Session 40: Connecting the Dots Report

General Summary

Indigo Team begins with a protracted debate as to how best secure transportation so they can search for a second portal, which would enable Lilmeia Garibaldi to accurately plot the locations for the remaining 11. Eventually, they decide to go back to Doddra d'Orien , and ask for a folding boat. This is not a small ask, however, so they are prepared to negotiate. Doddra invites them back to the House Orien enclave. Once they arrive, she says she can provide the boat, but the expense will mean she is unable to provide any other real support for a period of time. She counters with access to a horseless carriage that, while well used, has recently received some upgrades. (Yes, it's the Edhellen. No, I don't feel any shame reusing it.) Otherwise, given they turned over such valuable information on House Cannith hooking into their teleportation network, she could get them high level access to that same teleportation network. This would let them bypass all the usual fees and lines and have a solid starting point on most continents. She gives them her office for some privacy and excuses herself.

The question of whether to trust Doddra still looms large for some of the party, but Missed reviews the details gathered from the Drukar and determines the closest portal is almost certainly still in Khorvaire, and is to the northwest. This points toward Droaam, and possibly toward the capital of The Great Crag. With this information in hand, the party asks Doddra for access to the teleportation circle, and if there is one in Droaam. This is an uncomfortable moment, as Doddra explains they do know of a circle in Droaam, it's located somewhere in The Great Crag itself. Her house believes Droaam created the teleportation circle and inadvertently added it to the Orien network. They've been aware of it for some time, but it's shown no activity on their network and they would really like to improve relations. So, she offers to give them the details necessary to teleport there, but asks they not mention they got the info from her. Also, any details the party could glean on how to improve relations with the nation would be appreciated. The party is concerned about showing up in this manner, and ask if she has a way to contact Order, who at one point invited Missed to visit. She does, and produces a sending stone used for Portal Council business. She contacts Order, and puts her in touch with Graham White. Graham explains that they would like to visit, and Order says to get the teleportation circle from Doddra. Doddra, a bit gobsmacked, hands over the info and decides to not recall any of this information later.

The party arrives in The Great Crag teleportation room to find a dozen members of the Znir Pact on guard. A Goliath escorts them to a waiting room, and tells them it is safer to remain inside. This treatment does not feel like a threat, per say, but both the expectations and the consequences are very clear. Zeke Abd Al Rashid checks the Drukar while waiting for Order to arrive, and discovers the portal is literally less than 1,000 feet away. He and Nora Pandost might have wanted to keep this information to themselves, but when Order arrives Missed and Graham happily and immediately share all they know. Order, surprised by the revelations, takes them through a secret passage to the site of the portal and informs them they will be 'guests' of The Great Crag until information can be collected.

The party shares, well, everything. And they learn the portal runes in The Great Crag has been carefully carved into the stone itself, leaving several feet of earth blocking the entrance. In it's current form it is unuseable but very secure. Order willingly agrees to have it destroyed, but only after Indigo Team confirms the other portals have already been destroyed. She is willing to make reasonable accomodations around this, but also plainly states lying to her will result in the deaths of both Indigo Team and their loved ones. This, again, is less of a threat and more of a clearly stated expectation. Order also takes the drukar, thumbing through the info. She seems impressed with the work they have done, and quickly deduces the location of some of the other portals, some of which she already strongly suspected. When Zeke asks which, she tells him- Flamehold, seat of the Church of the Silver Flame, who the party believes to be behind (some of) the constant threats of attack. She takes the drukar and leaves for another ten minutes, then gives it back to the party along with a sending stone. She then invites the party to leave quietly. :-)

Back in their rooms, the team plots the rough location of the remaining portals. Graham summons an angel to help them determine which locations will be easiest to deal with. The angel tells them the portals in Arcanix, the Lhazaar Principalities, and a small island off Sarlona present the highest chance of success. It also tells them the portal in Argonnessen holds death and deciet. It also confirms that destroying the runes will destroy the portal, but the portal should be deactivated first. Even in that state, some sort of explosion is likely. Lastly, the party asks if they can trust Harold Jehan to aide them in their endeavors. The angel says yes, but it won't always seem that way.

Given this, they pay a visit to Professor Jehan in his office. The old man greets them warmly. They explain what they are about, and ask for any help he could provide in getting into Arcanix. He explains that, given their rivalry, the best thing he can give them is fake scrolls of explusion, which he creates on the spot and hands over. He also tells them this is all the help he will be providing on this quest, and wishes them the best of luck.

While in his office, two other notable moments occured. When askes about time dragons, the professor pulls a children's fairy tale off the shelf, The Dragon and the Goblin, and explains that while the current story features a red dragon, the original version contained a dragon that shared a remarkable similarity to time dragons. Secondly, Missed asks for and recieves a spoon.

Missed searches the library for any documentation to shed additional light on Jehan's story about The Dragon and the Goblin, but while she finds a lot of details on the tale's history and themes, none of it mentions time dragons, nor does any of previous versions line up with what they know of Aveum.