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Roget,

You float in a sea of mist and shadows, disoriented and confused. There is a silence around you - which seems very wrong. You try to remember how you got here, but it is as if your mind does not want you to know.

Slowly, piece by piece, your curiosity wakes up and wrestles the confusion out of your mind. You begin to remember. There were noises. There was chaos.

Chaos. That word has meaning to you.

And then, it all comes rushing in. You are jarred awake by a sensation of falling - a sensation which stops almost as quickly as it started.

The mist and shadows around you are much like the ethereal plane - however the invisible sun is nowhere to be seen. And there are no shapes from the material plane visible.

But the biggest problem is that you feel no pain.

You should! You remember the claws. You remember being tossed back - hard. But you never hit the ground.

“It is over, my love.”

Her voice is soft and soothing. You turn to see her standing - floating? - next to you. As before, her straight black hair is wet and her golden skin clings enticingly to her sheer robe. But there are differences, too. She seems taller. And her face seems less elfin. For a second, you wonder if she's gained weight.

“But I do not know whether we won,” she continues. You can hear the faint sound of rain when she speaks.

“What…” you begin to ask - but she answers before you can ask.

“The Shadowlord played us all for the fool. We believed he had sided with Chaos against this world. Instead, he appears to be seizing control over Limbo and is deposing the Lords of Chaos as we speak.

“We do not know whether he will succeed, but we now believe his goal all along was to throw down Chaos. It is possible - even likely - that he orchestrated this entire adventure. But how far back his machinations go, we do not know.”

She look away for a moment. A sadness seems to wash across her face. “I am sorry it ended this way. The pain and grief you suffered was more than I could endure sometimes - but the concordance…”

She stops suddenly, and with an embarrassed look, turns back to you. “Let us say simply that the obligations of the gods are sometimes difficult to bear.”

A smile finds its way onto her lips and she leans closer. “Imhotep has granted Roderick the power to bring you back and even now, your friend prepares the ritual. When you return, you will be beyond my reach once again. But do not fear our parting, for I am sure we will meet again soon. Until that time, others will see to your safety.”

She drifts above you and gently kisses your lips. A drop of rain tickles the corner of your mouth and your eyes begin to droop as an immense weariness that has been building over four months settles in.

The mist and shadows fade to black and the soothing sound of rain ebbs into your fading consciousness. Slowly, you become aware of other sensations. A coldness envelops your extremities and a sharp pain emerges in your shoulder and neck. The rain sounds are joined by the touch of pelting rain drops. At first they hurt, but soon you can feel them massaging and stitching your wounds.

And then you are awake. And Roderick stands over you. “I'll be damned!” he mutters quietly. “It worked!”

Per our phone conversation earlier in the week, I thought I'd jot some notes down regarding Vincent's plan to get home…

For the first day, the two of you can effectively remain hidden from the chaos around you. While it's not terribly restful, Bigby manages to get enough sleep so he can prepare his spells the next “day”. However, he is not confident that they will work here as expected - so he suggests that you operate under the assumption that he will be useless.

That day, you spot a number of Slaad-like creatures moving around. While some move and behave like you expect a frog-like creature to behave, most appear to move with no regard for gravity or even space. It is at this point that you realize that gravity is subjective in this realm. If you can wrap your mind around the concept, you could conceivably fly - or at least jump great distances.

However, after much experimentation, you find that this method of movement requires too much practice to get good at it and until then, it's no more effective than simply “walking”.

After a few hours - during which you realize that the shifting landscape of Limbo makes it all but impossible to NOT get lost - you come across a small, glowing building.

Though it is no bigger than a small hermit's cabin, it stands out as a beacon of order in the midst of chaos and, unlike all its surroundings, you can focus your gaze on it without becoming confused. In addition, once you and Bigby compare notes, you realize that both of you are seeing the same thing - which is a first for this realm.

As you approach, a trio of Slaad leap in to attack. Before you are able to bring a weapon to bear, though, the door to the building opens and the Slaad flee as if in terror. A robed person stands in the doorway and gestures for you to come in. After a brief discussion, you decide you have little option but to trust him.

Once inside, the place is magnificent! It is FAR larger on the inside than the out and is reminiscent (in modern terms) to an Escher painting than an actual three-dimensional building. There are dozens of robed humanoids moving about. Many seem to be chanting as if in prayer - and, like the Slaad, they seem to be able to exploit the subjective gravity. Stairs wind their way up one wall, then on to the “ceiling”. Doors open at all orientations. And, occasionally, someone will step off a ledge and effortlessly “fly” from one spot to another.

The man who invited you in introduces himself with a name that you find difficult to pronounce but sounds like Mae'umt'ku. He explains that this is a Githzerai monastery and that you and Bigby are welcome to rest here.

In the end, you find that your hosts are friendly and they offer to let you stay here as long as you like. Bigby is eager to take them up on this and plys them for arcane knowledge as best he can.

You find that they are curious about the events that have unfolded recently and are able to offer some insights into what happened. Assuming your perspective is shared with them, the truth of the Shadowlord and the Lord of Chaos will likely emerge…

In addition, Mae'umt'ku offers that he can plane shift you back to the material world. And, while he cannot promise precision, if you are able to describe to him the lands where you came from, he should be able to return you nearby.

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