Look Ma, No Hands

We're not done with rifts yet.

Guardsmen try to refuse us access to the next rift, but between our ranking insignia and Al's document, they can't do anything but let us through.

They mention some strangeness around the building, and point at a falling leaf that is stuck in mid-air.

Kate goes to investigate the building door, but as she raises her hands to the door's lock, strange colors shimmer outward from her hands around the building before disappearing, and she is unable to move her hands.

Andelo throws some sand and finds the boundary of the field. It moves slightly, and Andelo uses detect magic to see it more clearly.

This must be an effect of the rift.

I try to dispel the magic near Kate's hands, and the dip seems to dip a little bit.

Deavon tries shoving her away from it, but she screams as her hands are unable to come free from it.

Kate's cube of force also has no effect on the field, and I try using dispel magic again, and this time the rift's field grows.


Andelo locates an opening in the house, and goes in with Al, carefully avoiding the fields.

Al works her magic to close the rift, but suddenly the rift erupts into those of us outside.


Hundreds of years pass.

I see my friends die over and over as I abandon them.

No, I will not let this happen. I will save them. I must save them. It is my only goal.


Deavon sees a similar fate, but one of being betrayed.

Except by me.

Kate sees invisible monsters, who attack her relentlessly. The drinking helps.


Everything disappears and then goes back to normal, but the images are still fresh in our minds, compelling us.

Tentacles erupt from the rifts around us, swinging wildly and barely missing us.

Lightning bolts shoot out at us, and I deflect one of them from hitting Kate. But Kate's hands are still still stuck in the field, so I raise my sword to free her from her hands and the field.

Deavon seeing what I must do to save Kate, helps me by keeping her still, even though their is terror in her eyes.

A kraken emerges from an enormous rift above us, Deavon and I carry Kate away from the field, managing to get away just in time as the portal closes and the kraken falls behind us.

We return to the operating base. Andelo and Al were able to close it.


Settle comes and uses some spells on us, calming us down from the madness which had inflicted us.

Al has a plan for Kate's hands. She has Kate close her eyes, casts a spell.

Kate opens her eyes again. She has hands, but they're made of wood.

They will have to do for now.


We head off to the next rift.

It's in a shop which we quickly identify as a sort of alchemist's shop, which contains many magic potions.

Deavon tries to knock the door down, but it is strengthened by magic so it does not open, although there is the sound of several unseen potions being shattered.

He tries again, using a crowbar instead of brute force, and gets it open.

In front of the door is several potions, hanging from the ceiling.

Some of the shattered potions seem to be animated, and ooze out and attack us.

Deavon is turned to gas by one of the magical oozes, and one of them explodes on Kate.

Some ooze into me too, and I can suddenly sense everyone's minds, and can sense that Kate can too. I also find myself ethereally disconnected from everything.

At one point, water even starts rushing out of Kate, and gale force winds erupt from her.

Andelo goes flying with an ooze and rumbly in his tummy, and roots explode out of him. Kate joins me on the ethereal plane to wash me away.

Deavon does a smart thing and finds what appears to be the shop owner, a gnome, but is unconscious. Exploring further, he finds the real owner, who is in orc who is doing all sorts of weird alchemy over a burning cauldron.

Apparently the orc managed to put the rift in the cauldron, which is making the potions strong, while keeping the rift stable.

Over potions, he introduces himself to Deavon as Symbol Halfjaw. The gnome is his puppet. People don't like orcs.

He is sad to hear we need to close the rift, but he reluctantly agrees.

It turns out that also, he has a potion which restore Kate's hands. Nifty.

He suggests dunking people in the cauldron to fix them. It works.

Al is fascinated by all this, but she decides she doesn't work in the field anymore. She closes the rift though.


We return, and already we are informed of out next mission.

There is an artifact of incredible power in a tomb of a noble, which is said to grant wishes. The noble's family has given permission for us to retrieve it, and we must do so before the cultists find it.