Journal of Miyara Kyosuke (50)


    Bark could not believe that we would seriously consider going back in time.  Several of the other barbarians insist that we should do this to save Karak Ostahar.  Ostahar said that he saw every one of us back there 22 years ago, so obviously we did go back.  He had, however, given the impression that he had not been entirely happy with the way we had behaved.
    Goru had a series of visions.  He saw the dragon statue in the alcove, smashed as if deliberately.  He had a vision of an avatar of Tseentch laughing.  He had a vision of standing on the walls of Nolm, last stand of the good people (elves, dwarves, humans) as the green skinned army massed outside, having wiped out everyone and everything good in the world.  There are banners, Fly and Worm, each around strange geometric shapes, with with a tri-part symbolism itself.  There is a palanquin of corrupted bodies carrying the avatar of Nurgle, the orc god-king Og, with the banner of leeches.  Tzeench laughs.  Vision of dragon statue on a massive hugely decorated dwarvan plinth, reverently worshipped by hundreds of dwarves, leading this is Karadun, king of all the dwarves.  Tzeench laughs.  Vision, standing on the walls, elves and humans surrounding him, suspecting him as the dwarves outside under Karadun (looks exactly like Ostahar) form up for Chaos, again under three symbols with two having the same geometric shape as the orc banners.  Tzeench laughs.  Vision with this party, leaving Ostahar, on a beautiful day, dragon statue neatly packed away among our belongings, having found it at KO.  The visions repeat.  The orc army marched under banners of Nurgle, and the three different geometric shapes represent earth, water, and air.  The dwarves marches under Tzeench symbolism, earth, fire, air.
    I suddenly realized that not only did we have to save Ostahar, but possibly turn Og to the path of good too.  And perhaps the student becomes the master and I am to teach him Clown Fighting.
    There was, of course, arguing about the visions.  Pireseri advocated destroying the box so that none of these visions could come true.  But none of us know at this point what our destinies are, and how it would affect us.  Pireseri accepted that and said we should all go take a bath and use the box.  Eventually it was decided to sleep on it and make the final decision in the morning.
    Hosei said that we had been seen in the past at the place where the ogres were, and there are no ogres there now.  He suggested that we should travel there now, and then time travel there, rather than travel now.
    I stated that I believed it would travel us in space too; it was an article of chaos and would transport us where it wanted.  We know nothing of where it would take us, but we did know that we had been there.
    Hosei spent the evening in the large chapel, in meditation in hopes of some guidance.  The rest of the evening he spent writing down absolutely everytthing that he knew about us, our belongings, every single detail, and then placed it in the offering bowl to his goddess Verena.
    When Shon woke up the next morning, he thought he knew how to use the box.  He had put together the details he'd known.  Fire is the orcan magic symbol of destruction or death, water is birth or creation.  The way you use it is to set it up with this pool of burning water, and choose some object placed into the fire or water depending on whether you want its birth or destruction.  Put it in the water and it gets soaking wet through no matter what, or ignites in the flames.  While it burns or drips, it is the target where to go, and we touch the border between fire and water and go there.
    So we need something that was born or destroyed 22 years ago.  I suggest Ostahar, as perhaps he really died there and his spirit was born then.  Then I suggested we should ask Ostahar for anything that was created or destroyed at that time.
    Miyara and I knew that Godanji, about 30 years ago, left Nippon with the statue and lost it on his first trip, his trip here was to retrieve it and bring it back to Nippon.
    Hosei asked if there was any written material found in the Chin's place.  I realised that there was the book about Clown Fighting.
    Ostahar eventually remembered that there were some tombstones from around 22 years ago, way off in a corner of the outer area among some now wild trees.  These were obviously Chin tombstones, and were dated.  There was a heavy concentration of them 25-22 years ago.  The very few non-Chin tombstones were from hundreds of years ago, elves and humans mostly.  Shon stated that we just needed some dirt from the grave, because intent of the material was important too.
    I pointed out that we needed to go back far enough to prepare; Goru agreed, and added we may need to travel.  Shon said we should create something here to use for the return trip.  Bark suggested a piece of the leather he created in the last few days.  I pointed out we weren't here, but he rightly countered that we may be, but not in this place.  We would each take a piece of the leather.
    There is a long discussion among the barbarians about where to do this.  Bark said we should travel to Kadar Helgad first before travelling in time.  Hosei said we should try an experiment and send someone a little ways using a newly created object to send someone a few minutes to see if it send someone in space as well as time.  They argued a while to decide who should be the subject.  I merely sighed and stayed out of the way, until I suggested that the person who proposed the experiment should do it.  Hosei sighed and agreed.
    Back in Nippon, of course, I said we would a peasant.  They simply used a rabbit, marked to identify it, and did some sort of procedure to send it back to the creation of the leather scrap.  The rabbit disappeared, and reappeared instantly where the leather strip was cut.  It was as if it had moved only in space, even though it surely moved in time but we were part of the process so our observation of the change was to jump to the changed history only when it had changed.
    There was a large crashing noise near the cemetary.  We rushed over to investigate; there had been a tower there that had fallen over.  Bark had investigated this building before and it had been secure.  I looked around to see if I could figure out why it had collapsed, and Goru helped having some knowledge of stonemasonry.  (Bark went back to pack.)  Goru found that there was a stone missing, that it had to have been there or the tower would have collapsed.  The stone had to vanish for the rabbit to move, perhaps.
    We each took small pieces of the tower to link to the time and place where it was destroyed.
    Bark returned with food and water and gear and insisted we go.
    As a final thought, we went to visit the old orc.  We started at his room, but he was not there, so we went on down the stairs.  When we reached the bottom, Shon called out for him.
    After a few minutes, the spirit was summoned and walked up to us.  Shon asked him about the missing stone, telling him about the experiment.  He asked if it was coincidence.  The orc spirit said that Tzeench was pure coincidence.  As for the bunny, he asked about the intent, and that would be why it travelled in space and/or time.  If we insisted on doing this, like all magic we should have our intent clearly in mind and hope for the best.  Goru mused that he had seen all the possible options, and all we had to do was choose the one we wanted.
    As we returned to the top, I said that we should all be sure to be of one mind, to focus on the same vision.

    We went to a fountain, where Shon set up the spell box.  We would focus on the same vision, the same intent.  We would go to when the grave was created, outside the gates at KH.  I point out that it should not matter whether everyone has been there or not, because the intent is the focus.
    Shon prepares the pool by pouring the contents.  It ignited.  He took dirt from a grave 23 years ago, put it in the water thinking of the birth time of the grave, the place KH, and still thinking of that time and place with everyone pulled his hand out.  Still thinking of that, he signalled us to put our hand into the boundary.

    We are standing outside the gates of KH, all of us.  It is daytime.  We do not know the year, of course.  Time and tense are now an illusion, and I shall speak as I experience, not as I have experienced.
    Two statues of dwarven heads speak to us in dwarven.  Goru answered for us.  We did know that if we crawled on our hands low enough it would not speak, but at that time there were ogres here and we did not want to alert them.
    There are no ogres here now.
    We step into the entrance hall.  It is mostly natural, and only the opening itself has been worked.  We know the layout from the last time we are here, and so we can find our way around.  A dwarf is heading out from the rooms to meet us, uncertain at first but seeing a dwarf in front.
    We recognize him.  It is Ostahar.  Goru says we are here so that the way is not lost by Ostahar.
    He is a little more worried and asks who is Ostahar.
    Goru says that O may be a king to be.  We do not know yet.  It might be part of what we are here to learn.
    The dwarf says his brother is king.
    Goru says he does not speak of the king now, but a king that is not yet, and may be in a far future.
    They switch to common.  Goru tells the dwarf to speak to Miyara.
    As we are talking, half a dozen large well armed dwarves come up behind him.  He says that an army of green skins was coming and they would defend the place.  He asks if we would help.
    We say we were here to help, and any resistance melts away.
    We introduce ourselves.  He says he is Karadun.  His brother is King Gadrik.  Goru knows that Gadrik was in power about 20 years before we will leave KO.  The transition from Gadrik to his son Mehndi was fraught with secrecy and objection, and no-one will talk about it except in hushed tones between dwarves.
    K asks us how we found this place.  Goru says it is a holy place.  K says it has been lost for a hundred years or so, and they have only just found it.  Goru says he has visions.
    A younger dwarf retorts something, and he is introduced as Mehndi.
    Coming in through the other door is Gadrik himself.
    We are appropriately respectful.
    Gadrik is very proud to have found this place.
    Eventually the king and his son leave, and Karadun and a number of fighters remain.
    The greenskins are in the valley and they are hoping they do not find this place.  It is not clear that they can hold them if they do find this place.  Goru assures them that we left no trail when we arrived.  K does say that they will have plenty of warning before the greenskins arrive.
    Goru asks if they have a guard on the back way.  Karadun says they just arrived so don't know the place.  Goru says he has seen it in his visions.  There is a glass-smooth walled tube cutting down through that goes all the way to the top and to beneath the second level.
    We check, and the tube is there.  The lower level is drenched in mud.
    One of the big guards comes up to Karadun and says, "They left no trace."
    Bark says we need to run a rope up the tube and should post a guard up there.
    I say in Nipponese it's a beam from the Stone of Stones that created this.
    We discuss briefly in Nipponese that the stones of the three elements of Tzeench are here, and so is the dwarf who would lead his army.
    Pireseri says that we still don't know how to get the rock out of the rock.  I say we did -- we had gone to Ostahar and that was what we needed to do to find the way to get it out.  Goru asks what the way is, and I say I'm working.
    Many of the barbarians just want to leave.  I will not leave until I have seen Og.  Several of them point out that it is ogres that are attacking.
    The reason Ostahar is so weird in the future is that he lost this place now.  He must not, however, gain control of the rocks.  We must not let on about the rocks.  We must not let him know about the temple so that they do not fall to chaos gods.
    Hosei suggests leaving a note with some sort of evidence of a small prediction, which says that this place will be back out of control of the greenskins no matter what.  Goru argues with him.
    I say we should find Og and get him to lead the orcs against the ogres.
    Goru says that we should not create the future with the orcs having earth, water and air.  He suddenly realizes that the orcs know where water is.  The orcs must not know about the stones either.
    Pireseri says we should put all the rocks in the same place.  I say that we are up against the god of coincidence and that they will be found.
    Pireseri adds that we do not know that the stone of stones is in the rock now.  Hosei says it does not matter.
    Goru says the reason we have the stones is to keep them out of the hands of those who were about to take them.
    Pireseri argues still, and says he does not care what happens if he dies.
    Goru says we must guard the stones ourselves.  He wants to leave now as the only safe route.
    Goru points out that this will be a siege, not a battle.  I say that may not be, if the orcs fight the ogres in pitched battle.  I volunteer to convince Og to be on our side.