July 24thish

The party began looking through City Forever and were quickly robbed by someone. It's a shame that the party isn't very good at spotting things or they may have seen the thief, but instead they simply discovered things missing. Orsalan soon came to take them to meet the other two members of the Divine Alliance. They met Beshira, an elfish female with nearly golden skin with snug leather armor and two short swords. She was sweet and a little slutty. There was also Hendrick, a fellow with the proportions of a gnome but seemingly made from stone. He carried a hammer and was a little hyper.

The Divine Alliance believes they may know a way into the keep of the Dragon Lord, but they will need all seven councilors to open it. The councilors are scattered across the planes. They are spirits that are always reincarnated with the knowledge of their jobs, though sometimes that knowledge may remain dormant until they are reminded of their responsibilities. The party was sent to gather some councilors while the other three went to get more.

The first stop was to see Samwise Gamgee in Middle Earth. Knowing that they had no idea how to get to Middle Earth, they returned to Trapper John's and hire Brax Vorellian as a guide. That's when they discovered the tricks of the Hall of Worlds. Many worlds have more than one door, and those doors may be very far apart. The effect is that there are shortcuts through worlds. The party journeyed through many worlds, with opposing gigantic castles of red and blue or airless worlds with some sort of lunar lander thing.

They arrived in the Prancing Pony in Bree and, after some quick inquiries, set off for the Shire. They found Samwise was the mayor of Hobbiton. He had no recollection of being a councilor until it was mentioned, and then it suddenly came rushing back to him. He explained that he had to go on another journey to his wife. She was sad, but she understood, much like the wife in Brokeback Mountain. Samwise came with them to Bree, and then they escorted him to Trapper John's.

Next on the list was Simkin of Thimhallan. This world was very strange to them. It almost hummed with magic. The house they entered was an abandoned hut shaped from a living tree. No wood was cut or wedged together, just encouraged to grow in a certain way. The party went north toward Merilon when they were beset by bandits. The bandits included Duuk-Tsarith, who were once the law enforcers of the land. These people floated in the air and used magic in a completely different way than the wizard. The wizard reached out and manipulated the magic around him through deep concentration. These people used it instinctively and internally. They all hovered, and they all clearly had some control over the magic. However, it appeared they could exhaust themselves and they needed "Life" from the catalyst, a priest. The catalyst seemed to draw Life from the world around them and channel it into the Duuk-Tsarith. The bandits called the party Dead, Sorcerers, and Technologists. It seems as though those all mean the same thing - they do not have innate magical powers. Nonetheless, the party won the battle. They left a survivor, Gordon.

Gordon told them more about this world. It was once even more full of magic, but the barrier that kept the magic in was destroyed about 20 years before. Chaos followed. The people had to learn to live with much less magic. These Duuk-Tsarith, once guardians of the land, were now resorting to simple banditry. There were some serious battles and raging storms. Many farms were lost, and many starved. Only recently has some sense of order come to the land. Gordon said that in order to avoid being identified as Dead, they would have to fly or something. They would also need some more color in their attire.

Gordon also mentioned that these people don't have sex. That's how animals reproduce. These people use magic to make the bun in the oven. Eron was distraught to think that he wouldn't be free to pound small boys in the ass here. Whether people actually don't make sweet love or it's just not discussed was never determined.

Approaching Merilon with Gordon in tow, the party saw a city literally shattered. The city consisted of several floating platforms. It had once been covered by a huge globe of some kind, but now that globe was shattered. Only the bottom few feet remained as a reminder of what had once been. Stairs were being built where once everyone floated. Still, it was a beautiful city. It may have been the most beautiful city they've ever seen, in fact. They stayed in the Olive Swan, a building shaped like swan. It was colorful and beautifully crafted, and there were constant wonders. Still, portions had clearly been damaged in the last few years. They visited the Cathedral and learned that Simkin was at the Font. The party never wondered why everyone they ever talked to had heard of Simkin even though he held no official position of any kind.

The Font is the home of the priests, the catalysts. It is the source of all magic of the world, billowing out of the volcano-like shaft from the center of the world. The mountain had been turned into a small city. The party could tell this place was huge, but they saw few of its secrets. They were told that Simkin may be in the Bishop's Garden. A deacon led them there, and he clearly did not think much of Simkin. Upon arriving in the beautiful gardens with an incredible view of the world, they learned from another deacon that Simkin was up above in the cradle, where the shaft opened and magic spewed into the world.

They found a picnic, but no one there. After some searching, they discovered that the teapot was Simkin. Simkin was extraordinarily flamboyant, and he was not impressed by the stench of the party. He wore brilliant colors that utterly failed to match, and he was quite pleased with himself. He did not seem at all surprised by being a councilor, though it took some effort to talk him into leaving this ideal spot. He thought the zoo in Zith-El might be a better choice, but he was convinced in going to City Forever. Simkin tried leaving the wizard behind, but the party insisted on bringing him along.

The party was then bound for Midkemia, looking for Nakor the Blue Rider. They came to an inn in LaMut run by Sumani, an oriental fellow. This seemed odd since most people in the area were occidental. The inn was called Blue Wheel, and no one was terribly surprised that people from other worlds might come looking for Nakor. It seems these people came from another world too. They traveled via a rift to fight the residents of this world for metals. During the war, the rift was closed, and they were trapped here. Under King Liam and Prince Arutha of Krondor, these people were accepted and allowed to settle down. They have since sworn fealty to Prince Arutha. Twenty years later they were able to return, but by then they had lives here. The point is that they were familiar with the idea of other worlds. Sumani suggested they travel to Krondor, the capital of the Western Realm of the Kingdom of the Isles.

The Kingdom of the Isles is ruled from Rillanon. The king directly rules the Eastern Realm. The Prince of the Western Realm is the first in line to crown and must answer to the crown.

Traveling by shadow, the party came within about 15 miles of Krondor when they walked in. Fortunately they had a good spot check in their in heightened state, and rather than be surprised they got the jump on some soldiers. The soldiers were Keshian Dog soldiers. Kesh is the nation to the south, constantly looking to take back land from the Kingdom. These soldiers were looking to take advantage of the woes of the Kindgom.

Krondor was virtually destroyed, blown up by some great blasts from underneath. The citizens were upbeat, though, and working hand in hand with solders to rebuild the city. This was obviously once a great city and will be again. The party wandered through city and came to find Nakor, a short bald man in yellow robes. He was teaching some students of Arch-Indar, a dead goddess of good. He was overseeing the construction of a temple in her name, hoping that one day she would return. He had an assistant named Sho Pi, though Sho Pi seemed more eager to serve Nakor than Nakor was to have an assistant. Nakor was not surprised by being called a counciler, and he is prepared to go to City Forever. He asked for a couple days to get some things in order, and the party agreed. It is likely they will take roughly 15 days, though, since they will train.

At the beginning of training, it is the 27th of Uktar, the 11th month. Of course, that's not the date in Midkemia.




The Darksword Trilogy by Weis and Hickman is basically "What would happen if Merlyn and his friends left Earth and went to find the source of magic in the universe. Eventually everyone would use magic... except the outcasts. The lone person who uses science and technology would be persecuted. Everything is backwards." It's quite a good story.

Starting with Magician: Apprentice, Raymond Feist wrote some unbelievably good shit. It's based on his gaming group starting back in the 70s or so. He is the one I have ripped off the most with the Dragon Lords, Hall of Worlds, Midkemia, Nakor, and City Forever. I have changed quite a lot of it, of course. He's got a lot of books going, and the first dozen are just great. Highly recommended.