Session 25: You say you want adventure? Report

General Summary

In a short flashback, we see Roy , while the others are dealing with the events around Jeeves ' posession, in the library interacting with the OctoLibrarch and looking for specific knowledge. The Octolibrarch clarified that its knowledge is limited to events prior to the end of the Dawn Times. They began to discuss the nature of reality, the artifact known as the Heart of Corruption, and how the OctoLibrarch's reality was so very different that simply attempting to comprehend the nature could lead to insanity. The OctoLibrarch admitted to be utterly insane (which made it sane from Roy 's perspective), that it considered the party friends, and wanted their success. Eventually Roy asked for the name of the Octolibrarch's reality and woke the next morning with the Octolibrarch explaining he had lost his sanity, gone into a homocidal rage, and been "made unconscious" for everyone's safety. The Octolibrarch expressed its hope that Roy and companions would be successful destroying the "void cultists" and that if they failed it would "consume your soul, as a sign of honor and respect". Roy joined the others, and they managed a quick breakfast of Levron's Loaf and water, before being unceremoniously dropped outside as the magical mansion dissipated. The Octolibrarch conjured another magical mansion and returned to their refuge, inviting the party to return when they had completed the quest. The party considered the map for a while, and determined a couple of paths, choosing the longer path that passed near what they believed to be a gem mine. Before leaving the group chose to use a magical oil they had carried for some time. They gathered around a large boulder some distance away in a moderate cavern. The boulder was moved to the center of the cavern, and Boris called on The Source to place a circle of containment around the boulder to keep elemental forces enclosed. The group gathered at a small distance, and Quirico poured the oil over the boulder then rushed away. The boulder sparkled and shrank down to a large pile of precious gems. The group prepared, and then waited. And waited. And waited. An hour later the magical containing circle dissipated, and Quirico stepped forward to gather the gems in a bag. Apparently, the oil was unsuccessful in bringing forth a Xorn; they would have to find another means to obtain the body of a Xorn for the old priest in Levron's Citadel. Regathering themselves, the party prepared to begin their travel through the deeper caverns. The party traveled for an entire day, through winding caverns and all manner of passages; with Cigfran leading the way, they managed to avoid any dangerous creatures or other hazards. The next day, they chose to head down a side tunnel to the cave of crystals, and arrived about mid day. Entering the cavern, Quirico discovered that the many crystals on walls, floor, and ceiling reflected light so brilliantly that they could be blinded by their own lights. Dousing the lights, and using magic they had available, they proceeded forward into the gem lined caverns. There was considerable confusion about how to proceed, in the end Jeeves used a divine boon to enable Cigfran to transform into a bat and fly around to explore ahead. Cigfran examined much of the area, and found a few unpleasant paths, and a few other more promising directions. Unable to speak, Roy used magic to speak with animals to understand the report, Jeeves used powerful alchemical potion to clear a path, and the group walked down the path toward a small collapsed section where gems lay in piles rather than embedded in walls, floors and ceilings. The party, with the light-dependent Boris and Quirico remaining behind, proceeded to fumble about and break gems more thoroughly, causing some unnecessary damage. Jeeves attempted to move forward, but managed to step on a sharp shard that caused considerable pain and minor injury. Roy considered using magic to bridge the remaining distance, but Jeeves used a mage hand to gather random piles of crystal to sort through, but that seemed a bit slow and inadequate, so Roy just teleported over. Roy saw himself falling face-first into sharp jagged gem shards several inches long and reacted with magic to re-flow time slightly, taking a seat and only suffering a minor injury that was quickly dealt with. Roy then cleared a space, and performed a ritual to conjure a magical floating disk. Roy took a seat on a massive aquamarine boulder and began sorting through the massive pile of gems. Over the next couple of hours Roy managed to find a wide variety of precious stones, including one strange stone composed of many different types of gem in a single large boulder. All of the stones were uncut, but once cut and polished the value would be such wealth as to make a miser faint. Roisin Marshfield slapped the bird form of Cigfran , causing him to revert to normal, so he could help transferring gems to the purse (a portable hole Roisin Marshfield carries). The group continued gathering gems for a while, and even uncovered a terrifying Void Crystal; Roy also uncovered a strange ring which he placed on his hand, but refused to describe in detail to the rest of the group. The party then regathered, after deciding they had pushed their luck far enough, and headed back towards their main path, arriving shortly in a strange section marked as "dark and dangerous", which stood between them and returning to the main path. Entering this area, an individual stepped out ahead, holding a strange book and wearing a heavy robe, looked at them and said, to Roy , "You carry something than belongs to us, you should turn it over now". Cigfran tried to step aside, as three other individuals joined the first.

Rewards Granted

A massive pile of uncut gems worth roughly 25,000 gold uncut, and close to 250,000 cut.
A single unique gem worth roughly 65,000 gold once cut and polished
A magical ring of strange aspect
A 1.1875 pound Void Crystal

Missions/Quests Completed

Retrieve the intact body of a Xorn: Complication, their oil of the Xorn hunter failed, they will need to attract a Xorn some other way.