Chapter One

"Save him!"

"I can't! He's refusing to materialize. He's fading from..." The voice fades out.

Another fades back in. "...osing them all!"

"I can't focus on the Zem and still bring them all!"

"Just bring them in!"

There are sounds of activity and of people rushing around. The occasional pop of electicity and small explosion overpowers the sounds of those around you.

Suddenly there is a silence. Not the deep silence of nothing, but the silence of an active room suddenly gone still.

"It's done. That's it. That's all we could save."

"How many lost?"

"Fifteen."

Hands help you move. Guide you off a platform. As you start to regain full conciousness, you open your eyes to see a black skinned people in white robes. Their eyes are black as night and irises of bright colors in varying shades. They look over you, make sure you are okay.

"We're losing him! Somebody help me!"

You look to the shout to see a few of these people running towards a man in white leather armor convulsing on the ground. They crowd around him, holding up gems and casting spells. A large red wolf sits off to side, pacing and whining. Suddenly there is a pop and the man in leather stops moving.

"He's fading."

And he is. His body disappears before you. The wolf jumps forward but his paws land on the floor. He howls in grief and starts furiously clawing at the ground. The people put their gems away and hang their heads.

"Sixteen." A sad voice remarks.

A man at the front of the room looks at you solemnly. "We still have four." He approaches you where you've all been grouped together. His robes are a little more ornate than the others but his skin is slightly paler, a dark grey, and his eyes were a vivid blue on the black. "How do you feel?" He asks you four.

Hayato staggers forward until he feels a pair of arms hold him up. The human shakes his head groggily, his stomach feeling like it's on fire. He hears voices, looking around in confusion, then at the man in front of him asking questions.

"I've been better.", Hayato replies, the burning in his stomach seeming to die down. "Who are you? Where am I?"

Zebith felt like his stomach was going to give up what was left of it's last meal and being lifted to his feet didn't help. Then he opened his eyes. It felt like the worst hangover that he ever felt in his life.

"Where in the hells am I"

insight +5 to sense motive

The member 'zebith' has done the following action : Die rolls

'd20' : 12

Sundew groans as she is pulled to her feet. She quickly feels herself up and down to make sure she's okay. "Dreadful! I'm dying and will be avenged! Am I bleeding? Surely I am!" she grumbles with far too much prissy vinegar for someone suffering any real damage.

Sarai blinks, wondering for a moment if she has, at last been called to the heavens by her lord, however, she feels all too alive for this to be the afterlife.
"Who has torn me from my sacred task?" She exclaims, hoping she projects rather more strength then she feels at the moment as she grasps around for her mace and shield. "If you seek to prevent me from my duty to punish the wicked, your end it night!"

"Calm yourself, priest." The man holds up a placating hand. "As important as your divine task may be, I assure you that our plight is far more-so." He looks to all of you. "As for where you are, it may be more prudent to answer when. But first, we will answer the monk's question." He gestures to the room, to all of the gathered men and women. "We are the Zem. The most advanced civilization currently on Sollette. But our progress is not important, for we are currently under attack. Demons have invaded our realm and are devouring the essence of the planet. We have brought you here to help us." He looks to the many empty platforms behind you. "We had hoped to bring more but we were unsuccessful." A look of sadness crosses his face. "But I am being distracted. You are all natives of Sollette and each of you has the potential to become a paragon of your time. In fact, each of you is a beacon of hope to us. You see, you are from our future, and each of you is from a future that has successfully turned back these demonic invaders."

----

Each of you know about the demon invasion from the distant past. Though none of you remember hearing about the Zem.

The man pauses now for you to assimilate his words and ask any questions you may have.

"why me? There is nothing anymore special about me than any other on my order"

The gnome winces. "Ah. Well, here's the thing. I know my history, and I've never heard of you. That strongly hints that your're gonna be wiped out the fossil record, and a demon invasion sounds exactly like the sort of thing that would do that! So.... Why would we want to get involved on something that we already know is gonna end in disaster?"

A grin crosses Sarai's face as she remembers the stories she'd heard Father Jovali told in the chapels of the demons, wickedness incarnate...not to mention the noble heroes who vanquished these evil fiends in the name of justice.
"A worthy foe to face the wrath of Baphamut!" she announced in a loud voice.

"Demons? Really? Man, those guys just won't stay down. Er, wait, if this is the past like you say it is, then they haven't been knocked down quiet yet..." Hayato said, pondering a moment.

Hayato looks to Sundew as she raises her own questions. "Now hold on. If these guys are supposed to get wiped out, they might know that already. Maybe they're trying to prevent that? But if that's the case, how can we help?"

The man raises an eyebrow. "Well, at least two of you seem eager." He looks to Zebith. "To answer your question; nothing is special about you. At least not yet." He turns to Sundew. "And if the monk has not already answered your question, I posit this: If it is a lost cause, then why do you exist?"

He gives you a moment to let that sink in. You notice that the wolf is still whining, although it has stopped scratching at the floor.

"Now then," He begins again. "If there are no more pressing questions, I reccomend you get to know each other a little bit. Introductions and the like. For starters, my name is KhurQuinn. I'm in charge of this ritual. The goal of the spell was to bring in twenty individuals who were linked to the destiny of Sollette." He sighs. "Unfortunately, something went wrong. The ritual grew out of our control and started to create alternate realities. We lost most of you to these realities as they collapsed. It was luck that we were able to rescue you." He shakes his head. "We nearly had a surviving Zem as well. His insight would have been invaluable." He is quiet for a moment. "But I digress. Please, make yourselves comfortable in the other room." He gestures to another Zem in white robes and she shows you to an adjacent room. Here there are chairs and food. The large table and abundance of food is a testament to the optimism that failed them. Right after you are shown in, the wolf also slinks through the door, looking despondent. It plops on the floor and whines a few times before going quiet.

Zebith allows himself to be herded into the other room he really wasn't hungry, but thought it might be best to eat something since it might be a while before his next one. Zebith chucks a piece of meat at the wolf

"I am Zebith a Paladin of Bahamut"

"Well met, brother!" Sarai said, with a grin, raising her mace. "I am also a servant of our Lord Bahamut. Together may we bring justice to this land in his name!"

Zebith turned toward the human

"and who might you be?"

Hayato would be lead into the room, glancing to the wolf with a frown. But upon seeing the food, he had forgotten about everything else, running up and starting to dig in. He noticed he was being spoken to, turning towards Zebith with a large piece of meat sticking out of his mouth. "Mff mfff mff..." he started, quickly slurping the meat into his mouth and swallowing it. "I'm Hayato! A monk from a small island called Hai-Lan." he finally answered, having a plate of foot and sitting on a piece of furniture.

Sundew stands up upon one of the chairs and looks about for any food suitable to her tastes. Skipping the main course entirely, she picks a large slice of cake for herself, and some red wine before sitting back down. She licks frosting from her fingers and is about to dig into her meal when she stops herself. "Monks, priests and paladins?" she groans. "We're not gonna haveta spend a hour praying before we get to eat are we?" She looks over at Hayato who is eating heartily even as he speaks, and looks relieved. "Guess not, then. Good! Sundew is Sundew, Wizardess of the Applewood Academy." She digs into her backpack and takes out a wooden cigar box. A rat emerges from a side door and makes a beeline for a plate of stuffed olives. "This is Skitter."

You hear the wolf noisily chew on the meat that was thrown to it. It adds little to the conversation.

---

OOC: Feel free to do some conversational roleplaying here, guys. I want your characters to get to know each other.

Sarai sits at one of the tables, a little awkwardly, setting her shield and mace beside her chair. The young woman raises her hands to pray over the food, but notices none of the others doing the same. With a frown, she quietly mutters a prayer, begging for his forgiveness in this instance before filling her plate with food.

Hayato takes a bite out of a bread roll, looking at everyone as they sat in silence. "So... like what do you guys remember doing before you wre brought here?" he asked everyone.

"About twenty years ago I was found wandering the wild wearing only this holy symbol and ever since I have been trying to find out about my past"
Zebith's stomach was still a little unsettled. He picked apart a small piece of bread and took a bite then picked up a scrape of meat to through to the wolf

Sundew dips her piece of cake into her wine glass before gobbling it. "Sundew was lobbying for additional research funds. Sundew hopes this adventure will render her efforts irrelevant."

She studies the looks of her fellow adventurers for a moment, trying to place their time periods. "Should any of you hail from Sundew's future, and is knowledgeable of tourney event betting outcomes, they will find Sundew is a generous listener."

"Future?" Hayato said in confusion. He then tilted his head in thought, trying to think of what he was doing. "I... recall I was fighting a large serpent with my panda Brutus-" Hayato suddenly stops mid-sentence, slamming his hands on the table.

"My panda! Where's my panda!?", he shouts, looking around frantically.

There is no panda near you. The wolf snaps up the small scrap thrown to it and stands up, padding towards Zebith. It lays at his feet and you are struck by just how different the creature is to a normal wolf. The sharp red of its fur is the obvious clue but the small horns on its head truly show that this creature is different from what you would expect.

A servant enters the room. She isn't robed like the others and you can see that these creatures are a lithe and lean race. Her clothing doesn't show much skin but what you can see is a charcoal black. She gives you all a small nod of respect. "Forgive the wait. We are finishing up with the ritual. If it is not properly completed, it could be disastrous for all of you. Would you care for some more wine or perhaps a food you don't see on the table?"

Sundew looks a tad worried, and she pulls her feet up onto the chair, hugging her knees. "Panda? Sundew does not trust vegetarian carnivores."