Session 9: Secrets in New Orleans Report

General Summary

Quinn and Peter spent the night in Greg's apartment while Valerie searched for clues while walking around New Orleans. Peter called Jessica to ask what the people in Haven had discovered from the other thief. Jessica revealed that after the thief was revived his eyes went glassy, and he lost all of his memory. Hazel then took over the call to explain more of what they had found. Hazel revealed that all of the magic used on Clarice, the other citizens of Haven, and the two thieves was linked. It was all being cast by the same being, came from the same source of magic being placed into enchanted objects, or was being used by followers of the same source of magic. She also revealed that everything seemed to be charm based with the exception of the magic used to make one of the thieves disappear. Quinn asked for her to do more research into Veritas. She agreed but mentioned that there might not be enough resources in Haven for her to find what was going on. She recommended that they check out the secret floor in the Library of Congress to gain additional information. Hazel also warned them that there is a rumor that a portal to Hades exists in New Orleans. Peter and Quinn did a bit more research into the museums in New Orleans and realized that the artifact might not even be held in a museum. They decided to check out some voodoo places and a ghost/cemetery tour as that might hold a connection to Hades. Peter used divine sense and identified that a guitar Greg had on his wall was consecrated and that a C trumpet was desecrated. Quinn examined the instruments and found that the guitar could provide additional assistance to someone who used it while performing magic that was designed to help others. The next morning, Quinn had a jam session with Greg. She picked up some piano skills from her dad. Peter drove to Cafe du Monde for beignets and cafe au laits. He used divine sense again and detected the presence of several undead creatures as well as fiends. He noticed that these presences grew stronger when he got closer to the various cemeteries in New Orleans. Upon returning, Valerie revealed that she had found a flyer the night before with the same five circles symbol they know belongs to members of the Veritas group. The flyer was for a St. Louis cemetery tour. Greg also invited the others to the Dancing Dragon, the jazz club at which he had performed the night before. The club was a speakeasy. Greg mentioned that he overheard a customer talking about a cemetery tour the previous night but couldn't remember which one it was. While at the Dancing Dragon they met Bill, a jazz pianist. Bill revealed that he overheard a customer complaining about their companion not showing up. That same customer mentioned the St. Louis cemetery tour. He also revealed that legend states that Louis Armstrong once played at the Dancing Dragon. After leaving the Dancing Dragon, Peter Quinn, and Valerie went to the WWII museum. Valerie revealed some of the hidden stories of demigods who fought each other during the war. Peter made a donation to the museum. They then went to Madame Milner's to have their fortunes read. Quinn went first. Madame Milner revealed that she could not see much of Quinn's future. There was some obstacle in the way, and Quinn's choices and actions would determine whether or not her future would even exist. She also stated that when looking into her past she saw that Quinn was connected to an ancient power, one that might be far older than Quinn suspects. Madame Milner also revealed that knowledge of this power was dangerous and that Quinn might be better off without gaining further insight into its source. After hearing Quinn's fortune, the others decided not to get a reading. The group then went to investigate the cemetery tours. They found that there were three St. Louis cemeteries and that they needed to check out cemetery number one. They did some research into the famous tombs that were located there. The two that were the most interesting were the tombs of Delphine LaLaurie, a serial killer who tortured her slaves, and Marie Laveau, a voodoo queen who was said to still grant wishes in her death to those who drew along the three x's found on her tomb, spun in a circle, and returned to draw a circle around the x on her tomb if their wish was granted. The three went on the cemetery tour that night. At LaLaurie's tomb, Quinn noticed some letters on the outside of the tomb that were Ancient Greek. She revealed this to Peter and Valerie. Quinn and Peter were surprised to realize that they had the innate ability to read Ancient Greek. The writing warned that LaLaurie's tomb was haunted by those she had hurt in life. A short time later Peter, Quinn and Valerie snuck away from the tour and went back to the tomb. Valerie successfully broke the lock, and Peter used detect good and evil. This allowed him to identify the presence and location of some undead within the tomb. Upon entering the tomb, they discovered that the part above ground actually just contained some stairs to a much larger tomb. The undead entities were stirred by the group's presence. three skeletons, two shadows, a dretch, and a ghoul set upon the group who fended them off using Peter's shield abilities and bless, Quinn's thunderwave and dragon's breath, and Valerie's magic missiles and Firebolt. After examining the desk and altar located in the middle of the tomb, the group discovered that there was a portal to Hades that could be accessed within the tomb. This portal had lead to the undead rising. They found information that the soul of LaLaurie was being tortured in Tartarus and would not be unleashed back on the world. They also found $60 in cash, enough ambrosia squares to be the equivalent of two greater healing potions, a cryptex with an inscription calling it Charon's Cryptex, and a clue written in an unknown language that would guide them to the first letter that would be needed to open the cryptex. The three left LaLaurie's tomb. Quinn stopped at Laveau's tomb and wished to have a greater amount of control over her wild magic surges. The three returned to Greg's apartment for a well-deserved night of sleep.