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Jack flicks open three portals: One in the dungeon, one inside the bag, and the other on the gravel hillside. He notes that the portal in the bag and the portal on the hillside both open to the same location within the realm of Earth: A wide tunnel of indeterminate length, its walls thick with copper ore.

The portal within the dungeon, however, opens in the middle of an underground river. Jack swiftly closes this portal before too much of the water can spill out.

---

Jack carefully manipulates the existing bag-portal with Shattered Eternities, widening it such that it won't close for a full day. Then he cautiously steps out onto the hillside, minding his footing on the uneven surface. Wasting no time, he constructs a flat wooden platform on the hillside and secures it with a deep network of roots. He then builds a barrier of thorned bushes around the exterior, strengthening the fence with posts made from the trunks of short trees. He adds a barred wooden gate, then heads outside and builds a series of pit traps to kill animals and collect their blood. Finally, he roves around the surrounding valleys and sets a network of snares.

The sun is high in the sky by the time he completes his tasks. He has seen no wildlife, but a few times his amplified dryad senses had picked up the cry of a vulture in the distance or the snuffle of a badger in the hills. Wherever he is, it seems that Adium's noise has not had significant affect on the animals here.

Jack opens a portal to the realm of Water and, mounting Bubbles the sea hydra, heads in.

He emerges in almost exactly the same place as before, but significantly wetter. (1/10)

Jack passses off Shattered Eternities to Damian, who opens a portal to the realm of Air, travels five feet, and then returns through a new portal. He has moved nearly halfway across the room. (5/1)

Damian surrounds himself in a sphere of frostfire and enters the Realm of Fire.
Despite the insulation of his magic, his armour, and the sheer cold flowing in his veins, the heat of the realm is still very uncomfortable. He travels five feet and exits, steaming, onto the dungeon floor in more or less the same location as he entered. (1/10)

Next, he enters Change. This realm has more to see than the last two: Clumps of dirt and rock, some as small and pebbles and others as large as mountains, move this way and that. They break apart, smash together, grind against each other. Structures sprout up atop some of the larger ones: pillars of marvel, statues of men and beasts, pyramids of granite, and many geometric shapes rise up only to crumble to dust moments later. There is nowhere safe to stand, and Damian cannot stay in one place for fear of being struck by a flying planetoid. After moving what he estimates to be five feet, he departs the realm. Finding himself standing in a dark tunnel, he pokes around for a moment before finding the way forward and returning to the others - he's ended up halfway back to the last room. (20/1)

The realm of Ice imparts a strange sense of comfort, as if he's returned home after being long away. After moving five feet, he regretfully returns to the land of mortals. (1/1)

The realm of Storms is his next target. As he enters, he cloaks himself in suppresive weather magic. The high winds, lashing rain, and constant lightning roar around him, but a small area of calm protects the Winterlord. He exits back to the dungeon, having moved only one foot. (1/5)

Then Heat. He again surrounds himself with frostfire and steps in. A volcanic landscape greets him, the sky thick with ash and the ground sizzling beneath his feet. After moving five feet, he returns to find himself on the other side of the room. (10/1)

Codex of the Realms:


Shattered Eternities:

Variously known as "the Dagger," the "god-blade," and "that thing." It's a weapon and major talisman with a wide variety of useful abilities. The first rule: Do not thrust with the blade. That's not a joke. Stabbing with this thing will open a hole into the thirteenth realm and unmake reality.

Its other, less apocalyptic capabilities are as follows:


Portals: The blade can open portals to any of the twelve realms, plus the mortal world. Each has its own features, opportunities, and dangers. Portals last one turn if made in combat, but can exist for up to a day if additional time is available to widen them.

Confluences: Going into a realm and repeatedly making portals into another realm can theoretically weaken the dimensional barriers, causing nearby sections of the two to merge into a confluence. Confluences have properties from both parent realms, and may be more habitable than either. This is highly experimental magic that is most likely irreversible- don't use it lightly.

Bonuses: The dagger gives +3 to will, and probably +3 to +5 attack.


------------------

The Bag:

This is a bag that contains a small pocket dimension. It counts as a different realm for purposes of portal creation, but it is only possible to make portals going outwards.

Portals made in the bag always lead to the same place, regardless of where the bag itself is taken. This is effect can be used to access permanent remote bases (one in each world) or create exotic devices.

The bag's mortal world exit has been terraformed into a small fort, which can be used as an additional storage space. It will likely be retrofitted to create handheld siege weaponry in the future.

-------------------

The Realms:

Earth: A subterranean world that is primarily comprised of tunnels. It is one of the safest realms, but staying for too long can attract insectile monsters. Useful for its stability, and because it contains various mineable materials, including denethite.

Ruin: A perpetually decaying realm that supposedly has very dangerous inhabitants. I don't recommend going there, but it might be worthwhile if you want to open pandora's box.

Death: A world filled with giant corpses. For various reasons I won't get into right now, opening a portal here will likely offend the god of death. Don't try it unless there is truly no other option.

Void: A world devoid of any matter, even air. The pressure differential causes portals to this realm to vacuum up everything around them. Because of massive spacetime distortion, it's doubtful that anything pulled in will ever be seen again. Use with extreme caution.

Night: A mirror of the mortal world filled with eldritch horrors. Essentially a slightly tamer version of ruin, but still very unreliable and dangerous. It's possible that the horrors could be dealt with, but any alliance would probably come at terrible cost.

Water: An endless expanse of water. Pretty safe, if you can swim and hold your breath. It can also be used to produce some good, old-fashioned flooding.

Air: An endless expanse of air. Gravity exists here, and if you fall, you fall forever. It's safe in most other respects, but be very careful if you can't fly.

Fire: An endless expanse of fire. It's useful for hurling fire at people, but very difficult to survive in. Fire elementals exist here and can supposedly be bribed with flammable materials.

Change: A landscape that is constantly, violently changing. Has a useful 20/1 scale factor and is reasonably safe if you can fly, but the terrain is unsteady and can occasionally become projectiles.
 
Ice: An icy landscape cloaked in constant blizzards. Safe if you can withstand the cold. Some monsters may exist here, I think. Nobody has really checked.

Storms: An endless expanse of thunderclouds and lightning. Like the realm of flame, it is useful for attacks but very difficult to traverse.

Heat: A superheated landscape filled with charcoal and lava. Makes a good attack, and may be especially useful if you can extract lava. It's also an endless source of charcoal, if you have the abilities to prevent instant immolation.

-----------------------------

Scale Factors

Locations in the Realms map to locations in reality, and movement will carry you different distances depending on what realm you're in. It's handy to have this information on hand if you're trying to create portal technology or use Shattered Eternities tactically in combat.

Earth: 1/10
Ruin: 1/1
Death: Unknown. Don't go here.
Void: Extreme and chaotic distortion. A few steps can transport you thousands of miles and hundreds of years.
Night: Unknown. Be careful with this one.
Water: 1/10
Air: 5/1
Fire: 1/10
Change: 20/1
Ice: 1/1
Storm: 1/5
Heat: 10/1

-------------------------

Gods:

Each realm corresponds to one of the twelve gods. Each of these gods created one power of the magi, so the realms also map to those powers by extension.

If you can survive for a little while in one of the realms, you can pray to seek the associated god's blessing. They will have tasks for you, and if you complete them you will be blessed with new capabilities.

Gods technically have names, but we mostly refer to them by their titles, which are also the names of their realms. With that in mind, I'm just going to list the titles/realms and match them to the powers, so that you have an idea of what to expect from each god.

Earth: Conjuring
Ruin: Rending
Death: Leeching
Void: Crushing
Night: Quenching
Water: Spouting
Air: Bursting
Fire: Sparking
Change: Shaping
Ice: Channeling
Storm: Gusting
Heat: Flaring

Katherine takes Adium, Pricey, and Keli's wounds onto herself and heals them off using one full potion and two-thirds of another. This leaves her with minor wounds on her leg and arms, and the rest of the party unblemished.

With Adium able to stand again, the group gathers their equipment and heads deeper into the dungeon. They continue the rhythm that they have kept thus far: Move, stop to lay traps, then move again. They walk past the remains of dozens of Darkwalkers, exoskeletons broken by the blast and insect-like innards spilling out. They walk past the damaged iron pistons and hydraulics that seem to have once been some sort of trap. They enter a dusty room, break open the wooden chest that lies within, and peer inside.

A strange bow lies inside the chest. Its grip is carved from some form of bone-like material, and its string is woven from what appears to be long hair or fur. Its limbs are made from two long, ribbed horns that could conceivably have come from a gazelle were they not ivory-white and translucent. A quiver of arrows lies next to the bow, made from some form of dusty red hide. Jack opens his tome.

"Firekeeper

A bow made from the corpse of a magma-lion, native to the realm of Heat. On impact, its arrows will trigger a fiery explosion."

Jack bags the bow and the party continues on.

Then they come to another small, cylindrical room bearing ornate murals on every wall. Noticing again the symbol of Arbiter, they raise their torches to examine the carvings.



The first section of the wall shows the towers and spires of a great city standing over fields of grain and orchards of fruit. Lines of text are engraved below the image.
"Githain was dead, and for a time humanity prospered."

The second image is of a tall man wearing a tattered cloak, head inclined upwards and face gazing towards the city's spire.
"Dead, but not forgotten. His final act, performed in secret during the last days of the war. Githain buried a seed in the dirt: A mortal man by the name of Elytrius. A soldier. A warrior. An outcast."

A third image. The great city stands aflame, besieged by armies of false life: Golems of stone and iron, huge birds woven from dust and smoke, legions of the dead risen as walking corpses. Elytrius stands before its gates, clad in silvery armour and with a large mace in his right hand. His left arm ends at the wrist.
"Githain bestowed a great deal of his power upon Elytrius. In return, the god took his hand: A pact of blood to ensure his obedience. When Githain fell, the other gods willingly gave up their power to control the world of men. And so Elytrius, the Lifebringer, a mortal god, conquered without rebuke."

Twelve figures. Not the gods, but men and women. They ride at the forefront of an army, staring ahead at the Lifebringer's forces massing before them.
"The gods could not directly interfere. But nor were they impotent. And so the First Magi arose, each granted a powerful ability to aid in the fight against Elytrius."

Another section. The human army is broken and overrun. On a hilltop, the First Magi fight a losing battle against Elytrius himself.
"It was not enough. The mere scraps of power provided to the Magi were no match. Elytrius threatened the unthinkable: To conquer the mortal world, and then to wield the power of Githain against the gods themselves."

The sixth section of wall shows Magi's army rallying around the hilltop, their enemy falling away. The twelve figures atop the hill glow powerfully. One holds a great, seven-pointed sword and wields it against the Lifebringer. Golden blood spills from a wound on Elytrius's face.
"Into a weapon the gods poured their power and blood. Arbiter, the only equal to Githain's might. They bestowed this blade upon the Magi, and long they fought against the Lifebringer."

Elytrius is gone, his armies destroyed. The First Magi stand in the landscape of craters that was once a field, wounded but victorious.
"Elytrius, weakened from the battle, fled from the gods' champions. They did not have the strength to pursue him. And so the second war ended. The world of man survived, as did the gods. As did the Lifebringer."

One final image on the wall. Elytrius rests in a dim cave, eyes closed and skin bearing innumerable wounds. His mace lies nearby, dripping with Magi blood.
"And some day he will rise. Years later, the First Magi died. But they were not forgotten: The powers of the gods were passed down through their bloodlines, and Arbiter's Shards were hidden in remote corners of the world. Waiting for the day when their worthy descendants will take up the torch again."


Jack senses a powerful presence in the room beyond. It feels...familiar?

------

Statuses

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Jack, Dryad Lord[D-G]: Healthy

AC: 18
Attack Modifier: +5
Will Modifier: +6
Agility Modifier: +7

Leafy Robes: +0 AC, has pockets with a variety of seeds, bulbs, and other assorted plant pieces. (Armour)
Shattered Eternities: +? attack, opens gates between realms. (Weapon/Major Talisman)
Song of Serpents: +3 willpower and control of two pets, currently Jack the Hypnatralx and Bubbles the Sea Hydra. Can play to summon a horde of small animals. (Major Talisman) (Disarmed)
Ring of Will: +1 willpower (Minor Talisman)

Dryadism: +7 agility, +2 willpower, AC and attack are averaged between party members, can propel sharpened leaves as an unarmed attack, can plant roots to heal, can control plants, and has enhanced senses. Negated if armour is worn.
Keeper of Forgotten Secrets: Rune magic.
     Frulthar(Fire): Spray of sparks, uses will.
     Baraxis(Shield): Creates a forcefield in front of the caster.
     Drdax(Warding): Creates a field in front of the caster in which magic is less effective.
     Yvet(Thunder): Can use twice per action. Places a rune that triggers a boom of thunder when an enemy nears it. When two Yvet runes have line of sight, electricity arcs between them.

First, Second, Third, and Fourth Shards

---

Phet[D-S]: Healthy

AC: 16 (18 with shield)
Attack Modifier: +5 with sickle
Will Modifier: +7
Agility Modifier: +1

Chain of Winter: +2 willpower, ice magic (Weapon). Can be worn around the neck to imbue magic with ice, in which case it becomes a minor talisman.
Orichalcum Shield: +2 AC (Shield)
Chain-Sickle: +5 attack, can manipulate chain at will. (Weapon)
Dragonling Hide: +16 AC, +1 agility. (Armour)
Broken Soul: +5 willpower, able to transform into a creature by touching its corpse. (Major talisman)
Anchor Amulet: Imbues magic with brine. (Minor talisman)

Undead: Immune to necrosis, poison, insanity, and supernatural fear. Substances or magics that heal humans will instead harm the undead.
Scavenger: Bones can be collected from human corpses and used to replace damaged body parts.
Phylactery: Cannot be killed while wearing Tristan's Cloak. If the cloak is removed or destroyed, will be deanimated. The destruction of the skull during this time will result in death.

Fifth Shard

---

Mageking Adium[D-L]: Healthy

AC: 18
Attack Modifier: +3 with dagger
Will Modifier: +6
Agility Modifier: -2

Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon)
Orichalcum Plate: +16 AC, -2 agility (Armour)
Shield of Stone: +2 AC, +3 will, grants Shaping of stone and rocks. (Major talisman)
Brazen Amulet: Imbues magic with bronze (Minor talisman)
Spouting Stone: Constantly generates a stream of water.

Mageking's Crown: +3 innate will. Magekings can create and manipulate "Magelight", a destructive energy. Attacks with Magelight are quite powerful and can be used as AoEs.
Mageking's Mark: Magic can be made more powerful by channeling the user's own lifeforce. Channeling lifeforce inflicts injuries on the user proportional to the amount channeled.

---

Damian, Winterlord[C-P]: Healthy

AC: 18
Attack Modifier: (1 + weapon attack)
Will Modifier: +5
Agility Modifier: +1

Ice and Blood: +5 attack, ??? (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon)
Crystal Mace: +4 attack, converts objects it strike into solid crystal. Slowly does the same to its wielder when held. (Weapon)
Boreal Armour: 18 AC, easier movement in deep snow, resistance to fire. (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Stormchime: Rings when magic is cast, volume increases with the intensity of the magic [Minor Talisman]

Godling: +1 to all rolls, immunity to cold, resistance to fire.
Storm Within: Magic and weapons are imbued with cold. Cold magic is more powerful.
Winterlord: Can create or disperse blizzards and adverse winter conditions over an area. Can also manipulate freezing winds, including using them to achieve flight.

---

Pricey[C-S]: Healthy

AC: 17
Attack Modifier: +5 with sword, +4 with axe
Will Modifier: +4
Agility Modifier: -2

Cleaver: +5 attack, summons a spectral twin that can be used for another attack in the same turn.
Splintered Axe: +4 attack, wielder can switch between a gentle magnetic pulling effect or a powerful magnetic repulsion. -2 attack when the head is broken. (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon)
Orichalcum Armour: 16 AC, -2 agility (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Nalr's Bracers: +1 AC, limited telekinesis. (Minor talisman)

---

Keli[Ch-S]: Healthy

AC: 16
Attack Modifier: +5 with bow, +3 with daggers
Will Modifier: +4
Agility Modifier: -2

Bladed Orichalcum Bow: +5 attack, biological enemies receive a DoT bleeding effect. (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger x2: +3 attack (Weapon)
Shadow Drykl Armour: +15 AC, better sneaking while in darkness. (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Whisper: -2 attack when fired. The shooter is concealed in shadows for the remainder of the turn. Enemies struck are immobilized. Returns to its shooter's quiver. (Projectile)
Clockwork Bracer: Three modes: Square, triangle, and circle. Pressing the button in circle mode slows down time in the immediate area. Line mode slows down a target, and triangle mode imbues magic with slow. (Minor talisman)

---

Katherine, the Red Queen[C-G]: Arm injured(-1 attack), Leg injured(-1 agility)

AC: 17
Attack Modifier: +3 with knife
Will Modifier: +3
Agility Modifier: -1

Blooded Knife: +3/+6 attack, steals a small amount of damage dealt. (Blooded Weapon)
Orichalcum Shield: +2 AC
Lifeplate: 14 AC, -2 agility, heals two injuries or one severe injury at the end of combat. (Armour)
Blooded Rings: +2/+5 will, touch to an ally to heal injuries and take on yourself half the injuries healed. (Blooded Major Talisman)
Blooded Circlet: Magic is empowered and imbued with blood. (Blooded Minor Talisman)
Blooded Coin: The square glyph can be rubbed to increase the strength of the Blooded Knife, or the round glyph to increase the will bonus of the Blooded Rings.

Red Queen: +1 to AC and all rolls. Can use Blooded equipment, which cannot be disarmed and does not function when used by others.

---
Jack(Snake): Healthy
AC: 12
Attack Modifier: +3 with acid
---
Bubbles: Healthy
AC: 15
Attack Modifier: +4
---
Ugress the Dracogriff: Head injured, [Madness: 1/5]
AC: 21
Attack Modifier: +8

Silver Drake-Hide: +4 AC
Halvrathr(Mounted): +3 attack, bolts are extremely forceful. Can be fired while attempting another action, but reloading takes a full turn.
Slip n' Spike: Can be deployed to coat an area of floor in slippery balls and spiked caltrops. Also blood.
Leaf Parachute: Can be opened to slow a fall

Fire breath: Can breathe fire.

The plan:

-It'd be nice to scout this one out. We should give Keli the veil and the new bow for stealth, then send her ahead to get a look.

Jack expectantly holds Firekeeper and the Shadowed Veil out towards Keli.

She takes them and cautiously advances towards the next room.

Keli takes the offered equipment, trading out her Golden Medallion and Snakescale Bow. She takes the Shadowed Veil – a garment of midnight black, seemingly weightless in her hands – and dons it as a cloak. Atop her dark scale armour, the veil renders her form astoundingly elusive to even the watchful eye. She takes Firekeeper, feeling the hefty but comfortable weight of the bow in hand. Finally, she straps Firekeeper's quiver to her belt and inserts Whisper and the Arrow of Pestilence.

      Now armed and armoured, Keli parts from the group and makes her way deeper into the dungeon alone. She walks slowly, soft-shod feet silent on the stone floor. Before her the tunnel curves this way and that, allowing her to see no farther than the next corner.

     With little warning, the corridor opens into a wider space. As she crouches and sneaks into the room, a rank scent assails her nose. Corpses litter the cavern – mostly the bodies of Darkwalkers slain by Adium's blast, though a few human skulls appear here and there. A single creature stands – A Darkwalker at first glance, but significantly larger than any of the fallen nearby. Its arms are wider than the others, and it has four of them. Two arms hold a primitive spear, apparently made from a steel shortsword lashed to the end of a long pole. Its other two hands grip the haft of a large, heavy warhammer that it rests against the ground. No mask of exoskeleton covers this one's face: Blank eyes stare out from the face of a woman. The eyes scan the room for any threat, passing right over Keli. She shrinks down and remains still, the creature's gaze moving over her without the slightest pause.

(Auto'ing Keli)

Having completed her reconnaissance and avoided detection, Keli returns to the hallway and heads back to the others. She keeps an ear open on the way, just in case the creature follows her. But it does not.

---

Keli steps quietly out of the shadows, much to the surprise of the waiting party. She quickly briefs them on what lies ahead - the tunnel's length and numerous bends, the size of the cavern beyond, and the corpses of Darkwalkers guarded by that monster.

Jack still senses the monster in the next room. It remains static, showing no inclinations to retreat or approach nor any signs of having noticed Keli.

Project 1: Dimensional Mine:

This is a mine, for healing potions. Because apparently we can find denethite in the realm of earth. Other minerals are a highly useful side benefit. The main challenge here will be to extract everything we need without getting mauled by monsters. It isn't usually too safe to stay in Earth long-term, but we'll be changing that. With a giant deathtrap.

To begin with, we'll be creating our usual trap setup as we advance. So any corridor we've mined will also be rigged with pit traps, barricades, and collapsible ceilings.

Additionally, Jack will block off the corridor we're currently working on with outward-facing portals to the plane of storms. So nothing that can't burrow through solid rock will be able to reach us, and we can fire upon it with impunity if it tries to wait us out on the other side. Incidentally, anything that gets too close will also risk being fried by lighting. I am told that this is an unpleasant experience, even for chitinous horrors.

Finally, we will hide blood reservoirs in the walls and floor. These will surprise burrowers, and also kill them. Adium and Katherine will be maintaining these for as long as we continue operations in the plane. Adium will also be turning rock to bronze in appropriate places to make burrowing even harder.

Finally, we will create escape routes by making short tunnels that pass through portals to the plane of air. For each foot of tunnel traveled through Air, people will move fifty feet in earth. Tunnels can be anchored on either side of the portal, and will be short, structurally sound, and totally enclosed so that there is no risk of falling.


-------

While implementing this plan, we will advance and use shaping to extract all useful material we find, whether it is metal, skeletal, mineral, or alchemical.

Phet meanders around the already covered portions of the dungeon with Ugress to gather any bones she can find, just in case. If any of the corpses still have meat on their bones, Phet feeds it to her big bird. Can't be carrying dirty bones.

Project 2: Portal Weapons

This is the first half of a plan to make high-power weaponry that is accessible from the bag. (The other half will be covered when I upgrade our mortal world bag base). Mostly it involves leaving large structures in the plane of earth and accessing them from a single point in the bag via realm of air/change tunnels.

These large structures are as follows:


1: Giant bronze silos placed as close to each other as is convenient. These should be like water towers- large enough to generate significant pressure, and spacious enough that we won't need to worry about restocking them for the rest of the dungeon. There is one silo to contain each of the following:

-Venom-blood
-Water
-Mixture of bronze caltrops and bronze ball bearings.
-Woodchips.

2: A realm of storms portal that is also kept away from anything important. Rigged to discharge into a copper wire acquired via the mining operation. This wire is insulated with a layer of maw fang, and runs to one of the silos, where it goes into Air through the corresponding portal. From there, it runs into the bag, where the insulation is segmented for flexibility and a suitably long length is looped for storage.


The entire megaproject is walled off and cordoned with the same safeguards we used during the mining operations. (One revision: each blood pool is separated into numerous smaller cells to minimize the impact of draining over time). We won't stick around to keep attracting attention, but leaving some protections can't possible hurt.


-------------------

The bottom of each silo narrows to a chute that goes directly into a realm of air portal. (There are a bunch of additional supports to keep them upright in the realm of earth, this is just the interior space). The wire from the realm of storms portal also goes through an Air portal of its own.

Fifty realm of earth meters is one meter in Air. So, by creating an enclosed, wooden and iron cube in Air that is two or three meters across and anchoring it with supports in the realm of ice, we should be able to create one point that has access to every portal made this way. One side of the cube corresponds to a realm of air portal open near the top of the bag.

The cable and pipes continue through this pocket space and out to the opening of the bag itself. Each pipe has a lever that can start or stop the flow. These levers should all face in the same direction, so that the control panel is easily accessible from outside the bag.

Also, make all the levers snake-operable if possible.


-------------

Jack will grow a wooden framework that allows him to wear the bag like a mounted cannon. It should be placed on his torso, right side, left arm, or left shoulder- whatever is safest and most convenient.

Jack and his comrades set to work building their interdimensional megastructure: Constructing traps and fortifications, filling massive bronze silos with substances both deadly and mundane, performing feats of engineering on a scale heretofore unseen, and opening lots and lots of portals.

Phet, meanwhile, wanders the dungeon searching for bones. Going is slow, as she needs to avoid the hundreds of various traps that they've left behind them, but eventually she comes up with two mostly-complete skeletons: Hatchie and, after a bit of digging, Tristan. The latter is missing his skull, but otherwise should suffice just fine. Iapetus is nothing but dust, and Plua has vanished. Bodhi and Jake never did appear, and she assumes that they have died, but she cannot go back to find them: The doors dematerialized long ago and tunneling back into the wall reveals nothing but dirt and stone. Loading her two skeletons onto Ugress's back, she returns to assist the others in their task.

---

It's hard to tell how much time has passed since the project began, but it must have been at least a full day. The beast ahead has not moved, but they have had to repel many assaults by the natives of the realm of Earth. With the exception of a few close calls, none managed to breach the initial barriers and those that did were quickly turned back by frostfire and Magelight. Katherine has spent most of her time refilling the reservoirs of blood where they were drained by burrowing beasts, and Jack has had his work cut out for him growing supports, opening portals, and directing operations. Despite the rest of the party being occupied with the portal weapons, Pricey and Phet have collaborated to begin extracting ore from the newly-constructed mine. They have found the following: Ten ingots worth of iron, seven of gold, nine of silver, thirty-three of copper, a handful of rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and amethysts, and most importantly a small vein of pulsing red mineral. With this denethite they extract mixed with Jack's wolfsbane and Phet's blood, they manage to brew another four healing potions.

Four giant silos are constructed: One containing poisonous blood, another water, a third small bronze balls and caltrops, and a fourth woodchips. They funnel into a pipe that leads into a floating room suspended in the Realm of Air, and from there into a valve leading out the mouth of the bag. They encounter difficulty, however, constructing the controls: A significant amount of pressure rests on the valve, and Jack the snake is unable to exert nearly enough pressure to operate them.

Additionally, a thick copper wire is constructed that leads from a Storm portal in the Realm of Earth, into the Realm of Air, and further into the bag. It is coated with insulatory Maw-Fang to make the wire relatively safe to handle while live. The tip is left bare, millions of volts causing the copper to spark with disturbing frequency.

Jack additionally grows a wooden harness to hold the bag under his left arm with its mouth facing forwards. The harness is uncomfortably heavy and restrictive, though none of the other positions he experiments with improve on this very much.

Jack once more hatches a devious plan and sets to issuing orders.

Firstly, Adium shapes the tunnel behind them into a bronze wall three feet thick, with not a single gap or blemish in its surface. There will be no retreat that way, not in any expedient manner.

Jack, Phet, Adium, Damian, Pricey, Ugress, Jack the snake, and Bubbles enter the bag and move into a mortal realm portal, transporting them to the gravelly hillside somewhere in the world. There they wait in Jack's outpost, safe from harm.

Keli, now alone in the dungeon, shoulders the bag and covers it with her cloak of darkness. Crouching, she heads back down the tunnel. Towards the monsters.

Soon she rounds the corner, and the beast with the face of a woman appears before her. It has not noticed her, nor have its movements changed  - it still paces slowly between the corpses of its lesser brethren, spear and hammer tapping against the floor. Keli sticks to the wall and slowly creeps around behind the beast, exiting the room with the tunnel on the far side.

The creatures are now behind her. Keli moves forward, rounding three bends in the tunnel that slopes noticeably upwards. There she stops and opens the bag.

A hand of twisted bark appears, bearing the dagger of worlds. It cuts once, opening a portal from which spews a torrent of brine. The water floods down the tunnel as Jack enlarges the rent, widening it such that it will not close before the rooms beyond are flooded.

The wooden arm retracts, and is replaced by that of an old man, wrinkled and veined. Adium flexes his hand, and the walls of the tunnel begin to contract, gaining a coppery sheen as they close together.

Jack senses the beast move. It has taken notice of the flood and seeks its source. Too soon. Far too soon.

The dryad leaps out of the bag, holding a rigid length of wire coated in insulating Maw-Fang. He shoves the exposed, sparking end into the water and bids Adium hurry.

The approaching presence falters, shocked by the powerful voltage now flowing with the seawater. But then it continues its approach. Slower, much slower. But not slow enough.

As the wall nears completion, Aria's face appears around the last bend. Her many legs find purchase on the rough, flooded stone and her cold eyes stare directly into Jack's. She approaches. Only twenty feet of flooded, sparking corridor remain between her and the party.

The gap closes, sealed by a sheet of bronze that stretches from wall to wall. For a moment, the party breathes a sigh of relief.

BANG.

The ringing blow of a great hammer is felt reverberating through the floor, seen in the dent that mars Adium's wall.

BANG.

Another blow, another dent. The wall quivers, barely able to withstand the impacts. Adium resumes his work, repairing and thickening the barrier as fast as he is humanly able. Keli assists him, Shaping the dents back into place and fortifying the wall with rock from the floor and ceiling. Jack does what he can, growing wooden supports to hold their creation up. Hammer-blows echo through the tunnel, relentless but weakening. On the far side of their desperate defense, the tunnel continues to fill with electrified water. The voltage begins to take its toll on Aria, scorching her black chitin white and boiling her organs.

One last feeble blow rings out. And then nothing. The tunnel is silent, and the wall intact. Though Adium and Keli are winded and sweating from the effort, there are no injuries.

The tunnel slopes upwards, lit with the faint glow of sunlight beyond.

After waiting several minutes, just to be safe, the party tears down the wall, removes the lightning cable, and closes the water portal. Jack reaches into the bag and pulls out Hatchie's Hatchet, then sets to work swinging it into the water. With each swing, the hatchet evaporates a decently-sized region of brine, allowing the party to move down into the flooded tunnel.

There isn't much left of Aria. A burnt-out, crumbling shell of white chitin housing gelatinous entrails, lying next to her spear and hammer. The spear is of poor quality and the hammer is little more than a chunk of raw iron atop a wooden haft - neither worth using. Deeper into the room lie the corpses of fallen Darkwalkers, scattered amongst a few human remains. And there, hidden beneath one's thorax, a strange stone tablet. Two vertical marks are etched into its surface, and one diagonal line running across them. Tally marks? Jack opens his tome.

"This tablet is washed in the blood of a pact unfulfilled. It is all that remains of one who would have been a divine acolyte, yet died before his destined rebirth. Presented to a god, it provides proof of three tasks accepted and three tasks done."

Added to the bag:
4 dead Darkwalkers
3 human skulls
1 human spine
6 human ribs
1 large dead Darkwalker, white shell

Adium picks up the tablet. Solid and heavy, though not unmanageable, it feels damp though no trace of fluid marks its surface.

He doffs his armour, sets aside his dagger and shield, takes off his amulet, and drops the Spouting Stone which promptly begins to form a widening puddle on the cavern floor.

Jack opens a portal to the Realm of Change, and Damian steps up next to Adium. Now prepared, they step through.

Adium hovers over an endless landscape of flying stones and crashing earth, protected from their fury only by Damian's magics. The tablet now feels wet, and his hands are stained by blood that is not his own. After a moment's hesitation, he raises the stone and offers up a prayer.

---

Damian is gone, as is the portal that led him here. Adium floats alone through the ever-shifting maze of rock and earth, his ends empty but still red with blood. A presence, felt not with the senses but with the mind draws his eyes upwards.

Two stones smash together, melding together to become one. Another, larger rock crashes into both, followed by three more of increasing size. Dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of them gravitate towards the growing mass, adding weight and form. The shape of a face emerges, a bust of a million stones that remains the same for no more than a moment's time - first it appears an old, wizened man, then a young, beautiful woman, then the visage of a child, then a reflection of Adium himself. It continues to shift as he watches, taking on the face of people he knows, people he has seen, and many more that bear no spark of recognition.

The god speaks, not in the voice of a man but in the sound of crashing rocks that impossibly mimic human syllables. The words are uniform in volume and intonation, broken only by short pauses that vaguely mimic punctuation.

"AH - A MORTAL - AND A MAGI NO LESS - STEPS INTO MY DOMAIN AGAIN - AT LEAST THIS ONE OFFERS PROPER TRIBUTE - YOU WISH TO SERVE ME - VERY WELL - SO BE IT - THREE TASKS I SHOULD GIVE YOU AS THE OLD TRADITION MANDATES - BUT I SEE THAT YOU ALREADY BEAR THE PROOF OF THREE DONE - THAT ONE MAN SHOULD BEAR THE WEIGHT OF THE TASKS AND ANOTHER SHOULD TAKE HIS PLACE WITH ME - I SUPPOSE SUCH IS THE WAY OF MORTALKIND - VERY WELL - THEN PREPARE YOURSELF - FOR BEFORE REBIRTH THE MORTAL SOUL WITHIN MUST PERISH"

The god's head shifts, all features save for its mouth disappearing. The mouth expands and widens such that it splits the stony head in half. In opening, it reveals rows of pointed teeth.

Floating there amidst the eternity of changing earth, Adium is devoured.

---

The Winterlord and the Mageking step forth from the portal, which closes behind them.

Adium still bears the ethereal crown, mark of his status as Mageking. But it is the head on which it rests on that has changed. Twenty years have dropped from his features, and as the party watches his face shifts continuously - the colour of his eyes and hair, the shape of his jaw and nose, the structure of his skull ever changes, but never to such extent that he is unrecognizable.

He wears clothing formed of gray earth, a tabard and belt over a shirt and trousers. The faulds of the tabard, the length of the belt, and the cuffs of his sleeves do not seem to obey the normal laws of gravity, nor does he seem at all burdened for being clad in woven stone. Dozens of small pebbles orbit his head and torso, occasionally smashing together and breaking apart in a miniature rendition of the realm of Change.

------

Statuses

---

Jack, Dryad Lord[D-G]: Healthy

AC: 18
Attack Modifier: +5
Will Modifier: +6
Agility Modifier: +7

Leafy Robes: +0 AC, has pockets with a variety of seeds, bulbs, and other assorted plant pieces. (Armour)
Shattered Eternities: +? attack, opens gates between realms. (Weapon/Major Talisman)
Song of Serpents: +3 willpower and control of two pets, currently Jack the Hypnatralx and Bubbles the Sea Hydra. Can play to summon a horde of small animals. (Major Talisman) (Disarmed)
Ring of Will: +1 willpower (Minor Talisman)

Dryadism: +7 agility, +2 willpower, AC and attack are averaged between party members, can propel sharpened leaves as an unarmed attack, can plant roots to heal, can control plants, and has enhanced senses. Negated if armour is worn.
Keeper of Forgotten Secrets: Rune magic.
     Frulthar(Fire): Spray of sparks, uses will.
     Baraxis(Shield): Creates a forcefield in front of the caster.
     Drdax(Warding): Creates a field in front of the caster in which magic is less effective.
     Yvet(Thunder): Can use twice per action. Places a rune that triggers a boom of thunder when an enemy nears it. When two Yvet runes have line of sight, electricity arcs between them.

First, Second, Third, and Fourth Shards

---

Phet, Skelepal 2.0[D-S]: Healthy

AC: 16 (18 with shield)
Attack Modifier: +5 with sickle
Will Modifier: +7
Agility Modifier: +1

Chain of Winter: +2 willpower, ice magic (Weapon). Can be worn around the neck to imbue magic with ice, in which case it becomes a minor talisman.
Orichalcum Shield: +2 AC (Shield)
Chain-Sickle: +5 attack, can manipulate chain at will. (Weapon)
Dragonling Hide: +16 AC, +1 agility. (Armour)
Broken Soul: +5 willpower, able to transform into a creature by touching its corpse. (Major talisman)
Anchor Amulet: Imbues magic with brine. (Minor talisman)

Undead: Immune to necrosis, poison, insanity, and supernatural fear. Substances or magics that heal humans will instead harm the undead.
Scavenger: Bones can be collected from human corpses and used to replace damaged body parts.
Phylactery: Cannot be killed while wearing Tristan's Cloak. If the cloak is removed or destroyed, will be deanimated. The destruction of the skull during this time will result in death.

Fifth Shard

---

Mageking Adium, Heir of Reformation[D-L]: Healthy

AC: 20
Attack Modifier: +3 with dagger
Will Modifier: +6
Agility Modifier: +4

Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon) [DISARMED]
Stoneweave Armour: 19 AC, +2 agility
Shield of Stone: +2 AC, +3 will, grants Shaping of stone and rocks. (Major talisman) [DISARMED]
Brazen Amulet: Imbues magic with bronze (Minor talisman) [DISARMED]
Spouting Stone: Constantly generates a stream of water. [DISARMED]

Mageking's Crown: +3 innate will. Magekings can create and manipulate "Magelight", a destructive energy. Attacks with Magelight are quite powerful and can be used as AoEs.
Mageking's Mark: Magic can be made more powerful by channeling the user's own lifeforce. Channeling lifeforce inflicts injuries on the user proportional to the amount channeled.

Heir of Reformation: +1 AC, +2 agility. When an attack against you fails, the floating stones and surrounding terrain launch a counterattack against the attacker.
Enchanted Blood: You draw strength from consuming magic. You can absorb the magic from enchanted items or the corpses of extremely magical beings, converting it into vitality for yourself.
Wild Magic: If your left hand is empty, you cannot use magic. If not, your magic is imbued with power relating to the object in your left hand. After use, this object changes into a random, unrelated object.

---

Damian, Winterlord[C-P]: Healthy

AC: 18
Attack Modifier: (1 + weapon attack)
Will Modifier: +5
Agility Modifier: +1

Ice and Blood: +5 attack, ??? (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon)
Crystal Mace: +4 attack, converts objects it strike into solid crystal. Slowly does the same to its wielder when held. (Weapon)
Boreal Armour: 18 AC, easier movement in deep snow, resistance to fire. (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Stormchime: Rings when magic is cast, volume increases with the intensity of the magic [Minor Talisman]

Godling: +1 to all rolls, immunity to cold, resistance to fire.
Storm Within: Magic and weapons are imbued with cold. Cold magic is more powerful.
Winterlord: Can create or disperse blizzards and adverse winter conditions over an area. Can also manipulate freezing winds, including using them to achieve flight.

---

Pricey[C-S]: Healthy

AC: 17
Attack Modifier: +5 with sword, +4 with axe
Will Modifier: +4
Agility Modifier: -2

Cleaver: +5 attack, summons a spectral twin that can be used for another attack in the same turn.
Splintered Axe: +4 attack, wielder can switch between a gentle magnetic pulling effect or a powerful magnetic repulsion. -2 attack when the head is broken. (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger: +3 attack (Weapon)
Orichalcum Armour: 16 AC, -2 agility (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Nalr's Bracers: +1 AC, limited telekinesis. (Minor talisman)

---

Keli[Ch-S]: Healthy

AC: 16
Attack Modifier: +5 with bow, +3 with daggers
Will Modifier: +4
Agility Modifier: -2

Bladed Orichalcum Bow: +5 attack, biological enemies receive a DoT bleeding effect. (Weapon)
Ornate Orichalcum Dagger x2: +3 attack (Weapon)
Shadow Drykl Armour: +15 AC, better sneaking while in darkness. (Armour)
Golden Medallion: +4 will (Major Talisman)
Whisper: -2 attack when fired. The shooter is concealed in shadows for the remainder of the turn. Enemies struck are immobilized. Returns to its shooter's quiver. (Projectile)
Clockwork Bracer: Three modes: Square, triangle, and circle. Pressing the button in circle mode slows down time in the immediate area. Line mode slows down a target, and triangle mode imbues magic with slow. (Minor talisman)

---

Katherine, the Red Queen[C-G]: Arm injured(-1 attack), Leg injured(-1 agility)

AC: 17
Attack Modifier: +3 with knife
Will Modifier: +3
Agility Modifier: -1

Blooded Knife: +3/+6 attack, steals a small amount of damage dealt. (Blooded Weapon)
Orichalcum Shield: +2 AC
Lifeplate: 14 AC, -2 agility, heals two injuries or one severe injury at the end of combat. (Armour)
Blooded Rings: +2/+5 will, touch to an ally to heal injuries and take on yourself half the injuries healed. (Blooded Major Talisman)
Blooded Circlet: Magic is empowered and imbued with blood. (Blooded Minor Talisman)
Blooded Coin: The square glyph can be rubbed to increase the strength of the Blooded Knife, or the round glyph to increase the will bonus of the Blooded Rings.

Red Queen: +1 to AC and all rolls. Can use Blooded equipment, which cannot be disarmed and does not function when used by others.

---
Jack(Snake): Healthy
AC: 12
Attack Modifier: +3 with acid
---
Bubbles: Healthy
AC: 15
Attack Modifier: +4
---
Ugress the Dracogriff: Healthy
AC: 21
Attack Modifier: +8

Silver Drake-Hide: +4 AC
Halvrathr(Mounted): +3 attack, bolts are extremely forceful. Can be fired while attempting another action, but reloading takes a full turn.
Slip n' Spike: Can be deployed to coat an area of floor in slippery balls and spiked caltrops. Also blood.
Leaf Parachute: Can be opened to slow a fall

Fire breath: Can breathe fire.

Test the following items with wild magic:

-Small vial of water.
-Small vial of blood.
-Chunk of bronze.
-Chunk of ice.
-Rock
-Rock shaped into a snake figurine.
-Chunk of wood
-Chunk of wood sourced from Jack's body.


Save all the transformed items and put them in a dedicated box.

Jack fills the vial of an empty healing potion with water and hands it to Adium.

Adium concentrates, directing a short Magelight strike to the cavern wall. Blue radiance bursts from his crown, striking the stone...and turning it into glass.

The vial in his left hand is gone, replaced by a linen shawl. It is soaked through.

He repeats the test, this time with a vial of blood. This time, his Magelight is a crimson red and explodes in a burst of blood when it strikes the wall. He checks his left hand, where the glass vial remains. The blood inside is gone, however, replaced by what appears to be tree sap.

He tries a chunk of solid bronze. Coppery Magelight lances forth, turning a section of stone into bronze. The chunk of bronze transforms into a cube of cork.

A chunk of ice, procured from the matching realm. White Magelight causes icicles to erupt violently from the wall and frost to spread across the stone. The ice has turned into a triangular pyramid of animal hide.

A rock. Gray Magelight condenses as it flies, becoming a lance of solid stone and breaking against the wall. The rock in Adium's hand has become a large red apple.

The snake figurine has the same effect as the raw rock, except that the Magelight weaves back and forth in a serpentine pattern as it flies. In his left hand he holds a small sandal, shaped to fit a child and cast of iron.

A chunk of wood has the same effect as the rock, except that the Magelight is brown in colour and turns into wood before it splinters on contact with the wall. In Adium's left hand is a small pile of salt.

Jack feels a strange tugging sensation as Adium casts magic using the chunk of wood removed from his leg. The resulting Magelight is green in colour, and coalesces into a mass of razor-sharp and iron-hard leaves that slice into the stone wall.

In Adium's left hand, the piece of wood remains the exact same size and shape. However, it is discoloured - a stony grey in colour compared to Jack's brown wood, and veined with faint blue light in contrast to Jack's green.

Jack takes the shawl, vial of sap, cube of cork, pyramid of hide, apple, iron sandal, and pile of salt into a box. As he picks up the chunk of grey wood to move it, he experiences another odd sensation. It feels familiar, yet undoubtedly alien.

More Tests:

-Bronze statue of a snake.
-Ice statue of a snake.

-Bronze, stone and ice, as before, but use leeching instead of magelight.


-Put the stone shield in Dino's hand and try the shaping it confers. It allowed him to shape bronze with the talisman- can he shape anything held in his left hand now? Run through a stone-ice-bronze to try and detect any weirdness.


-Mushroom, grown by Jack.
-Apple. Descendant of the one that used to be a rock, grown after Jack extracts the seeds.
-

Jack and Adium continue testing.

Firstly, a serpent statue made from bronze. Coppery Magelight crashes into the wall, turning an area to solid bronze. Spiraling, serpent-like shapes of bronze stretch out from the wall in all directions, coiling around any objects nearby and binding them tightly in a metallic embrace.

The statue transforms into a tankard of the type that one might find in a bar, although tankards are not usually hewn of solid quartz crystal.

The snake of ice starts as a single lance of cold white light, but quickly splits into a number of weaving serpentine shapes that seek out nearby objects, coiling around them and encasing them in ice. The statue turns into a nail forged of what seems to be sandstone.

Next he tries a chunk of bronze again, this time Leeching some of the water created by the Spouting Stone. The water disappears, and the floor that had been touching the water turns into bronze. The chunk of metal becomes a sphere of glass.

Stone Leeching. The water he tests on turns to solid stone. The rock he holds becomes a misshapen chunk of bone.

Ice Leeching. The water freezes solid, and sharp icicles sprout upwards from its surface. The piece of ice used becomes a small chunk of fired brick.

Next he attempts to use the shield with a chunk of bronze. It has exactly the same effect as if he had used the shield with the bronze amulet. The chunk of bronze used turns into a flat disk of refractive crystal.

The shield with a stone. The stone does not seem to have any effect on the shield, but still turns into a piece of oak bark.

The shield with a piece of ice causes the temperature of the stone that he shapes to rapidly decrease, frost spreading across its surface. It also allows him to shape the ice created by his prior experiments.
The piece of ice used turns into a small sphere of unidentifiable material, smooth, red, and firm to the touch.

Next, an apple descended from a rock. The Magelight produced is a whitish pink, and on impact with the wall causes several short, shrubby apple trees to sprout upwards. They already bear fruit, and the pleasant smell of apples fills the cavern. The apple in his hand has become a cucumber.

Jack prepares an earthern pot with soil and Darkwalker innards, then deposits the strange piece of wood into its center. Then, slowly and carefully, he magically prods it to grow.

Jack: 8 + 6
???: 15 + 1

Something pushes back from within the wood. Familiar, yet alien. It repulses his efforts. Jack tries again.

Jack: 18 + 6
???: 11 + 1

This time a series of stony grey roots protrude from the bottom of the wood, snaking downwards into the soil. They ignore the soil, seeking out the Darkwalker remains. Then, slowly, the chunk begins to grow.

It takes on a familiar shape - A leg. Jack's own, but different. As grey as slate, veined with blue and bearing long, wicked claws. It is marked with the runes that cover Jack's body, but these are etched deeply and glow a faint blue.

The Darkwalker remains run out.

Jack has a series of bronze restraints placed on the swiftly-growing body as he slowly feeds it Darkwalker innards.

The lower half of a torso takes shape, as does a leg. An upper torso, two arms, and a neck. Jack cuts off the nutrient supply.

The body - his own - lies still and lifeless. Runes cover its surface, not tattooed in black ink as Jack's are but carved deeply and filled with the same blue light that courses between the twisted, slate-grey wood that forms its limbs and torso. The hands also bear long claws, and the spine is lined with long grey thorns. Jack notes that the body's surface is harder and sturdier than ordinary wood.

---

Jack takes a break from growing the body and borrows the stealth equipment from Keli. Stepping into the Realm of Earth, he goes searching for the bodies of slain monsters.

He finds five remaining. The rest have been crushed, incinerated, or dragged off by scavengers.

Two of them resemble horse-size crickets, albeit with a matte black exoskeleton and mandibles large enough to cut a man in half at the waist.

Two are humanoid, though with stark white flesh, no eyes, grotesquely elongated limbs, and far too many teeth.

The last is a giant worm with pale, lumpy pink flesh, emanating a most unpleasant smell. Jack avoids this one, as its skin drips with acid. He does, however, fill several glass bottles with the putrid fluid while suffering only minor burns to his hands and arms.

Jack drags the monstrous corpses through a portal and leaves them in Fort Jack for the time being. Returning the stealth gear to Keli, he goes back to the grey dryad body lying on a bed of soil.

Then he chops off its left arm just below the elbow. The wood is much harder than he expects, taking several tries to cut through. He quickly bandages the body to stem the flow of blue light from its missing arm.

Jack notes that after being cut off, the grey arm seems to have gone dead. The runes along its surface no longer glow with light, nor does a glow pulse through its interior.

Restraining the cut grey arm with a bronze cylinder to ensure that it cannot cut him, he then removes his own left arm at the same point. Securing Shattered Eternities to his right hand with a bronze ring, he then roots in the cavern floor and grafts the arm to himself.

The process is swift and painless - tendrils of brown flesh stretch from his elbow, accepting the grey arm as part of his body. Black, runic tattoos flow down his bicep and take places on the stony flesh, ignoring the grooves left by the runes that had been there prior. Green light, not blue, pulses between the twisted wood.

Jack cuts off the body's left leg. The leg remains alive, runes and veins alight with blue glow, as the rest of the body dies.

Next, he pulls the Orb of Foresight from the depths of the knapsack. Holding it high, he stares into its glassy depths. An image appears before him. Two warring souls, one of green and one of blue. Instinctively he recognizes them: The green soul is him, and the blue soul is the Changed version of himself that dwells within the Ironwood body.

Jack(Contest of wills): 12 + 6
???(Contest of wills): 16 + 2

He sees the souls, evenly matched, eventually quiet. He sees a wordless, thoughtless agreement between two forces of nature.

Within the orb,  Jack sees himself. Not his present self, but the possibility of what he could be should this plan go ahead.

A lord of wood and iron, a whole born of two souls in perfect accord. A stone-skinned dryad, bristling with wicked claws and thorns. One eye of bright green and one of somber blue, head adorned with grey horns and a mane of verdant leaves. Glowing runes etched deeply into wood, glowing with two-coloured light. The melding of twin souls, with the power of both: the Dryad's lordship over nature and the Ironwood's strength in runes. And also the vulnerabilities of the twins: The bloodthirst and solitary nature of the Ironwood, and the primal fire-fear of the Dryads.

The Orb shatters in his hands, its purpose fulfilled. Jack considers for a long moment, resting his eyes on the glowing blue limb before him.

He reaches a decision.

Removing his Ironwood arm and replacing it with his original Dryadwood one, he chops off his own leg. Then, with his companions standing at the ready in case of disaster, he sets down roots and moves to graft the glowing leg onto himself.

For a long moment, nothing happens. Then the graft begins, but not as it usually does: instead of Jack's body growing wooden tendrils into the disembodied limb, the glowing Ironwood leg begins to send grey tendrils into Jack's femur.

After a moment's hesitation, they allow the graft to continue.

Jack's hip turns a stony grey, and its veins run blue as the blue soul spreads its reach into his body.

Green Soul: 12 + 6
Blue Soul: 16 + 2

As he foresaw, the two souls within him strive to overtake, to exterminate each other. But within the blink of an eye, the battle is over and the souls, evenly matched, resign themselves to sharing his body.

Slowly his body turns from Dryadwood to iron. The blue light spreads, entwining with his green. The black-inked tattoos begin to glow, sinking into shallow grooves on his wood.

The blue light reaches his head. The green light gleaming in his left eye turns blue, and horns of Ironwood sprout from his head. His 'hair' of leaves becomes a flowing mane reaching to his waist, and a line of grey spines grows from his back. His present claws lengthen and sharpen, becoming wicked and bladelike.

He retracts his roots from the cavern's stony floor, never to return them. For the blue soul has brought its bloodlust, and only the flesh of men can sate its hunger.

His runes glow brightly in the colours of his twin souls, for it has also brought its power.

------

Jack, Twin-Souled Lord of Wood and Iron[D-G]: Healthy

AC: 19
Attack Modifier: +7
Will Modifier: +6
Agility Modifier: +7

Leafy Robes: +0 AC, has pockets with a variety of seeds, bulbs, and other assorted plant pieces. (Armour)
Shattered Eternities: +? attack, opens gates between realms. (Weapon/Major Talisman)
Song of Serpents: +3 willpower and control of two pets, currently Jack the Hypnatralx and Bubbles the Sea Hydra. Can play to summon a horde of small animals. (Major Talisman) (Disarmed)
Ring of Will: +1 willpower (Minor Talisman)

Keeper of Forgotten Secrets: Enables rune magic.
Dryadism: +7 agility, +2 willpower. Can propel sharpened leaves as an unarmed attack, control plants, and has enhanced senses. Negated if any armour that lowers agility is worn.
Ironwood: 19 unarmoured AC and +7 unarmed attack. Enhances runic magic.

First, Second, Third, and Fourth Shards

---

Jack and Phet drag one of the pale-skinned, long-limbed corpses from out of the bag and swiftly remove its flesh, extracting its elongated arm bones. Jack takes the flesh and stores it for later use.

Next, Phet bids Ugress look away. Then she lies down and takes off her cloak.

The invisible joints that hold her together disintegrate, and she promptly collapse into a series of unconnected bones on the cavern floor. Jack carefully removes her arms, hands, and fingers, replacing them with the monstrosity's long bones. Then, he drapes the cloak over Phet's clavicles.

The spine, ribs, skull, and legs swiftly snap back into place. After a moment of hesitation, the foreign arm bones do as well.

Phet stands up, feeling quite strange. This is perhaps accounted for by the fact that her arms now scrape the floor when walking upright. Strange indeed.
She raises her hand and makes a fist. Her arm moves effortlessly, as if it had belonged to her from the start. Aside from the length, these arms also seem noticeably stronger than her mundane human limbs.