As the last session began, it was late afternoon on the 26th day of the 2nd Trigon of Elok’s Influence. The party was preparing to crawl through the small opening in the Shattered Lands portal to the room beyond. A room that resides in the Between. The domain of Nool, the god of Neutrality and Balance.
General Varimoc entered the room first and approached the door on the other side. Almost immediately, the rest of the party noticed long barbed tentacles descending from above into their view and moving toward the general.
The rest of the party scrambled to get into the room as the general fought with two creatures resembling large brains with beaks and long, barbed tentacles hanging below them.
The creatures appeared to have come from the portal, which was somehow open to a strange, dark, foreboding world, except for the corner open to Emathan.
The creatures were quickly defeated, but others could be heard moving in the portal’s shimmering darkness. The party knew they needed to leave, so they turned their attention to the door.
The party discovered that the door was barred, and they could hear something moving around on the other side. After a failed attempt to convince them to open the door, Kogaan rammed it, causing it to crash open.
On the other side of the door, four Githyanki attacked. The party fought well, and soon, the Githyanki were defeated. A search of the rest of the stronghold determined that these four were likely all that were here.
At the general’s suggestion, the party rested for the night outside the stronghold, and at first light, they headed out through a forest of enormous, old-growth trees to get to the Githinthor hideout.
After a full day of travel, the party arrived at the hideout, hidden in a deep canyon. Inside, the general was welcomed by Captain Lakaloc and several other Githinthor who were surprised to see he was still alive. The captain told the general that approximately 200 Githinthor were hiding out there.
Captain Lakaloc told General Varimoc there were some other Gith there that he really needed to meet. The captain escorted the party to another area inside the hideout, where General Varimoc was introduced to Captain Qidath, the leader of eight Githnoro. A Gith clan that had disappeared from the Between close to two hundred years ago.
Captain Qidath explained that Nool had called the Githnoro leaders together unbeknownst to the other Gith clans. Nool told them that, leading up to the next Gathering in Emathan, one of the Gith clans would turn against him and the other clans. This clan would be lured into the service of a powerful being in exchange for something that Nool could not yet share.
Nool asked the Githnoro to go into hiding to be brought back when the time was right to fight against this Gith clan and help restore balance. The Githnoro agreed to help their god without hesitation and disappeared without a trace.
Several weeks ago, Nool called back eight of the Githnoro. The god asked that they find General Varimoc of the Githinthor. The general would have a plan that the Githnoro would need to be a part of if it had any chance of success.
Captain Qidath told the party that just over a thousand Githnoro were in hiding and could be brought back by any of the eight when the time was right.
The news both baffled and pleased General Varimoc. The general knew they had to act as soon as possible, but he had a promise to keep first. The general told the group that Douglan, Koogan, Hahnu and himself would depart for the nearest of Nool’s Caverns early the following day to take “The Test” and receive a great weapon.
At first light, the party departed for Nool’s Cavern. A trip that would take several days. Once they arrived, General Varimoc told Douglan and Kogaan to enter together, and the being inside would decide how their test would work.
Inside Nool’s Cavern, the party encountered a being who told them that to receive a great weapon, they would need to fight a hero’s greatest enemy. They would have to fight themselves. With those words, a second Douglan and Kogaan stepped out of the darkness, ready to fight.
The battle against their duplicates was intense, as the party quickly worked to figure out how to use their abilities against themselves. Both sides worked to find a way to get an edge over the other. A flurry of massive blows from Douglan dropped his doppelganger, turning the tide of the battle.
The party defeated the other Douglan and Kogaan, and the being they first met returned. The being enchanted Douglan’s halberd and Kogaan’s flail with great power as promised.
Douglan’s halberd was enchanted with power that would help to protect him as he protected others.
Kogaan’s flail was enchanted with power that would help him draw upon his draconic ancestry’s power.
Departing from the cavern, the party met up with General Varimoc. The general told the party they would stay the night and head back to the Githinthor hideout in the morning.
The party sat and ate the supper that the general had prepared. He told them that once they returned to the hideout, he would get Captain Lakaloc to escort them back to the portal so they could return to Emathan.
The general pledged that on the 28th day of the 3rd Trigon of Elok’s Influence, the united Gith army would take over the stronghold at Vas’a’dos and open the portal to the Kingdom of Evendor and Tionchar Winery to meet with the Vanguard leaders. There, a plan to defeat the Githyanki would be discussed.