Following a tradition set upon at previous Divine Intervention events, stories have been gathered. Tales told by those who bore witness to that which occurred. These, are Stories from Divine Intervention 3
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There we were, scattered around the site doing small challenges for a big game of clue. I approach my good friend Harkel getting a brief on one of the challenges and am told we need a 'silly' weapon. Well, as fate would have it, I finished a trident just two days prior! So, after a run back to the tavern to grab my gear, I approach the challenge and engage in glorious Trident and Buckler vs Flail and Shield combat!
Well, glorious may be stretching it. As it turns out, tridents aren't good at wrapping around shields, but they are really good at stopping flails. It was a long battle of attrition, where my self-cast Enchant Armor allowed me to take at least 5 blows to my shield arm, but in the end I emerged victorious!
~Ian "Timm" Perry
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So, it was nighttime. In Hell. There Bogen and I were, tromping up the hill to go help out our friends, so far left alone by demons. Then, we run into 6 demons, all deciding that it was our time to die. So, we sprinted back down the hill, chanting "Fuck that shit! Fuck that shit!", Bogen waving glowing rainbow orbs. Hilarity among the assembled adventurers ensued.
~ Styx
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I have a few.
Most visible to others was the timeline. Gideon asked me a question, something like "I hear there was a time before Calladen went into the Dagger of Sacrifice that he was helping us? Where in the time loop is that relative to where we are?"
I did not even know how to begin answering, so I starting drawing instead.
I added elements, others came by and contributed. We dredged our memories for what happened at events that were over a decade ago by mortal reckoning. "Did that really happen before we defeated Bedlam?" "Wow, that was a busy year." I tried to keep it as focused on the task at hand as possible, but still had to include a time skip, a loop, and a supplementary timeline to track Laika's major events. Kovaks protested that there were too few dimensions, which is true, but it was barely comprehensible as it was.
I am not sure that the timeline really turned into anything pivotal, but it was memorable, and I had some good conversations about pieces of it, so I am glad I made it.
For another: there was a staff that needed to not touch the ground in Hell, that Vesper had to bring with us as we traveled into Hell. I was asked to help, and we eventually settled on trying to shrink it. Under considerable time pressure, I threw together a ritual with four or so people. We performed it, but on the moment when I focused the magic on the staff, I felt a psychic attack attempt to compel me to instead take the staff and give it to the very being we seek to keep it from. I was a Protectionist when I first began adventuring, and while my spells are no longer focused in this way, it still comes naturally to me to block such magic. In this case, however, I was tested nearly to my limit. After my initial Protect the Soul failed to hold it off, I was forced to escalate and use all of my strength and tricks, from my Force of Will as a Knight of the Red Branch to my power as a Magus of the Realms, in a matter of seconds. Finally, drained, I realized I had fought it off, but could barely consider it a victory: the staff remained its original size, I had far less power available to fight in Hell, and I fear the being learned from me in our brief conflict.
A brief story: at one point in Hell, I had rested on a bench, within sight of the temple. A pair of demons accosted me. They observed that we, the visitors, had been lying all the time. One of them added that he had been eating the lies and they were delicious. As I knew that several of the demons were seeking to make deals in exchange for information on the pieces of soul we sought, I jumped on this. "Oh really? You eat lies? That could be traded for. I can lie to you all day!" The demon did look like he was considering it, but the other immediately stabbed me. I hear that the first exclaimed with upset that his chance at being fed more lies had been snatched from him, but the other just said "I hate lying." Perhaps they were like the classic puzzle guards, but instead of one telling the truth and the other lying, one loved truths and the other loved lies.
Finally, I want to repeat something I told the group after we left Hell: this may have been the most successful quest into Hell that I have ever been on. All too often, we flee Hell, barely alive and having given up too many valuable positions, made dangerous deals, and had to cut our losses. I remember questing into Hell to attempt to spread Duchess Ophelia's influence during the Bedlam War, and I believe we only made it out when Laurante made a new deal with the Queen of Worms. I remember the Druid challenge which resulted in a demoness serving and influencing the Queen of Faerie, and the temple to Aurora in Hell being desecrated. But this time, we not only succeeded, with the child's soul being restored, we left Hell a full hour before our deadline! It was an impressive victory.
~ Magus Rosetta
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We spent much of Saturday in the town of Lost Hope, trying to right and rewrite the shadows and memories of wrongs done to the townsfolk. At many of these locations, Tears of Aurora mixed with those tears of the Mother of the Child of Light were collected. Once we had all of them, our next steps became clear.
As was evident to everyone walking among these shades in the shattered ruins of the town, terrible things had occurred, and the gods had allowed them to come to pass. As adventurers, we were told that some of our group must pay penance, though none of us had been present when these atrocities had been committed.
Last September, I started learning what it meant to be an adventurer, partially to increase any possibility of meeting the gods I have studied for a few years now. Alight with nerves after waiting in line, I placed my right hand on the mirror containing the Tears of Aurora, and my left on the vessel to Antioch’s power. I reached out, and there was something, someone reaching back. There had often been a faint presence in Coventry, but nothing so potent and real as this. The voice, formless, entered my senses without reaching my ears, greeting me and saying that it was good to finally speak with me as well. Antioch once again impressed the severity of the wrong done here, and I agreed. “Something has been lost. The Child never had the chance to grow into something great. What can be done about this?” Antioch bade me to create, possibly with magic, something wonderful for someone I did not know, voice swirling like a chorus, like a mind greater than any one man. I readily agreed. How could I not?
Later, in Hell, I used my ward spell to get myself and others through hoards of demons. I have always used this spell to call upon Antioch. That night it felt just a little more powerful, a little more imbued with purpose.
~Kelly "Charis" Perfetto
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I have two stories to share. One involving my goddess, and one her husband, as it seems to go.
The first was when we discovered that Death Knights were guarding the Temple of Aurora. While the rest of the party was ready to make their way into battle, I did the stupid yet noble thing. I gave away our element of surprise, and seanced Garm. I sought out Pawldo to ensure I had a Knight of Garm bearing witness, and I flipped over the timer. Garm just responded “you again” in his gruff voice as soon as he answered. That’s how you know he cares. I explained that we were coming, for Aurora set us upon this quest. He said if we wanted to enter the Temple, we would have to prove we could. And that we did.
Later that evening, I was brought back to life in the Temple of my goddess, having just felt her loving embrace in spite of my dead state moments before. Both my boyfriend and my Knight were gone, the altar where we had sacrificed Tir moments before laid bare, and it was time for us to follow. I kneeled before the altar, tears flowing freely, as I asked Aurora to take care of them. As I got up and left, people tried to comfort me, telling me that they would be okay. But for once, I was not afraid. I knew they were safe because I have faith, and as long as they were with Aurora nothing could ever go wrong.
~ Squire Margaret August
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The Friggin’ God Bottles
~ According to Makhta ~
So there were these bottles, with different gods’ names on them, that you couldn’t move off a table but you could put little power gem things in them. Like voting, I guess. And Rexan was on a bottle there too, I don’t know why, I thought it was dead, but anyway. There was one unmarked one that we figured was the Absolution god, which we were told not to vote for, no matter how tempting absolution sounds to be honest, so we put a “no” sign on it but that didn’t stop some people from voting who can perfectly well read but don’t believe good advice.
Anyway, a god who was not included was none other than Vesper, and I pointed this out to him and I said he should have a bottle too, and he said “go ahead if you want.” So I put a fancy gold “Vesper” on a party cup and slammed it down on one end of the god bottle table, just to find out that Jasper had already done that with another party cup on the other end and it already had stones in it!
So later we found out that people were moving stones around, most notably from Vesper’s cup – because apparently it wasn’t a “real” god bottle or whatever. So that wasn’t right. And Shadow got a bottle added and had a bunch of votes, so why not Vesper?
So after we dealt with all the night’s questing and I still had magic to burn because – well, ha ha gods, the joke’s on you – and so far I’ve never asked for divine aid for anything actually serious and life-saving – Charis said they could help me get in touch with the leylines or however they connect to magic so we could right the wrong of this big affront to our personal friend the god.
Charis’ mage-y senses said that we couldn’t add a bottle, like Shadow got to. We’d have to take over one already on the table. Like what the hell Garm, how is that fair? So we figured Rexan would be good ‘cause it’s not alive anyway, and I was ready to go but Charis thought we should make sure we wouldn’t be hurting Vesper with this, like giving him Rexan’s domain or something. Sheesh, crazy cautious actually smart mages….
And while we’re dithering about this and figuring that out, Rexan’s bottle moved! It went right over to friggin’ Dionin’s and glommed on and shared stones and everything. Like, what the hell! I mean, glad to see Rexan running in fear, but Dionin? Son of an actual… anyway….
So we got moving, got some nice drinks in some party cups to invoke Vesper’s party spirit, called on powers and toasted and linked arms and drank over Vesper’s previously shunned god cups, and lo and behold! Rexan’s bottle un-glommed from Dionin’s and it suddenly said “Vesper” on it, all fancy and shining with godly goodness!
Now just to remind you, Vesper was okay with all this so whatever consequences he got after were hopefully good god consequences, but also his problem, and I dunno what ended up happening but I heard he got all the votes he needed to – I dunno, graduate or whatever, so he was out of the running when it came time for penances later. Which was too damn bad for a lot of reasons.
I’m sure there are no negative or lasting repercussions from this moment of justice, and I’m glad I could use the arcane mastery that the gods forced on me to help out one of their own. Party on, Vesper!
