniently would provide a shortcut to Tepest if they could pass through as well) something else happened to Zita. Apparently they had drawn the attention of other Fey, and Zita was tricked - and turned to a changeling (in other words, her soul was stolen away to the ShadowRift, and enslaved - leaving her body a virtual shell.) So, it looked like they were delayed again, and going to the shadowrift.

* They indeed went to the shadowrift, following the map given to them by the Sith. However, as they were traveling, strange things had begun happening to Angelina - her skin began to pale, the sunlight began to bother her, and her ears pointed - looking more and more like the Sidhe Fey who was accompanying them.

* The way into the shadowrift was tricky on its own - paths that traveled back to the same point, and so forth. Eventually, they made their way into a cave. However... Ambrose didn't plan on being stuck in a cave for days... especially combined with his lycanthropic hunger and daily requirement of about 20 pounds of raw meat. Biting down his revulsion, he ate a few large cave caterpillars, though that hardly put a dint on his appetite.

*As they emerged from the cave, he was virtually mad with hunger... and all of the memories of the trip through the cave were gone in a flash. To him, it seemed as if he had just been stricken with hunger. However, that wasn't the end of the problems. While they were out of the caves, they were in a vast grasslands, with nothing else living in site aside from themselves. As they walked, the grass seemed to cry under their steps - though they were still not appetizing ^_~. They didn't go far before Ambrose snapped, shifted to hybrid form involuntarily, and sprung on Arman. The group reacted quickly, and incapacitated him through some spells.

*While to everyone else, he was only unconscious for about 4 hours, something else entirely seemed to happen to Ambrose. He found himself waking up in a much more normal grasslands, naked, and in hybrid form. Long and the short of it, Ambrose was sent on a "spirit journey" - he found himself in a setting very similar to the New World, populated by tribes of Gray Runners, anthropomorphic wolves who followed the ways of the spirits and lived off the land, filling a position much like those of Native Americans. They recognized him as not quite one of their own, but welcomed him, understanding that he was there for a reason, and to learn. SootPaw found him on the prairie and brought him back to his pack, where he spoke with the elder, ManyMoons, who explained to him that he had come to learn something, and would not go back until that lesson was learned, but he must not worry about it or it would hamper him. They outfitted him with a simple loincloth and Ambrose was forced to take a step back and live life very differently. He was indirectly forced to come to terms with his lupine side (He was unable to shift forms during this time), seeing others "like" him all around, and a mirror was placed where he would see it when he woke up each morning. They showed him not only that he should not be ashamed of himself, but be proud of himself - and realize that he was an attractive specimin. They taught him to hunt with them - chasing down the buffalo, showed him the ways of skinning and utilizing the carcass. One other lessen was taught to him - to not let the beast inside him tear free. ManyMoons sent him to a mesa, leaving him there with a fire and nothing else, instructing him that he could not leave it nor return until he was ready and the fire extinguished itself. That he must learn to tame his hunger - giving him some general instructions on how to meditate in a cryptic fashion. Once again, Ambrose nearly went mad from hunger, but stared into the fire, forcing himself to breathe, to mediate the pain.... Then, after who knew how long, the fire went out... and he realized that he wasn't hungry. When he returned, he was told that he had been gone a full week, and feast was prepared in his honor. Finally, after over a month rolled by quite quickly, Ambrose REALLY opened up, felt more confident in himself and more at peace with himself. He was sent out to tame a wild stallion - one of the wild carnivorous horses that roamed the medows - to prove himself. After over a two weeks of tracking it, and repeated failed attempts to ride it (he was trying to break the horse instead of communing with it) - he succeeded. After another celbration, and he fell asleep, he was called to the tent to commune with the spirits with Many Moons ((Read: he went to the tent, he put strange herbs on the fire, and Ambrose started to see pretty colors and hear voices - but he'll swear by what he heard)). They congratulated him on his progress, and allowed him to ask a few questions - one of which he used to ask about returning home - they said that the objects that he sought were in other lands ruled by imagination, and that they could only be seen through the eyes of a child. Cryptic though it was, it was a clue. After the journey, he went to sleep satisfied.

*When he woke up (still in hybrid form), he found himself back in the ShadowRift. Exuberant, he glomped Angelina, expressing how much he missed her. He was quite confused when he heard the short time he was out - in between being stuffed dry rations. They were quite... skeptical of his story - claiming to be gone over a month and a half, when he had been asleep 4 hours with them there the entire time. But he was convinced, and equally so of the information regarding where the objects might be found. After having been in that form for what seemed to him for well over a month, he didn't even give it a second thought.

*They traveled, looking for anything vaguely familiar - finally coming to a fey city where they miraculously discovered Soren. He explained that one night at the Inn the mists rose up and he found himself there. He had been there for over a year, saying that time passed differently in the ShadowRift. He had become a performer for the court - somewhat against his will. He said that anyone who ate while in the ShadowRift and tried to leave could become a changeling - a willing slave to a fey, and completely specialized in one profession if they caught their attention enough for them to take them. Mortals were not seen as having any rights, and below fey. He had certainly attracted attention, and would not be able to leave if he tried, unless he somehow got a pardon from Queen Maeve herself, who had the power to negate the bond of a changeling to a fey. During this time, Ambrose remained in hybrid form - partially because he had grown used to it because of his "spirit journey" - and on another hand, he had already been seen like that, and he figured he'd draw more attention if they knew he could change forms. Meanwhile, coming here seemed to make Angelina even 'worse' - and they quickly discovered what had happened to her. However, in a strange blending of her environmental shifting, she would periodically shift to different types of fey - with the stimulus of an environment like before, or with strong emotion or the presence or contact of a different sort of fey. With each form, and as time was passing, her emotional and personality shifts became more dramatic.

*They decided to journey to the court to speak with Queen Maeve, and to try to convince her to release Zita, and allow them passage back out. Soren said that he might be able to break the spell the Paka had over Zita, but escaping the ShadowRealm was a more immediate priority. They traveled to where the court was being held to meet with Queen Maeve and try to request their freedom to leave the realm. She agreed, though on a BIG condition - the king of the unseelie, Prince Lott, was amassing the items necessary to free "the Twilight" - a terrible evil - from its prison on the mistaken belief that the changeling army he was amassing could destroy it once and for all. In order to do so he had to collect a series of items from safe places. She required that we either get to the items first to return to her, or get the items from the generals of his army that he had already taken. As a show of good faith, she pulled Zita back, rejoining her soul with her body. Then they set off to acquire the rest of the items.

* Before they began, and to prove their loyalty, they did not recover an item, though they had a very interesting time. They were sent to a village that had lost communication with her. Arriving there, they found that it had become overrun with undead - all speaking in unison, with horrid grins on their faces. They called themselves "Toban the Many" and proclaimed that they had followed the party into the shadowrift, and now had infected them through their contact and proximity- and within 3 days they would become like them. There was 1 left in the village uncorrupted, a Fir fey who brought them back to his clocktower, where he had been at work on a huge device for centuries. It would send individuals' consciousnesses back in time to an event for up to a few days. He told them that he could send them back to 3 days before Toban's creation - and that they would have this one opportunity to stop him and all of this from happening. They agreed, not having much other choice. They were sent back in time, and found themselves in the bodies of a few members of a Vistani caravan. Ambrose as a 15-year old girl, Soren in an 8 year old boy, Angelina as a young man, and Zita as an older man. They pieced together the clues they could in the time they were there, finally pinning down what had happened - a vistani man was really a thief with enough magic to disguise himself as a vistani. He had joined the group years ago when evading capture for his crimes. As he traveled with the caravan, he kept stealing, as the vistani for the most part covered his actions and moved around. He got himself into trouble in the city they were in - the vistani were accused of stealing a LARGE amount of items from a nobleman's house - and the camp would have been put to death after discovering for themselves the imposter - and he would have been cursed "since you always wear the face of another, may you always be cursed to only live in the skins of others". And thus over time he forgot himself and his origins, and became the undead collective... virus. However, the characters were able to stop the curse from being pronounced, and revealed the identity of the thief to the guardsmen. ((Very interesting RP session - and a really fun night)).

*The first item was being guarded by a mountain spirit, at the tallest peak in the shadow realm - in a cache in the sky so high up that it was at the very point where reality broke down - and going any further would result in the disintegration of whomever went there - as the nature shadow rift is that one cannot enter through the chasm or else such happens to them. In order to appease the mountain spirit to get the item, however, they first had to negotiate with some displaced Djinn who lived in the mountain itself. Imprisoned themselves in Ravenloft, they sought something that could make them happy - immensely powerful and bored of their creations, and limited to the imagination of others, they were miserable since being trapped in Ravenloft. The party figured that they longed for something that reminded them of home. Between Soren and Arman's knowledge of the lands, they told them of an area whose culture was heavily based on their own and the mistways to get there. Appeased, they departed, helping them with their quest, and in their thanks - granted each one a wish - as long as it could be stated in a single word. However, they warned that if the lands were not to their suiting or had been lied to, that they would return to extract revenge. Angelina asked for "Fortuitousness" (we haven't seen this in action), Arman for "flight" (when he desires flight, however, and leaps into the air, his arms become like bat's wings), Zita, for a "decanter" -.- (she got an endless wine decanter). Ambrose, after a long weighted thought drew some conclusions. He no longer really wished to be free of what he once believed to be a "curse". He had control over himself, and especially since visiting the Gray Runners, was comfortable with his form. He wished to return home foremost, but the Djinn also said that they could not grant anything they themselves could not accomplish (which was their major problem as well.) Besides that, they had learned that Angelina, with becoming Fey, had likewise acquired the traits of them - including sleeplessness (only meditating)... and agelessness, and as a fey - virtual immortality through reincarnation. Ambrose had sworn to her his love, and did not ever wish to be parted from her - with his wish, he asked, somewhat dubiously, for "immortality". (This also has yet to surface, but OOC has an interesting catch/mechanism with it that I will discuss when it does come into play ^__^ ). Soren, surprisingly, asked for nothing.

*The second item they had to recover, the sceptre, was supposedly in the hands of one of the fey generals of one of Lott's changeling armies. However, when they tracked it down, they found the entire camp dead, covered in webbing, and drained of blood. They followed the trail to an underground cavern, that technically was underneath Tepest, and thus had eluded the senses of the fey - as it was a thriving den of spiders, and the last surviving Zeldrow. After fighting their way through, and with the help of Angelina's powerful spells, defeated the Queen - who had stolen the sceptre to try to call forth her Spider Queen Goddess into the realm.