Jump in the fire!

[DM Bob]

Enemy's Slumber, 8th of Fortuary, Afternoon?

Current Location: The Eternal Hearth, Realm of Pure Flame, the Power Incarnate Elemental Plane of Fire


Down in the depths of my fiery home
The summons bell will chime
Tempting you and all the Earth
To join our sinful kind
There is a job to be done and I'm the one
You people make me do it
Now it's time for your fate and I won't hesitate
To pull you down into this pit

So come on
Jump in the fire
So come on
Jump in the fire

With hell in my eyes and with death in my veins
The end is closing in
Feeding on the minds of man
And from their souls within
My disciples all shout to search you out
And they always shall obey
Follow me now, my child, not the meek or the mild
But do just as I say

So come on
Jump in the fire
So come on
Jump in the fire

Jump by your will or be taken by force
I'll get you either way
Trying to keep the hellfire lit
I'm stalking you as prey
Living your life with me, I am you, you see
There is part of me in everyone
So reach down grab my hand, walk with me through the land
Come home where you belong

So come on
Jump in the fire
So come on
Jump in the fire
So come on
Jump in the fire
So come on
Jump in the fire
Come on, jump in now!

[DM Bob]

As you dance through the silt, you can't help but feel a bit of childish whimsy. Something that Athas lacks almost as much as water. Spilling some of the wine and following your directions, the world begins to blur even more than just muted grey. Your vision goes black.

And yet, you find yourself still dancing. Your feet soon lack purchase upon simple earth and your dance speeds.

Beneath you (and all about you really), reddish orange light, purple and blue plumes and intense heat erupt. Niachi's amulet triggers almost instantly as he subconsciously wills it to protect him and his mates.

Eventually, as if you've transposed bodies, you find yourself dancing about a blackened rock that matches that of your starting point in Giustenal. The petroglyphs are different here, ashen white clouds, leaves and a circle with a line drawn through the center top to bottom are prevalent.

The pale shimmering dome of protective energy covers your party almost perfectly as you slow the dance to a halt. As your eyes focus, you feel a sponginess to the ground, as if the very earth was made of peat or perhaps even dried inix dung. Whatever it is, it BURNS.

As Quila centers her sense of direction, it feels as if the cardinal directions are going to be an issue.

There is a Sun, crimson as ever, that hovers at noon. Do they have an evening here?

Somewhere in the distance, you can make out a shimmering metallic disk in wavy horizon. Attilius can see that it looks like a half sphere, coppery upon the bottom, with black lining the middle, like an obsidian ring. The top looks to have a different coloration, dome-like in shape.

There are blackened trunks, much like trees, completely on fire leading down to what looks to be a burning plain beyond that. The strange sphere thing hovers over there.

Smoke is also here and there, with a range of smells beyond that you're generally accustomed to. Embers pop excitedly at your disturbance. You swear you see small birds of flame in the sky. In the other directions, fire, flames, and burning pillars, plumes & chaos. There is a general roar as if a million million distant forest fires undulated in unison.

Whatever happens here, will definitely change you all forever.

[Attilius]

The gladiator quickly spins about and looks about for any hostiles. He's clearly uncomfortable. When they aren't attacked he angrily complains
"Gods DAMN! AND I THOUGHT IT WAS HOT AT THE LUDUS DURING MID DAY TRAININGS...
There's some kind of metal or copper dome disc that way." He points with his gouge

[AthasianLaborer]

As the dance fades to a sway and the heat mounts, a look of contentment crosses 'Muiko's face.  "By my breath!  Airs hotter than a Zenalia breeze out here" 'Muiko says as he gets as close as possible to the fiery trees without leaving the protection of Niachi's aura, the look of contentment turning to artistic fascination with the structures of flame.  He prepares himself to capture a sketch of these trees as a speechless Yvera surveys the flamescape from her perch upon his right shoulder.

Artistic Ability rolled an 18 needing a 13 or less [Failure.]

'Muiko struggles to capture the ephemeral nature of trees made of flame, perhaps due to the difficult nature of that particular action or maybe the near incessant [ToM Elven: "Hey, check that out!"] from Yvera once he actually begins his attempt has something to do with it.

[DM Bob]

Your jankx is visibly stressed.

"Oh shit. I mean every familiar is expected to travel to somewhere strange if their wizard seeks forbidden knowledge... but forgive me if I didn't think you'd actually achieve making it to the realm of eternal flame & power."

Pause.

"Please don't fuck up this time, 'Muiko."

Niachi does not feel cut off from the Black, but has a bit of an uneasy body feel... as if his energy isn't entirely at home here.

Skrye feels somewhat the same, but not as if her presence is forbidden, but as an outsider or visitor.

[Coden Rokos (Jesse H.)]

Coden mumbles something about "Dance into the fire" and then as the transition happens he starts carefully checking over his gear to make sure none of it is catching on fire. Especially the spear—if the metal tongue heats up too much, it could cause the wooden shaft to burst into flames too, after all. Of course, anything that can protect against the flames of the elemental planes can protect against that kind of mundane fire, but the impulse is strong to feel like doing something in response to conditions over which he has no control.

[Attilius]

When everyone is situated as much as they can in this newfound heat and flame, Attilius takes point and begins to walk towards the copper and black dome. He'll always make sure to stay close to Quila too.

[DM Bob]

Nothing within the protective dome catches fire, but the heat is definitely there.

As well as the dry, thin air.

The ground squishes as you walk. The more you think about it? You might be walking on compressed flame itself. Luckily the protections you have seem to keep this from melting your soles to your feet.

[Attilius]

As they walk, Attilius keeps an eye on the fire birds and flaming forests in case something decides to pop out of the flames to eat/incinerate them.

[Niachi]

Before the dance:

Niachi accepts one of Scrye's "quicker acting please" poison vials and secures it with thanks. He keeps the empty vial of Planar Wine after it was spilt on the stone to save a few drops for later investigation.

In the Fire:

He is visibly cowed by the elemental purity, noting the analogies of fire-based things to those variants in his planar source of power. Shadow-trees bear unsettling fruit.

He breathes shallow and steps fast as he uncorks his fireproofing oil and uses enough to coat his familiar perched on his shoulder (OOC: 1/4 dose?)

He asks it:

"Can my spells be cast here and at what cost?"

Otherwise he is silent and stays dead center in the marching order to give others room to fit.

He watches the Son of Kr'cht and if his new protective jewelry is functioning as mentioned.

To 'Muiko :
<Elven: "How exactly did you fuck up before?">

With a steel arrow nocked in his century-old ash-grey elven longbow, he moves with the team to the metallic dome, head darting like a raptor at everything around him.

Spells & effects active:

Cat's Grace: +7 hours
Statue's boon

Spells available:
3x 1st / 0x 2nd / 2x 3rd / 1x 4th

[AthasianLaborer]

[Elven: "In the interest of brevity, it might be a better idea to ask what I haven't fucked up, given the source"] 'Muiko replies to Niachi as he walks alongside Niachi's left.  He side eyes Yvera on his left shoulder "Would you feel better if I did the same?" he asks despite already knowing her answer having just watched her watch Niachi dose Kah Rawk.

Yvera is very pleased by the gesture and allows 'Muiko to apply the oil (though double checks to be sure she is completely coated by the oil that 'Muiko applied).

[DM Bob]

Distance here is a bit deceiving. As you walk through the charred "woods", the strange sphere does not seem to be getting much closer. Unless you're mistaken, the thing must be miles across.

How does such a thing float or hover so? Probably powerful magics or even strange Nature.

The Son of Kri-kcht is smiling, oddly, while the rest of you have hardened worry upon your faces. He mutters something about "destiny" and "great things". When approached by Niachi, he simply shrugs and replies in Kreen. "Not sure yet. Wouldn't be wise of me to test that, don't you think?"

After a few minutes of walking on the spongy, compressed flame, both the Son of Kri-kcht and Attilius spot what looks to be a large, black, gold & red pavilion tent pitched some forty feet off your path to the right. The opening is facing the direction you came from.

Again, your sight is pretty badly affected by this realm. Between the fires (or fire, singular?), the heat waves, dry air, smokes and distortion...

Could this be a bizarre mirage?

The plane still roars of blazing inferno and there are even weird explosion events in the distance in the "sky". Or is it simply less dense fire itself?

[Attilius]

"Either someone's campin' OR this is the pick up spot for Aman's wormies..." Attilius says while eyeballing the tent for movement. He'll lead the team forward to it, shield up and ready.

[Quila Oris (John M.)]

Quila is utterly flabbergasted by the scenery they come upon once they dance their way to the Eternal Hearth. She feels awe, and even though intellectually she grasps that this Inner Plane might be far away from her beloved Kurn, she can't help but feel that the world and existence of Athas is a miracle in itself given all endless powers such as those of the elements.

She tries to start a conversation multiple times, opens her mouth, then falls silent again, a blank expression coming over her face instead when she sees another wonder sculpted from living fire.

When the group identifies a large floating sphere, which to her could well be city-size once the group starts walking, and next a pavilion, haphazardly and seemingly coincidentally placed conveniently next to our path, she comes out of her fire-induced stupor to full wakefulness and readiness.

[DM Bob]

Over the sounds of the fiery plane, you hear the sounds of lovemaking from the tent.

You are not *that* close.